Hi friends! Friday is finally upon us! Woo hoo! I hope your 2nd full week of this New Year has been amazing and full of all kinds of things good! If not, well, I’ll be crossing my fingers for you that things will take an upturn really soon! Thank you so much for stopping by the blog this morning! 🙂
Our weekend should be packed full of house projects (per the usual), some outside time and hopefully some relaxing as well! We’re going to attempt another round of staining the deck with the rainy weather behind us so, here’s hoping we can FINALLY knock that thing off our to-do list and get to the rest of the back yard work. I also am going to try my hardest to get in a good strength training session too followed up with a good self-care Sunday this weekend! I wanted to pop in today with a few of my favorite things that I’m loving lately for another round of Friday 5! Feel free to share your favorite things lately in the comments below! I’d love to hear what’s making your favorites list lately!
Five things I’m loving lately
- Running that feels effortless, boosts your confidence– but still makes you break a sweat
Yesterday, I got in a really good run that made all the difference for me. It was equal parts hard because it involved some small hills, but also just a really good outside sweat session that amped up all the endorphins! Aren’t those runs just the best kind of workouts? I can always tell almost instantly if my run is going to be one that’s going to drag or one that feels like my legs are light as feathers! I, of course, always prefer the 2nd one but as runners we know those tough runs are bound to happen every so often! That’s what keeps me coming back for more though is conquering those “bad” runs and celebrating the good ones that making me fall in love with running all over again!
(PS anyone else still use “wired” headphones? Mine always get so tangled up no matter how many times I try to untangle them! One of these days I’m going to step up my game to the bluetooth ones! I just need to find some that will fit my ears and not fall out all over the place.)
How about those 8ish minute paces?! I love when those make an appearance in my workouts! On some of the hills that I was climbing, I would pump my arms really hard to help push me forward (both mentally and physically!) and it helped SO much! I also jammed out to my favorite running playlist too which made my workout 10x better!
- Increasing my water intake with water challenges
I love a good self-induced water challenge with trying to knock out 4 24 ounce Healthy Human water bottles throughout the entire day. I can go through so much water a day sometimes and then others I almost forget to drink hardly any! It’s definitely a conscious effort to drink 4 bottles but I can always tell a HUGE difference when I increase my hydration. I think it’s easier in the Summer/Spring time because it’s warmer outside so that’s why I’m focusing on doing it when it’s cold outside too! We always buy bottled spring water that’s bottled near us and these 3.78L bottles are only $.89 at Kroger!
- The Balanced Blonde podcast “Soul on Fire” with Jordan Younger
You guys know I’m all about my podcasts, right? Well, one that I literally never miss an episode of, is this one. Jordan is a blogger and wellness guru and has this awesome podcast, Soul on Fire, which has some of the best content that I’m totally obsessed with! She has the best guests who share some of the most insightful information that really grab your interest and even her solo episodes are equally as good! If you’ve never heard of this one, I highly encourage you to check it out! It’s really a great listen filled with tons of helpful tools and health/wellness info!
- Coconut Oil dog treats
So, our dogs are aging (The saddest thing in the entire world, but unfortunately it’s true…) and I’m all about finding ways to help them live their healthiest and happiest dog life! Well, I recently came across a super simple but extra beneficial dog treat that I could whip up for them with just coconut oil! Apparently dogs can benefit from the MCT oils in coconut oil just the same as humans! So, all I did was grab a few scoops of our unrefined coconut oil, put it in a plastic bag and cut the tip off. Then, I just created little bite-sized dots out of them and tossed them into the freezer! They LOVE these treats and I’m so glad because they’re packed full of amazing health benefits to help them with all sorts of things! Just to name a few of the benefits, coconut oil for dogs can help condition their fur, help to prevent furballs, allergies, aids in improving dental health and breath, and it helps their bone and joint health! Why I didn’t try this sooner, I’m not sure but I’m so glad I’m doing this for them now!
- The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Okay, so remember how I said for this month’s read that I would be going through The Judgement Detox by Gabby Bernstein? Well, I am only a few chapters in but decided I wanted to start off the year with a little bit of a different read and save Gabby’s book for another month. I know, I’m quite the rebellious one, right? 😉 When I said I’d read at least one book a month, that was just about the only rule I set forth so changing my mind mid-month is totally allowed! I JUST started reading “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin and seriously can’t wait to get to all of these awesome chapters! I’ve mentioned her before on the blog because of her amazing podcast, but I hadn’t ever read this book before! But, I just feel like this is something that’s screaming out to me to read so that’s exactly what I’m doing! I have a feeling I’ll be going through this one really fast, even though it’s a little bit longer than my previous reads, but totally worth it! Oh and I have it in audio from through Audible because I love listening to my books when I’m on-the-go! Have you read her books before?
I hope you have an amazing kick start to your weekend!!
Questions for YOU today: (Comment below with your thoughts!)
What is one thing that made you smile this week?
What is on your dinner menu plan for tonight?
Are you an audiobook fan or more of a paperback type of person?
I’m linking up with Running On Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for today’s Friday 5 2.0 linkup! Feel free to join and don’t forget to visit other bloggers to share the love!