Friday Favorites: What Is Colors of Life?

Whew! I’m late today…don’t worry Kylie already got on to me for it 😉 BUT I’M HERE NOW!!!!!! So in weekly Friday fashion i’m linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci!

I thought today’s FAVORITES would be for those that are newer to the blog. Since 2016 started, I have done a couple posts re-introducing myself. And today I thought i’d re-introduce the blog. Because even my long-time-reading blog friends liked my re-introduction posts! So this is what Colors of Life blog is.

BUT FIRST PAUSE….

…and read this article right here. Actually it’s a blog post (which is why I don’t have a picture) that someone shared on Facebook and I loved it. Like, it’s so much my FAVORITE that I want to print it out and hang it somewhere in my room. It’s perfect for today’s post because it ties in to things i’ll mention later.

Fashion

In all honesty, i’m really not that into fashion and that may be the phase of life i’m in now (although I doubt it) or it may just be me. I don’t post many fashion blogs because usually i’m in my FAVORITE Nike shorts or yoga pants with a t-shirt. And i’m completely happy with it. However, on occasion I will talk about clothes i’m wearing or loving. And when I do…it must be seriously great, or a seriously good deal 😉 With that said, back in November of 2014 I participated in the “November Pin-spired” link-up and that post just happens to be one of my most viewed blog posts to date.

To see other Pin-spired posts, you an click here.
To see other shopping/fashion posts, you can click here.
And when i’m done with certain things in my closet, I post them here.
And to see posts of the online boutique that I work with, click here.

Friends

I talk a lot about my friends. And I try to blog about them when I get to see them. Since we’re all growing up it’s getting harder to see one another, but I do my best to spend as much time with them as I can. Having good friends is so important and my friends mean so much to me. They just make life more fun.

I introduced you to each of them here.
And I blogged about friendships here.
And not only am I talking about my real-life friends, but I have awesome blog friends too…read their guest posts here.

Family

Ahhhhh, yes. “My people”. My family goes beyond my siblings and my parents. I mean, this guy is in as many posts as I can put him in!

My grandpa is the BEST and I am super thankful for him. I’ve got some awesome aunts, uncles, and cousins as well. I truly feel sorry for the people who don’t have good relationships with their families. My family is the most special thing in my life.

To read about grandpa, you can click here.
To read about my siblings and my cousin Reese, you can click here.
To read about our yearly trips to the farm, click here.
And our Christmas fun is all right here.

Fitness

…and with this one comes food too. Health and Fitness is something that has always been a part of my life, but took a spot on the back burner up until a couple of months ago. I explained it a little bit more in my re-introduction post when I talked about my new year’s resolutions. Health and fitness has become a huge passion of mine and I think a lot of it has to do with the struggle of an eating disorder, going to college, and a long battle with my health. This is a journey i’m traveling right now, so expect to see more where these posts came from this 2016! 😉

To read my monthly fitness goals, click here.
To read all health and fitness related posts, click here.
To see my recipes, click here.
To see my fitness routine, click here.

Faith

And most important of all….my faith. Faith is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. I am a Christian, I believe in God, and my faith is my FAVORITE part of my life. It’s something i’m always striving to make better. I think there are a lot of things I probably do right in this area, but a lot of things I know that I do wrong. And I choose to blog about all of it.

To read about my Jesus relationship, click here.
To read about my thoughts on quiet times, click here.
To read all my Jesus-related posts, click here.

Colors of Life

The reason my blog got started. These posts were a way for me to communicate and share with others the things I have gone through, experienced, and attempted to navigate. Not all of them are easy and not all of them are super serious. But they are all part of me and who I am. They are the different colors of my life. And I share them based off of this quote below. I am hoping that through being vulnerable and sharing parts of my life someone can benefit and connect with my blog through them.

Click here to read all of my Colors of Life posts…ranging from topics of depression, to crafting, to being a night owl, and even having a dad in the military!

As always, use my contact page to connect with me. E-mail me, follow me on social media, and let’s become friends! 🙂

So, this is my life. Hence, why I created a lifestyle blog back in 2014. It’s a way for me to share my life and remember everything! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading and following along with me!!! Have a great weekend!

 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! It’s time to talk favorites this morning with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

 

Monday morning I announced that I wanted to host an online Bible study for us blogger friends to participate in. Comment on that post or this one if you’d like to join in. This next week I am going to contact everyone to get it rollin’…it’s going to be my favorite part of the week!

Yesterday morning I asked y’all what type of posts you would like for me to publish. I know sometimes I find articles online and they sound boring and not interesting at all. I don’t want this blog to be boring or uninteresting to you. So tell me what you want to read from me because your questions are my favorite!

The other day I was out shopping (not even for me, it was for Christmas) and I stumbled upon a store I knew carried simplified planners. They’ve never had them in stock when I went in to look at one but I figured what the heck i’ll give it a try! Lo and behold this puppy was the only one in the store….and 70% off…and nothing was wrong with it!!!!! I about died and couldn’t pay for it fast enough. I’m officially all set for 2016 and this is definitely my favorite gift to myself 😉

I made my faaaavvvvvoritteee peanut butter cup protein pie last night and had to practice some serious self control as I wanted to drown myself in the entire thing. If you haven’t made it, DO IT! You can thank me later! And I promise you will 😉 It’s better than my non-foodie-blogger-pics make it look.

This girl is coming home tonight! Whoop! She hasn’t been here since August so i’m sure she’s excited to sleep in her own bed. And we’re excited to see her. I love Thanksgiving for bringing family together. It’s my favorite holiday (remember I switched from 4th of July haha)! Not to mention my school has all week off so HOLLA SLEEP!

Fitness Goals Update – Week 2!

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. I did this every day last week, but this week I only did 3 times! Wahoo! Maybe next week i’ll cut it down to once? I still have issues with this one. Am I hungry because it’s been 4 hours since dinner and I need some fuel? Or am I hungry because I know it’s been 4 hours and I feel like I need something?? I don’t know!!!
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. I still had a lot of leftovers to eat, so I didn’t make anything new on Sunday. This weekend I will! And i’ve definitely been failing at the 21 day fix food groups.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. This week I just ate when I was hungry but tried to be conscious of when it was. Some days I know I ate more than I should have in one sitting, but I just felt like I couldn’t fill up.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. Working out more than that. Check!
5. Cut down on the carbs. From looking in my food journal i’ve noticed lots of larabars or quest bars and lots of my protein shakes. Those add up in carbs along with others that i’m already eating. Less protein bars/protein powder this week!

I’ve realized that last night and the night before I have been feeling very bloated and uncomfortable..usually a norm for me but not lately so this was weird. This week I want to figure out if it’s because i’m eating too much, or the protein powder I used in the peanut butter pie, or what. I just wish I had this fitness thing down already. I feel like i’ve been working on it so long (not just the past two weeks) and it’s not exactly what i’m wanting.

But it’s a new week, so here’s to that. Do something great this weekend! 🙂

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday the 13th!

Today’s just another Friday Favorites with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

Bloglovin’

I’ve said it once before, and i’ll say it again. Bloglovin’ is the BEST. I mean seriously, it lets me know when all of my friends (you all) post so I can keep track of everyone and know whose post i’ve read, and make sure to comment on everyone’s post. Because y’all know comments are my favorite! Follow me so I can follow you back 🙂

NYC

So…me and four of my favorite girls as seen on Meet My Peeps could possibly be going to NYC in January around my birthday. IT’S NOT FOR SURE!!!!! But I wanted to ask those of you who have been…

1. Where do we stay?
2. What do we do?
3. Where do we eat?
4. What airport do we fly into?
5. Do we take a taxi everywhere or get a rental car??

LIKE HELP!

“It’s tradition”

Ry asked me a couple weeks ago if I was going to the volleyball game because my alma mater made it to playoffs. Which YAY. And I asked if he wanted someone to go with him and he said yes, so after class last Thursday we met up with mom and went to the game! This past Tuesday night they played again and when he asked me if we could go again he said “Yeah you are, it’s tradition!” He is just like me and it’s my favorite because that totally sounds like something I would do or say. I love that he thought something as simple as meeting me after class to go watch the volleyball game together is a tradition that we just had to do again. 🙂 #reasonsilovelivingathomestill

This time we stopped for dog food Taco Bell beforehand. Ohhhhh man do I miss my favorite Doritos Locos tacos that I used to get for lunch like, every day in high school.

And that healthy, delicious, non-processed food above leads me to my fourth favorite this week…

an UPDATE from week 1 of my new fitness goals 🙂

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. So the point of this goal was to get me to not eat after 8 when I had already eaten dinner and was just sitting around, likely eating out of boredom. However…I failed at this one this weekend. There were times that I ate dinner around 6-7ish and then went out for the night. By the time it was close to 3ish and I got hungry. I tried to make sure it was relatively healthy stuff. I just tried listening to my body. Working on this one!
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. I did not meal prep this week, but I had a lot of leftover food in my fridge from recipes i’ve already made that i’ve been able to eat off of. One is Shay’s Chicken and Spinach Enchilada Soup. YUM.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. Right now i’m keeping a journal from 11/5-12/5 of what exactly i’m eating and when. Looking through it, it looks like i’m eating close to 2.5-3 hours. Sometimes i’m not hungry in that amount of time and sometimes i’m hungry before. Like I said, i’m just listening to my body. This is probably the most important thing anyways!
   
   This is my mock burrito bowl from Saturday night’s dinner. Shred some lettuce, brown up some beef, toss some tomatoes, beans, cheese, whatever you normally put on your Chipotle and put it in a bowl. Done. Dinner is served. And dinner is good.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. And also looking in my journal, i’ve seen that since last week I worked out every day but 1. There was another day that I got bored during my work-out and stopped. But other than that, i’ve been doing something for at least 30 minutes/day! Also, I thought now would be a good time to sign up for a free week of yoga at a studio near me because I knew I wanted to try hot yoga from Lindsay’s post. IT’S SO AWESOME. More to come on that! 😉
5. Cut down on the carbs. I could probably do better with this goal too. It looks like I haven’t had more than one serving of carbs a day, which is really good! Although for carbs (since i’ve got my gluten free bread) i’ve taken a slice, put avocado on top, scrambled egg whites on top of that with some salsa and breakfast is served! I’m all over this.
   

I like seeing this update because it shows me what to work on this upcoming week. Now I know because I forced myself to go through and notice what i’m doing right and what I can still improve on! Bring it on!

I think i’m just going to keep it short and sweet with those favorites from this week.

Throw your hands in the air if you’re happy it’s Friday! Hope everyone has a fun fall weekend!

Fitness Goals (for Friday Favorites)

My favorites this Friday are going to be a little different.

You know, close to once a month I end up texting Jonathan about his fitness goals and then ask him how I can do it too. I know i’m not overweight by any means, but this is just something I want to do for myself. And for this reason right here…

It’s the truth. I am dying to see that day where I can stand in front of the mirror and be happy with what i’m looking at. Like I said, it’s just something I want to do for me. To prove that I can do it. And not only that, but one of my guilty pleasures is looking through people’s health and fitness posts/pictures/stories…I just get so much joy from people seeing their goals have been reached. And I find it interesting too because you can really learn a lot!

Jonathan and I met in middle school and he still wanted to be my friend through all of my awkward phases. You can’t get rid of those people 😉 Well i’m always texting him about what i’m doing wrong fitness wise, what he’s done that works, what some good pointers are, etc. Jonathan is really into cross-fit and I think if anyone asked him he would say it’s changed his life.

I’m tired of texting him complaining about whatever and i’m sure he’s tired of it too. If I want change, I have to make it happen. I’m young and I need to take care of my body too. On Wednesday, we were texting about fitness goals and we both came to the conclusion that I should write down my fitness goals just like I do my monthly goals and make it a blog post. So starting yesterday, 11/5/15 these are the 5 goals I want to accomplish in one month. On 12/5/15 (well that’s Saturday so actually 12/4/15) I am going to re-post these goals with my progress. And what i’ve learned through the process.

1. No eating after 8:00 p.m. I have been trying to follow this goal for a while now, but sometimes it’s not always easy depending on what I have going on that day. Like Wednesdays, I volunteer right in the middle of dinner time. So what do I do? I researched this yesterday and studies have shown that it’s not necessarily eating late at night as much as it is what those people are eating that late. If it’s not an every day thing I don’t think it’s a huge issue.
2. Meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead following the 21 day fix plan. The 21 day fix has a set amount of each food group to eat in a day depending upon your calorie intake. I want to really focus on that and divide out the right amount of fruits, veggies, proteins, and carbs in a day.
3. Eat 5 small meals without snacking in between those. Every 2.5 to 3 hours I need to fuel my body with some type of food (including eating breakfast!!). What I mean by no snacking in between is not eating right after I finish a meal. Maybe a meal is a snack (like a Quest Bar or LaraBar or some yogurt), but I have a tendency to eat right after breakfast if I still feel hungry when i’m really probably not.
4. Work-out 5 days a week. I go back and forth with this one. I want to work out to get toned, but I don’t want to gain a ton of muscle because I don’t want my legs getting huge and making my pants tight. You know what I mean? But I think switching up my workouts and using light weights will be okay.
5. Cut down on the carbs. To be honest, I don’t eat many carbs as it is because of my gluten issue. But sometimes I make a loaf of homemade bread, or some pancakes, or i’ll eat some cookie dough, etc. I eat a ton of fruits, but it is high in sugar. I just need to be mindful about what i’m putting into my body in a given day. This is why i’m saying don’t cut them out, just cut back on my intake.

I know it takes longer than a month to really get/see changes, but if I set the goal for 3 months out (which i’ve done for a 12 week program) it just seems so far away that I lose interest. I think a month is very attainable.

Wish me luck!!! Ha, just kidding. Have a great weekend!

And don’t forget to link-up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci fellow bloggers 🙂

Friday Favorites: An Average Week

Happy Friday Favorites day, friends!! Link up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci this morning’. I’m playing Pollyanna’s glad game again this week. And, i’ve got a new little graphic for this month 🙂

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloweenie! On Friday, I wore my scary costume to class. Booooo longhorns! And after hanging out most of the morning I ended up working the night shift. I was so glad that I was able to leave early to hand out some candy to kiddos in my neighborhood. I felt like their favorite person in the world!

Cold weather.

Halloween was the first official cold day around here. And to celebrate how happy I am that it’s finally chilling out in this area, I took a bubble bath after work in the morning and made some hot chocolate. Welcome, November. I’m so glad you’re here!!!

Dog-sitting.

I was dog-sitting/house-sitting all weekend and on Sunday morning in the super windy and cold weather Ryan and I took Daisy on a walk. She was so excited, but then her nose started running so we brought her back inside. It was some quality time with my brother and we were both glad we could do that because we’ve never had a dog before. *GASP!*

And a special treat for you, check out this hair. Someone enjoyed that extra hour of daylight savings time!!!

 

#nannylife

So one of the many perks of being a nanny is this sight. My siblings and I are all too old to go trick or treating so we only have the left-overs that weren’t passed out to take for ourselves. Between the three of the nanny kids, they have 6 buckets of candy (one outside the pantry) and this random pile sitting on the dining room table. I’m so glad I went to nanny heaven. And they must be darn pros at trick-or-treating because when my siblings and I usually went it was not THIS excessive.

Quotes.

I’ll have to admit, i’m a huge sucker for anything with quotes. I think just finding inspiration that can make you think differently. I also like seeing them again and again because they get stuck in my head. I also think you can tell a lot about a person by quotes they have around their house (if they have any). I came across this the other day and just loved everything about it. everything. I really think you’ll be glad you did 🙂

Errand day.

This was deemed errand day, where I got to run all of our town doing all sorts of things (mostly for mom). I gladly accepted the challenge and put on these “sassy pants” for it. I wore a pair of pants similar to this one night out in Norman and so many girls came up to me talking about how crazy my pants were. There, the “sassy pants” were born. I’ll show you those some other time.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Mark NEXT FRIDAY (November 14th) on your calendars, ladies! I am hosting an online trunk show. You should definitely RSVP so I know you’ll “be there”/participating!! I’m so pumped about this and can’t wait to tell y’all more.

Get your wish lists going now, so come 7:00 am NEXT FRIDAY with your cup of coffee, you could potentially take advantage of this offer below…..

Glad you stopped by today. Get those Stella and Dot wish lists going, enjoy some candy and hot chocolate this weekend, read some good ol’ quotes. Enjoy yourselves! See you back here Monday ❤

Friday Favorites: Busy Fall Week

Another Friday, another favorites post! Let’s get to it with Andrea, Erika, and Narci!

 

Volleyball and the Aristocats.

 

Friday night I had off work, which just makes me glad in the first place, but I also babysat my brothers that night as well. Rick wanted to go to the volleyball game, and I didn’t hesitate to take him one bit. I played volleyball all through middle school and high school. PEOPLE I MISS THIS SPORT. And just being there Friday really proved how much I miss it. I caught myself jumping to dig the ball a couple times in my seat in the sands. My alma mater won, and I saw many people I knew.

Later that night we had big storms roll in around 9pm. Real big…I was in the shower and the power went out kinda thing. Ryan is scared of the dark, and haunted houses, and all that haha so when I walked into my room I saw him cuddled up in my bed. He asked if he could sleep in my bed with me and we could watch the Aristocats. Childhood throwback! How can you say no to that??? I love my brother.

OU/Texas day!!!

 

If you follow me on Instagram @mollymiddleton01 you saw me post this picture. Saturday was the OU/Texas game and i’m so glad WE BEAT TEXAS!!! After the game I went outside on my patio to study, ’cause hello fall weather. It was 60 degrees and I was in my element. I had my scarf , fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, and my #1 up!

Study day.

After daddy/daughter golfing Sunday morning, we stopped by Starbucks and I tried an Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte with Soy. The first sip I had I was like what in the world? but then I took another sip, and another, and it was delicious!! I’m not one for hot coffee so i’m totally in love with this drink for the fall season. When we came home I sat and studied with my IPSL and a candle lit on the counter.
I took a break to do some closet organizing (oh yeah!) and then walked around my entire neighborhood with my notebook and did some more studying. It was so perfect, because I was studying and exercising and the weather was to die for.

#nannylife

I went to nanny on Monday in a scarf, jacket, AND leggings because it was cold. Eeeek!! For the third time in just this post…i’m so glad my kind of weather is back. The kiddos had school off Monday, so I went over earlier than usual. Collin and I played soccer in the little yard next to their house for a bit. Then, I took him to soccer practice. Little one loves his soccer!

I love getting mail.

Look what came in the mail for me on Tuesday!!!! My Stella and Dot Elephant Wishing Bracelet is the perfect new addition to my fall arm party. Click HERE to shop all the other New Arrivals including the elephant, horseshoe, and arrow wishing bracelets. See something else in there that i’ve talked about before?? Yep, the arrow bracelet was given to me by one of my girls and makes the perfect gift that the recipient will be so glad to receive.

Cram sesh.

Oh, wednesday, how you tease me. It’s just the middle of the week and you’re usually either happy the weekend is almost here or you’re like ah only halfway through the work week! But after a nice little kickball game with my nanny kiddos, I was sweaty (um, what happened fall weather?) and when I got home needed to bathe, obviously. I decided instead of showering I just wanted to soak in a bubble bath with my aromatherapy because I knew I had a long night ahead of me. And I did, I had my government final Thursday morning and I stuuudddieeeddd forever!!!!! Need. Sleep.

High school homecoming.

Can we just talk about how cute my siblings are???? I love my brother and sister even though some days we all just want to pull each other’s hair out. It’s Morgan’s senior homecoming *sniffle* i’ll miss her next year. For those of you who don’t know, Texas peeps are HUGE football fans. Homecoming is a big thing. We make mums, which is actually kind of ridiculous but also a fun tradition. Girls make garter’s for the boys and boys make mums for the girls. Rick doesn’t have one because he’s the cool freshman who doesn’t need a date. *Rolling eyes right now* but Morgan is wearing a mum that mom made her because she wants to fly solo for her senior hoco. Here’s a close-up for those of you curious as to what mums are.

And as an added bonus while i’m getting all sentimental over here. LOOK AT US! Baby freshman Morgan, and baby senior Molly after we got our mums.

 

Have a fun-filled, wonderful weekend y’all.

ps. in honor of the Maze Runner being in theaters, I found The Maze Runner Seriesbooks
and just for my mama check out this book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Heroes Are My Weakness

Friday Favorites

 

 The glad game is totally living on this week!!! If you’ve missed any of my recent friday favorites, check out last weeks post HERE and the week before (when the glad game started) HERE!

So here we go for another fun week with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

 

 

 

:Spending the day with mom shopping, giggling, and annoying each other.

Sometimes it’s just plain ol’ fun to hang out with your mom. At least for me it is. We see each other a lot…obviously…we live together, but it’s just fun to spend the day together. #momtimeisthebesttime

: Having friends to wake up ridiculously early with.

 

These chicks and I woke up ridiculously early saturday morning (which you can read about here) to run slowly walk in the Susan G. Komen race for the cure together. We got there super early and got tons of free stuff. Winning! Free! And afterwards we went to iHop and they made fun of my food allergies cause I couldn’t get a fat stack of pancakes. Nothin’ out of the ordinary. But seriously, there’s nothing like sweet friends.

: Oktoberfest.

 

While saturday was friend day, sunday was family day, also under my weekend recap. While we were at Morgan’s soccer game, I was on the internet and came across Oktoberfest. It was in a town not too far away from us and we had never been before. I told my mom we should go. I then told dad there would be German food and that’s all I had to say to get him there. It was just fun to do something we hadn’t done before together.

: These booties.

 

I’m glad to have these booties in my life. Booties you make me happy. I posted about booties and bluejeans on wednesday’s Pin-Spired link party with Shay, Sheaffer, and Mel. You should totally check it out if you haven’t. These booties are clouds on my feet, they were so comfortable and I accidentally walked around in the store Monday with them on, because I forgot they weren’t my real shoes. I just love this color because it will go with everything… i’m glad I found you, booties.

: Fall decoration.

 

We finally have our fall decoration up again. This is just our dining room table. My mom did it one morning while we were all gone and it was so cute to come home to.

See. Mom is so creative and crafty, and I love what she does with our house. (Yes…that’s a tube tv in the background of that rooster, we keep it old school around here!!) Hahaha

: Trader Joe’s pumpkin central.

 

Because have you ever seen such a beautiful sight?!?! My beloved Trader Joe’s has a PUMPKIN CENTRAL! They had croutons, crackers, pop tarts, cereal, bread mix, treats, everything pumpkin. We ended up with some of it but this just makes my heart smile. I love me some fall, y’all! Welcome to Texas!! *insert southern accent*

: Rainy days.

 

This is such a dreary looking picture. But I just love rainy days even though I had to go to work last night in this nonsense. I don’t know what it is, I guess I just feel like I need to cozy up with some tea and listen to the rain fall and read a book. Besides the fact that the good lawd knows we need some rain in this dry state! Texas weather for y’all. It was sunny and hot all morning, and all of a sudden around 4:00 it got dark and POURED. Weird.

Happy weekending! Can’t wait to see all your favorites! Is anyone doing something awesome this weekend?!

Friday Favorites

If you’ve ever watched Pollyanna you remember her playing the “glad game”. This movie is particularly special to me because my dad and I watched it alllllll the time when I was little. It’s a good little message and brings good memories. And he calls me Pollyanna. So, my new thing is finding something to be glad about in every day, so my favorites are going to be a my favorite thing about each day every week! I’m totally excited about this idea.

Link up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci!!!

: Running in the rain.

 Last Friday night I decided to do my run for the week, because I had the night off work. My dad and I were going to watch our show together while the other kids were at the football game. I went on a run beforehand and I had to capture the fact that I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and some yoga capris with my favorite ASICS Women’s GEL-Noosa Tri 9 Running Shoe!!!! It was 60 degrees and raining, perfect running weather for me. Loved. It.

: Date night with dad.

One of our old neighbors had a set of twins when I was eh, maybe 8. I don’t really remember. They moved away and then came back. My dad has kept in touch with them because their dad and mine both went to the same Military college in South Carolina. Anyways, so his kids’ b’nai Mitzvah was on Saturday and because my mom was gone, I got to fill in as his date. And this was the best picture I got, and it’s dark because this was during the dancing part. Arg.

: Church and lunch with dad & siblings.

Sunday we decided to get to Church, which I was so excited because this was one of my September goals! Don’t mind Rick, he hates pictures. But after Church we went to Applebee’s for some lunch, which consisted of wings and soup. Yep, total Middleton meal!

: Ryan’s foot.

 

Monday I took Ryan to the doctor in place of my mom where he got his cast taken off (he fractured some bone by a muscle near a tendon next to the ankle….I really don’t know medical terminology) and got this boot on for the next two weeks. Next week he can start applying pressure to this and i’m glad that nothing else was wrong and he is healing.

: Mom comes home.

 

“Molly, what is this mess you left me?” I’m kidding, she was mid-sentence to Ryan when I snapped this. I’m so thankful my mom is home now, because I get to be a normal college student again and not have to worry about dishes and laundry! Thank you, mom!

: Nannying and peanut butter.

 

Wednesday is one of my nannying days. So, we hang out for a little bit while they get a snack before it’s time for homework. You know, nothing beats hanging out on the fireplace with a spoonful of peanut butter. #bestnannyever #i’dhireme #forgivemyiphone4camera

: Accepted!

I finally got my acceptance letter to the Unversity of Texas at Dallas. Eeeks, y’all! I could not be more excited because it stands for my life finally being back on track. I have a plan (i’m a total planner) and I know where I will be spending the majority of my time the next couple of years!

That’s it for this week, have a fun-filled, happy weekend!!!

Friday Favorites

How is it that Fridays are suppose to be the relaxing beginning of the weekend and I run around like a mad-woman??? Anyways, now that I have a little free time I am linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites!

FAVORITE ONE: Seeing this pretty sunset the other night on my run was so calming. It just reminded me of our wonderful Creator of sunsets. Please know I am not a photographer and know how to take it at cute angles haha but it was so pretty!!

FAVORITE TWO: Monopoly. Monday/Wednesdays are my days to nanny after school. I pick up the kiddos at the bus stop and then we come home and do homework. They aren’t allowed to have electronics during the week, so we have to find another source of entertainment for the ones that don’t have sports that day. Our favorite thing has become monopoly playing. We had a continuing game all last week. My sister goes on Tuesday/Thursday so her and I switched players.

FAVORITE THREE: Y’all might recognize daisy. Ryan went with me to check on her one day and she just LOVED him. She wanted to dance with him and hold his hand. And he equally adored her. Ry needs a puppy!

FAVORITE FOUR: New books coming out! My momma’s favorite author is Susan Elizabeth Phillips and her latest book came out at the end of August. Heroes Are My Weakness is going to be a great read and I can’t wait to read it after my mom does (she gets first dibs)

FAVORITE FIVE: A big ol’ cup of coffee. TGFC. Thank goodness for coffee. Before I became a coffee drinker I had no idea what I was missing. I think more than just the taste itself I like having my cup next to me while i’m working in the morning.

I love this link-up. Our favorite things keep us going. Share yours with these ladies!

Friday Favorites!

It’s time for another Friday Favorites with Erika, Narci, and Andrea. I’ve enjoyed these past two weeks of Friday Favorites!

Favorite #1: My New Cookbook

This came in the mail when I got home from vacation, and being the foodie I am I spent part of the weekend going through the recipes and figuring out which ones I want to make. You can see my stickies in there already. The recipes from my monthly goals post yesterday are definitely coming from this book. Delicious gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free Paleo cooking.

For those of you participating in this diet, purchase this book for yourself. I found you Against All Grain for less than $20. That’s pretty awesome and so worth it!

Favorite #2: The ability to work out

 

Often times I get so caught up in life I forget to just be thankful for the ability to work out. Having two legs that work, money to buy running shoes, and a beautiful neighborhood to run in are things I take for granted. It’s time I thank Jesus for giving me these simple things in life that bring me joy.

Favorite #3: A mom to bake with

This week my mom and I made a fresh peach pie out of scratch. Everyone came to my grandpa’s for the weekend. We found a local stand with peaches so we bought a box and made some pie. It was gone within the day. It was really suppose to be my pie but I needed some help with it 🙂

Favorite #4: Puppy

How sweet is this face????? This is ONE of the puppies from my Aunt and Uncle’s dog farm. Check it out here. These are the sweetest dogs and oh so much fun to play with.

That’s it for this week! Happy Weekend!!