Friday 23 June 2017

High Five For Friday- 23.6.17

Hello everyone!  I am happy it is finally Friday!  It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to some R&R this weekend.  I am linking up with TifDellaKatie, and Becky for High Five For Friday.

1.)  Last week I was dealing with some brutal migraines and nausea.  Hubby really swept in and took care of everything.  I am thankful that he does those things for me because I really wasn't functioning.

2.)  On Saturday, I was feeling a bit better so Miss. E and I ventured out to a birthday party.  We had a lot of fun!

3.)  On Sunday we had a BBQ for father's day.  Hubby is such a wonderful Dad and we are so lucky to have him!  We then went to my Mom and Dad's for dessert.  We had a wonderful time!

4.)  This week was crazy at work and I worked late most nights.  It was all went well, but it was busy!  We really made a point to enjoy our evenings outside and Miss.E really had a lot of fun.

5.)  We had a wicked storm on Tuesday and thankfully we didn't have any damage.  It came quick with high winds and caused damage for a lot of people.  No one was hurt, which is the most important thing!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday 22 June 2017

Summer Reading

In the last year, I have really changed what I like to read.  Up until this point I almost exclusively read fiction.  I like murder mysteries (but only the corny ones) and romance novels (I stick to Christian versions).  Recently, however, I have discovered the wealth of knowledge that is available through non-fiction books.  I now almost exclusively read non-fiction.  I love learning about different people's ideas and experiences.



My favourite books help me move forward in my journey to minimalism.  I like being challenged by this books and I appreciate the constant inspiration that they provide.  Everyone does minimalism a little differently so it is beneficial to learn about several views.  I then can use what works (or might work) for my family and let go of the rest.  I am currently reading The More of Less by Joshua Becker.  I appreciate his view of minimalism as he is a husband and father whose family dynamic looks similar to my own.  I also have Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus on my shelf waiting to be read.  "The Minimalists", as the authors refer to themselves, have a more extreme view of minimalism, but it is one that I enjoy learning about.

This year I have also embarked on a journey to better self-care and food is a large part of that.  I completed a Whole 30 in April and I have been interested in the power of food since that experience.  I have The Whole30 Cookbook by Melissa Hartwig and Whole New You by Tia Mowry (who remembers Sister Sister?) on my bookshelf.  I look forward to incorporating healthy and delicious meals into my life, thereby enhancing how I feel.

My friend recommended the author Brene Brown to me so I added 2 of her books to my 'to-read' list: The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly.  Brene Brown's work has heavily influenced my friend's parenting style and the way she approaches relationships in her life.  I am eager to learn more when I read the books.

I also have a fun (still non-fiction) book on my to-read list.  I am looking forward to diving into The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines.  I love watching this couple on T.V. .  They always interact with love and respect and I admire their marriage.  I am excited to learn more about them!

All the links in this post will take you to Amazon.  I am not being compensated in any way shape or form for these links.  It is just the easiest way to give you the most information about the books.  I have borrowed these books through my local library, as I am on my no-spend year.

What are you reading this summer?  Any book recommendations?




Wednesday 14 June 2017

2017 Summer To Do List

Eeeeek!  I love summer.  Winters seem to drag on where I live so I try to get the most out of the warmer weather when it arrives.  I have compiled a list of things we want to do over the summer and I am going to share them with you.



1.)  Celebrate Canada at my parent's cabin.  Canada turns 150 years old this year and we are going all out to celebrate!  Our family even has matching t-shirts for the occasion.  I am so excited!

2.)  Head out for a family camping weekend with Hubby's family.  We go camping with Hubby's family every year and this year is no different.  It is always fun!

3.)  Spend time at the cabin.  We want to spend time up at the lake.  We love the slower pace at the cabin and we always feel refreshed after a visit.

4.)  Plant raspberries in our new yard.  We grew raspberries at our last home and we absolutely loved them.  We want to plant again this year so we can enjoy the berries again!

5.)  Spend time at the local pool.  The local pool is wonderful and we want to utilize it this year.

6.)  Try canoeing with Miss. E.  Hubby and I enjoy canoeing and we want to try taking Miss. E out with us this year.

7.)  Hit up a local fair.  The mini doughnuts are enough to make me want to go!

8.)  Do some play dates at the local lakes.

9.)  Host a few play dates in our back yard.

10.)  Build a fairy garden with Miss. E.

11.)  See Wonder Woman.

12.)  Try out a splash park.

13.)  Sleep in a tent.  Honestly, I am the hold out on this idea.  Both Hubby and Miss. E are looking forward to it.

14.)  Go for family bike rides.

15.)  Build sandcastles.

16.)  Do swimming lessons with Miss. E.

17.)  Run through the sprinkler.

18.)  Go on our family camping trip.

19.)  Take care of my garden.

20.)  Have a few campfires in the back yard.


What are your summer to-dos?  I would love to hear about them!

Friday 9 June 2017

High Five For Friday- 09.06.17

Hello friends!  It has been a good, productive week over here!  I was happy to get some work done.  I am linking up with TifDellaKatie, and Becky for High Five For Friday.

1.)  Last weekend was pretty good.  Miss. E perked up Friday afternoon.  We went to the city on Saturday and did some grocery shopping (I was all out of laundry soap after that stomach bug!).  On Sunday, we hit the local pool for the first time this season.  Miss. E took some warming up but she had a lot of fun!  Sunday evening we had supper with my family and we got to hang out with my younger brother.  It was a really nice day!

2.)  Hubby and Miss. E surprised me with a new hat and 2 magazines over the weekend.  It was very sweet and unexpected.  I love my new hat and I am now ready for CFL football.  Go Eskies!



3.)  I have stuck to my 30 day fitness challenge so far this month.  It has been really motivating and has kept me active this month.  I am glad I am doing it!



4.)  I pulled out my old copy of The Paper Bag Princess and read it to Miss. E this week.  She loved it!  Especially since both she and the princess are named Elizabeth.  (Something that I had completely forgotten about until we read the book!)


5.)  I had a super productive day on Thursday.  I didn't have work so I cleaned the house, baked muffins, did some meal prep, caught up laundry and took an inventory of our freezer.  We have a deep freezer in the basement so sometimes I forget what I have.  The inventory surprised me at how much we have and I was glad that I did it.  I reorganized the freezer while I worked and it looks so much better!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Wednesday 7 June 2017

May- Goals and the No Spend Year

May wasn't a great month, goal-wise.  I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to but there is always June!

Goal #1- Complete a No-Spend Year. 

This really wasn't difficult and I successfully completed another month!

Goal #2-  Establish a self-care routine. 

This has been my best goal this year.  I have really done well to discover what I need in order to take care of myself.  I hope to continue along this path because I find it has really helped me feel much more balanced.

Goal #3-  Say yes to family time.  

This goal has become easier as the year progresses.  I have learned to set boundaries and guard our family time.  We have had some fun experiences with just the 3 of us and we look forward to more!

Goal #4-  Start school in September.  

I have completed all that I can for this goal at this time.

Goal #5-  Learn more about traditional prayers and incorporate them into my prayer life.

I did well at this goal.  I have been using the more traditional prayers of my faith in my prayer life and it is going well.  I am happy that I have new ways to connect to God through these prayers.

Goal #6-  Establish a routine for the blog and stick to the blog's vision. 

I was worse at posting in May than I was in April!  Yikes!  However, I did purchase my own domain for my blog which got me really excited!  I have also sat down and worked out a blogging schedule that I will do my best to stick to.  I have actually put the blogging time onto our shared family calendar so that the time is carved out and mine.  It has worked well in the last week or so.  

How are your goals going?  Have you been able to stick to your resolutions?


Friday 2 June 2017

High Five For Friday- 02.06.17

Happy Friday, everyone!  Normally, I would be pumped for the end of the week, but Miss. E has a stomach bug.  Poor kiddo.  We had a very busy last weekend and I am excited to share the highlights with you.  I am linking up with Tif (Bright on a Budget)Katie (Cup of Tea)Della (Della Devoted), and Becky (By BMG).

1.)  Miss. E is 3!  We had a fun birthday party last Saturday for Miss. E.  We did a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.  Miss. E loved playing with all her friends and she liked her cake.



2.)  Hubby' family came up for the birthday and we got to see all of his brothers, including a brother that we haven't seen in a year.  It was nice to see his brothers and visit.  My brother also made it to the party.  I always love seeing him.

3.)  I had a disappointing day at work the other day, when it seemed that I would not be getting the vacation time off that I had requested.  Fortunately, when I discussed the issue with my manager we were able to work something out so that I could take the time off to do swimming lessons with Miss. E.

4.)  Miss. E got sick Wednesday evening.  Hubby has been great for making supper, doing dishes, going on grocery runs and helping me out so that I can focus on taking care of our daughter.  I appreciate the team effort, especially when our little one is so sick.

5.)  Yesterday kicked off my Peaceful Simple Fitness Challenge.  I am committing to being active every single day in June in an effort to get myself moving more.  You can read more about it here.  I will be posting to Instagram every day.  My handle is @peacefulsimplelifeblog and you can join in using #peacefulsimplefitness.

This is what I look like after working out with very little sleep.  Not the kick-off I planned, but at least it's done!


I hope you all have a lovely weekend!