what's saving my life (vol. 3)
1) the easiest smoothies in the world: a pre-portioned bag of frozen fruit and kale from Costco blended with one vanilla protein shake from Aldi. each smoothie made this way costs $3.40. obviously, I could make them for cheaper measuring out my own fruit and protein powder with milk, but in this season of life, I wouldn't actually do that. in what may be the world's least shocking outcome, on the mornings I have a smoothie for breakfast, I feel pleasantly satiated and energized without bloating. wahoo!
2) a new carpooling arrangement with one of Greta's basketball teammates. instead of loading up all four kids in the van at 5 pm to get to practice by 5:30, then running errands or hanging out in the car or entertaining the younger three in the gym until practice ends at 7:30 and unloading everybody from the car at 8 to start the bedtime rush, now I just drop off Greta and her friend and come straight home. Greta rides back with her friend and I magically have two more hours in the day! plus, the babies get to bed at a more reasonable time. we've been doing this for about a month and it is such a game changer. at this point, we only have another week of practice anyway.
3) Apple Fitness videos. I've been a longtime subscriber to the Aaptiv audio workouts and I do love them, but my new iPhone came with a free 3-month trial to the Apple Fitness program and I love the video component and bite-sized workouts that can stack together. the only annoying thing about the fitness tracker is that I haven't figured out a way to sync my Garmin watch, so it consistently underestimates my activities throughout the day. I really like the treadmill workouts that incorporate photos from various locations around the world so it sort of feels like you're running through a particular city. I've only done Munich so far, but planning to do the Florence, San Francisco, Zurich, and Rio de Janeiro workouts soon. Pittsburgh is featured as one of the cities too, so I'll do that one for fun one of these days out of curiosity to see what the trainer chooses to highlight!
4) a new rhythm for cleaning and vacuuming out the car. I used to do this in a 30-minute pocket of time between picking the girls up from school and the start of Greta's gymnastics class each week. when the schedule shifted, I never found another regular time to do it, so it only happened when the Car Situation became truly dire. now I've found a car wash just up the street from church, so I can do a quick clean and vacuum while the girls are at their catechism class and be back in plenty of time to pick them up. once it's clean, I'm more motivated to keep it looking clean, i.e. making sure we bring everything in from the car that doesn't need to stay there, and harping on the girls to pick up every bit of trash that ends up on the back seat or floor.
5) the Endow studies. these are Catholic group studies written by various authors, focusing on a particular saint, devotional practice, or papal encyclical (the studies written by Emily Stimpson Chapman are the best!). once or twice a year, my friends and I will work through a study together. we have managed to do two studies in person, which is my preference in a perfect world where all of our schedules align and our husbands are all home at the same time to watch the kids. but alas, this season of life isn't designed that way, so we meet virtually over Facebook messenger and it's just the best. you don't have to do any reading or prep work ahead of time for the study, although there often are ideas for meditation and implementation to carry into the week. we take turns reading each section aloud and then discussing the questions. after each meeting, I feel both calm and invigorated; each study helps me integrate my faith more fully, bridging the gap between the intellectual depth of my college years and the lived experience and slowly-building wisdom of my late thirties.
6) on a much more pedestrian (ha!) note, O'Keefe's Healthy Feet Exfoliating Foot Cream. I've seen this mentioned on various blogs and figured I'd give it a try. it is seriously magic! after just one use, it softens calluses and smoothes the "crispy" edges of my toes (Cece gets credit for that witheringly accurate observation). it's like a pedicure in a tube!
what's saving your life right now? any tried and true breakfast hacks to share? or, even better, something that has been feeding your soul and your mind?
I need that foot cream! The Endow studies look wonderful, I need to make some more friends so I can do that :) My parish has a book study typically each Advent and Lent but I don't always love the book choice, plus reading it beforehand sometimes doesn't happen, so this sounds great. My fave protein shakes are expensive but super easy to grab, so I support your habit.
ReplyDeleteThe foot cream is SO good! just amazing.
DeleteI really cherish the group of friends that does the Endow studies with me. We met years ago at the church where Nick was the music director at the time. We've since moved on to a different parish and don't see each other very often, so I appreciate even more when we get to "see" each other each week for a period of time. We've all invited other friends to join various studies over the years so it's not a fixed group -- we'd LOVE to have you join the next time we do one virtually, if you're interested!
Oooh definitely let me know!! I promise you, I am very shy and might not be great company :)
DeleteI NEED THIS FOOT CREAM. My heels are awful. Aw-ful.
ReplyDeleteLove the smoothie hack - it's brilliant. My current smoothie obsession is incorporating walnuts. I do greek yogurt, one banana, strawberries, some oat milk, protein powder and a heaping 1/4 cup of walnuts and it is SO delicious and SO filling.
I love this list. I give you credit for recognizing 'this season of life'. Not sure I did that successfully back when I was knee deep in diapers and loading kids in the middle of dinner to drive Lad to basketball.
ReplyDeleteSpring is on the way and that will save me, because Coach will grill more. I make a big vat of a protein shake about once a week or once every 5 days. I keep it in the fridge and stir it up in the morning before I pour it. I admit that the mornings when I am out, I feel quite bummed at the inconvenience of having to whip one up. I like my rosary podcast. The podcast suggested a book the other day and I think it was called Fatima Today, or something. I'm thinking about getting a copy of that to add to my Lenten journey. Um, not gonna lie - basketball winding down (after we go to state on Friday! Hello! Such a big deal), should give me a big part of my life back. I will miss parts of it. Just in time to switching up my focus: college choices and spring sports (less exhausting).