Y'all, I'm exhausted! Not sure what is about this week, but I'm worn out. I've been crashing hard after getting the kids to bed. I like to catch up on my favorite TV shows after the kids go to bed, but this week it hasn't happened. Like I'm talking it has taken me three times to get all the way through Jane the Virgin because I can't stay awake...Side note- anyone else watch Jane? I'm really bitter that they killed Michael off of the show. I could rant on, but it's Friday, so I'll move right along.

O N E
Patience, Commitment, And Progress
I'd say the past four months, I've really committed myself to getting back on a routine workout schedule and increased my workouts to five to six times a week. I'm definitely starting to to see and feel the results. My arms, thighs, and abdominals are toner and stronger. I'm paying more attention to my posture. I feel better...Pilates will do that to you. I've been combining Yoga into my routine as well...this past week I've made it to three Yoga classes. Yoga has really helped with my flexibility (which has helped with my Pilates practice). I'm feeling a difference when I do exercises such as Tree in Pilates (pictured below). I think the key here is I've noticed so much progress lately from being patient with myself and committing to prioritizing my workouts. Just in case you missed it, I blogged earlier this week about being patient both in fitness and life- read it here and here.

T W O
Spring Fever
We've had a lot of warm weather the past few weeks with highs in the 60s and 70s for part of the week. I feel like it has been a few days of spring mixed with really mild winter weather. Next week, the weather forecast looks just about the same. I'm not really complaining and we did get to enjoy one snow this year.

T H R E E 
bareMinerals Foundation Primer
F O U R 
Essential Oils of the Bible
A few months a go, a friend recommended this book to me- Essential Oils of the Bible. I use essential oils regularly, especially to fight sickness (read here and here), but I'm interested in learning more in general about essential oils and ways to incorporate oils. I just picked this book up from the library, so I really haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I'm looking forward to flipping through it. I thought I'd check it out from the library before I decided to buy it.

F I V E
Valentine's Day Dinner and Treats
I did a lot of cooking and baking for Valentine's Day. I really enjoy baking from scratch, knowing and controlling what goes in our food, and using Organic ingredients as much as possible.

Hubby loves and requested Apple Cinnamon muffins, so I made those- loosely following this recipe. The main difference is I used Organic Unsalted Butter instead of Coconut Oil (his request) and I dipped the muffins in melted butter and cinnamon after pulling them out of the oven.
For Valentine's Dinner, we had: Grilled Chicken, Roasted Broccoli, Brown Rice, and Heart-shaped Biscuits with Honey. Here's the recipe for the biscuits.

 
For dessert, I made Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Glazed Icing with my little assistant. Yes, we did use Sugar, but we used Organic ingredients and no food coloring. Side note- I just really hate the thought of adding food coloring into what I cook. The icing was delicious and the strawberries gave it the perfect color and flavor. I found the recipe for the icing here. The recipe calls for fresh strawberries and lemon zest, but we used frozen strawberries and lime zest (since that's what I had on hand). The cookies are just about gone- if that tells you anything!

Have a great weekend!

I'm all about taking care of yourself and doing things you enjoy to fill yourself up. Making time for yourself on a regular basis to do things you enjoy. Even if it's only 5 to 10 minutes out of the day- you'll feel less stressed and happier. I learned the importance of this during grad school and my time as a school counselor.

In counselor lingo, we call this self-care. Basically, the idea behind a "self-care practice" is to spend regular time (whatever length and schedule fits in your daily life) doing something that you enjoy that relaxes and refuels your mind and body.

My favorite assignment in grad school was to do something each day for self-care for a whole week. So when I was given this assignment, I initially thought this is such a joke...I'm really being told to do this in a graduate level course?! So the joke was on me. Believe it or not, I really struggled with this assignment. But it taught me an important lesson.

My schedule gets filled with so many different things, work, kids, household chores, and the list goes on. If I do not plan on "me time," it does not happen. I need the balance in my life. I need to refuel myself so that I can be the best version of me for others around me. For example, if you are so stressed and fixated about something going on at work, you can't be fully present for your kids. Many people find that exercising helps release the stress, which also decreases the feeling of being burnt out with your job.

I really believe we don't take seriously enough taking care of ourselves. We also can't make "not having enough time" an excuse. I recently heard some statistics that we spend an average of 90 minutes a day on our phone, which adds up to 23 days in a year. That's a lot of time wasted.

Still confused why you need some self-care in your life? Check out this TED Talk. It is such a good reminder of why our emotional health and well-being matters.

So here's how I've been practicing self-care lately:

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Exercising:
So given that I teach Pilates, it's probably no surprise that I like do Pilates, but I enjoy Yoga as well. I would also love to start taking dance classes again.

My current weekly exercise routine looks a little like this:

• 2x a week- Pilates Reformer Workouts (I may use other equipment, but mainly focus on the Reformer,)
• 1x a week- Pilates Wunda Chair and Cadillac Workout, 
• 1-2x a week- Pilates Mat Workout with Standing Arm Series (using small weights),
• 2x a week- Yoga Class,
• And one day of rest thrown in the mix.

T W O
Reading:
I love to read. Some weeks it happens more than others. But I'm a book worm and if I find a book I enjoy, I don't want to put it down. I find reading is a nice escape and I love having a quiet moment for myself to read. Lately, I just finished reading The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth.

T H R E E
Baking:
The past few months I've picked up more on baking. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but I hate how much sugar and processed ingredients are in store-bought desserts and pastries.  So, I've been experimenting with a lot of recipes using healthier substitutions like bananas, yogurt, coconut oil, whole wheat flour and honey.
I seriously make these muffins once a week and eat them for a snack, breakfast, or as a dessert. The recipe is here. This week, along with a few plain banana muffins, I made a few muffins with blueberries, strawberries, and organic dark chocolate chips.


So to wrap it up...Here's some easy steps to take to begin practicing self-care.
Step One:  Choose one activity you enjoy.
Step Two:  Do it for at least 10 minutes a day for a week.
Step Three:  Notice the difference it makes in your day.
Step Four:  Work on increasing the amount of time you practice self-care.