Hi there! It’s been a while since I last wrote a Fitness Friday post so I figured it was time. If you didn’t see on Insta, I beat my 5k time on Sunday! I’m still a bit slower than I’d like to be, but I’m feeling confident enough to finally run a 5k race. I’m not going to win, let’s be honest, but I have to start somewhere, right? So I’m going to be doing that in the next few weeks.

I saw this sweatshirt on another blog and I HAD to buy it. You know how obsessed I am with Gilmore Girls, right? I’m constantly quoting the show, much to my husbands dismay and entertainment. I own all seven seasons and watch it all the time. When I spotted this sweat shirt, I had to have it. It wasn’t a question. So, I bought it. I shared a selfie (my first ever, I’m pretty sure) and received a bit of feedback on it, so I figured I’d share the deets with you!

Please excuse my “I’m cleaning the house for another showing” hair do.

We spent a beautiful Saturday in Auburn, (home of the War Eagle and Auburn Tigers) with my younger sister who attends school there. It was a wonderful day. We had an indoor picnic (because of rain) and took pictures with Aubie. We enjoyed time with family and friends and later that afternoon we went on a hike through Chewacla State Park. I love Chewacla. It makes me miss living there. If you didn’t know, Ryan and I love to hike. I love being outdoors and working out, so hiking is like a 2 for 1 deal. This was our first mini hike since Hampton has been born and we really enjoyed it. Of course, Hamp was in tow.

After our hike we got cleaned up and went to Toomer’s drugstore for their famous lemonade and then out to dinner at Little Italy (one of our favorite pizza places). It was a great weekend spent with family and friends. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Of course we couldn’t go hiking without Simon.

We can’t be on rocks without doing a little yoga, duh.

What did you do over the weekend?

You may remember I posted about our bathroom demolition a couple of weeks ago. It is good as new and fully functional again. Thank goodness.

Now, about this buying and selling business. Why has no one warned me that it is miserable trying to sell your house? Holy cow. I’m talking about getting a phone call at 9pm after you’ve had a long day with a teething baby saying “Hi, we want to show your home tomorrow morning between 9 and 10.” Are you serious? I’m talking about loading your car full of your dirty laundry and baby gadgets at 10pm then scrubbing your house clean into the night, leaving your house 15 minutes prior to the appointment only to get a phone call letting you know that the couple cancelled because of the rain. Is this real life? Yes. It has been my life for the last 2 months now. I’m pretty sure the only thing worse than buying a house is selling a house. At least, I hope that’s true.

I love to make these 3 ingredient oatmeal raisin cookies because they are quick, easy and super healthy. I prefer to eat them for breakfast. You can also substitute the raisins for dark chocolate chips for a sweet treat. Each cookie contains around 62 calories.

Smash the bananas up and mix all ingredients together. Roll in balls then slightly flatten. Bake in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. If they are still really mushy, bake for a little longer. Let them cool and enjoy!

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
February 1999, St. Martin’s Griffin

Synopsis from Goodreads: One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial “Brides for Indians” program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man’s world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.


My Thoughts: Buy it. Right now. Holy, wow that was amazing! Okay, first off, I love historical fiction. I also love Indians. I have Cherokee on both side of my family and personally inherited the dark hair, eyes, and olive skin from that ancestry. I love reading about Indians. 


This story captivated me from the first page. The story was incredible. This was a well researched work of fiction although it could have fooled me. I had to keep reminding myself that it was indeed fiction and didn’t really happen. I fell in love with May Dodd and her bravery. Every woman wants to fight among the Indians and brave the wilderness, right? Duh. 


Okay I would give this book 1,000 stars if I could. I feel like everyone should be required to read it. It is an instant favorite of mine and I am forever grateful to my MIL for loaning it to me, although I will definitely be going out to buy my own copy immediately. 


There is really no more to be said other than GO BUY IT NOW. Okay? Thanks.

Hampton is officially 5 months old (Wowza). People are constantly asking me what some of my favorite and most essential baby items are and so I’ve created a list of the things that made our life so much easier.

Mirror – This is a must have. I love the mirror because you can see the baby when you’re driving. You know if he is crying because he spit up or if he is asleep, etc. It is a definite must.

Aden and Anias Swaddle Blankets – I love these. They were by far my favorite blankets and we are still using them (at 5 months). They are great for swaddling but also to cover your baby without using a thick heavy blanket. If your baby is hot natured like mine, that is an important factor. 

Boppy – We use our boppy All. The. Time. I use it when I’m nursing Hampton, feeding him a bottle, reading to him, etc. He is also starting to try to sit up and he loves propping up in the boppy. It’s great to lay your baby in.

Swing – I was very back and forth on whether or not to purchase a swing. All kidding aside, I don’t know how we made it the first month without it. Hampton loves his swing. It is great because you can strap them in while you fold laundry, wash bottles, pee (for the first time all day), eat, and all the other fun mommy things you get to do once your baby arrives. It’s a win/win. They love it, you love it.

Mams Pacifiers – I loved these pacifiers because they were smaller and didn’t look like they were swallowing my child’s face. They are also much cuter. I mean, come on. Those nurser pacis are U-G-L-Y. No offense if you use them, but you know it’s true. 

Baby Gowns – These were great for the first couple of months. I put Hamp in them every night. They make your tired exhausted life so much easier at 3 a.m. when you don’t have to worry about snaps. You just pull it right up, change ’em and done! They also have mittens which are also great so that your baby doesn’t scratch himself in his sleep.

Taggie – We have a taggie that was made by a woman at our church, however this one is similar. I don’t know that we would have made it without taggie. Hampton started teething very early (around 3 months) and he was too little to hold a teething ring or anything for that matter. The taggie was perfect because he could grasp it and chew on it and it kept him very content. We still cannot leave the house without our sacred taggie.

What are some of your favorite baby items?

Do you ever look around you and think, wow, is this really my life? I had that moment Saturday. I’m not going to lie, I felt like superwoman/ the luckiest most blessed mom and wife on the planet. Why? Because. I slept maybe 4 hours total Friday night. Yep. Hampton is waking up every 2 to 3 hours again. He has been for the last month. Anyways. I woke up to this precious face and had some serious snuggle time with my boys. I feel pretty blessed to be their mommy/wife.

I then cleaned the house and did ALL of the laundry Saturday morning. Holy, wow. Then I ran a 5k. My fastest one yet. 35 minutes is a pitiful time, but for me it’s pretty awesome. I’ll take it.

I then cleaned out my car, went to visit my dad, and took Hampton to Toys-R-Us for the First. Time. Ever. Yeah, I did that. He may have left with a few items. Some necessity, some…no, all of our purchases were necessary. Among these items was Frozen! I have been about to die to see this movie. Needless to say, we had a movie night, popcorn included. I may have fallen in love with Olaf. Hampton passed out in the car on the way home. I wore him out. Which if you’re a mom, you know that is a very good thing! Peace.

Helping me clean my car…sort of.

Passed out after we hit Toys-R-Us.

He was pretty excited when I showed him his fave new movie…if you can’t tell.

I even took a bath later that night. That has only happened probably one other time since Hampton was born. I couldn’t believe it.

I do believe this is the first time since his arrival that all the laundry has been done, the house and car (and me) have been clean AND I got in a good workout all in the same day. Yippee! #MyLifeRocks At least it did Saturday…

Serena
by Ron Rash
October, 2008 Ecco

Synopsis from Goodreads: The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband’s life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons’ intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.

Rash’s masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed.

My Thoughts: I wanted to read Serena because the movie is coming out later this year. I love to read the books before seeing the movie and after reading that J-Law is starring in it, I thought, “I definitely need to read this one. ” My book club also chose to read it for this month’s discussion. The book took me by surprise. Although it was a quick read, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. It captivated me and made me want to read till the end, but Serena and Pemberton’s sociopathic tendencies bothered me. It was too much after a while. I wanted to scream, “I get it, let’s move on” about 100 times. I guess it’s a preference thing. I don’t like reading about murder after murder. I wasn’t particularly fond of that creepy eagle, either. The one person I really enjoyed reading about was Rachel. I wish Rash would’ve written more of her into the story. I gave this novel 3 stars.