I was really sad to see the Tone It Up Love Your Body series come to an end. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to do it again next year. It helped me lose 13 pounds and several inches. I’m only 2 pounds away from my pre-baby weight and I’m so excited/proud of that.

My ultimate goal is to lose 10 more pounds. I figure if I’ve done this well in 6 weeks, why not keep it going? I’ve been eating a lot healthier and I feel so much better and stronger. I’ve gained a lot of my confidence back which is an awesome feeling. I definitely feel back to myself. Funny thing is, I’m actually starting to enjoy my morning runs. I have always hated running but it is quickly becoming my favorite part of the day. I really want to run my first 5k this year! I would love to do it sooner rather than later but I need to work on my time a little more so I don’t embarrass myself.

I’m looking forward to participating in the Bikini Series coming up in a couple more weeks. Please join me in it and join the Tone it up community! You won’t regret it!

Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani
Random House Publishing Group
July, 2003


Synopsis from Goodreads: Milk Glass Moon, the third book in Adriana Trigiani’s bestselling Big Stone Gap series, continues the life story of Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney as she faces the challenges and changes of motherhood with her trademark humor and honesty. With twists as plentiful as those found on the holler roads of southwest Virginia, this story takes turns that will surprise and enthrall the reader.

Transporting us from Ave Maria’s home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Italian Alps, from New York City to the Tuscan countryside, Milk Glass Moon is the story of a shifting mother-daughter relationship, of a daughter’s first love and a mother’s heartbreak, of an enduring marriage that contains its own ongoing challenges, and of a community faced with seismic change.

All of Trigiani’s beloved characters are back: Jack Mac, Ave Maria’s true love, who is willing to gamble security for the unknown; her best friend and confidant, bandleader Theodore Tip-ton, who begins a new life in New York City; librarian and sexpert Iva Lou Wade Makin, who faces a life-or-death crisis. Meanwhile, surprises emerge in the blossoming of crusty cashier Fleeta Mullins, the maturing of mountain girl turned savvy businesswoman Pearl Grimes, and the return of Pete Rutledge, the handsome stranger who turned Ave Maria’s world upside down in Big Cherry Holler. 

In this rollicking hayride of upheaval and change, Ave Maria is led to places she never dreamed she would go, and to people who enter her life and rock its foundation. As Ave Maria reaches into the past to find answers to the present, readers will stay with her every step of the way, rooting for the onetime town spinster who embraced love and made a family. Milk Glass Moon is about the power of love and its abiding truth, and captures Trigiani at her most lyrical and heartfelt.

My Thoughts: I loved this one! It’s almost like this series gets better and better by the book. Etta is growing up and I love learning more about her character and getting a glimpse at her adulthood. This story takes us back to Italy twice. It also reveals a healed relationship between Jack and Ave Maria. All of the characters are back and there is never a dull moment. This novel is filled with loss, marriage, illness, healing, friendships and love. I can’t wait to read the final book in this series but I am going to miss these characters so much. It reminds me of the town of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. I gave this book 5 stars.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
Riverhead, 2012


Synopsis from Goodreads: Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.
 
For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
 
Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,’30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers,  and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them

My Thoughts: Normally I love books that take place in the 1920s. This was an exception. There were parts of the story I loved and parts I hated. I felt like Moriarty was trying too hard to pack in as much (unnecessary) drama as she could. It was just too much and made it hard to enjoy the story. There was too much going on. I also felt that the story was going at a steady pace and then rushed at the end to hurry and finish the book. I gave this one 3 stars.

Mornings with my little bubby are so priceless to me. It is my favorite time of day. He is so happy and loves to play while I drink my coffee and make out my schedule/lists for the day.

My sweet bloggy friend, Sarah from Whimsical Minutes has recently opened an Etsy shop called Wake Me Up Designs. She sells coffee mugs that can be personalized and has recently started adding other products to her shop. Right now she has this adorable “Mommy’s Coffee Date” tee-shirt and also has a matching mug! When I saw the tee-shirt, this coffee obsessed mommy had to have it for Hamp. She is going to add more shirt designs for babies and toddlers soon. Sarah also made me this personalized tee-pee mug that I absolutely adore! It made our morning a little more special.

Sarah is offering my readers a discount to her shop by using this code: sscblove


Follow Wake Me Up Designs on Instagram @wakemeupdegins and don’t forget to favorite her shop on etsy!

I had a pretty exciting week. Not only did I lose another pound, I can officially fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans!! I tried them on Monday morning and they fit! It was a huge milestone. Hampton turned 3 months on the 24th, and 4 months is the goal I had marked in my head to lose all of this weight. I am really excited to have made it this far! 8 pounds to go in less than 1 month. Can I do it (fingers crossed)? The Tone it up challenge has definitely helped me achieve my weight loss and helped me tone up a good bit in the last month. Most importantly, I feel so much better. I feel stronger and have so much more energy. It makes me excited and I actually look forward to the workouts every day.

Because of our snow days, I wasn’t able to make it to the gym (roads closed) and so I did Zumba several times this week. Zumba is awesome and you can burn a ton of calories doing it. I am definitely looking forward to getting back on my running schedule.

As far as nutrition, I am still trying to eat more fruits and vegetables than anything else. I’m not really dieting, just trying to eat healthier in general. I’m also still mostly drinking water (and coffee of course).

How was your fitness this week? Any nutrition tips you want to share?

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen the fun my family had in the snow! It’s not every day that it snows in Alabama. It’s a pretty big deal. Unfortunately because it never snows here, we do not have proper equipment and plans on how to deal with all of the ice and snow. There are a lot of families who were separated overnight due to this winter storm and people stranded on the interstate. I know several people who had to ditch their cars and walk home from work yesterday and others who had to leave their children overnight at their schools. There are also countless stories of people helping each other which always restores my faith in humanity. Luckily, my family was safe at home and got to enjoy the 2 snow days that we were blessed with. I hope all of you were able to stay safe and warm at home with your loved ones.

Happy Fitness Friday!! How are you doing with your fitness goals this month? You haven’t given up on those NYRs yet, have you? I sure haven’t!

I discovered an amazing website a couple of weeks ago. Tone it up is a fitness/nutrition program that gives you challenges and goals every week. Right now they are hosting the Love Your Body challenge. You must complete 100 miles by Valentines Day and they also have workouts for you to do every day to help you tone up.

I am loving this program so much. It is fun and exciting and the best part is there is a whole community of women who encourage you to reach your goals along the way. I started a week late so I’m a bit behind on my miles, but as of yesterday, I’ve completed 38.8 miles in just two weeks! That is pretty awesome for me! Not to mention the workouts on top of that. I have also lost 3 pounds! I only have 9 more to go but I still have a lot of toning to do to get back to where I was before the pregnancy. I am very proud of the progress I’ve made so far and can’t wait to continue to see results.

You can follow my fitness journey on Instagram where I’ll be checking in daily. Did I mention they give out all kinds of fun prizes and workout gear to people who check in regularly? They sure do! I highly recommend you join this FREE program! It is so much fun and I probably would have accomplished everything I have if I had not joined.

Happy Friday, y’all!!