What I am Loving Wednesday!

Hi friends!!

Happy Wednesday!!

How is your week going so far??

We are having a MUCH better week than we did last week! THANK GOODNESS. 

The highlight of our week so far- and I have a feeling it's not going to be topped- is that my oldest brother and his wife had their first baby on Monday!!!! That makes TEN grandkids on my side of the family! My brother and his wife did NOT have an easy journey growing their family and their precious son is such a MIRACLE. And a HUGE ray of LIGHT for our family in the midst of mourning the loss of our father.  So YAY for a brand new fresh happy healthy BABY BOY!

Okay...let's jump right into some things I have been loving lately!!

ON THE EXERCISE FRONT

After being sick last week and not working out for a couple of days- I have to tell you it feels SO good to be back to exercising/working out/moving my body. 

Whatever you want to call it- I am HAPPY to be back to doing it.

The last few months, I have realized that I actually have stopped working out for weight loss purposes and am solely doing it because it is something that is SO important for my overall well being. And coming to that realization has really taken a lot of pressure off of me feeling like I HAVE to get in a certain amount of miles or I HAVE to get in at least 2 days of strength training or any other "type" of workout for that matter.

 I wake up every day and right before I get to the gym or head outside (if I am working out at home), I decide what would feel good to do. Some days that is running sprints on the treadmill, some days that is power walking while pushing Marshall in the stroller. And somedays I just start running and take it from there. 

I have come to such a DEEP appreciation of my body and my health- and really- what exercising is to me is a GIFT.

It feels GOOD to feel GOOD!

LISTENING TO LATELY

I just added a few new songs to my Ipod shuffle and "Reason," by Unspoken is on MAJOR repeat. It's SO good!!! If you haven't heard this song yet- GO LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOW!!!

You can find it HERE on Youtube!

IN THE KITCHEN

I recently started following Kate, who writes a food blog called Naptime Kitchen. I also follow her on Instagram- and she just seems like the MOST genuine, amazingly fun and nice person. She recently shared that she was making a batch of her symphony bars- and I was INTRIGUED. I LOVE a good bar. HA!

This is the EASIEST recipe EVER and in the last week, I have already made 3 batches of them and they come out DELICIOUS and perfect every time!

Click HERE for the recipe!!! Spoiler alert- you only need 4 ingredients (and some water) to make these AMAZING brownies/bars!!!

I am already planning on these being my GO-TO dessert for the holidays!!

(The only thing to consider is that these do have nuts in them- so something to remember if you need to keep nut allergies in mind!)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

As I mentioned above- I love Kate- and so it didn't surprise me at all that this post on Kate's IG account @naptimekitchen RESONATED with me SO much!!! I am definitely in a season of parenting many different stages/ages that has me feeling quite stretched. And I don't always deal with that feeling of being stretched in the best way. I loved what Kate had to say how becoming a thermostat versus a thermometer. Check out her post HERE!

And that's what I have been loving lately friends!!

Tell me- what's something that YOU are loving? A new podcast? A fun recipe? A cute shirt? 

Share with me in the comments!!

Hope you have the BEST day!

Linking up with Stefanie, Keri, Mauri, Sarah, and Lindsay today!