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Thursday, March 30, 2017

foodie Friday-instant pot oatmeal

I've never been a huge fan of oatmeal, but it's good for you and clean. I have kind of learned to like it over the years, and now I actually really love it. 
Cook in the instant pot or stove
2 c old fashioned oats
3 1/2 c water 
1-2 TBSP honey
1-2 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt 
Cook in the instant pot on manual for 6 minutes. Release pressure. 

Mix in the following to taste 
1 c peanut butter
Slivered almonds 
Dried cranberries
Chia seeds
Flax seeds
Unsweetened coconut
Homemade applesauce
More honey if needed 

Refrigerate to store. Enjoy!

Monday, March 27, 2017

body image

Promoting a More Positive Body Image
By: Maurine Anderson

Let’s be real—it’s crazy hard to be a woman with high self-esteem in today’s society. We live in a world that values physical beauty tremendously. The media is filled with standards, tips, and advice on how we should look, and the number of photoshopped images we encounter on a daily basis is astounding. The pressure can be so unbearable that it leads to eating disorders, addictions, and more. This isn’t to say that the media alone controls your self-esteem, of course. It is merely to say that the low self-esteem you may feel when thinking about your body is completely valid, if unfounded.

So how, then, do we overcome the myth that our bodies as women are anything less than beautiful? Here are a few key insights that I’ve found really help to promote a more positive body image and stronger self-esteem.
There is more than one way to be beautiful.

Take a moment and think about the many women you consider to be beautiful. Do all of them look exactly the same? Do they all have exactly the same body type, height, eye color, and style of hair? Chances are they don’t. There is no reason, then, that you should feel pressured to conform to any one preconceived notion of beauty. Just as you have admired someone else’s fine hair, thin lips, or curvaceous legs, so, too, can you admire your own.

Work out because you love your body; not because you hate it.

I’ve seen that quote floating across the web, and I don’t think it could be any more apt. Studies have actually shown that people with self-compassion are more likely to accomplish their fitness goals than those who exhibit self-disdain. So, if you find that self-disdain is a primary motivation behind how you eat and exercise, consider making a shift in your attitude toward health and fitness. Health and fitness routines can contribute significantly to having a positive body image, but only if the motivation behind them is rightly placed.

Social media can be toxic.

It’s important to note just how negatively social media engagement can influence us. Stop for a moment and think about what most often triggers negative feelings about your body. Was it seeing a photo of a woman with stick-thin legs on Instagram? Was it seeing a friend post on Facebook about how far they are in their fitness plan? Was it seeing your favorite blogger post about eating the largest donut you’ve ever seen, only to realize that you would most definitely gain weight if you did the same thing? Whatever your triggers are, chances are social media made the top of your list.

Moreover, you should know that cyberbullying is real. This article, for example, points out how social media, in a way, disconnects people from reality. People feel safe under the guise of an anonymous identity. The result is that people feel more comfortable being cruel to others online. This phenomenon contributes to increasingly high levels of cyberbullying. So the next time someone makes a snide comment about how you look or how you dress, just remember that social media can be an unusually vicious realm.

The things we make, make us.

I took a pop culture course in college, and one phrase from that course has always stood out to me: “The things we make, make us.” It was originally a catchphrase for Jeep, but the phrase actually describes our relationship with the media incredibly well. Think about it. The media is, in a way, a mirror that reflects who we are as a society. TV, newspapers, magazines, online publications, blogs, and more all work to create content that resonates with people. These media outlets want viewership and readership, so of course they are going to cater to their consumers. (Maybe that’s a pessimistic view of the media, but there’s no denying that there’s truth to it.) Meanwhile, the media in many ways shapes how we think and feel—about ourselves, about our immediate surroundings, and about the world as a whole. Media and society are constantly influencing one another.

The point I’m trying to make here is that while the media can have a lot of influence over how we view ourselves, we also can have a lot of influence over the media. Wonderful dialogues are already taking place online. You have ad campaigns like Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ and Aerie’s #aeriereal that are working to chip away at societal standards. You have supermodels going public about the amount of stress and pressure they are exposed to in their industry. Beauty bloggers are getting more and more candid about the way makeup can alter your appearance. We have a long way to go in changing societal beauty standards, of course, but I think it’s pretty empowering to know that we can start reshaping those standards, starting with ourselves.

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weekend happs

the weather was kind of gloomy this weekend which made for the perfect low key weekend. 

i stayed in on Friday. i am really trying to keep one night a week open. the week was pretty busy so Friday was the first open night. it was nice to stay in and go to bed early. 

i skipped my usual Saturday morning run due to the weather and went to the gym and pure barre instead. i'm having a love/hate/love with the pure barre 20 classes in 31 days challenge. i really do love it. it's pushing me big time, but it's not reasonable to keep up this many classes in top of csatt workouts. 
 i went to Tiffany and Sage's house Saturday night. we watched the General Women's meeting, ate dinner, and played makeup-lipsense and wunderbrow. it was the perfect much needed night in. 

Sunday was the usual church, laundry, meal prep day. i am basically obsessed with the instant pot. 
how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

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Sunday, March 19, 2017

13.1...Moab Canyonlands half

Judy turned 85 last week and wanted to celebrate by going down to Moab to run the half marathon. Part of the Generation Gap running group went down for a quick trip to run the race.

Some went down earlier on Friday, and the rest of us arrived Friday evening. We had dinner together and celebrated Judy's birthday with cake.

Everyone started getting ready for bed around 8:30. I have never gone to bed that early in my life, and I knew there was no way I was going to bed yet. A few of us stayed up a while longer. Most everyone was in bed by 9:30. I caught up on social media and finally went to bed a little after 10:00.


Even though the race didn't start until 10:00, we got up early to get the house packed up to leave right after the race.

riding the bus to the start line

at the park waiting for everyone and the bus

Leanne, Teresa, Robyn, Andrea, Donna
Alyson, Carolyn, Judy, me, Joann, ReNae, Sharon

Walking the 1/2 mile up to the start line

waiting for the race to start

start line

The race was absolutely beautiful!



Carolyn and JoAnn ran together

With Judy at the finish
picnic lunch before heading home.

I've been running pretty well recently so I was hoping to do well. It was hot-really really hot so that definitely affected my performance. It wasn't my worst, but it also wasn't my best. I did better than last time so I am happy about that. It was a beautiful course and very pretty day. I'm so happy I went down to celebrate with Judy. We finished the race, had a nice picnic, and hopped in the car to drive home. It was a quick but really fun trip. 























Wednesday, March 15, 2017

bloggers at the barre

Pure Barre Draper hosted a blogger night. We took class, had fun giveaways, ate some snacks, and socialized. It was the perfect low key evening. 

Major thanks to our sponsors 
Pure Barre Draper
Elase
Spa Trouve
Lala lovely boutique
Zyia
Menchies

It was fun showing these blogger babes what pure barre is all about. 
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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

blogging the bach 21.this season is finally over

by this point we all know none of us here at monday night tradish are that invested in the season. i had a hair appointment tonight that went a little longer than usual. by the time i got to celsey's i missed a good portion of the final dates.

we really like raven, but we all agree that none of us really see it happening with raven. their interactions seem pretty surface level, and there just seem to be much there.

neil lane walks in and nick has the option of the biggest ring ever. we didn't pay attention enough to know if he picked that ring or not.

raven gets out of the limo minivan first, and we all know what that means. raven is broken hearted and doesn't know if anyone will love her. as megan pointed out, if raven can have a successful boutique in the middle of nowhere alabama, certainly she can find love.

vanessa is up next. is he going to propose? will she say yes? an obvious yes to both. vanessa and nick are engaged and we all wonder if they are still together. i didn't make it through all of after the final rose, but according to my mom they still are.

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Saturday, March 11, 2017

unblogged bloggable-christmas 2016

I spent part of Christmas break in California again this year. It's much more fun to go where the kids are. My break started a little later this year so I didn't get there until right before Christmas. 
traditional looking at lights on Christmas Eve 
Christmas pajamas 

Since Christmas was in Sunday, we all got new Christmas outfits for church. 




We opened gifts after church. Chelsea got some new shoes. 

 
I gave the kids the bible origami book. 
Kenzie loves her Minnie doll. 
love love love this dog eared necklace 
We played pie face showdown and laughed and laughed. 
The weather was pretty decent part of the time. We got in some good time on the trampoline. 
The kids worked out with me a few times. 
More pictures with the kids 

I also gave them a few new games from Grandpa Beck's games. We had a fun time playing games. 

I enjoyed the week in California. It's always nice to be with Chelsea and her family. The kids were so excited which made it even more fun. 
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