Sadie and I were awfully sneaky this morning. We decorated my parents’ place in preparation for my mom’s arrival back in town!
For the past month, my dad, sister and I have been planning a surprise celebration for my mom to honor a big milestone in her life. As I previously mentioned, my this month marks five years since my mom’s double mastectomy which is a HUGE deal because the chance of recurrence is highest within the first three to five years after initial breast cancer treatment. Reaching the five year mark feels like a giant milestone and one our family has been praying for ever since my mom was diagnosed.
It’s definitely cause for celebration!
Sadie helped me hang streamers outside…
Until she got bored and decided it was time for a break… in my lap.
I am sure many of you out there with big dogs who think they’re lap dogs can relate!
We initially planned to make Saturday a full-day celebration and follow up our morning at the North Florida Race for the Cure with a nice dinner to honor my mom, but since she ended up staying in Pennsylvania with my grandma to help her after some health issues, we switched things up and plan to take her out to a nice dinner this evening.
Workout
This morning I woke up around 6:30 a.m. and worked on my morning blog post before heading off to the gym to try a new-to-me Les Mills class. My sister is a big fan of BodyAttack and encouraged me to try it while I am in town, so I drove to the gym and took the 8:30 a.m. class, unsure of what to expect.
The class was fast-paced and very energetic. It incorporated lots of plyometric movements including jumping lunges, 180-degree jump squats and burpees. My heart was pounding! It was a great workout and one I’d regularly incorporate into my fitness routine if it was offered at my gym. The instructor was fantastic and I was seriously impressed with her ability to talk and give feedback while she did squat jumps and burpees. It took everything I had just to breathe!
Breakfast
On my way home from the gym, I used the Yelp app on my phone to help me find a local coffee shop and swung by to pick up a hot drink for me and my dad.
I really enjoy discovering new local coffee shops and the reviews for Sippers Coffeehouse were very positive. I ordered a pumpkin cappuccino for me and a chai latte for my dad since he doesn’t like coffee and we both agreed that our drinks were fabulous. I have a feeling popping into Sippers after I work out at the gym in Jacksonville may become part of my routine.
When I arrived back at my parents’ place, I quickly assembled a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.
I topped the oats with pecans, macadamia nuts and Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter. It was a winning combination!
And now it’s lunchtime. See ya later!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Congrats to your mom! Five years is AMAZING! Also P.S. that bowl of oats looks awesome!
Yay for your mom!
That’s great! What a wonderful way to celebrate
Wow, congratulations to your mom! I bet she and your family is thrilled. What a fun way to surprise her 🙂
I’m sure your mom loved coming home to the surprise! Congrats to her and many wishes for continued health! 🙂
What an awesome milestone, congrats to her!
Congrats to your mom!! That is such a huge milestone!!
So amazing! So glad your mother is doing so well. I’ll definitely be praying for constant healing for her.
You are so awesome for being there for your family 🙂
that oatmeal looks divine! finally fall= back to oatmeal breakfasts for me!
Congrats to your mom 🙂 The 5 year mark is huge! We threw my mom a big surprise party/birthday (she was diagnosed right around her birthday) on the 10 year anniversary of being breast cancer free. It was so special for all of us.
Congrats to your mom on such an important milestone! My mother is a survivor as well, and it has now been more than 10 years! I am grateful every year that goes by 🙂
I only take BodyCombat…for some reason I wasn’t sure that I would like BodyAttack, but I think you’ve convinced me 😉
Congrats to your mother and family on that 5 year milestone. Your family seems so wonderful – the way you support each other is inspiring and a reminder to all of us to not take our family for granted. 🙂
That oatmeal looks really tasty!
Congratultions to your mom! That is incredible! I am such a BodyAttack addict, it is one of the favorite parts of my week and it is so tough. It has helped my running so much with all of the plyometrics.
Mmmmm that hazelnut butter looks amazing!!
Congratulations to your family and your mom!!!!
Congrats to your mom! That’s so wonderful! My mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer last week, and its been really helpful for my family and I to hear amazing and inspirational survivor stories!
Congrats to your mom!
I love finding local coffee shops and i got my bf hooked on iced chai tea 🙂 He isn’t a coffee drinker either!
*latte
Gotta love Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter! Have you tried Justin’s Maple Almond Butter. OMG, it’s crack for healthy foodies. I like eating it with baked pumpkin oatmeal 🙂
Picture of oatmeal with the maple almond butter – http://www.hungrygatorgal.com/2013/10/fridays-favorites-hoppin-on-bacon-train.html