Saturday
Saturday morning began at 5 a.m. when Chase woke up yelling, “MOM! MOM!” Thankfully a little settling in his room did the trick and Chase went back to sleep but I was up for the day after my unexpected wakeup call. I spent some time reading in bed and trying to will myself back to sleep but when that didn’t work, I got up, made myself a hot bowl of triple chocolate protein oatmeal and settled in on the couch with Sadie by my side.
Once I was done with breakfast, I made his-and-hers mugs of tea for myself and Ryan and did a little meal planning for the week ahead.
I focused on another week of more plant-based meals for our family:
- Monday: Butternut Squash Grain Bowl
- Tuesday: Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato and Kale
- Wednesday: Baked Spaghetti Squash with Cheese
- Thursday: Thai Crunch Salad
- Friday: Takeout (or Quinoa Veggie Bowls with Mmmm Sauce)
Ryan’s dad will be arriving in town on Thursday and since I know he’s a fan of salads, I figured it was a good opportunity to revisit my latest Thai Crunch Salad obsession. After what feels like a two-month hiatus, it feels so good to be back on the meal planning train!
Once Chase was up for the day and fed, we rallied and made our way to the gym. When we don’t have any set plans on Saturdays, I LOVE kicking off the day with a workout and began my time at the gym with a little rowing.
In the end, I completed a lower body workout with bursts of rowing included that looked like this:
It was a good one and we were easily in and out of the gym in under an hour.
Once we made our way back home, we were ready for an early lunch and I made three grilled cheese sandwiches while Ryan and Chase took care of banana, peanut butter and spinach smoothies for our little gang.
We tried our best to settle Chase in for a nap on Saturday and after 45 minutes of resistance in his room (40 of them happy, 5 of them progressing into angry toddler protests), we got him up and I read a couple of books with him in his room before it was crystal clear a nap wasn’t happening. (When a calm story morphed into singing “On Top of Spaghetti” at the top of our lungs, I knew it was time to throw in the towel.)
The rest of our afternoon included hanging around the house, playing outside with Sadie and eating an early pizza dinner in our pajamas.
Sadie was extra chipper during the million rounds of fetch we played with her and Ryan and I always joke that the cold makes her extra crazy.
I LOVE watching Sadie run at top speed after her frisbee because it is such pure JOY in action!
Sunday
Sunday morning looked pretty typical around here as we headed off to church and followed up the morning service with a trip to the grocery store.
It took me about 2.5 seconds to wait to change back into my cozy pajamas once we were back home and our groceries were all unloaded.
After a quick lunch, we tackled some random household chores (laundry, vacuuming and all that fun stuff) and then Chase helped me throw together our dinner in the crock pot before he went down for his nap.
Thankfully Chase napped well on Sunday which gave me the opportunity to work and Ryan the chance to meet a friend at the gym and then take down our outside Christmas lights.
We spent the rest of the day close to home and managed to get into bed at a decent time. When Ryan asked me how my book was going when I joined him in bed, he said, “Why are you still reading that one!?”
I’ve been struggling my way through The Lighthouse Keeper for a week or so but since I am oddly intrigued by the plot, I don’t want to stop. Still, I am rolling my eyes the whole way through reading this one because it’s waaay too cheesy for me and the way the main character talks about her love interest makes me feel like I’m reading a 15-year-old’s diary. BUT I want to know what happens so I’m crawling my way through it. How it has so many fantastic reviews on Amazon, I have no idea.
As for the week ahead, it should be pretty normal one around here. We have some playdates on the agenda, an event at church one evening, some must-dos related to work and my father-in-law arriving on Thursday. I have a feeling this week is going to fly by! I hope you all have a great one!
Question of the Day
- If you begin reading a book that you aren’t crazy about, will you see it through and read the whole thing or stop and move on?
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Love reading posts about your normal day to day life. Glad you had a nice weekend! Will Chase eat all those healthy dinners or do you need to prepare separate meals for him? I don’t think my daughter would go near all those veggies! (The smoothie was an inspiring idea though- I’ll have to try that one!)
It depends – if it was a book recommended by a family member or friend, I push through and read it (so we can talk about it and maybe I can get a different perspective on it based on their love for it), but if it’s one I chose myself, I’ll easily stop and move on. 🙂
Sounds like a nice, cozy weekend! If I am reading a book I don’t love I will almost always still finish it. There have been a couple where I just couldn’t do it though.
We had a busy two weeks of traveling so I am CRAVING a nice and cozy weekend coming up. And I’ve done both with books, sometimes I see it through reading (skimming) it quickly or just start a new one. I’m sure you could find the ending somewhere online, lol.
Sounds like a relaxing weekend! The best 🙂 question- I’m planning on making the butternut squash grain bowl this weekend and was wondering if you’re supposed to cook the barley first? I got the 10 min cook kind so I wasn’t sure..
With books, I stop and move on…I had a friend give me “permission” to do that. Also, I started checking out ebooks from the library so I’m not out any money if I bag it. There are too many good books out there to use reading time up on ones that don’t work for you…kind of like bad coffee or wine…life is too short!
This weekend was so cold! Sounds like you had a mix of fun and relaxation while getting out for a bit.
I’m so wishy washy on books I don’t like. Some I’ll stop reading but then other’s I will push through. It just depends on the plot to be honest since sometimes I’ll enjoy the writing style but not the plot and vice versa.
Mine has started resisting naps as well and something I’ve found that helps: I put a book in the bed with him at nap time! I try to pick a longer book and he seems to read and then pass out (like his mama ?). Just a thought!!
I love Sadie’s tail speed in the pic with the frisbee! Happy girl!
Enjoy reading about you and your family’s day to day living – sounds like a relaxing (at times) weekend. When it comes to books, I usually give it the 1/3rd rule. If I find that I’m not too interested in the book I’ll read the first 1/3, if I’m still not drawn in by then I usually set it down. If the reviews are amazing or friends/family highly recommended it I might pick it up at a later date when I don’t have as much going on so I can really give it more attention.
i think that’s a great rule… i should implement it! i don’t know why i have a hard time walking away because when a GOOD book really hooks me i fly through it and really look forward to reading. this one has definitely been a sloooow go.
Ugh , no. I totally move on. Right now I am re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. They never get old!
MMMM sauce! I could not, for the life of me remember the name of that this weekend! I wanted to make it to top broccoli and potatoes and kept thinking it was YUM sauce which appears to be mayo based. Anyway, I’ve never made MMMM sauce-do you think it would work as a veggie topping??
Solid weekend! I love the picture of Chase helping to pour the broth in the crockpot-so cute! 🙂 I’m the same way with books. No matter how much I hate a book or think it’s stupid, I have to finish it once I start it. Same goes for movies. I can’t turn a stupid movie off half way through!
I think my pup has the same extra crazy vibe when it gets this cold out. I swear she has cabin fever – thank goodness for stores like Lowe’s that allow us to take her on errands with us. So glad to see Sadie has her same high energy level. Crazy how the 40 degree weather they’re calling for later this week has me excited, usually anything below 60 for me is considered freezing!
It definitely seems like our dogs get crazier in the cold too! So you are not alone!
That was how I felt about 50 Shades of Gray. I powered through the first book because of all the hype but I could never fully get into it because of how badly it was written. I remember the author had a thing for the word “clamor” and she used it allllllll the time. I was like, this word does not mean what you think it means…. anyway, I never read the other books in the series after that.
I have read a few lately that I have really liked: Little Fires Everywhere, Bear Town and The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
thank you for the recommendations!! always on the lookout for a GOOD read!
Another vote for Beartown. Awesome read!
I used to force myself to finish a book but then I realized life was too short and why was I wasting time reading a book I didn’t love. So now I give it about 100 pages and if I’m not feeling it, I move on. No guilt!
What a cosy weekend indeed! It’s still not very cold over here on the west coast, so I haven’t been able to bundle up and get cozy– i miss that!
It was in the negatives here in Western NY, so we stayed in our PJs and did not leave the house! It was great!
I want to read a book a month, but I’m stuck on The Book Thief. The writing style is so weird it’s hard to get used to it, but I feel like I have to finish it. Ugh!
Yes! I honestly hated The Book Thief and found it so, so hard to get through. Same with The Night Circus (similar jumpy style), which everyone seems to love. I actually picked up The Book Thief because Julie loved it and it was a huge struggle hahah.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess!
I loved both of those books!! Haha! 🙂
I’m having the same issue with Armada by Ernest Cline. Everyone went crazy over his other book, Ready Player One, and I only thought it was okay. This one just has references to pop culture things every other paragraph for no reason and really takes me out of it and is very cringy. But I’m like 40% in so I feel like I’ve already invested so much time in it! I gave up for now, but maybe I’ll borrow it from the library again and try to tackle it.
It’s harder to give up on a book when my Kindle tells me I only have two hours left in the book!
exactly!! i was sucked in by the mystery and plot of the book but ughhhh the main character irritates me and the way she talks about men/oogles over them (their “rippling muscles,” etc.) just makes me roll my eyes.
Sounds like a great weekend, Julie! I just love the picture of Chase and Ryan in their puffy coats! So precious! It was such a cold weekend here in Massachusetts too. We were in negative numbers and with the wind chill, it felt terrible. I was definitely bundled up in my puffy coat! I usually stick with a book and read the whole thing through even if I am not crazy about it, because it will totally irritate me to never know how it ended. Lol! I hope you have a great week!! Xoxo
I’ve been in a rut lately, but I just finished Final Girls in 2 days. Couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended if you need something to reinvigorate yourself after!
thank you!! i am definitely looking for a page-turner after this one!
Haha, and another vote for Final Girls. Beartown was more of a marathon…..slow at the beginning, but an incredible story that was worth the read. Final Girls was awesome! I also read in two days over my Christmas Break.
Final Girls will be my next read for sure! I looked it up after it was recommended and it sounds intense!
Hahaha I am the SAME way about pajamas on cold days!! Get me out of my clothes and into something soft and cozy STAT! For books – if I can’t get into it within the first few chapters I RARELY finish it. I just can’t stay interested!
The Lighthouse Keeper is on your list of recommended books in your “shop + favs” tab. How did it get on there?!
Are there any others on your list you initially recommended but ultimately couldn’t get through?
oh no!!! no, definitely not! when i created the link to it, it automatically added it to my “current favs” through rewardstyle (that is what autopopulates items to that page) and i must’ve overlooked unchecking the box! i’ll remove it right now. thanks for the head’s up! i need to sift through that page more regularly because now that i’m looking at it there are some old things in there that seem to be out of stock which i’m sure would be annoying to click on as well!
just following up — i’m trying to remove it and it won’t let me but i just emailed them! i can’t figure out how to get it off there but i looked through the other books on that page and i genuinely liked and would recommend the others!! so sorry that one ended up on there!
Goodness, that sure seems like a lot of work! Thanks for following up.
I totally hear you on the book front. I’m about half way through It and I’m just not feeling it. Everyone told me it was so scary and so good, but it’s just dragging for me and the supposedly scary parts aren’t scary at all to me. I want to finish it to say that I’ve read it, but it’s so slow going right now.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon all cozy finishing “The things we do for love” but Kristin Hanna. Nothing beats a Sunday reading and relaxing.
I’m loving “Ill Will” by Dan Chaon..but fair warning, the subject matter is pretty intense!
And I know what you mean about a cold weekend! Our pipes actually froze Saturday night and it was not a fun experience the next morning! Ugh.
How cute is that first pic of Chase and Ryan!! I did your rowing workout after you posted it on Insta this weekend and loved it.
I used to power through books I wasn’t really into but then realized life is too short for bad books. Unless it comes highly recommended from someone I know, I usually bag it.
Usually when I read a book and it is “meh”, I try to power though. If I can’t get into past the 3rd chapter, I am dunzo.
Strangely enough…it depends on if I paid for it or if it is a library/free book. I have never really thought about it but sometimes I will tell my husband “I don’t even like the characters…I don’t care what happens to them” but will still read because….10 bucks! ???
Haha! Totally get that!
Great blog Julie! I’m new to your site and I just love it. I’m creating an online community for women and bloggers and I’ll definitely make sure our community knows about your site!
PS: Love the close-up picture of your pup!
Hi Julie! I love hearing about all the books you read. I add a lot of them to my list. Have you read Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed? I can’t recommend it enough! It was my favorite read of 2017 and I won’t give my copy away because I keep rereading it! Anyways, I highly recommend! 🙂
A couple questions:
What was the crockpot meal you made? I am going back to work soon after a year mat leave and want some good tried and tested crockpot recipes to make life easier.
What is the triple chocolate protein oatmeal recipe – that just looked delicious.
Also, Kristin Hannah is probably the best author ever!
It was a coconut chicken and cauliflower rice meal! I’m planning to share the recipe next week but it’s very similar to this one: http://www.publix.com/aprons-recipes/slow-cooker-coconut-chicken-and-wild-rice-stew
And the oatmeal recipe will be on the blog tomorrow morning!! 🙂
I used to make myself finish a book no matter what, until I was listening to the Happier podcast (thank you for mentioning it btw, I love it!) and they mentioned the freedom of putting down a bad book. Now, if I get a few chapters in and I’m just not feeling it, I just move on. Sometimes I go back if I’m in a different mood, but generally I don’t. I read more good books that way. 🙂
Read the Lighthouse keeper recently and why I totally agree on the cheesiness factor, I finished it rather quickly. If you want the Clift notes I’d be happy to email them!
Have you posted the recipe for the triple chocolate protein oatmeal? TIA.
It is on the blog this morning! 🙂 Just went live a couple of hours ago.
Thanks!
I’m not at all against giving up books! Although if my interest is remotely kept or I’ve heard going things I’ll keep going, you never know if the end will be amazing!
Also, I so go straight to pajamas after church- it’s the best!
I used to push through but now I decided life is too short for that!
My mom (who is an avid reader) has always said “I’ve never NOT finished a book” where I will give up on a book if I’m not interested about 100 pages in!
Where did you get that stand for Chase? I love it and it is perfect and looks like it keeps him safe while he is helping you cook.
Here ya go: http://bit.ly/2Dbhx1r We lovvve it! It’s made by Guidecraft and we use it daily.
I usually try to finish books even when I don’t like them. I like some of the other people’s recommendations of reading the first 100 pages and then end it if I don’t like it. I’m going to start implementing it. I have way too many books on my “to read” list to waste time on a sucky book lol
Life is too short to read a book you don’t like. Call it, and read a summary of how it ends online.
I just finished bones of you. It was absolutely terrible. I usually lloovveee murder mysteries but this one was awful. About 80% done it got a good twist, but then I was so mad I had to wait so long for it to get good. I usually still grudgingly finish a bad book but it takes a while!
OH man Sully was totally off his nap schedule too this weekend! And really for all of the holidays too! I hope it’s just a phase because I need my nap times back! I love that your ‘chilly’ weather still includes running shoes, we hit -40 C here all week……yikes!! It’s kind of nice though to have an excuse to stay inside and bundle up! I’ve been loving seeing your workouts again, helps me keep mine fresh!!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
You mentioned spaghetti squash in your meal planning so I thought I’d ask… I’ve tried it several times now and my spaghetti squash always seems to come out mushy. 🙁 I didn’t grow up on this so I’m not sure exactly what to expect, but based on all the recipes I’ve read and tried, it definitely doesn’t look as pretty and separated as it seems like it should. Any advice?
I always finish books even when I don’t like them but this year I have decided to give myself permission to throw them aside if I don’t like them. There are so many other good books out there to waste my time on ones I don’t like! Last month I read Luckiest Girl Alive and I really didn’t like it 🙁 but finished it anyway!
I know you really like WW2 historical fiction and I can’t remember if you have mentioned reading Lilac Girls? It was amazing and it is based on true stories!
Also I just started a book blog this year!
Julie, I made Skinnytaste’s baked spaghetti squash with cheese on Sunday and it was amazing!!! It’ll be a new staple that i’m sure is very customizable, although i made as is! ENJOY!
I’m naughty reading books that I like or finding too slow. I read ahead the last chapter or 2! Sometimes you get the plot straight away, others you have to read all the way through. Sometimes I’ll randomly read ahead and get the gest or if the last chapter isn’t exciting enough, I just put it down. I’m obviously not an author’s dream reader!