Friday Favorites

Hola amigos! Happy. Freaking. Friday! Phew, this week was a doozy. Nothing in particular happened but it seemed to go by at a snail's pace. Speaking of, the other day I told my coworker that he was moving as slow as pond water and he busted out laughing. Please tell me I'm not the only one who says this saying?? Okay, I digress. Today I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday 

Favorites!

ONE

Ahhh, how fun it was to a) blog unusually on a Tuesday and b) reminisce about my childhood to link up about our home towns. Andrea posted Google Map pictures of her childhood homes and I thought that was a great idea! I was sad I didn't have a picture of my childhood home to share. It made me realize that when I go home next I need to take a good picture of my home so I can remember it forever. Well Google Maps was a FAIL. I screenshotted it with the sound box showing and you can't see my house AT ALL. Sigh.

TWO

Tuesday, March 8th, was International Women's Day. Even though I believe we deserve and need way more than a day a year, it's still an incredible opportunity to recognize the strength, courage, intelligence, etc that women possess around the world! It got me thinking about the women I surround myself with and how they impact my life. Here are a picture of my closest girlfriends from college...

...thinking about it I was floored with how much we embody about the strength of women. For instance our careers (from left to right), Vet, Lawyer, Nurse, Engineer, and Finance. Wow, how incredible is that? I'm so grateful that I surrounded myself with such intelligent and ambitious friends.

And I would be doing a disservice if I didn't mention my fabulous Momma! My Mom has taught me everything I know. She is strong yet gentle, smart yet humble, and selfless yet tough. I love her and appreciate that she taught me that being smart and being a strong student was okay. I love you, Deeds!

THREE

I mentioned it last week but I've been working on a post that breaks down what I eat on a regular basis. I think it's a great way to keep myself accountable and possibly give y'all some ideas to switch up your routine! Well spoiler alert...one thing I eat a lot of is sweet potatoes. I adore them. I feel like I'm cheating when I eat them! One of my favorite ways to eat them is sliced up and roasted. I blogged about that here. But keeping it real, when I get home after work I don't feel like spending 45 minutes prepping and roasting them because I'm tuckered out. So I've been eating them whole and cooking them in the microwave. 

I was talking to my trainer about how to eat them. I like mine with butter and salt but I know that butter is so bad for you and high in calories! So not knowing what to do, I've just been eating them with salt, which is fine but I felt like there had to be another solution. So she suggested coconut oil. Now let me stop you first, yes coconut oil is very high in calories, but it will take you approximately 5 seconds into researching it to find how good it is for you. Don't believe me? Check here, here, and here. So I tried it and GUYS I'M OBSESSED! It's seriously so delicious and in my opinion, better than butter. Shoutout to my trainer, Sara, for the tip!

FOUR

I realized this week that this month 2 years ago I had an experience of a lifetime in Russia. I am constantly amazed by how quickly time passes. Such sweet memories with great people. I blogged about my trip here. 

FIVE

By far my favorite of the week is being down 5 pounds since I kicked off my wellness journey! I am so proud of myself for dragging myself out of bed at 5 am to workout before work and for making healthier food choices. It's not easy but it's doable and I feel better. 

I feel like I've been able to strike a balance between wellness and maintenance. I've found a schedule and food choices that are applicable and realistic for my everyday life. I don't feel starved or deprived by any means. I can't wait to share some of my changes moving forward! In the mean time, check out my Workout Wednesday post where I show y'all one of my workouts and a wellness tip for the week!

Happy Friday from my little buddy, Winston! I hope y'all have a great weekend and see you back here on Monday! xo