Friday Favorites

Favorite Healthy Food Ideas

Check out the LINK  

Some of the ideas look delicious!

Favorite Necklace/Dog Tag

My friend Erica sent this to me & I am so in love with it.
A name tag for your pet & a silhouette of them for you to wear.
Its like the BEST Best Friend necklace you could have.
I'd love to have one for all 3 of my babies & have all 3 of their silhouettes around my neck.

Favorite Beauty & the Beast


Its like Ricky & I just went & posed for this picture ;) haha

Favorite Home Workout 


Credit to Rachel Mcmichael

I bet this is a good sweat maker that is easy enough to do in your living room


Favorite Instagram



I just found out Disney has an Instagram for their Disney weddings
.... let me swoon all day long at these posts!


Favorite Valentine Decoration



I love mason jars anyways
but these are just perfect to scatter in the house for February


Favorite Thought

Favorite Funnies

I dont go by one of these without saying a prayer

... when I play my Disney Princess CD in the car

... how I feel about the Oscars & everyone celebrating & praising actors/actresses

... when I want to say something back to someone I know I shouldn't




... me after carrying up the laundry basket from the basement




... what I basically have to do when I walk into the dentist office

Me at 4:00pm

Happy Friday Y'all!!!

Thankful Thursday {Link up #56} ... LOTS of Beauty & the Beast in this one!

This week I am Thankful For:

63 / Ricky let me use his car during the snow.  My car is the WORST in bad weather so he ended up driving his hoopty truck & let me drive his little snow plower. It's a Ford Focus - the smallest car - but that baby handles so well in the snow.  So thankful I didn't have to take my Slide-Mobile in the bad weather.

64 / My sweet hubby getting me Beauty & the Beast tickets for my birthday. I know he's gotta be sick of the show... but he continues to take me knowing it makes me happy.

65 / New Beauty & the Beast souvenirs.  It makes me happy to slowly take over my house one item at a time to transform to a Disney home.

I have drank out of this mug every day since last Thursday

67 / Being off work on a snow day

68 / Finding a new Thomas Kinkade Beauty & the Beast puzzle... especially the day after seeing the Broadway show!  I usually like the 1000 piece puzzles but I'll take these in any size.

70 / This sweet comment on Instagram from a friend who has started Bible Journaling. That really blessed my heart.

73 / Great consult meeting with a future bride & groom.

74 / Yarn that is over $1 cheaper a skein at one store compared to others. I bought 6 skeins - which meant I basically could get one more skein & it would be free.  Give me a deal on yarn any day please.

76 / Snow melting!

77 / Found out Beauty & the Beast is coming to our little local dinner theater this summer!  It was funny because some people at Ricky's work was like, "Don't tell Rebecca!!!"... don't they know I have friends who are always on the hunt for me giving me this info that must be known?  ... Ricky was THRILLED to hear the news #yeahright

78 / Tried a new recipe for a black bean/rice burger with avocado. It was AMAZING... & EASY.  Ricky even enjoyed it. I always consider that a success when Ricky is full at the end of a dinner of a new dish to try.

81 / My Starbucks Tumbler... I have never had a tumbler that keeps a drink so piping hot better then this thing! I am so super impressed. I don't think I could ever use another kind of tumbler now. Thanks Dawn for turning me onto these things!  I think this thing is in my hands at least 30% of the day. If anything, to keep my hands warm in this winter weather.

 

What are kind of blessings have you seen in 

your life this week?

Link up with me every Thursday

Running with Perseverance.... January 2016 Scripture

Remember at the beginning of the year when I did a post saying why I wasn't going to be doing a WORD of the year?  But instead, changing it out for a Scripture of the Month.  Well, its kind of a two fold thing.

The words I was flipping between this year was Endurance, Perseverance, Persistence, Determination ... they all have a theme here of NOT GIVING UP!  Hanging in there!  Sticking it out!

So while I'm not doing a 'word' I am focusing on this idea for all my scriptures that I am looking up & sitting in each month.

For January, my first scripture I picked was Hebrew 12:1-2

So here's my thoughts on the scripture & the things that have come to mind over the past month...

...throw off everything that hinders .... 

If you are a lady, you know what it is to be miserable in an outfit that is just so binding & uncomfortable.  Pantyhose are the WORST!  Or dresses that make you suck it in all day long. Or jeans that just dig in your waist when you sit down?  When you get home & are able to take all of it off, isn't that the best feeling in the world?  To put on those sweat pants that aren't binding?  Ahhh ... sweet relief.

... & the sin that so easily entangles...

Sin. We know that's not a good thing.  But that we are reminded that it "so easily entangles"?  That is so frightening to me.  & so true.

I think of my vacuum.  I run it over my carpet & don't see anything on the ground, but when I turn it over & look at the rollers, it is so tangled up with hair from Ricky & I.  When you have a house with 2 people with LONG red hair, apparently our floors have just as much hair as we do.  We don't see it, but its there... & it gets all wrapped up in those rollers & if you let it go long enough, it actually can STRANGLE & cause the rollers not to move at all.  Something tiny, simple & something you can't really even see - it has that much power when it keeps gathering up on top of each other. I actually have to keep scissors taped on my vacuum so I can cut it off & turn that roller safely again.

Sin does just that.  We don't see it - but it can get so wrapped around us without us even paying any attention to it... slowing down the things that turn in our lives.  It can get that strong grip on us.  & we need to stop & untangle.  Get unraveled.  Get a fresh clean start.

... & let us run with PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us....

OK, I love that word!  The determination!  The mind set of not giving up!

But what I love most about this part of the verse?  There is a race marked out for us.  For me. For you.  It's already marked out.  It all goes in different directions, but its a path God intends just for us.

When I run races, the course makes all the difference.  There is a 10 mile race that I have signed up for in March that I HATE.  Why?  Because its through a park with lots of hills. I don't like hills. But its the course.  I prefer those race courses that are flat & straight... but give me something that is pleasing to the eye too ... & in a safe area of town... & preferably in Disney World.

But it doesn't work like that... Courses are designed for challenges.  To make us tougher & stronger.  It's why I signed up for it.

Our course is marked out.  The only thing we can do it tackle it... get to that start line with courage, cross the finish line with determination!

... Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith...

I love an encouraging trainer.  Ever watch The Biggest Loser & see how differently the trainers work?  So many love the trainers that give them encouragement to make it though their workouts.  That's how I see Jesus in this verse.  The coach on the side lines that is cheering us on.  It's His voice we need to keep listening to - its who we need to keep our focus on.  Because if we keep our eyes on that 'race marked out for us' - it could get scary & intimidating & make us just want to stop in our tracks & not move forward.  But if we fix our eyes on the One who we know will get us to the end of the race?  That's where I want my attention to be.

Because the verse tells us right there... He's the one who has drew up the race.  He's the one who wrote down the course.  He's the one knows what lies ahead.  Why wouldn't I want to keep my eyes on Him knowing that?

A simple verse - one you see on the back of shirts in races on runner's that are zooming by me... & I love the reminder that every day is a test of battling sin, but we can do it with the right focus & the right mind set of perseverance!

Now its time to step up to the starting line folks!

Soreness, more veggies & ALL THE LEMONS!!!

Week 2 of half marathon training is in the books!!

& it was the first week in awhile that I got in six days of working out!

Go me!

Monday - a good little run on the treadmill - where I once again got in 30 minutes of straight running!  I've giving credit to Friends.  It's been on during my runs after work.  I never tire of Friends. & all the mental power it gives me running.

Tuesday - I'm holding weights in the picture because I was intending on upper body, but this was the day I had TWO crowns done on my face & I was in PAIN... so I didn't want to get the blood pumping too much so I ended up putting the weights down & doing a Pilates workout.  My abs thanked me.

Wednesday - Treadmill run & yes, I usually start off with a sweater on in the basement.  But I don't know if it was the emotion from yesterday, much less the pain, because I wasn't feeling it one bit. I was dragging.... I mean DRAGGGINGGGG along.  I ended up going back to intervals for this run. 

Thursday - Beauty & the Beast - NO WORKOUT

Friday - Total Body Fix to get in some full body work. Again, don't know if it was the effects of emotional wear & tear from dental work but I was struggling.  & SORE!  Oh my gosh, at the end, I was hurting pretty good.

Saturday - Run 3.15 on the treadmill.  Again, the struggle was real.  WAY too real!  The only good thing about this one?  I put on Netflix & started watching Making a Murder ... a good distraction for me.

Sunday - Yoga!  I did it. Finally - stretched those muscles after a week of hard work.  I needed it. & found that I'm getting more strength in doing the Sun Salutations.  Maybe Yoga won't be such a pain in my butt in the future?  ... far off future that is...

It was crazy because after my run on Saturday, I was stiff. Like, it hurt to sit down & stand back up. The back of my legs & my inner thighs were crying.  & this was only my 5k run... This may be a tough go on building up the miles.  That's OK - I'm up for a challenge.

The best part of last week?  I hit my first goal I've been wanting to reach!!!

YES YES YES & YES!

Now its onto the final 25 lbs that I want to loose.  I know I'm on the right track now, that's for sure!

So if you are familiar with the 21 Day fix, the plan I've been doing, its all about containers & how much of each container you are allowed each day. 

Well, my struggle always has been & continues to be, the green container... VEGGIES.  Which may be weird to some since I'm a vegetarian, but I basically live on rice & beans ... carbs. I live on carbs.

So this week, I've been really trying to sneak them in when I can & this past week, I've been doing good by adding in 2 servings of veggie for my breakfast. 

Adding in a HUGE handful of spinach & freshly chopped mushrooms...

It's been really easy - put on some olive oil & pile it in while I'm getting ready for work - that spinach pile cooks down to nothing... & then I'm ready to come in & put in 2 eggs (1 red container) & viola - a HUGE breakfast that keeps me full all the way till 1:00pm & I eat this at 6am ... protein is key in staying full. I've learned that.

Top with some hot sauce & its been the best breakfast that is helping me get those veggies down easily!

1 yellow - 2 green - 1 red

On a side note, I posted this picture the other day...

LEMONS!  I am so obsessed with Lemons lately. 

When I was sick with this sinus thing, I got on a kick of drinking green tea with honey & lemon... & the lemon kick has been continuing.  I am cutting up a lemon every day to put in tea & especially in water...

So here's just some reasons why its a good habit to have...

Some Benefits of Lemon in Water

1.    Rich source of Vitamin C which helps protect the body's immune system.
2.    It balanced to maintain the pH levels in your body.
3.    Drinking early in the morning helps flush out toxins.
4.    Aids digestion & encourages production of bile.
5.    Helps reduce pain & inflammation in joints & knees as it dissolves uric acid.
6.    The potassium content in lemon helps nourish brain & nerve cells.
7.    Helps strengthen the liver by providing energy to the liver enzymes
8.    Helps the skin to prevent formation of wrinkles & acne.
9.    Help maintain the health of the eyes & helps fight against eye problems.
10.  Lemon juice helps replenish body salts especially after a strenuous workout session

You can read so many more benefits of what lemons can do... & I don't think any of it is bad... so why not pick up a bag & start squeezing away.

So now, we're heading into week 3 of training ... & I'm just looking forward to my long run of 4 miles this weekend because its supposed to be in the 50's...

I get to do it outside!  Can't wait!!!

Have a healthy week everyone!

Do you like lemons?

How do you get in veggies in your diet?

Ever feel like life just drains your energy?

The weekend that Beauty & the Beast just confused me....

So is everyone sick of snow at this point?

I think every picture on Instagram this weekend involved snow - snow fall, playing in snow, crying about the snow, hiding from the snow.

I was just glad our snow held off until Friday.

Why?  Because my weekend started off on Thursday when we went to see Beauty & the Beast.  Talk about lucky.  With the snow on Wednesday causing a mess, & knowing it was coming back in on Friday, that we got tickets a month ago for the one day that was fine, I was high fiving Jesus on that one.

Of course, I always love me some Beauty & the Beast... but I honestly was so confused.  Let's just start by saying I have seen the Broadway edition so many times that I can say pretty much the entire play, & definitely sing all the songs... except this time?  Everything changed.

They took 2 songs out which totally threw me off.... they used puppets in place of people in scenes which confused me.... the set was TOTALLY different & while it was OK, it just wasn't the full Beauty & the Beast effect it always had.  Like before, there was a whole stair case just like the movie - a scene that looked like a real library (an important part of the play) - & an actual looking tower where the Beast's rose was... this time, it was a 2 part set that just got spun around in different directions. SO weird.  & the costumes?  All different.  The main 3 of Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, & Lumiere?  I've seen better high school productions of costumes then these 3.  All the other times I've seen it?  So beautiful!  Breath taking!  This time?  Just cheap looking at times.   Honestly, I could have made Mrs. Potts costume.

& they took out MAIN lines of the show.  I mean, Mrs. Potts line is like my life motto...

& they changed it.  She said something like, "Don't you worry about a thing Belle.  Everything is just going to be fine.  It all will be just be hunky dory".

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!!?

That would be like taking Dorothy's "There's no place like home" & changing it to something like, "that house I sleep in will be nice to get back to"... WHAT?!?!?

... & the biggest blow me away part?  The yellow dress... ICONIC... that's how everyone knows who Belle is, right?  Well, first, the yellow dress again looked cheap.  I'm not even joking when I say that the middle school version of the play I just saw had a more beautiful yellow gown then this did... & then at the end, they covered it in PINK TULLE!! PINK TULLE?  YES!  Pink tulle!

I literally raised my hands in the air & said LOUDLY, "WHAT IS GOING ON?"

My expression for most of the play

... but again, I'll never turn down a Beauty & the Beast production... even if it messed with my brain so much, its all I could think about all weekend long.

Ricky & I were lucky once again because we had already planned on taking off on Friday so we didn't have to feel rushed on Thursday night to get home & get to bed... so when it snowed & was a yucky day, we got to take it easy.

... even though 'taking it easy' meant we rode down to Target & Starbucks in the middle of the snow storm.

We have priorities.

Starbucks iced coffee in the middle of a snow storm makes everything better

We got home right as the roads were getting fully covered & there we were & there we stayed.

The rest of the weekend involved a lot of coloring, crocheting & knitting, laundry, catching up on my DVR... all the big things in life.

Another head band to add to the pile
... I GOTTA start that Etsy shop

We never went outside all of Saturday.  Who'd want to get out in that mess anyways?

Sunday had me sleep in later then I meant to & we ended up missing church.  I can't rely on Ricky to keep an eye on the time & wake me up.  He gets caught up in cartoon world on the weekend mornings.  Bless him.  Oh well... I had an appointment anyways with a bride & groom that I'll be photographing in September so it worked out all OK anyways.

I met them at Starbucks & loved seeing the groom again - he's a brother of one of my previous grooms. I so love when I get to go back to families I've worked with before.  September will be here before we know it.

I picked up some more yarn - because you know... yarn -  got some lunch for Ricky & I & it was back home & time to make out bills....

with all my dental issues, this is WAY too true

boo...

I was happy to stay home & watch the snow melt away a little bit at a time.  My kitchen floors can't handle doggie feet tromping through snow all day long. I feel like my Swiffer mop is just an extension of my arms all of winter.

I did wrap up my weekend by being a good wife & making some dark chocolate brownies for my hubby. He panics when he doesn't have anything either A) full of sugar or B) lots of chocolate or C) All of the above... I was actually out of vegetable oil because I NEVER use it.  I guess you need to bake on a regular basis to use that stuff?  But I ran down to our new local Dollar Store - or as everyone calls it in our area, the Greenville Walmart.  It's been a lifesaver a few times for us where we didn't have to drive down to civilization.... but I took Bruno with me to get the vegetable oil & back to making Ricky's weekend complete with a sugary, chocolate smile.

I did good by getting in my yoga - FINALLY!!!!! ... & then it was time to settle in for my Downton Abby.  Anyone watching the show afterwards?  Mercy Street. I'm really liking that too.  Am I old that I'm starting to like PBS programming lately?

So how was your weekend?  Survive the snow storm?

Are you like me & counting down till Spring? .... 54 days if anyone wants to know....