FaVoRiTe ThInGs FrIdAy!!!

1st things list.....somehow, someway my foot is "better?"  No really it is, I am sooooooo NOT lying.  It does still hurt a bit when I am barefoot or wearing my rainbow sandals, but as long as I wear my running sneakers or any sneaker is seems to be fine.  Ran a quick 4 miles on the gym treadmill (8:25 pace) and felt like a million bucks.....

FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY (Oprah can do it so why can't I???)

A fun look at the food, fun, family and fitness things that work for my family and may work for you too!  

~Food~  

Friendship Whipped Cottage Cheese

"It's just cottage cheese" you may say and to that I would say" "Ohhhhhh NO it isn't!"  Have you ever tried Friendship Whipped cottage cheese?  I am a HUGE cottage cheese fan.  I pair it with just about everything and anything.  The reason it is so unbelievable is because it is a "dry" cottage cheese and it is not large curds, but rather almost a pureed consistency.  It is delightful...  TRY IT!

                                 

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread Mix

 Even though I spent many years baking and making every dessert from scratch, now that I am home and not in a professional kitchen I try to find good products that are quick and easy and many times way more cost effective than purchasing all the ingredients that would go into a cake, etc.  This pumpkin mix is UNBELIEVABLE!  I don't even have a Trader Joe's in Florida, but luckily my parents grab me a few boxes whenever they are coming in for a visit.  AND you can use TJ's pumpkin butter in place of the oil to make it that much better.  (I tend to add heaping cups of chocolate chips also...

~Family:~ 

Toy Story Yahtzee

We are a big time game family and finding games that can actually be played with a 4 year old where all of the rules can be followed can be tough.  ( many games make me want to rip my hair out and seriously test my patience with Oscar. )  This game is SUPER easy and a lot of fun to play.  Quick enough that you can start and finish it too.  (games like Sorry and Trouble are great, but unless we get a freak snow storm down here in Florida and are stuck home, games that can go on and on and on for hours are a NO GO! )

Veggie Garden

I have become such an advocate for people having their own gardens, on top of producing your own food, they are so fun for the whole family.  My 2 year old LOVES LOVES LOVES to water the garden and my 4 year old enjoys searching for new blooms, picking plants, planting seeds and just about everything in between.  They are very inexpensive to start up and once you have a  structure you are golden and can just plant seeds or buy "baby" plants for under $3 for a pack of 8.  If you don't have the space you can always plant in flower pots or even get a kiddie plastic pool...punch some holes in the bottom and use that.  I think our garden is so much fun and I am by no means a person with a "green thumb."  There is not much work to a garden once it is done and eating a salad with everything you grew is a GREAT feeling.  Right now we have zucchini, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, red leaf lettuce, spinach, butter and romaine lettuce, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.  All I need is a goat and a rice field and we would never have to leave home again!

~Fun~

The Hunger Games Trilogy

I LOVE to read but am always looking for books that don't require much effort as I need stimulation right off the bat else I will either close the book or fall asleep.  I have only read The Hunger Games, waiting on the 2nd book from the Library.  The book was really easy reading (Twilight level) and even though I am not a sci-fi person it really grabbed me.  

Bloggying

These past 10 days have been SO-MUCH-FUN!  No joke!  I am finally feeling like I have an outlet to say what I want and even if nobody reads what I write it is such an amazing form of therapy.  I have been reading many many blogs for years and having some of these ladies comment on my little posts is the greatest feeling in the world.  I am so happy with my 5 followers and hope more trickle on in.  

~Fitness~

Tracy Anderson Dvd's

These DVD's are great.  You don't need anything besides a chair, mat and 3# weights and they kick-arse!  Tracy does have a set of cardio dance type DVD's also, but I get enough cardio by running, biking, swimming and hopping on the elliptical, and I can't really imagine bopping around my house once I put the boys to bed at night.   
I bought mine on Amazon and I think they are great!

Asics Kayano 17
No, I don't even own 'em yet because I am cheap and don't want to shell out that kind of money...but aren't they dreamy?  I have a serious sneaker problem.  

"My name is Heather and I have an Asics Kayano addiction!" 

I have owned many many pairs of Kayano's throughout the years and I sometimes wish I had kept them all.  No joke I have probably had between 35 and 40 pairs I would guess.  Right now in my home I have 6 pairs and I sent my mom home with 3 more.  Normally I just have 1 pair for running, another "older" pair for everyday errands, and a pair of old old old ones for garden/yard work.  BUT I found an incredible deal on the 16's and so now I am breaking in 2 pairs with the high hopes of alternating sneakers.  (I have heard it is a great thing to do for the life of your sneakers to allow for the cushion and support to recover after use.)  I buy all of my sneakers through Kelly's Running Warehouse.  Their prices are the cheapest and once you get on their email list they send coupons for $20 off $100 and thing like that all the time.  




Have a great Friday!!