M .I .A .

M.I.A. - Missing In Action.  That pretty much sums up my past few weeks and why I haven't been very active on my blog.  I know you all understand how the days of August start to fill up with lots of to-dos with the anticipation of the busy days of September drawing near.  

Ever since August 1st I have been making more "to-do" lists than usual, getting back on track with my health and fitness goals {yea!}, and trying to squeeze in as much summer fun as possible.  

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the past few weeks.

Digging up the shore in search of buried treasure!

Watching movies on a rainy day with friends.

Cleaning out our office and adding some much needed shelves!

 Catching some waves

Read, reading, reading!

Learning to swim and losing some teeth {not at the same time!}

  I think I will be a bit sad when school starts this year - it's been a wonderful summer! I feel so blessed that I was able to spend every day with our boys this summer.  We had lots of fun together and I know the memories we made are not going to just be remembered by me...the boys will remember these days too.  

So if you don't see much of me on here for the rest of the month please know I am off having fun with my boys, curled up on the couch reading, or catching up with a friend.  

I hope you too are saving some time for fun and relaxing...as I've figured out this summer the to-do lists will always wait for you but the days of summer will be gone before you know it!

How was your summer?  Are you ready for it to be over or are you savoring each day?

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Blog Love

I've been given a blog award!  I've received the award "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award", which is to encourage the spirit of sisterhood.  Erin from Chronic Christian Crafter nominated me for this award.  How sweet is she to think of my little blog?!  Take a minute and stop by her blog!

Here are the rules:

1.  Thank the giver.

2.  Post 7 things about yourself.

3.  Pass the award onto 7 other deserving bloggers and inform them that they have been nominated.

4.  Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog.

7 Things About Me:

1. I have my mom's hands.  People have always said I look like my mom {and I do}, but it's my hands that I often look at and see the hands of my mom.  I love that my mom and I share so much in common.

2.  My favorite color is red. I love to wear it and decorate with it - just love the rosy cheerfulness of this color!

3.  Some day I'm going to own a beach house.  Not sure when or exactly how, but I'm going to have a lovely little beach house where The Mr and I spend our days with our toes in the sand.

4.  I wish I could have my own chickens and chicken house in my backyard.  I would love to have fresh eggs to eat each day -YUM!

5.  Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year.  Love the magic of the night, the traditions shared, and the hope of what the next day brings.

6.  I'm a morning person.  A wake up singing with a huge burst of energy morning person!  

7.  Peanut butter is one of my favorite things to eat.  I have some almost every day {I have to measure it out because I've been known to get carried away with a spoon and a jar!}.

Now the fun part...I get to pass on the award! ...and the winners are {drum roll, please!}:

Lovely Little Things
Keeping It Simple
Confessions of a Redheaded Mama
Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Jenni From the Blog
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
The Nest Effect

Congrats ladies!!
I enjoy each of these blogs and know you will too!

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Good Deed Monday #7

Last week's good deed was to host a swap party.  Now unless you are a super speedy person I doubt many of you were actually able to host your own swap party in a week.  But maybe it got you thinking about hosting one of your own.

I had an accessories swap party last Thursday.  It was a lot of fun and very easy to do.

I invited a bunch of friends about 2 weeks prior and asked them to go through their drawers and closets and bring any good but no longer needed/used accessories to swap.  I chose accessories because one size fits all.

I set up my small craft room off of the family room to feel a bit like a store.  I used trays and mirrors for the jewlery table.  I used my coat rack and a card table for bags and purses.  My two tier basket was used to hold scarves and a large wicker picnic trunk was used to hold wallets, belts, and "shopping bags" {gift bags}.

I made some yummy treats for my friends and I to enjoy while "swap shopping".  Most of my treats were inspired from things I have pinned from Pinterest.

Brie and Cherry Pastry Cups from Eat Yourself Skinny!

Cannoli Dip from Big Red Kitchen

I used red pepper hummus and roasted onion dip in my veggie cups

I also served a signature drink so I wouldn't be opening wine bottles all night.  I made a Gin Bucket - it was refreshing and tasted nothing like gin {perfect drink for a girls night out!}!   Everyone loved it and it was fun to serve something new.

I set up the "swap store" as my friends arrived.  They enjoyed the food and drink while the "store" was closed.  Once everything was set up the "store" was open and the shopping began!  Everyone just helped themselves to items they liked.  It was the best guilt free shopping!

Everyone went home with some new treasures and the few items that were left over are being donated to a local charity.

There are lots of types of swap parties you can host:
Book Swap {adult, children, cookbook}
Clothes Swap {adult or children}
Halloween Costume Swap
Toy Swap
Recipe Swap
Coupon Swap
Food Swap
Seed Swap

The internet is a good starting point when looking for ideas and methods for swap parties.
I just might have to have another swap party...maybe a food swap!

Let me know if you are planning a swap party and what you are swapping!

This week's Good Deed Monday #7 is:
Drop off hand written/drawn thank you notes and doughnuts {or baked goods} at the police station.

Hope you have a great week!

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Good Deed Monday #6

Wow, this week has gone by FAST!  I'm a bit late posting this week's Good Deed - sorry!

I have a feeling that my posting schedule will be changing a bit as the start of school approaches - I love Good Deed Monday posts and I will do my best to make sure there is a good deed each week.

Last week's Good Deed was:

Keep your town clean!  Bring a plastic bag with you the next time you are out out running errands, taking a walk, playing at the park and pick up any trash you see laying around.

My boys were especially interested in helping out with this deed.  They loved gathering up some grocery bags and disposable gloves for this very exciting clean-up mission.

We headed over to a local park that is near a walking/bike path and picnic table area.  Unfortunately, we were not disappointed and found LOTS of trash to pick-up.

It didn't take long to clean up the area and it has sparked a new awareness of litter - for both myself and the boys.  You know how you don't really notice something until it's brought to your attention?  Well, that exactly what has happened.  While driving, I now hear from the backseat, "look, there's some litter!!".  I don't think I will be able to go for a run without bringing a bag with me.  It's hard to ignore something once you are more aware.

A little factoid:
If every person picked up just one piece of litter today, there would be over 300 million fewer pieces of litter. If every person picked up 10 pieces of litter, there would be 3 billion fewer pieces damaging our environment.

This week's Good Deed is:

Host a Swap Party! 

This week I will be hosting an accessories swap party.  It's a fun night out with the girls where each guest brings {in our case, accessories} gently used and no longer needed items to be swapped.  Anything that is left over is then donated to a local charity.  Sounds like fun, right?!

Now, I realize this takes a bit of planning and one should provide 2-3 weeks notice so friends can clean out drawers and closets.  Maybe you can start planning your own swap party this week!  

Check back next Monday to check out my party!

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Post Workout Meal

Lately, I've been getting my workouts done very early in the morning.  

5:30 AM EARLY.  

For some reason the summer months wreak havoc on my workout schedule and more workouts are missed than completed.  

I decided a few weeks ago to go back to my early morning schedule and I'm still trying to adjust to the early start to my day.  I'm really dragging by the afternoon on the days I'm up before 5 AM!  

I love how my workout is done before I've even started my day so nothing can sidetrack my efforts but I really don't like the sluggish feeling I've been having in the afternoons.

I've found that the more water I drink pre and post workout the less fatigued I feel. Especially during these hot summer days!  I also have a yummy power meal that I like to make for either breakfast or lunch that always gives me lots of energy and is packed with filling protein and potassium. 

Post Workout Meal

1 Banana {sliced}

1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt {plain or vanilla - I really like Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt}

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter 

2 tsp Honey {if using plain yogurt to add a touch of sweetness}

Add everything together in a bowl.

Mix together.  Enjoy!

You can also make this the night before if you need to be able to grab it and go.

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