Currently…{January}

I'm not sure how you guys feel about these posts, but they are some of my favourite to write (and to read on other people's blogs who do them), so I hope you enjoy them!

It's a new year, a new month and so here's a look at what I'm currently up to:

Thinking about: my mini-goals I made for January and how while I'm rocking some of them (meal-planning - still going strong!, read 3 books - almost there!, go snowshoeing - check!), I'm failing miserably at the go to bed by midnight one. And while I hate to use the word fail, I honestly cannot think of a better word to describe the situation. Because not only am I not making it to bed with the lights out before midnight, I'm not even close. For some reason, my bedtimes have been out of control this past month! We're talking 1am, sometimes 1:30am. And it's starting to take it's toll on me since I still have to get up in the morning with a toddler. I wouldn't call it insomnia, far from it, because it's not that I'm trying to fall asleep and can't, it's that I'm literally just not going to bed until after midnight because I'm not tired. Of course, come morning, I am, but in the evening, I feel like I could stay up all night. Sigh, what is wrong with me?!

Reading: I just finished Bird Box (scariest book EVER!) and I'm actually not sure which book to read next. I'm deciding between The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, or The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. Tell me which one I should read!

On the topic of reading, I've also been thinking about how I'd love to have a little on-line book club here. While I love reading, it's the most rewarding and enjoyable when you have someone (or people) to talk to about the book afterwards (or during even!). This is one of the things I like most about a book club. I can let you guys know a book I'm going to read in February at the end of this month, and then at the end of February I'll post a little review and we can discuss the book in the comments. We could also do a link up if people wanted to write their own post. I'm open to suggestions! Eventually, we could even vote on a book to read so that I'm not always the boss ;)

Listening to: So, I'm a HUGE Pitbull fan, like, his songs never get old for me and they are my go-to workout playlist songs. When I got my new vehicle, it came with a free 3-month subscription to Sirius radio and there's a Pitbull station! It's pretty much the only station I've been listening to this entire time, haha! This song is an oldie, but I just can't help but want to dance every time I hear it come on.

Watching: The Bachelor!! Ben is just adorable and the girls are as crazy (maybe even crazier?) as usual! I love that my husband is just as into this show as I am. It's too early to pick my top favourites, but so far I really like Caila, Amanda, and Lauren B. And I can't wait to see more crazy from Lace and Olivia!

Eating: I still have a long way to go with completely cleaning up my diet, but I'm happy to report that all of the cookies, sweets and chocolates that made it's way into the house over the Christmas holidays is almost all gone. I've been consistent with my meal planning since the beginning of the year, and that definitely is making a difference in eating healthier dinners and then healthier lunches since there's always leftovers for the next day. On the weekend, I whipped up a big batch of baked oatmeal which takes the guesswork out of breakfast and also ensures that I eat something nutritious and filling in the morning.

Wearing: At the moment I'm wearing one of my brand new Victoria's Secret bras that I talked about buying in this post and I'm not sure I ever want to wear another bra again! This thing is so comfortable! And what I love about their sports bras for maximum support is that they have built in cups so you're still left with so much shape, but tons of support. No more pancake boobs for me!

Looking forward to: Snowshoeing in the mountains next weekend with some good friends!

*****

Your turn! Tell me: 

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Which book should I read next? The Light Between the Oceans, The Pact, or The Husband's Secret?

Would you be interested in joining me for an online book club? I promise it will be super casual, and you don't have to have a blog to participate! 

If you haven't entered my blogiversary giveaway, what are you waiting for?

Happy Blogiversary to Me & A Giveaway!

I can't believe it's been 4 years since I started my little blog. Technically, my blogiversary is on January 2nd, but with the New Year and all the goal talking posts I wanted to get out there, I thought I'd hold off until this week to have a little celebration!

When I started my blog 4 years ago (then called Eat Books), I really had no idea what I was doing. The beginning of a new year seemed like a great time to start, and while I had wanted to start a blog for quite some time, I didn't put a lot of thought or planning into it before jumping in. Somehow I survived and navigated my way around the blogosphere and html. It's amazing what you can learn to do from a simple google search! In hindsight, I'd probably approach blogging from the get-go a bit differently, but I'm grateful I took the leap in the first place! 

I initially started Eat Books because, to be honest, I was too scared to write about my life and put myself out there. I also wanted a way to remember and cherish the books I was reading and somehow I had stumbled upon a whole world of book bloggers (something I didn't even know existed until then) and I was inspired to start a book blog. You can read my very first post ever here. (It's hard not to cringe at our early selves, isn't it?) Eventually, I realized that writing book reviews and limiting myself to just posts on books was getting tedious and a bit boring. It started to feel too much like school work and I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I also was beginning to feel more motivated and inspired to start blogging about other aspects of my life, not just the bookish side of it. Eventually, I took the plunge and changed my blog name, created a Facebook page and started to re-brand myself, if you can call it that. 

I'm definitely no expert or big-shot, nor do I pretend to be one, but I'm proud of this little corner of the Internet and how far I've come. I enjoy writing and sharing my writing and I'm forever thankful for the people who read what I have to say.

I haven't made a big ado about any of my past blogging anniversary's, mostly because, despite being a blogger, I don't like to draw attention to myself (I know, makes no sense!), but this year, with where my blog is at and with all the friendships I have made because of this blog, I knew I wanted to give away a little something.

So, after putting a lot of thought into it, and thinking about where this little blog all started from, I knew I wanted to incorporate some bookish aspect into this little giveaway.  I love, love, love to talk about books and give book recommendations to pretty much anybody who will listen. Last week, I shared my best reads from 2015 (there were 8 of them!) and I'd love to give one of those books to one of you! Of course, my favourite way to enjoy a good book is with a hot cup of coffee so I'm also including a $10 Starbucks gift card (you can spend it on tea or hot chocolate if that's more your style!). 

The winner will get to choose between these 8 books, and the book will be shipped to you via The Book Depository, and the $10 Starbucks gift card via email. In the hopefully unlikely event that you've either read all 8 of these books or feel strongly that you would prefer a different book, I'm sure we can arrange something! :) 

I can't thank you all enough for your support over these past 4 years - for reading, for your comments -and from a lot of you, your friendships! 

This giveaway is open internationally and ends on Sunday, January 17th at midnight MT. Good luck and thanks for entering! 

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1 week down, 51 to go!

Did everyone survive their first week of 2016? Are you still feeling motivated by all the goals you made for yourself? This is my first time really taking my goals seriously. I know it's only been one week, but I don't ever remember having this much awareness or motivation in the past when I've made goals. Maybe it's because I'm older now and since having a kid, time passes by even faster than I ever thought possible and so I'm more aware of how precious time is, especially the time I get to myself? Remember when we were younger, like college days young, and the days in-between a weekend were the longest days ever?! It would feel like eternity until the next weekend rolled around. I want that feeling back.

Anyway, in my neck of the woods, it's been a pretty great week. I kicked off last Monday morning with a trip to the grocery store, armed with my grocery list made from the meal planning I actually did the night before. I have to admit, I felt like a real grownup, perusing the grocery store with my list and crossing things off. And I didn't even stray which is HUGE for me. Of course, grocery shopping with a toddler takes a lot longer and while my little companion was a great sport the entire time, I'm thinking I'll try to get out on Sundays for groceries when I can.

{snack monster…strawberry stains and cookies!}

Some of our meals from the week:

Tomato & Basil Crustless Quiche - this recipe I got from one of my favourite cookbooks ever, Quinoa 365. I've actually made a lot from this book and we've loved everything I've ever cooked. This one was no exception, but I definitely need some work in the whole learning what eating a normal serving size feels like, because I felt like I could have eaten 3x this amount. This recipe also heated up really well for lunch the next day.

Baked "Oatmeal Cookie" Oatmeal from Budget Bytes. This actually wasn't even on the meal plan menu, but Saturday I felt like making something warmer and savoury for breakfast and I quickly stumbled upon this recipe on pinterest. I love recipes that require ingredients that are already pantry staples for me. I added chocolate chips and some walnut pieces to mine. I'm already looking forward to breakfast this week since this makes a lot!

Friday night I went out to my book club to Smuggler's Inn, which was really the perfect restaurant to tie in with our book, The Revenant. All day I knew I wanted to get steak, and so steak I did. Although, while there was nothing wrong with my meal, I always find the steak sandwich at restaurants to be a little underwhelming. And a whole lot of brown on the plate! Included in our meal though, was the salad and soup buffet so I did get in some greens and veggies beforehand, just no pictures.

Mid week, a really good friend of mine was passing through town and stopped in to spend the night with us. I've decided that mid-week visitors are a great way to break up your week! Carol and I have been friends since nursing school, and while our lives have taken us to different cities, when we do get to see each other, it's like no time has passed. That's the best kind of friendship if you ask me.

Carol is also one of my most adventurous friends and she brought along her snowshoes. She's so smart though, that when she bought her pair, she bought two pairs so that someone never has an excuse not to go with her! Brilliant. After Sully's nap on Wednesday, we bundled up and headed to Fish Creek Park where I crossed one off the ol' bucket list (and my January goals list!). I'm not really sure what I thought snowshoeing entailed, but it's much easier than I expected, and I already can't wait to go again.

I also got on the treadmill four times this week and ran for the first time on Saturday. Into the mix, I also threw in some quick little workout videos to compliment my hill walking. I feel like it's been so long since I regularly worked out that my new approach is going to be to gradually increase my workouts (both in length and intensity) in hopes to build a habit of being active instead of just a phase. I think I often jump in 100% head first without any acknowledgement to my muscles or body. But this time, I want to be kinder to my body and accept that I'm essentially starting from zero right now. Which means I can only go up, right?

Other exciting news:

I finally bought new sports bras. My boob size has been all over the map since getting pregnant. First they got really big. Then after the first several months of nursing they seemed to deflate a bit back to normal, but then I couldn't really remember what my "normal" size was anymore. Throw in a bit of weight gain, and they last thing I wanted to do was invest in expensive sports bras when I didn't know if I was at my new normal size. So basically, I've just been wearing a regular old bra with a crappy old sports bra on top. Shameful and not very comfortable! I finally got to the point where I realized I was avoiding working out some days because I DREADED putting on my two crappy bras. So ya, long story long, I took advantage of Victoria's Secret sports bra sale today. With the purchase of a sports bra, you get a pair of leggings for free! And I definitely don't need anymore leggings, but you guys, when I tried them on, I was sold - the higher rise holds everything in real nicely and they were just comfortable all around. AND, as a pretty short person, they aren't too long! Only bummer was they were so picked over in colours that I had to settle for pretty much black everything.

And thanks to Becky and Leigh for telling me about this tank…of course I couldn't go home without it!

Friends, tell me how your first week of the year went!


Best meal you ate last week?

Favourite type/brand of sports bra?

Have you been snowshoeing before? Love it or leave it?