Friday Thoughts

friend! Hi.

It’s been a long time since I checked Friday’s thought post. I really miss you! Friday Thoughts are some of my favorite posts (and reading your comments!), so I’m determined to bring them back more regularly.

how are you? How are you really?

The last few months have been a whirlwind here. I think many people feel the same way.

Here are five things that stick in my mind. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

life these days

Finally getting warmer here means the meadows and grass are growing like crazy and we spend a lot of time outside (weeding – SO.MANY.WEEDS).

Our fruit trees are blooming and we have planted 5 more. (And we mean Brian.) We already have two apples, two plums, three peaches and one cherry. I currently have 2 pear trees, 1 cherry, 2 apricots and 1 nectarine.

I have no advice on growing fruit trees. Our soil is poor. But we are learning as we go, and hopefully this year the established fruit trees will be rewarded with real fruit (not eaten by wasps and earwigs!).

This spring has been tougher than I expected. Life has a way of throwing curveballs when you least expect it. A few months ago, Brian’s position at work was unexpectedly removed. It was definitely not what we were prepared for, but it has given us so many unique blessings in it, including the opportunity to start working for himself, something Brian always wanted to do. I’ve seen it delivered.

For Brian’s first few days back home full-time, I kept a to-do list as a way to “help” him stay busy until he found a new job. new boss. 😂

I appreciate this blog space more than ever. I really like being here because I get to interact with you, but this blog also helps provide our family financially (which is a huge blessing right now). I’ve been working hard on a few additional blogging projects over the past few months, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this sleep-deprived in my life because of some deadlines. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is good. Because my kids need their mothers to come back in non-zombie form.

As for the kids, they are still busy with spring sports, getting ready for summer work, working on the grounds (because the weeds are growing faster than we can pull), and buying more cows at cattle auctions. nurture. Other ups and downs of a child/teenage life, including the new her teen driver. please pray for me

Also, we’re officially in the process of figuring out how to raise young adults. I feel unqualified to do this.

Hair loss

My hair is struggling thanks to a combination of aging, thyroid issues, stress and what else. It is definitely thinner than before along the partial line of .

As with anything health-related, Google searches overwhelm me (and kind of make me uneasy – wow, some of the proposed solutions are intense 😳).

My thyroid levels and blood tests are all normal so far. I think it’s because my stomach tends not to be so good).

anyway. Another fun side effect of my 40s.

If you have any tips for helping thin, struggling bass hair, let us know!

love of working out

Last year I started a weightlifting program. Sadie Active App, after seeing a friend’s post about it. I’ve always been *pretty* decent at moderate exercise, but I wanted to implement more weight training, which I had been doing only sporadically over the years. (This is completely unsponsored. I pay my own monthly dues.)

I’m crazy!This is the best workout program I’ve ever done (see Sadie’s Instagram account if you want to learn more). I’ve been doing weight training with the app since September and I feel stronger than ever.

What I like most is that the app tells you exactly what to do and how many times, and has videos that demonstrate proper form. Exactly what I need. Also, I do different workouts every week, which is great for someone like me who easily gets bored with repetitive workouts.

You can choose the “Gym” setting or the “Home” setting. I am mentally allergic to exercising in public, so I always exercise at home. No official home gym. It’s just a bonus room stuffed with random exercise equipment.

I prefer to set the app to the “Gym” setting, exercise at home, and modify my exercises to work with minimal equipment.

Some essential equipment for your home workout. The links below are Amazon affiliate links. Shop online locally or elsewhere for the best prices.

Optional home gadgets that you can add later or are a bonus if you already own one: Kettlebells, exercise balls, pull-up bars and weighted bars.

The workout is 45-60 minutes, but can easily be shortened by cutting all reps in half. In addition to lifting weights 3-4 times a week, he tries to do a few low-intensity cardio sessions when he has time (walking on the treadmill, biking with his family, etc.).

I can’t say enough good things about this workout app. I enjoy working out (I know my muscles are sore!) and it helps me build muscle and get stronger (sorry, no selfies). I love it!

Korean drama

Well, I’ve officially jumped on the Korean drama train. My entire extended family was poetic about her Crash Landing on You (like everyone else in the world), but I resisted. Most of the time, I don’t watch much TV, so when I do, I want to be able to multitask. However, reading subtitles severely limits multitasking, so I resisted.

After getting sick in February and being in bed for over a week, I finally decided to jump in.

I saw Crash Landing on You and loved it. I re-watched it with Brian and Cam in the last month or so (it’s very endearing how invested Camlin is in the character). The two main characters are actually married in real life, so it’s fun for all of us romantics at heart!

After a few minutes, you barely realize you’re reading subtitles. In fact, after finishing the series, I swore I was fluent in Korean. 😂

For Cam’s birthday earlier this month, I gave her this as a gift finger heart shirt {aff. link} (A lovely gesture in many K-dramas). Since then she wears it almost every day. 😍

I listened to podcasts and books while walking on the treadmill or riding my stationary bike. Now it’s all K dramas. I have zero regrets.

I watched Business Proposal, Furusato Cha-Cha-Cha, and Love Special Training. They’re all great for different reasons. I have never been a big fan of Love and Weather or her private life.

Cam and I just started watching Start-Up and we love it. So far, K-Drama has been clever, funny, and clean. I wonder if I’ll ever watch a show without subtitles again. Oh, one word of advice: if you can watch a K-Drama show dubbed in English, don’t watch it. I tried it on a business proposal and it was ridiculously annoying.

Have you ever jumped on a K-drama train? If so, what are your favorites? Special Attorney Wu see next on my list!

what i love

So I’m going to wrap this up with a few of my recent favorites. {Your Amazon purchases contain affiliate links. No sponsors. I buy what I like }

• this is my favorite dress summer dress (Especially after trying on the famous Somerset dress that everyone raved about, I felt like a moody pioneer). This dress is flowy and light and much cheaper! Available in green and floral pink.
• i use this foot cream before going to bed every night. very.
• Hate melting butter and having it explode all over the microwave?i saw These microwave butter melters On Instagram, and so far, they’re definitely saving my sanity.
• A while back, I asked a question on Instagram about non-bleeding mascara, got hundreds of responses, and tried some of the best mascara recommendations. I live under a rock here) so I decided to give it a try. I tried Thrive Cause Metics Liquid Lash Then I looooove it. I’ve been using it for a few months now and am a super fan. It’s definitely more expensive than the everyday waterproof mascara I’ve been using for years (it’s not waterproof, but I’m used to it)… But it really lasts a long time.
• i bought this ceramic baking dish A recent photo shoot made it one of my favorite baking sheets. The perfect Mother’s Day gift (for yourself or someone else).
• this is my Favorite self tannerIt’s very subtle and works gradually, giving my lily-white legs the hint of color I need. I use it in the morning several times a week.Once dry, add a layer of daily body lotion And I don’t really mind the smell.
• my brother and i bought this digital picture frame For my mother’s birthday earlier this year. She always had old stuff on her counter in the kitchen, but since she couldn’t add photos of her remotely, all photos were at least 10 years older than her. This new frame allows us all to upload photos via an app on our cell phones, since the three of us live a few states away from my mom. she loves it!
• i bought this vacuum mop And months later, I still really, really appreciate the value it brings to my life. I still clean my floors quickly before use to minimize the amount of junk I have to clean up after. Our downstairs is mostly LVP flooring with a long dusty driveway and 25 Living on an acre lot, my floors get messy. This mop is as easy as vacuuming and I love it. It’s a bit of a hassle to clean up afterwards, but still very worth it for me. Do not use the cleaning solution sold with it. I just use water and it cleans amazingly well.

Thank you for being here, my friend.

Life has been a little messy and heavy lately, especially when it comes to motherhood and its ups and downs, but I have so much to be grateful for. I mean, feeling all the emotions, crying, screaming in my pillow, I’m also trying to find blessings and there are a lot of them.

Next week, we’ll be blogging about fun, free resources for kids leaving home after graduation. We also have some amazing new recipes coming this month!

This is one of my happiest places and I really appreciate all of you. love your guts! 💗