Maybe one day we will look back on this month and remember it was No Mask May! The beginning of the end of Covid (knock on wood). This month I’m using a photo from our garden Matt took. These are some irises I planted last year that are blooming now. I love irises!
Books I’ve Read
- The Most Fun We’ve Ever Had by Claire Lombardo- This story centers around the Sorenson family including the incredible, loving marriage of David and Marilyn and the lives of their 4 daughters and various challenges they face. This book was for our May book club. I didn’t realize when I started reading it on Sunday that it is over 600 pages! Ooops! But I did finish it in time for our Wednesday meeting. I loved that all of the characters were flawed in some way, but still lovable. The story was heartwarming and believable. It was fun to read since it was set in and around Chicago, too. 3.5/5
- Outlawed by Anna North- The story centers around Ada, a young woman living in the alternate timeline of the Old West. Ada is unable to become pregnant after being married for a year. She is accused of being a witch by her friend and has the option of joining a convent or becoming an outlaw. It was an interesting concept and plot to read and I really enjoyed it. 3.5/5 stars
Products I’ve Tried
- Naked Shake– This might be my favorite new product I tried this month! Since I’ve been increasing my running mileage training for a 1/2 marathon next month, I’ve been drinking protein shakes more often. It helps with recovery. This protein powder is delicious! I prefer it blended with ice and a few fresh blueberries. My husband loves it, too and has been making shakes with it for his breakfast. He likes to mix it with milk and fresh fruit. After we are done with this jar, he already wants to try the Strawberry Banana Naked Shake. The PB Blueberry has a strong peanut butter flavor with the undercurrent of fresh blueberries. I feel full for hours after having a shake and it helps satisfy my sweet tooth as well.
- All About Curls Leave In Detangler & High Definition Gel- I tend to wear my hair curly in the high humidity (aka spring and summer in the midwest) so finding good curly hair products is always important. Both products smell SO good. The detangler works really well and I really only need one pump of it for all my hair which says a lot. The gel is a bit on the heavier side. Although it says it isn’t supposed to be ‘crunchy’ it does harden a bit. You can break the cast pretty easily though. I just add some shine serum in my hands and scrunch my hair to break the cast. It does really define my curls well though so I’ll be using both of these products until they are gone.
- Temper Mints- I documented my experience with intermittent fasting and using Temper Mints to control my hunger pains on my instastories late last month and wanted to include my final thoughts here. They do work. No question. They work quickly and last for hours. I found taking them 1-2 hours before my eating window to help control my hunger while eating so I don’t overeat and essentially undo fasting. They really helped me get over that initial hump of acclimating my body to fasting 16 hours and eating during an 8 hour window. After about 2 weeks, I found I didn’t need them as much anymore. I only lost about 2 pounds and didn’t see any other positive effects from intermittent fasting over the 3 weeks, but I will continue for a while longer to see if there are results over about 2 months.
- 4D drink mixes- I don’t drink soda or coffee, but that doesn’t mean I avoid caffeine. It is so hard for me to stay awake most afternoons when I sit down to to blog work or my to-do list. I was excited about these flavors and that they were zero calorie. So many drink mixes have about 20-30 calories. I found them to be sweet and used them with 32oz. of water instead of the recommended 24oz. My husband and I both liked them! They gave me an energy boost without leaving me feeling jittery. I actually mixed some up for my running water bottle when I did my 11 mile run this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised with how I felt by mile 9 and 10 and even afterwards!
Recipes I’ve Made
- Sticky Toffee Banana Cake – I had lots of overripe frozen bananas to use up and since my hubby and I love sticky toffee pudding this seemed like a match made in heaven. And it was! So delicious!
- No Bake Funfetti Cheesecake– I made this with Aveline this week. I have to say I’m not typically a fan of cheesecake, but this is really tasty! I love the almond flavor.
- Loaded Chicken Bubble Up– This was another recipe we all enjoyed! It had a great taste and we loved the ranch flavor. It was easy to make, too!
Currently
- Celebrating – This month will be our 15th wedding anniversary! I can’t believe it. So we are celebrating by cashing in on Matt’s frequent flier miles and hotel points. He booked us a stay at the Hilton in Puerto Vallarta at the end of the month. I can’t wait!
- Collecting- This is really stumping me. I really don’t collect anything. My daughter Claire seems to be collecting origami figures though. She has been really interested in her new hobby lately.
- Gifting- Claire was really good and went through her toys this month. We are gifting quite a few of them.
- Thinking- It is really nice to see family again! I was just reflecting on how wonderful it was to be able to meet our new niece and see both sets of our parents for Mother’s Day. What a blessing!
- Trying- I’ve been trying lots of new nail wrap brands to test them out and do a large review post soon! I can’t wait to share my thoughts!
- Family Update-
- Claire- I already have her signed up for soccer in the fall and she can’t wait. We are hoping to get her involved in a swim team this summer, too. She has been enjoying doing so much origami lately. In fact we had to reorganize her toys and donate some to store her new paper treasures. Haha! But it’s really neat to see her make them and she does a great job. She also donated her hair for the second time this month. She looks so grown up!
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- Aveline- Avie has been really enjoying going to soccer on her own. I was able to sign her up for park district soccer int eh fall as well and I’m excited for her. Hopefully I’m able to get her into another activity or two for summer.
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- Matt & Me- We are SO excited to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary this month and go to Puerto Vallarta! Woohoo! I am also running my first half marathon this month. It will be my first one since having kids. We also hosted a Mother’s Day brunch for our families. It was lovely!
May Goals Recap
- Organize and clean garage- Done! It looked REALLY good, too! …for about a week anyway! Haha!
- Do a plaster hand cast- We didn’t have a chance to try this, but hopefully we can get it done this weekend.
- Scratch off a date night- Done! We tried one of The Adventure Challenge date nights and went to a new burger restaurant in Geneva. Before our reservation we enjoyed a glass of wine outside at Geneva Cellars and made up silly stories about the town’s history. It was such a fun night!
- Sign up for a 5K- Attempted. So I did try to sign up using a credit I had from a cancelled race last spring, but the credit wasn’t working so I’m waiting to hear back from the website so I can sign up.
- Try focaccia bread art- Done! You can see my reel here. It was really fun and yummy, too! I think next time I’ll make a larger pan of it.
June Goals
- Organize craft cabinet- I would love to take everything out of the cabinet/hutch I use for storing craft supplies and re-organize it all.
- Paint candlesticks- I have 2 candlesticks on my mantle that are almost the same color. I would love to paint them white with chalk paint so they stand out more.
- Try local custard stand- There is a local custard stand Claire and Matt have been wanting to try. Since we normally celebrate report cards with ice cream, this would be perfect!
- Sign up Avie for a summer activity- I have Claire signed up for Girl Scout camp in August, but it would be nice to sign up Aveline for something, too.
- Donate to Goodwill- Once again it’s time to sort out my pile and get it donated to Goodwill.
LINKING UP WITH ANNE & WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY
