my summer faves...

I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by! It's hard to believe the girls will be going to school in a little over a month! Summer is my favorite time of year and I will be sad to see it go.  I decided to put together a little post on some of my favorite things from this summer so far.  

1.  My fitbit Flex.

I am definitely a goal oriented person, and you give me something to work towards, and I will go after it until I get there.  My favorite thing about the fitbit is that it syncs to your phone and you can use their free app to keep track of your steps, log calories or water intake, track exercise and sleep, and keep an eye on how much distance you have covered and how many active minutes you have had throughout the day.  One of my daily goals is to get the recommended goal of 10,000 steps per day.  I don't always achieve it (especially on rainy days that I am stuck inside), but it gives me something to aspire to each day.  It has definitely given me a different mindset when it comes to being active, and I will take the stairs rather than the elevator, or go down to the basement to get something for the millionth time that day rather than ask my husband if he will graciously do it (he enjoys this about the fitbit as well).  

2.  Working out daily.

Oh how I have loved this.  Now that I am home during the day with my girls, I have been able to make working out a priority and I have done it for eight weeks now! I am on my last week of the 21 day fix, and then I will start Jillian Michael's Bodyshred.  I am both excited and nervous for this!  It has been so great to see the change not only in my physical appearance, but in my energy and my confidence as well.  I am eating clean as much as I can, and tracking my calories daily.  I do this to keep a log of my choices and to see how quickly it adds up, but I am not doing it just to lose weight.  I would like to lose a pound or two, but mostly I want to make sure I am not choosing things with empty calories, but with nutrients that will fuel my body for the day.  I appreciate my body's hard work and I don't want to undo my workouts in the kitchen!

3.  Going on adventures.

I promised myself that if it was a sunny day, the girls and I would go out and enjoy it, at least for a little while.  I tend to save all my cleaning/laundry/vacuuming for rainy days so that the other days we can go to the beach or  hike a mountain.  We have gone to Storyland and we have made ice cream at a nearby farm, we have planted flowers in our front garden and have gone strawberry picking.  The summer is going to end eventually, and when it does, I want to feel like we made the most of it.  On those rainy days, I let the girls play on the computer or watch dvds more than I normally would, but if it is a nice day - forget it! I want them to enjoy the lazy days of summer and get the rest that they need, but I also want to make sure they are being active and enjoying the lovely sunshine!

4.  Upping my water game.

I have been really trying to stay hydrated and encouraging the girls to do the same.  Sometimes plain water is, well, plain.  I cut up a small lemon and lime and put them in a large mason jar and I drink it throughout the day.  This gets harder when we are on the go, but I am trying to be more intentional about it, and I can tell when I haven't had enough!  The fitbit app helps you keep track of how much water you have had, and so I use that to help me as I try to reach my goal of 64 oz a day!

5.  KIND bars:: My go-to snack.

One of my favorite snacks to grab and throw in my beach bag are KIND bars.  They are so good, and I feel like they are pretty good for you for the most part.  I don't have these every day, but they are super tasty and perfect after a run or while at the beach. 

6.  Protein Shakes.

Most mornings I will make a smoothie with frozen fruit and almond milk, but sometimes there is not enough time for this.  I love that on busy days I can just grab one of these protein shakes and a banana, and walk out the door.  Summer has been busy, (and not just to hurry and get a good spot at the beach!) ;)  We have had a few early mornings for appointments or swim lessons, and this makes my morning a lot simpler!  I have tried a few different kinds, but the milk chocolate one by Level Life is my favorite by far!  It takes delicious and I promise I feel full until lunch.  

7.  Justin's Maple Almond Butter.

I have fallen in love with almond butter.  My favorite is the maple, but I like Justin's Honey one too.  ( I haven't tried the vanilla, but I think I will next time).  I have found that PB&J's are great lunches for the beach, although in my case I guess it is an AB&J.  I pair it with my homemade strawberry basil jam, or sometimes I will put a teaspoon or two of organic raw honey.  So good and super easy for throwing in the beach cooler.

8.  Coconut water.

I only tried coconut water once before, and it was the plain/original.  I didn't like it, and so I swore off all coconut water for years.  I decided to give it another shot, and I bought a four-pack of it.  Still did not like it.  However, I saw some flavored ones and figured I should at least try them before I decided coconut water wasn't for me.  I went with the pineapple. So. Good.  I love it. Don't worry, the original coconut waters didn't get wasted.  I have found that they are just fabulous poured over ice and mixed with some Malibu.  Yep, just saying.

9.  Pretty pineapple background:: thewonderforest

I found this on www.thewonderforest.com and fell in love.  They have a strawberry and watermelon one too, but this is the one I like best.  It is on my phone and on my laptop.  It totally feels like summer to me, and it is so fun.  Definitely one of my summer faves.

10.  My powersheets:: Keeping them visible

I have been using Lara Casey's powersheets since January and I absolutely love them.  One of the things that I just started doing, was keeping my goals, my vision board, and the list of what fires me up visible.  I actually re-wrote my goals (they stayed the same), re-did my vision board (decided to use pictures rather than words) and expanded the list of what fires me up ( I added a LOT more. ) before putting them on the wall, and I really love waking up to this each morning.  I might re-do my vision board seasonally because I want it to capture where I see myself going over the next few months and that changes with the seasons  (flowers and the beach in summer, apples and beautiful leaves in the fall, etc).

All in all, I want my summer to be one that I look back on and cherish and feel like we made the most of every day.  I am totally loving it, and never want it to end!