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Friday Favorites
This week has been a week full of fun and family time. We’ve been in Central and Southern California all week…and it has been heavenly. Our family has been in desperate need of relaxation and no drama. It has been nice rounding out a crazy June with a vacation. For this week’s favorites, I discovered a few of them in an effort to aid in vacation activities as well as keep my OCD levels at a minimum. I LOVE the beach…but I loathe sand. I feel the same way about playing in the sand as I do about playing in snow…it’s grand at the time, but it needs to stay…
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Modern Calligraphy
Interesting handwriting has always drawn me in. I love beautiful texts and was totally the girl who would try to get away with using Comic Sans on every paper I wrote for homework in high school…to which all of my teachers loathed. Modern Calligraphy, or hand lettering, has been something I wanted to try but never knew where to start. I already have somewhat obscure handwriting and my dad teases me about it all of the time. When I saw these how-to workbooks I thought I would dive in. I first purchased The Guide to Mindful Lettering by Lisa Funk. I was intrigued by her honesty about her backstory and wanted to…
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Grilled Steak & Veggie Rolls
I am a carnivore at heart. I love a yummy salad, but not much can beat a really good steak. After dad’s heart attack and surgery, I was on the hunt for foods and recipes that still had the familiar flavors my dad loves but were heart healthy. While red meat isn’t the most heart-healthy protein out there, I wanted to show my dad that he didn’t have to give up everything he loved…that if prepared right and consumed in moderation he could still enjoy and indulge occasionally. I found some sirloin side tip steak, which happens to be one of the leanest cuts of beef, for a good price at the…
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Friday Favorites
photo credit: The Velvet Snout, http://www.thevelvetsnout.com/ Yesterday was the first official day of summer, and of course in true Vegas style, it was also the hottest thus far coming in at 111 degrees F. At that temperature, you head to the pool, hunker down inside or escape to the air-conditioned movie theater. We spent the day at the pool and Goob was a champ for it being his first time. He stayed in the shade the whole time with me while the 3 amigos swam, but there wasn’t any crying, he just laid by me enjoying the mom time and being shirtless. Dying to find out this week’s top favorites? …
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Bloggers I Love
Long before I ever even considered becoming a blogger, myself, I began reading others’ blogs. For me, I felt like I was connected to them, I laughed when they were laughing and I cried when they were going through hardships. I celebrated when they had huge milestones and accomplishments. Since then, I followed quite a few of them to YouTube when they began their channels. Even though I am seriously addicted, OK that seems extreme, to their YouTube channels, I still find myself going back to their blogs time and time again. I love connecting with them through their posts, trying recipes they post and stylish tips and tricks they…
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Air Fried Cauliflower Bites
I bought Mr. Man an air frier for Father’s Day, it arrived midweek last week and we’ve already used it 5 times. A majority of the time we make sweet potato fries, because…well…sweet potato fries! Need I say more? The other night I decided to use up the last of the cauliflower florets that I had left over from making cauliflower rice earlier in the week. And now air fried cauliflower bites are in our normal rotation. We invested in the air frier because the dietitian suggested that it would be a good cooking substitute for dad now that he needs to be on a heart-healthy diet. With the air frier,…
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Gifts for Him-Father’s Day Ideas
We all have someone special in our lives that is a father figure; whether it is your own father, a father-in-law, grandpa, husband, partner, coach, teacher…someone to look up to and give you advice and unconditional love. With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, I wanted to share some of my picks for gifts. And if the man/men in your life are just as difficult to shop for as my husband and dad; then this post will really come in handy. While I am a little late in the game for posting, these gifts would be appropriate for any occasion. One of my most favorite gifts I gave Mr. Man…
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Instapot Heart-Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Dad is beginning his 3rd week in the hospital. He’s now in the cardiac rehab unit and learning all sorts of ways to function without putting pressure on his arms. I had no inkling all that entailed recovering from a heart attack and bypass surgery. TV and movies definitely gloss over the intense parts. Not only his he recovering from double bypass surgery, he also has his sternum and ribs healing, as well as several incisions on his lower leg. The ribs and sternum were sawed through so the surgeon could get to dad’s heart, and the leg incisions are from the surgeon searching for a viable vessel for the bypass. …
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Friday Favorites
This week’s Friday Favorites are all over the place. I’ve been spending the last 2 weeks driving to and from the hospital every day. So all of these items have been a lifesaver as I have been spending as much time with my dad as possible. He’ll have one more week of recovery at the hospital from his double bypass surgery and then he will be at my house for at least a week before he and mom head back home to Idaho. These first two items go hand-in-hand. The DULLA battery pack holds 4 charges for an iPhone X and has a flashlight built in. I also purchased…
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Trials
I have written and rewritten this post too many times to count. It has been a struggle to put my thoughts and feelings into words. This week has been one of the toughest in my life. Just like anyone else, I’ve endured many trials, nothing terribly unique. Mr. Man and I have had struggles and hardships we’ve weathered through…but this week…this week has definitely made me pull out my big girl panties. I can do hard things! I CAN do hard things! I can…but usually I don’t want to. I am a stubborn, hardheaded gal. Probably because my dad comes from a long line of Norwegians. When it comes to…
