Post Workout Routine

I thought I would take you through my post workout routine. It can be a bit different depending on the time of way I workout and what I have going on. But for the most part this is how my post workouts go!

First thing I do post workout is be thankful that it's over! After that I take my selfie! I gotta prove that worked out.  Did I mention that it usually takes me 10 pictures to get the "perfect" selfie? Yep!  I take some funny ones, serious ones, and all different angles.  Here is the "my booty is on FIRE" selfie. 

Next up is my post workout shake/smoothie. I like to get protein & water in my system ASAP!  So here is what I use!  First I start with about a half a cup of this berry blend from Costco.  I would highly recommend it if you haven't tried it before.  It is great for snacks or shakes or anything else you want to use it for.  The kids ask to have bowls of it, frozen, for snack and I've often done the same.  But I mostly use it in shakes and I love it!

Then I put in a scoop of protein powder.  This is the one I prefer.  It is a plant based protein shake.  I am by no means a vegetarian but I love the way this tastes and how it treats my body.  I would definitely recommend it!  They also have a vanilla chai flavor if you are just going to drink it with water that is AMAZING!  You can find it HERE or at a local health food store.  I actually get mine at Earth Fare. 

I have to blend mine in two batches because I use the little ninja chopper.  I also throw in a banana as you can see.  So I throw all of those things in with some water and blend away. 

I pour my mixture into a quart jar and put on a lid. I also need a straw so I throw one of those in.  It's not hard to make or rocket science.  That's just how I make mine. After I make my shake I take my shower and get on with life! That's pretty much how my post workout routine goes.  How about you?  Do you do the same thing each time? Do you have things that you HAVE to do post workout?

Love, Lacey

3 Words a picture - 3/20/15

I have been super sick this week and busy with work so I thought I would do the ol' 3 words a picture post.  Hope you enjoy!!

Drink this cider!

Seriously!  If you can find Vandermill "Totally Roasted" . . . BUY IT!!  It's not cheap I'll warn you now but it's like buying a cheaper bottle of wine.  It has a light crisp flavor and this one has a hint of sweetness and almost cinnamon. I told Mr. J it reminds me a bit of the German roasted almonds you buy.  Definitely worth the money!

Not my birthday!

I ran into a local store to grab a gluten free beer for a recipe and she didn't ask for my id.  I was really kind of upset at first but then I looked at my receipt! That is not even close to the year of my birth. That made my whole night!

Corned Beef Dinner

Like a good Irish girl I made Corned beef and cabbage! This is what I needed the gluten free beer for. I did taste it, it was ok. I used to be a dark beer drinker (see Guinness or New Castle) so this beer I chose was light like a miller lite. Not exactly my cup of tea but it was ok. The corned beef on the other hand . . . YUM!

St. Paddy's Fun

I also took this crazy picture on St. Paddy's day.  I was subbing that day and wore this adorable headband.  

First of Spring

As you can obviously tell by the snow, today was the first day of spring!  THANKFULLY we only got a dusting and it melted quickly!  I'm SO ready for warmer weather!

Running store danger

I ended up at our local running store and was talking to a friend who works there about trail shoes.  The more we talked and I tried on that more excited I got about running trails again.  Well lucky me, all trail shoes were on sale, I got a frequent buyer discount, & I had a gift card.  I walked out with new trail shoes for not much at all and $0 out of my pocket!  It was an all around good day!

Random Ramble

I have been feeling so uninspired lately to write.  I feel like I used to have so much to say and some pretty pressing things but lately life has just been flying by.  Between the kids in school, trying to keep up with the endless laundry, dishes, & house cleaning, serving at church, & trying to get in shape it seems like I never have time to really just think.  So I thought I would just post some fun random pictures.  And see what comes out of my mind! Oh dear!

The other day I posted about going to a local coffee shop in an old house.  I said to Mr. J, HEY! Take my picture.  So this was my best pose and he said "Are you going to blog that?"  Or actually he says B-(like the letter) then log.  He thinks he's so funny!  

This was my best "artsy" picture from the coffee shop.  They had couches and different tables and chairs.  But for some reason this old radio with the cute plant and old style folding chair spoke to me.  And look at those floors!!  Seriously!!  They were AMAZING!!  I kind of want to go back just to take pictures of the woodwork and flooring.  I can't even explain how gorgeous this house was. Old radios like this make me wonder who had it in their house? What programs did they listen to? Was it a family and they gathered around it each night to listen to the news? Did the kids sit down after school and listen to their favorite program, ala "A Christmas Story" and little orphan Annie? And those AMAZING floors, who has walked on those floors?  How many babies took their first steps there? Did anyone get married there? What's the story?

So let's talk about the elephant in the room for a min. My messy house.  It's not the end of the world, it's not hoarders status but like I said, some times you just don't have time to pick up before you take a quick OOTD (outfit of the day) picture before running out the door to dinner! But other than that!  Here is my OOTD from my birthday dinner.  The shoes are from JLo (Khols) and are at least 9 years old! The jeans are Vera Wang (Khols) they are the skinny style.  The top is Apt 9 (Khols) I just got this so if you are looking for a cute silky blouse go now!  The necklace is from ebay and the clutch is by Candies and I found it at a thrift store for a few bucks!  I loved this outfit.  I felt sophisticated and sexy all in one.  I always say my style icons are Jackie Kennedy Onassis & Audrey Hepburn.  I think I channeled a little of each in this one. 

After my birthday dinner Mr. J and I hit up a local bar.  It was nothing fancy, in fact we were probably over dressed but the music between the band sets was good, good drink specials, & so much people watching.  I love people watching.  I love to try to figure out the relationships between people and just generally watch.  I come by this honestly.  My grandmother used to love for us to go to the mall so she could sit and people watch.  My mom and I people watch all the time. One of my best friends is a people watcher too.  We love talking about the people around us and what we think their story is.  I'm not sure we ever get it right but it's fun. 

And lastly I got a birthday card from my daddy.  My mom had sent one to me in the mail but my dad felt like he needed to send his baby girl a special one I guess.  I do book work for my dad's business. I'm the only employee but shh don't tell anyone.  I kind of like being employee of the year! Although the Christmas parties aren't very big. I'm so thankful I can help my dad out, work from home, and have a little extra play money. Plus seeing the words "Love, Dad" never gets old.

Love, Lacey

Super Fun Birthday!

As you may or may not know, yesterday was my birthday!! Make sure you follow me on instagram (LoveLacey365) so you can keep up on all my fun day to day things!!!! Usually Mr. J & I go out to dinner on the weekend and call it good.  But this year he had some vacation days he didn't plan on using and asked if I had any ideas.  Well after a family vacation was planned, I said what if you took my birthday off and we just spent the day together.  So that's what we did!  There was an antique store about an hr and a half from our house that I have wanted to check out so we loaded up early in the morning and went for it.  A HUGE thanks to my mom (who I hope reads my blog) for helping out with the kids! We couldn't have done it without you!

At the antique store we found an amazing table!  I took some pictures so that I could recreate the table with our 'need of update' kitchen table.  It's hard to tell in this picture but the top is a grey/brown type color.  And the bottom is an off white.  SO gorgeous! We found lots of fun things and had a good time. 

Next up I was starving (that is not surprising!) so we started to check out local restaurants. When visiting a city we love to try to find local places to eat.  You know those little hole in the walls tend to be the best! Well when I looked at the map I found a place called "Slappy's rib shack".  We HAD to go! I said we could at least drive by and see what it looked like since it was kind of on the outskirts of town.  Well it was a little tiny building (no seating inside) with 2 HUGE smokers out front with smoke pouring out.  We both said THAT'S IT! We went in and Slappy himself helped us order, was very very nice & helpful, and can I just say that there is no picture of the food for one reason.  It was SO good and I was SO hungry that it was gone before I thought of a picture.  I"M SORRY!  But if you are ever in Rochester, IN RUN do not walk to Slappy's! I personally liked the pulled pork better than the ribs (and yes we ordered both) but they had so many amazing choices.  They even had fries that had pulled pork & nacho cheese on them.  OH goodness!

After lunch we walked around Big R which is like a tractor/farm supply store.  They had baby chicks and ducks in so I was in heaven just watching them and dreaming of the day we can get our own chickens.  After Big R, I spotted a winery on the map! I HAD to go!  So we stopped at Schnabeltier and did a wine tasting!  They make their own wine and cheese to go with it.  The girl in the shop (sorry I didn't get your name) was SUPER friendly and told us lots about the winery and the wines and how they came up with the unusual name and mascot! I ended up buying a bottle of wine to bring home and got to keep that adorable tasting glass! Love to find these little gems!

After the winery we had NO plans and a long drive home.  Most of the drive was through the country which led to lots of fun talks and just general enjoyment of being together and the amazing sunshine!  Soon we found ourselves pretty close to the next town so I started to look to see what was there.  Not much to be honest but they did have a local coffee shop (another favorite of mine) so we swung in.  Can I just say how AMAZING the house was? I literally walked through the downstairs (which was the sitting area of the coffee shop) saying "Oh my gosh!", "Oh look at that!", "OH how beautiful".  I wish I could have gotten a picture to show you how amazing the woodwork and walls and just the general beauty of this old house!  If you ever find your self in North Manchester, IN go directly to KenapocoMocha!  The lady that works there was very very sweet and the coffee was AMAZING!  

We stopped a few more places on the way home.  Nothing too exciting just general pop in and wander around types before getting Chipotle and heading home.  I had the best day with Mr. J and felt so special that he took the whole day to spend with me.  It was a great birthday!

Love, Lacey