Sluggish....

 

 

Lately I've been feeling so tired. Sluggish. Eleven am and my eyes are already burning-type of tired. Do I get enough sleep? Yeah, about 7 hours a night most nights. Am I just working too much? Those 12 hour shifts are long, but it's not like I haven't been doing them for years. What is going on?

 

Then it hit me. Leah, you don't exercise. Yeah I'm on my feet all day at work; Granted I take my dogs for multiple walks during the week. But, let's face it, I don't do anything noteworthy of being called exercise. And that is simply not good. Really not good.

 

I'm young and possibly have a slight feeling of "I don't need to work out yet. Don't need to worry about that till I'm older". Truth is, right now is most important. I heard once : treat your body nice now, you'll be thanking yourself later. I want that to be me. I want to thank myself in 20, 40 years for being good to my body. I need to work it out and push it to keep it healthy and strong.

 

My Pinterest board keeps growing and growing with little work-ups that I could do outside, or even inside my own home. Easy ways to keep me moving. I'm no good at the gym - too much unstructured time to myself to just walk around. Plus even changing into workout clothes seem to take effort, let alone driving to a gym. These little work-outs are great (yes I have tried a few) and I always end saying that wasn't so bad and I feel so much better about today! But why can't I keep that motivation up?

 

I think after these weeks of just being too tired, I've had enough. I need to be more active; for my life now and later.

 

Here's to starting again,

 

xo leah

DIY: Wooden Chalkboard Slab

This is a super simple, satisfying DIY. Things chalkboard are becoming very popular right now, as well as using wood. I've seen a lot of little projects and pictures that use chalkboard slabs in the projects. They are fun and look really great. Here is what you'll need for this little DIY: 

1. A wood slab (I found mine at JoAnn Fabrics)

2. A small paintbrush

3. A can of regular-black Chalkboard paint

Instructions:

1. Slowly paint the outlines of your "chalkboard". You can paint right up to the edge, or have a much smaller chalkboard area, whichever you prefer.

2. Fill in the rest of your chalkboard area. 

3. Let stand for about 30-60 minutes to fully dry. 

4. Paint one more coat. 

Hang on the wall of your choice and enjoy your new space for further creativity!

To simple DIYs, 

xo leah

Recipe: Easy Bread

Yesterday I ventured to make my first loaf of bread. The last skill on my resume is a baker. I do not bake. If you ask me to bring dessert to a food function, it will always be store bought. However, technically bread making is baking. I was determined to make a good (okay, hoping for great) bread; so I put aside my fears of the term baking and tried my hand at bread making. 

What you'll need: 

1 large bowl

1 wooden spoon

3 cups Unbleached Bread Flour

1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Instant Rising Yeast

1 1/2 cups very warm water (not boiling though) 

1 Stainless Steel pot w/ the lid (or a french oven)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together..flour, salt, yeast. 

Then add the very warm water. 

(Side note: I had my dough all ready when my husband came home and asked if I used warm water. Um, no? Why? I didn't read the back of the yeast package before I started, and sure enough - to activate yeast mix dry ingredients together with very warm water. Hmm, okay. So I just whipped up a new batch.)

Mix until all ingredients are combined. And don't worry, you don't need to over mix. This is suppose to be easy. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-19 hours. 

Excessively flour your work station and lay the dough right in the middle. Begin to form a heavily floured dough ball; the shape of a perfect round loaf.

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for another 1-2 hours. When you have about 30 minutes left of this sitting period, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place your pot inside. Once the 30 minutes is done, take out your pre-heated pot and place your doughy loaf inside. 

++ Do not grease/spray the bottom of the pot ++

Make sure your dough is well floured on the bottom. If it isn't it will stick. (DO NOT use a spray because that will burn the bottom.) Bake for 30 minutes covered. After this time, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. It should be getting golden brown on top at this time. Once done, take out and marvel at your handiwork. 

Take out and enjoy warm, or let sit on a cooling rack until you are ready to eat. 

Either way enjoy!

Bread making, not baking ;)

xo leah

Spring is Near

Tulips are sitting in my kitchen window. Daffodils are in the yard. My pups are lying on the front lawn with tennis balls in their mouths. Spring is near. And to be exact, I can say it is Spring in exactly two more days. This is our first Spring in our new home and it has been so joyous to see what is blooming around the yard. Places I thought were covered with weeds are now thriving with flowers. Plants I couldn't name in the winter are now surprising me with their colors. It is a happy time right now. 

The weather is warmer, it hasn't rained too much, and that means we have been playing outside. Winter is my least favorite time of year. It's not to say that there aren't many things to enjoy, or even love about winter, I just prefer the warm, warm sun that comes from Spring and Summer. 

(Lucy 7mo.)

(Gretta 9mo.)

Spring, please come soon and stay for as long as you'd like. 

love and sunshine,

xo leah

Lately

Acclimating back from this vacation has been the hardest I've had to date. Maybe it was because the vacation was so incredibly wonderful, maybe it was coming home to weeks of rain. Whatever it was I've brushed it off and we've kept busy these last few weeks.  

Photos of the week: 1// I pulled up some carpet to find hardwood. We celebrated with a Fro-Yo date. 2// I finally got around to putting some photos and artwork on the wall. 3// The sun actually came out! We had some puppy-play dates and spent a lot of time outside. 4// New plants around the house. Lucy keeps eating them. 

Some things on my mind lately: 

1. I've been really motivated lately to think about my priorities. How I use my time, who I have in my life, how Cory and I are using our money right now. I want to be intentional with my life and how I use it. What I do with my day and what fills my thoughts. I can get very lazy with my time and I'm holding onto the motivation I have right now. 

What's motivating you right now?

xo leah

Caribbean Cruise 2.2014

Last month Cory's parents blessed us with a Caribbean Cruise for a week. To say it was amazing, glorious, beautiful, one of the best vacations ever...would be an understatement. It was the first vacation with the Hartmann's beside a weekend beach trip we took last June. 

It was a great experience to see sights and countries we wouldn't have seen otherwise. It was so nice to be with Cory's parents and my sister and brother-in-law for a relaxing long week in the sun. 

We started out in Florida, then Half Moon Cay, then Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and finished it off in Key West. 

Ready for a photo dump? Here we go!

HALF MOON CAY (LITTLE SAN SALVADOR)

We spent a relaxing day on the beach. Soaking up sun, white sands, and having absolutely nothing to do. We rented these floating devices to just lie in the water. We even rented sailboats for an hour. That was so fun! 

JAMAICA

In Jamaica we went on a little Bobsled adventure, hiked up a waterfall, and ended the afternoon with some local food. The scenery was very similar to Kauai. Luscious green and flowers everywhere. 

CAYMAN Islands

We docked at Grand Cayman of the Cayman Islands and started the day in full tourist mode. We hopped on a bus/boat and drove around the city. We had a spunky tour guide that told us the history of her town and some historical sites. (One fun fact: in Grand Cayman, at least the area we were in, the homes don't have mailboxes. There is one post office and you have to go and get your mail.) 

One of the highlight stops was at the only Rum Distillery on Grand Cayman. We were shown around the place and then were able to try out their rums. My favorite was the banana rum. So sweet!

We ended the tour going into the water and feeding some fish. The bus we were on was like a Transformer. Land or sea it went. First time for that! After the tour we walked around a bit and swam for a bit to cool down before heading back to the ship. 

Around The Ship

You can say I've been converted to a cruise believer. I've never thought much of cruises and never thought that I would actually go on one. Everyday there was something new to see or do. They had a new movie playing in the theatre every other day, there were comedy shows, magic shows, other performances; you could go on a Pub Crawl to all the bars on the ship, test your luck in the casino, or read a book in the library. You could lounge by one of the two pools all day, play ping-pong, or eat and nap to your heart's content. Every night coming back to our rooms we had little towel animals waiting for us. During the day you could play shuffleboard outside on the deck. Every night we had dinner together and two nights of the week there were formal nights, including photographers to take prom-like photos. I actually wore my 5 year old prom dress.
(I never had a date for prom so this time wearing it was even more special.)

Key West, Florida

Our last stop was the Florida Keys. We went on a Trolley ride and saw some historic sites around the city, including the Hemingway House and an old Civil War fort. We had ice cream, ate cuban food, and learned about the old Conch Republic (once a name for the island). 

The vacation was truly magical. It made me appreciate, even more, the beauty of our world. I loved exploring new sites and meeting new people. This may be my first and last cruise, or it may be the first of many. Whatever it may be it was an experience I'll never forget and one I'll always recommend. 

This last photo is my favorite. It was the last night at sea. The sunsets every night were breathtaking but this one took the cake.  

Sun and vacations,

xo leah