1. Being Short
Okay, so this might seem like a weird one to include in my weekly list, but I used to wish I wasn’t short. Now, I actually love it.
Not only do people almost always think you’re younger than you are, but you can sometimes find clothes that fit in the Girls’ section at the store. And in another year or two, I’ll probably be able to share clothes with my girls, too!
2. Walks With My Husband
We’ve been doing a lot more walking these days — as a family and as a couple. We sometimes walk to get smoothies or another treat. Sometimes we just walk around our neighborhood. No matter what, though, it’s such a great way to get exercise, sunshine, fresh air, and quality time together.
Plus, I’ve found that it’s so relaxing! I come back from a walk feeling invigorated and ready to jump back into my day with gusto!
3. Working From the Pool
Summer is officially here and I am grateful that I can work from anywhere… including the pool! I think I’ll be spending a lot of time here over the next two months. 😉
4. Experimenting in the Kitchen
So, Jesse and I started a two-week clean eating plan. This was somewhat motivated by the fact that I’m working out in earnest now and I wanted to see what it felt like to pair clean eating with it. It was also inspired by him telling me he’d love to cook in the kitchen with me and try new recipes together.
Here’s the plan we’re doing. It’s not at all as frugal as we usually are, but we decided to splurge on all the ingredients for two weeks as a sort of adventure/experiment.
I can already tell you that it’s going to be an adventure. For instance, I caught the oven on fire today. Yup, I did. Despite that, we had so much fun cooking in the kitchen together and we’re loving the recipes.
5. Flowers Blooming
I walked outside one morning this week to see these flowers blooming. Every time I pass by them, I smile. They remind me that hope and beauty is all around us… we just have to look for it, notice it, and appreciate it!
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
Kellie says
I know you’ve said in the past that you volunteer at your church’s coffee bar on Sunday mornings. I would love to know how you got started! My church just completed a 5 million dollar expansion and converted the former chapel into a book shop/coffee bar. Some equipment was budgeted for, but we’d love some recommendations for cost effective (short and long term) solutions! To start, it will be entirely volunteer run – so we don’t want complex espresso bar drinks (but I do think they’d be awfully popular!)
Renee says
5 Things I’m Loving This Week
1 & 2. Our daughter bought surprised me this week twice – While we were grocery shopping at Kroger, she went off on her own (she is 17), and bought me a bouquet of sunflowers. They look so pretty in my green (my favorite color) vase on our dining room table. She also bought me my first Simply Southern shirt. She had come home from work with it. I love that girl.
3. My husband being able to replace the fuel pump on our vehicle. Thankful that God has blessed him with that talent. It saves a huge amount of money when he does the work, instead of paying for labor.
4. Playing Skip Bo together as a family
5. Daily devotions
Alicia says
This week I’m loving:
1. Watermelon pops (http://www.sweepingupjoy.com/watermelon-pops/)
2. Listening to Read Aloud Revival Podcasts (http://amongstlovelythings.com/read-aloud-revival-the-podcast/)
3. My husband grilling all the vegetables and meat he can find
4. Air conditioning
5. Did I mention air conditioning? I <3 my AC so much it gets 2 spots. 🙂
Crystal Paine says
Oh yes! Air conditioning!! SUCH a good thing to be loving!!
Donna says
I also love being short. I’m 5′ 1/2 ” and I have learned to embrace it. Glad to see someone else who is secure about their height too!
Crystal Paine says
I’m all about embracing it and making the most of it!
Rosanna says
My five favorite things this week:
1. Going running with my 11 year old daughter while my other two children rode their bikes.
2. Going for regular walks alone. ( one day I went in the rain with umbrella and so enjoyed it.
3. Saturday a Night at home Date Night with my dear hubby. (We generally take turns planning it)
4. The opportunity to be a part of the church Worship Team-I love worshiping Jesus!
5. Having my girls Spring Clean with me. It takes the pressure off me and they learn as well!
Crystal Paine says
Oh! I love that your girls are Spring Cleaning with you. How fun!!
Victoria says
I LOVE my almost daily lunchtime walks, your right they are invigorating. I also find they refocus me for my afternoon work.
I also am right with you with LOVING to work outdoors. I spend a lot of summer working in the shade of our covered front porch.
Crystal Paine says
Yes, so invigorating!
Lynne Gabriel says
First, are you really going to give up coffee for 2 weeks? I’m not sure I could do it!
Second, will your kids be following along with this meal plan? If not, could you share a little bit about how you will manage that? I’m pretty good at getting one family dinner together, but would find it stressful to have to prepare 2 separate dinners each night for 2 weeks. Thus, any tips you could give would be helpful. Thanks!
Crystal Paine says
Um, no, I’m not giving up coffee. That was the one part of the plan I’m not following. 😉
And so far, it’s not been an issue as far as family meals. My kids are great about helping with making their own meals/food. So we’ve made extra of some of the things (mostly the meat/protein) and then they are making their own food to go along with it. This wouldn’t have been practical when they were younger, but it works well now.
Keelie from Love Hope Adventure says
Yeah, how do you see your screen? When I work outside it’s really hard if I’m not directly under shade, which I don’t have until 4pm or so.
All my kids are home during the days now, so that was good. And I got a lot of work accomplished. Overall, good week.
Crystal Paine says
As long as I’m under some shade and have the brightness turned up, I haven’t had an issue.
Davonne @ The Tidy Mom says
Ohh, working by the pool is awesome! I’d love to hear how you make the screen easy to see in the bright sunlight ?
Here are my five things this week:
1) Finding out that a good friend from church is actually my third cousin!!!!
2) Camping this weekend with my family.
3) Mountain biking as a family & seeing the outdoor drama Tecumseh together in absolutely perfect weather.
4) Used curriculum sale & a cluster of yard sales where we scored a bunch of awesome quality books for a quarter each!
5) Creeks. We’ve spontaneously played in random creeks we stumbled across twice in the past two weeks. So. Much. Fun!
Thanks for this list inspiration, I always enjoy reading & thinking about the five things!
Maryalene says
Can’t speak for Crystal, but I always turn my brightness up as high as possible and hope for the best. I just need to be extra careful proofreading when I get inside. I’m usually not on the Internet outside . My biggest issue working outside is that I worry about the computer overheating.
Crystal Paine says
As long as I’m under some shade and have the brightness turned up, I haven’t had an issue.