A mid-January freezing rain Monday, lovely right? Well I am thankful for fresh beginnings every week, even if they come in the form of a Monday! My kiddos are enjoying a slow morning with a one hour delay :) So since it is indeed Monday, I have a few things to confess…

1. I confess I have been rocking out in my mini van to both the Sam Smith In The Lonely Hour and 1989 albums! Should I be proud or embarrassed that my 5 year olds can sing "Shake it off?" I just have to say, sometimes you need some music with some soul and some fun! I believe both albums have been on top this year and for good reason! Go Give them a listen! (They help with the winter blues!)

2. Speaking of winter blues, I think part of it comes when all the Christmas goes away and we are left with bleak, cold January! Is it too soon to bust out the Valentines hearts to warm up the place?! I am thinking of doing some decorating with hearts later today! If you need some crafty ideas, I love both the Idea Room or Eighteen25 Blog.

3. Serial Podcast…have you been listening? I got introduced to this a little over a week ago from a few different friends either talking or posting about it. Without giving too much away, it's 12 different episodes of the investigation into a murder. Basically, it seems as though the guy that was put away for the murder, may or may not be the right guy. I just finished episode three and it's definitely making me think. It's good to listen if you have a commute or can listen to something while working. It will keep your wheels turning! I will let you know when I am done if I am definitely a fan.

4. I just finished reading the book In Between by Jenny B. Jones and it was a sweet story about a foster girl learning to trust and be trusted. There was a faith element woven in, which I appreciated. It was a quick, easy read for me but a nice departure from anything heavy. Best part, it's free still right now to download if you have a kindle! It's the beginning of a series, so if you love it, you can keep reading into Katie's life and adventures.

5. I had a funny memory the other day that just struck me. It will totally date me as to how old I am about to turn on my upcoming birthday…..but, who remembers calling into the weather line forecast service on the phone?! I used to call it at night in high school to plan for the next day and we didn't have cell phones with instant weather forecasts. Our dial up internet was so slow that wasn't worth trying to get the weather on either and who had time to turn on the news in the morning?! It cracked me up to think of this. My husband said Surfline used to be a phone number too. What other things from the late 90's like this do you remember? (Remember what is was like to actually have to memorize people's phone numbers?!)

6. I need to share a "fitness fail" moment because I think sometimes people think I just have it together in that department and it's never hard to work around my kids. Well my kiddos take a dance class on Saturday mornings in a studio next to a gym I can workout in. My husband actually gave me the idea to drop the twins off at class and go run on the treadmill while the kids took class for half an hour. This was a genius plan in my book that both got my workout in and allowed kids to get to class. Not to mention, I think the high on Saturday was 25 degrees and was WAY too cold to even think about running outside. Thankfully there is another mom friend that stuck close and I told her to just call if she needed me. Well I got over to the gym, got rolling on my treadmill and a half a mile in (only 5 minutes of actual running), I get a text I need to come back to help my unnamed child help with a potty emergency. I wanted to both laugh and say dirty words. Sometimes it feels like kids want to sabotage anything that you deem as "me time" or things you try to do for yourself. I guess it was a honest picture of both my selfish heart and the needs of a child. Once we dealt with the potty issue and change of clothing, the child went back to class and I just gave up. Yes, I gave up. I didn't want to walk back over to the gym to only run for 10 more minutes. I mean I was already embarrassed that I had gotten on a treadmill next to a younger girl (the one on the far left wasn't turned on and I didn't know how… see how truly uncool I am?!!) and had to straight up leave the gym after running for 5 minutes. Who runs for 5 minutes and leaves?! Like, "hey that half mile was really a great workout….burned 100 calories son!" No way….so that's my encouragement. I would not suggest giving up like I did, but sometimes things just don't work out. You have to go with plan B or plan Z…whatever you are on at that point. Moms that want to get healthy, it's thankfully a fresh start every morning and you can try again :)

I will leave you with Grumpy Cat for a smile today…

Emily Troutman Photography