Category: family

July 31, 2013

If you’re ever in Mackinaw City Michigan

A few days ago, I offered some insider peeks into our trip to Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island, and I thought it would be great to follow up the post with a virtual itinerary if you happen to travel there. From my experience, these are some of the highlights of the area that you should definitely try:

1. Pick a lighthouse, any lighthouse. Since the Mackinaw straits are narrow and freckled with islands, lighthouses are pretty essential for water travel. Shipwrecks are pretty notorious in the area, so towering beacons abound. Some are only retained for historical value while others are still in use. The Old Mackinac Lighthouse right by the bridge in Mackinaw City costs and comes with a guided tour, but there are a few just down the road that are free and self-guided. It’s neat to see how the lighthouse guardians lived. It was a pretty lucrative career back in the day, but also highly particular. Your house had to be immaculate and you were required to take scrupulous notes about everything from the grounds to the weather to transportation reports.

2. Catch a sunset at the beach. You won’t be alone. The night we went, there were people everywhere on park benches and lawn chairs. It’s so incredible to watch all the colors and the city-scapes. And hey, of course it was a full moon when we decided to wander down to the beach. Bonus!

Peanut learning how to skip rocks while we wait for sunset.

I happened to read this verse in Psalms while listening to the waves: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters.” And oh, was I hanging onto every word.

3. Try a pastie. I have never been introduced to a pastie in my entire life. As we headed to Upper Michigan, we started seeing all these pastie shops everywhere. We wondered what they were. So, when in Rome… we decided to try some. We finally did so on Thursday night. Basically, pasties go back to the time of mining when the miners’ wives would pack their husbands lunches. They packed meat, potatoes and veggies in this pastry shell. Reason being is they’re easy to carry along to the jobsite and very filling. We tried the taco and stroganoff pasties at one of the award-winning pastie shops. Yum!

4. Swim in the Great Lakes: When the weather stays hot for several weeks and the water finally warms up, a good swim in these giant freshwater lakes is refreshing. The clearness of the water is also impeccable. I couldn’t believe how clear Lake Huron was, but I guess I’m jaded by our yucky Lake Winnebago waters. Just make sure you bring water shoes! It’s really rocky everywhere, and you’ll appreciate the reprieve of aqua socks.

Wading in Lake Michigan

See how clear Lake Huron is? And oh so rocky.

5. Visit the butterfly museum on the island. It’s off the beaten path a bit, but sooo worth the visit, especially if you have children. They even give you a butterfly guide so you can even decipher the different types of butterflies. Standing in a greenhouse waiting for amazing ornate butterflies to land on you is pretty magical, if you ask me.

6. Try the fudge and ice cream. This is pretty much a given. Mackinac Island Fudge is pretty famous, and for good reason. You won’t make it one single block on the island or mainland without running into a sweets shop. Just give in at least once and see what all the fuss is about.

7. Travel via horse or bike. You have to anyway. No motor vehicles are allowed on Mackinac Island, except for a select few emergency vehicles and such. Even the UPS/FedEx/USPS guy delivered packages via horse-drawn carriage. You can plan ahead and bring along your own bike on the ferry or rent one. The clippety-clop of horses everywhere is just neat. It’s like you’re being transported to a whole different era.

8. But explore some of the island by foot. You miss some of the incredible details while you’re on a faster-moving vehicle. Horses and bikes cost by the hour (unless you bring your own on the ferry), so you’ll have a great opportunity to explore by foot as well. If you were to walk the entire perimeter of the island, it’s only 8.3 miles anyhow. These are just some of the neater details I caught:

Guests were building these Inukshuk-style statues everywhere along the rocky beaches.

Ornate details of a dragonfly

Beautiful residential details, flower-lined walk path and iron gates.

View of the shore from the topmost part of the island.

Hey, is that a groundhog? Why yes, yes it is.

9. Check out the local thrift stores. The prices in these stories in upper Michigan are much more friendly than the ones in the “big” cities. I couldn’t tear myself away from the kid’s section at the thrift shop in Cheboygan. No shirt was priced more than $1.50 and I got Peanut this handsome little button-down wardrobe–and a shirt for me–for less than $15, and they were all in great shape. It’s a nice way to inherit a few name brands that we wouldn’t normally pay full price for.

10. Get a load of the magnificent Mackinaw Bridge. I mean, unless you get to travel the San Francisco bridge every day, this is a pretty significant site. The towering bridge and story of its construction is just amazing. It does cost $4 each way to cross the bridge. Our ferry ride also took us under the bridge so we got to see it from all sides.

11. Gain access to an indoor waterpark, especially if you have kids. Several of the motels in Mackinaw City offer free indoor waterpark wristbands while other motels have waterparks built right inside them. On days when you’re not travelling and the weather turns sour, you’ll still have something really fun to do.

12. Visit the sand dunes. When I mentioned to my boss that I was visiting the area, she told me that the beautiful white sandy beaches were used for stand-in Caribbean photo shoots because of their similar geography and appearance. Many of the bigger sand dunes have a “look but don’t touch” kind of warning, and recent news stories about boys buried in sand dunes should give you a good idea about why you might want to stand back and admire from a distance.

13. And last but not least, when your son asks you to marry him by offering you a hand-picked upper Michigan wildflower, always say “yes.”

I genuinely hope this post is informative for those of you that are making the trip soon or even inspires you to make a special trip to the Mackinaw City area. If you go, stop back here and tell me about your trip! Or, if you’ve already been there, I’d love to hear about your experiences or if you have anything else to share.

Shortly, I’ll be back with a post about staying fit on vacation, based on my experiences on this trip as well as many previous trips. So, stay tuned for that!

July 28, 2013

Mackinac Island Trip Highlights

Oh my gosh, I can hardly believe it. I have not been on the computer in an entire week! Usually, my job has me tied to a computer for 8 hours, and sometimes when I return home I might spend another hour or so online with blog posts, etc. But this week, I was completely unplugged. Seriously, the only phone call I even made was handed over to Peanut so he could talk to his grandma. I think my poor overworked eyes and brains enjoyed the break.

That being said, I was really itching to get on here to stay connected with all of you and give you some updates on our fabulous trip to Mackinac Island. I have four other posts in development as well on maintaining fitness habits on vacation, turning family trips into learning opportunities, travelling on a budget, and a where to go/what to see post about Mackinac Island itself. The trip gave me a big hit of creative juices.

Let me just say, the weather turned out to perfectly coincide with what we planned each day. Outdoor swimming days and Island exploring days were met with perfect weather. Indoor movie days and lighthouse exploring days were windier and chillier.

Sunday: We left on Sunday for a long 5-hour drive “up north.” The weather looked pretty ominous the entire way, but we never hit any real rain. We got to cross the glorious Mackinaw Bridge on our way to our motel. We checked in, had a snack and decided to explore our surroundings just a bit. Mackinaw city is comparable to downtown Wisconsin Dells. Lots of tourist shops, wineries, restaurants and even a Haunted House. Most ridiculous $7 ever spent was at said Haunted House. Oh geez! It was cheesy, but I screamed at least 3 times and it will be one funny memory our family will always have. Sunday night, we endured a huge rain and thunder storm. It was exciting to watch and listen to it from our hotel room.

Amazing sandy beach rest stops along Lake Michigan

It wouldn’t be summer if I couldn’t walk around with a perpetual pinch bouquet in my hands.

Monday: The weather was impeccable on Monday. Hot enough to swim in the Great Lakes. Swimming in Lake Huron, though rocky, was fabulous. The water was so clear and refreshing on that hot mid-summer day. We drank it all in.

Swimming in Lake Huron

A girl could get used to this!

Peanut getting his swim on

Check out how clear that Great Lakes water is!

Tuesday: The weather turned cool on Tuesday, so our plans to catch Despicable Me 2 were perfect. The movie is very cute. We also explored a lighthouse on Tuesday–a great place to be when the wind was whipping and turning the lake into relentless undulating whitecaps. After all of that, we took a trip into Cheboygan where we stopped at a local thrift store and let Peanut wear himself out at the indoor playground at Burger King.

Wednesday: We decided on the midweek point to hit Mackinac Island. That way, we had something look forward to, but we also had an extra day padded in, just in case we decided we wanted to go back to the island the next day. Again, we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. It eventually warmed up into a comfortable temperature where we weren’t cold but weren’t sweating and the wind had dramatically died down. On the island, we took a guest-driven horse carriage ride, explored some historical sites, visited the amazing butterfly museum and had a lovely lunch out. The butterfly museum was the highlight of the trip for me.

Guest-driven horse carriage rides. We wanted to go horseback riding, but all the stables told us that for insurance purposes, no one under the age of 10 is allowed to ride. Carriage ride it is!

Cool old Studebaker we found behind the Fort.

Like my live butterfly hairpiece?

Wings on Hubster’s shoulder so gorgeous they almost look fake.

The Grande Hotel

Some of the views we enjoyed on Mackinac Island

Trinity Church on Mackinac Island

We ate at the Seabiscuit Cafe, which was perfect. The portions were more normal-sized, which is ideal since one can’t possibly carry leftovers with them for the rest of the day on an island.

I had the Honey Nut Chicken Salad Sandwich with sweet potato fries. The petite little sandwiches were just enough to be satisfying. The whole meal was oh so good!

I splurged on a white wine citrus fruit sangria that cost more than my dinner. So entirely perfect for a cheers to a great family trip.

Peanut even tried the local beer. Root beer that is…

We took a sobering meander through St. Ann’s cemetery

This gravesite was marked as the oldest one in Saint Ann’s Cemetery. It was a poor sweet little 8 year old girl who lived from 1825 to 1833.

Thursday: Our last full day on vacation, we did a lot of sleeping, giving the pool one last run, and leisurely enjoying the day. We took one last trip down a road out of town to see where it would take us. We ended up at a few more amazing places quite by accident. One more lighthouse, Heritage Village and a place called the Headlands. The Headlands is one of only a handful of designated night sky viewing areas in the entire country. Because it’s so secluded and tree-covered, night viewing is impeccably clear, especially for meteor showers and Northern Lights. Lining the road is a self-guided tour explaining the myths, legends and facts behind each of the planets.

Lighthouse staircase

Mackinaw City Lighthouse

Wigwam at Heritage Village in Mackinaw City

On the trails

Old home at Heritage Village that was originally built by hand from logs in the 1800s that stayed in the family until the 1950s. Insulation came in the form of crumpled up newspaper in the walls.

Heritage Village family kitchen garden. There was even a compost heap.

Friday: We left right away in the morning, and with the time change, got back home relatively early in the afternoon. The rain was monsoon-like on our drive home, but again, the weather was timed perfectly with our plans.

We’re safe at home and glad to have the weekend to rest from our vacation, you know what I’m saying? Tomorrow we’re heading to Deerfest to meet some reality TV stars and browse hunting gear. Next week, EAA is in town, so we plan to take Peanut to the viewing tower inside the museum to watch the planes go in and out. Peanut’s 5th birthday is also this week, so we have a lot planned. I’ll be taking tomorrow and Sunday to relax before kicking it up again.

Hope you had a great week! I’ll be back with a “If you’re ever in the Mackinaw area…” post real soon. Stay posted!

July 19, 2013

Summer Mission List

I’ve been trying to formulate a last-stretch-of-summer mission list for Peanut and me to complete to really get the full experience of summer before it’s gone again. Mostly I’m looking for free or very low cost experiences that still provide enough of an impact to form special memories. I think that the Advent calendar should carry over into other parts of the year, don’t you? It’s too easy to be distracted by the little parts of daily life that sometimes keep us from enjoying the season. These little Missions give us a chance to be completely intentional about our time and productivity, ensuring that we don’t just let time pass, but we take control of our time and make it the best we can make it.

These are just some of the things I’ve been dreaming about:

1. Painting sticks
2. Taking a photography tour
3. Identify some local birds
4. Trip to The Well ice cream shop
5. Trampoline fun
6. Baseball at the park
7. Camp in the backyard
8. Watch the airplanes from the kids’ “tower” during EAA
9. Using twigs to write letters
10. Make popsicles
11. Try disc golf
12. Go to an outdoor concert
13. Have a picnic in a new park

This weekend we head out for Mackinac Island, Michigan. I can’t wait to visit this location that is purported to be like being transported to a whole different locale. White sandy beaches, local fudge shops, indoor water parks, sand dunes, horseback riding… Oh I just can’t wait. We’ve been doing quite well for traveling this summer, and it’s been doing well for us. Can’t wait to stop back in here and give you guys some snapshots of what we’re up to.

Enjoy your week!

July 13, 2013

Summer So Far

Here in Wisconsin, it didn’t warm up for summer until about four weeks ago. Although we live in the “Frozen Tundra,” this is pretty unusual even for us. Add to that the fact that at the office where I work, they keep the thermostat set at “purple lips.” So, it just hasn’t quite set in yet that it’s summer. That doesn’t stop Peanut and me from having fun though.

We’ve been busy.

Our town holds a yearly festival called Sawdust Days which is really something to see. It’s not just a small little festival, it’s quite spread out and full of things to do. It always coincides with the Fourth of July too, so fireworks are held there every year. I myself make a beeline for the roasted corn. There are amusement park rides, games, food of all kinds and ethnicities, bands, a flea market, and an old world style camp/market area. I once needed a leather hide for a drum project and I actually found one there! Peanut even snagged a cute little crossbow with rubber arrows for his birthday so he can be Daniel Boone.

You can buy arrowheads, dragon feet (crocodile feet), leather items, animal furs, fresh-brewed root beer, and all sorts of old world items in this little campout trading post. The vendors usually come in full costume and actually sleep in their tents and tee-pees.

You can even hold teeny little monkeys at Sawdust Days:

And feed and ride huge camels:

Aside from that one week of festival goodness, we also like to find things to do around our house and town that don’t cost much, if anything.

Storage tubs make great “hot tubs” in the summer. We make our own fun!

We do a lot of Lego-playing outside with the big blocks:

Climbing on old army trucks was Peanut’s reward for doing so well at the dentist’s office right down the street. He actually used the words “I love going to the dentist!” I couldn’t be any more pleased.

Playing at our town’s splash pad with some friends:

And hitting up the rides at the city park:

I’m really loving that my almost-5-year-old is so active. Anything to keep him away from the TV or computer lifestyle is what we strive for. I mentioned before that I’d like to do a summertime version of the Advent calendar and I might just do that. I’ve got some other simple ideas up my sleeve that will keep Peanut and I productive and happy and also hopefully give my Peanut more pleasant memories from his childhood. I just think I need a more structured plan to actually carry it all out, and a calendar would be just the thing. Do I smell another DIY brewing? Maybe, just maybe…

July 12, 2013

A Message of Thanks

I just have to give a shout-out to Hubster to let him know how much his support of my dreams means to me. This week we celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss, so what better time than now.

Sometimes, I have those moments where I’m in full-blown creative mode. I could think of 100 ideas off the top of my head, my eyes get really big and my voice gets quite animated. Not many people see that side of me (and it doesn’t happen that often), but Hubster does. When I get overcome with dreams, projects and ideas, he always nods his head in full agreement. And it’s not the kind of nod and smile that’s dismissive. It’s the real thing. The “I’ll build that for you” or “I’ll take you there” type of nod.

He’s offered to help me with DIYs that I’ve come up with for on here. The type that would normally have me putting supplies back on the shelf not knowing quite how to implement the project. Hubster even gives me more ideas than I started with and works through them with me to make them work or make them better. He sits in the hardware store for longer than he had anticipated to try and bounce around ideas with me. He even offers to check a different store for me when we don’t quite find what we’re looking for.

When I went in for my NASM test, he actually told me he said a prayer for me. I mean, this brings water to my eyes just writing about it. The man of quiet faith who rarely goes to church or talks about religion. I know he’s a believer, but he rarely shows it or speaks a word of it. He actually prayed for me, and told me that he prayed for me. I mean, I was so flabbergasted and grateful at the same time.

When I spout off ideas about workout videos and projects for this blog and my new personal training career, he obliges the role of photographer. He even spent an entire day alone in Chicago with Peanut while I went to an NASM workshop. He even agrees when I want to spend money on this stuff. Some of it comes from my own stash, but he’s super supportive of my spending–but he knows I am super diligent and super-conservative about spending so he trusts my decisions.

Hubster, thanks for being behind me on this one! It’s these things that make me remember how much I appreciate you and just how lucky I am. It makes a world of difference to have someone who supports you with his heart and soul. Mwah!

June 24, 2013

If You’re Ever in Door County…

…You must do the following things:

1. You must either tour a winery, taste test some wine, or at the very least peer out the window at all the orchards, wineries and specialty wine shops that you pass by. Wine is kind of a big thing in Door County. I did not hesitate to partake in this little tourism draw. I bought the lightest, sweetest moscato (my pick of poison) ever and Hubster actually found a wine that he enjoyed. Mind you, Hubster has never drank a glass of wine in his life. He’s a beer-only guy. The fact that he actually found a wine he liked was jaw-dropping.

My super yummy moscato

Hubster liked the cranberry cherry wine. We’re also gonna

give a new beer and caramel apple sauce a shot.

All from Fat Louie’s

In addition to every olive oil ever, you can also sample vinegars,

jams, salsas, and other specialty items at Fat Louie’s

Just check out this shelf of preserved goodies

2. Participate in some kind of cookout: The fish boils in Fish Creek are a form of entertainment in themselves and have been going on for decades. Campground fires and freshly grilled fare abound in the summer, so there’s no reason to eat “indoor food.” My special birthday request for my mommy was healthy chicken and veggie skewers with honey mustard sauce. It was soooo good. Thanks mom! And thanks dad for manning the grill.

Fish Creek fish boil

Fish boil in action

3. Climb or at least admire the bluffs and shoreline. There are a lot of public swimming beaches and nature pathways to enjoy in Door County. We didn’t have enough time to explore more, but we did take walks out onto the docks and took time to admire the beauty around us.

4. Visit a few specialty shops. Almost every little town in Door County is littered with the cutest specialty shop you could ask for. You’ll find a collection of bookstores, clothing shops, cooking stores, art shops, and so much more at every corner. You will find nary a Walmart or McDonald’s in the “thumb” of Wisconsin. We did quite a bit of shopping while we were up there, even nabbing Hubster a pair of deerskin summer riding gloves.

Artist at work painting mural

Only in Wisconsin are the flamingos still wearing winter boots.

Even the hardware shops are charming.

5. Try the ice cream and coffee. Likewise, ice cream parlors and coffee shops abound. Not only was Fat Louie’s a specialty wine and olive oil shop, it also had the cutest ice cream parlor connected to it. Yes, we had ice cream for lunch. Don’t judge. It was my birthday weekend after all.

We also stopped in the Linger Coffeehouse for a little pre-dinner snack. We all ended up full on their fresh bagels and cheese and fruit platter. You should see how they brew their coffee. Talk about fresh-brewed. I don’t even know what this process is called, but they put the coffee in these specialty filtering cones, poured hot water over the top, and let the coffee drip directly into the coffee cup. Cool!

A corner of the Linger coffee shop holds a guitar signed by

Keith Urban!!! It said “play me.” I thought, don’t mind if I do!

Fresh bagels and pastries

Our generous cheese and fruit plate that filled us up.

6. Go to an outdoor movie: Outdoor movie theaters are getting pretty rare these days, as would be expected. However, one totally retro one is still in operation in Fish Creek: The Skyway Drive-In. Although this was in our itinerary to do, it downpoured on Saturday night, keeping us indoors for the evening. I have been to this theater in the past as a kid though, so I know what a great old-school experience it is.

For our overnight trip, we stayed at one of the cabins at Beantown Campground in Bailey’s Harbor. Beer fest was happening in Bailey’s Harbor, which we happily lingered through. Watch out for those sea gulls though. Bird poop in the hair is not fun. Just sayin’. Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellies were playing when we were there. They are the cutest, most folksy bluegrass band I’ve ever heard at a local festival (well, with the exception of The Pegs). I’ve been listening to them on Spotify ever since. Look them up!

I bought Peanut a mini guitar. Ok, I admit, I’m harboring four guitars in his large closet already because I don’t know where else to store them. However, I’m super protective of them because Peanut, well, he’s 4. He’s not as gentle with them as I would desire. Now he’s got one that fits him just right and he can do what 4-year-olds do to it.

He just adores his brand new guitar, and I couldn’t be any more delighted. He played around the campfire for us and even played outside of some of the shops while grandma browsed. My little street singer even got claps from passers-by. Adorable!

Bridge in Sturgeon Bay

cool aptly-decorated beach deck

Random tree

The kayak tours were luring me.

Bailey’s Harbor had some neat public fish scale bike racks.

We saw a band of turkey vultures sitting on a fence that almost didn’t look real.

My Peanut

Old barber’s chair

This little weekend trip was brought to me by my parents for my 30th birthday. Thanks mom and dad!

June 14, 2013

Chicago Part Two: The City Scenes

Hubster doesn’t like the big city. The air quality was getting to him, the traffic was making his blood thicken, and the sheer number of people put him on edge. He’s a country boy, through and through. I, on the other hand, am completely energized by the big city. The lit-up city skyline makes the place seem magical to me.

Friday, we left home early and got to Chicago by about 1pm. After checking into our hotel, we went to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Our EAA passes got us into the museum for free. We did end up paying $20 for parking in the ramp though. There is other free parking nearby that we didn’t know about until we left. Parking in a high-security ramp is always a safe bet though.

We only went for general admission, which was definitely more than sufficient for us. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have loved to see the Animals Inside Out exhibit though. Interactive weather stations, business-building kids’ workshops and medical exhibits were more than enough to keep us busy and enthralled. In one of the hands-on biology labs, they were even dissecting cow eyeballs! Our little city life just doesn’t compare sometimes.

Light spectrum piano

Use the wind to keep the balls in the air

Classic static moment

Mini Chicago

Look, they even had a model UPS truck, where Hubster works

We had dinner at a White Castle. We’d never been to one. They don’t exist in Wisconsin. We just watched an episode of Undercover Boss involving the CEO of White Castle, so it was even more interesting to experience the place first hand. I am not exaggerating when I say Hubster ate about 15 sliders. Eating at a White Castle was on his food bucket list, mostly because of our limited exposure to it in Wisconsin. Ok, maybe it’s because he’s a fast food addict, but I digress. Either way, we checked that classy, super-healthy item off the bucket list (sarcasm anyone?). On the way back to the hotel, we caught a glimpse of the Jennifer Hudson Weight Watchers studio, which is very inspiring to someone such as myself.

All day Saturday, I spent at John Hall Studios for my NASM live workshop. You can read about my experience here. Meanwhile, Peanut and Hubster played in the pool, visited the Toys R Us a few doors down (I was the first victim of the water guns they bought), napped and just took it easy. Peanut wasn’t feeling the greatest when we left on Friday, so the slowed-down pace was just what he needed.

After the workshop, we ate at a place called Mattson’s Bar and Grille, which was two doors down from our hotel. We weren’t sure what to expect, and the process was sort of like half fast-food and half hometown restaurant. You order your meal at the front, kind of like at a fast food place. But they bring your freshly cooked food to you at your table. There was a full fresh salad buffet–that’s what I had! Hubster ordered the flatbread beef sandwich but didn’t have room for it after his buffet run. Leftovers! It was an interesting place. A warning though, they charge you just to walk in the door. We found that we had a $2.00 charge just for dining there. I’m sure this is to supplement tips and such, since they really didn’t have waiters.

Interesting mural over the ordering area

Beautiful stained glass around the building. Cell phone pics do no justice.

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped at an Oasis over the freeway just for the experience. Not a huge deal for most people, but for us (especially Peanut) it was something new. It’s not every day that we get to order a smoothie from McDonald’s while watching traffic pass under us.

We also made a short stop in Port Washington to visit a family friend on our way home. Port Washington is one of the most amazing Milwaukee-ish suburbs. You could almost describe it as a quaint little resort town. Fresh fish is in abundance and if you ever stop by on Fish Day, you’ll see one of the best parades and festivals you’ve ever seen in Wisconsin. Even the public restrooms down by the pier were nicer than some restaurant restrooms I’ve seen. It’s pretty much a prerequisite in Port Washington that you must visit their historical lighthouse.

We ate dinner at Tello’s Grille and Cafe in Port Washington before making the rest of our 1+ hr trip home. Tello’s offered an interesting mix of Greek and Mexican food. It was like a Greek and a Mexican got married, decided to open a restaurant, and couldn’t decide on what type of food to make, so they made both. After digging deeper, the story is much cooler than that. Check out some of their history here. The interior was segmented between a dining area and a bar area with a small dining section in the middle. This worked well since there was a graduation party going on, and we didn’t feel like we were imposing or interrupted by it at all. The restaurant also had a cute outdoor setup, where a couple was dining with their pup. It’s one of those quaint little settings that looks just as cute in person as it does in pictures.

I thoroughly enjoyed this giant Greek salad

The architectural details in Tello’s are beautiful

It’s always amazing how one short three-day trip can re-energize a person. I need to keep that in mind when I start to feel overwhelmed and wanderlust-full. Just a few simple three-day weekends sprinkled throughout my mortal days are enough to give me a jolt of renewed energy.

This coming weekend, we’re already taking another trip to a cabin in Door County Wisconsin. My parents are treating us to a weekend getaway to celebrate my birthday (which is Monday). Hopefully I’ll be back with some fun stories about that.

June 4, 2013

Chaperone Trip to Sullivan’s Woods

Peanut went on his first field trip last week, and I happily signed up to be a chaperone, which nowadays requires a full background check, but I guess I’d rather be safe than sorry too when it comes to our little Peanuts. Anyhow, we went to visit this little patch of land that belongs to the local school system. I never even knew this place existed and I’ve been living here my whole life. It always feels a little magical to find places like that, that you didn’t even know were there all along.

One of my little buddy’s teachers is so well-versed in the flora and fauna of nature that she made such a great nature guide. Check out this amazing giant hollow tree.

It was a relatively hot day compared to the weather we’ve been having lately here in Wisconsin, but it felt good to be out in it, playing a little hooky. Well, not really. My boss knew where I was;) But it’s fun to pretend.

This was only one of two trips I’ve ever chaperoned in my life. I was lucky enough to chaperone for my youngest sister’s 8th grade graduation trip to Six Flags. I’m sure there will be plenty more to come, but I’m just so happy to hang onto these memories.

Not sure what these flowers are, but they seemed to be blossoming pretty well where there was a lack of any other type of greenery.

Our amazing field guide had scouted out the place beforehand and had cleverly hidden this little gem for the kids to see. She was guessing that it was a raccoon claw. She had also found an owl pellet on her scavenger hunt. Good eye!

We saw pitcher plants, heard frogs croaking, followed the trails of crawling ivy, found some shed bunny fur, and climbed on plenty of downed trees. We also spotted fungus in quite a few places.

Four-year-olds are such darlings. One little girl, who had never met me before, grabbed my hand to hold a few times without a word. It’s just heartwarming. I forget sometimes that I’m a mother figure until other kids start asking me for snacks and holding my hand. I’m so glad I got to experience Peanut’s first field trip right along with him, complete with a few requisite rounds of “Wheels on the Bus” on our trip back home.

May 24, 2013

Elevate the Everyday

There’s a whole world of difference between eating your lunch alone in your cubicle and having your husband call you up to split a cupcake.

See, what he really likes to do is to take these little “riding” dates, with me on my moped and him on his motorcycle. I’m pretty sure driving on two wheels has brought our hearts a little closer.

Little dates in the middle of the work week are pretty special.

This cupcake lived up to its name: “Lick the Spoon”

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy cupcakes

and that’s kind of the same thing.” Exactly!

We are lucky enough to have a little a la carte cupcake boutique in our town where you can get the most mind-blowing cupcakes ever. The owner is quite the award-worthy confectionery artiste! To boot, every single flavorful cupcake is filled with something delicious, whether it’s berry jelly, flavored pudding or butter cream frosting. Even fitness fanatics like me have been known to fall hard for this place (hence why Hubster offered to “split one” with me). I know for a fact that I’m not the only one;)

I think occasionally visiting a place like this or lying in the grass by the river with Hubster on my lunch break is something worth celebrating. I am all about elevating the everyday, and this is such a simple way to create a meaningful experience where there normally wouldn’t be one.

Do something unexpected on your lunch break today, just for me, ok?

May 13, 2013

A Peek into my Daily Planner

Today I am giving you a sneak peek into my real-life planner to show you how I plan out everything from blog posts to workouts to family events.

I originally intended to create my own planner in Microsoft Publisher or some other program, but it was getting too tedious and, as I decided, unnecessary. The problem is that I wanted to track too many things in one place and that got a little bit out of hand.

All the things I’d like to track:

Blog posts
Family events
Birthdays and special occasions
Workouts: time, type, calories, miles
Daily gratitudes
Bill due dates
Work-specific projects
My son’s milestones/memorable moments
Weekly menu planning
Daily to-do list
Bible reading plan/notes
Goal-tracking

Ok, so you can see how this might get a little overwhelming. Taking a step back, I thought about how I could get all of these onto one page or how I could narrow down all of these trackers a little bit. The answer came to me from inside a little bag from a vendor here at work. Colored gel pens!

With that, I grabbed a leather-like journal cover I had, a 2013 planner already in my possession (cut down just a bit to fit inside the journal), and a few sheaths of paper and got to work.

Instead of tracking everything separately, now I track everything together, just in different colors. That way, it’s easy to see what’s what and to see everything at the same time. Also, it helps prevent me from lugging a giant-sized planner with me everywhere. I really didn’t want something else to lug around. I’m a mom, so that’s a constant concern of mine.

Here’s my color key:

Orange=special dates
Purple=workouts
Green=blog topics
Blue=family events
Red=work-related items

On each date block, I record all things listed in my color key above. I try to keep family events and birthday reminders toward the top, blog post topics in the middle and workouts toward the bottom. That way, I have a nice consistent structure. I just write out workouts as you can see below, with miles and calories listed if I’m tracking them. Simple enough!

I then record milestones and memorable occasions in the little “notes” section. I transfer those dates and events to a yellow sheet tucked in the back of the journal. This way, when the year is over, I can recycle the planner right away but still keep a record of important moments throughout the year. Sometimes I’ll use these dates for scrapbooks or memory books. It’s just nice to have a list of each year’s accomplishments, even if they aren’t put into a scrapbook. We all know how hard it is to remember when you took that amazing vacation or which day your toddler learned how to form a sentence. I’ve been doing this since my son was a baby, and I can tell you for certain that had I not written his first steps, first tooth, first haircut in my planner, I never would have remembered when they happened. It’s also neat to be able to go back over these sheets each year and see what you were able to accomplish.

Isn’t this just the cutest?

My entire planner stays on my desk at work so I don’t have to cart yet another thing around on my poor shoulders. Sometimes I take the planner home on the weekends if we have a particularly full weekend planned. However, I do sometimes get into trouble when people ask me what I’m doing three weekends from now and I don’t have the planner in front of me, but oh well.

Grocery lists and meal plans, I’m keeping on separate sheets. I just use a printable like this to plan out my meals and what ingredients I’ll need to pick up. Then, I hang the list from the fridge and reference it throughout the week. This way, I don’t have to lug around a separate food journal and I can simply recycle the sheet at the end of the week. Plus no one ever asks what we have to eat in the house/for dinner. The act of actually eating healthy is strongly dependent upon a healthy meal planning system–fail to plan, plan to fail. If I’m tracking my food calorie for calorie (I do so occasionally to make sure I’m on track), I use the online calculator on SparkPeople.

Daily to-do lists I’m also keeping separate in a teeny little Tone it Up journal from the Cyber Monday deal. I may insert a post-it here and there to remember this or that without wasting pages. I keep the journal in my purse to stay on task each day. This is where my goals are broken down into steps and phone numbers are written down for those I need to contact–that sort of thing.

I have another separate notebook, divided by subject, that I keep blog brainstorms and tips of the trade in. I also jot down helpful blog layout tutorials and traffic-building ideas in there. This notebook usually stays at home next to my computer and I only reference it or transfer ideas into it when needed. It’s not something that I need to worry about keeping track of on a daily basis, because my blog post ideas are usually spread out over the week in my planner already.

I’ve decided to go with a gratitude journal app on my phone instead of keeping paper copies of that too. I do like to look back on these (i.e. don’t want to throw them away), but I don’t want to keep a paper notebook of them (more clutter). So, I’m recording these digitally, only when I feel I need a boost or have something really special to record. Yes, I do think a gratitude journal is important enough to not exclude. There is so much research out there that correlates gratitude journals to happiness. They help change thought patterns to the positive, encourage you to embrace what is going right, remind you of all that you have, and help you feel fulfilled (just Google it). I ain’t giving that up!

So there you have it, a glimpse into the real-life planning system of a regular momma, writer, and fitness fanatic. Doable right? How do you keep everything straight?