I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite moments of the week.
Sunday was quite the celebration! It was so fun to be able to celebrate my amazing husband this year as a daddy. He is one of the best friends. I couldnâ€
t ask for a better helper. We celebrated with my papa, pool side, just enjoying the sunshine and water.
We had a wonderful photo shoot taken by Kim Robbins, a local photographer. We took some with the family and then some of just RJ for her 9 month shots. I canâ€t wait to get the rest.
Someone got a SWING! This girl is obsessed with the swings at the park and now we may never leave the backyard.
I think half of my body is watermelon these days. I mean I have always loved watermelon, but for some reason this summer I have been eating it by the gallon!
These two are my favorites everyday. We took some photos for Fatherâ€s Day and they couldnâ€t be any cuter. Some of you have asked about Bosco. Yes his is alive…but I think RJ has stolen the show.Â
We had an amazing Saturday bike ride as a family this past weekend. We did 22 miles, our longest yet, and RJ LOVED every minute. I love being able to be active as a family.
On Saturday we also celebrated my Mamaâ€s 50th birthday! We had so much fun celebrating Hawaiian style and dancing our little hearts out. I still canâ€t believe my Mom is 50. I know she is young; she had me young.
Last week was our last trip to Disneyland until August. Our passes are blocked out, and to be honest, I wouldnâ€t want to go in the summer anyways. All I have to say is HOT HOT HOT!
This week I worked at our churchâ€s Summer Blast Vacation Bible School. I taught the 2nd and 3rd graders and loved every minute of it. It took me back to my teaching days!
This picture needs no explanation!
While I have been teaching at VBS, RJ has been in the childcare with these cuties. I told them all to teach her how to crawl this week; they are not fulfilling their promise.Â
I am staying strong to my Ultimate Kickboxing 21 day challenge of not eating out for lunch, by enjoying any and every kind of sexy salad. The veggie burger salad may be my favorite. This one also has red onion, tomatoes, and a chopped up peach!
Just teaching RJ how to do a pull-up; itâ€s never too early to teach fitness for health..right?!
This may have been my favorite moment of the week, getting chips and flowers from The Hubs just ’cause!
Itâ€s been a crazy FUN week and now I am looking forward to a FRIDAY FUN DAY with RJ today and canâ€t wait for hubby to get home so we can PLAY!
P.S. Donâ€t forget to sign up for the  July Summer Shred (it’s the last time I’ll be offering it for the summer) if you havenâ€t done one already!!
I thought it would be fun to start something on IG and the blog on Fridays called Cheers!
What is Cheers? It’s a toast to whatever you are thankful for this week!
So Cheers to not getting completely sick, for having the finances to choose healthy options, to seeing the first snow fall at work, for having FWD, for finding out my best friend is having a boy, and to being challenged in my walk with The Lord.
Cheers!
What would you like to toast to?
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Thought it would be fun to do my top 10 faves this week:
1. Finally got the perfect colors for our master bedroom. Sharkey Gray and Flagstone by Martha Stewart. Our master bedroom is coming along nicely.
2. Got in my Fit test for Insanity, I start on Monday!
3. I saw so many beautiful sunsets this week!
4. I picked up my cardio a bit more this week. Did three RUNS, two days of KB and fun circuit.
5. Made almond meal Talapia, same recipe as I did with the chicken…SO AMAZING!
6. Got in a two mile run and butt kicking circuit workout with one of my good friends and clients Amy.
7. Started reading The Metabolic Typing Diet. Learning about nutrition just got more interesting!
8. Went out to dinner with Mom and had a true Irish meal, stuffed cabbage and mashed taters!
9. Had dinner with the bestie and got to see little E! She is getting so BIG!!!!
10. The bestie and I did a wonderful Pintrest meal!! I will be sharing the recipes tomorrow!
Hope you had a wonderful week!
Question: What is one thing you did this week that you are proud of?
]]>I am hoping your week is going well. Mine was rough, but God is so good and brought me to the point where I remembered to trust him and choose Joy. I love it when he does that!!
Last night I finally made something I have had on my Pintrest food board for a while now, Cauliflower pizza crust.. Sounds weird right? I actually have been experimenting with cauliflower a lot lately. I made mashed potatoes a couple of weeks and now pizza crust!
The recipe came straight from Eat Drink Smile, except I added less cheese. Her’s looks better than mine turned out!
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Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese——-> I only used 1/2 cup of light
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*
Directions:
To “Rice” the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.
One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To Make the Pizza Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9″ round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).
Enjoy!
*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.
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Can you guess which one is mine???
it actually turned out really great! I added pesto, goat cheese, peaches, smoked salmon and arugula.
If you are gluten free this would be perfect!!!
Another Friday Fun thing to announce, starting March 12th I will be taking on INSANITY!!! I have been wanting to do this for a while now, and now that I am a Beachbody coach I couldn’t be more excited! I know I still have 3 more weeks of Livefit trainer, but I needed somthing new!
I am also enjoying Shakeology every morning and it seriously is keeping me full longer and giving me more energy throughout the day, love it!
it’s not a weekend for me as I work until Monday!! But I am hoping to get in some fun still with friends this weekend!!
Question: Have you ever experimented with cauliflower before?
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!
P.S. My Beachbody Challenge is closed for March, but look out for another one coming in April!!
]]>It’s been a great week here at the McCormick’s. We stuck to our Meal Plan, I got in 4 awesome workouts (including 2 runs), finished 8 weeks of livefit-trainer, had some successful weigh in’s with clients, and Sunday we are headed off for a little spontaneous couples get-away!
This week I also LIVED in this over-sized sweater, I think I am going to start borrowing Hubby’s shirts!
The ball jar salads I made from Pinterest this past weekend worked out perfect!!! I could grab and go! Plus they stayed fresh!
I layered my jars (bottom to top) with mandarin oranges, bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pre-cooked chicken strips, and spinach. I added a little avocado when I dumped it out into a bowl.
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My favorite dinner this week was the Chicken Nuggets with Almond Meal I found on Pinterest!
Hubby LOVED them! I think these would be perfect for kids too!
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 T olive oil (enough to generously coat the baking sheet)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp. paprika (not smoked or hot)
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
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We are also getting a little Young House Love ON tonight and going to attempt to paint our first room in our house! I know we have a lot of color in our house, but we had the whole house painted before we moved in. Here is the color we are going to paint one of our guest rooms. What do you think? I am also saving up for this duvet from West Elm!
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Time to hit the gym!! Getting a late start this morning because my tummy was not happy with me this morning!
P.S. I am trying to expand my personal training business by helping people get in shape even if they don’t live close by. I will be doing a 30-day Beachbody Challenge in March! Itâ€s going to just be a SMALL group of us in the“challenge†for better accountability and support to each other. I know that the accountability is what works to help people get in the best shapes of their lives. If your interested please email me at nhershoes at gmail dot come.
I arrived at the Subway and knew it was worth the two hour drive when I saw that this sweet face was there! Monica, Skinny Runner and Rose and Her Sweatiness were there too!!
The blog friends and Jared.
We all joined around a table for lunch while Jared gave us a brief synopsis of his story. I have to say it was super inspiring!! Jared spoke about his lifelong struggle with his weight and the steps that he has taken over the past 13 years to stay healthy. He said that deep down he always knew what he should and shouldnâ€t be doing but just made poor choices. Most of his poor eating decisions were made outside the house. His journey to his amazing weight loss all started when he was in college and decided one day that he was going to make a change. He started eating two subway sandwiches his favorite being the sweet onion chicken sandwich!
He emphasized portion control as being critical to weight loss success adding that “you have to be smarter than the menuâ€. Once you understand and control what you are putting in your body everything else will fall into place.
While we ate our subs, he gave some tips that have worked for him over the years:
*Donâ€t splurge everyday; splurge every now and then. And donâ€t let your “now and then†become everyday.
*Once you reach your goal weight, you have to continually re-evaluate where you are. Jared said that heâ€s noticed as he gets older, it takes more work and more exercise to maintain his weight.
*When heâ€s at home, he exercises every day. He has a personal trainer and says itâ€s completely worth the investment because his trainer pushes him harder than he would on his own.
*Jaredâ€s New Yearâ€s Resolution is to work out more regularly while on the road and traveling; itâ€s more of a struggle to work out while traveling instead of being in a routine at home.
*When eating out, “be smarter than the menu†meaning avoid the deep fried foods, ask for all sauces on the sides, ask for things that might not be on the menu.
*He still eats Subway multiple times a week when traveling because he knows itâ€s healthy and knows exactly whatâ€s going on it and he can customize it to what he wants.
He also let me get into his pants, you can check that out here
What an amazing journey and inspiration Jared has to share!!!
Eat to live as opposed to living to eat – Jared
Remember itâ€s FebruANYTM  at Subway – Any regular Footlong Sub is just $5 February 1st – 29th.
Head on over to Subway today.
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No Bake Protein Energy Bites– Adapted from Peas and Carrots
(makes 18-20 bites)
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The only hard thing about this recipe is stirring the natural PB
These babies are so tasty. They would be perfect to eat two right before a run or a gym workout. They are probably a little over 100 calories each depending how big you make them. I let Hubby try one and he even loved them. Amy’s kids couldn’t get enough!
If you would like to Pin this, for you enjoyment I have added a Pinterest Button right below this post 
Question: Do you have any no bake snacks you have to share?
P.S Only one more day till we leave for the Bahamas!!!!
]]>Last night I made the most delish dinner, roasted tomato tilapia!!
Ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes
6-8 oz tilapia
Sea salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Slice the tomatoes in half and put in a small bowl. Drizzle tomatoes with a little EVOO and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tilapia in a non stick oven pan and sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper. Then top tilapia with tomato mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes and enjoy!
I enjoyed it with some root vegetables and a little avocado. This clean eating challenge is going sooooo good!! I have gotten so many veggies and protein in this past week and I already am feeling my pants a little looser in a good way!!!
I am on day 10 of the live fit challenge and I am still missing cardio like crazy, but I know it’s coming soon!!!
I’ll have a full two week recap up tomorrow! Off to enjoy a cheat meal with the Hubby
Remember to smile today!!!
I wanted to talk about a project I have been working on this week. As you all know the theme for this year is organization for our household. Our first project is the laundry room. It’s the room we walk into when we come home and it’s always a disaster. It’s a really nice size laundry room and it’s got a ton of storage that is highly underutilized. So this past week I started on the fun project.
The first thing I did was buy an organization unit to help de-clutter a lot of things that normally just sat on top of the washer and dryer.
I got it at Ikea for only $49.99.
I also purchased the green boxes at Ikea as well as two green baskets from Target. I had the two other striped boxes from a while back.
While I was at it I went ahead and cleared out the built in storage unit we have in the laundry room as well. It’s not exactly how I want it, but it looks a whole lot better. I put a lot of our large kitchen appliances on the top shelf, that way they are easy to get to and are not taking up any space in the kitchen.
I still would like to label each shelf and figure out what the bottom shelves could be better used for.
I also hung up some hooks that I also purchased from Ikea so we walk in and hang up purses, jackets, grocery bags, Bosco’s collar, etc. Less things on the floor the better.
My next project is to figure out what to do with this desk area. We never use it and it’s kind of a waist of space. We have contemplated tearing it down, but what if we want to use it int the future. I think I want to change this section as a wrapping station?
Kinda of like this one:
For now I just need to go through all the drawers and get them organized and figure out what to do with this desk? Maybe I could just use it as a place to fold clothes???
I also have this empty spot of the washer and dryer that we have shelf that we need to install still. The old one needed some help.
So as you can see it is a huge work in process and I am still trying to figure out what works best for us. My goal is to have a laundry room that looks organized and doesn’t stress me out when I walk in the house everyday!!!
Question: What is the first room you see when you walk into your house? Is it organized?
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I feel like I have so much to catch up on with you all It’s been a great week! The first week of December is always a lot of fun. We always go to Disneyland to start the season off with fun (no stressful Holiday here). I also got most of my decorating done, tree is going to be decorated this weekend!! We are waiting for my Mother in Law to come in town today so she can help
I have been doing some AWESOME workouts with the Holiday Shred folks. If you were hesitant to sign up, but still might be interested please feel free to email me!! It’s been a lot of fun and the workouts are kicking everyone’s butts!!!
A WinnerÂ
I didn’t forget about the THANKFUL GIVEAWAY! I do have a winner Drum roll please….
The winner is…Heather from Running with Sass!! CONGRATS girl email me your mailing address plus size and I will get you sweater out to you asap!
If you didn’t win no worries, I have another fun Holiday Giveaway coming soon!
A Recipe:Â
The healthiest and easiest soup recipe you will ever make! It tastes amazing and only takes minutes to make! Warm up your soul with this lovely soup.
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Sausage, Bean and Kale Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients
- 4 ounces turkey smoked sausage, chopped
- 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
- 1Â (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
- 6 cups coarsely chopped kale (about 8 ounces)
- 1Â (16-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (16-ounce) can of white beans
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add smoked sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the kale. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until the kale is tender. Stir in beans, and cook 1 minute or until soup is thoroughly heated.
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A How-To
I saw this adorable wreath on Pintrest and I knew I had to try and make it!
I used to be so crafty and ever since I got married I have not done as much crafty things as I would like. Pintrest has sparked a new love again!
All you need is:
*Patterned papers
*Scoring tool (scoring board, bone folder, or stylus)
*Hot glue gun
*Wreath form (I cut my own out of chipboard, but you could use a wooden one from the craft store)
*Buttons, brads, and ribbon
1. Cut stars approximately 3″ to 4″ wide using a template or die cutting machine.
2. Score a line from the top of each point straight down to the inside point. Do this for each of the five points.
3. Optional: embellish stars centers with buttons, brads, or rhinestones. I hot glued mine on.
4. I didn’t want my white wreath (which I made with foam core) form to show, so I covered it with green stars, cut just 1/2″ smaller. This is also optional, especially if your wreath form is narrower or you have more stars. You can always overlap your big stars.
5. Apply glue to the inside points on the back and hot glue to wreath form
6. Create a ribbon hanger with a piece of ribbon, and if you’re froofy like me, you can add a big, fluffy bow or two. Glue to the back of wreath.
This wreath is so easy to make and actually would be fun to make with kids!
I also did some inexpensive decorating with some frames on our mantel
I just got some cute scrapbook paper and filled each of the frames with it. Love the way it looks with the paper wreath!!
Ok time to prep the house! I am so excited to have company over
Have a beautiful FRIDAY!
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