Tag Archives: WW

Weekly Wishes – Creativity

Posted on October 21 by Jillian416 • 5 Comments

Happy Weekly Wishes! This week’s theme is Creativity.

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

Happy Monday everyone!

This is a great Monday for me because I am on vacation. Woohoo! Seamus and I took the week off because our anniversary (our 2nd one) is tomorrow and we just wanted to have a relaxing and enjoyable stay-cation. We have a few things planned as a couple and then as a family and I’m excited about all of them. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share! 😉

This weekend was relatively unexciting, but we still had a nice time as a family. We had thought about going to the pumpkin patch, but the weather was just too iffy to get stuck in the middle of open fields and then have it downpour. We ended up just spending a lot of time at home, reading and playing with Emmett, which is definitely a wonderful thing since I never feel like I have enough time with him during the week.

I love just watching him play and then having him switch gears and bring a book over to read. He is so good at curling up in your lap and helping you turn the pages. This weekend, his favorite books were a set of flap books that my mom got him for his birthday. He’d bring the whole box of them over, choose which one he wanted to read, and then have us read through them while he opened the flaps. So much fun!

The theme for Weekly Wishes this week was creativity. I like pretending that I’m a good photographer and can take unique photos, even though I’m average, at best. Anyway, when we went to the apple farm to pick apples, I tried my hand at some creative apple shots, the one above is an example of one of my pictures.

And now, Weekly Wishes!

My first wish for the week was to do 1 load of laundry a night. I did it! I did laundry multiple times all week long leaving me only a few loads to do on Sunday afternoon. It felt so good to stay on top of things, I think I’ll keep this as one of my goals for the next week.

Ugh! I had a goal to make a home “to do” list and sadly, I didn’t do it again. I have no idea why I keep skipping this, it will make things so much easier if I have a list.

Finally I made a goal to workout, I did it! Wooohoo! I didn’t follow the schedule I shared last week, but I worked out 4 times and I was feeling fantastic. I am so pleased with the success of this goal.

This week’s Weekly Wishes

Continue to wash 1 load of laundry a night. This made my life so much easier through the week, to do just one load a night instead of 7 loads on Sunday. I’m going to stick with this goal
Make the home “to do” list. I keep saying I’m going to make it and then I don’t. I need to stop making excuses and just get it done. It will make my life easier, which will in turn keep me happy.
Workout. I need to keep the high intensity momentum of last week and keep working out. I felt so great all week, at peace and low stress, I’d like to keep that going.
Participate more in Everyday Happy. Last week got busy, so my class kind of fell off my plate. I need to get back into it and focus, so that I can actually become Everyday Happy.

Alrighty, those are my wishes for this week.

Be sure to visit our host, Melyssa from The Nectar Collective and link-up.

Your turn!

What are some of your wishes for the week ahead?

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Weekly Wishes – #3

Posted on October 6 by Jillian416 • 8 Comments

I’m really excited for my Weekly Wishes link-up this week!

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

It’s Monday again and if you’ve been reading my blog for the past few weeks, you know that every Monday I share my wishes for the week ahead, but before we get into my wishes, let’s talk about the weekend, shall we?

Emmett allowed us to sleep in until 8:30, which felt like such a luxury since I’m usually awake by quarter to 5 every morning. Once awake, we all made breakfast, we each had something different because no one felt like the same thing. Well, Emmett may have liked what either of us were cooking but he had Sunflower butter toast, yogurt and a banana anyway. Saturdays we usually make a toaster pastry and watch Bob the Builder, sadly our cable was out because of the loss of power across Buffalo, so we skipped doing that in the morning. Instead, Emmett and I got dressed and headed to the Farmers Market for our weekly load of fruit and veggies.

Two things, if you’re in Buffalo and you like squash, now is the time to go to the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers market! There were soooo many different varieties, stop in and check them out. Secondly, my favorite cheese guys, First Light Farm and Creamery, will be debuting 2 new Chevre flavors next week. I got a taste of one of them and OH MY GOODNESS was it out of this world! I cannot wait to buy some next week, you should do the same.

Okay, back to our weekend – after the farmers market and a nice nap (for Emmett), we went out for Linner (lunch + dinner). Seamus was feeling like a steak and I wanted a burger, we decided on Texas Roadhouse. We hadn’t been there before so before going we took a peek at the reviews and they were pretty good, but I was not impressed. Our food was was SO salty and just not good, Seamus did like his steak, so there’s that. Anyway, after dinner we headed to Blackman Homestead Farms to pick apples!!! I will share more about this (and the pictures) in another post, but it is important to note that Emmett was so so cute.

Alright, time for Weekly Wishes.

My first goal from last week was to workout 4 times. I can say that I did this, but it comes with a caveat, I didn’t workout hard. I took walks with Emmett. Yes, I realize those count, I’m moving, being active but I want to lose weight and gain muscle. I’m sadly not going to do that by simply taking walks. I need to at least up that to runs or wogs (walk + jog) even. Sorry to be such a downer.

Next up was my goal to take 20 minutes a day and just sit, this was a half success. Ha! I tried just sitting a few mornings in a row and it just wasn’t working for me. Admittedly, I probably could have tried longer, maybe it would have worked then, but I really value my mornings and the time I spend typically writing. What I have done instead, is when I’m rocking Emmett to sleep, I don’t pull out my phone, like I use to. I am using that time to feel myself holding him, feel his warmth and hear his soft breathing, it has done wonders for relaxing me. This is also why I chose the picture that I did, I love cuddling with that monster and it makes me so SO happy!

Finally, I said I wanted to fully involve myself in the Everyday Happy ecourse, I can say this was a complete success. I took the time to reflect on the lessons and journal about them as well. I’m really proud of this, since I admitted last week that I often half-ass things. I’m happy I’m becoming an active participant in MY life.

And now this week’s goals –

Continue being an active participant in MY life through the Everyday Happy eCourse. I did so well keeping up with my lessons and participating in the class that I want this to continue, putting it out there for the whole online world to see, definitely motivates me to do something about it.
Create a ‘to do’ list for our home and begin tackling some of those tasks. Our house is a mess, we have a 14 month old baby, of course it’s a mess. But there are some things, that even despite a baby we could tackle to make our house look better. I want to create a task list and get our house in tip top shape, when everything looks better I feel more at peace and able to focus in my environment.
Workout (at least) 4 Times by following this schedule: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, change clothes at work and come home and either do a wog or ride my bike, with Emmett. Wednesday, change clothes at work and ride my bike. Friday, off. Saturday and Sunday can be any form of cardio, walking, wogging, biking, just as long as I stay active.

Those are my goals for this week, if you know me, please feel free to check-in. I welcome your encouragement!

If you’re interested in linking up, click the button below and join us. It is such a great and motivating link-up!

Your turn!

What are some of your Weekly Wishes for this week?

What do you think of my Weekly Wishes for the week?

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Weekly Wishes – Happiness

Posted on September 30 by Jillian416 • 4 Comments

Welcome to Weekly Wishes – This week’s focus will be on happiness.

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

Happy Monday everyone! You read all about my Saturday yesterday and Sunday shaped up to be just as awesome, just more relaxed. We hung around the house all morning, and just spent time as a family. It’s tough sometimes to just be us, because of work schedules, gym schedules and sleep schedules, so it is really wonderful when we can just spend time as a family. Emmett played and Seamus and I talked, really wonderful stuff, readers!

Emmett eventually went down for a nap, when he woke it was time for our weekly trip to Wegmans. We decided to just grab lunch there because we really didn’t have anything in the house and it would save us time. We got Emmett a hot dog and some fresh fruit and man oh man, did he chow down. He has been a great eater this weekend, I wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up today and was 4 feet tall. 😀 Anyway, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, playing some more and a little Bob the Builder. Emmett cuddled with me on the couch and Seamus spent some time in the kitchen making us an amazing Pertader Soup (he request that I title it this way). I’ll be sharing the recipe in the next few days, readers, you are in for a treat!

All in all, this was one heck of an amazing weekend!!

Okay, time for what you’ve all come here for – Weekly Wishes – Happiness.

I mentioned that this week’s theme for Weekly Wishes is happiness – my wedding day was one of THE happiest days of my life! I married the man that I love and we were able to begin our life of love together. That’s why I chose the picture below.

My first goal from last week was to workout 4 times, I’m not happy to report that I did not complete this goal. I made it three times, but unfortunately did not hit that 4th time.

Number two was to make better use of my lunches at work. This one can be reported as a success! Anytime I didn’t have something pressing that needed to get done, I spent my lunch catching up on the blogs in my blog reader, because hole moley am I behind.

And finally, keep a positive attitude all week. This was definitely not a success, but I tried, so I’m not a complete failure. I don’t have a lot to complain about, but somehow I manage to find every little thing to moan and groan about, I need to get over this. I’m hoping that the ecourse that I signed-up for, Everyday Happy, that starts tomorrow, will help boost my positive feelings. I’m super excited for this course and will be sharing my experiences periodically throughout.

Alrighty time for this week’s goals –

Workout 4 times – I’m keeping this goal because it is good for me and because it is completely achievable when I put my mind to it.
Take 20 minutes a day to just sit – I read an article this weekend (and I can’t find it anywhere, sorry) where the author shared that some of the best creators of all time took 20 minutes in their days to just sit and do nothing. The author stated he gave it a try, and found that was when his best and most lucrative ideas came from. Sure I’d love to make more money, but I’m going to give this a try simply to see if I can get some new blog ideas flowing, or for whatever else may come through. The goal is to do this as soon as you wake up, but hopefully it can be as effective any time of the day, in case I don’t have time to do it in the morning.
Fully involve myself in the Everyday Happy ecourse – I signed-up for this with the best of intentions and I intend on getting my money’s worth. I realize that the course will not fix everything, that I need to work on some of that on my own, but it can certainly help give me a new, clearer, more positive outlook if I truly immerse myself. So I will do just that!

That’s it folks! That is what I will be working on this week. Feel free to check-in with me and hold me accountable, I welcome the encouragement!

Your turn!

What are you goals and wishes for this week? Share the below and link-up with Melyssa!

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Weekly Wishes

Weekly Wishes – Innocence

Posted on September 23 by Jillian416 • 6 Comments

I’m so excited to participate in this week’s Weekly Wishes. The theme for this week is Innocence.

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

Before Emmett was born I always wanted lazy weekends on the couch, now I love a weekend full to the brim with fun activities. Don’t get me wrong, a lazy weekend on the couch is needed from time to time but there is just so much to do in life and I’m having a blast doing it with Emmett and Seamus.

This weekend was beyond busy and you know what? I didn’t dread it one bit. My sister and her family were in town and since they don’t live in the area we only really see them 4 or 5 times a year, when we do see them, I make the most of it. Emmett and I spent Saturday down there and then Seamus joined us on Sunday. It was a very laid back weekend even though we weren’t at home, both days were just spent hanging around my parent’s house, visiting. Emmett got to play with his cousin and the different toys that my mom has and they both got to play in grandma’s big backyard. It was an absolute blast!

I mentioned earlier that this week’s picture theme for Weekly Wishes is Innocence, before I go any further into my post, I wanted to share why I feel that my picture is the epitome of innocence. Emmett is 14 months old (today, to be exact), almost everything he does is a first for him and he experiences it with fresh new eyes. When he tries something new it is always with excitement, wonderment or confusion and I love seeing his reactions. They remind me that even though I may have eaten an apple right of the tree before, he hasn’t. I can’t put into words what it’s like seeing your child do something for the first time. This, to me, is pure innocence!

And now, Weekly Wishes!

Let’s check-in on how I did last week…

My number 1 goal for last week was to workout 4 times. Did I do it? Heck yes I did! I road my bike, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with my mileage being 9.31, 10 and 13 and took a nice walk over the weekend. Woohoo!! 13 miles on my bike is the furthest I’ve gone in YEARS. It felt (feels) so good to be working so hard, my body is thanking me.

Number 2 was to make better use of my lunches at work. I didn’t do so well on this one, but not because I was lazy but because I was on vacation. This was a silly one to make a goal for a week when I was working only two days and posted my Weekly Wishes on the second day. Woops! Wasn’t thinking clearly.

Up next for number 3 was to work on my link-up for My Finds Friday. I definitely worked on this one, but behind the scenes. I did the link-up again this week, but in a couple months there are some big things coming for this link-up, until then, link-up and patiently await what is coming. 😀

Finally, and most excitedly was to make the most of my days off. I am oh so happy to report that I really did make the most of every single day. As mentioned above, I worked out, I cleaned, I watched some TV and most importantly relaxed. I think the only thing I didn’t do was read but I’m not the least bit disappointed because I used my time so well that there just wasn’t time for a book.

As you can see, I did a pretty good job of sticking to my goals. I love posting Weekly Wishes when I complete my goals, but I promise even on week’s where my goals aren’t meant, I won’t skip posting. That doesn’t do anyone any good, this is all about holding myself accountable for whatever I do, good or bad.

Time for this Week’s Wishes

Workout 4 times. This went so well last week that I want to keep the momentum going!
Make good use of my lunches at work. Like last week’s goal, I want to make sure that I use my lunch for productive things. It can be thing pertaining to work, working out, reading, or whatever else. I just don’t want to sit there doing nothing. There’s just no reason to waste even one second of my time.
Finally, keep a positive attitude all week! I struggle A LOT with being a pessimist or seeing the negative side of things. I want to make this week a positive one.

Alright, those are my wishes! I can’t wait to report back next week with how I did.

Your turn!

What are your Weekly Wishes, goals, hopes or dreams for this week?

Be sure to join in and link-up your Weekly Wishes on Melyssa’s blog, The Nectar Collective. Also, be sure to check out all of my other Weekly Wishes posts!

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes