Check your SHOES for this, a form workout & a friendly reminder to not be so hard on yourself:)

I’ve got a new HRG BABY POST up HERE!! 21 week update and we are talking about what the heck we need (we have nothing for a baby) and where the baby will be sleeping (aka we don’t have a room for a nursery)!

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Thank you SO MUCH for your recommendations yesterday… I had a blast going through everyone’s comments!

It isn’t every day that you are running along a road and as you turn the corner you almost have a heart attack because there is a large animal right in front of you.  I’m just glad it wasn’t another moose (I’ve ‘run’ into a few of those over the years) and it was a cute little calf instead.

5 miles @ 8:54 average pace and my last mile was 8:28!  I am feeling better and better lately.

Also, when I was getting ready to leave for my run I put my foot into my running shoe (quickly and kind of hard..) and there was a lego in my shoe.  That felt fun.  I’ll be checking my running shoes for legos from this point forward.

After my run I went to the gym with Andrew for a little bit and I did this glute workout.  It burned big time and I’m sure I’ll be feeling this workout until the weekend.  I feel like my glutes are not activating in the slightest during my runs right now so I’m really focusing on working them outside of my runs to keep them strong and to stay injury free.   Something else that I’m noticing that I do while I run lately is that I’m not lifting my knees up and I’m just kind of coasting across the road.

Even though my pace is different lately, doesn’t mean I can change my form up a bunch!  Yesterday I focused on using my hips more to drive a knee lift (just a slight knee lift) and that probably helped me to speed up a little compared to my runs lately.  Form changes can be hard but making small adjustments along the way make a big difference.  My coach used to have me do workouts like this one below.  It was great for me to pay attention to each part of my running form that I needed to work on for .25 miles and then to combine them all together for the last part of each mile.   Before my coach I had quite the chicken arms (what my coach called my elbows that were pointed out towards the sides) and he really helped me to keep my arms bent at about a 90 degree angle and to swing my elbows back, instead of swinging my arms across my body.

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PS Andrew has started using the Bigger Leaner Stronger plans for his lifting and he is loving it!  Isn’t it nice to have a plan to follow… for running, lifting and pretty much anything in life ha!

PPS I might just use my Revels for inside use at the gym because I think they are too pretty to get dirty:)

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Lunch was a great combo of a grilled cheese sandwich (with that garlic butter from Costco that tastes like heaven), tomato soup and a mango (followed by another mango because it tasted so good).

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We got to pick up Knox yesterday and then we were off to Ikea.  My sister (her kitchen reveal is here) has inspired us to start thinking about making some minor changes in our kitchen eventually.   Mainly we are wanting to do new countertops, a new sink and tile the backsplash but we will probably wait for a while to do it all… we really want to research all of our options to get great deals.  Or maybe just wait until I’m out of this stage of wanting to organize/decorate/nest (for some reason this is happening very early for me) every little thing in our house right now;)

Brooke insisted on wearing boots.  In August.  Why not?!

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We were planning on having the kid’s go to the kid’s club (where they watch your kids while you shop) but they were full so the kids got to enjoy walking the 4 miles around the store with us:)

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And they made sure to try out every piece of furniture along the way.

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Thank you Ikea for such a good reminder.  I’ve got some mad skills in cheering on the people around me but sometimes in some areas I forget how important it is to truly cheer myself along and not be so hard on myself:)  Whether it is your running, your work, your parenting skills (I swear this is what I am hardest on myself about) your eating, your relationships, your decisions… you name it!  Let’s all work today to not be hard on ourselves mmmkay!?

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Due to the fact that their candy supplier (aka them breaking into my purse where I would keep my favorite treats) is no longer in business and hasn’t been for a while, we let them pick out a little candy too while we were there.  It felt like Christmas morning for them.

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For dinner we had this Slow Cooker Corn Chowder!  I am very grateful that Andrew is happily loving soup with me during the hot month of August ha!

IT WAS AMAZING.

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We also had more Rhodes Rolls because I was really craving some of the leftover ones yesterday only to find that Beretta found them (on the counter?!?) first while we were gone ha.

We are doing something new at our table… I heard the idea from The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting and each night at the dinner table we are going around and each saying something we are grateful for after we say our dinner prayer.  The theme of things they are grateful for sure changes each night but I really want all of us to learn the power of gratitude.

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PJ’s at 5:30 (it was an early kind of bedtime night:) with some books followed by a show.

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Beretta stood by the treadmill while Andrew was on it wondering why in the world he was on the treadmill and not taking her on a walk outside:)

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Don’t forget——>  New HRG BABY post… check it out HERE today!

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Have any dinner table traditions?  I would love to hear them?

Have you changed your form at all since you started running?  What?  How did you do it?

Do you see animals while you are out running?  Ever been chased by a dog or anything?

What is your absolute favorite (or one of them) form of carbohydrate right now?

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61 comments

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What?! Our IKEA doesn’t have a candy selection like that!! I’m so jealous! PS did you know IKEA is pronounced “E-Kay-Uh”? I heard that on the radio last year.

That garlic butter from Costco is amaaaaazing. We always love when the garlic guy is there for sample day!

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I hope this doesn’t sound too pathetic, but I don’t remember the last time I ate at a dinner table. I live by myself, and I don’t even own a table, so I usually just end up eating on my sofa. But it sounds really sweet that y’all have those special traditions!

I pretty much love ALL carbs. I’ve been really into tortillas lately, and I’m always game for bagels. Are Wheat Thins carbs? I eat those at every meal, so if they are, then they definitely top the list. :)

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I don’t think this counts as a tradition but growing up my siblings and I always had a glass of milk at dinner. I think it was my parents way of making sure everyone had at least one glass during the day. This stayed with me until college (no joke) and sometimes I still do it! When I have kids, I might take up the tradition of saying one thing everyone is grateful for.
My go to carb is roasted potatoes! If I could eat one every day I honestly would.
Once I saw a skunk on a running path and this nice man thought I was in trouble when I abruptly ran back towards him. Then he said he would run by the skunk with me so that if it sprayed, I wouldn’t be the only one who got hit. Have a great day Janae!

P.S still waiting for that garlic butter to arrive in the mail ;)

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Love the gratitude at the dinner table! Before we pray we always go around and say at least one thing we are thankful for as well. My sweet little three year old will even remind us when we eat out for dinner that we have to do our “Thank you Father list” before we eat. I love that even at 3 and 6 my girls see the importance of being grateful!

My form has changed a lot in this last year! I used to keep my arms too low and didn’t pick up my feet well. Just kind of shuffled along. I focused on small changes at a time with arm swing and elbows at 90 degrees and knee drive. Amazing how much better I feel. Thankfully, my ankle is feeling great again after a couple days rest!

Favorite carb right now is zucchini muffins. We have an over abundance of zucchinis from the garden right now so I bake them up and stick them in the freezer.

Have a beautiful day!

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Deborah, thank you for sharing what you do and I LOVED the story about your 3 year old reminding everyone to do the “thank you Father list’ at the restaurant. You are doing an amazing job!!! YES, I’m doing that shuffle thing lately! I am so glad your ankle feels better and that you’ve come so far with your form changes! I need some zucchini muffins right now! I hope you have a wonderful day too!

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oh man, that cow would freak me out! When I used to live further south I would run into animals more often on the river trail I ran on. I got a little too close to my liking to some deer in the woods there, which was scary, and I once saw a snake crossing the trail, which immediately had me going the other way. Now I’m mostly just dodging geese. I’m always afraid they’ll chase me, but they never have.

I love all carbs :) but my favorite will always be pizza crust

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I really really want to run like you when I get pregnant Janae:)

I used to run with the balls of my feet throughout my first two years of running. This year, after an injury I had to change that, and my running form changed completely. Now I feel like I can put up more miles without any pain or aches at all. I got just a little bit more faster too:) so I guess that change really worked for me.

I have never been chased by a dog while running (thank God) but little dogs would bark at me only when they see me running. I also see lots of cats and sometimes I stop to pet them.

My favorite carb of the moment are French fries. Not the healthiest but oh my God, they’re so delicious!!!!!!

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I would definitely freak if I saw more than a little bird, squirrel or bunny while I was out running! I do see the dog walkers in my neighborhood and pray that the dogs never get off of their leash lol

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When we lived in Texas, my husband was chased and attacked by a “friendly” dog. He actually had to get a rabbies shot and it interfered with his career because of it. I don’t trust any dogs anymore sadly. Just because a dog is friendly to its owner does not mean it will be friendly to a stranger and we were running 10 feet away! Anyways. I’ve seen several animals in NJ alone including Turkeys, bears (while hiking) and deer. Lol

As a child, my brothers were obsessed with Legos so I have stepped on a few myself.

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WHAT!?!?! Oh that is awful Hollie!! Yeah, I’d be freaked out too after that! I am SO glad that you had such a great run with Tim today:) You deserve the best!

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Dinner table tradition. One high, one low from everyone’s day.
The low is a favorite. Not because of the low, but a glimpse into my spouses and child’s heart I might never know about.

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OH I LOVE that idea Erica!! I love that it helps everyone to be a bit vulnerable too! We are going to have to add this Erica, thank you! I hope you are having a great day and tell everyone hi!

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Spouse’s.
I only have one. :)

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Since I do the majority of my runs on the trails across my street (aka, the Rockies) I’ve seen mountain goats, moose and coyotes while running (luckily no bears or mountain lions!! I think I would poop my pants and never run up there again).

Grilled cheese is basically my all time favorite food. I could eat it everyday. And often do!

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I want to come run with you in the Rockies Aimee:) You see all sorts of things out there!! Have a grilled cheese asap please, they are the best!

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My hubs, 9yo DD and I eat at the dinner table most every night and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My daughter always says our blessing (we are Catholic so thats just what we do) and then we just chat about our day including what we call “peaks and pits”: the best part of your day (the peak) and the worst part (the pit). It’s a great way to start conversation.

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I love Rosie that you eat pretty much every night together at the table! We are totally going to have to use your peaks and pits:) What an awesome idea! Thank you for sharing with us what you guys do, I really appreciate it!

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I have really tried to work on my form so I don’t get back cramps late in the run. I have seen cute little bunnies on my run sometimes! Also I have heard coyotes but not seen them, thankfully! I think IKEA should sell that display as one unit and I need to put it up on the wall in my living room because I am so hard on myself. Loving yourself seems sometimes like the hardest thing, at least for me. You look great. I love your dog!

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Okay, back cramps do not sound fun! I am so sorry you have to deal with them! I hope you never see coyotes while out on your run:) I totally get what you are saying… let’s work on it together okay!?!? Thanks Aimee!

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We’re taking our 7 and 4 year old boys to Ikea today! Thanks for the reminder that we will be testing every chair, mattress, and rug in sight. Also, Ikea in Canada doesn’t have a candy section. My sweet tooth is jealous but my parent side is relieved because my kids would go crazy with a candy wall like that.

We have some rotating traditions at the table. For awhile we read a Psalm or chapter from the Gospels every day. Sometimes that was too much sitting for my youngest (don’t worry, we split Psalm 119 over a few days!). Our youngest has also said the same prayer before every meal for the past year. It goes, “Oh God, help this food be better. Amen!” As the family cook, I try not to take it personally!

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Have a blast at Ikea… no candy section!?!? Yeah definitely pros and cons to the candy wall ha. Enjoy! I LOVED hearing about what you do at the dinner table, thank you so much for sharing! Your little boy’s prayer made me laugh so so hard! I am sure our kids are thinking the same thing ha. Thank you, I want to incorporate some scripture at our dinner too! Have a great day Lisa.

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I have some running for changes I need to make. It seems like when it’s been a while since I’ve run my for gets really sloppy. It usually doesn’t take too long to come back though.

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That totally happens to me! Thankfully our muscles/bodies remember things quickly so we can get back to running like normal again. I hope you are having a great day Jenny!

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:) We do our “thankful for’s” at bedtime. It’s a nice way to finish the day with formal prayers, our little family prayer we made up, and then what we’re thankful for that day.

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Oh I love that Kristin! Such a great idea… such a special time together each day! Thanks for sharing Kristin and I hope you are having a wonderful day!

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We used to do “the peak and the pit” at the dinner table! You go around and share your peak/highlight of the day and your pit/worst part of the day. I’m pregnant right now too (almost out of the first trimester!!!) and am LOVING carbs more than ever. I’m all about bagels and grilled cheese with soup, too!

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I seriously LOVE this idea Meg… we are going to have to start this! CONGRATS on your pregnancy… yay for almost being done with that first trimester too! I hope you have some amazing carbs today… I’ll eat some for you too!

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oh man lego in the shoe. OUCH. blame beretta.

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Bahaha I will now! She probably did to get me back for not taking her with me:) Thanks Nicole and I hope you are having a great Thursday!

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Awww! I wish I randomly saw calves on my runs :) so cute. I HAVE been chased by a dog (a pit bull) and it was the scariest thing in the world. Luckily, I somehow outran it (??) and lost it and I was okay.

My absolute favorite carb right now are SWEET POTATOES! I probably have three or four a week!

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OKAY, that is so so so scary! I can’t imagine being chased by a pit bull! No thank you! SO happy you were okay:) Have some sweet potatoes today! I miss them (they stopped sounding good to me again:(!! Thanks Marina!

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We play a game called High Low High. We say a good thing, not so good thing and favorite thing about our day.

I get to see antelope, deer, elk, horses, cows and dogs while I run. I know the bears, moose and mountain lions see me, but I try not to think about that! I carry bear spray when I run and ride anywhere other than my road.

I miss IKEA!

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Okay, I LOVE YOUR GAME IDEA… I want to do that! Such a great way to open up to each other about everything that is going on! You see everything while you are out… great idea to bring that bear spray! I hope you have a wonderful Thursday and I love hearing from you!

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Good Morning Janae and Happy Thursday :)

Growing up, we had fam din almost every night! There were 4 of us kids so each of us had a night assigned to us. On our night, we would say the prayer before dinner and start off by saying the best part of our day and then we would go around the table and everybody would do the same! This was a great way of getting excited for sharing and everybody loved “their day”!

In Wisco, all I see are dear and bunnies! Fine by me :)

I hope you had a great day and I am praying for your clan.

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I love that you guys each had a night assigned to you to get things started… I love that you ate together every night! I hope you are having a great day too! Thanks Ashley!

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Ummm….IKEA has a candy section?? How did I not know this? I was literally googling candy stores last night after watching a show where they went into one…lol!!
And PS- you are one AMAZING momma! Juggling all that you do along with pregnancy and everything that comes with it, and still raising two of the sweetest little tykes! You keep them
entertained, safe, educated, loved and spiritually uplifted. You inspire me!

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BAHAHAHA you need the IKDEA candy section asap! I cannot wait until I love candy again:) Thank you so much for your sweet words… you are the best! I hope you are having a beautiful day!

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I used to have very bad chicken arms and dropped wrists. It took about 6 month of my coach yelling at me. I see so much improvement in my race photos…Yay!!

I see lots of animals during my early morning runs…deer, bunnies, coyotes, raccoons and the occasional fox and bobcat. I’m always picking up a neighborhood dog while I run. I take them back home because I don’t want them to leave the street they live on.

My favorite carb is a good, grainy bread with salted butter!!

I am also a summer soup eater! I love soup and chili all year round. I think chicken soup is the perfect pre-race dinner.

As a life long grilled cheese fan, WHY have I never made one with garlic butter??? THANK YOU SO MUCH for this idea. It is BRILLIANT!!

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Please report back with what you think of the garlic butter grilled cheese… it really is a game changer. Yay for another summer soup eater:) Great idea on chicken soup the night before a race! BOBCAT + COYOTES… I would freak out big time! That is so nice of you to pick up the neighborhood dogs too:) Way to go on the form improvement Elizabeth!

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I’m so impressed with how fast you’re able to run while pregnant! I am definitely not pregnant, but am training right now and my pace on a good day is two minutes slower than yours… I’m crossing my fingers that when the georgia heat and humidity goes down in the fall, I’ll be like lightening ;)

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PAIGE, you are doing awesome and to be 100% honest, there is no way I could survive the George heat and humidity… I would have to take the summers off or stay on the treadmill. YOU ARE AMAZING for running in those conditions!!! Fall is going to feel like a million bucks for you!

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I don’t like to discriminate carbs because I love them all but I am digging my home made cinnamon rolls at the the moment!

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I NEED YOUR RECIPE!!!

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Running form? Bleh! I had my gait analysed a few months ago and was told that I was leading with my heel too much. I’ve been trying really hard to correct that but now I have calf pain! But I’ve also upped my mileage and started breaking in new shoes so it’s a bit hard to unpick where things have gone wrong! I just hope I fix it before I get too close to my first marathon in October. Dinner traditions – hmm, I think I need to start some! With a four year old boy in the house we just have one rule: ‘you have to have your underpants on at table’ :) I do love toasted sandwiches, especially on a bagel :)

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OH NOOOOOO I am so so sorry that the gait change caused calf pain… sometimes I wonder if it isn’t causing problems then there is no need to fix it sometimes! I hope the calf pain disappears asap so you can go rock your marathon coming up this fall! BAHAHAH YOUR RULE just made my morning:) Thank you and I hope you get a toasted bagel sandwich soon!

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Gosh, I love IKEA! Am I alone in that? Sometimes I wish I lived closer just so I could wander around and get some decorating ideas. HA! (No, I am not kidding!) Anyway, I love your dinner table idea! I write a gratitude journal every night, writing down 5 things I am grateful for that day before I shut out the lights and I swear it has made a HUGE difference.

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Oh I love it too!!! It is just quite the workout for us haha:) They have great decorating ideas! I need to do a gratitude journal myself, such an amazing idea Katie! Thank you so so much for telling me Katie! Have a great Thursday!

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I’ve seen lots of animals through the years while I’m out running – deer, coyotes, bobcats, cattle, chickens, rabbits. I saw a snake and a HUGE tarantula on the trail yesterday! There are often bear tracks on our trail, but fortunately I’ve never seen an actual bear – pretty sure I’d have a heart attack on the spot!

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A TARANTULA!?!? Yeah, I would have lost it if I saw one of those!!! I am hoping you never see a bear while you are running… I can’t even imagine! I hope you are having a beautiful day Kathy! I always LOVE hearing from you!

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Our family dinnertime prayer is : For food in a world that knows hunger, for drink in a world that knows thirst, for love in a world that knows loneliness; we are truly thankful, Amen.

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Yay for feeling good on your runs! Great job :)
I have TERRIBLE arm form while running…I always see pictures from races and am appalled at how bad my form is!
I’ve been chased by dogs a bunch while running and it scares me to death! My husband thinks I should carry a weapon on my run with me but it freaks me out too much. :(
My favorite carb at the moment is popcorn! Or sugar. I’m not picky ;)
Have a great day Janae!

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Critical question: With your grilled cheese now made with garlic butter, do you still add jam on top??? I, like you, grew up with my mom teaching me to put jam on top of a grilled cheese – THE BEST. In fact, I was so happy to see you did this, too! But how is it with the garlic butter and jam? I would imagine good since the garlic butter is probably salty with the sweet jam. ;) I suspect you have done this experiment, so I will trust your results!

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We lived in the Azores and the human to cow ratio was 2-1!

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Over the winter when I was on my treadmill A LOT, my dog would do that same thing – stand there and look oddly at this treadmill thing. Then he would go curl up for a bit, come back, repeat for the time I was on the treadmill :) I have heard you can train a dog to walk on the treadmill which I am considering for winter time in case we get a really bad storm! Might be fun for both of us. Of course, I can’t get him to get onto my paddleboard (because as soon as he puts a paw on it and it moves he is very confused). So he might have issues with this moving belt thing. We shall see :)
We have TONS of turkeys in the neighborhood. Thankfully they have not chased me.

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I love saying what you’re grateful for! We do roses, thorns, and butterflies. Roses – best part of the day, thorn – worst part, butterflies – how we served someone that day.

I ran next to an opossum this summer (what?!) and I saw a crawfish on a trail yesterday about 50 yards from the river.

Fav carb right now is tortilla chips and guac and sweet potatoes!

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I’m not sure what kind of countertops you have and what you want, but we just did ours with the rustoleum countertop paint. Honestly it wasn’t hard and we LOVE how they turned out! You just use your existing counters and paint over them. It gives it a quartz look for wayyy cheaper, ha.

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We did happy day, sad day and funny day growing up. Now when we all get together on vacation we still do it!!!

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I love IKEA, but also get totally overwhelmed whenever we go there. I think part of it is that it’s really far from where we live, so we always feel like we have to look at everything. They really do have some amazing deals / cute stuff though!

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We lived in the Azores

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I love this post! That soup looks amazing! =) I usually try to get my kids to tell me something good from their day at supper, I do the same first thing in my Sunday School class, (I teach K-1st grade at church).

Our kitchen is in desperate need of a makeover, esp the floors!

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I love that Brooke and Knox look like best friends in every picture. You have a great family, Janae.

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