Friday, April 11, 2014

High Five for Friday - Week #4

You guys, I'm really enjoying being back in the blogging world now. The five-month break I took was absolutely necessary, for a couple of reasons, but now that I'm back, I'm so glad to be here. I came back excited about writing, and about sharing my life, and reading about your lives. And I came back refreshed from all the silly blog-drama that goes on when thousands upon thousands of girls are all trying to achieve some level of popularity at this little hobby of ours. It's just silliness really. But it feels good to have gotten some perspective on that.

And now I just want to get back to documenting my life, and my interests, in whatever way I want to, without the pressure to conform or perform, or get 30 bajillion page views a day. So that's what I plan on doing. I just wanted to get that all out in the open now that I've been back for about a month now. Anyways, let's move on and get to the fun that is High Five for Friday with Lauren, because I really do like these posts :)

1. I went to a new kick boxing class with a friend from work last night, and it was killer! It's "cardio kick boxing" so it's very high energy. Thursday's is apparently arms day, and so we did a lot of pushups and little weight things too. Then at the end, she made us all go outside and run a lap around the center, which was probably less than half a mile, but it was still rough. I forgot to wear my Polar heart rate monitor, but I feel like I must have burned like 11,000 calories... Going back again next Thursday though!

2. One of the photo prompts this week for the April photo challenge on Instagram was "Hobby." So I took a photo of some of my very favorite books, and I just like it :)


3. My self-designed blog is so super cute, right? And the best part, it completely fit into our budget this month, because it cost a whopping ZERO dollars since I figured it all out myself. Still not perfect, since I need to tweak and fix a few things, but I'm still loving it :)

4. Speaking of the budget, we cut up some credit cards this week at our weekly Financial Peace University class, and that felt great! We completely paid off one of them last week, and now it will never have a balance again! (The other one was Macy's and it had only been used once in like, 2011, just to get 20% off my swimsuit purchase...)

5. I made this amazing SkinnyTaste Macaroni Casserole for dinner the other night, and it was so stinking yummy!! My pictures may not look magazine-worthy, but let me tell you, this was so delicious, and so easy! I modified the recipe a bit though, because I was scared of the whole not-cooking-the-pasta-ahead-of-time thing. So then once I put it all together, I just put it in the oven long enough to melt the cheese, so like 10-15 minutes.


And since more than just five things need high fives this week, here are a few more awesome things I just want to share today...
- Did y'all see the round robin giveaway on Instagram this week? Well, I won a $10 Amazon card from it!
- I printed a whole bunch of pictures last weekend for the house, and I also updated all the frames and stuff in my office, and it's making me happier.
- I've been reconnecting with a lot of my old blog friends this week and it's been a lot of fun.

So that's about it for today now. This weekend is sure to be fun, because it's the opening concert weekend at the new Cascades park! I won four tickets, so we invited two of our friends to meet at our house, then all go together, so we're looking forward to that. Tonight is also a big block party for the FSU spring game, which is tomorrow. And who knows what else the next few days might hold?! Looking forward to it of course :) Hope y'all have a had an equally good week, and wishing you an even better weekend!
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8 comments:

Miranda said...

The blogging popularity contest can ruin the whole point of having a blog. It is definitely frustrating, and I find it so much more enjoyable to just write about whatever I want to write, and to get to know a handful of bloggers really well as opposed to trying to win the approval of everyone. I'm glad you're back, and your design looks awesome!

I just finished Financial Peace University, and it was great! I have a savings for the first time in my life, and I have paid off a pretty significant portion of debt. Sounds like it's working out for y'all too! :)

Happy Friday!

The White Family said...

Gosh, girl, that looks so yummy!!!

Brianne said...

Now that kickball is over I am going to force myself to suck it up & start a kickboxing class...it's the whole reason I joined the gym I did last summer & yet I've never once stepped foot in a class.

Melissa said...

That meal looks delicious! Great job on your blog design! I think you did a fantastic job!

Cramer Coffee and Jesus said...

Kick boxing class!? Watch out!!

ricci said...

Just found your new blog!!! LOVE it!!!! Can't wait to read more :)

Kelly Elizabeth said...

I love your design! I love the pictures and colors! Excited to try to make that yummy macaroni! I think it looks so good!

Becky M said...

I love that Harry Potter is on your shelf :)

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