Feel Good Friday 47
Do you ever feel like the weeks fly by and drag on simultaneously? This week was one of those… very busy so it flew, but also filled with challenges thus making it seem never-ending. I, for one, and thrilled that Friday has arrived! We’ve got a fun filled weekend ahead, and I will be creating a sweet Halloween treat with the kids that I’ll be sharing here next week. We may also hit up a local pumpkin patch. Wilder is obsessed with pumpkins (I have no idea where he gets that from 😉 ), and when we take our morning walks we point out all of the festive gourds adorning neighborhood homes right now. I can’t imagine how we will react to an entire field filled with them! Heaven on earth. Have you discovered anything wonderful this week, or have any exciting plans? Tell me all about it in the comments! As I mentioned, this week was a little hectic, but I managed to find a few helpful things worth sharing in this Feel Good Friday. (I am an Amazon associate and earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
Wilder running in a field near our house with absolute abandon. Oh, to be so free in spirit!
*By the way, I am going to sprinkle photos of life lately throughout since I don’t have any photos directly related to what I’m writing about today. They are moments of joy though, and that’s what Feel Good Friday is all about… reaching for Joy.
Money Mindset Podcast
This episode of Marie Forleo’s podcast featuring Arian Simone was everything I needed to hear around the topic of money. I admit, it’s always been a struggle for me to form the right mindset around money, and I tend to operate from a place of scarcity rather than abundance. One statement that Simone made that really struck me is that money is energy, it’s a current which is why it’s currency and you get back what you give out energetically. The entire episode had helpful tips and I was taking notes!
Thoughtfully Written Fictional Book
Our book club (which anyone can read along with and even join our monthly zooms- find out more here) read Sue Monk Kidd’s latest, The Book of Longings for October. This book is a fictional account of Ana, wife of Jesus, and tells her story. (As far as anyone knows, Jesus did not have a wife, but this book took fictional liberties and the writer acknowledges it all as well as her inspiration at the end.) Ana is a strong woman whose deepest desire is not to be married, as was the main goal in life for most women in their time, but to be remembered for having a voice. As she puts it, she is filled with longings for greater things and knows that there is “largeness” in her. This book is the story of what’s possible when we believe in ourselves and have the support of others who believe in and acknowledge our own largeness. It’s also a tale of friendship and family, and I absolutely loved the little family that Ana created for herself… it was a little tribe of women uplifting each other. I do feel like every book I’ve read this year following Untamed is read through a filter of that book, and I saw so many parallels with the messaging… the “longings” that Kidd writes about are very similar to the “knowing” that Doyle addresses. These books are coming to me in a timely fashion for sure, and encouraging me to trust myself and that instinct or voice of knowing.
I took Wilder hiking on a local trail last week, and he wanted to take this ladybug home and carried it a good half mile.
Healthy Snack Nuts
I bought these sea salt roasted peanuts at our local grocery store when I went to Asheville this summer for us to snack on. I brought home what was left and Wilder absolutely loved them. The store had been out of them, but they had them back in stock this week and Wilder was thrilled. He loves to bring a back of pretzels, raisins, and these peanuts on our walks… his own personal snack mix. By the way, when the store was out I brought home a different brand of salted peanuts, and my little food snob tried them and was not impressed. They still sit unfinished in our pantry. (If you prefer to do one stop Amazon shopping, they also have them there, but the price is a little higher.)
Lucky Thrift Finds
On Monday afternoon I set out to go thrifting with a ridiculously fashionable thirft-savvy friend, and she introduced me to a store I had never been in, but will go back to regularly. We wore masks as well as gloves and used lots of hand sanitizer and kept safe, by the way. Ashley didn’t find much, but I ended up scoring so many amazing items for Wilder, a Harvard sweatshirt for Emmy, and a couple pieces for myself including a pair of Under Armour joggers for $6. They’re more of a fitted style jogger and so comfortable… I am wearing them as I type, and just finished my yoga practice in them. They’re a few seasons old, but feel like they’ve barely been used. They’re most like these.
More baking with Wilder, because that is how we do these days…. Emmy is making muffins with him as I type.
Last 90 Days
Last year, I participated in the Last 90 Days Challenge put on by The Hollis Co. As you might know, Rachel and Dave Hollis are going through a divorce so I wasn’t sure if they were going to bring it back this year. I was thrilled to see it announced last month, and am stoked to be participating again. This challenge really helped me become more mindful of my habits, especially drinking enough water! It just started yesterday on October 1, and I am stoked! In general, I am a fairly healthy person, and I take good care of myself, but I tend to struggle with eating habits, so I am looking for this challenge to help me clean those up. Each 30 day period of the 90, you give up one food category… I am doing gluten for October because I need to stop eating my kids’ pizza and grilled cheese crusts! One of the other things you must do is move your body 30 minutes every single day. I already do this because it became a habit last year during the challenge… even on my “off” days I walk my dogs for at least 30 minutes. My mood is much better even with that little bit of movement. This month I plan to continue walking and running, and hoping to add light body-weight exercises a couple times a week. I am also doing a daily yoga practice, and love that Yoga with Adriene creates a monthly calendar to follow along with. I am going to follow along with her October calendar which you can find here. Finally, I wanted to let you know I actually created a small private facebook group with a few friends who are doing the 90 day challenge… if you’re interested in joining it, we’d be happy to have you. Just shoot me an email or drop a comment!
Last weekend Chris, Sawyer and I discovered Morrow Mountain.
And this is where I leave you today. I hope you have an wonderful first weekend of October, and that you make some time for adventure, time to see things through the eyes of others, and time to remember what your longings are. Much love, Cassie