Zenzational

Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments on the few house pictures I posted.  Hopefully I’ll be cooking and baking a lot, so I can do that kitchen justice!

Erik and I have been busy little bees trying to get everything in order in our old and new house.  We spent all Saturday on various house projects, thus both waking up this morning very sore, ha.  It didn’t help that yesterday I started my morning with Jillian:I’m a little behind with the 30 Day Shred workout craze, but since everyone seemed to always say good things about it, I decided to order it along with a couple other Jillian DVDs.  Thus far I’ve started with Level 1 of 30 Day Shred.  So far, so good, ha.  I can definitely feel it today, so I know it’s working! 

What’s your favorite workout DVD?

I’m convinced it’s no coincidence that this came in the mail shortly after those Jillian DVDs: My nice husband got me this “Zenzational” Whole Foods gift package, just because.  It came complete with lotion, shower gel, bath crystals, a bath pillow, hot tea bags, a candle, and more.  Basically, I love it! 

Erik is a keeper! Speaking of getting things in the mail … I had some Target gift cards from Christmas that I’ve been holding onto trying to decide what to get.  The other day, it dawned on me … I’m now working at home, and what have I always wanted to sit on at my desk?

A stability ball chair!  I checked out Target’s website, and found this Gaiam chair:Thus far I’ve used it about a day, and I’m really liking it.  I was worried it might be too short, but I’m finding if anything, it’s even too tall for my desk.  Thankfully, I just have to let a little air out of the ball. 

If anyone else has ever used them, what’s your thoughts on stability ball office chairs?

And since this post is quickly becoming longer than planned, I’ll end with my morning … breakfast was some strawberry Kashi cereal with chia seeds, granola, and chocolate peanut butter.  Perfect combination!I’m now off to drink my tea, get ready, and head off to church.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Taste test & house previews

Hope everyone’s week has been going well!

My first official day of working completely at home is on Friday, so I’m very excited for that.  No more commuting to work, and no more getting up at 5 a.m.

::REWIND::

As mentioned in my last post, our weekend had a nice start with date night on Friday.  Saturday morning we went to a YMCA that Erik just put a vending machine in.  They were having a special day and wanted him to come out and have samples of our vending products for everyone. We thought it went really well.  Kids were swarming the samples grabbing as much as they could before their parents stopped them.  Veggie straws, Back to Nature chocolate chip cookies, and fruit bites were all big hits.

And when I got home, I was delighted to see a package containing the latest Foodbuzz Tastemaker delight including an apron, and coupon for one Alexia All Natural product to try out.
 I’m actually very much looking forward to this one because I’ve had my eye on their frozen sweet potato fries for quite some time now but have never wanted to spend the money on them knowing I could just chop up my own sweet potatoes.But soon, thanks to Foodbuzz, those sweet potato fries will be mine .

And though I haven’t taken pictures of the whole house, here’s a few previews of the new pad:Mostly, I’m in love with the kitchen.And here’s my new office:I’m so very blessed and thankful for life, our house, and our new ventures in Kansas City!

A “Spin!”ing start to the weekend.

Happy Weekend!

Erik and I started the weekend in our new city with a date night.  While we’ve had many Kansas City dates, it was so nice not to have to commute there and back!

Having never been, we decided to try Spin! Neapolitan Pizza for dinner.

Our first reaction … whoa, this place is busy!  In fact, we even drove past it and were going to go somewhere else but decided to brave it anyways.  Once inside, the line moved pretty quickly, and we were seated.

 

I started out with the Sonoma salad that was actually really good.  It consisted of: “Red leaf and spinach with grapes, raisins,apples, goat cheese, chopped glazed pecans, Blood Orange Vinaigrette.”

When it comes to salads, anytime grapes, apples, glazed pecans and a good crumbly cheese are involved, you really just can’t go wrong.

I got the “FUNGHI” pizza with roasted Portabellos & Criminis, and added onions to the mix:

After dinner, we [finally!] saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  I’m a big Narnia fan, and this film did not disappoint me!

All in all, a great first new hometown date night.

What are you all time favorite pizza toppings??  (I gravitate towards mushroom and onion, as seen above, ha).

Changes, changes & changes!

As is evident by my lack of blogging, we’ve been really busy lately and a lot of big changes have been occurring in the Lesley Lifting Life household.  Namely …

We moved to Kansas City!!!

In case you were wondering -- since I already talk about KC all the time -- we were living about 45 minutes north of KC, not actually in it.  And now, we’ve made the trek south and officially have a KC address.

The second big change occurring is that in approximately one more week …

I’m going to be working from home full time!!!

Both of these things have been hopes of mine for quite awhile now, and I’m so blessed and thankful that I’m able to actually do both of these things.  At times I feel like someone should pinch me, and Erik and I keep saying to each other, “Do we really live here??” haha.

The house isn’t exactly in order quite yet, and I haven’t had time for pictures, but I’ll try to post some of my new office and such soon;)

I have, however, found time to take pictures of my food?? Go figure!Kansas City got a nice big snow blanket last night, so my self-proclaimed snow day was full of comfort food, and a taste of my working at home future. 

My morning began with a warm cup of Zen Tazo and a full bowl of cereal.Morning cereal add-ins: granola, creamy peanut butter, raisins, and chia seeds.I then got to work doing a few jobs for my new at-home work. I loved being able to get up and throw a load of laundry in, grab a snack from the fridge, etc.  And I must say, I have never eaten this at work before:  Cold snow + warm house = oozing grilled cheese and creamy tomato soup.We’ve been loving this tomato soup lately.  Mmm!I finished off my day doing various household chores, cooking and eating dinner, and finally, blogging.

So anyways … that’s the recent news in our lives.  These are some very exciting changes for us, and each time I pinch myself and realize it really IS real, my heart thanks God for his wonderful blessings in life!

Hopefully you’ll hear from me a little more often as we get settled into our new Kansas City home You are all the best!

The time my kindle took over my life.

Blogging?  What’s blogging?

Due to a certain Christmas present, since approximately December 25th, my spare time has inadvertently been directed to one thing, and one thing only.  Enter: Kindle.I tell myself things like: “Just one more page”, “I’ll stop when I get to the next chapter”, “Fifteen more minutes”. But I know the truth.  These are all lies. 

I will not just read one more page.

I will not stop when I get to the next chapter.

When fifteen minutes are up, I will not care.

If you need proof, here it is … since December 25th, I have read approximately nine books.  For effect, I added the number of pages together that each book is in print for a grand total of 3,138 pages.  I do not kid. Though I have since (mostly) repented, and am moving towards a healthier reading prescription, ha. 

And it must be added … I am not the only one. Enter: Erik’s Kindle. Erik’s Kindle addiction was not immediately found in books, but games such as Every Word and Scrabble. He received a bunch of Amazon gift cards for Christmas, and after having fought over played with my Kindle, he decided to get one too.

I’m happy to report that he even beat the game Every Word, got tired of games, and has since moved onto Tolstoy, haha.

Thus … my computer time has been limited lately, and I suspect I will find more time for blogging as the newness of my Kindle wears off, and I become a normal person once again.

The end.

P.S.  Who else is in a winter wonderland?? I was hoping for a snow day, but no such luck.