Sunday Funday with the Friedmans!

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I’m typing this up on Sunday night, thankful for a fun relaxing and productive weekend.

We had a fun Saturday, for another blog post, but today was pretty great too. Craig had to do chores so while he was at chores I tidied up the house and held the fort down. As soon as we got home, we headed to our favorite store: THEISENS!

If you don’t know what Theisens is, it’s a farm/outdoor store but they have everything. It’s our favorite small business to shop and I let the boys pick out a farm toy/little tractor when we go. You cn see the toys the boys picked out during today’s trip:

I love their toy selection and they had some great deals/coupons so I could finish up shopping for the nieces and nephews. I made sure Carver was a part of the shopping process so that he can learn how to buy and give gifts to others.

We picked out a gift for my nephew/Godson Jasper, my mom’s dog Rosie, our dog Betsy, and my sassy and sweet niece Georgia.

While we were in town, we ended up going out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. the boys were PERFECT and we had a great time.

Both the boys fell asleep on the ride home. We carried them upstairs and Craig and I gtook advantage of our free time in the garage – we got SO MUCH DONE – check out how great it looks so far! We have a lot of stuff to still sort through and garbage to get rid of but progress is progress!

By the time we were tired out from the garage, the boys were up from their nap and we enjoyed a nice lazy afternoon watching Taylor Swift’s new movie about the making of her most recent album (my favorite) folkore.

It was great. Although, I spent the night feeling frustrated. I’ve worked really hard with being content with what I have but tonight my head was spinning between investing money in my The Pink Shoelaces platform, putting money towards debt, recording my own music, and on and on.

There are so many things I’m passionate about and it can be overwhelming as to which one to focus on/pay attention to. It’s frustrating. So, i journaled a bit before bed and now I’m unwinding writing this blog post. Hopefully I’ll gain some clarity and focus after a good night’s sleep.

I have an orthodontist appointment tomorrow and I REALLY want to get an appointment scheduled to get them OFF! I’ve heard so many mixed opinions on when they will come off so I’m really going to nail that down tomorrow! Wish me luck! Thanks for reading guys!

OH! I almost forgot – Craig hung a huge mirror for me in a useless kind of wall space in our dining room so of course we had to take a mirror selfie before bed!

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NEW PODCAST EPISODE!

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I felt moved yesterday morning and recorded a quick podcast! There is a Friedman Family update and I dive into why I do what I do when I share my struggles! This will be in place of today’s blog post! I hope you give it a listen! You do NOT have to have an account on any platform to listen FOR FREE!

Here is the Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GvBVXZYECswEhGfcSdQkK

Here is the Anchor link: https://anchor.fm/thepinkshoelaces

Have you listened to the podcast? Do you like it? Any ideas for an episode?

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Checking In!

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Hey friends! I’m so glad you’re here. This Thanksgiving, my blog readers are definitely on my “thankful for” list. I hope you are being creative in finding ways to celebrate this “unprecedented” Thanksgiving either virtually or with family and friends. Here’s a quick update from the Friedman Fam!

If you recall, Craig and I pulled the trigger and invested in our DREAM mountain bikes. You can catch up up on that post here: http://www.thepinkshoelaces.com/a-beautiful-day/ Mine is still on back order but Craig’s baby got to come home today. We are so thankful for Decorah Bicycles for answering our millions of questions, renting us bikes, and being so patient with us throughout this purchase. I don’t trust anyone else with our bike choices. They also have bike rentals. Check em out! In the meantime, if you are a Strava friend, (a fitness tracking app) follow me @kalissageorgia to keep up with our mountain bike adventures.

I was able to enjoy some socially distanced coffee with some of my favorite coworkers from when I worked in the ER. It was so great catching up. My soul needed to reconnect with these beautiful humans. We haven’t seen each other (other than various ER visits) since I left in April. I miss being a part of a such a close knit team. There are some really incredible people who work there.

I saw these in town today – I think they are called kissing balls? HOW CUTE! They were pretty spendy so I had to pass but seriously – how cute are these?

It seems the boys were pretty busy this morning/last night while Craig and I were fast asleep – this is what I walked into this morning. I will say, our nights have really improved since we made a few adjustments to our bedtime schedule: Gannon falls asleep first, Carver gets special one on one time for 20 minutes or so, and he has no problem getting himself to sleep after that. I consider that a win!

I sent this picture to my siblings and told them that this is what their kids are getting for Christmas! HA! A band in a box! This would be payback for my sister who got Carver a MEGAPHONE for his 2nd birthday. YIKES! I’m of course joking. I tried to do some shopping while in town today but didn’t have much luck. There’s plenty of time though!

I’m off to bed for now, I work the next two nights (the night of Thanksgiving) just one more week of work until I start training to the ER and start on my day shift rotation! I’m excited for a change of pace! Thanks for reading friends!

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The Before and During…

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Well guys…I feel like I’m far enough along in my health journey to share something with you.

First of all, I don’t like before and after pictures. It sends the wrong message on so many levels. My before may look like someone’s after. I don’t want to hurt and discourage them. My after isn’t really an after, implying that I’m “done” being healthy or that I’m “done” maintaining my weight.

I’m still not where I want to be. Mentally? I’m doing GREAT. I’m where I want to be. Physically, I want to be and feel healthier.

So I’m hesitant to share this. I’ve seen so many before and after pictures in my lifetime and it rarely ever motivated me. It usually just lead to self loathing and being angry about my body.

So before I share this with you, please know I have no ill intentions when I share my results with you.

There is so much more than what meets the eye when I share this post with you. If I could somehow take a picture of the mindset shifts and my thought process that has changed more than the weight on the scale, I would share that instead. But I can’t. So I’m sharing the results of the mindset shift instead.

When you’ve lost weight, the FIRST thing people will ask: “What’s your secret?” and “What have you been doing?”

I feel really silly when I tell them that a podcast is my secret. But it is! This is absolutely the results of a lifestyle change and a mindset shift. It has very little to do with what I eat. Yes my diet has changed but it is changed more by my desire for health, my desire to fuel my body with nutrients, and loving myself.

How many people start a diet because they hate the way they look? I started this health journey because I LOVE myself, I LOVE my body, and I want to LOVE the way I look. I want to feel confident.

So how do I do that? The answer: Elizabeth Benton.

EB has a podcast that I’ve raved about called the Primal Potential podcast but she also has a book that I’ve also shared called Chasing Cupcakes. I cannot recommend these enough.

Here is the link to her BOOK: https://amzn.to/3l15EzC

But more than that, people ask me “Where do I start?” and here’s what I would recommend:

Elizabeth has a course called “Nutrition Fundamentals” and “Breaking Barriers.” These courses are on sale now, buy one get one for $1 and I feel like this is an excellent way to really break down the nutrition concepts and the mindset shifts required to make these kinds of changes. This is an excellent introduction to her platform and I cannot recommend them enough.

The Nutrition Fundamentals course description reads: It’s time to really understand your body and your metabolism. No more fads & hype!

The Breaking Barriers course description reads: Breaking Barriers in an online course that focuses on mindset transformation. Through powerful, short audio lectures and personalized tools, Breaking Barriers will empower you to stop looking externally for transformation, finally overcome what’s really been holding you back, and achieve lasting change! 

So I’m gong to link to her Holiday shop here where you can find the courses on sale for $99 each: https://primalpotential.com/holiday

I snagged this mug this morning – one of my FAVORITE lessons from her podcast is about being a creative energetic problem solver – a mantra that I use in all aspects of my life when I’m faced with a challenge.

Please keep in mind that I am NOT being sponsored to say any of this. I have chatted with Elizabeth – yes actually her and not her team – through her Daily Mindset Upgrades. She is truly a gem of a human and I’m so excited to share this life changing content with you FOR FREE! But it isn’t a quick fix, this isn’t a lose weight fast kind of thing. It takes time and it takes work and a commitment to yourself to make lasting change.

Let me know if you place an order! I’d love to chat more about her content!

Thanks for reading guys! See you soon!

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If you ever purchase any amazon products from MY link, I do get commission. If you buy, let’s just say, $150 worth of other stuff while you’re on Amazon by following my link, I also get commission on those things you purchase. It’s a way to support my blog and it is a way to score some great quality products. I just want to be honest with you guys. I would have raved about these products even if I didn’t make any money off of it.

A Beautiful Day

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I had two really awesome days in a row.

Read about my Friday here: http://www.thepinkshoelaces.com/friyay/

Read about my Saturday morning here: https://www.joscountryjunction.com/busy-day-2/#more-58843

So now that you’re all caught up, I’ll tell you about my Saturday afternoon now!

So mom watched the boys so I could buzz down to Sumner – a town about 20 minutes South of us. Sumner has two of my favorite stores, Grain and Thread and Maker’s Market. I needed to get some Christmas shopping done and I totally nailed it! I just love the ladies who own these stores and look forward to visiting with them along with shopping.

I’ve committed to shopping LOCAL this year – I will not order anything off of Amazon or big box stores! Our local businesses took quite a hit this year and need our support now more than ever – I hope you consider shopping local as well.

While I was helping mom, Craig called and said he was getting off of work early! We wanted to fit ONE MORE round of mountain biking in this year. We got to Decorah just in time and we learned the trails were not ideal for trail riding. So while we were at the store to rent bikes, we looked around. I knew I wanted to get Carver a NICE bike – a real bike – and we found it.

In the meantime, Craig and I (as you know) LOVE mountain biking and we want to buy our own e-bikes. The price is hefty, not gonna lie. The average e-mountain bike is $5,000. I talk more about biking in this blog post: http://www.thepinkshoelaces.com/a-date-with-craig-%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F/ and this one: http://www.thepinkshoelaces.com/anniversary-adventure/

Craig and I are set on investing in bikes and today we finally pulled the trigger and got a DEAL on a Rail 7 – the bike Craig has been renting and riding all Summer and we are so so thrilled. Here it is:

That’s an old picture but that’s the exact bike he bought! They were going to retire it to rental only when Craig made an offer at our favorite local bike shop and we also got Carver’s bike for Christmas but don’t tell him 😉

We did a quick lap around Decorah – an 11 mile trail with a complimentary fitness hybrid e-bike rental! It was COLD but BEAUTIFUL and we still got ride time in today which is exactly what we needed. The facemasks were for WARMTH and not COVID protection!

We got up to 28 mph on the e-bike which is just stellar. I would recommend e-bikes to ANYONE – if you are an experienced biker you would love it to go longer and harder. If you are a novice biker, you can easily navigate many trails with little effort. I can’t imagine any other way to mountain bike!

Pork Nachos

We ate at Craig’s favorite BBQ restaurant – Old Armory BBQ and our favorite ice cream shop – The Sugar Bowl was just hours from closing their season so I snagged my favorite ice cream for dessert!

Please excuse my helmet hair!

Now we are snuggling in bed watching our favorite vlogger: The Minnesota Millennial Farmer Zach Johnson. The plan detailed in last night’s blog post where Gannon goes to bed first and Carver next TOTALLY worked and they both slept in their rooms all night for the first time in months.

What an awesome day – so grateful for so much today.

I hope you all have a great Sunday! Thanks for reading!

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FriYAY!

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I had an awesome Friday. Part of that was because of a new question I ask myself every morning: What does my ideal day look like? Well, I did exactly that!

I finished work this morning and had an awesome chat with my mom on the way home. I got home and recorded a podcast – that’s up on Spotify right now in case you want to check it out:

Listen for free on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2XSMyNnTk8BaY3S9occuzI…

Listen for free on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/…/episodes/Overcoming-Overeating-emp7ne

P.S. YOU DONT NEED a Spotify account to listen 😉

So I slept really well, woke up, took a shower and headed over to my mom’s. We have really good friends of ours that feel more like a cousin to us. I’ve known her girls since they were very young when my mom watched them at childcare. Our kids have grown to be fast friends and she comes over to cut all of our hair.

There is Carver and Sawyer playing ghosts – Gannon walked around with a pillow on his head and chased after them trying to keep up with the big kids. It was super cute.

Carver was super excited and gave Sawyer a big hug before she was ready. I told Carver that he should always ask before he gives someone a hug. He stopped what he was doing, backed up, and asked her, “Can I give you a hug?” Then she jumped into his open arms – so so cute and a really simple way to teach consent. You can read more on my kids and consent blog post here: http://www.thepinkshoelaces.com/consent/

All of my boys got a trim, we had a lovely time catching up and cooking and having a beer. Uncle Karl was home and we just love any time we get with Uncle Karl and speaking in Spanish with him.

Now I’m snuggled in bed with my boys – we are trying something new: putting Gannon to bed first, letting him fall asleep, Carver gets some special time with mom and dad and then Carver goes to bed. We’ve had some REALLY rough nights so I hope this works!

I anticipate a few “shame on you” comments for not masking up and meeting with someone outside of our home but a) these are kids from my mom’s childcare and carver plays with them regularly – we have to have somewhere to take our kids so I can keep working and b) my mom and Karl are part of that team that watched the boys so I can work.

Tomorrow we are trying to decide what to do, I want to go biking, Craig thinks it might be too cold. Mom and I wanted to go to the Amish in the morning but we will see what the day brings!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and thanks for reading!

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