What's Up Thursday

So had I realized before I published yesterdays post it was What's Up Wednesday I would have just switched them, but as luck would have it I figured that out too late. Guess what? Not the first time that's happened...hahaha.

Anyway, better late than never...right?!?!

Let's find out the answers to the following questions and link up with Mel, Shay and Sheaffer.

What we're eating this week...

Salmon and Caesar salad

Chicken with tomatoes and spinach over quinoa

 and the rest of the week is TBD.

(This recipe is from Jesse's mom...I'm talking about him in a minute😉)

What I'm reminiscing about...

Seeing all the back to school pictures of course makes me think back on all of my kids first days. How did that time pass so quickly?

What I'm loving...

Lash Boost is back in stock! We were sold out for 2 months and it's finally back. YES, it's that good!

I'm not exaggerating when I say that if I could only take one product with me on a desert island this would be it. The difference in my lashes is amazing! But I'm not the only one. Check out all of these before and afters.

I am offering 5 lucky readers a special deal I've never done before. Sign up as a PC and order Lash Boost and I'll reimburse your one time $19.95 enrollment cost.

Email me to claim yours

richardson4.lisa@gmail.com

What we've been up to...

Getting little missy's dorm room all cozied up. This room had 10 foot ceilings so we had to wait for "dad" to get their to do the lights.

What I'm dreading...

Honestly, nothing and that's a good thing!

What I'm working on...

This week I've been trying to get ready for my bible study that starts back up today. I got home Monday night and had to get all my materials, do 2 lessons and call 15 sweet ladies to introduce myself. It's going to be a great year studying the book of Matthew and learning more about the life of Jesus.

If you are looking for a good bible study and a wonderful way to meet women you should look into a Community Bible Study in your area. They are an inter-denomination bible study located all over the country.

What I'm excited about...

I was totally surprised when my Rodan + Fields sponsor tagged me in a post this week and that I was the highest volume producer on our team last month. Can I just tell you that I started using these products with no intention of selling them?! I love them and what they do and I also love that I fell into a job I can work no matter where I am. If you are wondering what's next for you, then this just might be the answer. I decided to give it a try as a way to fill my time now that I'm an empty nester and I'm able to support my shopping habit. LOL!

What I'm watching/reading...

Elizabeth and I started watching Scandal while I was in Nashville.

Chesapeake Shores is back on.

And we are ready for This Is Us to come back on. Our DVR had recorded what we thought was an episode, but it was only a teaser. BUMMER!

What I'm listening to...

Our friend Jesse released an EP this week on iTunes and we are so excited for him. I talked about him releasing a single before and now he's released 4 more songs. This guy is amazing! He writes his own songs, plays and sings. His brother and sister are doing the harmonies and playing the violin and bass. Such a talented family. Click HERE to check it out!

What I'm wearing...

My new circle cardigan I purchased during the Nordstrom sale has been on complete and total repeat.

This dress from Loft is my new favorite. So cute and comfy!

What I'm doing this weekend...

Good question!

What I'm looking forward to next month...

You guessed it! I'm going back to Nashville. I'll be going to Gulf Shores, AL for a Rodan + Fields virtual convention weekend with our team and then attending a wedding in KY both of which will coincide with Katie's fall break and birthday.

YIPPEE!!!

What else is new...

Not much. Just getting back to our new normal of no kids at home again and gearing up for fall.

Hope you're having a great week. Happy Friday Eve friends.

You can shop this post here...

My Fitness Journey

As I find myself approaching the "half century" mark next month I am also finding changes happening to my body that I'm not necessarily excited about. Where I could once just cut back for a bit and drop a few pounds they now really seem to like hanging around. I guess I'm just such a great hostess they don't want to leave. LOL

I'm now considered officially in menopause. I'm on the young end of the spectrum for this, but I've gone over a year without a period. I don't mind that part, but I can tell it's definitely affected my metabolism and slowed it down. I've always been small through my midsection but could see that beginning to change and was not a fan.

I've been a faithful exerciser for 20 years. After having Katie I started walking a couple times a week on a treadmill and then progressed to outside pushing a stroller that probably weighed well over 100 pounds with both kids in it. Gradually I added different exercise videos/dvd workouts and changed over to a combo of cardio and weights. So for the last 10-15 years I'll cycle back and forth between walking and doing interval type things.

I'm just going to be honest and say I'm too cheap to join a gym and thankfully I'm very self motivated to workout at home. I figure by the time I would drive to a gym and back I can stay home and get it done. 

With the aging process and changes in my body I had a few pounds that had crept on and wouldn't budge no matter what I tried. I heard about the Faster Way To Fat Loss through Cyndi Spivey's blog and decided maybe I'd give it a try to see if it would give me a reset and kick things back into gear.

At the beginning of the summer when Katie came home she agreed to do it along side of me. I'll tell you if you can get a buddy to do a program like this with you it it's a whole lot more fun. We held each other accountable and would push each other when one of us just wasn't feeling it.

The Faster Way To Fat Loss is a total program based on clean eating, carb cycling and exercises. Clean eating is "all the rage" these days. It seems I'm constantly hearing about someone who's doing Whole 30 or some other program designed to transform your eating habits.

The whole clean eating phenomenon was scary and intimidating for me. We eat pretty well, but when you commit to eating only foods with no extra ingredients or preservatives it takes a little effort. What I did find/have found is that you can eat a lot more than you think you can on a program like this. When you are eating "whole foods" that are better for your body it takes more to fulfill the calories you need. Eating clean wasn't as hard as I feared.

The FWTFL program guides you through 6 weeks (7 if you count the prep week) of eating and exercises. The exercises are my favorite part. That probably sounds weird, but I love having a trainer give me exercises that I can see doing something for my body. While on the program I lost over 6 inches and really gained muscle and strength. I LOVE that!

If you are looking for a way to reset your body and try something different from what you've been doing than this might be the program for you. There is another round of the Faster Way starting on September 10. You will be put in a private Facebook group with other women doing the same thing to cheer each other on, ask questions, swap ideas and help hold each other accountable.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have. 

Happy Wednesday friends!

Get Fit😉💪🏼

Whew...I'm Back Home

Hey y'all!!! I'm home. Can you believe it? We were (kinda😉) joking with people that the only reason Kent came to Nashville for the weekend was to make sure I got on the plane to come back home.

Anyway, I'm back and I've been trying to catch up on all the comments and reading all my favorite blogs this morning. I got up at 5:30 since my body clock thought it was 7:30. Now it's time for me to unpack, do laundry, fill the very bare fridge and pick up my stuff so I can prepare for our new bible study that starts Thursday. I have 2 lessons to do and 15 sweet women assigned to my core group to call and introduce myself to. 

So for today I'm mainly saying "HEY", and hope y'all have a great day! Here's what I have on my agenda...

Happy Tuesday that feels like Monday.

TBB Asks Back to School Edition

So here we are. The first Monday in September and with a heavy sigh I say...

I always hate to see summer draw to a close.

Do you know what Labor Day really is all about? For some strange reason I've always felt like it was a patriotic holiday. Maybe because it's the bookend to summer along with Memorial Day, but it has nothing to do with being patriotic. I turned to my good friend Google and here's what he had to say about Labor Day...

a public holiday or day of festivities held in honor of working people, in the US and Canada on the first Monday in September.

YASSSS!!!! A day off for no other reason than because we deserve it. I'm all about that! AND a good SALE, because we all know Labor Day comes along with lots of sales. Make sure you read to the bottom of the post where I've highlighted some of the best sales right now.

Summer is now officially over and it's truly back to reality for me. After 2 1/2 weeks of playing with my kids and friends in my beloved southern part of the country it's time for me to go home. BUT that's okay, I'll be back in a month for another round. LOL

My friends over at The Blended Blog are hosting another edition of "The Blended Blog Asks" and it's all things back-to-school. Read along as I answer the following questions:

1 - Love school or hate it? I loved being with my friends, but could certainly do without the work

2 - Start school before or after Labor Day? 🙌🏼After🙌🏼

3 - Wake up: Eager beaver or slow poke? Eager beaver

4 - Favorite breakfast? Tasty cake cupcakes. Yes, in high school I'd eat whatever for breakfast and frequently it would be something like this. I would still take something sweet over savory any day of the week if I was a breakfast eater.

5 - Favorite cereal? Probably Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops

6 - School uniform or no school uniform? No uniforms

7 - New outfit for first day or no? Sometimes yes and sometimes no

8 - Walk to school or ride the bus? I always wanted to walk to middle school and I did one time. My mom didn't want us crossing a "busy" road, but all the cool kids walked to school. I basically remember the grass being wet...LOL

9 - Backpack, tote, or messenger bag? Backpacks were just coming in when I was at the end of my high school career so I always carried my books, but in college I had a backpack.

10 - Eat school lunch or pack lunch? In elementary and middle school my mom packed our lunches. In high school I had stellar eating habits and usually had french fries and an ice cream bar for lunch. Thank heavens for good metabolism back then.

11 - Remember the little milk cartons? White or chocolate? White, which is surprising since I'm such a chocoholic

12 - Paper bag or lunch box? Elementary I had a Barbie lunch box.

13 - Favorite thing to do at recess? Not play dodge ball😩

14 - Favorite back to school item? NEW CRAYONS...I still love new crayons!

15 - Chalkboard or dry erase board? Chalk board. Maybe that's why all us women about my age have such an infatuation with chalk board decor now. hahaha

16 - Regular pencil or mechanical? Mechanical. Keeping regular pencils sharpened is such a pain.

17 - Homework as soon as you got home or after dinner? After dinner. I don't remember having anywhere near the amount of homework my poor kids have always had and thank goodness for that. It was a struggle for me to do the little amount I had.

18 - Favorite after school snack? Palm to forehead here while shaking my head, but chips and dip. I'm telling you, it's a wonder I didn't weigh 200 pounds in high school.

19 - Favorite after school show? The Guiding Light. Who's with me and went home to watch their favorite "soap opera"? These girls and their Netflix today don't know what they are missing😉

20 - Favorite subject in school? Chorus. I was in show choir and loved that!

21 - Least favorite school subject? Anything science

22 - Name of your best friend in high school? Teisha and Lisa C.

23 - High school mascot type? Lancers. What the heck? A guy on a horse.

24 - SAT or ACT? Both, and they were equally terrible!

25 - Favorite year in school? I loved high school but I'd probably have to say junior or senior year.

26 - Class ring or no class ring? Yes of course, but I sold it at a gold party over 10 years ago. Cash is king!

27 - Attend or not attend high school reunions? NOPE. I was a not party girl in high school and I'm still not, so those just don't appeal to me. There are a handful of people I'd love to see and catch up with, but honestly I have a feeling our reunions are probably pretty lame.

I hope you'll share some of your back-to-school memories and answers in the comments. 

Have a wonderful day celebrating with your friends and family and check out the sales listed below. Now's the perfect time to score some great bargains for next summer and possibly a few things for now.

OH!!!! And cross your fingers and say a prayer that the travel gods smile on us today. With my recent history, I need all the luck I can get!

LOFT - 40% off in stores and online

NORDSTROM - new sale items recently added and some items from the big sale

OLD NAVY - 20% off your order on top of sale prices 

WHITE HOUSE BLACK MARKET - End of season sale with additional discounts

J.CREW FACTORY - 50% off everything. Use code DELISH

J.CREW - 30% off purchase. Use code YESPLEASE

BANANA REPUBLIC - 40% off everything

ANTHROPOLOGIE - extra 40% off SALE, no code needed

ANN TAYLOR - 50% off sale and 50% off select new styles

GAP - 40% off everything and FREE shipping on all orders. Use code LABORDAY

Friday Favorites #73

Happy, happy Friday friends. What a week it's been! I can barely wrap my brain around it being the first day of September, which also happens to ramp up the "birthday season" as we like to call it in our house. Kent, Katie and I all have birthdays within the next six weeks.  We are now getting rain here in Nashville, but nothing like what the state of Texas has gotten. There are so many ways to help the people down there. I hope you'll consider doing even something small. If everyone gives a little, it will make a huge difference.

Just like every Friday it's time for Friday Favorites. I'm joining a bunch of blogger friends so make sure you check the link ups and see what's going on with everyone.

                    

A friend of mine on Facebook had this posted that Magnolia Market is donating ALL proceeds from their "Texas Forever" t-shirt to the rescue and rebuild efforts as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

                    

I've seen several of you talking about these little yummies and when Elizabeth and I were in Target the other day we grabbed a pack to share. Let me just say I should have never tried them. They are delicious and go perfectly with a good cup of coffee in the afternoon as a little pick me up.

                            

On Tuesday I shared my some of my favorite accessories from Accessory Concierge. Use the code ABC123 for 25% off your entire order during their Back to School Sale.

                         

Catching up with old friends. 

I got to have dinner with my friend Lauren. We lived next door to each other in the the dorm my freshman year.

We also got to introduce our daughters to each other who are both now attending the same school.

                          

And grabbing a late night dinner with my girls is always a favorite.

                                     

Cousin love is so sweet and seeing my brother and his boys last weekend along with my mom and dad was one of the highlights of my trip.

I'm so happy they were able to make the trip and come see me and the kids. We hadn't seen them since Christmas and that's the longest we've ever had to go. Thankfully now we will only have to wait until Christmas to see them again.

            

A rainy evening of pizza, brownies and watching Friends with these 3 was a great way to spend last night.

And this little girl may be in college, but thankfully she will still curl up with me and fall asleep. These are the little moments I miss when I go back home.

Kent is coming in this afternoon for the weekend and we are going to get to meet Erin's mom for the first time since she is also coming in for the weekend.

I'd love it if you signed up to receive email notification of all new posts. Just scroll back up and SUBSCRIBE. You can also follow me on Bloglovin', Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest. 

Please remember to keep Texas in your prayers. My friend Shelly from The Queen In Between has a wonderful post with lots of ideas and suggestions for people looking for ways to help. You can read it HERE.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Linking up with these sweet bloggers

The Slaughters / Grace and Love / Momfessionals

Bright on a Budget / Cup of Tea /  Della Devoted

Smidge of This / Carolina Charm / Hello Happiness

Style Elixir / Not Dressed As Lamb / The Blended Blog