First Cruise: Bermuda

Posted on by JC Rizk

Attention all! My babies are back! The house seems complete, although I have to admit that when I heard talking at 5:15 yesterday morning, my first thought was, ‘there’s someone in the house’. You know, because burglars would be having a high pitch conversation with themselves while pilfering through our items… 🤦🏽‍♀️

Other than that brief moment of confusion, we are back in full swing and the kids and I enjoyed the first day of autumn together — Bird and I enjoyed some art time while Lulu took his morning nap. We then all walked to the local park for some play time, which included playing in the dirt and with the crispy leaves {our only current taste of autumn — still feels like summer to me}, and then ended the day with some water play! Dinner tonight was delicious risotto with butternut squash and sausage; the kids loved the “hot dogs” and even though they usually love rice, were not a fan of the risotto. Hmm… one benefit of my alone time this last week was that I rebooted my ‘mama skills’ and I started meal prepping again, which helps me feel so much more on top of things. The babes did love my bacon, leek, and cheese frittata, so you win some, you lose some, I guess!

Back to happy thoughts though, when I didn’t have to stress about what my kids will and will not eat. I cannot believe that we were just getting back from our cruise about a week ago. This was the first cruise for Hubby and myself, but we went with another couple who have been on several, so it was nice to be there with people who knew the ropes!

The food was delicious, from the full meals, to the tacos, to the sweet, plentiful soft-serve ice cream — my guilty pleasure! There are a ton of activities for those who dislike sitting still {talking about you, Hubby} and also space for those who want a little more leisure. We went to one musical show, one comedy show, participated in Bingo and also the “hole-in-one” challenge {Hubby won a medal!}. Mostly, on our days at sea, I preferred to sit on the top deck in a lawn chair and read. I found that my motion sickness follows me to cruise ships and the Seabands and Dramamine didn’t quite hold it at bay; that being said, I really only suffered one night and we luckily had one really smooth day at sea, of which I was appreciative!

We spent one day in Bermuda, and it was absolutely stunning. The water was impeccable, the local art was beautiful, and the culture was fascinating! I wish we had more time in Bermuda, but we visited Hamilton, ate some local cuisine, and even saw a Gombey dance {dancers pictured to the right}! I love the vibrant colors on the island, from the Gombey costumes, to the houses, to the water. Hubby and I already agreed we would love to spend more time in Bermuda. In fact, that was my major qualm about the cruise; I am willing to try another one, but overall, I think I prefer arriving in the location of interest quicker and having a longer time to explore and enjoy rather than being cooped up on a cruise ship.

However, I really did love the views: it is extremely impressive to see only ocean surrounding you. I saw my first flying fish , and sights like the one on the left, leaving Bermuda, were stunning and will stay with me for a long time. I also was able to get a lot of reading done and it’s inspired a reading frenzy this past week, which I am loving! Now that I am refreshed from the self care this past week, I am feeling more prepared as a human, wife, and mama. Everyone needs time to take care of themselves and I am so grateful to my family for giving me this opportunity.

What are you going to do take care of yourself this week?! Stay tuned next week for my book review post for August and September.

A month later…

Posted on by JC Rizk

Well, clearly still working on that balance component, but not apologizing, because that’s life! Today, while listening to the radio — which I do every morning — the DJs were discussing new year resolutions and asking how people were doing with theirs, since it’s about halfway through the year. This year, I didn’t make an actual resolution list, but every year my list is pretty consistent, generally relating to finding a better balance and feeling healthier: cook/eat healthier food, exercise more frequently, practice yoga, practice meditation, read more often, and recently, to be more present with the babes.

When 2019 started, I was practicing yoga in Utah {which was amazing}, meditating regularly, was cooking more regularly/healthier meals, and was definitely focused on Bird and Lulu. I definitely hit some patches since then where I wasn’t as steadfast with meeting these goals, but I am in the process of revamping my intentions for the remainder of the year. Last post, I just started a new morning routine, which helped me feel more focused and calm at the start of the day — critical for me. Last week was more of a struggle since I was on vacation, visiting my family in New England, which was amazing, but I paused on my morning routine. Plus, I ate like I was a teenager — overeating, snacking on potato chips and waaaaay too much chocolate — my body is currently punishing me by producing a major zit; I guess if I am going to act like a teenager, I get to look like one too. Haha — just being real over here!

Picture on the right: Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent

However, the weeks before vacation, I continued the morning routine and also ran a 10k — in memory of my friend who was killed back in January. What an honor it was to run and the medal has her name on it; never have I felt more proud to receive a race medal. It currently hangs front and center on my display. She was a badass, thoughtful, and hilarious mama, neighbor, and friend — always pushing her limits and motivating others to do the same. Before I became pregnant with Lulu, we talked about completing a sprint triathlon {I may have mentioned the sprint option because I’m sure she would have completed a full triathlon without fail}; my goal is to get in shape to complete one in her honor by the end of 2020.

This morning I woke up early and finished a short one mile jog in the neighborhood to get myself back on track. I was greeted with this beautiful sunrise and an almost full moon {was two days ago} peeking out from behind the clouds. I was still lethargic when I arrived back at the house, but I didn’t meditate or practice yoga, which I desperately needed. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do better!

As for my other yearly intentions, I’ve certainly kept up reading, feel better about the focus I have when with the babies, and go through spurts with cooking healthier for the family. I am getting back on track with the latter and am seriously considering starting the Whole 30 again. Hubby and I did it several years ago and absolutely loved it! Tonight, I cooked up a beautiful salmon salad inspired by a Pinterest post: shout out to Cafe Delights‘ blog and marinade!

I really enjoyed that the marinade for the salmon was the dressing as well {you split it in half for the two purposes, you don’t use the marinade as the dressing} because it made my life simpler! Such a quick and easy meal and so healthy. For future posts, you can look forward to my book reviews from May, June, and July next week, then a post about our home organization in the next two weeks! It feels like it’s been forever, but we are so close now!

Stay tuned and let me know: how are you doing on your resolutions and/or intentions for 2019?!

Mental Health Awareness

Posted on by JC Rizk

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and soul. May is Mental Health Awareness month, which fits me perfectly. My Master’s degree is in School Counseling and mental health is something I am truly passionate about; I believe that everyone should speak with a therapist/counselor at some point {yes, even if nothing is ‘wrong’} to gain a better sense of self. I could speak about it forever, but I will hop down from my soap box to discuss self care. If you want to gather more information about mental health awareness or counseling, please comment below or message me — I would be happy to talk privately to anyone interested!

Something I learned from therapy, and understanding mental health better, is that self care is critical to all of us. I cannot be the best mother, wife, friend, human, if I do not take care of myself. For me, as you know, self care comes under the guise of reading, yoga, writing, meditating, organizing, and cooking, to name a few. Recently, my self care really is seen through my reading; I’ve been enjoying so many new books and actually just listened to my first audio book this past week. I’ll review the book more thoroughly in a later post — book club is tomorrow and I wouldn’t want to give anything away — but the whole audio book experience was astounding! I was able to finish laundry, dishes, food prep… all while enjoying a book! Only took me two days to finish it too, listening during the kids’ nap time and in the evenings. This means that I may be able to continue reading, even during my especially busy weeks! I am floored! Now I want to know about all the amazing audio books out there — which audio books do you recommend?

Even though my reading game is strong lately, I’ve let go of meditating and yoga, which I really want to get back into, along with running. I used to run a lot before kids and I would like to get back into it; I am still searching for a decently priced double jogging stroller — wish me luck with that! Lately, I’ve been doing a little calming, self awareness routine with Bird before bed, because she’s started to have meltdowns when we leave the room. We play some zen music and we practice a breathing meditation {only about a minute long since she’s two years old}. I think she gets so excited about her day that it takes her longer to settle into sleep mode, despite her exhaustion. It’s been working well this past week, and it’s encouraging me to do more with her during the day, and maybe it will help the tantrums and meltdowns that come — also, it will help to calm mama down, which will make quite the difference, I think! My goal this week is to meditate more with Bird throughout the day — Lulu too — and to do some yoga in the morning. The other day in her crib, I put on the zen music, which she associates with yoga, and she did a modified tree pose… on her own! We haven’t practiced yoga together since Utah — I was stunned — and then immediately felt guilty that I stopped practicing with her. To rectify that situation, my plan is to start practicing and I’ll put out an extra mat, where she can practice what she wants. Although I love a long practice, I’ll probably start with just a ten or fifteen minute routine first; very exciting!

Today, I also tended to my self care by finally tending to my garden. Still a minimalist container garden this year — I don’t have the time or energy for a full vegetable garden — I chose my favorite herbs, including: lavender, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, spearmint, and chives. Heading to the farmer’s market in the morning to see if I can find sweet mint and rosemary. The only veggies we are planting this year are two grape tomato plants — I bought two because last year Bird ate all of our cherry tomatoes and I am positive Lulu will enjoy them just as much — and a jalapeño plant. Sometimes I get overzealous with my gardening and plant a ton of herbs and veggies only to waste them and that makes me sad. I think I planted the perfect amount of herbs to cook with and also to dry for cooking, tea, and infusing water. I am excited for the herb garden, yoga, and getting back into a healthy self care routine.

How are you going to care for yourself this month? This week? Today? Take care and enjoy!

Here, in the now

Posted on by JC Rizk

“The distance is nothing when one has a motive.”

Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice

Last week, I watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice {the only acceptable one to watch} as I was organizing. True, character Elizabeth Bennet is talking about actual distance in the quote above, but for me, I was energized by the thought of an organized house and I have exciting news! We finished organizing our clothes, kids’ toys, and books! Books are always emotional for me, but I am improving; I tend to borrow from the library and friends now, so I try to only purchase books that are my absolute favorites that I will reread.

Book for May, last book read, and current book!

Watching Pride and Prejudice this week inspired me in more ways than one; next month — my birth month — I am going to reread this classic! I still have my copy from when I was in high school. I fell in love with the story and with Jane Austen then: what humor and modern thinking for a woman in that time period. I also still have notes written in the margin I wrote back at the age of fifteen! I cannot wait to see what I wrote then and if any of my thoughts changed over the years. Happy birthday to me!

I meant to post this last week, but as you can see, I am back in the clutter of our home and life gets really distracting because there are what seem like a thousand items on my “to-do” list regarding organizing and simplifying our home. I am so excited to get my list done: once this happens, I will be able to relax and make more time for what I enjoy. Now, you may be thinking, ‘once you finish these projects, there will be more‘ and you are correct. However, if we can really live more simply, there will be less chaos in the house, and I will be able to focus, at that point, on just important daily events: time with family and friends, time to write, and time for self-care {reading, personal writing, trying new recipes for the family, exercise, meditation, etc.}.

This past weekend, I took a break from organizing since Hubby and I were in Colorado for several days {first trip away from the babies since Lulu was born!} to hike and see a concert at Red Rocks {absolutely amazing — more on this trip next post}. Now that we returned, I am continuing by posting more extraneous items for sale and rearranging our family room. It is amazingly fun to see my vision for the house come to life.

Hubby and I decided to do a week of salad dinners, since our weekend away was filled with fun, generous, and very filling eats. The salad pictured here is inspired by @nocrumbsleft and was absolutely delectable! Also, extremely easy, which I appreciate, since I put this together after we the kids went to bed. Continuously grateful for simple, healthy, and delicious meals.

Speaking of self care… in addition to trying something new for dinner this week, I finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman on the plane ride out to Colorado — can you say remarkable?! Loved it and will definitely review it in my book post at the end of the month. Cannot wait to talk about it! I just started The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley last night, but am already pretty enthralled with the characters, and only a handful of chapters into it so far. Will keep you up-to-date and maybe will even have time to finish before the month is over — is that too optimistic? We shall see!

What about you? What motivates you right now? I would love to hear from you!

A little bit of this and that…

Posted on by JC Rizk

As promised, I am back to writing posts on a regular basis! I am feeling a bit scattered at the moment and I think this post reflects that, but I am all about being honest with my current status in real life, so here goes!

Flowers from a neighbor, iced mocha, and a quiet nap time to read outside — perfection!

I am excited to say that I finally finished The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel. I am sad to say this took me about two months for a book that is less than two hundred pages, but I struggled to focus on the material, because it seemed overwhelming at times. Over this past weekend, we began to see the start of amazing spring weather and I am glad I was able to take some time and literally smell the flowers. I sat outside on our bench during the kids’ nap time and knocked out a good portion of the book as well as soaking in the fresh air and sunshine. Currently, I am struggling to stay focused when I am indoors because our organization is in full swing and the chaos makes me feel chaotic. Does anyone else ever feel like that?

Our bedroom is full of clothes we are sorting, as well as baby items to sell — utter chaos! When watching the Netflix special Tidying Up with Marie Kondo everyone had their clothes organized within a week – a week?! Confused about how that gets done so quickly, but grateful that we are able to take our time. I am trying to get one area done at a time, as suggested in the reading and Netflix special, but I am waiting for Hubby to finish sorting his clothes, so I can fold everything and figure out where it all belongs. Until then, I am trying to make some time for self care, since I slipped up with that big time since we came back home. Too many projects for me to think about; a lot of things I can start, but not quite finish — chaos continues!

As mentioned back when we were in Utah, one goal for this year is to really push myself to make time for the things I enjoy and that help me relax: reading, yoga, running, cooking, writing, etc. So far that usually entails mama and baby play dates with the neighbors and their kids, which I absolutely love and it’s been divine to come back to my mama tribe! Now to make some individual time for the things I enjoy. I started this past week with doing some minimal meal planning, including the frittata pictured above. This is actually a Whole 30 recipe, which we are not doing at the moment, but I like to mix the recipes into our every day meal planning, because they are delicious. This one is extremely simple, too, which I always love!

Remember how I said it’s been a bit chaotic around here? Well, Bird’s birthday was about three weeks ago and I only just made her cupcakes this week! Even typing that makes me laugh — at least she is only two and does not know that this treat arrived late — she was just grateful for a cupcake. I love this recipe that I grabbed off Pinterest; Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Lemon Cream cheese icing. YUM! We made these last year for Bird’s birthday too and since then they became my favorite cupcake to make and devour. Thank you to Baker by Nature for this recipe!

Lots more to talk about, which means many more posts coming your way — next one should be about our skiing in Utah. I will do a book review post at the end of the month — good news! I’m starting a new fiction book today, so I should be able to read through that much quicker than my last and will hopefully have more than three books to write about for the past two months! I also just started ordering some clothes from StitchFix {since my wardrobe is pretty much non-existent after the Marie Kondo organization}. Working on finding clothes that I absolutely love and that bring me joy, so I will be posting about this experience soon too!

Until then, let me know, what would you like to hear about? Family? Organization? Books? Travel? Food? Something else? Would love your input!

Food for the Soul

Posted on by JC Rizk

Let me start off by saying “Happy Valentine’s Day!” I decided to talk about something I truly love… food! All jokes aside, food can transport you into a new, or familiar, culture and can bring people together. Food makes me think of gatherings with family and friends, traveling, and exploration of all that is new.

Another, more important, love in my life is my hubby. He and I share responsibility in the kitchen, but absolutely have different methods of cooking. I love to try new recipes, but when I try something new, I stick to the recipe. Hubby, on the other hand, might glance at the recipe, but will cook his own take on that recipe. He is amazing at this and I am secretly {okay, now not so secretly} jealous of this talent. My favorite things that he makes are stir-fry and tacos – yum!

This is a picture of the last tacos hubby made: fish tacos! We tend to use lettuce a lot more than actual tortillas; a few years back we did The Whole 30 for the first time and loved using romaine or endive as the tortilla. Such a simple twist on a classic, simple meal and it is absolutely brilliant. This fish taco includes red cabbage, avocado, tomatoes, and spice – lots of heat if my hubby is cooking – these tacos were super fresh and delicious.`

Deer Valley – Park City, Utah

The hubby and I recently had some date days to go skiing – yay to finding a babysitter in Utah! On our second ski date, we went to Deer Valley, which was stunning. We took a full day and skied all over the mountain; I am a novice and ski only greens and single blues, and it was nice having so many trails available for my level across the mountain.

Afterwards, we returned to Sandy and found a Thai food restaurant right around the corner from where we are staying {hidden gem!}, called Thai Mango. The food was absolutely delicious and was reminiscent of our trip to Bali. Brief side note: hubby and I traveled to Singapore, Bali, and Australia when we got engaged – we call it our honeymoon – and it was one of the most amazing experiences. We even took a cooking class in Bali and learned how to make the infamous peanut sauce that you have with something like chicken satay; that was the appetizer we ordered and was what made us think about that amazing trip. Don’t worry, I’ll post about that trip at another time!

Here’s a picture of my Pad Thai and jasmine tea. I usually refrain from caffeine because it completely messes with my body and herbal tea is one of my favorite beverages. This jasmine tea was so delicious that I am going to try and track it down and keep it in my tea collection! Overall, this restaurant pick is what hubby and I do when we are eating out; we bring our sense of adventure and do some research. We like to search out the “hidden gems” in the area and, when abroad, try to eat like the locals. Thai Mango was a delicious and I would highly recommend if anyone is in the Salt Lake City area!

Now, tell me: what are your favorite places you visited and what restaurant/food did you try that made you do your happy dance?