Back To Reality

June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I feel like there are only two camps when it comes to returning from vacation. Either you are super ready to get back to things and your regular routine or you just don’t wanna return to reality.

Back To Reality | Life Healthfully Lived

Our little cottage for the week. We stayed at Timber Ridge Resort and it was awesome!

I’m definitely in the second camp.

Made it up one of the many dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

We’ve been back home since Friday, but I’m still resisting getting back into the swing of things. Saturday we spent the day at the beach and Sunday was just a lazy-do-nothing day. I know eventually (like today) I’ll start being an adult with responsibilities, but I really enjoyed my week away from the “real world”.

View at the end of the Empire Bluff Trail.

Have you ever just checked out of the everyday grind? Like really unplugged? I won’t say I totally removed myself from social media, I mean, who finds a taxidermy museum and DOESN’T share it on Instagram and Facebook? Selfish people, that’s who. But I will say I didn’t check my email, or constantly scroll through my Facebook or Instagram feed and it was really nice. If I missed anything, it wasn’t life-altering because the world still turned.

View from the highest point on Mackinac Island. There is more on the island than fudge and horses!

I don’t need to be connected 24/7.

Me refusing to get any closer to the dead stuffed lion than this. Also, that ox is blue in the background

The albino deer we dubbed the “Come at me bro” deer due to his hoof placement

And that has been a really hard concept for me to grasp because I work from home so I am ALWAYS connected. I always feel like there is something I could be doing. I always feel like I’m not working hard enough. I always feel like if I take a break, I’m missing out on some opportunity to better myself, my life, my home, my blog, my work.

We found a lot of fun stuff to take our picture in front of like this giant rooster….

But that’s ok. This vacation taught me that in order to give my best it’s completely ok to not always be working, or doing something, or checking something, or fixing something. Things will be just fine and life will keep on coming and if I actually rest, I and my work will be better for it.

And this wooly mammoth made of scrap metal….

That’s just one of the many lessons I learned during my week off, and I’ll share more in the coming weeks, but enjoy some of these awesome adventures I had and maybe schedule some down time for yourself.

And this ferocious bear!

Who knows? You might find your own two-headed calf to marvel!

Not making this stuff up folks!

Vacation Mode

June 6, 2016May 24, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hello friends! I hope that your Monday morning has started off wonderfully. I know mine has because I’m currently on my way to vacation!

Did you know that Adam and I haven’t really taken a vacation since our honeymoon over three years ago? Yeah. We decided it was time for a little rest and relaxation.

We’ll be spending the week in Traverse City, Michigan at the Timber Ridge Resort. We plan on hiking, kayaking, swimming, exploring, and most of all just relaxing and enjoying doing nothing. I probably won’t be as active on social media, but I’ll try to share a few snapshots of our vacation and I’ll definitely have pictures and a recap once we get back.

I’ll have a few round-up type posts this week but I’ll bring back some new stuff once we return from Michigan. I hope that you guys have a great week and even if you’re not on vacation take just a little time each day to get some relaxation!

See you in a week!

Health Vs. Wellness

May 23, 2016May 23, 2016 / ktbuchs87

These two concepts are so intertwined that it’s very easy to think that they are the same thing. If you’re healthy you’re well and if you’re well you’re healthy. Health Vs. Wellness | Life Healthfully Lived

That can be true but it can also be a lie and so many of us are busy chasing healthy that we often forget about the wellness. I know I did.

Healthy is eating the “cleanest” or “best” food available even if you don’t enjoy it.

Wellness is eating in a way that you can sustain and brings you joy AND good health.

Healthy is slogging through another draining workout even though you hate it because it’s what you have to do to in order to be healthy. Health Vs. Wellness | Life Healthfully Lived

Wellness is finding the movement that your body loves and makes you feel full of energy and allows you to do what you want the most.

Healthy is ignoring the voice in the back of your head that is telling you you’re miserable doing this even though it’s “what’s best for your health”.

Wellness is honoring all of your thoughts and feelings and making a change in order to not only be the healthiest you but the happiest you. Health Vs. Wellness | Life Healthfully Lived

Health is so personal and we all have different versions of it. What looks healthy for me won’t necessarily look healthy for you. It’s important to find your healthy though so you can also find your wellness.

And don’t forsake your wellness in a dogged pursuit of health.

Your body will let you know what works and what doesn’t, you just have to listen and make adjustments. And it’s ok if what makes you feel your healthiest isn’t what everyone else is doing. You aren’t a failure and you aren’t doing it wrong. This journey is going to be life long and you’ll change and adjust and tweak as you go. Roll with this changes and give yourself what you need in that moment and your health, and wellness will thank you for it. Health Vs. Wellness | Life Healthfully Lived

Things I’m Loving Lately

May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I haven’t shared one of these posts with you in awhile so I thought I would let you in on what I’ve been liking in my kitchen, in my belly, and in fitness!

Yuca Root

For our very first Christmas, Adam got me this cookbook called Roots. It’s all about root vegetables and I was thrilled because 1. I like food 2. I love root vegetables 3. This book had gotten amazing reviews. I dove in and started learning more about root vegetables and where they come from and traditional ways to prepare them. It’s as much a history book as it is a cookbook. I love that! Well, I got to the yuca chapter and kind of skimmed over it but didn’t pay much attention.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I’m grocery shopping. I see a yuca root at Jewel and on a whim I decide to get one. I had no clue what to do with it but I knew I had a whole book about it at home. I made chips with it and they were awesome and I’m obsessed. I’ve been playing around with it so expect to see some recipes soon….

Maca Powder

See? I told you I’m all about the root vegetables. Maca powder comes from the maca root which is typically grown and consumed in the Peruvian region. It has this nice malty-caramel-y flavor and I’ve been adding it to baked goods and my smoothie bowl. It also has a pretty impressive health profile. I got this brand from Amazon and I’m pretty happy with it.

My Homemade Coconut Milk

I’m still amazed at how easy it is to make coconut milk and have been making a batch of it every week for smoothies, coffee, baking, and cooking. It’s pretty impressive and you don’t need a fancy blender to get a good result!

Parsley

I know this isn’t that exciting but for some reason lately I’ve been obsessed with parsley. I buy at least 2 or 3 bunches and put it in everything. I blend it into my scrambled eggs, top all my vegetables with it, gnaw it raw like a rabbit… ok I don’t do that last one but you get the idea. I think I’m just ready for farmer’s market season and all the fresh herbs. Once I can get my hands on some fresh basil that isn’t $2 for half an ounce, all the pesto shall be made.

All-Clad Fry Pan

For Christmas this year, Adam got me a double-handled all-clad saute pan and then this fancy fry pan that claimed to be the non-stick of all non-sticks. Yeah. It sucked. I took care of it exactly how the instructions said and everything stuck to this pan. I’m not a happy camper when half of my dinner is left in the pan. My all-clad saute pan, on the other hand, was a dream. So last weekend I got an all-clad fry pan and all is right with the world again.

Strength Training

I know I’ve talked about Fitness Blender before and told you that we’ve been doing their workout programs but I’m going to say it again. I seriously love them and these programs. Their strength training programs, in particular, are awesome and I’ve gotten stronger and am surprising myself with what my body can do. That’s always a good feeling. Plus, Kelli and Daniel are motivating, positive, and funny. All good things when it comes to working out.

Things I'm Loving Lately | Life Healthfully Lived

I think Daniel nailed it…

So that’s what I’ve been enjoying lately, how about you? Any new things that you’ve fallen in love with? Let me know in the comments and have an awesome Monday friends!

More Than My Butt

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

“Hey! You have a nice butt!”

I was walking to the store on a Friday afternoon, not really paying attention to the people around me.

“You in the purple shirt! Nice butt!”

That caught my attention. I was wearing a purple shirt. I turned towards the voice, expecting some guy to be standing there and was shocked to see a boy. A boy that couldn’t have been more than 12 maybe 13 or 14 if we’re pushing it. He was surrounded by 3 or 4 of his friends and they were all snickering as he gave me a thumbs up and then raced off to do something else.

I didn’t think much of it because sadly, this isn’t the first time that someone, usually a male, has felt the need to audibly comment on some part of my body. But as I walked on I started thinking, “Why is a boy that young talking about my butt?”

Probably a million reasons. His friends were egging him on, he sees it in the media all the time, he’s watched other boys/men do it in real life, he really like butts, he has no filter from his brain to his mouth… The list could go on and on. And it’s a sad list. It’s sad that this is what both women and men have been reduced to.

Body parts.

Think about it. Everything is aimed at certain aspects of a person but never the whole person. Magazines tout the latest workout for sexy abs or the newest diet for lean thighs or what you need to do to get bulging biceps. We look at celebrities and covet certain body parts. I wish I had Jennifer Lopez’s butt or Taylor Swifts abs or Heidi Klum’s legs. If I was as ripped as Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds, all the ladies would want me.

We, me included, always pick and nag at our “worst” attributes. I want my stomach to be flatter. Everything I do needs to be working towards getting a flatter stomach. We never take the time to look at a body as a whole machine. Something that works together with all the parts to be one awesome mechanism. It’s always about the one part that doesn’t work or look the way we want it to.

Enough.

I am not my butt. I am not my abs. I am not my arms, thighs, or chin. I am Katie, a human person that is so much more than any one part of me. And so are you. Everyone is more than just a body part and all of us need to start seeing that. To look at people as a whole. To drop the nitpicking over our one flaw.

That woman walking down the street is not a giant pair of legs.

That man sitting next to you isn’t a huge abdominal.

They are whole humans and they deserve to be treated that way. So start by treating your own body as a whole being and then spread that idea to the other people you meet. Maybe, we can start making a difference. More Than My Butt | Life Healthfully Lived