Attitude of Gratitude

April 11, 2016April 10, 2016 / ktbuchs87

Anyone else feel like there is A LOT of negativity floating around lately? No matter where you look, something is making someone upset or someone is doing something horrible or the world is just falling apart.

Attitude of Gratitude | Life Healthfully Lived

How I feel if I pay attention too much to what’s going on in the world.

Yeah, me too.

So while the internet can be a dark whole of anger, madness, and craziness, I’m turning my tiny corner into one of happiness, rainbows, and sunshine. There might even be a unicorn or two and there will definitely be cats.

Cats riding unicorns? Definitely part of my happy world

Without further ado, here are things that made me happy this weekend:

Spending some much needed time with this guy. I was in Sycamore for the past week or so and finally got home Tuesday afternoon so this weekend was all about being together.

Back off ladies… This one is mine!

We got him new glasses, which won’t be in for two weeks but I can tell you they’re pretty spiffy. Then on our way to get him some donuts because he did such a good job at the eye place (yes, he is like a small child in that sense) I found $20 on the street. Like no joke, 20 bucks on the street. We asked the people standing near us if it was their’s and they said no, which side note gives me hope for the human race because they could have easily lied and said yes and gotten a free $20, so there we were with an extra $20. I don’t know what to do with it because I feel like it’s not mine but how do you return it when you have no clue how long it was on the street or where it came from? Maybe I’ll donate it or give it to a charity or something.

Banana bread and hamburger buns thanks to avocados. Recipes soon!

Anyway’s, I also had some nice successes in the kitchen this weekend and it was all thanks to avocados. I k know you can bake with avocados, and I’ve tried it a few times but I decided to go all out and try hamburger buns. While they still need some tweaking they came out really well and they’re gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free so be looking for those in the near future. I also tried out some banana bread with avocado and while I haven’t eaten it yet, it smells amazing.

Adam’s pretty sourdough loaf

Adam even got in on the kitchen action and turned out some awesome loaves of sourdough. He has been telling me for years that he wanted to start making his own sourdough bread with his own starter and everything. Well after we watched the Cooked documentary on Netflix (HIGHLY recommend) he made his starter and gave it a go. The first two had some…. troubles, but this batch is pretty good and I’m excited he is making his own stuff!

Meet Inara, our newest kitty addition!

And of course, my cats always make me happy. Inara, our newest addition, is starting to feel more at home and actually plays with Olaf our still very kittenish cat. This is a good thing because Dot our oldest wants nothing to do with play time and Olaf has a lot of energy to burn. So thanks Inara for playing with your new brother!

Olaf and Inara… slowly becoming best friends.

That was my weekend in a nutshell. Full of good things, even if they are just simple things. What about you? What made you happy this weekend?

These two definitely make me happy!

Happy Monday and happy Cubs home opener! Go Cubs Go!

Busy, Wonderful, Happy Weekend

February 15, 2016February 15, 2016 / ktbuchs87

Today is just a happy recap of my awesome weekend along with a few pictures from the frozen tundra of Chicago!

Adam and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Saturday and by celebrate I mean we went out to eat a delicious breakfast. Going out to breakfast is kind of our thing. I know most people like to go to fancy dinners but to me, breakfast is where it’s at.

Busy, Wonderful, Happy Weekend | Life Healthfully Lived

Layer of ice on the last step in front of Lake Michigan.

Adam found this really cool little breakfast joint in Uptown called Tweet. They had an awesome gluten-free menu as well as a packed full menu and it wasn’t hard to find something delicious to eat. I had a build your own omelette with mushrooms and peppers, plus fruit, sliced tomatoes, and sauteed tofu. Adam decided to go for a steak breakfast burrito with Chipotle aioli and was pretty much in heaven. If you’re looking for a neat little breakfast joint, you should check them out!

I think this picture of Lake Michigan almost looks like another planet

After eating, we headed over to the McCormick Place to check out the Auto Show. Neither Adam or I are nuts about cars (we have a car that we rarely drive because it’s RIDICULOUSLY expensive to pay for parking in the city) but it was freezing outside and this was an inexpensive activity that was inside. We wandered around for awhile, looked at cars of the future, (hint: they all look the same and robots are going to take over the driving world) and tried to figure out which car models actually knew anything about the car they were standing in front of. Spoiler alert: Not many.

Ice in Belmont Harbor

After we were done with that we headed home to just hang out and relax. Well, our plan was to relax but I decided to ruin that. Recently, I just finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It’s an awesome little book and a lot of the advice and methods she uses made a lot of sense. I started to look around our apartment and noticed that we had a lot of stuff. Stuff that we never used, stuff that was just taking up space, and stuff that wasn’t bringing us any joy. I decided enough was enough and I started tackling the clutter.

Soon I sucked Adam into the cleaning spree and over the course of two days we drastically cut down on the amount of junk we had accumulated over the years. I would say about 20-30ish reusable bags were filled with things we didn’t need and that was only from 3 rooms. We still have to go through our closets and our bedroom, but I already feel a lot better and I’ll have pictures when it’s all done!

That was our weekend and even though a large portion of it was cleaning it was wonderful. I got to spend some quality time with my husband, made our apartment cleaner and more comfortable, and ate tasty food. That’s my idea of fun!

How was your weekend? What did you do for Valentine’s Day?

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 / ktbuchs87

What's The Worst That Could Happen? | Life Healthfully Lived Ahhh. A new year. Can you smell it? The resolutions, the goals, the promises, the hope. It’s all still pretty fresh just four days into 2016. I’m all about setting goals and intentions for a new year, but I want them to be something more fulfilling than lose weight, exercise more, be more organized. I want them to be specific. I want them to have steps that I can take to reach them.

I want them to be something that will make me and my life better.

So whether you call those resolutions, goals, or intentions, make sure you choose something to direct your attention at. It can really help motivate you to do new and better things.

Last year I chose a word to define my year. I picked one word and tried to make my decisions and choices with that word in mind. I chose passion and I think I did a fairly good job of putting passion into everything I did. I’m going to do a fairly similar thing this year, but instead of one word I’m going to use one question to frame my goals. What's The Worst That Could Happen? | Life Healthfully Lived

What’s the worst that could happen?

This isn’t a nonchalant “Eh, what the heck, let’s give this a go” type of attitude. I frequently don’t do things because I’m afraid of what might happen. Mainly failure. I hate to fail and that fear has held me back from trying or doing new things.

Not anymore. What's The Worst That Could Happen? | Life Healthfully Lived

I want to approach this year with the idea that even if I do fail at something it isn’t the end of the world. At least I tried something new. And there is a really good chance that I won’t fail, that I’ll excel at my new endeavor and find new strengths and happiness.

So with that in mind, what do I want to do this year?

Dive deeper into yoga (maybe even become certified)
Expand my writing (maybe even some non-fiction works)
Be stronger (physically and mentally)
Nurture face-to-face relationships (the internet is great but so is being with someone in persn)
Create new things (recipes, art, love…. anything)

There are plenty of things that I am ready to dive into and some of them scare me a little, but hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

What's The Worst That Could Happen? | Life Healthfully Lived

Ready for 2016?

What are you ready to try in 2016?

Healthy Holiday Travel Tips

December 21, 2015December 22, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived It’s almost here! Christmas is almost here! I am super excited to celebrate Christmas with my family and take some time to just relax and enjoy the season. While this is the most wonderful time of year, it can quickly become the most stressful time of year. Baking, buying and wrapping presents, going to concerts/programs/pageants, watching all the Christmas movies, planning the big dinner…. It can all add up to a pretty hectic month.

On top of all that, you’re probably going to be doing some kind of traveling this week. Whether it’s a few minutes, hours, or a day away, traveling can take a toll. Plus, being out of your normal routine and in a new place can sometimes put your whole body out of whack.

Traveling and Christmas doesn’t mean you have to throw all of your regular healthy habits out the window. In fact, this is the best time to keep up with your normal routine so that you can enjoy your holiday without feeling crummy.

Here are a few things that you can do to make sure you have the happiest, and healthiest, Christmas season!

Plan Your Food

Traveling is not the time to just wing it when it comes to your food. You wouldn’t show up to the airport without a ticket and hope there was a plane with an open seat just happening to go to your destination. Don’t leave your eating up to chance either! Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived

Plan out a few healthy snacks to bring along with you. Things like fruit, nuts, seeds, hard boiled eggs, and cut up vegetables all make really good portable snacks. You never know if you’re going to be stranded somewhere where the best option for food is the local gas station. If you need a few ideas for some good snacks, check out these homemade ones on my recipe page!

Hydrate Like Crazy

This is really a reminder for me because I am horrible at drinking enough water regularly. I just get so busy doing things and then by the time dinner rolls around, I realize that I have had one glass of water all day. Hydration is important no matter what, but traveling really makes it a priority. Get a reusable water bottle before you leave home and make sure that you are always refilling it. You can set reminders on your phone or download an app to let you know that it’s time to have some more water. Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived

Also, remember that things like fruit, vegetables, and hot tea all count towards your water intake. Just don’t let them totally replace glasses of water throughout the day.

Keep Moving

Yes, the place you’re traveling to this Christmas might not have a gym or your favorite Crossfit class, but that doesn’t mean you should totally give up on exercise. I’m not saying that you have to run a marathon every day of your break, but putting some activity in your day will keep your body, and you, at your best. Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived

Take a walk with a family member. Go sledding with the kids in your family. Cross country ski with friends who are also home on break. Heck, go build a snowman or have a snowball fight. All of these will keep your body in motion and help you feel your best

Be Ready For An Emergency

Of course, you don’t want to have to worry about an emergency while you’re celebrating Christmas, but sometimes things happen. Whether you suddenly spike a fever, have an allergic reaction, or injure yourself in that snowball fight I told you to have (you can totally blame me for that one), things happen. If you are away from home and your doctor, it can be difficult to find the best care. Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived

That’s where Amino comes in. They make finding a doctor in your area super easy and convenient. All you have to do is answer a few questions about your condition or what you are looking for, enter your insurance information and they will match you with the right doctors for your needs. This can be really helpful if you don’t know the area and need medical attention. It’s also good for when you get back home and want to find the perfect doctor in your area. Even better? It’s totally free.

Enjoy It All

Above everything else, enjoy your Christmas. It only comes once a year and most of us are so stressed about getting everything done that we don’t even take the time to slow down and enjoy the holiday. The best thing for your health this time of year is to really enjoy this time of year. Laugh with your family and friends, spend time with your loved ones, celebrate the love that was sent down to us this season, and don’t worry about the last present that needs to be wrapped or the batch of cookies you accidently burned. If you follow just one tip on this list, let it be this one! It will do you the most good. Holiday Travel Tips | Life Healthfully Lived

I hope this helps you out as you get ready for your holiday traveling and make sure to check back here on Wednesday because I’m going to have a few last minute recipes for you to whip up!

Happy Monday before Christmas friends!

What Makes You Light Up?

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Before you get all sassy on me, don’t say fire or light bulbs (looking at you mom). Rather, what makes you the happiest? What makes you get all excited to get going in the morning? Are you making that your priority?

This is a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. I spent a lot of my time in college, a place where you should be finding and doing what you love, doing things because I felt that I had to. I had to be a music major, I had to pass my music classes, I had to do well on auditions so that I could get into the ensemble that I had to be in, I had to do this or that or some other thing. Looking back, I wasted time. That’s been a hard concept for me to admit and accept and say out loud.

No one wants to say they made the wrong choice.

But those are the cold hard facts. Life isn’t about always getting it right. It’s about taking what you have and learning from it and making it better the next time. I spent a lot of time bemoaning my situation after college. Luckily I had Adam to help me from becoming a depressed shut in and I found a job I loved and allowed me to find other things that did light me up.

Food, health, and helping others.

I love those things. They make happy. They get me excited to get up in the morning. I’m trying to make those a priority career wise. I can honestly say that I light up when I work on my blog or offer advice to a reader or come up with a new recipe.

Finding your passion is all part of having a healthy and balanced life. Sure eating right and exercising are good things, but they aren’t the only things. You can’t neglect your passions for too long before you start to feel like something is missing and your health can begin to suffer.

That’s why I want to urge you to not only take care of your body but your mind and soul as well. Today, sit down and think about what you love. Things that make you smile or cheer you up when you’re down. Find ways to incorporate those things into your day. Whether that’s with your career, your hobbies, or a side project, make them happen. No excuses, fit something you love into your day no matter what.

Now, what makes you light up?