Thursday Things Vol. 9

Sheesh, it’s been awhile since I’ve pulled together a Thursday Things roundup. Let’s jump in.

Workout of the Week

The Be.come Project could easily be all of my Thursday Things this week. That’s how much I love it. I’m at a point where my body and mind crave these 30-minute workouts from beautiful human Bethany Meyers.

I’m not sure of the best way to describe Be.come. It’s like a yoga/pilates combo with weight-bearing exercises and stretching that can leave me out-of-breath, but in the way that feels good, not like I’m going to have a cardiac event. Bethany walks you through each section of the workout throughly and pairs each part with great music. At the end, they include a quick cool down section that ends with a kiss on your shoulder to thank your body for what it’s done. I have veered in and out of disordered eating and body dysmorphia territory for years. This program never leaves me feeling upset by my body’s limitations, but helps me appreciate my body for everything it can do. 

The cost is $35/month and you get a new program every Monday around 11:00 a.m. ET. I should also mention that you can do a 10-day free trial! There’s just one program for the week so you can really focus on improving your mobility through the series. Considering how personalized the program feels and that you can stream it at any time, the price is totally reasonable compared to an in-person boutique fitness class.

And even if you don’t want to or can’t purchase a Be.come membership right now, give Bethany a follow on Instagram (@thebecomeproject, @bethanycmeyers) and check out their TedX Talk. They are so thoughtful, open and honest. I always feel like I’ve learned something after watching their Stories or checking out their most recent posts.

Quote of the Week

“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.” — Gandhi

Read of the Week

Tons. Of. Cookbooks. Which is ironic because my meal planning has gone right out the window. I do think I get more motivated to try recipes in the summer though. We can grill out for a lot of meals, which takes some of the burden off me. 

Ok, that sounds wrong. I actually really enjoy cooking. I’m also married to a man who 100% pulls his weight in terms of preparing food for our family. However, he’s a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. I am the type A planner in our house, so I’m the one usually stressing about a meal plan.

Anyway, in the summer it’s pretty easy to make up some hamburger patties or season some chicken and throw it on the grill. This approach frees up some of my brain space to test out new recipes on the few nights a week that we aren’t grilling. I’ve gone through two Skinnytaste cookbooks from the library this week and found a couple of things that sound yummy.

I’m also revisiting my Wellness Mama cookbook. I’ve only tried a few things from it in the two years I’ve owned it, but they’ve all been hits. (Give this one or this one a try when you have time!)

Buy of the Week

After more than six months of consideration (because I’m a total underbuyer), I finally took the plunge and purchased an Apple Watch. I went with the Series 4 in pale pink because I’m nothing if not predictable. In no particular order, here are all the things I already love about it.

• It tracks my steps. In the past I’ve used my phone to do this and felt disappointed by how little I seemed to be walking. I know I’m not trekking miles each day, but there were some days when my phone showed that I was walking less than 1,000 steps! Even though it felt like a gross misrepresentation, I didn’t have anything to prove otherwise. This watch has (to some degree) validated my activity level. I’m actually walking close to 6,000 steps most days without making any extra effort. It’s been a nice boost to my self esteem to see that I’m not quite as inactive as I thought.
• I can check texts and calls on the phone. When I’m snuggled up on the couch with the kiddos sans phone—because the phone kind of ruins quality snuggle time—I can quickly glance at my watch to determine if a call coming in is important or just spam. One touch of the watch face and I can silence it. 
• When I’m standing at the printer at work waiting for it to restart (because that thing crashes at the touch of my finger), I can clear emails on my watch.
• I’m digging the Breathe app. I didn’t think I would care about it, but a few times a day I take a minute to focus on my breathing and it’s a nice little brain vacation.

That’s probably way more than you ever wanted to know about one person’s opinion of one watch, but there you have it.

Thought of the Week

Maybe it IS possible to have it all. Maybe we’re being too greedy in our definition of “it all.” I think I’m going to dig into this further in a future post.

I hope your Thursday is wonderful.

And if you decide to check out The Be.come Project, let me know!