Follow along during the month of March as I challenge myself to make the most of my mornings by waking up early!

Oh me, oh my. What a whirlwind of a couple weeks. 

My husband got extremely sick with the flu about two weeks ago.

I’ve been taking care of him.

For a week now, he’s also had a horrid cough that keeps both of us up at night.

That – combined with his Spring school break being last week – really messed up my sleeping schedule.

And I have really been struggling with insomnia, on top of all this. It started a couple months ago, and I’m not really sure what’s going on.

It’s safe to say I have not been doing very well on my “Early To Rise” challenge! After beating myself up over not sticking to my goal, I finally decided to give myself some grace – which is pretty darn difficult for me to do.

I don’t like to quit. I hate giving up. And I certainly don’t enjoy feeling like a failure.

As I’ve followed along in Crystal’s Early To Rise Challenge each day, I’ve really been beating myself up. Good grief – now she’s waking up at 3:00 in the morning!!

But when I realized I have been walking around utterly exhausted every single day, I decided that sleep needed to be a priority. I’ve been doing the absolute best I can, but I’m still not managing to get up much earlier than 7 or 7:30 most mornings.

One of my biggest struggles in life is comparing myself to others – income, success, accomplishments, talent, and more. It’s something I have to fight on a daily basis, because it can truly turn you into a horribly ugly and bitter person (trust me – I know).

So I’m letting this one go. I’m not going to compare myself to somebody else who has an entirely different life and set of circumstances than me. I’m not going to let this failure or comparison steal my joy.

I am still sticking to my morning schedule, which helps my day run very smoothly. I do hope to eventually get that extra hour or two back in the mornings, once I can beat this insomnia spell.

With that being said, I hope to get back to a better blogging schedule soon. It’s high on my priority list. I’m so excited to be blogging again, and I have so many ideas floating around in my head!

Do any of you have any ideas or advice on how to beat insomnia? I’ve never struggled with this all my life, and it suddenly popped up a couple months ago. I don’t know how much longer I can run on 2-3 hours of sleep per night!

*Photo Source: moneysavingmom.com via Meagan on Pinterest

Love this quote. Love Anne of Green Gables.

Follow along during the month of March as I challenge myself to make the most of my mornings by waking up early!

That’s my alarm clock in the photo above, and it represents what time I’ve been managing to get up by each morning this week. I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not making it up by my goal of 6:00 a.m. each morning, but I’ve still noticed such a difference in getting up earlier. {And at least I’m only snoozing for 30 minutes now, instead of an hour or an hour and a half!}

I’ve recognized my problem, and I hope to change it next week and do a little bit better at sticking to my goal of 6 a.m. I’m not getting in bed early enough, and I’m exhausted when my alarm clock goes off each morning. As much as getting up early helps me be more productive, it can be a waste if I’m not getting enough sleep and walking around like a grouchy zombie all day long.

My goal is to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, because that’s what I’ve found works best for me. I often like the idea of skipping on sleep, because I feel like it gives me more time to get things done. I’ve learned from experience, though, that this does not work for me. I’d love to run on 6 hours of sleep or less, but I just can’t do it. I end up being a horribly angry and exhausted person all day long.

With this in mind, I’ve been trying to get in bed by 10 p.m. each night. I’ll usually read a book or wind down for about 30 minutes, and then fall asleep. That gives me a good 7-8 hours of sleep before getting up at 6 a.m.

All week long, I haven’t been making it to bed until about 11:30 or midnight. Naturally, I find it nearly impossible to get up the following morning – which is why the alarm clock reads 6:30 instead of 6:00 in the photo above!

My goal for next week: Get to bed no later than 10:30 each night so that I can get a full night’s sleep and wake up ready to face the day bright and early each morning!

What I’ve enjoyed so far: Even getting up at 6:30 a.m. has improved my mornings immensely. I love that I get my morning routine finished before 9:00 a.m. I feel like I’ve accomplished so much, and the day has barely begun! I’m feeling extremely productive.

Follow along during the month of March as I challenge myself to make the most of my mornings by waking up early!

I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself. I made up my mind that I was going to do something about a year ago, and I’ve been doing it every single morning since.

I’ve established a morning routine.

Who knew what a difference a small 10-task morning routine could make in a day?! I love it. Even though I haven’t been the best at getting up early each morning, I still stick to my morning routine regardless of what time I wake up.

Here’s my morning routine:

1. Wake up. Snooze the alarm clock for a good hour. {Ahem.} I mean… hop enthusiastically out of bed!
2. Get tea kettle boiling with water for French-press coffee. (a must, right?!)
3. Feed kitty. Scoop out litterbox.
4. Tidy living room. (throw pillows in place, couch blankets folded, glasses or dishes brought to kitchen from night before, etc.)
5. Make breakfast. Pour coffee.
6. Eat breakfast & enjoy coffee. Morning Bible reading and prayer time. Write down goals for the day.
7. Feed puppy and let him out.
8. Make bed.
9. Exercise on treadmill.
10. Shower and get ready for the day.

All these things may seem like such small tasks, but together they really add up to a productive morning for me. It helps me start the day with momentum as soon as my feet hit the floor. I know what I have to do, and I no longer wander around aimlessly all morning. Having this routine has shown me how much time I used to waste each morning without even knowing it. I suppose I always had the mindset of “well, I have all day, so I can take my time.”

This routine usually takes me about 2 hours total before I start my work day. It works out perfectly for me. I also like that I’ve included some margin time for myself to relax, focus, and goal-set for the day. My routine never feels rushed. For a while, it took some practice to get into the habit of my routine. Now it’s just second nature.

Regardless of what time you wake up, I highly encourage you to adopt a morning routine. It has helped me so much, and I know it will do the same for you!

I’ve decided to join in with Crystal’s Early To Rise Challenge this month. For months now, I’ve been reading all over the Internet about how waking up early makes you more productive each day. As much as I liked the idea of it, I continued to make excuses for myself in my head.

My husband started back to school the beginning of this year, and he has to get up pretty early to beat the traffic. Since then, I’ve been striving to wake up earlier. I must say – what I’ve been reading has proven to be true for me, as well. I find that when I wake up early each morning, I’m able to have a couple hours to myself to focus, energize, and organize for the day.

Lately, I’ve noticed myself getting back into the habit of waking up later, so I’ve decided to challenge myself to get back on track. My goal is to wake up by 6:00 a.m. each morning. Since I work from home, I find it SO easy to talk myself out of this each morning when I roll over and punch the alarm clock. But here’s to early mornings in March and beyond!

I’ll hopefully be posting some updates and thoughts throughout the month, so stay tuned.

What Veggie Delights is all about: I’m convinced that I can share with you some really amazing meatless dishes that you will love, even if you’re not a Vegetarian!

So I’ve been promising all of you this recipe for quite some time now.  A while back, my husband started eating a spoonful of peanut butter with a glass of milk every morning.

One evening, I had some bananas with peanut butter.  My wheels started turning.  I started thinking of ways I could combine the milk, peanut butter, and bananas together for a delicious and nutrient-packed snack.

What was missing?  Well of course – CHOCOLATE!

So here’s what I came up with…

A couple of notes:

*As far as bananas are concerned, I just usually freeze the fresh bananas that get too brown on my counter, when I buy them each week.  I usually peel them, cut them in half, and stick 2 whole bananas (4 halves) into a ziplock bag.  Then they’re in the freezer ready to go when I need them.

*You can eyeball the ice cubes.  I have perfected the amount I need by simply looking at the ice cube to banana ratio in my blender.  All the ice does is makes it icy and cold.  I’ve even made it a couple times without the ice, but it’s not nearly as good.

*Feel free to use store-bought chocolate milk.  We just never have that lying around, so I use our regular milk and the chocolate syrup that we always have on-hand for coffee drinks.

*I don’t measure out the peanut butter perfectly anymore, either.  I just grab two spoonfuls and throw them in there.

*Drink it with a quirky straw.  It makes it so much more fun and enjoyable! 

What About You: Think you’ll try it?  Let me know your thoughts if you do!  It’s perfect as a Summer afternoon pick-me-up!

My husband and I have always been big thrift store shoppers, but lately we’ve kind of become thrift store REGULARS. Ever since Kyle started working on his electric scooter, he’s been obsessed with stopping by the thrift store pretty much every day.

They’ve been running sales on all of their clothing.  One day they had all adult clothing for just $2 each.  Then another day we went back and they had all adult clothing marked down on special for just $1 each!

I picked up 4 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, and 1 jacket for just $13 total.  Almost all of it was brand name: Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle, etc. One dry-clean only shirt I found still had the tags on it.  My husband found an awesome collared shirt made by Element for $1.  It probably would have been over $50 in a retail store.

Shopping for clothing at thrift stores can be pretty tricky. Patience is key.  You have to be willing to dig, sift, and find jewels among the masses of clothing.  At first glance, it might not look like there is anything worth buying.  But I promise you can often come across an unexpected find. 

I love thrift stores for so many different reasons. First of all, it’s frugal, obviously.  Second of all, the thrift store usually donates all proceeds towards a fabulous cause.  The one we shop at donates all their earnings to help victims of domestic violence.  Finally, I personally like to shop at thrift stores because I’m buying all second-hand clothing, so I can be certain none of my money is contributing to sweat shop factories that mass-produce clothing unethically.

Not to mention…it’s FUN!  It’s almost like a date for me and my husband.  And when my cousin and her husband came down, we all went to the thrift store one day…just for fun! 

What About You: Are you a thrift store shopper?  What’s the secret to a great find?

{I vow to get a MUCH better photo of this dish next time I make it!}

This is my husband’s absolute favorite Mexican dish I make.  I haven’t made it in ages – I almost kind of forgot about it.  When I pulled out the recipe and cooked it last week, my husband just about jumped up and down with delight.  AND I realized I had never shared it with you!  So here ya go…

It’s very delicious and nutritious, but I’ll go ahead and tell you that it is quite time-consuming.  Not easy and quick, so be sure to save it for a weekend dinner meal. 

What About You: Think you’ll try this?  I hope so!

What Veggie Delights is all about: I’m convinced that I can share with you some really amazing meatless dishes that you will love, even if you’re not a Vegetarian!

It’s official.  Kyle and I have decided that this is in our top ten recipes, EASILY. Kyle took one bite and said it was a keeper (which means BIG things, trust me).  In fact, we ended up having this sandwich twice last week.  The first one was way too tasty, so we decided to go ahead and use the leftover zucchini and sauce for another sandwich night.

There are so many things I love about this recipe. It is SO simple, can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes, requires very few ingredients, is remarkably delicious, and actually isn’t too bad on calories except for the bread.  And I really don’t think a meat-eater would miss the meat in this sandwich.  It is SO filling and is a great alternative to the traditional Italian grinder.

Honestly, I was surprised by how great this tasted.  It seemed way too simple.  I was expecting it to be decent, but I was blown away with it.  I’m still at a loss as to why it’s so yummy.  Oh well – I’ll take it!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did…

What About You: Think you’ll give this one a go?  I hope so!  Let me know your thoughts if you do!

What Veggie Delights is all about: I’m convinced that I can share with you some really amazing meatless dishes that you will love, even if you’re not a Vegetarian!

I’ve tried quite a few different varieties of homemade Veggie Burgers.  What have I learned?  You have to get it JUST RIGHT…after quite a bit of experimentation.

I had pretty much given up on any type of veggie burger that wasn’t made from black beans. I always had success with black bean burgers, and so I abandoned mission on all other types.  Then my buddy Anna got me pretty darn curious about some supposedly delicious chickpea  burgers. . .

That was it – I gave in.  I had to try them.    I am SO glad I did.

I used quite a variety of spices in mine, and I think it turned out perfectly as far as taste.  I will forewarn you that you want to make these burgers as thin as possible.  They tend to be just a tad mushy on the inside, since they’re baked in the oven rather than fried.  It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make in order to keep the calories lower.

Besides the slight mushy-ness, they are seriously the most DELICIOUS veggie burgers I’ve ever tried.  My husband loved them, too.   We served them up with some corn on the cob and a mixed side salad.  Oven-roasted potatoes go great with it, too!

A Couple Notes:

• This recipe lends itself to LOTS of creativity and experimentation.  Feel free to try out different spices, as well as different types of vegetables!
• We froze the extra patties and ate them the following week.  They held up really well, and the texture was BETTER than they were straight from the oven.  However, way too much of the flavor was lost in the freezing process.  For this reason, I don’t really recommend freezing these.  Which is fine and dandy in my opinion, because this is a QUICK meal to throw together!

Enjoy!

Thanks for the inspiration, Anna!