Things I’m Loving Lately + One Thing I’m NOT Loving

Hey friends! Popping in today with some Things I’m Loving Lately… and also one thing I’m really NOT loving lately – more on that at the end of the post.  Let’s do this!

Things I’m Loving Lately 

1) Reading

I have been on a reading TEAR lately. Can’t stop, won’t stop! (FYI – links are Amazon affiliate links.) First up: A few weeks ago I read Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and wow, what a gorgeous book. It was so beautifully written and such a unique story. I loved it so much – highly recommend.  Next up: I’m currently in the midst of reading a 5 book series that I am so obsessed with that I started it 2 weeks ago at the suggestion of a friend and now I’m already halfway through book 3. I CANNOT put it down and I’m staying up way too late reading every night but ahhh it’s so good. Super creative and engaging! If you like fantasy/magic/adventure books with a solid romance situation weaved into the mix, check out the Court of Thorns and Roses series. Book 2 was even more awesome than Book 1, and I was really impressed with how complex it was – so many intricate details were set up in Book 1 that we didn’t realize! 

2) Adventures in the city

I took Riese on a fun adventure in the city recently on a day she didn’t have school. We rode the metro in (very exciting, she LOVES the metro), did a ton of walking all around the monuments, and had a picnic lunch at the Washington Monument (tuna salad sandwiches – her current fave – plus some grapes, carrots, and string beans).  We even saw some baby ducks in the reflecting pool leading up to the Lincoln Memorial! Riese was SO excited. They were adorable! Not sure why it was partially empty – they are either cleaning it or we haven’t gotten enough rain… unclear. Kathleen (my college friend and running buddy) and I also had a fun city adventure getting in our most recent long run – we did another huge loop of the city starting from Roosevelt Island, crossing Memorial Bridge and running all the way down the National Mall and around the Capitol, then back via the Georgetown Waterfront and Key Bridge. We had gorgeous weather for it and thanks to a warm week, some of the flowers were starting to bloom! It was equal parts “yay, this is gorgeous!” and “yikes, flowers are blooming in February… hello, global warming…” We made it 9 miles and my muscles/legs felt good, but I felt super tired and not energetic overall – my hydration and nutrition were not exactly on point the day before thanks to a beer garden visit with some friends from school and the kids, so that was likely the culprit there. 

3) Rainbow Smoothies

How fun is this rainbow smoothie that Riese, Matt, and I made the other day?  Ever since seeing a picture of a rainbow smoothie awhile ago, Riese has been wanting to make one, and a couple weeks ago we finally made it happen! It also ended up being a good opportunity to test out two products I was sent recently for a potential sponsored review: Naked Greens and Naked Reds. I was super impressed by their high quality ingredient lists (no fillers, additives, flavors, or colors – yay!) and excited to give them a shot to see if they were something I’d recommend – and now that I’ve tried them I can say that yes, I do! Ingredient lists:

• Naked Greens: Organic Broccoli, Organic Alfalfa Grass, Organic Kale, Organic Spinach, Organic Spirulina, Organic Wheat Grass Organic Prebiotic, Organic Ashwagandha, Organic Panax Ginseng and Probiotics
• Naked Reds: Apple, Blueberry, Maqui, Cranberry, Elderberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Acai, Dragon Fruit, Pomegranate

I wouldn’t drink them straight with water since they aren’t flavored (and Naked Greens is a little grassy on its own), but as a smoothie mix in they are a fantastic and versatile way to add in some extra nutrition, and they blend in well, too – not chalky, clumpy, or gritty. Definitely going to keep these on hand for future smoothies… the Naked Greens in particular is a great way to get my picky eater kids some extra nutrition. 😉  If you’re interested in making a rainbow smoothie, too, here’s how we did it (makes about 4 smoothies).

• Base recipe: 1 banana + 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + a handful of ice cubes
• For layer 1 (the pink layer), add the following to the base recipe: 1 cup frozen raspberries + one scoop Naked Reds
• For layer 2 (the yellow layer), add the following to the base recipe: 1 cup frozen mango
• For layer 3 (the green layer), add the following to the base recipe: 1 cup fresh baby spinach + one scoop Naked Greens
• For layer 4 (the purple layer), add the following to the base recipe: 1 cup frozen blueberries

The smoothie should be quite thick so the layers stay put, but if you find it way too thick, add a splash of milk or a non-dairy alternative to the mix for each layer until it reaches your desired consistency.  Enjoy!! And if you want to try Naked Greens or Naked Reds, you can buy them directly on their website (linked previously), or over on Amazon (affiliate links: Naked Greens / Naked Reds). 

Something I’m Not Loving Lately

Okay, and now let’s end this post with a bit of a downer/something I’m most definitely NOT loving lately: I tweaked my hip/lower back picking up Wes at a weird angle over the weekend.  My hips were tired already from the long run and I was not using good form at all which was not the smartest move… I was kind of turned sideways and bending at the waist to try to pick him up (basically using my back, not my legs – argh), AND Wes started flailing around and struggling away (yay, pre-nap chaos) and my left hip/lower back on that side just kind of spasm-ed. It was super painful – like, I could not walk for a couple hours painful – and has been bothering me since. I obviously skipped my run yesterday and I actually had a massage scheduled (lucky timing as I made the appointment months ago) which helped loosen it up significantly, but… yeah. Major bummer. I’m honestly not sure where this leaves me for the half marathon I’ve been training for. My hip and lower back feel much better now thanks to a few days of rest and epsom salt baths, but it’s not totally normal, and I’m obviously not trying to injure myself more seriously because fitness is basically my #1 source of sanity and de-stressing. As of now I’m just kind of waiting and see-ing. I am leaving tomorrow for a food blogging conference in Chicago and will be gone until Saturday, and I wasn’t planning to really do any workouts there, anyway, so it’s kind of good timing to take a break, but we’ll see. At this point it’s looking unlikely I’m going to be able to do a half marathon in 2.5 weeks. I’m so disappointed. 🙁 Ugh. Stay tuned, friends.