Morning, morning, morning! I’m only this chipper this morning because Friday has finally decided to show her lovely face. This week seemed to drag for me. Not quite sure why, especially considering I had a good week overall. I guess I’m just that ready for Scenes from the Week!
No, really. I am truly that happy for this post. Something has been brewing inside me in regards to blogging habits, and, gosh, it simply boils down to how much I look forward to these types of posts. The posts where I share the more personal side of life. Don’t get me wrong – I love love love all the fitness and motivational talk, but sometimes feel a loss of myself and my personality in those posts. I’m considering some changes (since this is the personal blog side of my business, anyway), but we shall see. Okay. Enough “blog talk” that is really more just me thinking out loud to myself. Scenes from the Week. Let me grab my morning cup of coffee as I type and then let’s get to it!

Is that not one of the cutest little coffee mugs ever? As is this one…

Can you be in love with a coffee mug? Because I think I officially am. Thank you, Target, for never ceasing to fail me with your allure of random objects when I make a “quick stop” into you.
I know it’s two days later, but did you all have a fun Halloween? Mine went quite well! I even decided to dress up as Catwoman at the last minute.

Okay not really. I just wore all black on my run that (chilly! and it felt so wonderful) morning and called myself Catwoman after I attacked my 6 miles. Oh, how I love that feeling! I have some training updates coming your way, but that can wait until next week.
After that run, I kept my Halloween day on the calmer side while I could by hitting up a 2 hour coffee chat at Starbucks with a friend.

Crazy story – she is actually a friend who I met online through a fitness forum YEARS ago. We stayed in touch via Facebook and then she suddenly moved to my area like 10 minutes away. Our coffee date was actually our first time meeting in person. It’s a small world after all, huh?
Now for the part of Halloween I’m sure you really care to see.

I know. I have the two most adorable monkeys on the planet. Gosh, I love those guys! How could you not when they give you sweet faces like this…

…to manipulate you into doing things like this…

Who am I kidding? I think I got more excited to play Don’t Break the Ice than she did. Although I do find it pretty funny that you now have to send a polar bear crashing through the ice instead of a fisherman dude. That poor polar bear never saw Braedon coming.
I’m not the only one my kids use their magic charm on, though. They apparently somehow virtually charmed the pants off the people at Reebok because we got a surprise little package this week with these snazzy babies inside for the kids.

Makenzie literally squealed with delight over her new kicks. She has an affinity for crazier-the-better footwear like her momma. Although she did get jealous when she realized hers don’t glow in the dark like Braedon’s new shoes. Although I really think the adults who notice the shoes get more excited than anyone else about them. Peter’s brother wanted to steal Braedon’s shoes. To, you know, wear on his pinky toe or something.
Anyway, thank you to Reebok for keeping my kids’ feet attention getting while they “get after” their gymnastics “practice” in the yard and hill sprints (aka Braedon’s obsession with running up and down our driveway repeatedly). Healthy kids ARE happy kids!
I do try to set up some good habits for them. Like working on my fitness at the gym.

All my Best Body Bootcamp pals will appreciate that one! See? I don’t just give you the scorpion without going through the torture of it myself. I do care. I really do!
Although maybe not as much as I care about Brussels sprouts lately.

I literally inhaled an entire bag of Trader’s Joes Brussels sprouts to myself for my side at dinner. Not the best idea when it came to the too much fiber in the belly factor later, but it sure did taste good going down!
Just as I KNOW the BRAND NEW Love Grown Foods product will. Oh I can’t wait to get my hands on some.
That’s a sneak peek of some of the new packaging. Any clue what it is? If not, maybe these little secret tips will help out. Shhhh! Don’t tell I shared!
HINT #1 – It is PACKED-FULL of nutritional benefits!
HINT #2 – It contains NO Sodium!
HINT #3 – It is CERTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE
HINT #4 – It is perfect for ON-THE-GO
HINT #5 – It comes in four DELICIOUS FLAVORS!
Any ideas yet? Get pumped because the big reveal is coming November 30! #Nov30LOVE
Okay, friends, it’s time for me to say good-bye. Have a great day!
Your Turn – What old school board game did you love growing up? Fan of Brussels sprouts? Any guesses on the new Love Grown product?

Mother. Wife. Personal Trainer. Exercise lover. Blogger. Woman of faith. Striving for fitness inside and out. 
































{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
love your two monkeys! how adorable! and their new shoes are awesome! happy friday!
i love your personal posts too! keep them coming! not that i don’t appreciate the motivational/fitness ones because but i love getting a peek into your life! and your monkeys’ lives
as for that scorpion, i still haven’t been able to tackle it. i think my goal for next week might be to try to do a few scorpions a day. or one. completing one would be a big step up from the current falling all over the place i’ve been doing.
these posts make me happy too! and those sweet cute monkey faces.
Darnit! I knew I forgot something in my post today (the love grown packaging!). Those are some pretty sweet kicks your kiddos got!
I love reading your Friday shares! Love the Halloween pictures!
Growing up we always played Sorry and Monopoly, gosh those were some fun family times.
I always loved Mousetrap. Did you play that game? It was fun to build to mousetrap. I think the Love Grown product will be granola bars.
that would be “the mousetrap” not “to mousetrap”. It’s too early. Or something.
Or something is right.
And LOVED Mousetrap. I forgot about that one!
So obviously I’ve seen all of these wonderful pics all week via instagram, but I love hearing your recap of the week.
Here’s to a fantastic weekend darling!
Your two little ones are the cutest! I loved Don’t Break the Ice as a kid. I’m glad to see they’re still making it. I also loved Candy Land – we played that game into the ground when my sister and and I were younger.
She got Candy Land for her bday and we haven’t had the chance to play it yet but oh I can’t wait!
Awwww, how awesome of Reebok to sent the adorable kiddos new shoes! They really are great. And as soon as I saw Don’t Break the Ice, I was like “oh my gosh, I LOVED that game growing up!” I obviously need children so I can play these games all the time
LOVE YOU, FRIEND!!!! xoxoxo
your kids are sooo adorable!! Ugh those scorpions kill me!!
Love the fit kids. Too cute!
Your two monkeys are too adorable.
Don’t Break the Ice is always a good game, but I liked Mouse, Mouse, Get Out Of My House. NOBODY knows about it for some reason. But you had to fling plastic mice over a divider. I don’t know. It was fun. Haha.
I don’t know that game either but flinging things as a kid is always fun times.
Don’t break the ice!! I play that all the time at work (I work with kids aged 2-5 that are diagnosed with Autism)… such a silly game! Also…glad you are feeling the pain of scorpion along with us bootcampers! Hate the move while I’m doing it, but love the challenge! I am loving the bootcamp so far, Tina…thanks!!!! Have a great weekend
I was a big fan of Pretty, Pretty Princess back in the day. I also had this American Girl board game that was bomb.
Coffee dates are my FAVORITE! True life: I haven’t been on a coffee date since MAY. Worst thing ever! I used to go on coffee dates once a monthish in college, because I had a lot of friends in college that even though we were all physically close to each other (since we went to the same college and all), our schedules wouldn’t mesh for hang out time, so we’d coffee date each other and it was the best. I don’t really have any coffee date friends in Chicago, though, which is tragic. I miss two hour coffee dates!
I almost gave in and bought those mugs last night too, they are super cute! My willpower was super good last night. Target is such a dangerous place for me!
Ahhhh, the scorpion, not gonna lie, I still can’t do it, my core muscles are so weak. Week 1 and this week I tried, but I just couldn’t! Not giving up though on this exercise, I feel my core starting to get stronger, and my balance getting better…thanks to Best Body Bootcamp
I couldn’t say no when I saw them. It helps that I had just broken a mug a few days before. So I justified it. haha!
Yeah those scorpions made me want to cry! but I was so stoked every time I got through a set without falling off the ball
My favorite game growing up was Monopoly…we made up our own rules so when I played with other kids it got really frustrating…can you believe some people actually play it without a jackpot in the middle when you land on free parking? Unbelievable.
I’m guessing the new love grown product is a bar of some sort! And I’m guessing the break the ice game has a polar bear now to demonstrate how global warming is affecting the polar bears in the Arctic… haha it could be! Probably not the company’s thought though…
You never know. There’s political propoganda in everything these days it seems.
I love the monkey costumes! When my girls were 1 we dressed them up as monkeys too – Monkey See and Monkey Do!
There is nothing quite as adorable as baby shoes – except baby athletic shoes!
Loved board games growing up. Candy Land will always hold a special place in my heart though.
Cute fit kid shoes!!
Scorpion. AHH. Killer. Love that move.
I love board games & playing games. Monopoly, Life, apples to apples, scattegories, candy land. Love it all. Still do! hah.
I love the personal posts, too! I’m trying to find the right balance of the two… it’s always nice to feel like you really get to know the person behind the blog. Cute monkeys for sure! I’m excited for the game-playing stage with my daughter… I think.
Have a great weekend, Tina!
I LOVE brussels sprouts! We went out to dinner for my cousins birthday on Thursday and when they asked what side I wanted, the waitress said they had their seasonal vegetable of roasted brussels sprouts. She didn’t have to name any others at that moment. Brussels sprouts for the win!
Loved Hungry Hungry Hippos and Connect Four when I was growing up. I played Connect Four with my mom so much I could beat her almost every game! Best part was I usually used the same moves every time