Bella | Through Heather's Looking Glass

5 Things Friday XXX

June 1, 2018 by Heather Leave a Comment

Greetings! It’s been awhile since I did one of these posts (like, October!) so I thought it was high time to do a little catching up for those who don’t regularly follow my Instagram stories.

1.) Great but quick trip to NYC: I wrote a post about the naming ceremony and my time on the Carnival Horizon, but I haven’t talked a lot about my evening in the city and the next morning before getting on the boat. Carnival put us up at the Sheraton Times Square, so we were right in the middle of the action. Amanda and I walked down 5th Avenue, past the Plaza hotel, and all through Central Park (even to the fountain from FRIENDS, see below). I have been to NYC one other time but not to the park and was super pumped to check it off my bucket list. The weather was rainy and chilly, but that didn’t stop us.

2.) Moving on up: The way Emma Kate’s daycare is structured, they go ahead and move children up at the start of summer instead of fall. Even though she turns 4 in September, she misses the cut off of September 1, so she moved from the young 3’s to the older 3’s this week, and I cannot believe how much she has changed in a year! Below is her last day of 2’s vs. last day of young 3’s and she had changed so much. I’m happy for her but sad for me at the same time. My little toddler is no longer so little.

3.) Timehop Sweetness: Some days I really dislike Timehop and things it reminds me of, but some days I love it! I was reminded yesterday that it has been TEN YEARS since we brought Bella home to be a part of our family. How adorable was she as a puppy?!? Dying over here. She was so tiny that she had a hard time jumping over the threshold to get in and out the back door.

4.) Disney Day: I have a gold Florida resident pass which means I am only blocked out for Christmas and spring break, but Bobby and EK are blocked out all summer as well after this weekend, so we are going to brave the crowds and go to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday with my parents. I just want to soak it all in one last time as a family before fall….along with every other family in central Florida I’m sure! Be sure to follow along on my Instagram stories and on Twitter.

5.) Make money blogging: I have gotten a lot of questions over the years about how to work with and pitch brands and how to make money blogging and via social media. Well I finally got my rear in gear and created a quick guide you can purchase. Check it out here and let me know if you have any questions, I’m happy to help!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: blogging, Disney, family, vacation Tagged: Bella, Disney, emma kate, new york city, travel

September 2016 Goals

September 6, 2016 by Heather

I hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend! We had Emma Kate’s birthday party on Saturday, but more on that later this week. Today I wanted to talk about my September goals, and how I did in August. First, let’s look back at last month:

1.) Finish that darn upstairs closet: A- I still have a couple of shelves to clean out but the bulk of it is done!

2.) Stick to my training schedule: C- I was on the struggle bus with this one in August. I have been doing really well with my bootcamp workouts and even did a 7 mile long run last weekend, but I have only been running one other time during the week, and it’s very short mileage or sprints. I may not do the October half I had planned on doing because I just don’t feel ready, and we have a LOT going on right now.

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September goals:

1.) Stick to what I have been doing: By this I mean going to bootcamp and watching what I eat. I am finally seeing results on the scale and how my clothes fit, and I just want to stay focused and not fall back into my old ways.

2.) Make cupcakes for Emma Kate’s birthday: I know this seems small, but yall I’m not baker, and I want to bring a treat to her school for her birthday. I‘m putting it here to hold me accountable.

3.) Start walking Bella again: It’s been way too hot to walk the dog here, even early in the morning. I’m hoping now that we are into September we will have cooler morning or evenings and I can get in some walks with her. Thankfully she is tiny so running around the house is exercise for her, and she loves to sit in the backyard, too.

If you would like a way to help you stay accountable to your monthly goals, you can get a set of my free fitness and goal tracking printables here. Good luck!

QOTD: Do you have any September goals? Is it hot where you live?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, running Tagged: Bella, goals, running, training

5 Things Friday XVII

May 27, 2016 by Heather

Happy Friday my friends! It’s going to be a hot and sunny weekend here in Mississippi. Big plans include staying indoors and avoiding the sun and humidity at all costs. For those that get a 3 day weekend (sadly not me) enjoy your day off! Here’s five things for Friday.

1.) Running Skirts compression socks: Running Skirts sent me a pair of their adorable new compression socks (check out the tiaras in the hearts!) I have been a fan of their socks for many many moons, but these are just icing on the cake! My new favorite for sure. Easy to get on and off and give just the right amount of compression. They wash and hold up really well. They are not only great for running, but I wear them after long runs for faster recovery and happy legs!* Also, today is the LAST DAY of their epic moving sale. AMAZING prices on skirts (like $26.50!) click my link above or in my sidebar to shop!

2.) Bella the old lady: On Monday night, Bella jumped on our (very tall) bed and hurt herself. She wouldn’t eat or drink and didn’t want to walk but we couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We took her to the vet and found out she has a bulging disc/inflamed vertebrae/possible pinched nerve in her neck from the jump, and needed muscles relaxers and a bag of IV fluids because she was so dehydrated. She’s a happy girl on her pain meds but I’m supposed to “keep her confined” which isn’t going too well…

Poor baby. As you can see, she wouldn’t even eat my popcorn, which is insanely odd for her!

3.) Boot Camp part 2: A new two month session of boot camp starts on Monday and runs through the end of July. if you are local, this is the perfect time to jump in and see what it’s all about! I would love to chat with anyone that is interested. I did my body fat test this morning, and while I have lost a little weight and gained a little muscle, my body fat % is still not where I want it to be. Back to tweaking what I eat!

4.) Smells like Disney: I stumbled onto these candles in an Etsy shop (Etsy is ssooo dangerous!) and knew I had to try one out. All the scents are based off of Disney scents, either places, rides, or food! I got the Floridian scent, but there are many more I would love to try! I bet Main street bakery is amazing!

5.) Emma Kate does Disney: Speaking of Disney, guess who finally had dates to go see the mouse for the first time? Yes my friends, the long awaited day! Emma Kate will be going to Disney World with us (and my parents). We will be staying at Saratoga Springs at the end of October. My folks are new DVC members and have invited us along to stay in their villa. Let the planning commence!

QOTD: What is your favorite WDW smell? Ever had a pet hurt their neck?

*Disclosure: As a Running Skirts ambassador, I received these socks for free, and I get a small commission if you order through my link above. However, I would never recommend something I wouldn’t use myself and don’t love! Thank you for supporting my blog!

Filed Under: baby, Disney, family, fitness, running, Running Skirts, vacation Tagged: Bella, boot camp, candles, compression socks, Disney, emma kate, Running Skirts

5 Things Friday XIV

April 8, 2016 by Heather

It’s Fri-yay! I hope you are all having a great day, and enjoy the weekend. We are having beautiful spring weather here (sorry you folks up north in the seasons that are very confused right now). Here are your 5 Things Friday!

1.) Giveaway: Today is the LAST DAY to enter my Shabby Apple gift card giveaway. I will announce a winner tonight, so hurry and enter!

2.) Family fun: My parents are in town for a couple of days so I may be a little absent on social media, but I still love yall, don’t worry.

3.) Get Your Hair Did: My poor sweet Bella got groomed yesterday, and instead of giving her a clean shaven face, they left her a little beard so now she looks like a sad old man. Poor baby.

4.) Halloween?: Yesterday Emma Kate decided what she wants to be for Halloween. At least a ghost costume is easy? And yes she did this by herself, and yes she walked around running into things, and yes, I let her. Come on, a parent has to have a little fun.

5.) Running Skirts: In case you missed my blog post yesterday (shame on you) I kid…sort of… then you may have missed that I am now a RunningSkirts ambassador! If you have any questions on skirt related things, let me know. (the above link is an affiliate link).

QOTD: What are you doing this weekend? Favorite Halloween costume?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, Giveaway, Running Skirts Tagged: Bella, emma kate, family, Giveaway, Running Skirts, shabby apple

Five Things Friday IV

October 9, 2015 by Heather

Friday again? Already? This week flew by! We are insanely boring so we have no plans for the weekend but football and church, however the next three weekends will be crazy so this will be a nice rest before the madness! Here are this week’s five things Friday:

1.) I went back to the outlet mall with a friend yesterday thanks to a huge sale at Banana Republic and bought another pair of jeans. I need more than one pair, right? I may or may not have also bought some other things….but 70% off, come on!

The shorts we $4.50. Seriously.

2.) Today we are taking Emma Kate’s one year old pictures. It’s our same sweet friend that took her 6 month photos, I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

3.) LSU was supposed to play South Carolina at SC this weekend, but due to the recent hurricane madness the game will be played in Baton Rouge. The LSU band decided they wanted to learn to play the SC Alma Mater and fight song so they could play it at the came since the SC band cannot come. Love my Tigers.

4.) Bella got a haircut yesterday. It was getting bad, poor girl couldn’t even see her hair was getting so long. I love that she doesn’t shed, but wow grooming is definitely expensive. It’s a good thing I get my hair cut maybe once a year to offset the cost. I’m hair-low maintenance like that.

5.) Two weeks from today until we start the trek to Disney for my mom’s girls trip for her 60th birthday. I’m glad her one birthday request included me. Excited for the surprises I have planned for her while we are there.

QOTD: How often do you get your hair cut? Do you shop at outlet malls?

Filed Under: baby, blogging, Disney, family, fashion Tagged: Banana Republic, Bella, Disney, emma kate, LSU, pictures

Granola, Baby Clothes, and Puppy Antics

August 18, 2014 by Heather

I finally feel somewhat in the land of normalcy finally! We got internet Friday evening, so I have been playing catch up with work and still continuing to unpack boxes. We are by no means done, but the house is starting to look more like a home, even though I still have to flip every single light switch to remember which one is which! Today’s post is kind of a hodge podge of updates since I feel like I have been gone for so long and have a lot to share.

Cascadian Farm sent me an amazingly generous box full of their new granola, and Bobby and I have already eaten through several bags. This stuff is good, yall! One of my favorite breakfasts is granola and greek yogurt with fruit like strawberries and blueberries, but sometimes it’s just not filling enough. Enter this new granola that has 10 grams of PROTEIN in it, and it keeps me full a lot longer, plus, well…the flavors taste really, really good. If you are looking for a new breakfast or snack to rotate in (I put some in a ziploc in my purse for on the go!) I highly recommend.

Flavors are dark chocolate coconut and apple crisp

In addition to doing some catch up with work this weekend, I also did a little shopping. We still have several items we need for the baby (yikes) so I went to Target to scout out some things since I have a couple gift cards, and I absolutely could not pass up this adorable onesie set. Can you blame me? Baby M is going to be all ready for football!

Now I just need LSU outfits and headbands for all!

Speaking of adorable, a couple of people have asked how the girls are adjusting to the new house. It’s funny how quickly dogs find their new “spots” in a house and settle in. We have been all over the place this summer so I am not sure if they just think this is another pit stop or what, but they seem happy.

Bella especially likes that the windows are long enough that she can see out of them and what is going on in the front and back yard. Unfortunately for me this has led to a lot of barking and trying to teach her she does not have to bark at every car that drives down the street. See, at our house house there was a huge park in our front yard THEN the street was beyond that, so poor baby is not used to seeing cars this close to her going by all day. Hopefully she learns. Sassy doesn’t like all the moving about and unpacking, but she is getting more used to things as well. I hope to have some photos of the house for you in the next couple weeks!

Do you eat granola? Favorite kind? Are you a sucker for baby clothes?

Filed Under: food, pregnancy Tagged: baby clothes, Bella, cascadian farm, dogs, Football, granola, New Orleans Saints, pregnancy, Saints

June Photo Dump

June 19, 2013 by Heather

Good morning! I didn’t get home until 10:00 last night, so the great post I was working on isn’t going up until tomorrow because I needed more time on it. So today you get a “wordless Wednesday” of sorts (just ignore that I’m using words RIGHT NOW….ok so I will caption them…) and see some of the photos I am dumping into my computer from my phone. Some have appeared on Instagram, some haven’t.

Getting stronger

Sweet girl

Give me caffeine

Pink kind of day

Father’s Day delivery

Sunset off the balcony

Post run cool down, it was 92 degrees and 88% humidity.

Golf outing

QOTD: Which pic is your favorite? Is your photo album CONSTANTLY full like mine because you have too many pictures on your phone?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, running, Running Skirts Tagged: Bella, golf, photos, running, Running Skirts, sassy, workout

Back Home

February 2, 2012 by Heather

I love going back to my hometown to visit my family. It’s always like I never left, and and hanging out with my parents is always a treat. I came to get the dogs groomed and bring them for a visit to grandma and grandpa’s house (my parents, of course).

I dropped my babies off at Petsmart and met my mom for some shopping. We also hit up the brand new Steak N Shake in town. I will admit, I have never been to one of these bad boys, and wow was it good!

I haven’t had a milkshake…or a cheeseburger for that matter…in months! So I happily dug in to this heath bar shake and my mom and I split a burger and fries. It was just one of those days where calories just didn’t matter. Everyone needs to splurge sometimes!

We were pleasantly surprised and will have to be back when we are wanting to splurge!

It was raining while we were eating, but finally let up so we could go for a run. But first, we had to pick up the babies from Petsmart.

Look how precious these bows are!

Look how fun, mom and daughter running skirt duo.

We ended up running five miles, which went by quickly with good conversation. I can’t wait until we run the Disney Princess Half together! Today I am headed back to Mississippi but it was great to see my family for a short visit.

QOTD: Do you run with anyone in your family or are you on your own?

Filed Under: family, fitness, running, Running Skirts, Uncategorized Tagged: Bella, family, home, parents, running, Running Skirts, sassy

Catch Up

January 9, 2012 by Heather

Happy Monday! Catching up from the weekend? here’s what you missed:

How it All Began: Have you ever wondered how/when/why I started distance running? Here’s the story!

RWS Features #6: the next installment in my series

Five Years and Counting: Bobby and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!

On Friday morning, I had the privilege of having coffee with Sarah. If you aren’t following her blog or following her on Twitter, you should! She is so inspiring, and was in town to run TWO marathons in two days in preparation for her 100 mile race coming up. Holy cow! I first met Sarah when she came to say hi at Rock N Roll St. Louis when I was working the Running Skirts booth, so I was thrilled to see her again!

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I was given some new running shoes to try out by Running Skirts, and I can’t wait to see how I feel in them. They have a zero drop in the heel and a wide toe box so your feet can spread out. After I break them in I will do a review! (P.S. did you know you can buy certain brands of running shoes from Running Skirts, including Newtons?)

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Speaking of Newtons, Saturday I ran two miles in mine. My calves were a little sore, but once again I am being proactive and stretching and foam rolling a lot so it hasn’t been as bas as I imagined it would be. This week I will move up to a 3 miler and 4 miler and see how the foot does. So far so good!

I have still been lifting weights 4-5 days a week and I am getting some serious arm muscle! I love when I can actually see a difference. I will have to post a picture for you soon. I have guns now! Bam!

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I am brainstorming ideas of locations for the Princess blogger meet up, as well as ideas for door prizes, or any other fun things to do at the meet up. If you have any ideas, leave a comment or e mail me at [email protected]. I am thinking OUTSIDE of a park would be best since not everyone will have tickets or park hoppers. If you are a blogger attending Disney’s Princess half, please vote on the right side bar of my blog on a day and time for the meet up. I have also started brainstorming for my costume for the race!

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Bella still hates her sweaters. It doesn’t help that we torture her a little when we put it on her.

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Do you remember when I did a Christmas post on my favorite things to buy for gifts? One of those gifts was Clocky, the alarm clock that runs away. Well, my husband read said post, and bought Clocky for me! I can now say from personal experience, the little joker does indeed run away from you…usually underneath your bed where you end up trying to whack him with something to get him within your reach to turn him off.

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QOTD: Do you get up as soon as your alarm goes off, or do you hit the snooze?
*I added frop down menus to some of my menu items across the top of my blog, under my header. Take a look around, I added some sub pages, and more to come!

Filed Under: Disney, running, Running Skirts, Uncategorized Tagged: Bella, clocky, Disney princess half, newtons, running, Running Skirts

Puppy Play & Circuit Training

November 18, 2011 by Heather

Good morning! I know I usually do a Friday Favorites post today, but nothing really jumped out at me to write about this week so I decided to skip it. Yesterday, I was planning on my first run in almost two weeks… but the calf of my injured foot was strangely tight and sore, so I decided to wait ONE more day. But, just to test out the foot, I put on my running shoes and decided to take the girls for a walk so I could jog a little and see how I felt. But first, this is how the afternoon transpired.

It was cold yesterday, so I put sweaters on the girls. Bella HATES her sweaters for some unknown reason. When you put it on her, she stands frozen, still as a statue until you physically move her and after awhile she forgets she is wearing said sweater. This is Bella five minutes after I put her sweater on.

Why, mommy, why, it’s like a straight jacket!

Sassy on the other hand, loves her sweaters and prances around in them. But whenever I pull out the camera, she does the goofiest stuff. Exhibit A, crazy eyes:

Please note Bella in the background standing in the same position, in a state of pure terror.

I felt bad for torturing the girls, even though it was for their own good, so I told them we were going outside. Bella lloovveesss outside. This is the look I get when I head towards the door:

It was a BEAUTIFUL day, so I sat in the sunshine while the girls played…and while they…mooned the camera.

Exhibit B of Sassy the weird-o dog:

aaaannnddd Exhibit C, I call this her gangster face.

yo yo yo I’m sass-a-frass but you can call me Big Mama

Finally, I said the magical 4 letter word, and we were off on our walk.

Did she just say W-A-L-K?

Circuit Training

My foot did fine, so I have high hopes for tomorrow. It will be a slow, short run, but a run non the less, and I am pumped! So pumped in fact, that I had to do SOMETHING active, so I decided to make up a quick circuit that I went through three times. Some harder moves with some fun old school exercise tape moves in between:

25 Jumping Jacks

25 standing crunches

25 grapevine

25 squats

25 front kicks

25 V steps

25 lunges

one minute rest, repeat circuit x 2 more times.

I was sweating at the end and my legs were like jello! Sometimes its fun to do an impromptu circuit in the middle of your living room while your dogs attack your ankles. I may be running slow tomorrow for more reasons than my ankle, I may not be able to move my legs when I wake up.

*In case you missed it yesterday, I am starting a new series called “RWS Features” where once a week I will feature a healthy living blog here on RWS. Just e mail at [email protected] with RWS Features in the subject line and I will send you a few short questions to answer about your blog!

QOTD: Do you ever do circuits? If so, what are your favorite “moves” to include for a good workout?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Bella, circuit, running, sassy