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mamakay

managing a household of 10 by the grace of God

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What Is Saving My Life Right Now 2020

February 3, 2020 by mamakay Leave a Comment

Saving My Life with Morning Routines

Every year I enjoy linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to reflect on what is saving my life right now when we are smack in the middle of winter. Although this year has been a little different. We have hardly had any snow so far this winter (although it looks like winter this week). I’ve been in a pretty good place so far this year but maybe that’s because of the things I have been practicing.

  1. Reading! I have really upped my game the last couple of years and read a lot more. It inspires me, encourages me, and entertains me to read a variety of different books. And this year I have made it a goal to read one book a week and to mostly read books I already own. I am keeping a book list of the books I am reading this year. Here is the link if you’d like to check it out: http://mamakay.com/WordPress/2020-book-list/
  2. Exercising in the Morning with my husband. I can’t believe I’m going to say this but truly, I feel more energetic when we do a 30 minute exercise video in the morning. We got a subscription the the Daily Burn channel on Amazon and it has been a great fit for us.
  3. Joining Online Coaching Groups. I joined this group by Crystal Paine and it has given me so much focus and energy to pour into my online work. If you work online I highly recommend doing this! (Registration for this group ends tomorrow, Feb 4th, so hurry if you want to join.)
  4. My morning time. I have had to be flexible with my time but the more consistent I am with doing it, the better my days are. I plan my day, read my Bible, copy a passage and write a prayer in my Write the Word journal and read from a spiritual book. (Right now I am reading Beholding and Becoming by Ruth Chou Simons.)
  5. Baking bread is saving my life right now! I always used to bake bread but had let the busyness of life get in the way. This year I want to reclaim my love of baking. My favorite things to bake are bread and cookies. They are a way I can use my hands to do physical work and my family feels loved (and less hungry) when I make these things for them.

What is saving your life right now? I would love to hear!

Filed Under: baking, Blog, Seasonal Living, Winter

Habits Shape Your Identity

January 9, 2020 by mamakay Leave a Comment

habits

Habits shape your identity and your identity shapes your habits.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Habits are the things we do each and every day for good or bad that make up who we are. They are choices we make each day of what we do and how we think (how privileged we are to be able to have so many choices). The good (and bad) thing about habits is that we often do them without even thinking about it. That’s why it is so hard to change.

As we start the new year we can think of so many things we want to change! But come February we have completely given up the hope of changing. What if there was a different way? And it doesn’t matter what day it is. There is nothing magical about January 1st! Here are some ideas to help you be successful in changing your habits.

Decide Your Identity

According to James Clear if you want to change your habits one of the things you need to need is to change what you think about yourself. By identifying yourself in a different way you will start to do the things that that type of person does

When you think about it — your actual life and identity is made up of all the little habits you practice all throughout your day. If you think of yourself as a healthy person you will choose to do things like exercise, drink water and eat healthy foods. If you think of yourself as a reader you will spend time reading whenever you get the chance.

Start Small

Start small and you will have better success. Pick one thing you want to change. Break it down into small chunks that are easier to accomplish and give you the feeling of accomplishment to help you continue to move forward.

For example, if you want to be more active the first small step would be to put on tennis shoes each morning. Once that is your regular routine add something more like doing some stretches. Maybe buying a fitness tracker so that you are more aware of how much activity you do each day would be a great next step. Next you could walk around the block each day. Each small step helps you to establish good habits that you will be able to maintain over time.

Body, Soul and Mind

I like to group the habits I want to establish in terms of body, soul and mind. Things to consider for the Body are drinking water, exercising, eating a salad, drinking a smoothie, getting enough sleep. For the Soul: reading the Bible, praying, listening to worship music, being still before God. For the Mind: reading, writing and listening to podcasts.

Habit Tracking

Keeping a habit tracker is very motivating for me. I have used many different forms from a hand drawn chart in my bullet journal to the one included on my tending sheet in Powersheets to the Loop Habit Tracker App on my phone. Sign up below to receive a Habit Tracker I created for you. There is something about seeing my progress that makes me want to keep it going.

  • Powersheets Tending Page
  • Bullet Journal Example
  • Habit Tracking
    Bullet Journal Calendar Example

Resources for Working on Your Habits:

Being intentional about choosing your habits, making sure to start small and then tracking them can make all the difference in creating the life you want and being the person you want to be. Don’t try to do everything at once. Just pick one thing and go from there.

MamaKay

You also might be interested in reading more from my previous posts here:

January Reflections

Hello Mornings

Filed Under: Daily Rhythms, Habits, New Years, planning, powersheets, Seasonal Living

Top 19 Books 2019

December 30, 2019 by mamakay Leave a Comment

Books

I read 52 books this year! I still can’t believe I read this much! My goal of 36 books was totally surpassed. Most of my book recommendations come from Modern Mrs. Darcy and various podcasts. Here are my favorites for the year.

Non-Fiction Books

So many people I follow wrote books this year! These are just a few of my favorites. I did a deep dive into the Enneagram this year and still have a couple more books in my TBR pile that I want to read but Ian Cron’s book is a great introduction.

If you need a good reboot in 2020, I highly recommend Atomic Habits. His approach is the most doable I have ever found. I am convinced that our lives our made up by our small daily choices.

  1. Atomic Habits by James Clear
  2. The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
  3. Placemaker by Christie Purifoy
  4. The Road Back to You: An Ennegram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
  5. The Middle Matters: Why that (Extra)Ordinary Life Books Really Good on You by Lisa-Jo Baker

Memoir Books

I haven’t read that many memoirs before but I absolutely loved reading them this year. It was hard to pick my favorites but here are my top 5 picks for this year. These women are all amazing in different ways and I learned so much from their stories. My thoughts keep returning to these books again and again.

I actually went back and read all of Ruth Reichl’s books after reading Save Me the Plums. She is an amazing writer and includes recipes in all of her books.

  1. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg
  2. Miracles and Other Reasonable Things by Sarah Bessey
  3. Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
  4. Educated by Tara Westover
  5. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Fiction

I have not read very many mystery books in the past but I absolutely loved reading through the entire Inspector Gamache series. It was wonderful getting to know the characters more each book in a familiar setting. I also discovered Charlie Lovett and can’t wait to read his other books.

  1. All of the Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny
  2. The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
  3. The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett
  4. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
  5. The Gown by Jennifer Robson

Cookbooks

Cooking daily for a family of 10 requires renewed inspiration from time to time. These books encouraged me to try some new things and taught me how I could cook better.

  1. Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat
  2. The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook by Coco Morante
  3. Holiday and Celebration Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Bonus

My favorite Journal to keep track of all my reading (and other important notes) is my Leuchtturm1917 dot grid journal.

Here is a link to all of the books I read this year: http://mamakay.com/WordPress/2019-book-list/

I hope you have had a great reading year as well! I would love to hear what your favorite books were this year!

MamaKay

Filed Under: Books

Reflect on What I Learned This Fall ~ 2019

December 3, 2019 by mamakay 2 Comments

reflect on fall

I believe that taking time to reflect regularly on our lives is vital to good mental health. Emily P Freeman offers the opportunity to join her and others do just that every quarter. I am linking up with her once again to name what I learned this fall.

  1. Quiet is good but I get antsy if it is too quiet. I also am more overwhelmed by the noise levels when everyone comes home.
  2. I need more active steps in my life. Now that the weather has changed going for walks doesn’t work out so much for me and I have already become more sedentary. I made it a baby step goal to stop at the gym after dropping off my preschooler and do a mile on the treadmill at least 2 days a week. It takes less than 20 minutes so I still have time to do other things but at least I get some movement into my day.
  3. Some friends introduced me to Marco Polo and I love using it to keep in touch with my sisters. We had been texting but I just love getting to see their faces and their lives since we live so far apart.
  4. I need accountability! When I signed up for the Monetize Your Blog course I paid extra for a one month long accountability group. I made more progress in that month than in the 6+ months before that!
  5. Monday mornings at home are necessary for me to get my act together after the weekend. I use that time to regroup, do laundry, do dishes, meal plan and check in with our budget on YNAB. I also get a lot done on my blog work. Mondays are my most productive day of the week.
  6. I prefer going to the morning Ladies Bible study instead of the evening one. Driving in the dark has always been harder for me so the mornings work out much better. I can run a couple errands in town afterwards. Plus it is just much less stressful than adding one more thing into our busy Wednesday schedule.
  7. I’m not there yet and that’s okay. I always want to rush through the hard parts to get to the finished product but I’m an enneagram 9 and slow is a fact of life for me. I am working to be content plodding along. As I reflect on this, I just need to stay consistent and keep moving forward especially when it is taking longer than it is fun.

Do you take time to reflect regularly in your life? What have you learned this fall?

MamaKay

Past Link ups for What I Have Learned: http://mamakay.com/WordPress/category/whatilearned/

Filed Under: Blog, Fall, Seasonal Living, whatilearned Tagged With: reflect

Cyber Monday Deals

December 2, 2019 by mamakay Leave a Comment

Cyber Monday Deals

Now that the holiday weekend is over I find it is the best time to shop online with all of the amazing Cyber Monday deals. I hope this list helps you find great deals on what you are looking for. Everything on this page are things I have used and love.

Plan to Eat

My Favorite Meal Planning, Recipe Organizer and Shopping List making app is on sale!

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat

Ultimate Bundles

Self Care Bundle – On Sale for $11.97
Your Faith Mini Bundle – Only $7

Amazon Deals

We have tried both Echo Dots and Google Minis and for our family the Echo Dot works best (although it was a close call). The main reason we like it so much is because of the FreeTime content for the kids. We also love how easy it is to set limits on what content they have access too and how much time they use it for. We love using it for alarm clocks, timers, reminders, making announcements, music, reading books, and skills like Chompers for getting the kids to brush their teeth longer.

You know how I love my Instant Pot! And $65 is an amazing price! I use it for cooking ground beef, chicken, beef stew, whole heads of cauliflower, beans, yogurt and more!

This is a slightly different model than I have but I love my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I make cookies, whipped cream, pie crust and bread dough with mine. It is a powerhorse and this an awesome deal today:

I absolutely love my Kindle Paperwhite! It is so light and easy to take anywhere. I do like regular books but ebooks are so easy to get quickly for less money and you can have it with you always. Amazon is also offering a $5 ebook credit with the purchase of a Kindle on Cyber Monday only.

Now this isn’t the Fitbit I have – they don’t have mine anymore (but I would love this one). I love being able to track my sleep, my heart rate as well as my exercise. Our family has fun competing to see who can get the most steps. And this Cyber Monday deal for only $130 is wonderful!

Also look for our favorite Christmas books. Amazon is offering $5 off a $20 order of qualifying books and several of our books are on the list!

Blogging Help

If you are interested in becoming a blogger and looking for some extra guidance I highly recommend Crystal Paine. She has been blogging for 14 years and has a wonderful business. She is offering 50% off almost every course through Tuesday night!

I hope these offers will help you wade through all of the Cyber Monday Sales.

Happy Shopping!

MamaKay

Filed Under: saving money Tagged With: cyber monday

Our Favorite Christmas Books

December 1, 2019 by mamakay 1 Comment

books

All through the year our family tries to gather together after dinner to read together. We can’t manage it every night but we come back to it time and time again. There is something special about a shared experience reading a book together and it is so simple to make it happen.

Here is a list of our favorite Christmas books with links to Amazon in case you want to add them to your collection too. (I receive a small commission if you buy through my link. Thanks for your support!)

For our Advent readings our 2 favorite books are: 

Our favorite chapter books for reading aloud as a family are:

Our Favorite Picture Christmas Books:

These are wonderful for young children but you might be surprised how much you and your older children will enjoy these beautiful books.

And here is a link to here James Earl Jones read The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Tommey to you. It is the best! 

http://www.candlewick.com/Toomey/

I am not a crafty person but I sure love a good book to read as a family. What are your favorite Christmas books?

MamaKay

* This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links it costs you nothing and it helps to support this site.

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Filed Under: Advent, Blog, Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: advent, Books, Christmas

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So glad you stopped by. I am a Christian wife and mother of 8 in the middle years. My kids are aged 4 to 20 and just about every 2 years in between. I write about our life as a big family, what God is personally doing in my life, food and books.

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