First Five On Friday!

Happy long weekend Friday! I am linking up today with The Good Life Blog to go over my Five On Friday! Basically every Friday I give myself a free blogging pass to just ramble about 5 thing I'm loving or are on my mind!

1- My first one is the 3 Day Weekend. DUH! :) Really that is ALL that is on my mind right now! I have 3 free days to do whatever I want! Now that never happens. I hope to try out some new recipes to share, get in a few more miles running (I am almost to this weeks goal from Mondays post), hit up a few BBQs, read a lot and mostly RELAX! That has not been on my agenda for a while now so it is a must this weekend!

2- Red Grapes... seriously in love with these right now. This season they are so sweet and delicious. Not very exciting I know - but everyday I crave them and they consume my thoughts :) Go out and get yourself some!

3- Gluten free pancakes from Mothers Market. OMG people these are the best things ever. No really. Go out right now and get yourself some. I'll wait..... Ok are you back? Amazing right? I have been trying to perfect my recipe at home for gluten free pancakes but have not yet come close to the ones they make. I am however getting closer and closer to a realllllly good homemade pancake. So when that is perfected I will definitely share that recipe here!

4- I am loving this book right now. The Essential Guide to Healing by Randy Clark.  I am about midway and hope to get to the end this weekend. There are so many gems in this book I really should be taking notes!

5- This is probably my favorite thing this week... Or maybe it was the pancakes... or the grapes? Maybe Im just hungry? Not sure but anyways my #5 is running on the beach. This week I have been doing my work outs at various beaches in Dana Point & San Clemente. I am there every night as the sun sets and I cant even explain how spectacular the view is. The pictures dont even do it justice. It sure makes running much more entertaining :) The only downfall is having to (yes have to) stop every few minutes to get a new picture of the sun setting because it keeps getting better and better!!! So I hope you enjoy these pics from the week!

Doheny Beach

Strands Beach running the stairs

San Clemente

Go check out the other entries for Five On Friday at the Good Life Blog this week & have a safe holiday weekend people!

xoxo Katie

I Got My Mailbox Money!!

Happy Wednesday!!! Sooooo I had another post for today but when life intervenes I roll with it! I was so excited about my mailbox money I had to share and save the other post for later. 

Mailbox money is money that you get some how that you are totally not expecting. Sometimes it is a small amount and sometimes its a big amount! No matter the amount it is a complete surprise and always a blessing! 

This all started at my church... VCC Laguna Niguel... People started praying for money for various financial situations in their life. One lady started using the "envelope method" of saving for a car. She would take money from her check each week and put the cash in an envelope and seal it up and tuck it away. Weeks passed and she was curious about how much she had saved in her envelope. She had a rough estimate in her mind of how much because she put in approximately the same amount each week.. but still she wanted to see exactly where she was at. When she looked at the envelope she was blown away - her money had multiplied you guys! She counted again and again. She asked her husband if he had been secretly adding money as well... he hadn't... The Lord just blessed her and multiplied this money!

Well after this testimony was given at church one week the atmosphere was beginning to shift for people. Slowly but surely more and more people began having money appear! And when I say "appear" I mean appear in their bank accounts from unknown sources, flying into their driveways or onto their windshields while driving, appear in the form of refund checks, class action law suit settlements, back pay that they had been owed for a long time and so many other ways! People were given cars and some people just keep receiving cash on envelopes on their desks at work... anonymously showing up?!? 

I have a friend who had to get a new $1000 water heater for her house. She didn't have the money for it but didn't have a choice. She got the water heater and asked me to pray for her to get this "so-called mailbox money" that I kept talking about. About a week after we prayed she got an unexpected bonus from her work and it was the amount she needed for the water heater! Only a few people in the company got this bonus so it was a complete surprise to her. She is now on board with the mailbox money concept :) 

I recently bought a car. Then about 3 weeks ago I got a refund check in the mail for $40 from the dealership. They had charged me too much for re-ordering my title and sent me the refund. I thought OK $40 is nice but I don't know if it qualifies as mailbox money. Then yesterday I got a check in the mail for $150 unexpectedly. It was something having to do with my mortgage escrow account. I still don't really know why they sent me money (GOD!). But now after 2 checks received I am believing that I am in line for more and more mailbox money!

We have counted over $76,000 in mailbox  money received in JUST our church warehouse alone! Um thats a lot of money people! Some people are getting thousands of dollars at a time. The Lord is seriously wanting to bless us right now! Pray for your mailbox money and believe that it is coming. Pray for people you know to get their mail box money and watch as it all unfolds!! 

I would love for any of you who get mailbox money to share your stories with me! Testimonies build faith and cause the atmosphere to shift! Get ready for your blessings!!

Blog Lovin'

YAYYY You can now follow me on blog lovin'! Please take a minute to add me to the list of people you follow! I am already having so much fun here in Blog Land and I can't wait to meet more of you all!! It is so simple.. Just click the bloglovin' button to the right of this post and follow the directions. If you don't already subscribe to bloglovin' it is a great way to easily follow your favorite blogs! Do it!!

Weekly wishes & a secret about me.....

Happy Monday!!


So here is a little secret about me... I love making lists! (not as juicy as you had hoped for is it??). So when I saw the Weekly Wishes Linkup with Melyssa I knew I had to be a part of it! I had such a great weekend with family and close friends so I am going to try my best to make it another awesome week!!

So here are some of my goals for the week:

           1- Get in at least 12 miles of running between today and Sunday. In theory that should be pretty easy this week as my schedule isn't as busy as it has been (YAYYYY). Things always seem to creep up and get in the way of workouts though so I have to make it a priority and just do it! I also plan on doing so body weight training mixed in there (hopefully at least 3 days of this??). I will do a post on some of my favorite body weight exercises soon too!
       
           2- I want to try and write at least 4 blog posts this week. I am still getting into the groove of writing daily and fitting it in my schedule. I love writing though and am trying to do a better job of doing things I love! I hope to also get some extra posts written for a lazy rainy day when I can't get a blog post written. I also want to work on filling in parts of my blog that I still haven't gotten to.... like the "about me" section... Because I know you all are dying to know more :)

           3- This is a big one for me... This week I really want to find some people to inspire, encourage and uplift! It is SUCH an amazing feeling when you can bless someone else. I am not sure how this will look exactly this week, but God always makes an opportunity for us to show up and share his love... so I will spend my week being in the moment, actively paying attention to those around me and asking the Holy Spirit how I can help! Oh and you better believe I will report back to you on my stories that come from this! Pressures on now! ;)


What are your goals for this week??? How often do you make times to do things you love??

Go visit Melyssa at The Nectar Collective for more weekly wishes!

The Crazier The Better

Hey! Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here and I am more than ready!! I feel like life has been on fast forward lately and it just needs to SLOOWWWWW down a bit! I am always running here or doing this or cleaning that. And then I decide "hey maybe I should write a blog too?".. Yup that's how I roll. The crazier the better is the motto these days 'round here. Today I am going to share with you some of my strategies for managing the crazy and not losing my mind in the process!

1- Make a to-do list! I am a huge fan of lists. Even if the list is 3 items long, I write it down so that I don't forget that one extra thing I need at Target that will cause me to have to go back (like the light bulb for my front porch that has been out for a month). As soon as its in my head I jot it down - usually on my iPhone note pad- and viola! Its there for when i need it and clears up some brain space for some other things. My iPhone note pad is FULL of things I want to get done at some point... Like "kitchen gadgets I want one day".. or "things from Pinterest I want to make like almond cheese or coconut butter". I know you are just getting to know me but YES I am wild & crazy like that! :)

2- Prioritize your to-do list. whether its meeting up with friends, going to the gym, family time, cleaning the grout or shining your shoes (do people still do that?) you can make time for it all. Find the items that are most important and that make you the happiest and make sure to leave time for these. Otherwise you will have a life that is organized and neat but NOT happy. And nobody wants that. Sometimes we have to take a step back and look at what we fill our time with and ask ourselves "do we really WANT to be doing____?". If you don't know if that answer is YES! then take some time to think about what that activity brings to your life and if you want to keep doing it. Do you feel happier with this? Then go from there! I have felt so much more peace once I started looking at things in this light. I know that the things I spend my time doing now are things I love doing and want to be doing and it is great! Obviously no one loves cleaning their toilet but having a clean toilet is worth doing it in my opinion ;) Be protective of your time!

3- Multitask like its your job. This is one thing I am amazing at. If there were a multitasking Olympics Id be all over that. But anyways.. Multitask. Take a second to look at your to-do items and group them together. For example..."Items to take care of at home".... You may have sore muscles that you need to stretch, but need to update your iPhone, take a shower, bake a sweet potato and squeegee your carpet all in a small window of time. This is how I would tackle this..... drum roll please...... do them all AT ONCE (well sort of)!!! Shocking I know! :) I would turn on my oven to pre-heat, plug in my iPhone to update so it was running while I'm in the shower and therefore don't miss any calls anyways, hop out of the shower <get dressed>, throw my sweet potato in the oven, grab my squeegee and sit on my carpet, and in between stretches I would rake up a little pet hair off the carpet. And within an hour BAM all of your list is taken care of!

4- Let things go! Sometimes things just wont get done! And things wont always turn out perfectly. And you can't always please everyone no matter how hard you try. So letting things go is sometimes a must. I always put people first and then let the rest of the stuff sort itself out! Its hard for people like me to "let go" sometimes but if you are actively practicing it gets easier and easier!

5- PRAY! "You've got to pray just to make it today"- Ok am I dating myself there??? Anyways this is by far the most important item. Ask God each morning to give you abundant grace for the day. Ask him for wisdom on how to best tackle your day. Pray for help if you need it (thats ok!!). Hand over your anxieties, stresses and worries to God and he WILL step in! (more on this in future blogs!)


These tips can be applied to any life activity that you are looking to fit in. Errands, shopping, working out (get it in where it fits in!!), cooking, visiting with family & friends, relaxing!, work life and so much more. And an extra bonus is that with so much energy being spent you will probably sleep like a rock at night! I know I do!

I hope these little tidbits will help you to take a breath and know that there IS enough time for it all. And everything is going to be alright! Hope you all are having a fabulous week so far!!!

xoxo, Katie

Just The Beginning...

My first post! 

Hi blog world! I am so excited to start this blogging journey and I hope you all enjoy my crazy world. I have so much I want to share and I also hope to gather up some awesome blog friends along the way! I have wanted to start a blog for so long but kept waiting for “the right time”. Seeing the quote below made me realize that I just need to START! The rest will fall into place! I was so excited to start this adventure once I put my mind to it that I haven’t even finished setting up my page. So bare with me as I get all settled in! I will leave you with this quick hello for now but I will be back VERY SOON to dive in to the good stuff!

Have a great day!

xoxo 

Katie