Scrumptious Winter Goodies

Hi! Is everyone still hibernating like I am? I love that it's warming up a bit, but it's still cold and I still plan on a couple more months of hibernating. One of my favorite things to do during hibernation is read, and I love finding new books to get excited about. And when I do, I love to tell EVERYONE about them!

Since I've been a bit MIA from my blog, I have a ton of things to share today!

In the Bookworm department:

Curious Faith by Logan Wolfram from NetGalley.com, This book is exactly what I needed! Which, I'm sure if you're in a spiritual lull, you'll say the same thing.  Logan Wolfram refreshes your faith in a way that makes it feel natural, not forced. You walk away from this book with a sense of purpose, your faith is renewed, you have an inquisitive mind about the bible and God, and you dive into learning as much as possible just as you did when you learned it for the first time. This is a book that I will keep and read over and over, throughout the years when I need that extra bit of refreshing.

Now Your Speaking My Language by Gary Chapman from NetGalley.com,  Mr. Gary Chapman always says exactly what you need to hear in a way that rocks your core, and this book is no different! I believe that marriage doesn't get good, you have to work to make it good. And the biggest difficulty in marriage is communication. In this book, Gary Chapman teaches you what the bible says about husband and wife communication, and what a huge role intimacy between husband and wife plays in your marriage. I would suggest reading this to all married couples and even to some engaged couples. It never hurts to put forth effort in building a stronger marriage.

God is with You Everyday by Max Lucado from BookLookBlogger.com  Y'all, this little, or I should say thick devotional is amazing! Max Lucado is a personal favorite author of mine, so I may be a little biased when I say that this is the best devotional I've ever read! Messages are short, sweet, uplifting and perfect! I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a great devotional to keep in their collection for years to come.

101 Family Meal-Time Devotions by Greg Johnson from NetGalley.com,  I love a good conversation starter and this book is chalk full of them! But, not just any starter, these are family devotions! I love the fact that instead of everyone looking like a zombie in front of the tv screen, you can actually use dinner time to bond with your family over Christian devotionals. These devotionals don't have a correct answer, but rather encourages discussions amongst the family. The "What If" situations will provide even the shyest person a good prompt to speak up and enjoy the dinner table discussion! 



In the Doggie department:

                                              

Dr. Harvey's Sweet Potate'r Chews from Chewy.com  These treats are the best in the world according to sweet Ginny Patrice! She LOVES sweet potato anything, but these are big slices of dehydrated sweet potato, so they're quite chewy and leathery, taking her a while to gobble it up. It says on the package that they are the natural alternative to rawhides and other bone types, and I'd agree! I'd much rather give my doggie these than rawhides! I will be purchasing these again, or, at least, making my own.

In Beauty Products:

Winter wreaks havoc on my skin! My hands and cuticles become so dry and gross! Influenster was kind enough to send me a full sized bottle of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion to try.  They say it's for sensitive skin, clinically proven to heal very dry skin in 5 days, and is very rich. Honestly, it felt a bit watery to me. It didn't feel very rich at all. And it took a few minutes to absorb, which I don't care for. I also am trying to get away from all the chemicals in my beauty items, so I don't want petroleum type of products in my home. I'm sure it may work for some folks, but for me, this is a no go. 


*All items were given to me complimentary, but opinions are honestly how I felt about the materials.*

And that's it for now! What good books have you read this Winter? Comment below!

My word of the year is...

Hiya! I'm thrilled to get back to blogging and I have so much to share with y'all! First thing is first, actually, on the 11th of January, it's not the first thing, but you don't mind, do ya?

For the last 3 years, I've picked a word of the year. 2014 was "Relax", 2015 was "Simplify Everything" and this year's word is.... drum roll, please.....

Great word, right? Now, what overwhelmed me in previous years was how do I work on the word all year? A whole year seemed gigantic and hard to keep that word in mind.

So, this is what we're going to do. I brainstormed with the Mr., and we came up with 12 ways we need to work on "Thriving." We've chosen a subcategory to work on for each month, and ways to do that. 

Take this month- our subcategory is "Health".

  So this is how we're going to "Thrive" in health:

1. Clean up our diet.

2. Be ACTIVE!

3. Get rid of chemicals.

1. Is easy enough, get rid of the processed, junk, and try to get rid of as much sugar as we can. But, my sweet tooth needs it something fierce. I'm trying to find ways to substitute processed sugar for more natural sugar and recipes to trick that dang sweet tooth. If you have any recipes or ideas, comment below!

Salad so big it needs to be in a mixing bowl #greensfordays

A photo posted by @theartsycajun on Jan 7, 2016 at 4:24pm PST

2. We or I should say I, have a lot of things against me for being active all the time. Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia, limited space in the house, and I live in the Arctic 6 MONTHS out of the year! Disclaimer: it may not really be 6 months out of the year, but man, it's hard when you've never really had a true Winter in your life! SO, we will do our best to "Thrive" in Winter, and do exercises in the space we have, try to walk as much as possible, take advantage of the gym, force myself to do yoga more, even when my muscles are screaming at me, and just try to motivate each other more. 

3. I've been working on this for a couple of years now, slowly changing out our shampoos, body washes, face products and all that jazz, from chemical ridden to more natural ones. And I've recently found Thrive Market to be an online store with everything you can imagine, but discounted! Cha-Ching! 

My first Thrive Market order just came in! Ekk! I'm so excited to get rid of harsh cleaning chemicals and try Sal Suds AND to stop buying boxes after boxes of ziplocks and try the reusable ones. Try Thrive Market yourself, use this link- http://thrv.me/PvNZcH for 15% off! #livenaturally #healthyhome

A photo posted by @theartsycajun on Jan 6, 2016 at 2:26pm PST

Now, this is how it's going to work, at the end of the month, I'll do a little recap on how we've done in our subcategory goals, and introduce the next month's subcategory & goals! I hope you join in with us and if you do, remember to link back here! You can put your blog post link in the comments for others to find you. If there is enough interest, I will do a link up.

Remember to follow me on Instagram to keep up with us in between the blog posts.  

What's your word of the year or New Year's resolutions? Comment below! 

Be right back...

I pinky promise I will get back to regular posting soon, but I just had to share this song with you! I've always liked it, but this version just is so pure and beautiful. I hope you enjoy!