Hi, friend! Happy March! It’s going to be a full month for us, with a lot of stuff on the agenda, and it kicks off this weekend.

I hope your month is off to a great start so far! What’s new?

This week was pretty ordinary around here. I taught my usual classes, I subbed an extra barbell class, I took Brady to swimming and to tennis, I played tennis twice, and I worked. (And I made this little video about life lately.)

This weekend, I’ve got a girls’ night, a neighborhood 5K (I haven’t run in many months, and I don’t even own any running shoes, so wish me luck), and I’m taking Brady to a birthday party.

We do a lot of parties these days, if you haven’t noticed. Here we are before one last weekend …

(Here are my shoes, and here’s my sweater, and I’m in a medium.)

Let’s get to the faves of the day …

Current faves

Activities

Working through My Rainbow Journal with Brady

About a month ago, I received the cutest delivery in the mail from a long-time blog reader, Julie. Julie creates journals for kids (and for parents to do with kids) through her company called My Rainbow Journal.

Julie sent a journal to Brady and me, and we’re loving it.

Not only is our journal super cute (it has ice cream cones on the cover in fun colors, so Brady was instantly intrigued), but it’s also an incredible tool for talking about important life topics like gratefulness, positivity, dreams, joy and more.

Because Brady is only 5-years-old and can’t quite read or write yet, I asked him the questions/prompts in the journal, and I wrote his answers down for him.

There are places where he can draw and add stickers (as he completes activities), and as time goes on, hopefully he’ll be able to write more and more for himself. I truly enjoyed going through the first couple sections with him and finding out his answers and what was on his mind. We talked about what makes him happy, what brings joy to his morning routine, what he’s grateful for and what his strengths are too.

While I know my child very well, it was special to hear him think/share on-the-fly with me, and I enjoyed it. I wrote down his answers, and a day later, I overhead Brady sharing his answers with Dave too, because he was excited about them. Love that so much!

I’m very much a communicator, and it’s important for me to teach Brady how to communicate his feelings properly. While I’ve been doing it in my own way, I feel like My Rainbow Journal is an extra tangible activity I can bring into our lives to create even more of an open discussion and give Brady a safe space to share, grow and learn. (And it makes me think I should be journaling in my own life too.)

To give you an idea of the content in the journal: Yes, it’s totally designed for kids, and the questions and prompts are descriptive and well written, and there are plenty of blank pages for free-form writing.

Below are the sections by topic, and within each section are prompts designed to get your child thinking positively, as well as teaching them how to treat themselves and others kindly:

• I am happy
• I am grateful
• I am healthy and strong
• I feel loved and I belong
• I believe in myself
• I dream big

My Rainbow Journal not only sells these cute journals, but they also sell notebooks and vinyl stickers too. The prices are incredibly reasonable, and if you want to save even more, you can order an “almost perfect” journal with some misprints for a savings.

I would say these journals would work great for a kid anywhere who is 5-years-old (with parental help), all the way up to maybe 12 or 13 (as a solo activity).

Here’s a little bit more about the journals directly from the My Rainbow Journal website:

Our guided journals inspire kids to develop a positive growth mindset while discovering the joy of journaling. They are designed to spark conversation and help children work through tough emotions. Each journal includes 6 different sections with discussion, illustrations, and prompts to provide some direction for self-reflection and to guide your child’s writing. 

Each journal comes with a sticker pack including 3 sticker sheets. The stickers are integrated into the content of the journal to increase the fun factor and make writing an activity your kid will come back to again and again!

If you want to support a small mom-owned business with an incredible mission to spread more positivity and help our kids improve their mindset and work through their emotions, consider sharing about My Rainbow Journal and ordering one for someone in your life. 

Use my code ALGW15 for 15 percent off your entire My Rainbow Journal order. This code is only good for one month from today, so head on over to the site and get to shopping.

Thank you to Julie for sharing this amazing resource with Brady and me. We love it and can’t wait for our next journaling session together. Find My Rainbow Journal here.

And now for the next couple of faves …

Food

A couple of recent food finds I’ve been enjoying

Kettle & Fire bone broth. This delicious bone broth is a bit of a splurge, so I love when I find it on sale, which isn’t often. It’s creamy, it’s full of super-beneficial nutrients like collagen and protein, and this particular flavor, Spicy Cauliflower, has a little bit of a kick too.

I often eat/sip a warm bowl of this paired with sushi. I know it’s a strange combination, but I’ve always liked to have hot with cold. I buy this at Sprouts and at Whole Foods, and I have it once a week. If you’re in the mood for a nourishing warm bowl of goodness, give this brand of bone broth a try.

Kodiak Cakes muffin mix. I’ve been buying the Kodiak Cakes brand frozen waffles for Brady for quite some time, and I’ve always enjoyed the Kodiak Cakes oatmeal packets for me as well. Several months ago, I got this box of Kodiak Cakes pancake/muffin protein mix from my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and I had been meaning to make it. Brady and I finally made them last week.

All we had to do was add eggs and oil, and Brady liked helping me mix it up in the bowl and put the batter in the muffin-pan holes. The muffins made our house smell fantastic, and we both ate them up over the next few days. You all know I always take the easy route and buy pre-made stuff, and while this mix is pre-made, I enjoyed making something from it. I’ll definitely buy it again.

Workouts

My workouts from last week

Every week, I like to share a recap of my previous week of workouts. I share this to show you how I try to get diversity of movement in my week, and how I always take a rest day (almost always). But remember, I do a little bit more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor. You absolutely don’t need to compare your movement to mine.

Workouts from the week of 2/20

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights, 9:30 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Did 55-minute full-body solo weights workout, 9:30 a.m., taught 45-minute barre class with light weights, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class, 10:30 a.m., took 60-minute tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day (took 45-minute neighborhood walk, 11 a.m.)

This past week was a good one. I taught my regular five classes, I did a solo weights workout, I played tennis three times, and I took a real rest day with nothing but a walk. Slow and steady, I’m keeping up my solo workout, and I’m proud of that.

Best listen of the week

Here’s a podcast that I thought was interesting and worth talking about …

All about love. While Stassi Schroeder’s “Straight Up With Stassi” podcast is usually very silly and about surface-level things (and I don’t listen that often), this particular episode with former-monk and big-time best-selling author, Jay Shetty, pulled me in, and it is so good. It’s about love — both romantic love and platonic love — and in it, there are some great tips about being in a relationship. I listened to this during a solo weights workout last week and really enjoyed it. I love Jay Shetty’s calming voice, and I may have to read his new book, “8 Rules of Love,” as well as listen to his podcast, because he just makes you feel good with how he talks and what he talks about.

Quote of the week

Here’s an amazing thought from Dolly Parton via the Calm app, which I pulled from the archives, and I still love to revisit …

Blog archives of the week

Let’s look back at a couple posts …

Small habit changes. Here are a few things I’m focused on this year in the health and fitness category … “Three small changes I’m making in my health and fitness this year.”

Advice. I haven’t written one of these posts in a while, and I think I’m due for one … “Ask-me-anything A Lady Goes West Advice Corner: fourth edition.”

Thanks for coming by the blog to read my words today, friend! Be well!

Please leave a comment, send me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook, or email me at ashley-at-aladygoeswest.com if you have any post requests/feedback/comments or questions. 

Questions of the day for YOU

How was your week?

Do you listen to podcasts? And if so, what’s your favorite right now?

Do you write in a journal?