Kayla's Book Nook

Well today was a little tough. For some reason all day I craved something sweet. I was having a hard time not wanting sweets and desserts. I'm usually more of a chocolate person, but today all I could think about was brownies, cookies, etc. I really needed to stay strong, so I ate my brown rice, broccoli, and chicken sausage bowl, and then ate some fruit. Then, I had the kids help me make some really good healthy blueberry muffins. This was a new recipe that I found. It has no oil or sugar in it. It is sweetened with honey and greek yogurt. The recipe called for plain greek yogurt, but I only had vanilla yogurt so I used that instead. These muffins also use oats in them to give them texture and a hearty quality. They only have about 119 calories in them as well. Score!! I love blueberry muffins, but I know there's a lot of calories in them due to the sugar and oil that's normally in them. These were fantastic! I love anything with oats, and they're moist and flavorful!...

Well today has been super tough so far. Since Christmas our house has been a pretty big mess. There's new toys, boxes, old toys, books, etc. everywhere! Finally, today I had had enough and something had to give. I played scrabble jr. with the kids, which was awesome, had my shakeology shake, and then got to work. First, I tackled my son's room, because it's bigger and much easier to manage. I decided to take out some big things he doesn't really play with anymore and to put in the organizer bins that a friend of mine had given me recently. I have got to tell you that it was a ton of work, but so worth it! His rooms looks great, and he's got a ton of spots for adding toys in the future. Things are organized, cleaned, and put away. I even cleaned out his clothes to give to our friends that have a son a little bit younger than our son. Then, I decided to take on my daughter's room. This is the harder room, because she's still in the nursery until we finish...

Well, the kids wanted to go see the new Ferdinand movie, and I really wanted to take them to go see it. We wrangled my mom into going with us today. Now, my favorite part of going to a theatre is the popcorn, candy, and soda. Of course, if I am going to change things and stay on track then I can't eat any of those things. So, I just didn't! I got water instead of soda. I let my mom and the kids gobble down the popcorn and candy, and brought my own trail mix for myself. The only time I had difficulty was when we first got the popcorn. It just smells so good! I am so proud that I didn't partake in any of the goodies! My trailmix was delicious and filling. Of course it has its own sugars in it, but it's much better for me than all that other junk. Then, we decided to go get lunch at Friendly's, because even though it's a balmy 10 degrees out today, the kids wanted ice cream. This was potentially another problem. My favorite thing to get is the honey bbq sandwi...

Well, my first workout has been completed! I did the Move Your Body workout in the Youv2 program today. It was a little rough to start out. It's not that the workout is hard, its just wanting to stick with it. I hate that I am usually counting down the minutes until I'm done. Normally, about 2-3 weeks in I stop doing that and just enjoy the workouts. Even though I didn't love it, it was still a good workout! I burned 442 calories in 30 minutes! It added 2802 steps to my daily count as well. Another good part of today was trying a good low carb new recipe. I made tunacakes with fresh aioli sauce and salad for lunch. This recipe used tuna, jalapenos, cilantro, and lemon juice. It was a very yummy tunacake. I also made the suggested aioli sauce to go with it. That was deliciously spicy on top as well. I topped it all off with a chopped salad and cucumbers. It was delicious and different! My husband even enjoyed the tunacakes today. My kinds, um not so much. Oh well, I can...

Good morning everyone! Now, normally I write about books, movies, or tv shows, but I'm going to be adding some posts about a personal journey that I am going to embark upon today. For the past, oh I don't know, like 10 years I have been unhappy with my weight. Each year it seems I add about 10-15 pounds to my weight and even though I try to change things nothing much ever changes weight wise for me. I am finally done with all the yo-yoing and starting and stopping. I can't tell you how many times I've given up soda, sweets, etc. But today marks the day that I finally start my healthy lifestyle. I don't want to think of it as giving things up. I want to think of it as getting healthy and gaining more muscle, stamina, and a better body. First things first, I am going to get back into working out. I love the BeachBody system of online workouts and programs. I started this program last year in January and in the past year I have worked out more than any other yea...

Pitch Perfect 3 is hilarious, fun, and uplifting for women and girls. Pitch Perfect 3 was released in theaters this week. Pitch Perfect lovers everywhere will be flocking to theaters to stuff their faces with popcorn and candy and laugh their asses off at Fat Amy’s crazy shenanigans. A couple of friends and I decided to catch the 7 p.m. showing at our local theater last night. It was a great way to let off some steam thanks to the stress of students before a holiday break and preparing for Christmas at home. First of all, I absolutely love the first and second Pitch Perfect movies. They have the right combination of singing, dancing, hilarity, and love for me. When I saw the previews for this movie I was not sure how this would be honestly. I thought it looked a little crazy. I also loved how the last one ended, and wondered if they would ruin it by making another movie. Even so, I loved the first two and wanted to see this movie in theaters. This one also features some n...

Genre: Fantasy/Fiction Publication Date: 2009 Synopsis: The first novel in series, Fallen, follows the main character, Luce. Luce has recently fallen into some trouble. At her last school she accidentally started a fire and a boy died in it. Luce was blamed and in order to keep her from juvie, her family sends her to a reformatory school. Luce arrives at the school and is immediately drawn to another student, Daniel. Although, Daniel does not seem to feel the same about Luce. She is pulled into a relationship with another student, Cal, even though her mind never strays for from Daniel. Luce digs deeper and deeper into the quirkiness of the student body and especially Daniel. What she discovers from her digging will change her life forever. She has literally fallen. Review: I enjoyed reading this entire series. I think that the books seem a little drawn out and longer than necessary. It took almost the entire first novel to reveal the truth behind the characters. Each book do...

Ever since my son and I went to Disney in November this year, he has been obsessed with seeing the new Coco movie. It was everywhere in Disney even though it hadn’t been released to theaters yet. Therefore, when the movie was released over Thanksgiving break, we decided to take my 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter to go see it. First I’d like to say that I know very little about the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. I’ve read things here and there, and I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the Spanish teacher down the hall, but there ends my knowledge of the day. So, I went into the movie with very little background knowledge. First, the movie itself was beautiful. The characters, colors, songs, etc. are so rich, colorful, and full of life. It was just so pleasing to watch. Miguel is a very cute and interesting main character. He’s pulled between following his dream of music, which his family hates, and following his family’s business footprints o...

Genre: Realistic Fiction Publication Date: 2015 Synopsis: Madeline is a bubble-girl. She is basically allergic to everything in the outside world. Her mother is a very well-known doctor and has created a very safe, and allergen free house. Madeline spends her days completing schoolwork, chatting with her nurse, and doing various mother-daughter activities. Madeline has never been outside and she has never questioned her condition. One day an interesting boy and his family move in next door. They begin to communicate via computer and become fast friends. Madeline isn't sure how to tell him about her condition which makes it virtually impossible for them to meet. She quickly becomes obsessed and the story progresses from there. Review: I had heard good things about this book so I decided to buy it. I was really not impressed. It was easy to see right through the mother and this whole bubble situation that she had set up for her daughter. The daughter's own reluctance to ...

Genre: Fiction Publication Date: 2001 Synopsis: Morgan Rowlands believes she is a normal and very ordinary 16-year-old girl. She joins a Wiccan group with her friends and immediately falls for the gorgeous coven leader, Cal. Cal pushes her to discover herself and in the process she actually finds out that she is a blood witch. This discovery makes Morgan reel and she discovers that her powers are strong, and her friends might not be all that they seem. Over the course of the five books, Morgan discovers herself, her Wiccan roots, her family, and her path in life. The books follow Morgan's and other characters' lives and journeys throughout many years. Review: I've had this set of books sitting on my bookshelves for a few years now. I wanted to get into an easy series to read, but something that was interesting and kept you reading. I believe that the first three books are wonderful and I really enjoyed them. By the fourth and fifth books it seemed less organic in...