As a child, I visited Kings Island in Mason, Ohio every summer. It was a trip I looked forward to all year and one I was eager to integrate into my family’s summer itinerary. Last week, we decided to celebrate the end of a perfect summer vacation with a trip to Kings Island.
There was just something about the atmosphere–the smells, the sounds, the thrills, that took me back to childhood the moment I passed through the turnstiles and entered this Neverland.
Most of our time was spent at the Soak City water park, but we also made time for a couple of hours at the Planet Snoopy area as well as some of the mild roller coasters in the larger park. If you are still planning summer adventures for this year and you live in the Midwest, Kings Island is one of the nation’s leading amusement parks and is worth the money and drive. The park includes areas and rides for thrill seekers of all ages:
This is the inaugural month for my newest bullet journal, my second volume for 2021. I was given my new journal as a gift for my birthday. It was purchased from Shop Amanda Rach Lee, one of my favorite bullet journalists on YouTube. These notebooks released in June and I am so excited that I got one! The paper is thick and so far none of my tools have bled through the pages. I love the doodles on the cover as well as the charm on the bookmarks to match the cover theme. I highly recommend this Doodle Notebook.
On one of the first pages of the notebook I did a doodle to see how my markers, pens, and pencils hold up on the paper. The illustration is nothing special, but I wanted to share it with you anyway so you can see the paper quality:
Now onto my August pages…
Cover Page: Olympic/Simone Biles theme
This month’s theme is inspired by the recent events surrounding Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics. I used a new fountain pen on the title which you can see leaked a little on the page (on the red ring). I am trying to work on my use and understanding of fountain pens, but somethings you can’t control when using them which is why I’ve never been too keen.
August Calendar Page
The dates are illustrated using rings similar to the Olympic rings and I found a photo online of Simone and printed it using my Sprocket. My goals this month are mindfulness, hydration, and exercise all of which are things inspired by Simone Biles.
Fitness Tracker
To track my fitness this month I decided on a minimalist horizontal theme. The rings on the headings were doodled in Olympic ring color order.
Mindfulness Tracker
Since Simone Biles inspired me to be more mindful and focused on mental health I created a page to track daily mindfulness activities or reflections.
Weekly Spread
My first weekly spread incorporates a quote from Simone Biles and continues to use the red and blue stars and lettering. This type of weekly spread is heavily inspired by The Plant Based Bride.
The supplies that I used this month in creating these spreads were Crayola Super Tip (red), Papermate Flairs (navy, gold, green, black, and red), a blue fountain pen (purchased at Five Below), and Google Images of famous quotes by SIMONE BILES.
I couldn’t end this post without a quick word on Simone Biles. As a mother of a young gymnast, Simone has continued to be a positive role model for my daughter. Simone is a strong woman who recognizes that mental health is more important than winning. In her act of stepping down from the Tokyo Olympics this week Simone showed the world that she is worth more than a collection of gold medals. She is a hero–one that deserves time and space to take care of herself.
Let me know what you think about my bullet journal pages as well as my tribute to the GOAT!
Today I am joining the positive writing community over at Five Minute Friday for their weekly link-up. Each week we gather to write on a common theme. This week our theme is Drive.
*This post does contain an affiliate link which means if you make a purchase using my link I may receive compensation.
I am not a big water drinker.
One thing that holds me back when I am trying to get in shape is my lack of water consumption. It isn’t that I dislike water, rather it is the volume of water that my body needs to replenish after a workout that I struggle to get down. A sip here and there and a glass with a meal, but beyond that–I am pretty terrible at water consumption.
While I was in England last month I really felt the effects of dehydration which is why I decided when I got home I would DO BETTER. I ordered a HydroJug online and began to make it a daily goal to finish the amount in the jug.
I can’t say that I hit my goal immediately–it was a BIG difference in volume to what I had been drinking. However, I was driven to make strides and I am now able to finish my recommended amount of water daily thanks to the HydroJug.
2. With the sleeve, it is easier to carry and as the day goes on it gets lighter
3. It is easy to clean
4. The mouth is wide if you want to drink from it OR you can use their bendy straw that fits nicely into the wide mouth and tucks in under the lid
5. HydroJugs come in cute colors and the sleeve designs are adorable as well
So much of our health relies on proper hydration which is why it is important that we all make a conscious effort to drink more water. As a teacher it is easy for me to forget to take care of myself during the school day, but as I look toward the school year on the horizon I am excited to bring my HydroJug along with me each day to help refuel.
It’s the dog days of summer so make sure you are hydrating! Stay driven!
This week I took it easy and did Beachbody PiYo every couple of days. Because of the jetlag I was off balance and exhausted so I didn’t do as much as I have in prior weeks. I will be jumping back into the routine this week and restarting at Week 4. Here is a look at the plan:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
15 minutes cardio + Sweat
Core
Buns
15 minutes cardio + Drench
Rest
Strength Intervals
Sweat
In addition to working out I am trying to drink more water. I have purchased a HydroJug to help me track my water intake and to make sure I am doing better. Naturally, I am not someone who drinks water regularly so my hope is that I get serious on this health journey and my HydroJug is a tool to help me reach my hydration goals. I will post more about my HydroJug and progress in the future!
This morning I am joining writers from all over the globe in the Five Minute Friday link-up. Every week bloggers and social media writers gather to share a post on a common theme. This week our prompt is: Order.
If you have been following my family and I you know that we spent a month in England. Last Friday we made it home and we have spent the week resettling into our American lives. Jet lag hit us pretty hard. Those first few days we woke up with the sun at 4:45am, but then crashed by 5pm or 6pm. Each day we tried to sleep a little later and stay up a little longer to help get us regulated.
The one thing we did on Monday that helped bring order to our lives was a deep clean of our home. We needed to reconnect with our house and so we lifted the month’s worth of dust, cat hair, mess from the surfaces of the home and worked on bringing the house back to life.
Things that we take for granted while here are things we missed while away. I missed sitting in my writing spot looking out into the morning and the sunshine. I missed the way my cat rubs up against me as I write just to let me know that he’s there. I missed my slow cup of coffee in the morning.
Life in England was amazing. We always do so much and pack a year worth of memories into one month and it is such a blessing. Check out my recent posts about the trip and see that while we were gone we didn’t long for home–we were too busy and surrounded by loved ones for that. But once we arrived home I noticed how much I missed my routines.
Life is starting to fall back in place. There is an order to the home and our schedule is beginning to feel like normal. We are sleeping a normal 8 hour stretch and eating at times acceptable to society. Jet lag shook up the order in our lives a bit, but it seems that it has finally worn off.
After the most embarrassing event of her life becomes a viral video and the death of her reputation, Ellie Nichols puts an ocean between herself and her school in DC by enrolling in a prestigious study abroad program in ENGLAND. Throwing herself into her studies at Emberton Manor helps Ellie to forget about the humiliating party where she threw herself at her crush only to find out that he was into her friend. Instead of parties and dating, the students of Emberton are focused on scholarships and early admissions to Ivy League colleges. It’s the perfect place for Ellie to spend half of her senior year–far from the American boy who broke her heart and the classmates who shattered her self esteem.
Academics were never Ellie’s passion though. She would rather be crafting her fairy gardens, watching British sitcoms with her mom, or wearing unicorn tees, but those are parts of herself that she knows can never be shared with anyone else.
One weekend, Ellie and some of her new friends from the program venture off the campus to visit an English market. While there, Ellie meets an older local boy and the two click immediately. His charm and sophistication make Ellie forget all about the boys back home and she finds herself forgetting about her academic studies and instead worried about becoming the perfect girl for her hot British boyfriend, Will.
Together, Ellie and Will take in the sights of England and they begin to fall in love. The problem is that Ellie hasn’t been honest with Will about many facets of herself. Guarded by her experience in America, Ellie decides to reinvent herself with Will. She enlists the help of one of her newest friends, Dev, to teach her about things like cricket to help win over Will.
Throughout her semester in England, Ellie dates Will, makes new friends, travels to Italy, improves her GPA, escapes the viral video, and secretly helps a groundskeeper implement some of her fairy gardening skills. She learns about herself in ways she never would have back home and the time away begins to heal the wounds inflicted by the classmates who hurt her most. Everything seems to be going well, until Ellie is caught up in Will so much that she forgets who she truly is.
This teen romance book is a special one to me. Not only is it about a young British romance, but it is also written by a woman that I have met and follow on social media. Kristy Boyce is a member of the same SCBWI as I am in Columbus, Ohio. I remember going to a meeting where she shared that she was going to get published. I remember hearing her “elevator pitch” and the story of how this book began as a contest entry. This book to me symbolized the fact that anything is possible for those who pursue their dreams. I followed Kristy’s journey and her social media has chronicled the process of her debut novel. Hot British Boyfriend was also well-written and engaging. Being married to an Englishman there are parts that I could really envision and that were even true to early parts of my relationship with my husband (sans all the lies and deceit.) This is a quick, light read and one that I enjoyed while on trains and planes traveling in England this summer. I highly recommend Hot British Boyfriend to any lovers of YA or YA Romance. It was so nice to take a rest from all the literature assigned through my masters program to enjoy a light-hearted, fun, nostalgic read like this one.
Check out my Goodreads account if you want to see what’s up next in my reading.
It was hard to say goodbye to our English family. To my squishy nephew. To afternoon tea. To comfortable weather. To streetside cafes. To Americano black from Costa. To endless Covid tests and Track and Trace calls–okay, maybe that last part is a lie. Nonetheless, to journey home always means many heartbreaking goodbyes.
We arrived back in Ohio on Thursday night after eighteen hours of travel.
The airports and flights were not crowded so the time we spent in terminals and on air crafts looked much different than our past experiences. If you are healthy and vaccinated now is the time to travel! On both of our international flights this summer we had entire rows on the plane to ourselves. Traveling economy class is a lot more enjoyable with the ability to spread out and relax.
Adjusting back to Eastern Standard Time back home has been difficult on all of us. We have been up with the sun at 4:30am and off to bed by 9pm at the latest. Coming home is always so much harder than our initial adjustments in England. All four of us are still experiencing jet lag, but will hopefully be fully charged in the next couple of days.
I have missed my friends, routines, coffee spots, and protein shakes. If you are looking for me this week I will likely be enjoying those things…or napping.
A cafe on the high street of Eastleigh with my husband’s aunties
Cafe breakfasts with Squishy
Getting her energy out at Logan International Airport (Boston)
I’m a little late this week, but I’m tagging in for this week’s Five Minute Friday link-up. Every week writers from all over the globe gather to write on a common theme. This week our prompt is Summer.
British summers are very different to back home in Ohio.
The temperatures are cool and the air is damp. Winds here are constant and each day we are teased by the chance of a shower or two. Most days I grab a cardigan or hat before heading out. I would compare a British summer to April/May in Ohio.
Don’t misunderstand–there are warmer days. There have been a couple of sunblock-worthy days here, but they are not consistent. Also, it’s no use planning your days according to the reports from local weathermen. No one has a clue how to predict rain on an island surrounded by sea. As my daughter would say, “You just go for it and hope for the best!”
We are headed to New Forest today, to the quaint British town of Lyndhurst. This is one of my favorite spots for a Cream Tea and so rain or shine, we will be venturing out to the horse meadows of the village and the cobbled streets of the town. I wouldn’t have to pack on the layers of warmer clothes back home, but while in England–best to be prepared.
Because of Covid, my daughters had not met their 18 month-old English cousin yet. One of the highlights of this trip to England is giving them plenty of opportunities to make memories together. They are so in love–you can see it in the way they play together and smile. Here are some of the precious moments they have shared together so far this trip:
Cuddles on Grandad’s couch
Indoor tea party while we were still in quarantine
Chasing pigeons at the Winchester Cathedral
Getting loved on by sheep at Manor Farm
Stealing kisses and making each other giggle
Checking out the cows
Running away from the rain in the Itchen Valley woods
On his throne where he belongs
Only a few more years and they will be driving each other around
Up to no good in the woods
Working out on the cricket pitch in Royal Victoria Country Park
(This is a non affiliate post and based solely on my personal experience using the Beachbody PiYo program developed by Chalene Johnson. Results may vary.)
Things stepped up this week in my PiYo program. I started a few new workouts that were brand new to me and pushed me to new limits. I really noticed changes in my strength, flexibility and the way clothes fit especially in my core and thighs.
I’m still in England and trying to fit workouts around our very busy schedule during the trip. I missed ONE day of PiYo this week and am proud of that accomplishment. Each day has been packed full and so even on the day I missed I logged 18,000 steps. The pedestrian lifestyle of England is really enhancing my workouts which is great because I’m not able to perfect the PiYo diet while abroad (although I am really trying!)
I started this program with very little flexibility. I was a distance runner in my younger days which is horrible for flexibility training. It takes me a little longer to work up to some of the poses because of that, but this week I was able to do more and see some payoff because of my consistency. Part of the appeal of PiYo for me is the low impact movements and the ability to customize poses based on your needs. Earlier in the program I was more apt to modify the poses, but I can complete and entire regiment without modifications now which proves that things are going well.
Here’s a look at a flexibility feat from this week:
In this pose, the leg on the floor should be slightly bent to allow for a crouching push up when I fold at the hips.
Some observations from Week 4:
-Some of the poses that were originally really difficult are easier than before.
-I am getting better at holding tension poses for longer and keeping my feet flexed whenever my legs are in the air.
-I did a set of 10 regular push-ups for the first time EVER!
-Downward Dog can be a resting pose.
-I need to honor my RIGHT NOW and not worry so much about missing a workout…and then GO HARD on the days when I’m able to work out.
You can check out posts from previous weeks below:
This week things continue to step-up and poses and tension get more intense. I’ve previewed the days that lie ahead and I anticipate some sore buns and legs coupled with sculpted muscles and core. I can’t wait to continue to share my progress with you!
The Ameri Brit Mom 