One change that's helped my energy levels, what every mom should own, and a protein sweet treat
the weekly report 06.19.26
What is the Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T? I wanted to create a fun weekly format to share food, reads, hobbies, items, shows and more that I’m currently loving or making my life easier. I see “Efficient Kitchen” embodying the whole home as well as the people in it. I also want to hear from YOU. What are you enjoying? Comment on the post anything you’re loving in a R.E.P.O.R.T category.
I recently finished the first book of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson and I almost shelved it under “did not finish”. The series had been recommended to me by so many trusted friends, and I just did not see the appeal in it… until the last quarter of the book. Now that I’m almost finished with the second book, I get it.
The first half of the first book feels silly and trivial, but I think it’s to draw young readers in. World building in fantasy books is such an art to do it in a way that feels natural. I really disliked how the world building took place in footnotes instead of weaving it into the story more naturally. Because it fell flat and felt so silly with the language and names, I kept putting the book down and thinking “friends I trusted you!!”
However.
Everything changed in the last quarter of the book. I see how this book series is about something so much deeper and is akin to Lewis or Tolkien (obviously cannot compare anyone to them, but ya know what I mean). The second book opens with a bang and feels so much more mature. I cried finishing the second book because it is so beautifully written. I was truly surprised that my son was listening to it as well in the car and started asking me so many questions about it. Andrew Peterson particularly appeals to boys need for adventure and sense of purpose and being called to more in literature.
I can’t wait for my Libby hold to be up for the third book so that I can dive in. I think this is a series that you have to commit to all four books or don’t read it at all. I’ll give my full review when I’m done with all four books in the series.
I posted this chocolate mug cake on my IG stories this week, and it’s been such a tasty treat when I had a craving but didn’t want something overly sugary. I’ve recently increased my daily protein intake, and it’s made such a massive difference in my energy levels. I have to do a lot to keep my hypothyroidism in check, and I’m making some provider recommended changes to just tweak my numbers slightly. I started making my protein pancake and serving it with two AmyLu chicken breakfast sausages for 48g of protein for breakfast. I’m truly not hungry until almost 1pm, which is good because mom always eats last. Equip is having BOGO 40% off with my code JORDANEK. Get the chocolate churro before it’s gone and thank me later.
I also prepped my Chinese chicken salad for lunch this week, which is one of my favorite salads to prep for lunch. It’s so refreshing for hot summer days.
If you remember in a previous Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T., I purchased some picture book needlepoint charts off Etsy. I totally cheated with both charts and just traced them (my LNS already gave me some looks). It has actually been super easy to stitch them because cartoon drawings aren’t overly complicated. I wouldn’t recommend doing that for your first chart, but if you already know how to needlepoint, it’s a nice way to save some money on and sanity on canvases. (If you’ve ever tried painting a complicated canvas, you know why they cost so much!)
Anyway, I’ve made a lot of progress on Angelina Ballerina. She was a favorite series in our house. I will probably end up stitching another one of her so both girls can have one. I got some fancy thread to add to the tutu, so we’ll see if I can pull it off!
P.S. If you have any girls under the age of 6 in your house, the Angelina Ballerina is a wonderful picture book series to read! Amazon has many of them, but there are so many more that are out of print, which is unfortunate, but you can find them second hand easily. Yoto now has a card as well and we had the Angelina Tonie.
I recently bought some of the Koala Eco kitchen cleaner, and I cannot get over how good it smells in my kitchen. I am mainly using it on my kitchen table and appliances, but my kitchen smells so fresh after cleaning. I missed having a “smell” that indicated clean (that’s something our brains are trained to!) and I love the light citrus smell of this one. If you are like me and switched to non toxic products but miss scents, definitely check it out.
In my opinion, one of the best things that you can do for summer is get a swim suit that you feel comfortable in so that you can cannon ball into the deep end and play with your kids. My children instantly start playing and laughing more if my husband or I jump in with them, and they get particularly excited if I get my hair wet and swim under water. (I loathe the full everything shower because I’m spent but I gotta do it more in the summer) I’ve rounded up all my wrangling kid friendly suits that I love across many brands and price points here.
I started working on a strawberry basil ice cream recipe with fresh basil from our garden. The entire family loved it and begged me to make more. It still needs a few tweaks so that the strawberry really packs a punch, but I can’t wait to share it with you all! It’s the final boss in my Neapolitan combo that I want to make!
As always, you can find my vanilla recipe here and my chocolate recipe here.
Let me know any of your recommendations below! I would love to hear them.
*This post may contain affiliate links at no extra charge to you. All opinions are my own.