Mandie Lovan

102° today 😰 Sunday Funday quarantine day... still don’t know?? #SendMargaritas

Best buds for life! 🐶❤️

When all else fails... just go make memories. We officially canceled our wedding today because of Covid-19. I cried. We drank beer. And J’s boss gave us the keys to the company condo on the lake and told us to take the weekend on him. Thankful we have people who love us dearly in our lives. This too shall pass. ✌️❤️ #WeWillGetMarriedEventually

Thank you to my riders and friends who have been riding with me the last few weeks and checking in on me. . The last two weeks, I’ve felt inadequate, unprepared & unequipped MULTIPLE times. Last week I cried about something very dear to my heart, and so many of you reached out. I can’t even express my gratitude. . Thank you, doesn’t seem like enough, but it’s all I got. ❤️ I can’t wait to get sweaty on bikes in a dark room with you. I miss your smiles and high fives. I miss your hugs and stories. . Stay strong. Stay safe. ✌️❤️

J requested a chocolate cake. Now I have to hide it from myself because 🤤👌 . CAKE 2 cups all purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 cup cocoa powder 2 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup brewed coffee 2/3 cup oil 3 eggs (room temp) 1 tbsp vanilla extract GANACHE 2 1/4 cups (semi sweet or dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate) 1 cup heavy cream . 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly dust two cake pans with cocoa powder. Set aside. 2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. 3. In separate bowl, add wet ingredients then add to dry ingredients and whisk until well combined and smooth. 4. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 5. Allow layers to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to cooling rack and cool to room temperature. . MAKE THE GANACHE: 1. Heat the cream, being careful not to scorch it. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and mix till smooth. 2. Allow to cool till it is a spreadable consistency. ASSEMBLE THE CAKE IN LAYERS THEN PREPARE TO DEVOUR IT! I also made some whip cream, because I’m extra lol

Sunday’s are for snuggles & naps!✌️❤️🐶

Remember why you started this journey... . You need to give more to yourself than you give to others. . This was a hard lesson for me to learn. Achieving + helping has always been my goal. . But here’s the kicker — someone else success isn’t what matters. They will always want more and leave you lying there mentally exhausted and drained of your own energy and creativity. . The only way to be truly satisfied as a human is to find inner peace within YOURSELF and in order to do that you need to GIVE to YOU more than you give to others without caring how they feel about you doing so. . The good ones will support this act of kindness you’re giving to yourself; the bad ones will get upset about it-Greed. Let the good carry you through. ✌️❤️

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about calling this quarantine loaf. There’s a bad joke about when life hands you lemons, make a lemon loaf in there! Ok, ok but in all seriousness @kingarthurflour inspired lemon honey cake is SO good, I could have eaten the whole dang thing!

Rex is missing his play buddies and doesn’t quite understand what quarantine is or why mama is home 24/7.

Happy “should be” Birthday to the best guardian angel. . These last few weeks have challenged my mental health in ways I never could have imagined. Seeing and experiencing so much loss, so much grief, so much anxiety. But above all, Today, 💔 Today is Cameron’s birthday. I never stop wondering what life would have been. Each passing year, it never gets easier. It’s been especially and acutely painful this week. It seems like everything is a trigger with this global pandemic magnifying the pain as everyone around me panics and my “normal” no longer. . This is my raw grief. . I’ve learned that perspective is everything. Everyone’s grief is real and valid and you cannot compare it to someone else’s. There is no hierarchy. GRIEF-IS-GRIEF. . In my heart, I’m grateful. Grateful I carried him for as long as I did, grateful for the ways he changed me, grateful for his legacy. Gratitude, love and perspective are true gifts. My second chance at life has had a whole new perspective since the day we said goodbye. I’ve gone through many phases of healing over the years and I’ll go through many more in the years to come. And though, personally, I am triggered by some of the feelings I see and hear all over social media right now, I want you to know THEY-ARE-VALID. Your fears and anxieties are warranted and your grief matters. All grief matters. My grief matters, too. EVERYONE’S👏GRIEF👏MATTERS👏. . Let’s cry it out together. ✌️❤️

Just a quick 36 mile jaunt on the ole bike.... gosh I miss the trails. ✌️❤️

Day...what? of quarantine?! 🐶❤️

PSA: stop what you are doing, and go make @rachaelsgoodeats “healthy-er” Twix bars right now! 🤤 I might tell J that these didn’t turn out, just so I can eat them all myself! I have missed being in the kitchen so much! ✌️❤️

Embrace the glorious mess that you are. Stop looking at peoples lives on Instagram thinking their lives are perfect. You do NOT have to have to move your body daily or pick up a new project or do anything with this time really. Aside from staying home, you have to stay home. You are allowed to just be in whatever state you are in. We all struggle... We all cry... We all use filters....