Wednesday, December 9, 2015

25 Days of Christmas Workout!

Here is a great Christmas workout to get you ready for eating during the holidays.  Just remember to always eat in moderation. You can enjoy the tasty desserts without being a little piggy.

 I just did half of this workout the other day and by half I mean I only did each of the items below 13x which got me all sweaty and worked up.   Today I did the full workout and did each item 25x.  I did go through it once and did them 13x and then went back through and did them again 12x.  In the end I did 25 hammer curls, 25 overhead triceps, etc.  Make sure to stretch when your done and drink plenty of water!!! 

STRETCH 
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER - at least 8oz or more when you are DONE!

Below is a break down of each section: 

ARMS - 7
1.....25  Hammer Curls
4.....25  Overhead Triceps
7.....25  Triceps Dips
10...25  Push Ups
13...25  Bicep Curls
16...25  Back Rows
19...25  Chest Press

LEGS - 2
22.....25  Squats
24.....25  Lunges


CARDIO - 9
2.....25  Jumping Jacks
5.....25  Butt Kicks 
8.....25  Knee Ups
11...25  Burpees
14...25  Cheerleader kicks
17...25  Jump Rope
20...25  Ski Jumps
23...25  Skipping
25...25  Side Leg Swings

ABS - 7
3...25  Russian Twist
6...25  Bicycle Abs
9...25  Standing wing abs
12...25  Standing crunches
15...25  Rope Climb on Ball
18...25 Crunches
21...25  Full Sit-Ups

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Say NO to........Candy/Sweets!

On facebook the other day a friend of mine put a couple pictures on her page of two big bowls of Halloween candy.  One was leftovers and the other was the candy that her kids brought home from trick or treating.  It is all so tempting and yummy!  Her status was "This is not going to work for me."  Of course lots of comments came across.    I said, "If I spend the money and buy the candy then someone has to eat it.  Trick or Treaters, my kids, their friends, hubby or me.  Secretly, I like to eat some of it!"  Another person said, "Throw it away!"  I just can't do that, candy isn't cheap and that's just a waste.   Why buy it or send your kids trick or treating if your just planning on throwing it away.  My favorite response was when one gal said, "I have enforced No-sweets November for myself."  I love that idea.  

With Halloween being over now and all the candy that is now in the house there's a lot of pressure on myself to not eat it.   Let's just change the saying from the following: 

No SHAVE November!  is what a lot of guys do.  Let's change it to the following:
No SWEETS November!  This will help us all out in getting ready for the holidays.  




Then when Thanksgiving comes around at the end of the month well be ready to eat some extra yummy food and goodies.  And whatever is left of the Halloween candy is up for grabs.  Although, I'm a firm believer in moderation so go ahead and have a couple pieces of candy each day but that is it.  Here's another good one that the same gal said about November except for December.  She said, "Damn, I eat a lot in December."  I'm going to tell you again to be good and eat in moderation as it so easier to put on the weight then it is to take it off.  Moderation is the name of the game!  We all have choices to make each and everyday so make good choices 90% of the time and enjoy some treats the other 10% of the time.  Don't deny yourself otherwise you'll go crazy and then regret it later.
  
Hope this helps you get through November and December and eat healthy but enjoy as well!

Only 26 more days to go.  Don't forget to get up and move as well so you can get fit and fab!


Thursday, September 17, 2015

What are you waiting for?!?!

I was sitting down to write a new blog post the other day (well back in July) about this very thing and low and behold a newsletter that I receive monthly hit home big time.  Finally sitting back down to finish it, as other things got in the way. Plus, I wasn't for sure how to proceed with this post. Here it goes!



That's the question of the day.  What are YOU waiting for???  The kids are back in school, NOW it's time to get to work and focus on YOU!   Like the article says below, take care of the temple GOD gave you, take care of your body!  




1 Kings 6New International Version (NIV)

Solomon Builds the Temple

In the four hundred and eightieth[a] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.
Read more about this at the link below.


1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+6:19-20


Choose to get started today with baby steps.  Don't jump in full force or you'll get frustrated, trust me I've been there.   Walk, jog, run or a little of each 20-30 minutes every day or every other to get started then up your exercise routine.  If you don't like to walk, jog or run then pick your fancy of the many options out there.   PiYo, Yoga, Weight lifting, Jazzercise, Kick boxing etc. the list is never ending.   


Tip:  Make sure to drink lots of water each day, as water keeps us feeling full and running to the bathroom constantly.  Fill up a 2 quart pitcher each morning, preferably a clear pitcher like the one in this previous post called Drink up.  Make sure you finish no later than 9:00 pm or you'll be up half the night using the bathroom.

****************************************

Here's part of the article below:  Fit By Burn Newsletter - July 2015 


 In the Bible, the Israelites treated their temple with great respect. God asked them to adhere to specific practices to keep it sacred and beautiful. The temple was a holy place. It was a sacrifice. 


Fast forward... like a long time forward! In the New Testament, the Bible refers to our bodies as a temple. Wow! When God puts it like that I think, "Dude, that's a lot of pressure, God!" BUT, how would you treat your body differently if you you considered it a temple?  


GET UP AND MOVE!



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Steps, steps and more steps!

UP THE STEPS!
What have you done today?  I did steps and a lot of them!  No need to go to a gym for this one.  They have stair steppers at the gym but if you have them in your home then use them.   Or find steps around town and put them to use.  I have a college here where we live and they have a great set of stairs outside to go up and down or go to a mall and use the steps, not the escalator.  You can't go shopping until you've done your steps though.  Although, there's really no need to go anywhere if you have steps at your house.  

We have a two story house and from top to bottom there's a total of 19 steps down and 19 steps up a total of 38 steps.  All the
way down and all the way up is one trip.  I did this 10 times down and 10 times up as I started at the top.  That's a total of 380 steps and it took me 5 minutes 25.71 seconds.  How do I know this, of course I got out a timer to see how fast I could do it.  I'll do a second set of this later after I get some things done around the house, before the kids get home from school.  If you have any stress this is a great stress reliever, walk up and down the stairs this many times and all you'll be thinking about is breathing.  
DOWN THE STEPS


What will you get out of this quick and simple workout:
1.  Great cardio!!!
2.  Your heart will be pumping hard by the time your done!
3.  You'll get sweaty! 
4.  Burn some calories!!!
5.  Build your leg muscles!
6. Sore legs tomorrow!  If they aren't then do some more.

Make sure to drink water when your done!  

Be careful:
DON'T FALL
1.  Hang on to the rail so you don't fall.  You may be fine to start with but as you get going you'll get tired and will want to use it once in a while.   
2.  If you get winded rest, and then get going again.





Leave me a message, would love to know how many steps and how long it took you. 

Just did my second set and beat my time. YEAH!   Finished in under 5 minutes ~ 4 minutes 46.97 seconds!

GET UP AND MOVE!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Pet Peeve - Get up and move!

School is back in session and car rider lines are starting back up again, at pick up time.  But ask yourself this question.  Are you one of those people that goes up to the school and gets in the car rider line 1/2 hour to and hour early?  Don't you have anything better to do?  I know I do.   What do I see most of these people doing while sitting in their cars for this extended time period you ask?  Well I'll tell you, they are looking at their phones checking email, looking at facebook or who knows what else.  Seriously folks it can't take an hour to look through all that.  Why not make the choice to put your phone down, get out of your car, as it can hold your spot in line until the bell rings and go take a walk or run for 15, 20 maybe 1/2 hour if your there an hour early.  Just get up and MOVE!  Take care of the body God gave you and do something good for yourself TODAY!

The next pet peeve of mine is kids activities and all their practices.  Well that is fine and dandy for your kids they are moving on the soccer field, football field, basketball court etc. but what about you? Instead of sitting in a chair for an hour watching them, choose to get up and move yourself for 20-30 minutes.   Make sure you wear your walking shoes and go for a walk, run or a little of both but get out of that chair and move or go help out the coach with the 15-20 kids that are on the team.

If you want to see how far you've gone, how many calories you've burned, how fast your moving etc. then get the runkeeper app https://runkeeper.com/login on your phone that will track all this information.  It's a fabulous app to have and helps keep you motivated when you see it on your phone.  You see the icon and think, oh crap, I haven't moved today better take care of me.    


My son plays basketball in the winter and the facility that he plays at has an indoor walking track above the courts and you can still watch them practice.   What do I do?   Of course, I get up and go walk on it.  But it is so frustrating to see all the other parents sitting on the benches looking at their phones not even watching their kids.  I'll admit there are some parents watching their kids but the majority are not.  Again, get up and move for 20-30 minutes then sit and watch or look at your phone.     

I'm going to stop with my rant now but remember take care of yourself and get up and move whenever you can!


GET UP AND MOVE!

I'm BACK!!!



First off, is that I'm back to working on my blog.  I haven't done a very good job posting on it this year but I'm blaming that on another blogger that posted that she was quiting her blog (I have know idea what blog this came from anymore as I read it and moved on.)  The reason being was that she didn't feel like she was living in the moment because she was always thinking about what she was going to blog about next, which is so TRUE.  While working on something either in the home or at a kids event or where ever we are, I'm constantly thinking about what I should blog about next.  So I made the choice to take the summer off, for the most part along with the first part of the year as I've only made 20 postings so far this year.  But whose counting, I guess I am.  Maybe you don't care but I do and I love blogging.  I'm hoping I can get my act together and share my thoughts and feelings on my many JOYS and JUNK that I have in my life.  Thanks again for coming back to my blog and checking things out.  I'm working on an exercise post next, so stay tuned.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

That's What Friends are For!

Second Chance Friends by Jennifer Scott

This story starts out with 3 women at the Tea Rose Diner each doing their own thing. All of sudden there is a school bus accident right outside the diner.   Each one jumps into action to help the kids and then they realize that a car was also hit in the process.  A husband and wife that were sitting at the stoplight had their lives changes forever.  The 3 women all have their own problems that they are dealing with throughout the book but can't shake the accident.  They come together once again at the diner to figure out what happened to the couple that got hit by the bus and how they can help out.  

Life can change in an instant.  Don't put off tomorrow what you can do to today! 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.com


Pick up a book and read!

#lovetoread


Can't Stop Reading!

The Longest RideThis is one book you don't want to miss out on and you won't be able to put it down once you start!  My mom recommended this book to me and I also wanted to read it anyway before I see the movie which came out back in April 2015.  I finally got the book from the library in LARGE print of course.  Who can read that tiny print anymore? Not me!  Which brings me to my point, since it was large print it was 653 pages long but so worth it.  Probably would of been half that if it was regular print, but now I can say I've read a 653 page book, ha!


The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks 

This book was about two different couples Ira  & Ruth and Luke & Sophia and the story of their lives.  The books starts out with Ira who is man in his 90's and his wife Ruth who has passed on.  Throughout the book it tells the story of their life as Ira visits the past while waiting to hopefully be rescued from a car accident.  Not going to say what happens.

The chapters go back an forth from Ira to Sophia to Luke etc.  Sophia is a college student and Luke is a bull rider.  They meet at a dance and start dating as they hit it off right away.  They are from two different worlds and the future isn't always what it seems.

Read this fabulous book to see what happens to each of these couples and fall in love with them!

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.com

Check out more Nicholas Sparks books HERE!



PICK UP A BOOK AND READ!

#lovetoread

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

BUZZZZZZZZ.....Challenge #2 - DONE and #3 - 1/2 way there!



What's all the buzzzzz about?  Challenge #2 is the Great Cycle Challenge.  It started back on June 1st and runs through the end of June.  Just did the last and final bike ride for the challenge this morning.  What is the Great Cycle Challenge?  The G.C.C. is a bike ride challenge that anyone from the US or the World can join and participate in for the month of June.  Each rider puts down how many miles they plan to ride the month of June on their page along with the money they want to raise.  The G.C.C. raises money for children with cancer.  Cancer is currently the leading killer of children.  Read more here about G.C.C. 


In the beginning I set my goal for riding 100 miles the month of June.  But my real goal was to ride 150 miles for the month.  I'm almost there with only 4 more miles to go on the last day.  I planned on riding 5 miles a day to make this doable but ended up missing my bike ride on 3 days because we were out of town and I didn't have my bike with me and one day it was raining.  Imagine that, raining. We've had so much rain this month it really doesn't feel like summer.  Feels like Spring, April Showers bring May flowers but it isn't as it's June right now.  The weather has also been fairly decent as well.   Not overly hot like it is most years during June.  Thank goodness because my rides could of been a lot tougher with the heat.  I have a lot hill around where I live and the surrounding area, so I'm getting in some good cardio and use my gears a lot to get where I'm going.   If your interested in donating go to my page HERE to help out and click the SPONSOR ME button at the bottom of the page!  I've done my part of riding a grand total of 152 miles and donating to the cause now it's your turn.  Thanks in advance.  


Challenge #3 is a two month Jazzercise challenge.  This one is a team effort with a partner.  We have two months between the both of us to do 70 Jazzercise classes.  If we break that down, it's only 35 classes each and 17 / 18 classes each month that we both need to do if we split it up.   I have to say between biking and Jazzercise I'm beat.  So glad that Challenge #2 is over.  Now I can focus on this one and get it done.  I got 17 classes done in June, the count down is on for July with 18 more to go.  When we get the 70 classes done we both get a really cute black and white chevron bag.  


Let's do this Anne Marie!  


If you haven't ever tried Jazzecise I highly suggest it.  After you get over the initial learning curve it's a ton of fun.  And if you love to dance you will love Jazzercise.  


Get up and Move!  


#Biking #Dance #Jazzercise #GET UP AND MOVE!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Cardio workout

Here's a workout I did at home the other day, which isn't easy since I get distracted with all the stuff that needs to be done.  On my off days from Jazzercise I try to sneak a cardio workout in if at all possible.



Get up and move!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Challenge #1 ~ DONE!

Woo Hoo, I did it!  I just completed the Runkeeper.com challenge for May.  Well I didn't just finish it, I finished it back on May 31st.  The challenge was SWEAT, SMILE, REPEAT.  You had to use the runkeeper app with GPS to track activities and log a total of 5 hours from May 4th -31st.  It wasn't easy but I got it done.  Needless to say my 3 - 1 hour Jazzercise classes that I do each week didn't count towards the challenge, so I had to add running, walking & biking to get it all in.  When doing a challenge like this it makes you push yourself to get out there and do more.   I'm a numbers person so of course I had to break it down and see how I could do this.  Most activities were 30 minutes of exercise, in the end I needed to have at least 10 different activities logged at 30 minutes each.  Although, I wanted to make sure I passed so I went above and beyond and got some extra time in to earn my t-shirt.  I did a lot of SWEATING, maybe not a ton of SMILING but I got it done and of course REPEAT to get all the hours in.  I ended up doing 15 activities that counted towards the challenge which totaled up to 334.85 minutes or 5.50 hours.   I would of had 370 minutes or 6.16 hours if it had started at the beginning of the month like I thought it did.  I missed out on two days of 35 minutes of exercise total but still complete the challenge.   If you never used the runkeeper app before I suggest you try it.  Very easy to use and it tracks a lot of stuff for you.  I just use the basic so it's free!


Monday, April 20, 2015

Motivational Monday - Eat, Drink & Be Merry!

EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY!  This is exactly what I did this past weekend.  Now I'm paying for it!  We celebrated my birthday this weekend with friends and another gal that has an April birthday as well.  Below is one of the coffee mugs I use at work.  The saying on it is so true for most of us.  Like the song goes, I'm only human. During the week I do pretty good most the time making good choices but when the weekend rolls around this is how I feel sometimes.  FOR TOMORROW WE MAY DIET.  






Which brings me to my next point.  Now that you know I had a not so good weekend when it comes to eating right for two days, it's time to get back on the the band wagon.  Earlier this evening I was reading an email from FitbyBurn and it had an article about an app called Goal Streaks for iPhones.  Well I don't have an iPhone so couldn't get the app.  Of course, I started searching for something for my android phone and found a couple of different apps along this line.  I ended up getting the Goal Tracker app and set it up for keeping track of how many days I workout and how many I don't for a month.   You can make your goal for whatever you want.  I did mine for 3 days on and 1 day off for a month.  Shouldn't be too hard to do this but after this weekend I need to get busy and do something.  After doing this I of course wanted to give myself a check mark for doing my workout today which I hadn't done yet.  (It's now 10 pm)  

I then went to the 
site that I found the other day and did the Beginner Upper Body workout, check it out here.  20 minutes workout at 10 pm before I head to bed at 11pm.  Rev up the body so I can burn calories while I sleep.  I don't normally do my workouts this late in the evening but I was feeling guilty for being lazy today. 

After doing all this I went to my computer to finally type up my Monday Motivational blurb for the day, ENJOY!

GET UP AND MOVE!




Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Another Fabulous Read ~

Embedded image permalink
This is so very true!  Instead of going to bed I sit up and get sucked into a good book and can't put it down.  

Don't plan on going to bed and putting this books down.  You'll be up all night because you want to find out what's going to happen next.  Here's another book I finally got my hands on and finished the other day.



Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5)

By Marissa Meyer



This book is about LeVanna's story and how she came to be.  What happened to her when she was little and why she is the way she is now.  I always wondered about this while reading the other 3 previous books and now I finally know why.  Can't wait to get the next book coming out November 2015 ~ Winter!  

I gave Fairest 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.com - It was amazing!

If you don't have time to read Fairest here is an audio of the book to listen to that I found.  Check it out HERE!



Pick up a book and READ!

#lovetoread #fairest #marissameyer #books


Sunday, April 12, 2015

Reading time is back!

I've been in a reading slump lately and finally got out of it and read two great books!

Why was I in a reading slump?  Well, my parents werein town about a month ago and my Mom mentioned that she likes to play solitaire on her phone.  I ended up getting the app on my Kindle and the it is way to addictive.  Especially since you can play game after game so easily.  The rest is history, that's what I've been up too instead of reading a good book.  I've been getting sucked into playing solitaire on my Kindle.  

Here are the two books I just recently read after taking the solitaire app of my Kindle. 


Accidental Book Club
By Jennifer Scott

This book is about a group of six ladies that come together in a time of need and support one another through their ups and downs in life.  Jean's neighbor Loretta talked her into starting it after Jean's husband passed away.  The book club is an excuse to get away and have some fun and discuss whatever book they are reading for the month.  It ends up being more than just a book club as they have a potluck each time, wine and become better friends along the way!  It has lots of twist and turns throughout as each character deals with their daily lives.  


I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodread.com ~ I really liked it!


Flowers in the Snow
By Danielle Stewart

Flowers in the Snow (The Edenville Series, #1)I love, love, loved this book.  I've read a lot of her other books in the past and this is a new series off of the Piper Anderson Series.  I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.com ~ it was AMAZING!!!!

This book is ALL about Betty growing up and what she went through.  It based on growing up in the 60's in the south before Civil rights went into effect in Edenville.  The whole family gathered around Betty after she received a letter and she shared her story and everything that happened along the way.  



LOVE TO READ!

#lovetoread #books #flowersinthesnow #theaccidentalbookclub 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Throw Back Thursday Exercise Tools

Here are a couple of fun throw back exercise items that I wanted to share with you all! 

First off, have you seen Suzanne Somers on Dancing with the Stars this season.  If not, you really should.  Her legs look great. Why, because of the thigh master.  She has aged a little bit but for her age (68) she looks great.  Did you ever you use the Thigh Master growing up or one similar that is out today? If not that's OK there are plenty of other exercises out there to work our thighs. Although, this is a great tool to use if you had or have one now.

A couple of great thigh exercises that you can do are lunges or squats.  Otherwise, check out the video from Fitness Magazine, HERE for their top 10 thigh exercises.



The second throw back exercise item I want to share is the Skip Ball.  I actually got one of these to put in my one of my kiddos Easter baskets this year.  They had light up ones at Target for $3.00 in the Dollar area but I couldn't get any of them to light up.  I then was looking around in the toy section for something to put in the Easter basket and ran across an end cap of exercise Skip Balls that were better quality.  They were on clearance for $13.00, which I thought wasn't bad.  I always wanted one of these when I was growing up so I got one for the basket.  My daughter that got it from the Easter Bunny didn't really know what it was but once she figured it out she loved it.  She's my one that doesn't exercise much unless I push her and this is a fun way for her to exercise and not call it exercise. 

I've been using it quite a bit as well when I sit down to watch TV.  During commerical breaks I use it and do at least 50 skips with it each time.     No better way than burning off a few calories while watching TV.
Image result for skip fit cardio skipper

Here's what I actually got but very similar to the Skip Ball.  I got the SkipFit by Empower. Check it out HERE!  On the box it says burn up to 330 calories when used for 5 minutes, 5 times per day.  

GET UP AND MOVE!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Closet Make-Over

This was a project that I've been wanting to do for awhile now.  My husband really wasn't ready to take it on but my In-Laws were coming to town so I hit up my father-in-law.  He loves to work on projects and I had a couple in mind for him to choose from.   He chose the closet make-over project while they were staying with us.  His wife was at a conference for church all day for 2 days, my husband was at work so he was stuck with the kids and I.  He likes to be busy, check out the pictures below on what we did.

I also wanted to mention that I originally got this idea from Pinterest but gave my own twist and ideas to the project.  Here's are the pins and websites that I got the idea from.  They both have their own looks to them are wonderful as well.  Check them out here and here.

We started off by taking the ugly white doors off and measuring everything.  We drew up some blue prints and came up with a plan of attack.

Here are the pictures to show the work that was done and the wonderful outcome we had!  Thanks Norbert for helping me out.

Before the closet make-over.
What a scary mess!

Cleaning out the closet!
Yeah, the white doors are gone.

Time to paint.  Just a little back story on painting.  When we first moved into our house 5 years ago my husband painted all the rooms.  I decided I'd try and help him out and put a first coat on in the kids bathroom while he was at work one day.  Needless, to say it wasn't the best and he said, "What the heck did you do in here?"  After that I haven't painted until the closet update, and I think it turned out pretty darn good!

My father-in-law measuring and
cutting for the bench and top shelf.

Painting in progress!
Break time right now, got some good upper
arm workout in painting the top half.

Even one of my kiddos decided to
 help out with the painting.
Here's the finished mud room/closet.

Baskets - purchased from Michael's with 40% off coupons or they were already on sale.
Coat Hooks - found at Target.
Tan (Maple) 15 cube organizer/ shoe shelf on the right - already had from before if you look at the before picture.  (Got from Target a couple of years ago.)
Dark brown (Espresso) 15 cube organizer $29.95 - Target and Wal-Mart no longer had anything to go with the one I had prior.  Ended up getting the Espresso one and the two organizers on the left as well from go organize.com ~ check them out HERE!
Upper shelf and bench with dividers - bought the wood at Lowe's with my father-in-law.  He sanded it down measured and cut it to size for me.  I ended up staining it with some stain we already had and I think it turned out great.  

I have to say, I think the dark and light browns go great together and look really rich and warm.  Very welcoming when coming into the house.  
  

Here's what it looks like now with stuff in it.
No more closet doors to shut and hide all the crap
so it stays pretty clean most of the time.