Thursday, July 18, 2013

Avoooocado. Mmmmm

I love avocado. I REALLY love whipped avocado. How did I happen to try whipped avocado you ask? I was making baby food. I decided to really puree up some avocado for the babe. I tasted some and I wanted to eat it all. It was so GOOOOOD! It has to have something to do with the whipping action.

I was on an avocado kick so I decided to try adding some to my protein shake. I recently bought a protein powder from herbalife. I have a friend who sells their products and they offer an allergen free vanilla flavor. I have to stay away from dairy right now for the kiddo so I wanted something easy on my tummy and on hers! My friend told me it tasted like cake batter and I have to agree. I found this recipe via a quick google search (funny that the recipe actually used herbalife brand protein). This shake was good, guys. Reaaaally good. I used about 1/4 of an avocado and almond milk instead of skim. Yum Yum.

I have a sweet circuit workout to share with you! I like this workout because it has a lot of variety and you can do it at the gym or at home. I did circuit 1 and it took me about 30 minutes. I am already feeling a little sore so it musta been a good one!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Workin' on my fitness

So remember how I said that we were going to turn our den into a workout room? Well after much deliberation we changed our minds. ha! The truth is..we both love the gym. I have just decided to make a commitment to go at least 3x/week. It shouldn't be too tough during the Summer months because it is WAY tooooo hot to drag Em out in the stroller to run.

I have been pretty pleased with my workouts lately. I have been kicking my own butt and I am already seeing results. I am lucky (I guess some might not think this is lucky but I do!) that I build muscle REALLY fast. Like insanely fast. So I see lots of muscle definition which is nice and it keeps me motivated. I have started adding in some protein shakes again and really working on eating clean. Some changes I have made lately....
1) No creamer in my coffee. Waaaaaaa! I use almond milk. This is one of the hardest changes for me to make for some reason. But whatever. I'll get used to it.
2) I am kinda veggie right now. I guess I am more of a pescatarian as I don't have a problem eating fish. All other meat sources make me barfy. I am not sure why but whatever...I'm going with it.
3) I am forcing water. FORCING IT. I have been really bad about water.
4) Making my own salad dressing!
5) HITT workouts. The last two times I worked out I almost threw up. I also can't sit on the toilet or really get out of bed unless I log roll. All of these things equal an A+ on my workout grading scale.

It has definitely taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. I still don't feel like I can dedicate as much time to working out and cooking clean meals as I could before but I can do my best!


Here is a workout that I have put together and have been doing this past week. I use anywhere from 5-10lb dumbbells but you don't have to use any weight and still get a good workout. Do each move for 60 seconds. Don't take a break between exercises if possible. After you are done with one circuit take a 1-2 minute break and do the circuit again (and again! For a total of 3x). You are welcome. :)

Jump squats
dumbbell t- pushups
jumping jacks with toe touch
deadlift hammer curls
plie pulse jump squats with weight - This video shows regular pulse jump squats. To do plie squats spread your legs out a little more than hip width and turn your feet outward (like a plie).
superman reverse flyes
burpee plank rows

Monday, July 8, 2013

Green ( and CHEAP) Craftin'

Every once in a while I will get into a big time craft mode. I love to make things but sometimes I just can't seem to find the time to really settle in and do some crafting! Well...this last week I have found that time and it has been fun!

I have spent a few hours (or many many many hours) browsing pinterest and other websites to find ideas of what to do with some extra supplies I have lying around. I have been in love with a few ideas and I was so excited that the hubby was able to help me (AKA do all the work himself while I supervised). I love sprucing up the house but I hate spending tons of money on stuff that may or may not be knocked over or eaten by my brood of cats.

My favorite project as of late is the pallet furniture that hubby made for our patio. I saw the idea on pinterest (Oh how I love thee pinterest...) and I showed it to him. He said he could throw it together rather easily...and he DID! We got the pallets for free which was awesome! We just had to purchase the pillows/cushions! Please ignore the messy patio...it's not quite done but you get the idea!



While we are talking about projects that use wood I will show you a few other things we are working on right now. Hubby is making me a "headboard" out of planks. I put headboard in quotes because I feel like it's more of a piece of art ha! He is also going to make a frame for our bed to match. It's so nice to have such a handy man around! While he is working on the big stuff...I am going to try to make myself some rustic looking picture frames with some leftover wood we have from the pallet furniture.

I have a lot of extra scrapbook paper. Like....really...a lot. I decided that I would do some sweet decorating by framing some of the prettier sheets of paper. I took it a step further by using leftover paper (that I could trim to about standard printer size) to print really cute vintage graphics on. I don't know how I have lived my life without knowing about graphics fairy! This site is so cute. I love vintage prints. It's a simple way to use up that extra scrapbook paper and create some really cute things for the house.

It's funny how you can find lots of uses for things you never thought you would use! I have a plethora of mason jars leftover from our wedding. I decided to fill one of the jars with coffee. Decaf almond toffee coffee. It sounds like it would be good but it tastes weird AND it's decaf. Nobody in this house has time for decaf. I put a vanilla candle on top of the coffee and now when I burn the candle it smells like the most delicious coffee shop! I decided to re-purpose a curtain rod that we weren't using on our windows. Curtains are a silly waste of time for us as they are seen as "cat toys". Hubby hung the curtain rod on the wall and I created a little picture display that I am pretty proud of!
I still have some crafting in my so I have a few other projects in the works that I will post about when they are finished!