my review:: jillian micheals 6 week 6 pack

as you may or may not know i am a huge fan of the jillian work out dvds. they are awesome, fast paced and hard ( come on, look at her!) like really hard. if you are short on time you must try the 30 day shred. it is composed of three 25 minute levels that get progressively harder. level 3 is crazy!

i'm going to tell you a secret. i freaking hate ab work. i loathe crunches and pretty much any core exercise ( except for the plank hold. that i hate but love) but i also have a gross mom tummy. yep, three kids and not much ab work will do that to you! 

when i saw that jillian was coming out with an ab video i hoped that it would force me to work my abs out but not get bored.

let me tell you this... it was not boring at all! in fact it was really fun. no , really. an ab video fun! it was pretty fast paced with no breaks. i was constantly moving from laying on my back, to stomach, to plank, then standing. the exercises were tough! there were some familiar moves and some i had never done before. what i liked about this and every other jillian video is the interval training. in this one we did one really long set and then repeated it for a second time. i am so sore today it hurts to laugh or cough. and oddly enough i am sore in other places like my booty and my always lovely love handles.

i hope jillian continues to pump out these awesome videos because for less than $10 and under 45 minutes you cannot find a better workout.



random

this is know for sure. the flu, the real flu you know influenza? it sucks...bad. my baby got it friday night and i got it saturday. i don't recall ever being so miserable in my life. my poor little guy was so miserable and sad. it breaks your heart to see your kids sick we are on days 3 and 4 and still not better. oh and did i tell you that the day after thanksgiving my oldest son came down with strep throat and wait for it.... scarlet fever?! i didn't even know that was possible to still get! we keep getting sick and i don't know how to stop it. it seems to be since my oldest started kindergarten.

i am in love with this locket from varabel etsy. husband if you are reading this i really want a locket for christmas or my birthday.

this is by far one of the tastiest soup recipes i have ever made. and i love soup. i have been dreaming about making it again. but right now meat sounds icky. actually all food sounds icky. except for a fresh lime from artic circle.
ps. every single recipe on that blog is delicious. it is my favorite food blog by far. try her chicken tiki masala.oh and her cream cheese filled pumpkin muffins, zephyr pancakes

sadly i haven't but up my christmas decorations yet. i wasn't going to do it until we finished painting. we are so close to being done. just part of the ceiling and one wall in the kitchen. but i can't stand it anymore. if i feel a tiny bit better tonight it will be a family home evening activity.

i would love to make these, seen on luvinthemommyhood

theraflu is nasty, really nasty

i watched lost for 7 years. lost ended about 8 months ago. i am still super mad over the ending. the episode itself was good but i am angry that they never answered my questions and then had the nerve to say all the mysteries weren't important. really! pretty sure that's how you got people to watch the show, it was a major draw. so mad right now!

that's it! i have been talked into trying body for life again. how amazing is her transformation? love that blog  by the way. she has some great exercise routines.

my favorite oatmeal.
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
ripe mashed banana
either- nuts and maple syrup or even better justins maple nut almond butter

Combine milk, water and salt in a medium saucepan; heat until almost boiling. Add oats and cook, stirring, until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in mashed banana and toppings.
another recipe from my mom.

speaking of justins nut butter have your tried it? delicious! but expensive. i tried making my own almond butter in my food processor. i think i added the maple syrup to soon because it got all sticky. it is still really good just not creamy. i went to winco last week and grinded my own almond butter and added pure maple syrup and sea salt, much better!

speaking of winco, do you shop there? i looooooooooooooooooove it. i drive 13 minutes to drive there i love it so much. the bulk section is the best. i always spend way less money than anywhere else.

have you tried popchips? they are yummy.

look a rug that matches my wallpaper! Love!

Help me pick my wallpaper!!

I have lived in my house for 3 years. and for 3 years i have been wanting to redo some things. well all of a sudden i have the go ahead. we have a little extra money now thanks to my awesome grandma and a sweet part time job cleaning her house. i want to paper a wall that covers my tiny dining room and into my back wall of the kitchen above my cabinets. can you help me decide which direction i want to go?

either-

A. keep the room light and cohesive with this creamy wallpaper. the ceiling and walls are cream and the floor is a light wood color. i love it because it keeps things light and warm.you have to click on the pictures to see a close up {nevermind i did it for you!} so very pretty right? almost like a doiley.

B. make a statement with this bold gray paper? i love it because i think it will anchor the room and make a statement! i am also loving gray right now. i am a bit worried that the dark will add to my lovely seasonal depression but since everything else is light i'm thinking it won't.

help me out! which one do you like best?

spring wreath to christmas wreath!

so- the dollar store spring wreath ended up being a very nice, non traditionally colored, festive Christmas wreath!of course you could make it in the more traditional reds, greens, white and silver but this actually matched my Christmas decor!

and you can't beat $2 right?

no tutorial is really needed but here is the quick how-to.

flower tutorial here

i'm hoping to make it to this tomorrow... anyone else going?

pumpkin oatmeal muffins

via

my mom gave me this super easy and tasty pumpkin muffin recipe. it is a weight watcher recipe and i guess that each muffin is only 1 point. i added the oatmeal, flax, nuts and chocolate chips to make it even better!( but probably more than 1 point) my boys just downed 3 each! they wanted another one too,but i had to save some for later. try them, you will love them!

 pumpkin oatmeal muffins-

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup water

1 egg

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup oatmeal

scoop ground  flax seed

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 cup mini chocolate chips

mix together.scoop into muffin tins with paper or sprayed with pam. makes 22 muffins. bake at 400 for 16 minutes.

10 minute blog header tutorial

like my new header?? i really liked my old one but needed a change for fall. want to know how to make a super duper easy 10 minute blog header too?

here are the 9 easy steps to having your own cutomized blog header-
* join picnik if you don't already have an account

* upload pictures. for my banner i googled "retro wallpaper" and this is what came up. if you want a plain and simple header without graphics you can do that too.

* once you have your photos uploaded go to the collage tab, pick the 4 horizontal squares layout. you can keep it the same size or re size it to fit your blog. for my blog layout ( minima lefty stretch) the way it is already set up is the perfect size.

*drag the spacing all the way to the left ( if you want it to look like one long banner) if you want it to be a collage you can play around with the spacing until you like what you see.

* your pictures should be in the bottom left corner. drag them to your collage. you can fill them all with the same picture, different pictures or leave some blank.

* if you want a different color click on the small box next to the spacing tab. you will be able to pick any color you want.

*when you are happy with the way it looks click done ( upper right hand corner)

* from there you go to the create tab. add text, add stickers, you can even draw a picture!

* save and use as your new header. it should be the right size for a header too. easy peasy.

here are some other ones i have made... hope that helps someone out! if you have any questions i'll try to help. i'm not a tech person at all and i figured this out all on my own. if i can do it so can you!

linking: be different act normal, tatertots and jello,  a little lovely, my repurposed life

kristi approved progress...

day one:: goals

my vision::   i will be 4lbs lighter. i will have more energy. i will sleep better.

my mission::  kick the sugar habit ( it's a pretty big habit!). finally getting rid of those darn pesky 7 lbs ( after this last week, more like 10 lbs!) for good. i want to feel good about my body again.

my affirmation::  i will be in better control of my portions. i will go into the holiday season with a plan! i will rock my skinny jeans again. i will have more energy to run around with my boys.

i can't decide if i want to share my weight and measurements on here. let's just say it isn't pretty! but i do want to be held accountable for during the 7 day challenge, so i plan on posting something about it every day.


day one-
followed the eating/nutrition plan to a -T-. i was very pleasantly surprised by how good the food is. yum! and i didn't really feel hungry at all. surprisingly enough i didn't even crave chocolate come 4:00, which is highly unusual for me! i had alot of energy after the workout and really liked it. they have you do "supersets" on her upper body, and it was quick but effective. i also did the body for life style of cardio. it's only 20 minutes but man is it tough!

starting the 7 day kristi approved challenge monday. i'm so excited. they have everything planned out for you... meals, grocery list, workout. i need a boost, maybe this is it.one thing is for sure, those ladies have some rockin mom bodies. dare you to join! let me know if you are, we can form a support group or something. thanks to meg for pointing me in the right direction.

My Review:: one n' only argan oil

back from cali! it was a blast. my boys were sooooo good in the car. seriously amazing. we used the dvd player as a last resort, but made it most the trip without it. they made a huge mess that i had to ignore so i didn't freak out but other than that it went smoothly.

man i don't know about you but california humidity messes with me every single time i visit. usually i break out the instant i am there. and my naturally wavy hair ends up looking like a giant frizzy fro by the end of the day.

i have been wanting to try Moroccan hair oil for awhile now but have been reluctant to get it due to the price ($30+) for a tiny bottle. i ran into sally beauty supply to get some dry shampoo for the trip ( i'll review that later) and they had a promo going on for this argan oil. it was $9 for a 3.4 oz bottle. as luck would have it they were totally out. there went my chance to have frizz free disneyland hair! when i got back from california i checked back and they had it!

i have used it for a couple days now and i love it. it makes my hair soft but not greasy at all. it smells good, almost like suntan oil. my hair is super shiny and i have no idea how but it makes me have to wash my hair less often! i have never been able to go more than every other day washing because i look like a dirty hippie ( not that there's anything wrong with that...seinfield anyone) but i have gone without washing  for 2 days a few times and my hair wasn't gross!

love!

for the price and the result i will for sure be using this all the time.