Photo Friday! A Little Something for Momma!

I have mentioned before that my Momma and my sister are both very crafty people as well and I have to say it comes in handy that my Momma quilts and sews and my sister is an artist, she paints and draws as well she does embroidery and has a great eye for color, and photos... our crafts compliment each other well I must say!

So when I showed her a super cool ring I saw on Pinterest my sister said "I can make that!"
And then about 25 mintues later she showed me this!

I love my knitting ring!

It's so great to have a crafty family! 

Are you part of a crafting family or are you alone in your crafty endeavors?

Tell The Truth Thursday! Why We Don't Have Cable...

I don't think that I have mentioned this before but we don't have cable... up until recently we didn't have anything to watch shows or movies on other than our DVD players and our PS3. A few months ago we decided that we would give Netflix a try and it's been great! Either way I don't think we will ever go back to having cable...

There are so many benifits to not having cable...

- No "just one more show", no "but this is about to come on", no "I saw it on TV" from Delaney
- No issues with what we feel is appropriate for our kids to watch because we decide everything they see and just don't put on what isn't appropriate.
- But the best is no outrageous cable bill! I honestly think that cable is so over rated and over priced! To be honest we don't even watch half of the shows/channels you get with cable.

What is great about it for Delaney...

- We borrow for free from the library.
- We watch her favorites on Netflix for kids.
- We have lots of movies of her favorites at home anyway. Plus we ask family and friends to get the ones she LOVES for hollidays and birthdays.

It's not perfect... I will admit that there are certainly somethings that I miss...

- I love reality TV but it isn't on Netflix and its just not the same to watch on DVD.
- I miss some shows that I really love like Glee or Grey's Anatomy (but you can usually watch them online on the network websites...)

With that said there is certainly a few major things that I don't miss!!

- Commercials need I say more...
- Waiting for the next season of a really great show to find out what happens (in most cases)!
- Bills
- Reruns! Unless you want to re-watch a show... which I do all the time!
- No crappy shows!


In short it works for us not to have cable, we like it and it saves us quite a bit of money each month... I know the day will come when the kids get mad that we don't have cable because all their friends have it and they want to watch a show so they can talk about it with their friends or just so they aren't left out...

But we will cross that bridge when we get to it...


Edit... I should mention that this is NOT a sponsored post, lets face it friends my blog aint that big...

Working Out Wednesday! Its All About Balance!

It's another Working out Wednesday!

I was going to post a muscle move today but... I thought that I would share just one more tasty information nugget before I jump head long into muscle moves...

It's all about balance!
Sounds easy right, workout  and get thinner, healthier, and more energetic... Yes and No.

When working out not only with clients but also doing my own workouts I have always found that people have that one favorite thing to do, that one target area that they want to see results with ASAP, that one element of their workout  that they could do all day if it was the only exercise that they ever had to do...

For me its legs!
I could do lunges and squats and leg presses until my legs fell apart.
I could walk to the ends of the earth if that was the only cardio that I had to do...
I hate doing cardiovascular workouts. (I did discover a love of running recently though.) I have never liked the bike or the cross trainer or really any part of just doing cardio and so I do it less than I do my strength training workouts.

However it is sooo important to make sure that your workout is a stable balance... and to be sure you have a stable balance follow these 3 simple workout rules!

Balance between your cardio and strength workouts! Ensuring this will give you a well rounded workout that will help you not only lose weight but make you look leaner as you strengthen and build your muscles. To do this try to get at least 30 minutes of cardio (if not more) as well as doing a 30 minute strength training workout every time you have a workout.

(Extra trainer tip! having more muscle mass will help you burn more calories even when you aren't working out.... like when your sitting at home watching your favorite shows!)

Balance your strength training workouts! It is so important to maintain balance when it comes to your strength training workout its self because training one area or just working on one body part will leave you with for example over trained biceps and too weak triceps... it looks funny, feels funny and can lead to injury! I know that I love to work my legs so for me I make that almost a reward... I train that area last so that my workout ends on a good, fun note or I train that area at the end of the week when I am trying to relieve stress...  I know most mommas (including myself!) want to trim around the waist but the best way to do that is to train your whole body so that you will see full body results including your tummy!

Finally Balance your workouts with at least 2 days OFF! Your body needs rest, and the best way to do that is to take 2 days off... Its hard work for your body to keep working all day to keep your body going plus to workout and on top of that repair the tiny rips in your muscles caused by strength training and build more muscle to make you stronger (which is what happens after you do a workout.)
So let your body have a day off!!!

So make a plan to start training with balance and get more balance in your everyday!

Check back next Wednesday for an awesome Butt Buster Muscle Move you can do at home at work or at the gym!

50th Birthday Party! Record Bowls!

Ok this is the last post about my moms 50th Birthday party I SWEAR!!!

As you may or may not know we did the whole record theme as you may remember from such posts as The Record Player Cake and The Record Cup Cake Stands! And now for your crafting pleasure...

THE RECORD BOWL!

These look awesome (so awesome one of them is now by my front door to hold my keys and such) and they are beyond super easy!

(Please don't judge me by my oven...) 

Just put the record on top of a glass or metal heat resistant bowl and place it in an oven that has been preheated to 200 degrees and wait for 8 minutes. When you remove the record form it to the bowl and shape it the way you want your finished bowl to look! (With oven mitt covered hands of course)

They were a hit at the party and they are a hit at home!

Don't forget to open the windows and don't put food on the record as when they melt they make a disgusting smell and apparently leach some chemicals...

BUT still fun and very cool!!!