Thursday, January 13, 2011

flabby to fab - 2011 workout plan

Another new year.... another new year weight loss plan! I feel the need to preface that this blog isn't going to be about my struggles in the past with weight lose because one, I don't want to bore you and two, I don't want you to become concerned about my yo-yo dieting tactics and unhealthy attempts to loose weight fast... I feel like I've tried it all.

I love the sun and I love bathing in it! Well last summer I was summoned to by backyard/patio to lay in solitude because I would not allow someone else (besides my dear husband) to see me in my flabby state.  Well this year I have a bit of a problem... first, I got some really cute bathing suits from Victoria Secret and I ordered them in the size I want to be when wearing them and second, my sister & brother in law just built a pool and I'm been joyfully proclaiming that I'm going to be there all next summer using it.  A problem, I guess, but I'm hoping and praying to the God who makes miracles,  that this will be what it takes to push me into crazy (but HEALTHY) work out mode!  Last time I entered crazy work out mode was before my wedding and I saw beautiful numbers on the scale.

The plan...well dieting is easier (for me) with a partner, so my husband is willing to leap on board the boat of crazy and get fit and healthy with me.  Our California lifestyle, which isn't so glam, doesn't allow us to afford a gym membership, so we pulled Christmas money together and just bought an elliptical machine! The rainy days will be no excuse for us not getting our cardio workout in.  Meet our new investment and what hours and hours of online elliptical research and jumping from store to store trying these puppies out has led us to:
 I'm looking forward to putting in 30-45 minutes every morning before work.  Ok, I lied, I'm not looking forward to it, but there is no magic weight loss pill out there yet, so I'm going to get excited!

I'm also going to be adding some addition options to encourage the fitness plan.  Where I live, there is a community college that provides fitness workout classes each semester and they also have a pretty nice fitness center with your basic cardio assorted machines and weight lifting machines.  For only 75.00 (which includes all the college useless fees they tag on), I'm signed up for unlimited use to their workout center and I'm taking yogo twice a week.  This is from Mid-January to Mid-May... a pretty darn good deal and it's right next to my work, so again... no excuses!

Hopefully I can do an update along my progress (unless I'm failing miserably) to show that my plan actually is working or if I need to taken even more serious action.  I have some backup options:

1. Give in to the infomercial that I've almost ordered about 10 times.  10 minutes a day! I mean.. I'm sure if you did 30 minutes you'd see the results WAY faster... just sounds so good :)

2. Resort back to P90X, which my husband and I did about 70 days straight until we gave up.  Maybe after I lose my desired weight, I can do this again to gain more muscle strength.  It kicks your tail, or at least it did ours!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Scentsy has Found Me..










The Scentsy System:

Scentsy Warmers use a low-watt bulb to melt specially formulated wax slowly, maximizing the fragrance time of the Scentsy Bar or Brick.
With no flame, soot, smoke, or lead, the Scentsy system is a safe way to enjoy more than 80 delightful Scentsy fragrances.

How I got roped in:

First off, I got converted to a Bath and Body Works follower in college when I chose them to be my part time job of choice.  Being surrounded by those lovely scents day in and day out I invested in enough "Wall Flowers" to fill a mansion.  Followed by a few oil burners and oils to fill in the gaps.  I really do love them and still do.  My sister-in-law Monica invited me to a Scentsy party she was hosting at her house.  I was reluctant to go because it was just one more thing I didn't need and I know I'm a sucker to buy, especially at parties like this one.
I went and listened and the more I listened I found myself getting sucked into Scentsy! NO, not me too & I felt like a cheater.  What would my wallflowers do when they see me plug in this new smelly contraption? well... nothing, but still I felt a little bad.  Fortunatly my mother in law made me feel better about it! She bought my first Scentsy for me :) Ohh what great mother-in-laws are, mine is to my rescue all the time.

I at least made sure I picked a warmer that was stylish and that my husband would like.  Of course he knew I got roped in the minute I walked in the door with a catalog in hand. The concept of the Scentsy warmer is a good one, it's great for families with kids or animals because even thought the wax melts it never gets hot enough to burn.  The fact that nothing is burning or polluting the air is another plus (ex: oil burners).

So here is my 1st Scentsy burner of choice.  I picked out 2 scents to start with via the Scentsy bar.  I'm hoping this will begin another love affair in my life and that Scentsy and Wall flowers can work together in a sweet partnership to keep my home smelling nice all year long!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Christmas time is here!

Wow, I just love my home when it's decorated for Christmas! One of the reasons I LOVE Christmas so much is because it makes my home so warm & cozy, sparkling with lights & scented with all those lovely holiday scents... it's magical! As a "sorta" newlywed, I had to decide a few years ago what I wanted my Christmas decor theme to be, so I could purchase accordingly. As there is sooo many themes, colors, styles out there I decided to go the classy/timeless/classic approach & do reds & golds. I love the richness it brings & I can still add all those collector ornaments to my tree and it doesn't get tacky!

This year I added a few new additions to my holiday decorating scheme & I wanted to share my ideas on how thrifty it can be! Christmas decor doesn't have to be super pricey to look nice and if you're anything like me, I tend to want to change things up/re-decorate/etc. often, so thrifty shopping is a must! (too often says my loving husband)!

New Project: Decorating the chandelier over our kitchen table:


What I used:
*Strand of garland 9ft. - (Michaels - $2.39), I wrapped this around the chandelier twice to make it thicker/fuller
*I used 5 floral stems (pine cone, gold leaves & red mini apple) - (Michaels - .39 cents/each).  
*Wrapped garland with gold ribbon (Michaels - $2.39/roll)
*5 stars hung from each light at different lengths (Pier 1 - $1/per star)
*Stars hung by gold ribbon (Michaels - .79 cents/roll)

Total project cost: 13.00!! Bargain deal and it looks beautiful

Have to give props to HGTV which is where I got this idea from.  Was watching a show called "30 Holiday Decorating Hits & Misses"

Another new Christmas addition:


Super easy and just adds a lot to my room! I got the hurricane at Kohls...it's actually a candle holder, but I think it could be used for so many things! After Christmas it could hold fake or real fruit as a beautiful kitchen piece.  I just love it. The ornaments came from Target (LOVE Target!)

Here are more Christmas decor pictures, enjoy!






Scented Pine cones, a must :)

Spruced up my kitchen table with holiday place settings.  i found the round/red plate chargers at Kohls for 2.99 each! The gold napkins ($1.99/2-pack) & red napkin rings ($7.99/set of 4) came from Target.


Thursday, November 25, 2010

something new this Thanksgiving Day

Today I'm doing something new! Today I'm writing my first blog post ever.... well I take that back, I did have a blog in high school.  I have no idea what the site was but I remember writing on it and now I wish I could go back and read that because I'm sure it was trivial and probably pretty darn hilarious.


I've been following some blogs for a few months now and once I found some friends blogs from college, I realized that they've been doing this for a while... where have I been!  I've discovered that blogs can be very helpful especially when your trying to get a gem of an idea for a new home project.  This is where my blog obsession began.  I'm sure many of you can relate...  I get to brainstorming on a new project for my house and get on a consuming fixated search until I find a solution and map the whole thing out.  


Well...I hope that my blog can help those like me.  The name of my blog is still up in the air because honestly I'm not sure what it will become.  Currently it stands as "The Joys of Life" because I know that God gives us joy in all things (we just can't see it all the time), and the posts I write hopefully will show what those things are in my life.

Today is Thanksgiving, & I've decided today is the best day to write my 1st post because how can today not be joyful and happy? Knowing that I get to over eat on all the most starchy sides, turkey and sweet desserts...I'm definitely joyful thinking about it & will be in pain later, I'm sure! Today I'm not with my Tennessee family, but I'm truly blessed to be able to spend it with my California family who I love so much! No matter how rough things are & personally for me it's been a little rough for a while (in a particular area of my life), I can be joyful that I have God who is always to my right and left. I never feel alone.

So here is to something new in my life, a blog! 
And to all my non-followers (yet)... 
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy a day of football watching & searching the hottest deals online!