30-Day Challenge: June

For the last few years or so I have been piling on the pounds! My jeans don't fit anymore, and my wedding dress that was too big (even after being altered) now fits!  I am just a lot less active than I used to be, and its no ones fault but my own.   Thanks to my sister, I am now inspired to do something about it!

 

 

Today, she sent me this calendar!  It is a combination of two work outs that she had found on Pinterest.  I am not sure the actual links she got them from, sorry that I cant share them with you.  Anyways,  she has just finished her third week of this 30-Day Challenge and has lost 11 pounds and 2 inches off each upper thigh!  Way to go!!!  That to me sounds like success!  If this can work for her, why not me?

 

So, starting June 1st I will be giving this challenge a run for its money!  Since the picture is no readable, this is what the challenge is all about:

 

DAY 1:10 second side plank (each side), 10 crunches,10 pushups

50 squats (yes, you read that correctly)

 

  DAY 2:  12 second side plank (each side), 12 crunches, 12 pushups

55 squats

 

DAY 3:  14s side plank (second will be abbreviated s here on out)

14 crunches, 12 pushups, 60 squats

 

DAY 4:  Rest (and rest well, this is your only one)

 

DAY 5: 15s side plank, 15 crunches, 13 pushups, 70 squats

 

DAY 6:  18s side plank, 16 crunches 13 pushups 75 squats

 

DAY 7:  19s side plank, 18 crunches, 15 pushups, 80 squats

 

DAY 8:  20s side plank, 22 crunches, 17 pushups (yay, no squats)

 

DAY 9:  22s side plank, 22 crunches, 17 pushups, 100 squats

 

DAY 10:  23s side plank, 25 crunches, 18 pushups, 105 squats

 

DAY 11:  110 squats ( feel the burn yet)

 

DAY 12:  25s side plank, 25 crunches, 20 pushups

 

DAY 13:  28s side plank, 28 crunches, 21 pushups, 130 squats

 

DAY 14:  30s side plank, 29 crunches, 23 pushups, 135 squats

 

DAY 15:  30s side plank, 30 crunches, 25 pushups, 140 squats

 

DAY 16:  34s side plank, 32 crunches, 25 pushups

 

DAY 17:  35s side plank, 35 crunches, 29 pushups, 150 squats

 

DAY 18:  155 squats

 

DAY 19:  37s side plank, 38 crunches, 31 pushups, 160 squats

 

DAY 20:  39s side plank, 40 crunches, 32 pushups

 

DAY 21:  40s side plank, 42 crunches, 34 pushups, 180 squats

 

DAY 22:  43s side plank, 44 crunches, 35 pushups, 185 squats

 

DAY 23:  44 side plank, 46 crunches, 36 pushups, 190 squats

 

DAY 24:  45s side plank, 48 crunches, 37 pushups

 

DAY 25:  220 squats

 

DAY 26:  47s side plank, 50 crunches, 38 pushups, 225 squats

 

DAY 27:  49s side plank, 52 crunches, 39 pushups, 230 squats

 

DAY 28:  51s side plank, 55 crunches, 41 pushups

 

DAY 29:  53s side plank, 56 crunches, 42 pushups, 240 squats

 

DAY 30:  55s side plank, 58 crunches, 43 pushups, 250 squats

 

Saturday I will be posting some before pictures and measurements so I can track my progress.  Would love to have any of you join me in taking on this challenge!

 

 

 



My Green Thumb 2

Now that all the Daffodils have bloomed and gone away the front strip of my house is an awful site.  I have never had Daffodils before so I wasnt quite sure what to do with them now.  Then I found this article on eHow about haystacking them! 

We did this to all the dying flowers and it seemed to work out great!  There is a possisble chance that they may not bloom next year due to this method so be sure to read up before proceeding.  Once the leaves had all died, we cut them back to the ground.  No more unsightly plants!  Now what to do with the empty space?

The other side of the house had an abundance of Hostas, so I decided that I would split them up a bit to fill in for the Daffodils till they bloomed again (hopefully) next spring.  I have planted many Hostas before, but have never split them so I needed a little internet help here.

Here from Garden Web  is the tutorial I used to move my many Hostas!  This made it so easy to do!

These are the Hostas that I am going to be moving.  And hopefully once they are dug up I can work on getting rid of all the stray grass that keeps popping up!  Any suggestions on things to use, that will not kill plants???

Here is where I moved them to after I split them up.  It fills in the space nicely and gives them more room to grow!  Now just need to head back to the store for some more mulch...lol.....see my bare spots! 

Now, I have this space that has been untouched for who knows how long!  It is sight for sore eyes that's for sure!  Maybe I can pick up something this week to pretty it up a bit!



World MS Day

Today is World MS Day. 

 

Did you know that there are over 2,000,000 people in the United States who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis?  Did you know that there still is no cure?  Can you help?  Yes! You can!

 

You can get more information on this special day here.  And to help raise awareness they are asking you to share your motto!  about what keeps you moving forward!  The Ohio Valley Chapter of the National MS Society is still accepting donations, and you can do that here! 

This is important to me because this past year, a fellow co-worker and friend, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  Her name is Nicole.  She is 38 years old, a wife and mother of two young very active boys.  She has a great personality and has kept a positive attitude while trying to take in everything new that is happening. 

 

Since her diagnosis, she has had a few episodes that tend to last several weeks at time.  Being that there is no cure for this disease, the doctors can only give her medicine that will hopefully slow down the progression. 

 

In April, here in Cincinnati they held the MS Walk at Sawyer Point.  I donated and signed up to join in with Nicole and her team. 

 

 

All together there was over 50 of us on the team, and we came in third at raising the most money for the National MS Society!!!  It was great event for a great cause.  Nicole was so joyful with the amount of support that her family and friends showed for her.  It was a very heartfelt day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Make a House a Home....from Scratch! 3

The Spongebob Room! 

Now, I enjoy Spongebob just as much as the next person, but when it came time to move my little girl in this room, she was not too excited! 

 

 

I guess the yellow and blue walls just didn't scream GIRL to her!  And I happily agreed that it needed to go! 

 

Here is the other half of the room with the blue walls!  And no closet door!

 

So first things first......paint!  It is the cheapest way I know to transform a room quick when you are on a budget that consists of the change in your pocket!

 

And there is nothing more girly than Fairytale Pink!  I believe it was originally from Valspar but we had it color matched into an Olympic because it was much cheaper. 

 

Her room is on its way!

 

 

I Sew Too!

When it comes to sewing,  I am a total ametuer! I never quite seem to get past that phase of it either, but I keep stitching on!  My seams are never perfect and half the time my cuts are not straight but no one around my house seems to care, or atleast they don't complain about it!

This week past week, I decided to make a gardening apron for my mother inlaw.  We were going to be spending part of Memorial Day weekend with her so I wanted to surprise her with a little gift.

 One thing that her and I have in common is that we love butterflies!  And I just happened to already have some material on hand with them on there.  The green fabric  and yellow bias tape was from a previous baby quilt I made for a friend.  The buttons left over from a crochet project, matched the colors of the fabric perfect so I through them on there as well!  It was nice to not have to spend a penny to make this!  Now I am on a mission to  make one for myself!

This is a Blog Hop!

Memorial Day Remembrance

CELEBRATE FOR THE RIGHT REASON

 

 

Memorial Day has become to be known as the "unofficial" start of Summer.  We celebrate a long weekend full of Bbq's and get togethers with friends and family, and I enjoy that just as much as the next person.  But let's not for get the real reason why we have marked this a National Holdiay.

 

Here are some of the men in uniform from my family that we honor and celebrate this holiday for.

 

 



I Crochet Too!

I love anything crafty!  It runs in my blood!

My great grandmother was a master quilter, my grandmother was the family crocheter and my mother could paint anything!  I myself, dabble in a bit of everything......and my daughter is finding her way too!

 

My post series titled I Crochet Too!  will highlight all of my crochet projects.  Its a nice little spot for me to keep track of the things I have created with my hand me down skill.  Thankyou grandma!

 

 

Okay so this is not the best picture, I know.....but it was taken with the phone and it was the only one I had before I gave the little thing away.  This hat was made by request for my cousin inlaws soon to be born first son!  She had been searching Etsy for one when I told her.......do not buy one, I can make it!  I seen a few pictures of them online myself so the process was trial and error!

 

 

Welcome Cahlin to the world!! 

 



Make a House a Home.....from Scratch 2

Living in a townhouse for two years left us with only having room for the bare essentials, so when we were finally able to move into a house, it seemed as though we had nothing!  I had got rid of almost everything, because we simply just did not have any extra space, and decorating was non existent!  I now find myself needing to fill every little nook and cranny of our new home, after all this was going to be a completely new start for our little family.

 

I have been working on the bathroom lately.  And yes, we only have the one! Our mornings are very hectic, and we have to maintain a strict schedule or no one gets to school on time!

 

Here is what we moved in to, my blank canvas:

 

 

White walls.....well atleast half.  The bottom is some sort of wainscotting.  And there once again, is that lovely black trim that the previous homeowners seemed to be crazy about!

 

I love a tiled shower, only problem is the shower tiles do not match the floor tiles.  Changing those is a little out of the budget at the time, so they will have to suffice.

 

One bonus to the single bathroom was the double sinks it had to offer.  They have came in very handy, though the mirrors are once again, non matching.

 

My bathroom needs a complete makeover!  Im going to start with some paint, and see where that takes me.  If you have any advice or decorating ideas, please share! I need some inspiration!!



Wreaths: Memorial Day

I have always loved the inviting feel a wreath gives me when walking up to a door.  Its like a beautiful wordless sign saying "Welcome, come in and stay awhile". 

 

I adore the homemade ones the best!  The time, effort and love that goes into making them is something that is to be admired. 

 

I have yet to get the chance to make one myself, but now that we are in our own home I plan on doing one for every holiday and season.  Here I have compiled a list of my favorite Memorial Day wreaths that I have found.  Enjoy!

 

 

This burlap beauty by RedRobynLane can be found on Etsy!

 

 

Also on Etsy is this very lovely patriotic primitive by Elegantholidays !

 

 

This one from Attempting Creative even comes with a tutorial!

 

 

Love a little ruffle in my life!  Check it out over at Holiday Helpings.

 

If these dont get me inspired to start on my own wreath that I dont know what will!  These can also double for Independence Day. 

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, and remembers why we celebrate while they are grilling. 

I know I will.

 

Pioneer Days

Last week, my daughter brought home a permission slip from school to participate in their celebration of Pioneer Days. I read through the paper noting that she would need a sack lunch and no chaperones were needed, signed it and packed it away in folder. On Sunday night, she brings to me another paper about the field trip. As I was reading over this one, my jaw started slowly dropping to the floor! They needed costumes!!!!!!! How I neglected to see this paper on Friday is beyond me! So, here I am, night before the field trip with no costume! I could not by any means send her to school to be the only one not dressed for the celebration. I scrambled around the house and came up with a few things that just might work! Now, this was not going to be my best work, or even decent work with the time and materials I had to work with but I did manage to come up with this......................

 

She didnt have a white blouse so we settled for a plain T.  Grabbed an old skirt from my scrap box, pleated and sewed it to the shirt.  The tan clothe and lace trim I had left over from a project a few years back, and with this we whipped up a quick apron!  The bonnet......well......there was some mishaps along the way with that but she was proud to wear it just the way it was!

 

Aside from all the flaws, she loved it!  And that made me smile!  No matter how bad I knew the seams were, or how frumpy the T was......she thought it was the best thing ever!

 

My own little Laura Ingles!

Deal Steals 1

If there is one thing that I absolutely love....it is yardsaling!  And this past weekend was our city wide yard/garage sale......doesnt get any better than that!

 

My new home is totally lacking when it comes to decorations and this was my chance to score some great finds at an even better price!  So, we hopped in the truck and off we went! (yes, I really did drag the hubby along)!

 

 

These beauties cost me $1 dollar a piece. 

 

The two black mirrors ( I have the mirror covered) a whopping 50 cents each, plant stand $3, white lanterns 50 cents each!

 

Ugly green vase $1, cherry shelf $3, silver frames 50 cents each, black shelf 75 cents!

 

With our newly aquired fire place, these were a must, $3 bucks!

 

I now have many projects ahead of me and can not wait to get started!  Time to get some internet inspiration!



My Green Thumb 1

When we first moved in to our new house this winter, I had no idea what I would find come spring! So, when we started weeding out the way over grown flower beds, I was very excited! To my surprise, underneath all the brush was many Hosta starts, among other things that I couldnt wait to see what they bloomed into!

 

Just look at this beautiful Snowball Viburnum!!!  This baby is around ten feet tall, needs some trimming but it is a great asset in my bed!

 

 

We have Rose bushes, Hostas, Daffodils, and Peonies...........that we know of!  I was so overwhelmed when I realized that there was so much planted already.  I thought I was going to have to start from scratch, and with the cost of landscaping I had expected to have nearly bare beds this year.

 

Spring had brought me much joy!

Bring on the blooms of summer!!

 

 

 

 

Junkin' Style

Funky Junk Interiors is having a linky party!   I have seen so many exciting things to get me inspired already.   Looking forward to seeing whats new to come!

Yard Sale Weekend!

I am super stoked! Today is our city wide yard sale and tommorow is the next town overs! There is several things that I will be searching for, cant wait to see whats out there.

Make a House a Home.....from Scratch!

  I just want to start off by saying that I love do-it-yourself projects!  So, when it came to remodeling our newly aquired home, I completely insisted on doing everything myself.  I have visions of what I want things to look like, and expect them to turn out as so.  I can be pretty anal too, so others helping me usually doesnt work out so well. 

  When trying to decide on what to do with the living room, I scoured the internet for a month straight looking for inspiration and came across this image on pinterest!   I already knew my trim was going to be white, and with original hardwood floors, I needed a paint that was gonna give me color but still keep that nice neutral flow.  The color in the picture is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.  Now, even though I loved, loved, loved this picture.......I didnt want to be a copy cat so I didnt run out and get this exact color, but it was the perfect inspiration that I had been searching for. (original link from pinterest for the image is http://pinhomeideas.com/2013/01/07/described-as-the-best-paint-color-ever-benjamin-moore-revere-pewter-3/ )

 

We got our house for a really great price, but with that discount came alot of work!  To be nice, lets just say that the previous owners were not professional painters, or drywallers, or carpenters.....etc.  So brace yourself for the next picture because it is the BEFORE image!  Yikes!  Im almost embarrassed to share it!

 

 



   So are you digging all that black trim yet or what??  Yeah, thats what I thought!  This one room took me days to fix!!!  A little advice, never ever under any circumstances paint with black if you ever intend on changing colors.  I tried several different brands and products to try and cover it up but it still took me 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of white paint.  Such a long process, I didnt think I was ever going to be finished!

As you can see, the red was not too easy to cover either.  This picture was taken after two coats of primer.  It almost came down to a sledge hammer!  No joke!  I have to say though that after everything was said and done the troubles of it all was so worth it.  I love my new living room, and the satisfaction of knowing that I did it all myself!  And the finished product..............................

  The search is now on for some new decor!!!   Time to hit up the thrift stores!  And dont mind the ancient boob tube........I think were getting a flat screen for Fathers's Day...*wink*wink*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 1

So this week to get my blog going I have a few past things that i will be sharing.  We bought our first house in January...after many long years of renting! It is a complete fixer upper....which was perfect for me ( did i mention that lm crafty?).  It was a forclosed bank owned home that we got a super great deal on, which was a good thing because on my budget we couldnt afford much more. We have been working on the house for the past four months and it is coming along wonderfully.  i have had to find the best way to make every dollar count and will be sharing all my hard work.  I also have a product review coming up....and gonna try to sqeeze in a recipe!  Oh...by the way....I have a tendency to ramble, lol!

Hello Blogland!

New Blogger here!  As if that's not stating the obvious, right! 

 

Since this is my first post, I just want to throw a little out there about myself and what you can expect to find on my page, if, you happen to come across it. 

 

First off, I am simple, and live a very simple life.......which seems to work out for me just fine.  I am a wife and mother of three.  I  work a full time job, while trying to maintain a clean house.  Life can get crazy around here!   I am the BIGGEST procrastinator I know!  Most of the time I am a stressful mess......but I see a doctor for that, lol! 

 

I decided to start a blog basically to keep track of all my internet finds ( I am a surfing addict) and projects that I do myself.  I love to create, so Im always looking for new ideas......and if I stop procrastinating you may even get to see me finish some projects of my own!

 

There you have it!  A few basics with more to come as you follow along!