July 4th Wonderfulness!

Here I am again with some more yummy food pictures. Only because of the 4th of July! Really, I'm not constantly looking up delicious food pictures and saving them to my computer like it might seem. I hope this image doesn't pop in your mind about me as you look at my food pictures! Ha Ha!

I actually only plan to make one dessert and one other special recipe for the 4th. I'm not goin overboard people! :-)
I found these two yummy books at Barnes & Noble last week and they had so many delicious looking recipes that I bought them along with my fitness magazines that I usually buy.  It's all about balance right?! Anyway, I will choose some of these delicious treats to make for special occasions.

The cupcake book has way too many amazing looking recipes, so I decided to have Sami and Patriot, my niece and nephew, choose one that we will have for the 4th. Here are some of the contenders....

Oh yeah, I see you Mr. Caramel Mocha Sea Salt! You are on my to do list! The peanut butter cup.... no words needed!

Big Blue is looking real good and Mojito?!?! What what!? I must try real soon!

 The Smores looks so fun and First Kiss is cherry chocolate which sounds delish too! So do you wanna know which cupcake took first place? The winner is.........

 

  Wizard Hats! These looks so rich and heavenly (and too sweet) and the little stars are perfect for the holiday! Here is the recipe for you and if you would like a recipe for one of the other cupcakes above just holla and I will email or text it to ya.

In the Simply Southern book I found a couple of other recipes that I want to make as well. One is this Barbecue Chicken Dip....

We will have tortilla chips and guacamole with this. Yum! I also would like to make this drink recipe. It looks so refreshing and tropical!

This is another refreshing drink we might try. I am not a green tea fan, but I bet I would love it mixed with Mango!

I don't do a whole lot of decorating for the 4th, but I did get a few little things on sale at Michael's to add a festive touch. These red and blue lei's were .50 each and I hung them up on the chandelier. I found some star confetti, cupcake papers, and toppers for the cupcakes at Michael's as well.

 I also put out my flag pedestal each summer. I recently painted the base white and I love it!

I like adding small flags here and there. Isn't my little wire basket from World Market so cute?! I think so! I'd like the larger size to go with this small one.

I will be back next week with some pictures of our July 4th festivities. I hope you all have a super fun and safe holiday!

I'm also linking up with Tidymom today! Go on over and see what everyone else is lovin!

I'm also linking up at Honey We're Home.......

My First WIWW Link Up!

I have followed Lindsey's blog The Pleated Poppy and her "What I Wore Wednesday" link up  every week for a long time now. A few years actually! It is always fun to see what everyone is wearing. I decided to finally join in and link up to WIWW. Most of the time I am in either gym clothes or a St. Clair Tennis polo shirt, but I did have a chance to wear other outfits this past week. So here we go.....

This was on Thursday. We had recital rehearsal and did a little shopping with my sister and her kids. I do love my reddish capri's. They are from Old Navy. My tank is also Old Navy, the owl necklace is from Windsor, and I got the flip flops from Famous Footwear.

I wore this dress on Saturday to Paige's dance recital. I really just wanted to be comfortable(since the recital was so long!) and this cotton dress is sooo comfy! I got it last summer at Old Navy. The necklace is from Target a few years ago, the bracelet is from Earthbounds, and these are Paige's flip flops from Old Navy.

 

On Sunday night we went to The Gavin Degraw and Colbie Caillat concert in St. Louis. I think this shirt is a little too big, a little slouchier than it should be. I bought it a couple of weeks ago at NY&Co. I do love the color and pattern! My sandals are from Sams Club and so are the white shorts. I always find good stuff at Sams :-) My bracelet is from a great little store in Lebanon, IL called The Basket Case. I love to shop there! Paige got her outfit at Justice. Her cousin Sami bought the same outfit so they can be matchy. We had fun shopping in Justice last week. Lots of cute, fun, and sparkly clothes!

This was just a work day on Monday. A simple purple t-shirt from JC Penney and black cotton capri's. My SPARKLE necklace is from Lisa Leonard and my headband is from Glam Headbands.

  On Tuesday to work I wore my St. Clair Tennis polo, black and white plaid shorts with a coral tank, and silver sparkle flip flops that I got at Journeys.

Thanks for stopping by! Now I'm heading over to The Pleated Poppy to see What everyone is wearin!

                                                               Have a HAPPY Day!

Wise Words and I'm Headin South

Oxygen magazine is one of the magazine's that I buy each month and really enjoy reading. The publisher of Oxygen magazine, fitness legend Robert Kennedy recently passed away. We met his wife Tosca Reno at The Arnold Festival in March this year.

 The current issue of Oxygen is a tribute to Robert Kennedy and there is an article about his last book Bull's Eye. It's not really about fitness, but more about success in your career and overall in your life. I like the title of the article about his book "Don't Live a Maybe Life". I also really like this bit of the book that was shared in this article.

THE RULES ACCORDING TO BOB
*Never set a goal without attaching a timeline to it.
*Learn as much as you can each day.
*Work your socks off, but make sure you are working on what's important.
*Persist until you succeed, and the keep going, never stand still.
*Let go of the past and start realizing your true capabilities.
*Expect to win.
*Write down what you want and review it in the morning and before bed. See and feel yourself as already having achieved your goal.
*Banish all negative thoughts. Expect success and that's what you'll get.
*Stick it out-finish every job.
*Surround yourself with positive people.
*Remember that life is short. Mend bridges and make the most of being with family and friends-NOW!

/

 I think I will buy his book. Looks like one that I would like!

This is totally unrelated to Bull's Eye or Oxygen magazine, but do any of you watch The Bachelorette? Well it's totally obnoxious and ridiculous and I cringe half of the time that I'm watching it. I also fast forward through bits, but I still have to watch it and it's getting better as it gets closer to the end. Well I just have to say that I have a crush on one of the guys, Sean Lowe. Here he is.....

 and he lives in McKinney, Texas. That's the town I want to move to. Maybe things won't work out with The Bachelorette girl. That would be great! Then I'll be headin' South :-) Hee hee!

My Workout Week

I'm always curious about other people's workout routines. I like getting new ideas from others and changing up my workout every now and then. It also motivates me to work harder when I see how hard other people are working. I have a routine that I stick to pretty well every week. I plan my workouts ahead of time, but I am also flexible and change my plan if I feel like it or need to for other reasons. I thought I'd share my weeks worth of workouts.

Mon ~ 

Shoulder workout in home gym
Lateral Raises 4x10 reps with 10 lb dumbbells
Overhead press 4x10 reps with 20 lb dumbbells
Upright row 4X12 reps with 15 lb dumbbells
Bent over reverse fly 4x10 reps with 10 lb dumbells
Shrugs 4x15 reps 25 lb dumbbells
Abs in home gym
Stability Ball Pass 4x15 reps
Kettlebell(10 lbs) side to sides 4x15
Decline bench sit up with 20 lb dumbbell 50 reps
Flutter kicks 
Bicycle crunches 3x20 reps
Zumba

Tues~

Bicep/Tricep workout in home gym
Incline bench bicep curls 4x10 reps with 20 lb dumbbells
Hammer Curls 4x10 with 20 lb dumbbells
TRX bicep Curls 4x10
Tricep kickbacks 4x10 with 15 lb dumbbells
Skull crushers 4x15 with one 25 lb dumbbell or 2-15 lb dumbbells
TRX tricep press 4x10
Bench dips 3x15
Tricep pushups 15-20
30 minutes cardio ( either bike or run)

Wed ~

Leg Workout at gym
Smith Machine squats 4x10 reps 110 lbs
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 4x10 reps 80 lbs
Hamstring Curls 4x10 reps 55 lbs
Extensions 4x10 reps 80 lbs
Adductors 3x15 reps 90 lbs
Abductors 3x15 reps 90 lbs
Calf raises 4x15 reps 135 lbs 
Reverse Lunges 3x20 reps with 20 lb dumbbells
30 minutes Zumba ( I catch the last half of class )

Shoulders
Military press 4x8
cable lateral raises 4x10
smith machine upright row 4x10 
Shrugs 4x15reps with  25 lb dumbells

Thurs~

Chest/Back in home gym 
Chest press with 25 lbs dumbells 4x10 reps
Flys 4x10 reps with 15 lb dumbbells
Single arm bent over row with 25 lb dumbbells 4x10 reps
TRX chest press 4x10 reps
TRX row 4x10 reps 
Pushups 3x15-20 
Abs
TRX Pike 8-10
TRX Plank, Side Planks
TRX Mountain Climbers
TRX reverse crunches
TRX Side Twists
Stability Ball Passes 3x15
Leg Raises

Friday ~ REST DAY! 

Sat ~

Zumba
Bicep/Tricep at Gym
Cable Bicep Curls 4x10
Cable Tricep Extension 4x10
Cable Tricep Press 4x10 
Machine Tricep Press 4x10
Machine Bicep Curls
Bicep Curl 21's with bar or dumbells
Legs 
Leg Press with 270 lbs 4x8-10 reps
Hack Squat 90 lbs 4x12
Extensions 4x10 reps
Hamstring Curls 4x10 reps 
Calf Raises
Abs~ Same as Monday
30 minute cardio (run or bike)

Sun~

Spin class
Chest/Back at gym
Cable row 4x 10 reps
Assisted Pull ups 4x8 reps
Hammer Machine pull down 4x10 reps
Cable lat pull 4x10 reps
Bench press 3x 6-10 reps
Hammer Chest press 4x8-10 reps
Cable flys 4x10


Some days I will do jump squats and burpees as my cardio, but not as often as I should. I also like to do walking lunges. If I have a day that I feel really tired then I will either do less than I planned or even skip that day. Overdoing it is not the way to go and will keep you from seeing good results. Your muscles need time to repair themselves after a hard workout! Listen to your body and take good care of it.

Being consistent is the key to seeing progress. It's great when you see yourself improve and increase the weight you can lift or be able to go harder/longer on cardio. What I'd like to do is try to add a bit more cardio into my week even though weight training often turns into cardio as well (especially legs day which is a hard workout). 

Weekends are good workout days for me. My mom is my workout partner for legs on Wed and also on Sat. & Sun. It's a good routine! I hope to keep getting better and improving my workouts all the time. So what is your favorite kind of workout? Do you like cardio or weight training better or a combo of both? I like both, but lifting weights is my favorite, especially shoulders and legs.

 Have a great week!

Strong Shoulders!

Here is an awesome shoulder workout for you!

What The Heck! Time For Detox...

Over the past month I have had too many sweet treats! Going out of town, birthdays, and weekend holidays are the reason, but not a good enough excuse! It's real easy to say " It's Memorial Day weekend I can have fun and eat what I want cause it's a holiday!" One cheat day or cheat meal is fine, but I can easily get on a bad eating roll if I'm not careful. After making these too rich and delicious cupcakes for a birthday this past weekend and having a few too many tortilla chips and mojitos I am feeling gross. Eating like that even makes me feel tired and unmotivated. There is nothing good about it! Learning to enjoy a treat every now and then and not a few times a week is the best way to keep feelin good! Here is the link to these recipe for these evil cupcakes if you must try them :-)
http://tidymom.net/2011/cookie-dough-cupcakes-with-cookie-dough-frosting-recipe/ Yes, Tidymom has some yummy recipes on her blog!

  

  I also get sucked in to the delicious looking recipes on Pinterest. Dangerous! Although I have found some healthy delicious recipe's on there as well. I did see this crazy dessert on there and have made it twice! What was I thinking!? I call it the "No You Diin't "Dessert cause that's what I say to myself after I made it! ( you have to say it kinda gangsta like :-)) and you should do a look like this on your face when you say it.......

I pinned this on Pinterest, but haven't made it. I will just stare at the picture instead.......

Oh and I also watch some cooking shows on The Food Network that I should not watch because it gives me ideas of terrible things to make like these.....

Donut icecream sandwiches! Thank goodness I came to my senses and did not make these. Good grief! Here is another recipe I found on a blog. Avocado Banana icecream. Luckily this wasn't so horrible for me, but I still did not need it! It was pretty tasty!

I also love to make drinks like these Blueberry Mojitos. Soooo good! Too much sugar in these alcoholic concoctions, so I must avoid them as much as possible. If you want a chubby tummy, keep on drinkin drinks like these! Hard to resist sometimes, though.

     So this week I am ready to leave all that crap behind and get back to strict healthy eating! I actually love healthy foods anyway and feel soooo much better when I eat good. Those sugary junk foods are just not worth it (only once in awhile if I don't go overboard) .

I am looking forward to recipes like this.....

 Here are some healthy meals I have made recently.Cuban Shrimp Saute....

 Kale cooked in coconut oil. I LOVE this and could eat the whole pan.

 I think this Quinoa Salad looks really good....

 I should be feeling great by the end of the week after eating clean and light. I will also keep the image of laying in the sun in a bikini as a motivator and reminder to keep going good.

I love summer! So Keep Calm and Summer On! Oh yeah and eat healthy, exercise, and feel good!