Trader Joe's, Salads, and Mud Pie Mojo!

 Do you shop at Trader Joe's? We do, but not as often as we'd like because it's about 30 minutes away. That's not all that far, but a little to far to stop in for a quick shopping trip. I love that store and wish so much that we'd get one closer to us. My mom's friend gave her this Trader Joe's Cookbook for her birthday. There are plenty of great looking recipes that I want to try.

 Here is one thing that we love from Trader Joe's. 100 calorie dark chocolate bars. Dark chocolate is good for you!

 These are some recipes that look good to me......

 Here is one we tried last night. Avocado, Orange, and Olive Salad. It was delicious with such a good mix of different flavors. Very refreshing and Summery.

    I always love salads, but especially during this hot weather! I think fresh veggies and colorful salads look so pretty! I snapped some pics of different things I've eaten over the past couple of weeks. This was a yummy Asian Salad with avocado and boiled eggs......

 

 I am really enjoying our fresh home grown tomatoes from the garden. The cherry tomatoes are so sweet! I topped off my spinach scrambled eggs with some of these delicious tomatoes....

  

A simple spinach, avocado, and cherry tomato salad and a tuna salad with baby carrots.....

Salmon with green beans and butternut squash risotto....So good!

I admit that this weather also makes me crave icecream! I have things under control and plan to have one icecream treat day a week.  Have you ever tried this........

It's Mud Pie Mojo from Cold Stone Creamery which is coffee icecream with fudge, peanut butter, roasted almonds, and oreo's. OH MY GOSH it's so good! I don't get the waffle bowl and I do get the smallest size. It's a wonderful treat and so worth it! I'm normally not even tempted by ice cream, but this heat really does it! Do you love ice cream during the summer?

One of My Favorite Rooms

Our gym is one of my favorite rooms in the house! A couple of years ago this room was a sitting room across from the living room. We all decided that it would be so nice to turn it into a gym instead. I'm so glad we did! It is so convenient to have this space to work out in. We use this room so much more now. I usually do 3 of my weight days in here, some cardio, and my ab workouts. The TRX is an awesome workout too. I use the TRX mostly for abs. Those are STL Cardinals seats from the old stadium under the mirrors. I think they look pretty neat in here.

A step and the Bosu.

Punching bag, dumbbells, kettlebells, weight bench and some magazines.

TRX and the treadmill...

The TV and Bose. Gotta have music in here of course! There are the stability balls sitting on the treadmill.

 These pvc pipes are used to practice overhead squats. These squats are harder than they look! I am going to keep working at doing them with proper form and then I want to try adding weight. I need to work on not leaning so far forward and getting much lower. It takes such core and leg strength and flexibility as well. You have to lock your elbows and keep your arms back too. Whew! A great challenge!

 My eyes are lookin kinda of crazy!

Every time I do these I just want to keep doing them over and over to see how low I can go! It helps to do these up against a wall so that you keep from leaning so far forward. Also putting a low stool or step behind you to go low enough to lightly touch with your butt helps. Here are some pictures of overhead squats.....

 They get pretty low!
Anyway, grab a piece of pvc pipe and give it a try! Here's a video for ya.....

Staying Motivated

http://www.fitnessrxmag.com/fitness/the-fit-life/1543-stay-motivated-to-stay-fit.html

My Vision Board!

 I LOVED making my vision board yesterday! What a fun project! I decided that I wanted mine to be a little bit pretty with a bit of sparkle here and there because I love pretty things and sparkly things! I wanted it to be something that I didn't mind hanging up in my room. I really like how it turned out and I do love looking at it. It has all the things that I love, wish for, and dream of....

 I went and got all of my scrapbooking stuff out of storage and oh wow did I forget how many pretty papers and neat things I had stored away! I haven't scrap booked in a few years and don't plan on starting again, but I will enjoy using all the supplies for other projects. Here are some closer shots of different areas on the board.....

Friends, Faith, Love, Family

 

 I want my kids to be happy! They are what I love the most of all!

 

I want to be strong, fit, healthy, eat clean, and help others to do the same....                        


                       
 Oh yes, I will live near the coast someday! I want less extreme seasons than here in Illinois, fresh air, and to enjoy being outside much more often. I don't need a big house, just a simple space that I can make pretty and peaceful. My own little paradise.....

 I want to travel! There are so many places that I want to go!

 So here is my vision board. Hanging in my room. I am glad I made one!

Linking Up Here~

Oh How We Underestimate....

the amazing power of our minds and our thoughts. You might be thinking oh sure, sure, I've heard it all before. There are posters all over Pinterest or FB that say Believe, Live the life you love, and things like that. Maybe it seems silly or maybe we just think Oh that's a nice thought, but don't think seriously about it. Really though, it's true. So much of our success and our failures are determined by our thoughts, our focus, and what we believe. If there is something we desire in our lives I believe that our mind plays a huge part in achieving it.

God gave us wonderful, amazing, minds and spirits that are so much more powerful than we know. You know how some people just carry that negative, bad energy with them and how the mood can totally change when they are around? It just shows how powerful our energy, our thoughts, and our attitudes are.

I really believe that when we focus hard on something, envision it, meditate on it, and believe that it's possible then even the most seemingly impossible things can happen. Here is an example....A person struggling to lose weight starts to visualize the healthy, thinner version of themselves every day. Taking the time and energy to focus on that thought each day as if you already are that thinner person can change your whole day. It would change how you work out, what you choose to eat, and how you feel about yourself. Over time you will become that person. Our minds are extraordinary!
Have you ever made a vision board? I haven't, but I am going to. Here are some examples of vision boards that other people have made......

I love these! I also like this picture Nicole Wilkins created for her goals for July...

Here is some more info on vision boards for you.

If you want to be inspired these books are great........ The Power, The Secret, Change Your Brain Change Your Body

Imagine the things we could do and the people we could be if only we learned to use our minds!!!! It's actually pretty exciting! Also remember to take time to pray! God cares about the desires of our hearts and is ultimately in charge! He is the one that gave us our awesome minds and powerful spirits! Keep thinking about this....

I think I will start gathering things for my vision board. Hope you all have a wonderful day full of happy and positive thoughts!

It's Already Wednesday Again?

Man a week sure flew by! Oh and Happy 4th of July!!! I am so thankful to live in this amazing, wonderful, awesome country! I'm looking forward to relaxing and celebrating today.

I am also linking up at The Pleated Poppy for WIWW again. I wore some pretty basic, simple outfits this week. Nothing fabulous or exciting. I think I need more places to go so I can wear some cute outfits!

 I wore this pink skirt and black tank to work on Thursday. The main thing for me this week was to stay cool! It is way too hot right now! I'd really like to just wear my pj shorts and a tank top every day!

I wore my black capris and this blue tank from Target when we went to see Magic Mike on Sunday. Good movie! :-) Sorry about the kind of blurry pic.

This red shirt from Target over a white tank with my black capris is what I wore on Monday to work. Can you tell I shop at Target an awful lot? Love Target! I pretty much wear flip flops every day in the summer. These are my favorite silver sparkly ones from Journeys.

 

Trying on hats in Target in my favorite comfy S2 Faction t-shirt. I should have bought that black hat :-) Well I am off to enjoy the day! There is a cupcake with my name on it ( just one!) Here is a little motivation to keep you going with your health and fitness this week. These little reminders always help me!

Have a HAPPY HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!!!