Music Video Monday!!

Late Monday night post! It was a busy day today. Lots of errands and then was glued to the TV for the Bachelor Pad Finale. I am still shocked with the ending! If any of you watch that show, can you believe Nick kept the money? I can't help but feel bad for Rachel...but then again it is a game. As Nick said, every one of them talked about winning the 250 thousand, not splitting it. A part of me can't help but think that some of it was staged. Who really knows.

Anyways! Sorry if that didn't make sense if you don't watch that show. I am now a Bachelorette/Bachelor/ Bachelor Pad fan. I can't help it! :)

Back to Music Video Monday. Today I picked Big Jet Plane because it is another one of my favorites. The song is by Angus and Julia Stone and is such a great chill song. Definitely one you can play in the back ground when you are working or listen to in the car with your windows down. Here is the music video:

Hope you like the song/video and have a fantastic week!!

First Week of Insanity...CHECK!!

I made it through my first week of Insanity!!! Well kind of....

It was a great start but I definitely need to step it up. The first day I thought I was going to throw up. Seriously. I thought I used to work out pretty well on my own.  I don't think I realized what it was like to really push yourself before Insanity.

Unfortunately I got sick with a cold on my third day but I pushed through as best as I could. I'm ready for next week to be able to really give it my all.

The eating part is not bad because I get to eat many times during the day. However, I really need to work hard to not give in to the sweets. I have a major sweet tooth. :) Need to find some recipes to try and nix those cravings.

So, overall it was a pretty good week! Not easy but I'm not going to give up!!

Best part of the week is I have a work out buddy!! Ryan, my fiance, saw how excited I was and how great of a work out it is he started with me! He was hurting his first day also:

Insanity Week Two...here we come.  :)

Favorite Craft Friday

Happy Friday!! Today I am going to show off a couple of my favorite projects I made over the summer. They both are "word art". I have been seeing these types of projects on Pinterest and decided to make some of my own! The first one is a gift I made for my friend Candice's wedding.

To make this I first designed the name and date on Adobe Illustrator. Then I found a board and painted it white for the letter color. My fiance Ryan printed the vinyl lettering for me. When the white was dry I placed the lettering and then spray painted the board black. After the black dried a bit, but not all the way, I pulled the letters off. It is better to do it when it is not all the way dry so the lettering comes off easier.

If you do not have Adobe or a printer that can print vinyl lettering, you can use stickers from a craft store. OR you can email me and I can help you design the lettering and have them shipped to you! Just send me what you are wanting and I can send you a quote for how much it would be. I will also send you a few different text options. There are so many different text options to choose from these days! :)

We also have them on transfer paper to make it easier to apply to the board.

The second project I made this summer was a for my sister.
She has a lake house and I wanted to make her something for her the house. We visit her every summer and always have such an awesome time, so I wanted to make her something that incorporated all the fun we had there.

For this one I decided to have some fun with the words. I wanted to make it to where you had to look at it for a while and read it and also making it to the theme of Life is Better at the Lake.

My sister loved it! This was one of my favorite gifts to give because not only was it fun to make but it had meaning behind it. :)

This fall I am going to make some for our home. I am going through all my favorite quotes now to pick the best ones. I love having positive uplifting quotes around the home so I am excited to get started on this next project! May even try some different colors this time!

This really is a pretty easy craft to make. Stickers will work but if your project is bigger or if you can't find the right kind, please feel free to email me and we will get you started! abbeycarmen14@yahoo.com.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!!

Thirteen Reasons Why...A Must Read

Ever find a book that when you start reading it you cannot put it down? Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is one of those books.

I'm not sure how I found the book. I was looking for something new to read on my nook one night and stumbled on the Jay Asher book. The main character is a high school boy who receives a box of audio tapes. The person on the tapes is Hannah Baker, a girl who recently committed suicide. She tells the thirteen people, who are on a list included with the tapes, how they contributed to her wanting to end her life.

It is almost hard to call this book good because it is a sad story. Hearing Hannah tell her story makes me think of the kids that are being bullied everyday in school. When reading reviews of this book I saw that some schools are actually using this book to talk to kids about bullying.

This is a great book for people of all ages to read. Not only does it bring about the topic of bullying but it also reminds you how important it is to be kind to people. No matter how big or small you think your influence may be in their life or what you think you know about them, be kind. Nobody truly knows and understands what each person is going through. So do your best to leave them smiling.  :)

Website

Please Comment!

Have you read this book? If so what did you think?
What did you think about Hannah Baker's character? Some who reviewed the book wished she would have been less spiteful and vindictive and had a more serious tone. One that made her sound more serious and deep, wanting others to know how their actions affected her. Do you agree?

Happy Birthday to My Nephew in Heaven

Dear Evan Matthew,

Happy Birthday Evan!!

I thought about you during my entire run this morning. This day last year I got to meet you: the strongest, bravest sweet little angel. I can't help but feel sad that we can't spend your birthday with you today. But I know you are here with us and your Great Grandma and Grandma are showering you with kisses and having fun with you on your special day! :)

We are going to your house to spend the day with your family. Celebrating birthdays is one of your Mom's favorite things. When it is her birthday she would call it her birthday week AND weekend! :) I know she is going to have a great birthday week/weekend this year because we get to spend one of the days doing a walk in memory of you!

We love you so much Evan and we all think of you every day. Your parents and big sister are so proud of their little angel in Heaven. Thanks to their strength they have been able to help other Mommies and Daddies who have lost their babies. People know you Evan that we don't even know!! You are our little superstar! :)

I love and miss you and hope you have a wonderful birthday.

Love,

Aunt Abbey

Evan's Video      Evan's Mommy's Blog

The Beginning of Insanity

Insanity is here and it begins! My journey to get fit, healthy and STRONG! :)

I have always wanted to be fit and strong but never fully reached my goal. Even when I was on Team Fredbird and at a weight that I was happy with, I still wanted to have more muscle and strength.

After having a baby I was thinking I would give up on the whole idea. If I could just loose that baby weight and get back to where I was when I was at my ideal weight, I would be happy. Well now I  have reached my goal weight, but my body is different after having a baby. So now what?

Now it is time for some Insanity. :)

When I got the box I immediately got nervous. What did I do!? I don't look anything like these people on the box. Am I going to be able to do this?

As you go through the book there are different DVDs and in the back there is a calendar that maps out your workouts. There is also a nutrition guide. That is my favorite part.

The nutrition part not only helps you figure out your calories but it also gives you meals to choose from! I often struggle even coming up with meal ideas for my family. Now I not only have meal ideas but it even tells you how to make them!!

Now my Fiance and little man Max may not be thrilled with always eating this new way but that is okay because I can still eat healthy and make them something different. For example, there is a healthy pizza recipe in the book. So if they want to order pizza one night I can make mine and still feel a part of pizza night! :)

I know this is going to be hard work and a lot of dedication but I am ready for the challenge. Once I get the hang of it I would really love to be a Beachbody coach! I'm just going to take it one day at a time though and focus on getting through Insanity.

I did the Fit Test yesterday but I am not going to start until next week. Let me tell you...that was not easy! I am feeling it today. I am not starting until next week because I like the rest day being on Sunday so starting on Tuesday will work best. Plus I can get my grocery shopping done so I am ready to roll! At first I thought that would be perfect because I can eat whatever I want on this Labor day weekend but after thinking about it some more I don't think I am going to do that. I don't want to make it even harder for Tuesday. Next purchase I am going to make is the Shakeology drink. I am excited to see how it tastes!

If you do any of these programs please email me at abbeycarmen14@yahoo.com or comment below! I would love to have a work out buddy so we can motivate each other!!

It was a hard decision to make if I wanted to put my before pictures on here but I decided to go for it. Why not? If I am going to write about my journey I should show some before pictures so people can actually see if there is progress right? I took my photos myself so they aren't the best but here they are:

 

 

AHHH!!! Haha that was tough to do. Notice how the pictures are the smallest setting possible?  :)  Gives me even more motivation and excitement to make some changes though! My biggest problem area is my mid section. That has always been a tough spot for me but even more so after having my little boy 2 years ago. My arms have also been challenging for me to tone so I am excited to see what happens!

Well, here I go!! I will update my blog once a week with how the working out and new eating plan are both going. Wish me luck! :)

Tuesday Tip: Eat Your Breakfast

We hear it often, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Often people forget or are so busy in the morning they skip it. Well I found a shake on pinterest from a blogger Fit is The New Black that I have to share! This Breakfast Protein Shake is awesome because it         

                      

1.) Makes eating breakfast on the go easy

2.) Tastes amazing

3.) Has COFFEE in it!!! 

There were a few things I did differently when I made the shake but I mostly stuck to the directions. One thing I did do differently is I did not add the banana. Instead I ate the banana or made a couple pieces of whole grain bread. Livestrong suggests eating breakfast within the first half hour of waking up to best jump-start your metabolism. Grabbing a banana made it easy to get something down while getting ready and also something to eat as the coffee brewed. 

The shake takes less than 5 minutes to make and I am out the door or ready to chase my little man around the house on the days I stay home. 

So there you go! A breakfast on the go plus the caffeine!! Thank you Fit is the New Black for sharing this awesome shake!!! :)