Fit Friday ~ Day 26

OOPS!!! It looks like I forgot to actually post this yesterday so here is my Fit Friday....on Saturday.

While doing the workouts from BikiniBodyMommy, that I absolutely love, some old injuries started to flare up so I have had to tone down the intense {even if they are short} workouts. Kind of bummed about that!! But the weather outside is finally starting to feel like spring outside so we have been able to go out and do more.

Lady A and I love to go on walks and we even have a pass to our local swimming pool so that is a great way to get some exercise in. She loves getting in the water and splashing around. This week we showed her that if she kicks with her legs she can get an even bigger splash. YEP!! She thought that was fantastic. One thing Lady A likes to do is dip her face in the water, not her whole face, just her chin and the tip of her nose, then she lounges up with a super surprised look, like she is thinking "What just happened to me."

It is great being able to get out and see my little girl enjoy the warm weather, especially now that she is a bit older and likes doing all sorts of outdoor activities.

To change the subject a bit we went to an Easter Egg hunt today, Lady A's first, and had a blast. At first she had no idea why everyone was running around and so excited to pick up the eggs. I had to get down and pick up the first one for her, after that, there was no stopping her. Once her little bag was full she grabbed some more and wrapped her hands around them to able to bring them with her. Then we went in to claim our prize. Yea!!! A bucket and shovel, with two small stuffed animals and bag of candy. We will be there next year for sure.

Re-used Cans

Have I ever mentioned before that I love when packaging is re-usable?!?! So now I get two for one out of my purchase. With how often we have been moving around I love reusing what I can because when it is time to move again there is no feeling guilty about tossing out these things instead of packing them, and I don't feel like I am throwing away money.

I have my creative corner in the living room so it needs to be tidy and everything needs a place. This will help with keeping it tidy along with having a place for everything to go so that my daughters sticky little fingers don't get into everything.

Today I am sharing with you how I reused same cans from the kitchen to help get me organized.

Supplies Needed:

Any number of cans, any size {I used four various ones from the kitchen}

Cardstock

Mod Podge

Cutting Mat

Ruler

X-acto

Ruler

Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Embellishments {ribbon, buttons, twine, stamps, ink}

Measure the heigth of the can between the top and bottom rim, then around the canister to figure out the width, this will give you the size you need to cut the piece of cardstock to. For the two shorter ones my width was 12 5/8" {inches}, after cutting a 12" strip I cut another 1 1/2" strip to the same height.

*For things like stamping I suggest doing that before placing the cardstock around the can.

Take the wraps off the cans that will come off. Two of mine had the wraps printed right on the can so I couldn't remove them.

*This is why cardstock is a great option, with the thick cardstock, the label underneath it won't show through.

To start gluing the cardstock to the cans I placed them without any mod podge to make sure I had them lined up correctly. Then let one side up and apply mod podge to the back of the cardstock and place down. Now go along the rest of the cardstock, I did it in about 3" sections, applying mod podge then pressing it around the can.

I used some simple ribbon, twine and buttons to add a little bit of character to my cans.

The bow is pretty simple too. The ribbon I used is slightly thicker than 1/4". Cut a piece 5 1/2" long and another piece that was about 3x's as long as the width of the ribbon. Fold the two ends of the larger piece back into the center and use the hot glue to keep in place. Place the other piece, centered in the front, fold the top and bottom pieces around to the back and glue down. TaDa! a Bow!!

Most of the ribbon I used was left overs from other projects or even ribbons from gifts {specifically that wonderful green ribbon with flowers}.
*If you have ribbon that has been crunched simply use a flattening iron or curling iron to straighten it back out. Be careful to not clamp down too hard.
*For the yellow can with the green ribbon I applied mod podge to the back of the ribbon. This helped to make sure the flowers laid down flat and wouldn't lift up.
*I used the glue gun to hold the ends of the ribbons down securely.

Here are some of the items I used for this project:

 

Star Burst Crochet Stitch Blankie

Lady A has a blankie that she absolutely loves. This thing has been all over with us and the white yarn is more of a gray color now. I made her a new one but it was the wrong type of yarn, she used it a couple times but doesn't really cuddle with it like she does the original.

I found this Star Burst pattern on pinterest, loved it and so I wanted to give it a try. The stitch came from the 'Handbook of Crochet Stitches' by Betty Barnden. A very reasonable price for a book of 200 stitches. To make the stitches a bit more loose I used a hook one size larger than the suggested hook on the yarn packaging. I simply repeated the stitch until it was the width I wanted and just kept going, row after row, until it was done. Because I wanted the scallop to frame the entire blankie, once I finished the last row, I continued doing the same stitch pattern around the entire piece.

As I was going along with the stitch I noticed how similar this stitch was looking to one I had designed. I will share my stitch with you but you will have to get the handbook if you want the Star Burst stitch that I used for Lady A's blankie.

I got the yarn type right this time but it is super thick compared to her favorite one. Great for cuddling and keeping warm. Now I think I will move onto making one for the summer, a simple one that she can wrap around her like a shall or scarf, the same way she uses the one she has now.

Items needed for this project:
'Handbook of Crochet Stitches' by Betty Barnden
Hook I/9-5.50MM
Scissors
Colors used for this blanket.
White
Sunshine
Pistachio
Grey Heather
{I used one 6oz. skein of each}

Half Shell Stitch

Key:

CH ~ chain

ST ~ stitch

SC ~ single crochet

DC ~ double crochet

TOG ~ together (this is done like a decrease stitch but with more than just two stitches)

{} ~ from precious row

* ~ repeat

Foundation: ch st in multiples of 4, +1

Row 1: Skip 2 CH, *5 DC in next CH, skip 1 CH, 1 SC in next CH, skip 1 CH* end with 1 SC in last st, turn.

Row 2: 3 CH, skip SC, 2 DC TOG, * 2 CH, 1 SC in next DC {center of 5 dc}, 1 CH, 5 DC TOG {over 2 dc, 1 sc, 2 dc}* end 3 DC TOG {2 dc, 1 ch}, turn.

Row 3: 4 CH, 2 DC {in top of 3 dc tog}, *skip 1 CH, 1 SC {in sc}, 5 DC {top of 5 dc tog},* end 3 DC {top of 2 dc tog}.

Row 4: 2 CH, skip DC, *5 DC TOG {2 dc, 1 sc, 2 dc}, 2 CH, 1 DC {center of 5 dc}, 1 CH,* end 1 SC {in 4th of 4 ch}, turn.

Row 5: 1 CH, skip SC *skip 2 CH, 5 DC {top of 5 dc tog}, skip 1 CH, 1 SC {in sc},* end SC {first of 2 ch}.

Repeat row 2-5

Giveaway ~ Getting Organized

Well I think it is time for a giveaway!!!

I have a craft corner in our living room {yea for apartment living} and with a toddler whose sticky little fingers find everything that is not put away or high enough out of reach, I have to keep my corner organized and straightened. This means having an easy way to pick things up and put them away.

We all know that it takes a bit of time to set up when we want to start a project, then cleaning up just to bring it all out again when we want to continue working on our projects.

*Giveaway is for an empty roll-up. I have sewing  supplies in the first two pouches, stuff for party decorations in one and in the last pouch, items for an image transfer project I'm working on.

This is the perfect way to stay organized when I have to clean up. With four pouches I can keep all my standard supplies available, those needed for a specific project, bits n' pieces for my projects and whatever else I need. The pouches also come off and on so you can place it right on the table with you and not take up all the space for unrolling the bag.

Now, while I am working on a project that will take more than one nap time to complete, I won't have to put everything away in their different places then take the time to pull everything out again when I want to finish my project, just roll it up and put it in a corner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also have one for the restroom. It's great to use right now but I love it when we go on trips like the one we took last weekend. Pouches for cleansers and lotion; make-up; toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and the like; and whatever else might be needed like medication, q-tips, cotton balls, etc.

These bags are normally $30 but if you would like to purchase one at a discounted rate {$22 + shipping, tax is included} shoot me an e-mail. To get this rate we need to reach a group order minimum, once we do, invoices will be sent out. The discounted rate ends Saturday, March 30th, so act fast. The more orders, the bigger the discount for all of us so be sure to share this with your family and friends.

*Giveaway is open to US residents only.

*UPDATE: The winner of the small space organizer is Vonda. Congratulations!!

Fit Friday ~ Day 19

Oh dear me I need some help...Who wants to come get me in the mornings to make sure I get my workout in?!?!?

It seems like we can not get a break here in Connecticut, as I am typing this, snowing falling. If I am going to do more walking it will have to be put off even longer or I will just have to give in and go to the gym. Well, I think it is time to head into the gym for my cardio, I can not put it off anymore.

This week I also signed up for Runtastic, it links up with MyFitnessPal so my cardio can be added. These are just a couple of my latest tools to help in my journey to create a new me.

Spring Break 2013

For Spring Break Paul had to be back for work by Wednesday morning so if we were going to get out and do something, it was going to be short and we sweet. As it happens, we had the opportunity to go spend some time at a condo in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

We decided to take advantage of this and head down. The internet said our drive was supposed to be just over 11 hours but it didn't take into account our toddler we would be bringing with us. Our drive ended up taking around 15 hours. Lady A didn't want to sleep in the car and only slept for a total of about 2 hours. We left around 3:30 in the morning and once she woke up.....there was no going back to sleep.

We pulled up to the condo just before sunset and the temperature was so lovely. It was wonderful to get out of the car knowing we weren't going to get back in and drive more. Weather on Sunday was not so great, it was overcast and there were winds about 14-18 mph all day. We took one quick walk to the beach to show Lady A but couldn't stay too long, it was just too cold. We spent our day in the condo watching movies and trying to get Lady A to come in from the balcony ~ she loved it out there even though she was so cold.

Start off the morning with a little Harry Potter.

 Enjoying the balcony and ocean air.

This is what Heaven will look like to Paul.

Monday was better to get out so we went to the Wright Brother National Memorial and Museum. There was a lot of neat things to see there and think their first flight was in 1903, 66 years later we were on the moon and look at how far things have come in 100 years since they started.

 Look at those cute footprints. Daddy walking hand in hand with Lady A.

I love my little family.

We will most definitely be back down to OBX. Next time hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer so we can all get our feet in the water.

Whenever we travel we like to get a deck of cards and or a book about the area. This time we even got a book for Lady A to help her start he collection. We got Pirates, Ghosts, and Coastal Lore: the best of Judge Whedbee by Charles Harry Whedbee and First Flight: the Story of the Wright Brothers. Check out my review here. I couldn't find the same book we got but some of the stories come from these two books {he has written a total of 5}.

 

Fit Friday ~ Day 12

I have a confession to make ... This was not my best week.

It seems like we were running around a lot more this week than normal, coupled with staying up late to spend time with my husband when he gets home from work and school, I have had not energy.

I'm sure you noticed that the 'Day' count is off. There are two reasons for that, I fell behind and for me it would be best if my 'rest' days were on Sunday. To help me get back on track I am going to go to bed earlier and wake up before my little girl gets up and exercise in the morning. This will help wake me up and get the blood flowing for the day. With my cardio days it is hard to get out to the gym and we can't seem to get away from the snow, but hopefully, spring will be here any time. Going for walks/runs would be great for Lady A and I to get out and do together. Ah!! So excited for spring.

If you are interested in what exercise program I am following, just click here. I love the workout that are set up. They can be done from home and are a great length, short enough to keep me interested but long enough to get me sore. Love it!

Water. Water. Water. I need to do better at getting my full amount in for the day. I know that will help a lot with loosing the weight and helping myself feel better all around.

Ok, I am recommitting to this exercise routine today.

How are you doing on your goal? Have you fallen off the wagon? Well, hope right back up there with me, lets do this together.

~Mindy