New Year Goal Journal

I think this blog is going to be more beneficial to me than to any of my sisters. This is the first year (ever!) that I have made New Year’s Resolutions. One, Involves training for a triathlon. The second, Involves being a little more frugal this year to save up some money for a dream vacation.

That is where my sisters come in. I will need the help of Whitney, the coupon queen, to help me with the money saving part. I will need Lauren, my work out guru, to help me get ready for the triathlon because I am clueless on where to even begin. And did you see that post she just did about strength training? And did you pick up on the muscle loss after age 25? I am in trouble.

And not that those goals aren’t big enough, but I even have a few more goals on top of the ones that I already mentioned. I knew a casual approach to my resolutions/goals wasn’t going to cut it. So when my husband came home the other day with the most incredible gift, a giant stack of note cards (oh the things in life that I find joy in) I knew what I had to do.

Also, can you believe that his work was going to just throw these beauties away? All they had on them were two tiny little numbers on the back side.

 

I busted out my circuit- and I know that the silhouette is all the rage these days, but my circuit can do just the same with the help of this little program- Sure Cuts A Lot. See… I told you. All I did was set up the Font’s below and then I let the circuit do the work.



Here is the final outcome.




I can’t decide which month is my favorite. October, no January, maybe July, but April is cool too!

 

Tie it all together and viola… A goal journal. This journal sits on my night stand and we look at it every night to assess our progress that day.



Our goals stay pretty consistent every month, but some will require a little bit of tweaking each month so I write the goals for the month on the back of the note card. Every night we discuss our progress and check off whether or not we accomplished what we needed too. I kind of feel like a kid again, getting a check mark on my chore calendar for brushing my teeth or something. It works for us.

Here’s to a kick butt, goal keeping 2011!



 

A Valentines Gift

Are you looking for an inexpensive Valentines gift to give to a family member? Or maybe just a way to get your house ready for the upcoming Holiday?

I recently made a cheap and easy picture frame. I thought that I would share a tutorial.

Materials needed:

• $1 wooden frame from Michaels
• Old book
• Scissors
• Mod Podge
• Black and red paper

       Step 1. Tear pages from an old book. (That is always the saddest part.)

 Step 2. Cut pages into squares. My squares were about 2 in. x 2 in.

    Step 3. Apply Mod Podge to your wooden frame.

Step 4. Lay squares on top of the frame. Notice how my squares are bigger than the width of the frame? I did that so I could just fold the paper over, covering the inside and outside edge of the frame as well. Once everything was glued down, I put a coat of Mod Podge on top as well.

 

 

 

 

   

    Step 5. Add some hearts!

 

Step 6. Add some LOVE! I used my circuit to cut these letters out. My circuit will cut out any font in Microsoft Word. The font I used was French Script MT. If you don’t have a circuit, you could just print off the letters using Microsoft Word.

Easy. Easy. Seriously after I got the idea in my head- five minutes later it was done. Maybe I could stretch that to ten minutes if you count the time it took to have my circuit to cut out the letters.

 

This one is on my Mantel.

I also made one as a gift, and put this picture inside. Can you guess who it is for?

 

I heart Valentines Day!

Strength Training: It Isn't Just For Arnold

I believe everyone should learn about the great benefits of exercise. Learning about the benefits maybe will give you more motivation to get out and exercise more! The next couple weeks I just plan on talking about what great things exercise can do for you if you integrate it into your life!

Strength Training:

One great way to help maintain your weight is to strength train. Research indicates that after

the age of twenty-five, your muscles may lose more than one-half pound of muscle tissue

every year if they are not properly trained. Strength training is important because it allows

your body to keep functioning properly as you get older.

Key reasons why strength training is important:

— One pound of muscle requires three times more energy at rest than the energy required to maintain a pound of fat.

— If you increase three pounds of muscle you will have an increase of 40 calories per day

— You will have an increase in lean body mass

— You will increase your resting metabolic rate (the amount of energy the body uses while at rest)

— You will increase the use of stored fat at rest

Tune in next week to learn about the importance of cardio exercise!

Favorite Meal to Share

This is hands down my favorite meal and recipe to give to someone I am bringing dinner to. So guaranteed if you just had a baby, are sick or just need a good home cooked meal, this is what you are getting from me. It feeds A TON, tastes delicious and is a one pot meal. It really couldn't get better than that. Before I post the recipe though, I have to give credit to my favorite cooking blog ever. It is www.melskitchencafe.com She
is my absolute favorite and has forever changed the way I cook. So most of my recipes come from her, with a few tweaks here and there. But honestly, her stuff is so good I am ashamed to admit I tweak any of it.

Skillet Chili Mac
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, minced
3/4 tablespoon chili powder (add more if you want more heat)
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups water
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni
1 cup frozen corn
1 4.5-oz can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, any combo will work)

Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, chili powder, coriander, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat or grease. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender, about 10-12 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, frozen corn, green chilies and cilantro and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Cover and let sit off the heat until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Eat and enjoy! I'll post my favorite side dish to serve with this meal later this week.

Baby Bibs- Part 4 (The Finale)

All of this bib talk has been leading up to this… I would like to present my new Etsy shop!

Not only did I create some T-Shirt bibs, but I also created a few other fun bibs as well and these ones are for sale! I have 9 available at the moment and I even have a few more in the works. (Ok I’ll let you know… fire truck, rocket ship, tie… and maybe even a hot dog?)

They are on sale now for $6 or $7 each! I love them all so much I don’t know if I could pick a favorite. Maybe the turntable or maybe the dinosaur. I don’t know? I really do love them all!

Make sure to check out Super Baby! The place for the coolest drool bibs around!