Neutrals

Though I have been trying  to follow my "no more buying neutrals rule" because I have way too much of it, I still find myself drawn to these "safe" colors. When I saw these nude colored heals I knew I had to get them with the same rationalization that I always use "they will go with EVERYTHING!" Ok well these heels really do. I think they are a must shoe color for everyone's closet.

                                                        Top-Rhapsodielle
                                                        Skirt-Rhapsodielle
                                                        Shoes-Discount shoe factory
                                                        Necklace-Burlington Coat factory

                                   linked to-The pleated Poppy,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,two thirty-five designs,  mom trends

Living room makeover

Been a bit busy lately! Had Feeling the end of summer coming way too quickly. At the moment I am out of town enjoying the week and the quiet laid back life in a small town with my kids visiting  some of my siblings.  Feeling the need to get in a few last trips in before summers end. I also did write a list of of goals for projects that I wanted  to accomplish this summer. So far I am proud to say I accomplished my number one project which was getting my bedroom and master bathroom painted. Yea!! Two days and little sleep and its done! Now I am in the process of decorating it.
   Here are pictures of my living room that was in need of a subtle change to make me fall in love with the room again.

                           Before
             

My inspiration for change was these striped pillows that came with this couch. Been wanting some pillows that were a little bit brighter for this couch since I got it 4 years ago!

    Love my wall art but since I changed my pillows I felt like I needed to brighten up this space on my piano too.

           After

Ahhh much better! This room makes me happy now with just these few subtle changes.

I have been wanting to make a monogram pillow ever since I saw it on the sweet survival blog   Found a font that I liked and traced it onto felt and sewed it onto the linen material. The yellow pattered pillow cover I sewed from napkins that I bought from Target.

Oh these lamps! I have been searching for a year for the right clear glass lamps. Not just the right ones but the right price because they are kind of expensive. I got lucky when Target put all their lamps on sale where you buy one and get one half off. Why I love these so much is because the whole bottom is open so I can put anything I want inside of it. Can you see the potential?? Holidays?? Yeeaa!  Had these branches of flowers that fit perfectly inside and are a great look for the spring and summer.

Got these yellow birds from my neighbor. I was so excited about them because they tied in so perfectly with my yellow pillow!

                                                                     

                                                                                        

 Linked to-Mon-craft-o-maniac, creatingreallyawesomefreethings, homestories a to z, thrifty decor chick, diy show off, sumos sweet stuff, Tues-tip junkie, not just a housewife, sugarbeecrafts Weds-uncommon designs online, gingersnap crafts, someday crafts Fri-tatertots and jello, six sisters stuff, whipperberry, shabby nest, blissful and domestic, classy clutter, house of hepworths Sat-positively splendid, Sun-Under the table and dreaming

Summer nails

My nails were so nasty and full of dirt after camp. I could not wait to redo them and feel girly again after looking like crap for a week! Was in the mood for something bright. Love adding touches of neon for the summer.

                                                                                      

                                       Linked to-mani monday, the nail files, fabulousbutevil

Girls camp 2012

My camp experience? Well  I laughed till I cried and cried till I felt dehydrated. Got an average of 3 to 4 hrs of sleep each night and ate more junk in a week  than I would in a month! Thank goodness this is only one week out of the year! Not gonna lie though, I missed my family and was wishing I could have been on vacation with them. I got sad when I saw all the pictures my husband took of them on their trip to the cabin. However I love working with the youth in our church. Being a teenager now  I think is so much harder than being one when I was their age over 15 years ago. I admire their strength and courage and their ability to stand up for their beliefs even if it is not the popular thing to do.

    So being away from my family and spending it with 100s of teenage girls with no phone, internet or TV, what does one do for entertainment? Well besides eating a lot, having great devotionals,crafting, service projects, passing of certifications, hiking, rock wall climbing and shooting, what would camp be like without a few pranks?! This freaky baby became the mascot for the 4th year level. Which is the group of girls I was over. Each level had their own Mascot and every level would steel each others mascot and figure out some creative way to give it back. The clown faced freaky baby ended up in a few sleeping bags with a flashlight shining in its face resulting in a few screams. Also who doesn't love a good peanut butter chocolate rice crispy treat...unless it is loaded with a ton of salt. Oh and how would it be to come into your tent only to find that all of your stuff had been taken out which included your cots and sleeping bags and found neatly set up outside somewhere else. Or charging in someones tent to scare the crap out of them when that was not your original plan. Well there was worst things done but not that I could claim. It was all good fun and no one got hurt, well maybe there was just a few scratches and bruises. 

    Good times but it was  so good to come home! I came home hugged my family took a shower and slept for 4 straight hours! Took some time off blogging to just hang out with my family and get my house back in order. Finally got around to doing some spring cleaning in the summer.

First pic-all the girls and leaders at camp, 2nd pic-the awesome girls I was over, 3rd pic-the amazing leaders I served with. 

My recent crafting project. LOL  Our mascot. Ok so who gets their child a doll that looks like this?! I think people told me it was a Baby alive. You could feed it and it pees! I think I improved the look of it when I painted it gold. Haha  This baby went through a few transformations during the week of camp. Was originally The golden child, with the shades became Carlos and renamed Selena. 

     When I got home my husband thought it would be funny to set this creepy baby  next to me on  my night stand with a flashlight shinning it its face hoping to scare me, but in the middle of the night the flashlight dropped and woke my husband up and the baby ended up creeping him out instead!

My workout to burn out

This week will be quite the adventure. My husband just left on a trip with my boys. They get to spend 5 days away  in the mountains at a cabin. As for me I get to go to girls camp tomorrow till Saturday. I will be sleeping in a tent and hanging out with over 100 teenage girls! Wish me luck! Haha. In the twelve years that my husband and I have been married we have never taken separate vacations away from each other. It was kinda hard to watch him drive off with the boys and not get to go with them. It will be even harder when I go to camp tomorrow because I will have no reception and won't get to talk to them till Saturday.  Despite missing my family I know camp will be a blast. It always is. I love getting to know these girls better and hanging out and making great friends with the other leaders. 
  Well since I will not get to workout at the gym all week I had get in a killer full body workout that would hopefully leave me sore for at least a day or so. I have no intention of eating healthy and or sneaking in a workout while I am in the mountains. I am actually looking forward to my time off from the gym and having a little junk food because I do believe in balance.  I could  use the break and I  know that my body will benefit from a longer recovery time too.

 Here is my workout from today
  
Back squats-  5x5 and two drop sets to failure
Leg extention -  3x12  after 6 reps switch to 3 sec paused reps on each set
Pull Ups 3 sets to failure
Cable row-   3x12 after 6 reps swtich to 3 second paused reps on each set
Stiff leg deadlift -  5x5  and two drop sets to failure
Lying leg curl-  3x12  after 6 fast reps switch to 3 sec paused reps on each set
Bench press- 5x5
Plyo clap push-up 1x10, 1x8 , Standard push-up  1x15, 1x10
Standing biceps cable curl-3x12 fast and paused reps
Cable rope Tricep extension-3x12 fast and paused reps
Smith machine shoulder press-5x5
Hanging leg raises 3x15

Also totally random but here's a few of my favorite workout songs right now. Keeps me driven at the gym. Don't know what I would do without music!

"Titanium"-David Guetta feat. Sia
"The fighter"- Gym Class Heroes
"Burn it Down"-Linkin Park
"The Kids Aren't Alright-  The Offspring
"Unbroken"-Demi Lavato
"New Divide"- Linkin Park

                              Yup still standing but maybe not tomorrow! Haha 

Hopefully everyone will have a great week. I will miss not having access to to the internet or use of my phone till Saturday!!

Linked to- MOTIVATE ME MONDAY

Fourth of July 2012

    1. My cute little family  2.Celebrating with all of my husbands family  3. Our pretty cool firework show

1. Yummy pulled pork sandwiches (confession: I ate two of these!) 2. My Sis Julie and I  3 & 4. My boys loving the sparklers.( I think they each burned through a couple of packs each!) 5. My poor baby was  not a big fan of the fireworks. He would cover his ears and say "owie"

Chicken and Black Bean Tacos

These tacos get made pretty often in my home. They are healthy, easy and quick to make. My type of cooking!

                                                                              Ingredients
                                                         
                                                                         12 oz chicken breast
                                                                         1 15oz can of black beans
                                                                         shredded cheese
                                                                         chopped lettuce 
                                                                         fat free sour cream
                                                                         1 lime
                                                                         pkg. of corn tortillas


Boil chicken and add salt into the water  Shred chicken when done. Layer chicken (3 oz per 3 tortillas) 1/2 cup of black beans,a pinch of shredded cheese , lettuce and 2 tbsp of sour cream. Squeeze lime over the taco and fold.

                                                                                  Nutrition   
                                                                                 (per 3 tacos)
                                                
                                                                                  440 cals
                                                                                  9g fat
                                                                                  56 carbs
                                                                                  35g protein 
                                                                               
                                                                           Makes 4-5 servings

                                                                                 


 Linked to-- six sisters stuff, five days five ways

Why I love Kohl's

First off Happy 4th of July everyone!! Our celebration always starts the night before attending a Patriotic concert that my mom is a part of . It is always such a great performance! This year was extra special as congresswomen Shelley Berkley was there and she presented a Gold metal to one of the Veterans in the audience who served in World War ll. This guy was 90 yrs old and it was very inspiring to hear him share a few words. I will probably never in my lifetime get to see another Gold metal in real life again. That was so awesome! I am so grateful for this country we live in and the freedoms that we enjoy because of all the brave men and women that fight and have fought to protect our rights.
        After the concert my family comes back to my house to watch the big firework show that is put on at a nearby park. I love that we don't have to fight the crowds to see a great show.
     Today I look forward  to the pancake breakfast that our church puts on every year and to the traditional BBQ, swimming and fireworks party that my fabulous Sis in Law hosts year after year. I cannot wait to eat some yummy pulled pork sandwiches!!

      There are a lot of clothing stores that I love but Kohl's has got to be at the top of my list. Every time I walk into that store I always find something that I love. Great clothes shoes and home decor! Oh and what ? Its on sale?! Pretty much everything that I want!
     This whole outfit is from Kohl's, minus the shoes. Those are from Target, another store I can always walk out of buying more than I planned.

This lace belt is my very favorite! I seriously wear it all the time. It came with another pair of jeans I got a while back from Kohl's.




  linked to-the pleated poppy, glam a mom