FitBit

On Tuesday I started Insanity at home because I just couldn't drag myself to the gym. I should have just went to the gym! I was so sore from just the fit test! On Wednesday I decided to tackle day one of Insanity, I was still so sore from the fit test but I got through it. It was hard, and it sucked but I got to the end. Then on Thursday I decided to just go to the gym and hour on the adaptive motion trainer and I was beat. I find that really the only was to become un-sore from working out is to either A) workout some more, B) do yoga. Well since there wasn't any evening yoga classes the AMT it was for me. It really did feel good, really it did, or at least I'm telling myself that it did.

Now back to reason I sat down to actually write this post.....

I got a FitBit! Whats a FitBit your asking? and why would I need it? Well its this amazing pedometer, sleep tracker, food tracker, calorie tracker, stair step tracker, man I don't think that there is a thing that it doesn't do! It was only $99.99 and I picket it up at my local Best Buy . In the package it comes with everything you need. The module, silicone case with clip, and the sleep strap to wear when you're sleeping. I decided it was something that I needed to invest in because I was doing all of this hard work I wanted somewhere to keep track of all of my progress.

To start you sync the module to your Ipad, Iphone 4s or above, computer, etc. There is an app for the apple devices, I cant say if there is for any of the other sync able devices because mine are apple. So I downloaded the app for my Ipad and it found my now little module right away and I got started setting it up. The setup was way easy and I was done with it maybe three minutes, module synced, info entered, and ready to go.

I started off with the sleep cycle because by the time I actually got time to sit down and sync my new toy it was about the same time to go to sleep. For sleep mode you slide the module in the sleep band that comes in the package and then wear it around your wrist. To put your FitBit in sleep setting you push the button so that the flower shows up on the display, then just wear the band all night. Friday morning I literally jumped out of bed to check my sleep pattern on the app. It said I was awake/restless 17 times! The first little bit i could see was because I was restless going to sleep and then the part before I officially woke up because I woke up before My alarm went off, but all the time in between holy cow! I thought I had slept pretty well! Low and behold I was a lot more restless than I had ever though. No wonder I feel so tired everyday.

Today marks the end of my second night wearing the FitBit to sleep and I only was restless/awake 8 times. That is a mass improvement from the night before, but I still had a restless period between about 03:00 and 05:00.

So far I am loving having the FitBit. While I am wearing it I don't notice it at all and I love being able to track my food, weight, water, steps, calories, distance, and sleep all in one handy app. The only downside is that it doesn't sync with my Iphone 4. Iphone 4s is the oldest software supported. The app will update though whenever I sync with my Ipad, so while at work I just enter my water and food intake on the app on my phone and it updates it to my Ipad as well.

I would highly reccomend the FitBit to anyone at any fitness level, from just wanting to track your steps daily all the way to the experienced daily 10 mile runner.

First Insanity fit test results.

Uh yeah there is a reason that this workout is called Insanity it is crazy insane! I made it through the fit test and almost had a coronary but survived! These are my results.....

Switch kick- 73
Power jack- 21
Power knees- 63
Power jump- 25
Globe jumps- 6
Power jumps- 8
Push up jacks- 3
Low plank obliques- 15

I will do this fit test again in two weeks to see how the workouts have been helping! Hopefully I can get Ron to do it to and Ill post his results.

"Green" Lawn care

We have a yard that is pretty over run with weeds and I am sick of it, but with two little children and a string of 70 degree days how can i even think about dousing my lawn in weed killer? So I turned to Pinterest to find a greener approach to weed killing. I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for just laying around the house.

Fill a spray bottle up with white vinegar
add a generous squirt of regular blue dawn dish soap
add 2 Table spoons of sea salt (Regualr table salt will be fine if you dont have sea salt.)
Shake spray bottle a little to mix all together but not really hard because it will make it really foamy

I then put my spray bottle on the stream setting (not mist) and headed out to the lawn to start spraying weeds! I sprayed them and then left for a couple hours, and by the time I got back these weeds were dying if not dead already! So I whipped up another batch and headed back otuside.

This time it seemed like the weeds died even faster. My reccomendation would be to spray them in the morning and then by noon the sun would have cooked the heck out of them and they will be on their way to, well where ever weeds go.

This mixture worked so well that we went to Costco and got 2 more gallons of vinegar so that I could fill up the spray backpack with the mixture and I wasnt continuosly squeezing the spray bottle. This mixture worked great in the spray backpack and it was way easier on my hand. I will need probably about 4 more gallons.

The only down fall is that it kills (well I don't know if it kills it for sure just deadens so far) the surrounding grass as well. I think that after Ron mows the lawn and the weeds are gone I will use the Dr. Earth organic lawn fertilizer and it will hopefully bring us a nice plush lawn. 

Topsy Turvy Planter Tutorial

Items you will need-

1- 1/2" piece of rebar (mine came in a 10ft piece we cut 2.5 feet off)
1- 10" clay pot 
3- 8" clay pots
2- 3 or 4" clay pots 
2- Bottles of an outdoor worthy spray paint (you might need more if using bigger or more pots)
1- Large bag of potting soil
20ish- Of your favorite flowers (I got a few pony packs with the 6 in them and then a couple singles)
1- Larger flower for the top pot (if you want)

I started by taking my Valspar out door spray paint and pots to an area away from the kids, house and cars to paint each of them inside and out.

                                                        This particular Valspar brand of outdoor pain was very easy to work with and the spray nozzle and cap were very nice.

I really like the yellow!

We cut roughly 2.5ft off of our 10ft piece of 1/2" rebar with the sawsall, then took that rebar to the place where I wanted the planter and started working/pounding it into the ground. We could twist it a little bit of the way and then we got out my step ladder and rubber hammer to pound it in the rest of the way. I held on to the rebar its self to steady it while Ron pounded and it went in a lot smoother than when I wasnt holding it. I suggest you wear gloves when holding it. We pounded so that about 3 feet was in the ground.

After the rebar was pounded into the ground it might still feel a little wobbly to you but that is ok. As you add the pots and soil it will start to feel sturdier.

 Next I started feeding the pots on to the rebar through the hole in the bottom. I filled the bottom pot with soil and then fed one of the 3" pots on to the rebar but gave it a tilt and then filled it with soil as well.

Keep doing this with each of the pots until the top of your rebar is buried in the last pot, my last pot is a 3" pot because I wanted to put one big flower in it instead of many little ones but it doesn't have to be. As you go up the rebar tip each pot the opposite way of the one below it to get the topsy turvy look.

Then continue to fill each pot with soil and you should feel the structure starting to stabilize and be less wobbly.

The next thing to do is to start adding your plants. I got a few different kinds. Some of mine will be trailing and will spill out the sides of the pots as they grow and some will not. I picked some pansies, verbena, petunia's and for the top a Gerber daisy. Many of these are available in what they call pony packs which is a pack that has 6 plants of the same flower in the package. More bang for your buck with those! I also got some on sale at Lowe's for $1.25 a pack.
       
I am really happy with how it turned out and encourge you to make one of your own! It was very easy to make!

Two weeks!

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I've written anything! So much has happened in two weeks! We decided that the windows in our house needed to be replaced and set up consults with Lowes and Sears to come and give us estimates on how much it would be to get them replaced. We decided that the value and warranty was better with Sears and decided to have them complete the project for us. So now we are just waiting for them to come and take the measurements and our windows will start to be built!

Ron and I both joined the 12 week program at the YMCA, which is a free program where they help guide you in some workouts that meet your goals. The first thee weeks are focused on cardio, the next three focuses on weights targeting the large muscle groups and the final three weeks focus on smaller muscle groups bringing it all together for a well rounded 12 weeks of workouts. So far we completed our first week and things are going well.

My seedlings are almost all sprouting now and growing like crazy! We have had a couple really warm days and I think that they gave them a real boost. I picked up bigger biodegradable post for them so I can transplant them when they get a bit bigger, I also picked up some organic fertilizer today that they will get when I transplant them. I'm loving the pots because after this transplant I can just pop the pots right into the garden and they will compost up and keep on growing. We also got the trellis up and the posts into the ground, now just to add the screws and make the netting then it will be all ready to go when the plants start growing.

We have also been trying to clean up outside around the house and do some landscaping so that the outside looks better when we get the windows put in. Ron has been working really hard at digging up all the old bushes and weeds and grass or whatever else was growing. We chose three hydrangea bushes and picked them up at Costco for pretty cheap for the size of them.mi think that we also decided on some sort of rose bush as well but haven't picked one out yet. I think a trip to one of the bigger nursery's will be in order to pick one out.

My mom and I both decided to tackle a project that I saw on Pinterest, a topsy turvy flower planter. I have no idea if that's actually what it's called but it turned out great! I took pictures through the entire making of it and my next post will be a tutorial on how you can make one of your very own.

My training for my new job is almost finished, two days is all I have left then I will be in charge and on my own. It's kind of scary but very exciting! I've worked so hard for a long time now to actually be in a position that puts to use all of the stuff I have gone to school to learn for the past almost four years to learn is just amazing!