Weekly Gratitude

• Thank you to my sister for getting me these amazing pinwheel straws! She also gave me a vintage style glass straw holder to keep all my straws in!

• Thank you to Universal City Walk for the great show my husband's band got to play with Carolina Liar last week, it was the best show!

• Thank you to my wonderful husband for chauffeuring me around this week since my car decided to die (again)....

• Thank you to my brother for coming to get my car towed! :)

• Thank you Zuzanna and Freddy for delivering some amazing workouts at Bodyrock.tv! 

• Thank you, Dad, for having us over and making dinner for my grandparents (my grandma's cancer has come back)

The last few weeks have been very busy and stressful, but God is faithful and I know He is in control!

Fitness Friday #7: HIIT

I have been doing Jillian Michaels' workout DVDs since November when I really started to get into fitness and trying to have a healthier lifestyle, and I have loved every minute of it. But I started getting a little bored with the DVDs I have, especially after doing the 30 Day Slim Down. Instead of buying another one of her DVDs (I am on a pretty tight budget over the summer) I started looking at free workouts online and stumbled upon Bodyrock.tv . The first workout I saw I watched the video, read the instructions, and thought, it might be too difficult. I contemplated trying this workout for about 45 minutes and just decided I had to try and push myself. It was one of the toughest workouts I had done in awhile (dripping sweat!), but I felt so accomplished! I have been doing their workouts this past week and feel like I already have more definition in my abs than before! The workouts are HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training) and can be as short as 12 minutes while others are based solely on how fast you can repeat a certain number of reps (with good form) and will be revisted so you can try to beat your personal best.

I am sold on Bodyrock.tv and proud to be a new bodyrocker! Thanks Zuzanna and Freddy!

30 Days 30 Hairstyles: Day 16

Just a simple look for the day, I used my flat iron to make some loose curls and left my hair down, easy enough!

30 Days 30 Hairstyles: Day 13-15

I have been so incredibly busy that I haven't had time to really take pictures or do my hair! Two days I defaulted to my easy hairstyles (straightened and down and a regular old ponytail). Day 13 I had some time and inspiration and came up with this:

I have done a similar hairstyle in this challenge, but this time I just twisted two pieces of hair on each side and joined them into the bun instead of braiding the hair, I definitely will do my hair like this in the future!

Fitness Friday #6: Workout Schedule

I have recently been in a bit of a workout rut and haven't really felt motivated or excited for any of my workout DVDs. I use MyFitnessPal to keep track of calories and exercise and I heard about a workout challenge that sounded like the perfect solution! For the last two weeks I have been following Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Slim Down Challenge, which is tough, but a great motivator and it really helps that I am part of a group to keep me accountable! Here is the schedule:

DAY 1 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1

DAY 2 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1

DAY 3 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES

DAY 4 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1

DAY 5 - BANISH FAT, BOOST METABOLISM
DAY 6 - QUICK TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 7 - OFF!
DAY 8 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1
DAY 9 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2
DAY 10 - QUICK TROUBLE ZONES

DAY 11 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2
DAY 12 - BANISH FAST, BOOST METABOLISM
DAY 13 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 14 - OFF!
DAY 15 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1 & QUICK TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 16 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2
DAY 17 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 18 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 1 & 2
DAY 19 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 20 - BANISH FAT, BOOST METABOLISM

DAY 21 - OFF!
DAY 22 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2 & 1
DAY 23 - QUICK TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 24 - BANISH FAT, BOOST METABOLISM
DAY 25 - QUICK TROUBLE ZONES & 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2
DAY 26 - OFF!
DAY 27 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES & 30 DAY SHRED LEVEL 1
DAY 28 - BANISH FAT, BOOST METABOLISM & QUICK TROUBLE ZONES
DAY 29 - 30 DAY SHRED: LEVEL 2 AND THEN LEVEL 1
DAY 30 - NO MORE TROUBLE ZONES

So far I have noticed some small results (I'm looking to tone up more, not lose any weight or anything), I can definitely see my stomach muscles and better muscle tone in my arms. I'm definitely looking forward to day 30!

30 Days 30 Hairstyles: Day 12

Here's my hair inspiration for today's hairstyle:

Source: keenanevans.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

And here's my interpretation:

I didn't quite get it as messy, but I think it turned out pretty good and only took about 15 minutes! I do think next time I do this, though, I'll put some braids on the other side as well. This may be my new favorite summer hairstyle!

30 Days 30 Hairstyles: Day 10 & 11

Yesterday I wasn't feeling inspired to try anything new with my hair, so I just did a low ponytail and wrapped a piece of hair around to hide the hair tie (pictured below).

Today, though, I felt like doing something a little fancy and created a new hairstyle for me! Basically I just put my hair into a ponytail, created a space between the hair tie and scalp to pull the ponytail through a few times, and then secured it with some bobby pins.