Restarting working out

So, I promised it, and here it is.  Tonight when I got home, I rode my bike 1 mile.  Not too long, but my husband had already ran/walked 2 miles at the gym and didn't want to ride much longer.

Then I did this workout.

I had to Google the first 2 exercises to make sure I was doing them right.  To save you the time, the links are here and here. 

I was nowhere near as graceful as the ladies in the videos, but this was a good workout.  Tomorrow night I'm going to do another workout.

This pin is in my Health & Fitness board.  And it didn't really point to anything, BUT the person who made this workout was nice enough to include her site on the image.  So I went to http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/ and did a search for abs.  It brought up not only this image, but a bunch of other great workouts.  I will definitely go back to that site!  Definitely a win.

Arm flapping challenge

So, this is my life.  The reason I can't EVERY get a workout routine started. The life of IT (Information Technology).  I didn't do the workout Friday night because of a failed e-mail server.  Then Saturday, we had a network outage that affected Public Safety (and a server room AC outage).  Turned out a squirrel had gotten ahold of the fiber.

 

So that meant my Sunday was taken up with church and assisting with fixing this mess.  Then Monday was finishing up the troubleshooting, plus the daily problems that come up, and by the time I got home and ate dinner, I was exhausted.  Today was working on stuff I should've done yesterday and tonight is my first night to truly relax.  I know excuses are weak and I should push through them, but sometimes you just want to relax.  I'm going to take a break and pick a new challenge (or 2) to start tomorrow.  I'll let you know what I decide on and also pick another pin to try for you.  I'll also try the "Vinegar and Dawn" bathtub cleaner again this week.

7 Day Arm Jiggle Challenge - Day.....

Well, this is a ME fail - I had a problem at my day work that I didn't finish with until almost 9pm.  I was exhausted.  I'll pick it back up tomorrow.  And it probably doesn't hurt to rest one day anyway.....

Baby shower suggestion

I LOVED this one!  My sister-in-law was expecting my 5th niece (no nephews for me!) and I threw her a baby shower with the help of my mother-in-law.  I wanted something that she could keep forever and my niece could look at throughout her life. 

I found this idea and posted it in my "Shower idea".  Then I went to work in my Stampin' Up My Digital Studio.  Her nursery theme was owls/woods in browns, yellows, and pinks.  I made my own cards with unique lines, in a 3 x 5 size, saved it as a JPG, then inserted it into a Word Document (Landscape, with .25" margins, to maximize the printing).  Once I printed enough for the anticipated guests, I cut them down to size, and purchased a small photo album with the colors she was using.

I added the "From" at the top because I wanted her to know who was sending her the love :)

As the guests arrived (aunts, grandparents, friends, etc), I handed them out with pens.  As everyone completed them, I inserted them into the photo album.  At the end, I presented it to my sister-in-law.

I think this was a hit with the "seasoned" shower goers (older generation) that didn't really want to do the same old, same old shower games.  AND it gives my niece something to look at and see how much she is loved by her family and the hopes and dreams we have for her future.

7 Day Arm Jiggle Challenge - Day 4

OW!  My arms are SO sore!  Next time I'm going to do two 7 days challenges and alternate the nights.

So tonight I did the exercises in the order of - 2, 5, 1, 6, 3, and 4.

5 was tough, and just after starting 1, I put my arms down for about 10 seconds because they just weren't working.

I'm glad there's only 3 days left.....

Also, I thought about it last night - I should have measured my arms before, so I could compare when I'm done.

"9 Ways to shave less"

This is a post I had under my "Stuff" (doesn't really fit anywhere else) board.  It's now in my  "Tested and Failed"

I mean, who doesn't want to SHAVE LESS!  LOL  So, I (finally) followed the link, because who checks the link when they post stuff (which is why I started this blog ;).  Well, it took me to the Elle website.... main page.

So the link didn't go to the article - Fail, but no big deal, I'm pretty smart, surely I can find the article.

NO search option on the site - Fail, but let's be logical here.  Out of the headers Fashion, Beauty, Accessories, Street, Culture, Life & Love, News, and Horoscopes, SURELY I could figure out where this article is.

So I went to Beauty (obviously, right?).  Now it wasn't in the featured articles, but no big deal, there was a link to "Show all articles".

When I clicked that, it listed the articles on a page with about 15-20 per page, with a total of 50 pages.

I made it through the first 10 pages and got bored searching - as most would.  America's Got Talent was on and it grabbed my attention.  WHY would you bury an article on your site and NOT have a search.  So, while I didn't "test" this, I'm calling it a FAIL.  If someone can point me to the real article, I'd be interested in trying again.

Fundraising

So, this post is about an entire board - the Fundraiser Ideas board. 

I started pinning these in preparation for our church's Baseball fundraiser.  I was put in charge of a silent auction.  First, I have to say our event would not have been as successful as it was without the help of a wonderful friend who called, gathered, and bundled, the donations, and my sister-in-law who gave us some tips to go by.

So, the posts that helped the most were the ones that explained how to request donations from corporate companies and sports leagues.  But the themed baskets ideas were helpful too.

Our first event, which was planned and donations requested in the 6 weeks before the event, raised over $2,200 for our baseball league.  And that was with only 3 women working on it, and my daughter being admitted to the hospital for a week and a half 2 weeks before the event.

We had date nights, concealed carry classes, paddle board lessons, an I <3 "insert local city here", things men like, family game night, flooring, local art, and many other great items/baskets. 

Next time we're going to make the entire event more of a carnival - dunking booth, games, snocones, the silent auction, and hopefully we'll get more donations.

Some tips we learned and from the people you helped me

• Start asking for your donations/sponsorships early in the year.  We had a few companies decline because they had met their donation quota for the year.
• Thank companies/people daily on facebook for their donations.  Preferably from your organization's site, but if that's not allowed, from your page.
• Have a letter on hand when you solicit - don't leave it, talk only to the owner/manager that can make a decision about donating.
• Create bid sheets as you build your baskets or determine what you are selling.
• Put a description on the bid sheets.
• Staple bid sheets together where the winner is the same.
• Place your payment table away from the pickup table.
• Close the bids in waves about 10-15 minutes apart.  This gives everyone a chance to place last minute bids if they lost something they wanted.
• Some popular basket themes are
• Baby
• Lottery (if it's allowed/legal in your area/organization)
• Gift cards (in a potted plant)
• Baking
• Craft
• Garden (we got a large pot from Lowes, some potting soil, 2 plants, and a garden decoration - people were fighting over it!)
• Women's basket (a local artist donated a piece of jewelry and a handmade beach bag)
• Men's basket (we had a green fee, fishing rod, Buffalo Wild Wing gift certificate, and some other small items in a basket - this was another one that people were bidding like crazy on!)
• Movie night
• Family night (we had 4 small board games and a pizza gift certificate)
• Beach (we had one of those chairs that come with a carrying bag, a cooler, a beach ball, and some toys for the beach)
• Don't put gift certificates out.  Instead, put out place holders, list them on the bid sheet, and keep them safely in a labeled envelope at the payment table.  Hand them to the winner as they come to pay.
• A good suggestion is to have at least 10 people to help you.

Well, I hope this helps you raise money for your organization!  And if you find anything on Pinterest that I don't seem to have, please let me know!  There is ALWAYS room for improvement!

7 Day Arm Jiggle Challenge - Day 3

So, Day 3 of the arm challenge - I had to really push myself tonight and it's only a 15 minute workout....

THEN, to make matters worse for myself, I went out after and pulled some of my garden plants out - Tomatoes, Kale, Broccoli, and cucumbers.  Those tomato plants have some serious roots!  So, anyway, I did the exercises in the following order - 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

I realized part way through that I may be doing MORE than the 30 reps of some of these exercises.  All you moms can relate - I'm working out 1, 2, 3, 4, the laundry needs to be done, where are the hampers, 5, 6, what am I making for dinner, 7, the kids need to clean their room, 8, 9, why is that toy in here, 10, come on Suzanne you can do this.... Wait, is that 10, or my second 10, or my final 10?!  I'll do 30 more, just to make sure.

I also noted tonight that this workout is for your triceps and it does NOT include the famed (YUCK!) tricep dip!  Being that I'm short, to do the tricep dip I feel like I have to be up high to get any benefit from the tricep dip.  This makes me dislike it very much.  It seems like everyone else looks so graceful in the Body Pump class doing this on the aerobic step, while my tush is still on the ground!  And it MAY be that my tush is just a little too big to do this.....  Maybe my next "challenge" should be a tush lifting challenge...... 

Spooky Halloween eyes

This one is now in my "Tested and Failed" board.  My son was SO excited to do this for Halloween last year (2013). 

So we saved toilet paper rolls for a couple weeks before Halloween, I bought 6 glow sticks ($1 at Walmart in the party section - NOT the Halloween section, or at Dollar Tree), and he cut out the eyes.

So ON Halloween, we snapped the glow sticks, placed the rolls in the bushes in front of our house, and went out Trick-or-Treating.  We left before the sun set, so we didn't get to see them before we left.  When we got home, we were extremely disappointed.  You couldn't see them from the road (our house sets back from the road).  Then we got closer and found out that some of the glow sticks had fallen out :(  It was a big fail.  Skip this Pin!

7 Day Arm Jiggle Challenge - Day 2

So, I promised I would keep you updated about my 7 day challenge, so here it is.

 

My arms didn't start hurting until lunch time today.   Then it was a minor ache.  But I did my workout again anyway. 

 

Now, it's not suggested that you workout the same muscle group 2 days in a row, but for the sake of this blog, I am going to follow through.  But to not get into a rhythm, I did the exercises in a different order - 1, 6, 2, 5, 3, then 4.

 

For my one minute break in between each exercise, I stretched my triceps. I did a little of this - http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/triceps-stretch, then some of this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Iwlq-WmvCA.

 

As bedtime approaches, I am a little more sore than I was last night, but we'll see how it goes - on to tomorrow!

7 Day Arm Jiggle Challenge - Day 1

So I mentioned yesterday that I did a workout while waiting for the cleaning solution to work its magic.  Well, I did this one -

I'm going to refer to them by numbers - 1 for the top left to 6 for the bottom right.

Now, this was the first day of the challenge.  I'm going to post my arm "before" pics, and some after pics.  Hopefully, there will be a difference - I need it!

 Right arm

 

 Left arm.

Ugh!  Those pictures are terrible!  Now you see why I NEED this challenge.

So, first some tips - always do exercises with proper form to prevent injuries and make sure you are cleared to do these exercises before starting out.  Also, the "CustomBodz" site that this linked to suggested using 5-10 lb weights and to rest for one minute in between each exercise.

Now, I haven't worked out in about 6 months - possibly more.  So, I made it through the first 3 exercises with minimal pain using my 5 lb weights.  I would recommend that you focus on your form - particularly for exercise #3 & 6 - the seated tricep press/extension.  I found myself squishing my shoulders toward my ears.  This sent me to a chiropractor earlier this year and I do NOT want to do that again.  Also, on exercise #5 - keep your elbow pinned to your side.

I was about 10 reps into exercise #4 and had to remind myself over and over that it would be worth it in the end.  I saw a motivational statement once that says your mind will quit well before your body, so get your mind out of the way and push yourself just a little more.  You can do it!

I'll keep you posted as to how this goes - if it gets easier as the week goes by :)

White Vinegar & Dawn

To start off, let's look at a cleaning post I recently tried.  It's in my "For the Home" board.  I've seen a number of these pins and the recipes are all the same - 50/50 white vinegar and BLUE Dawn.  Now I haven't tried anything other than the blue Dawn, so I can't say if that's important, but someone else can try that. 

First, so everyone knows, my area has some tough water AND my husband is a machinist.  I get a buildup in my tub and even in my toilet (YUCK) that is this orangy color.  It's disgusting!  I've tried Kaboom, Clorox, and about everything else to get rid of it and NOTHING has worked.  My mother (the Clorox Queen) has tried MANY times to get rid of the dingy look in the non skid at the bottom of my tub and the ring in the toilet - even she couldn't remove it!

Now, I've seen everything from leaving it on for 10 minutes-2 hours.  I tried this once before, but the bottle I sprayed it on with didn't spray, it streamed.  So this is a new try with new build up.  Forgive the dinginess, I wanted something good to test on.  So first, here are the "Before" pictures.

This is the bottom of the tub, with the non skid I mentioned earlier.  You can also see in this picture the soap spots on the spigot.

 

This is another shot of the fixtures - You can also see the orange buildup around them.

You'll see the significance of this picture later, but there's buildup and orange goo.

This rod is the worst to clean!  Stuff gets around the ends, and the soap buildup is terrible on the acrylic!

Here's the toilet bowl (sorry, for the YUCK! I would rather not post these, but for the sake of the truth, here it is.)  The water deposits and that orange stuff again!

And finally, the sink.  I figured we'd try it everywhere :)

So, I sprayed everything down.  A tip here is to have VERY GOOD ventilation! 

And set the timer for an hour -

And waited........

 

 

 

Well, sort of - I went and did a 7 day arm challenge work out (coming soon to this blog ;)

 

 

So, an hour later and ~30 minutes of scrubbing, and here are the tub results -

 

Here's the bottom of the tub - much better, but not spotless......

Now THIS is a huge improvement!  I didn't have a before of this spot, but think orange goo in the corner.

Here's that acrylic rod - much cleaner!

And the back wall - cleaner too!

 

So it worked, but not perfectly.  BUT, I'm not done!  Boy that sounds like an info-mercail, but it's true.  I wanted to try it in the toilet, sink, and that razor cup. 

 

First, the toilet, it cleaned the toilet, but not well enough to post the after picture.

 

Now, the sink and razor cup - I didn't want to wait ANOTHER hour after working all day AND my earlier workout.  So, I let it sit about 10 minutes in the sink and wiped it out.  Now take a look -

 

Amazing!  It came out with a single wipe!  Maybe it works better when it only sits for 10 minutes :)

Finally, I wanted to see how it would work with the plastic razor cup.  Remember how it looked?  Scroll up, if you want and look at the "Before" of it.

I sprayed it down and wiped immediately.  I also removed the suction cups and sprayed them.  So, take a look -

Almost looks new, right!  Minus the staining on the suction cups, but it'll do to extend the life of that think for a little more.

So, I think it definitely works.  But I think it's better to wait only 10 minutes rather than an hour.  I'm not done testing though.  I think next week, I'm going to do the tub again, but wait only a few minutes before wiping.  Stay tuned for an update! :)