Lesson 129- Shredding

A few months ago I mentioned that I was attending Zumba twice a week at a gym near(ish) our house.  Well imagine my surprise when I arrived one day after work to see a completely empty parking lot.  There were two notices on the door.  One from the landlord stating that the gym had failed to pay rent and a lien had been put on the building.  The second from another local gym stating they would honor all contracts.  This gym wasn't too convenient to get too, especially after work when I tended to go.  The new gym was going to be even further.  So I decided to nix the gym membership all together.  But I needed some type of exercise program.  So...

I bought 'Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred' at Target. 

Buy it here

 Holy good grief, that woman is like a slave driver!!!  But I'm kinda enjoying it...as much as one can.  I've only done it about 10 days and haven't moved passed level one, but it is a nice, cheaper alternative to a gym membership.  I'm also proud of myself that I have been somewhat disciplined enough to do the DVD at home.

So far there hasn't been a significant change in numbers on the scale, but I can definitely tell that it is getting easier.  But I miss my Zumba classes.  Maybe once the New Year hits I'll start researching places that offer it closer to our house.

Lesson 128- Hakuna Matata

Last weekend Husband and I went to Las Vegas, which you may remember was my anniversary present.  We got it late-ish Friday night.  Saturday morning we headed to "The Strip" first visiting Caeser's Palace where I finally found the Ugg boots I've been craving for about a year.

We feasted at the Paris Hotel's buffet--after waiting in line for about 2 hours.  Silly, I know, but I really wanted to eat there.  And I'm blessed enough to have a husband who will indulge me. 

We had fun taking silly pictures with people on the The Strip.

That night it was time to go see "Lion King" at Mandalay Bay.  It was phenomenal!  Amazing!  I loved every second and look forward to when I get to see it again (for a third time!).

The next morning we packed up and headed out.  And oh my gosh!  It took us forever to get home.  There was major traffic getting across the Hoover Dam and what should have taken us about 4 hours took us closer to 7.5.  It was brutal!  But we saw a pretty rainbow!

What a super anniversary present I got!!!  And what a super husband I have!!!

Lesson 127- Saving the Tatas

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to make this t-shirt with some help from my local Hobby Lobby.

Supplies:
* 3 different types of pink ribbon
* black t-shirt
* white fabric paint
* letter stencil
* 3 buttons
* needle and thread

I first cut the ribbon about 3 inches long.  To prevent the ribbon from fraying, I used a lighter to singe the ends.  I used a dab of hot glue to keep the ribbon in a cursive "l".  After arranging the ribbon letters on the shirt where I wanted them, I used a dab of hot glue to place them on the shirt.  Then I sewed the buttons on the part of the "l" where the ribbon crosses.

Now it was time to paint the rest of the words on the t-shirt.  I bought a screen letter kit.  I was kinda tricky.  I'd recommend practicing on some scrap fabric first.  Too bad I didn't give myself that advise till after I did it.  Oh well.

And oddly, the pics I took seem to have disappeared, so I'm only able to show you the finished product.  Sorry! 

Do you have a special shirt bringing awareness to breast cancer?  Have you seen the NFL players with their hot pink shoes and such?  I think it's awesome that it's so popular and hopefully a cure is just around the corner!

Lesson 126- Making Napkin Rings

Here is one of the Halloween projects I did last year.  

A combination of wanting some Halloween decorations and not having a lot of money to spend on them I decided on making my own Halloween napkin rings.

Supplies:
*cardstock
*scissors/paper cutter
*ruler
*hot glue gun with extra glue sticks
*ribbon in 3 different colors (I used purple, spider web print, and green)

Directions:
1. Cut card stock into 2inch strips
2. With a hot glue gun, glue strips into rings about 2 inches in diameter
3. With first ribbon color, glue one end of ribbon on inside of napkin ring
4. Wrap in and out ring vertically with ribbon, gluing as you go.
5. Glue other end of ribbon on the inside of ring, once outside surface is completely covered.
6. With second ribbon color, wrap once around outside of ring (horizontally), gluing both ends.
7. Repeat step 6 with third ribbon color.

Sorry I don't have pictures of the process or better instructions--this post was kind of an after thought! But here's the final product. Hope you enjoy!

Lesson 125- Halloweens of Days Before

This was our first Halloween together

My mom always says that Husband looks like Garth Brooks in this picture.  But that wasn't intentional.  Anyone wanna guess our costumes?

Last year, we didn't dress up.  But we did dress Montana up.

We thought it would be funny to dress her up as a lobster since we had just returned from our New England/ Canada cruise.

I'm going thrifting this week in search of some necessities for our costumes this year.  And I'm very excited for our costumes this year.

Are you dressing up?  What was your favorite Halloween costume?  Or do you prefer dressing up your pets instead?

Lesson 124- Mini Cake Plate

Last time I went thrifting I found these...

I used the candle for this project and the vases were used for this project.  So all I had left were the little plate and the matching cup.  Immediately when I saw these on the shelf at Goodwill I knew what to do with them. 

I put a little Gorilla Glue around the rim of the cup.  

 I put the plate upside down on the counter then the cup upside down on the plate making sure to have it centered.

Gorilla Glue works best with some weight while it dries, so I put the heaviest book we own on top.  I allowed it to dry over night.

Once I was satisfied that it was completely dry, I took the book off and flipped it over.  My favorite thing about the plate is the edging.  I can add ribbon to it to update it for different seasons.

Ta Da!

Lesson 123- My First Cake Revisited

This was the first cake I ever made (by myself).  And in the spirit of Halloween I thought I should share it again.

And here's the original post if you're interested.

Happy Monday!