If You Brush Your Teeth Every Day....

So, you guys know how I feel about squatting, and working out in general: DO IT. That pretty much sums it up.

I am also very interested in being productive and efficient with my time (yes, I do think a sit at Starbucks with the girls can be very productive). Multitasking is a great way of being efficient, and the ability to multitask is thankfully part of us women's genetic makeup.

I found this awesome picture on line that should convince every woman to do squats.... but I am afraid I cannot re-post it due to the questionable amount of airbrushed booty it shows. But really, I saw that picture and I wanted to do extra squats that day just to make sure I kept myself perky and lifted.

So for all of you who have not yet hopped on the band wagon of squatting because you just can't seem to fit it into your schedule... this post is for you.

Eight things you can do while squatting. Not only that, most of them are things that you do every day anyway, so why not put forth a little extra effort and get that booty down to the ground?

-  Squat while brushing your teeth. This is a very handy one. I can get between seventy-five and a hundred squats done before my toothbrush timer stops. And sometimes, it even compels me to brush my teeth for a little bit longer on ‘whitening mode’ until a finish all my squats. 

-  Squat while folding laundry. I did this last night and it was awesome. It forced me to get a little lower to the ground to pick up some articles of clothing and drop them down neatly folded. 

-  Squat while memorizing scripture. This is a great way to get your mind of the pain in your rear and focus on some of your favorite scriptures.  

-  Squat while brushing your hair. I should probably do this one a little more often…

-  Squat while watching tv. If you spend many of your evening in front of the screen, it is a perfect time to shun the couch potato tendency and turn it into fitness hour. 

-  Squat while listening to teaching tapes. I tried to squat while reading, but I kept losing count and getting distracted. So I have found that this is a great time to listen to the word.

-   Squat while braiding your hair. This one is probably only for a fairly advanced squatter. 

-  Squat while making phone calls, business or other. This one is especially nice if you are paying bills, on hold, or taking care of any other tedious activity on the phone.

Talk about being good with your time. Happy Squatting!

Little Quinn - Newborn Photo Shoot

Last week my childhood friend, Sarah, brought her sweet little newborn over for a photo shoot. As most of you know, I have been interested in photography for awhile now. I have read a lot of books, watched a lot of tutorials, and practiced a bunch. So I was super excited for the opportunity of practicing with a newborn.

In preparation for the visit from Sarah and Quinn, I did a lot of reading on newborn sessions. It all seemed pretty straight forward. Baby sleeps, natural lighting, don’t shoot up the nose, etc. I thought, “this will be easy peasy.” So. Not. True.

Taking sweet shots of a newborn is way more challenging than it looks! It doesn’t matter how precious the little baby is…. It is ridiculously hard. So most of the cute pose ideas I had in mind went out the window in the first five minutes. Who knew the little 11 day old baby wouldn’t want to do what I told her to?

However, I was able to capture a few good ones which were also invaluable practice in photoshop. Yay me! I am beginning to view the program as slightly less daunting… which is a huge step from the monster I thought it was only two weeks ago.

And so here are a few of the shots I was able to capture of little Quinn. Toward the end she was so done with sleeping (even though mommy kept nursing her to try to get her back to sleep) and so I got a few with her eyes open. 

February Recap

I cannot even believe that we are already 1/6 of the way through 2014! And I still feel like I am just getting started.

Since being inspired by a couple other lovely blogs (here, and here) in January, I have decided to post a monthly recap of what went on in my life.

All of the little things may not be that big of a deal, but when December rolls around and I am wondering, “what the heck do I have to show for this year, anyway?” I will at least know what I was up to. (side note, I realize that was not a very good confession of what my year is going to be like… almost as if I should erase it and start over, but this is raw…late at night. What flies off my fingers is displayed for the world to see.) Either way, my year is going to be awesome, full of memories.

Anyway, here is my brief February Recap:

Superbowl Party at my parents. Lots of food, lots of fun. Lots of pitying the poor Broncos.

We went on our FOURTH marriage retreat with our church. It was a wonderful time.

I did the squat challenge (which, by the way, I would swear by. Totally transformed my booty).

I made my first homemade batch of Kombucha. I just finished this week. So will have to write more on that later :)

I guest posted for Robyn at her charming blog Invincible Summer. Check it out here.

We booked a vacation in celebration of our three year anniversary! The beautiful beaches of the Caribbean here we come!

Hmmm…. Life does look pretty great, doesn’t it?

Thank Goodness For a Clean Slate

First off…. Let’s start this week off right with a little confession and therefore a clean slate. Yesterday I consumed an ENTIRE box of girl scout cookies (caramel delights are so dangerous) AND (what seemed like) half a pie!!! What skinny fit girl does that??? But, I do not believe in having regrets, therefore I don’t.

Now that I have that off my chest, moving on.

Yet another week under my belt in this journey called life. I wish I could say that my week was packed full of inspiration and profundity. No such luck. It was one of those weeks….. you know the kind where you feel a little low and you are not sure why? However I dealt with it very maturely in the form of this post (and perhaps some extra cookies and pie). You would never have known. Right?

Anyway, I was very studious with Photoshop last week. Yay me! spent a lot of time reading, learning functions and tools, and watching you tube videos. So, though I don’t have many photos that I feel I did I good job with, I am developing a fraction of understanding of the system. And a few weeks ago, I had no idea when that was going to come to pass!

My goals for this week are:

- Throw away two pairs of shoes… I definitely don’t wear them all

- Clean out and organize my dresser.

- Make the starter so I can start baking my own sourdough (I did this once and it didn’t turn out so well… so here is to try number 2).

- Fifty squats a day. Finished the challenge last week woohoo, so this week I am going to take a little challenge break and do squat maintenance. 

- Do one photo shoot. I am supposed to be working on my photography portfolio and it has been going very slow!

As I bonus I am going to work on having a good attitude and being thankful for all of the blessings that I have. This is not usually a struggle, but I can always be better.

What extra things do you want to accomplish this week? Jot down a few ideas and make it a good week!

Starting the Week Off Strong

Don’t the Mondays come all too quick. The older I get, the more I am aware of the speedy passing of time. It is one of those sobering thoughts that can get a little too heavy if dwelt on for an extended period of time.

I did pretty well on my goals for last week, especially considering I was away from home for most of the week.

I got my miles done running along the beautiful Colorado River in Laughlin. Running is a love/hate thing with me. But when I first take off and the wind is blowing in my face and my music is blaring in my ears, I always think, “this is great. Why do I dread it so much?” And then I have to go through the same thing the next day. Human nature I suppose. In addition to running, maybe I was the girl in the gym doing planks while quoting James 1. And maybe I was the girl chucking a bunch of clothes in a bag while saying the same scripture over and over. Multi tasking. Distraction. Whatever you want to call it. Either way, I am happy to announce that I definitely have adequately refreshed myself on that particular chunk of scripture to the point where I think it is stuck in my heart good. Whenever I memorize scripture, I realize that I could lose it randomly until it is hidden away in my heart. Once I reach that point, I don’t think I will ever forget it. And this week I discovered that James 1 is on the list of those scriptures which are there to stay.

You notice that once more I have not listed a completed edited photo….. there is always this week.

I am really on a tummy tightening kick, so I will be working on that this week yet again. I found this article in fitness magazine with a picture of the most beautiful abs. So I am going to try to work some of that into my routine this week. We will see. I am telling you people, taking a few goals one week at a time is really helpful!

- DON’T eat bread. After all of the homemade loaves and the bread binging at outback steakhouse last week, I definitely need to take a little bread break. (this, of course, excludes homemade pizza night on Saturdays.... I just can't take that away from my hubby)

- Organize two drawers in my office. It is crazy in there.

- Order Photoshop book from library AND EDIT ONE PHOTO for goodness sake!!!

- Refresh my memory on James 2.

- Do 250 ab combo daily (preferably with medicine and bosu balls to change it up)

I think that is a good start for this week. I am one of those people who likes checking things off the list…. So If I feel ambitious in any other particular area I will just add to the list later.

I hope you all have a happy Monday! Make some goals, set yourself up for a happy and successful week!