Woman Crush Wednesday Update

Time to check in with my favorite sister! 

I posted about her here for #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday), and now it's time to check back. 
She's now lost OVER 100 POUNDS! 

Isn't she the cutest!

January 2014 - July 2014

Oh Snap!

So guess what? I don't want to hear any "I can'ts"...because you CAN. Everyone CAN. You can do anything. So there! Stop making excuses, if you really want something, go get it.

Way to go favorite sissy!

Keep up the great work!

emk8

Arm Day & Good Sheets

Yesterday was arm day, at home. If you want to get in shape and don't already have them, I suggest investing in some weights for your home. You don't need a massive home gym, just some basic dumbbells to get the job done. You can find them all over and they aren't expensive. You can even pick pretty colors...Awww. They are good to have. The ones I use are 10lb weights.

Once you have these bad boys, you can take over the world, one rep at a time ;)

So here's what I did with my 10 pound dumbbells:

(I tend to do higher reps because I just have the 10lb weights. At the gym I can use heavier weights and then I typically only do 8-10 reps)

*Bicep Curls - 5 sets of 20

*Lateral Raise (shoulders) - 4 sets of 14

*Tricep Kickbacks - 3 sets of 14

*Shoulder Press - 4 sets of 12

*Tricep Dips - 4 sets of 40, then 1 set of 30 really slow, really focusing on the movement and the BURN

*Upright Row - 2 sets of 14

Then I topped it off with 200 jumping jacks as fast as I could, which took just under 2 minutes. 

And the icing on the muscle cake, I changed our sheets. 

Have you ever changed bed sheets? (I really hope the answer is yes!) It sucks, and because they make mattresses now that are 12 feet deep, it can be somewhat challenging, especially when your arms feel like jello. Pulling and tugging and pulling and stretching...

And while we are talking about bed sheets, this is my public service announcement to anyone who is not yet married but plans to get married...

REGISTER FOR REALLY REALLY GOOD BED SHEETS, AND LOTS OF THEM!!!

Bed sheets are SO expensive, especially the GOOD ones! Once you have the good ones, you can totally tell the not-so-good ones. For some dumb reason, we only registered for one really good set, you know, the million thread count ones (300 count sheets just isn't cutting it kids). So when I do laundry and put the other ones on, the husband is not having it, and I just end up washing them over and over because it's the only ones we want on our bed. I keep meaning to buy more, but I get to the store and start browsing and just can't get myself to spend over $100 on sheets.... Maybe I'm just cheap but I guess I'd rather buy groceries...

Our anniversary is Thursday though, maybe we can gift ourselves some good ass sheets...Hmm..

And would you look at that!

I really had no idea, now I feel like the stars have aligned

It's our 4th anniversary! Linen! An anniversary miracle!

Ok, off to shop ;)

Happy Tuesday friends.

EmilyK8 the Gr8 Bed Maker

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. Make your bed.

sorry it's not a new picture, but since it was arm day, I'm reusing. Cheers!

Move.Dance.Do.Something. (Burning calories at home)

First, Happy Monday. I hope this day finds you fantastic, well rested, refreshed, glowing, filled with energy, filled with bubbles of joy, perfect. If not, then just pretend you are all those things. 

Look how mean and tough I am. Today was arm day (at home). I'll post about that later.

I feel like I haven't been to the gym in ions...but life is happening right now and hasn't really allowed for this extra curricular activity of mine. Instead of using that as an excuse to do nothing, I use it as a challenge to do more. So here's what I did on Saturday, right here at my place of residence. 

First and most importantly, turn on some music, whatever music pumps you up, and turn it up LOUD. Music makes you move, and if it doesn't, then you haven't found the right music.

Second, grab a timer. A cell phone timer works perfect. There's no cheating here, so set the time and push through til the end. If you can't make it to the end, then go as far and hard as you can, and try again next time. Add this to your list of goals. I'm sure you have a huge list by now, right? Right?!

Now find one of those 800 pins you've pinned on Pinterest under your nice little Fitness Board, and DO ONE! Or make up your own! Or do what I did! Just do something ;)

Here's what I did:

2 sets of 50 squats on my balance board. 

Jump Squats - 1 minute (this might not seem like a long time, trust me, it IS)

Jump Lunges - 1 minute

Jumping Jacks - 1 minute

Jumping Jacks - 1 minute

Jumping Jacks - 2 minutes

Dancing - 4 minutes (to a song)

Dancing - 4 minutes (new song)

Dancing - 7 minutes (new song)

Jump Squats - 1 minute

Yes I took little breathing breaks between these, but not too long, the point is to keep going here. I stayed moving for about 30 minutes. I am a mom, so in between most of these sets I was changing diapers or wiping butts or making lunch or solving world problems... Just do what you can and keep moving :)

When I say "dancing" - do whatever you want! Do what's in your heart! I run in place, I kickbox, I jump around in circles, I squat, it's all good and it all works! Who cares if you look crazy! Crazy is good when you're burning those calories! Plus, you probably are crazy so it's no big deal ;)

And here's what it looks like... (remember to get the kiddos involved, they love it!)

I wasn't going to make a video but #1 was all "mom, can we please make a video today", so there you have it.

So find your jam and just go with it! Ya heard!

I hope you liked today's larger font too. I don't know why it seems so small to me otherwise, but I wanted to be loud today.

Dance On

emk8 the gr8

*It's ANKLE WEIGHT WEDNESDAY!*

ANKLE WEIGHT WEDNESDAY

Oh, you know, that day a week we wear around ankle weights and do our crazy exercising...it's totally that day

Woot Woot

Here's what I did today:

30ish minutes of DSKO
Lots of running in place. Just put on your favorite song, and run in place until it's over. 
Some High Knees
Some dancing
Some squats with a leg lift
Some leg lifts for the booty

And now I think I'll go make some peanut butter cookies.

       Happy Ankle Weight Wednesday! Make it count!

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. 

                   emilyk8

*Motivational Monday* - It's hot and I'm fluffy

Happy Monday Ya'll

It's hot, and I didn't do what I wanted to do today. It happens. I over indulged this weekend, and I woke up feeling fluffy and awful. It happens. I'm not happy about it, but it happens.
So how am I supposed to motivate others when I can't even motivate myself today? Hmm...maybe YOU can motivate ME today! How about that! So go for it! Leave me a comment on here or my facebook and make me bust my butt. I need you today friends.

I did do 5 sets of 50 squats on my balance board, and a little bit of yoga, but not a typical hard core sweating like a beast workout, which is what I really need today.

So that's it. My boring, un-motivational, Monday post. Hope you enjoyed!

If your comments to me are good, maybe I'll even add them to my post later. It's your chance to be a superstar! Your chance to change the world! I know you can do it!

And now your cutesty quote for the day...

Looking  foward to hearing from you!

The Ever So Wonderful

EmilyK8

UPDATE:
I SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE AND READ MY OWN BLOG. IF YOU WAIT FOR OTHERS TO MOTIVATE YOU OR GET YOU GOING IN LIFE, YOU WILL GO NOWHERE. *NOWHERE*.(well, maybe you'll go around the block, but that's not far enough). YES, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MOTIVATIONAL BLOG, MOTIVATION CAN HELP TREMENDOUSLY, BUT IT CAN'T BE THE ONE AND ONLY THING TO HELP YOU. IT HAS TO COME FROM INSIDE YOU. WHEN TIMES ARE SHITTY AND YOU FEEL LIKE A FAILURE, THAT'S WHEN YOU NEED YOU THE MOST. REACH INSIDE YOURSELF AND RIP OUT THAT BAD ASS THAT GOT YOU STARTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. IF YOU CAN COUNT ON YOURSELF TO BE THERE FOR YOU, YOU WILL ACHIEVE AMAZING THINGS. WE ALL HAVE BAD DAYS, YOU CANNOT LET IT BE AN EXCUSE TO GIVE UP OR THROW YOURSELF A FLUFFY PITY PARTY. 
AFTER I COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING A BAD WEEKEND AND FEELING LIKE CRAP, MY INNER TRAINER PUSHED ME OUT THE DOOR AND MADE ME GO FOR A RUN. THE AIR WAS HOT, BUT MY JAMS WERE PUMPIN' AND I ENDED UP WITH ONE OF MY BEST PACES EVER. AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT TOLD ME TO DO IT WAS MYSELF. IT STARTS WITH ONE.IT STARTS WITH YOU.

Let's revisit this shall we

now go make something happen
the one and only 
emilyk8

Flexin' Friday! and Carpet Sliders! (videos)

Happy Flexin' Friday!

That's right, it's get your guns out and flex 'em up real good Friday!

Flex away! and take pics! and be proud and be beautiful cuz strong is beautiful!

Now...

Who has a set of these lying around? 

If you don't, and you have carpet anywhere in your house, and if you have furniture on that carpet, you NEED these! They are the greatest things of all time. And on top of being able to move a 55,000 pound couch with your pinky, you can also use these bad boys for other things...

like WORKING OUT! Amazing right?!

Here's a few of the things you can try out. I don't even need to tell you what they work, because if you do these things, you WILL feel what they work. I promise. Try it and see. 

And if you just want to dance around with them, I highly recommend that too. Dance away!

Let those kids work out with you! They love it. Teaching kids that fitness is FUN is the key to life man. Do it.

We danced around for a good 30 minutes and I was sweating like a champ after that. My legs were burnin' all sorts of good too. And that is how you do a quick workout at home!

Hope you have a fun fit Friday!

Please feel free to share what you see if you think the rest of the world would benefit from these videos (they totally would). Sharing is caring.

-EmK8

Mom Jean Monday & Balance Board 101

Happy Monday!

For those of you that don't know, it's Mom Jean Monday...

My mom bought these bad boys for me at a garage sale for $1. "They are your size" she said, "but the zipper might be a little too long for your liking"...

Just a little.

Now I have these just sitting in my room with nobody to love them. So today became Mom Jean Monday so I could give them a little love. It will probably be the last Mom Jean Monday.

If you know anybody in the market for some really nice mom jeans, let me know. I'll give you a really good deal on them.

This weekend I bought myself a nice little balance board. These are great for so many things...balance...legs...core...and much more. My #1 took it upon herself to teach ME (and everyone else) how to use it.

Hope you Enjoy!

You'll be seeing this little guy (the balance board) in a lot more of my videos now. Woot Woot!

Adios!

-EmK8

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. 

What's Cookin'? - Enchilada Casserole

I'm a sucker for a Mexican Casserole, I make them weekly, and I have several different variations. Here's an easy one made the low fat way. It's nice because you can really play around with it, add things, take things out, even make it vegetarian if you want. You'll see this all over Pinterest, here's how I make it.

Enjoy!

Enchilada Casserole

Skinny style

(Please feel free to make an even skinnier version if you so desire!)

Sorry these pictures were not taken by a professional food photographer in a studio...just with my phone...in my kitchen. Hope you can make do.

Here's what you need!

*Large Tortilla's. I used 3 1/2. Here's where you can get skinny by using lowfat tortillas. I didn't have any on hand so full fat it was ;)

*Ground Turkey - I always replace ground beef with ground turkey. If you want to go veggie, just use refried beans instead.

*Taco Seasoning - one packet

*Cheese - I used about 1.5 cups. You can go skinny here by using low fat cheese. Sometimes I prefer "real" cheese when cooking as the lowfat cheese doesn't melt as well. But you can use either.

*Beans - I used chili beans in sauce. You could also use black beans.

*Cream of chicken soup - one can. I use a lowfat version.

*"Rotel" - I use off brand. Same thing.

*Sour cream -I used low fat.

*Anything else you want to add! Some people like cooking onions in with the meat. Not me man. I say no to onions. I'm an onion-free kind of lady. I'm boring like that.

Before we get started...

Make sure you have some music playing. It really helps the food cook. Or more importantly, you can dance around while getting your food prep on. Move. Move. Move. Cooking is also way more exciting when you dance.

Next - drink water. I drink a whole bottle of water as I'm prepping the goods. This is good for so many reasons. Just do it. Nice. Cold. Water.

Ok, now you are ready to begin.

So brown your ground turkey, drain, add your seasoning, beans, and Rotel!

While that's simmering for a hot second, mix your can of soup with about 1/2 a cup of sour cream. 

(I added one extra spoon glop as I felt in my heart it was the right thing to do)

Now rip up those tortilla's and add a layer to the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Use as much as you need. We aren't picky here and we certainly don't judge.

Time to start the layering party!

Gently and ever so carefully, glob some of that sour cream mix on top of the tortilla's. If you find an easy way to do this, please let me know. It's not easy to smooth it all out without messing up the nice little pieces here...Good Luck. Do about half the mixture, or however much makes you feel good inside.

Next add half the meat mixture

Now add a little layer of cheese. Not pictured. Use your imagination.

Now another layer of tortilla's, followed by the sour cream mix and then the meat. Then top if off with cheese. Go nuts if you must. 

Pop that sweet thing in the oven.

350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Let it sit for a few hot minutes, you know, so you don't burn your face off.

Then dig in and enjoy!

It's good man. I promise.

So gooey and delicious and magical!

Ok. Calorie time.

This makes a 9x13 casserole. Some say this is 12 servings. Some say 8 servings. I went happy medium at 10 servings. I don't know the laws or rules on who decides a serving size so since this is my blog, I'm deciding today. 10 servings.

So

1 serving is 307 calories and 12.7 grams of fat. Not bad my friends! And by using a few other low fat ingredients, you can do even better than this. Then when you miscalculate what one "serving" size actually looks like, you won't feel as guilty. Happens to the best of us.

Cheers and Happy Sunday!

Your pal

-EmK8

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. 

*Leg Day @ Home*

It's Leg Day!

Here's what I did

*Forward Lunges - I used my 10lb dumbbells (for a grand total of 20lbs). Do 3 sets of 40 (that's 20 on each leg). See how nice I am doing all this math for you.

*Dead Lifts - I used my same 10 lbs weights, since that's all I have. If I had a 45lb barbell at home, I'd surely use that. Make sure you use the correct  form for these. These are really good for the back of your legs.

*Plie Squats - Your toes are pointed out as if you are doing a Plie. I did a few extra holding #2 (so that's 22 extra lbs)

*Jump Squats - a great way to finish off the burn. I did 6 sets of 30.

Not mentioned is calf raises. I do these bad boys as much as possible. Find a step and go to town. It helps if you add weights. Hold your kid or dog or something. I can do over 100 before I get tired (I know I know I'm soo bad ass) so adding extra weight is a must. The other option is doing one calf at a time. This is especially nice when you have two different size calf muscles like me. My left one is bigger. I've tried talking to the right one to beef it up, but it never listens. Sigh.

Then to really top it off...DANCE! I put on music and danced around for 20+ minutes. This is awesome to do right after as you'll really feel the burn. Good times. Ellen D. would be proud.

If you are worried about getting to beefy and growing massive leg muscles. Read HERE. You aren't going to turn into a body builder after a few squats. I promise.

Now get up and MOVE!

xoxo

-EmK8

*Update: it's been 2 days and my legs still hurt like hell. I guess I did something right. OUCH!

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. 

Like me? Share me.

*Use what ya got!* a wall - a bench - a chair

Happy Saturday Ya'll!

random selfie in my kid's stickered mirror for your Saturday enjoyment

Have you been usin' what ya got? 

Well...have you?

You are going to see this over and over, FYI

Not trying to be harsh here, but the only person who can change you is YOU.

It's really the most simplest thing ever.

In the meantime, I'll be here, telling you a million motivational quotes, showing you before and afters, and giving you healthy food tips, because that's how I roll.

Of course, if you don't want anything to change, then do nothing! Keep on keepin'! You can still tune in though. If nothing else, I hope you find my selfie videos amusing and entertaining and please consider nominating them for an Oscar or an Emmy or something. Thanks.

So here are your videos for today!

This one is easy - just push ups, but I did them on a beach chair, because I'm THAT crazy! Just showing you that it's ok and perfectly acceptable to multi-task. Try it.

Bench workout - I used our toy box ottoman because I don't exactly have a bench in the house. Then you just go up and over, easy peasy. This is great for arms, abs, and a quick cardio workout. I did 6 sets of 20 as fast as I could.

Handstand push-ups - not so easy. Husband scolded me for not doing 90 degrees, but these are hard and I can't do 90 degrees yet. I'll get there, just not today. You gotta start somewhere right?

Ok that's all for now!

Be positive people. It's positively powerful.

-EmK8

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy. 

*5K Pics!* (Goal #1)

Here are some pics, finally, from my first 5K. I've learned that 5K's are like tattoos...super addicting, I'm already looking for the next one to run...now I just need to find people to run with me! Who's in?! Oh, and some free ones would be nice...I never thought in a million years I would want to PAY to RUN. 

So anyhoo...

Here's a few of me with the littles pre-race

#1 told me that morning, "mommy, I really hope you win". I almost cried. They are my biggest little supporters and I made sure to "win" just for them ;)

Here's some mid race moments

And some After

There's my "winning" medal ;)

Jumping off that thing was awesomeness. I'm extreme what can I say.

Goals are also like tattoos...once one is done I'm wanting the next one... so my next Goal is...

wait for it....

TO BECOME A PERSONAL TRAINER, as you may have remembered from my Goals post (Read here).

Thanks to a friend, who gave me some direction, I have made the commitment (bought and paid for my books), and in 6 months I take my exam to become nationally certified. Yup, it's happening. I'm sure I'll be posting about it often. I'm so excited to begin working on this next little adventure of mine, and hope to check off lots more little goals in the meantime.

Don't forget my friends that you can achieve anything you want, big or small. You just have to get up and DO IT!

And because I was on vacation the last 5 days and didn't get a chance too, I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!

Cheers Friends

-EmK8