Month: June 2015

EOM Fitness for June 2015

The end of June is now here – I can hardly believe it!  I continued this past month with a four day a week workout schedule mainly doing cardio, weights and yoga – not all on the same day though.  The workouts I used were mainly Cathe Friedrich and yoga sequences from my Yoga Journal magazine that I mentioned in my May post.

Cathe Ripped With Hiit

weight lifting cat

As you can see in the above photo my cat is present as usual and ready to lift some heavy  weights.  He was actually laying on the 20 pound dumbbells just before I got my camera and took this photo.  I guess that is his version of lifting the weights – to lay on them.

I have also been able to ride my bike a couple of times this past month and do some swimming in our pool now that the rainy weather has subsided for us.  We still get a shower about once a week but nothing like we had in May.

kitchen aid ice cream attachment

I have been making my own ice cream for the past couple of months and really like this new attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer that makes awesome ice cream with just a few ingredients.  I basically mix together 2 cups of half and half, 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla, chill it for a couple hours, then add it to the freezer bowl attachment while it is running and in 20 minutes you have made ice cream – or actually the attachment has made it for you – you do have to put it in a container and put it in the freezer and let it sit for a couple more hours to firm up.  It is the best ice cream ever and all three of my sons love it.

I realize ice cream is not really a health food but in my opinion all things in moderation are fine.  I have been enjoying my new homemade ice cream – in small portions – about three times a week this summer.

cherries and cherry pitter

Another thing I have been enjoying this summer is fresh cherries.  I really like them but hate pitting them.  I was doing the pitting by hand so I could use the cherries in recipes and then read about a cherry pit removing tool.  I decided to get one last week and I am so glad I did – it removes the cherry pits quickly and leaves the cherries basically whole.  The other way I was doing it was more or less by cutting them in half to get the pits out so I had cherry halves.

I hope your June was a successful month for exercising and making healthy choices.

Take care,

-Kimberlee

 

 

Categories: Exercise Food

Tags: , , , , ,

June Artyarns KAL

This month I decided to participate in the Artyarns group KAL on Ravelry.  KAL stands for Knit Along.  I think it has been at least six months or more since I did a KAL and decided that the Stepping Stones Shawl pattern was a great summer knitting project.

part 1 of Stepping Stones Shawl pattern for Artyarns KAL

The yarn used in this knitting project is called Merino Cloud from Artyarns.  I bought mine from Fabulous Yarns.  I actually bought 3 colors – the shawl takes one skein.  The color I am using for the shawl in the photos is called Antique Ivories.  I thought it was a good neutral and would go with a lot of things.  The yarn is super soft and a joy to knit with.

Artyarns Stepping Stone Shawl part 2

Above is my progress so far on part 2.  There are 3 parts to the pattern and when you complete one Iris, the designer of the pattern and the yarn, emails you the next part.  I will say that the pattern is fairly simple if you are familiar with knitting lace and are an intermediate knitter.  There is optional short row shaping, which I am doing, and that does require knowing how to wrap and turn.  The short row shaping was one part I kind of messed up on my first try so I had to start over again this past Sunday.   Now that I am doing that part correctly I am pleased with the shawl so far.

If you are interested in joining the KAL check out the Artyarns group on Ravelry.  There are lots of people knitting this shawl and it is fun to see the different colors of the yarn being used and everyone’s progress in the group.  Also, for me the KAL keeps me motivated to get the project done in a timely manner.

I have also recently completed a few other projects, crochet and knitting, but haven’t found time to post about them yet.  Hopefully I will get around to that in the next couple of weeks.  The kids are out of school for the summer and days are filled with summer activities and having friends over.  Also, one of my son’s had his wisdom teeth out this past week so we have been dealing with that and dental appointments.  Thankfully his recovery has gone well, much better than mine did when I had it done over 25 years ago.

What crochet or knitting projects are you currently working on?  Let me know in the comments.

Also, before I sign off I want to mention that Craftsy is having a big summer sale this weekend only, June 19-21. 2015.  Note – this is an affiliate link and I get a small commission from Craftsy if you go through the link below.  Now is the time to stock up on supplies or try a class while they are on sale!

Craftsy

Have a great weekend!

-Kimberlee

Categories: Knitting

Tags: , , , , , ,