EOM Fitness for February 2015

This past month my fitness routine was a combination of P90X3 and yoga. I had completed the entire schedule of P90X3 last year and the whole thing takes about three months of working out six days a week. I did not want to do the entire thing so I started out my first two weeks of February doing just P90X3 and making up my own schedule with the workouts. Well, by the third week of February I decided to do P90X3 along with a yoga book I own, Slim Calm Sexy Yoga by Tara Stiles. So, I alternated P90X3 then the yoga book every other day for the last two weeks of this month.

The above photos are of the Total Synergistics workout from P90X3. I really like this workout and did it a couple of times this month.

Here is the cat – my faithful workout buddy sitting by the weights waiting to workout. He too seemed to like the Total Synergistics workout.

There are yoga and pilates workouts in the P90X3 series and I did some of those along with the cardio and weight training workouts. I decided to use my yoga book though because I was getting tired of doing a dvd workout every day. There are lots of great routines in the Slim Calm Sexy yoga book by Tara Stiles, too. I had not used it in a while and I am glad I decided to incorporate some of those yoga routines into my schedule for February. Check your library for the book – that is where I first learned about it a few years ago and I liked it so well that I bought it at Barnes and Noble.

I didn’t watch any health documentaries this past month like I did back in January but I did read an interesting book on health called Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. He is a doctor and I first learned about him and his books by watching the health documentaries last month on Netfilx. This book is filled with lots of great information for taking charge of your health and learning to eat better to feel and look better and not following some crazy fad diet that is the latest rage. His concept is focused on more of a plant based diet. The acronym for his eating plan is G-BOMBS which stands for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. These are the foods that you should be focused on consuming daily. I really learned a lot from this book and there are some interesting recipes at the end of the book that I will be trying out.

I also have another book checked out from the library by Dr. Fuhrman called Eat To Live. I will be reading that next.

For March I think I will go back to my Cathe Friedrich workouts. She has some of the best workouts on dvd in my opinion and I always look forward to using them. I have not decided yet which series or sets I will use but I will probably mix in yoga every other day since yoga makes my body happy and I love doing yoga at least a few times a week. I have also found that doing yoga the day after a hard cardio or weight workout really helps my body and my mental focus.

I hope everyone had a great month and you were able to find some time for fitness. Remember even 15 minutes a day of doing something is better than nothing at all.

-Kimberlee

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Recovering Dining Room Chairs

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We recently bought a new-used dining room table and china cabinet from a really great consignment store in Plano, Texas – B & B Furniture Consignment. The table and china cabinet were in good shape for their age but the chairs were another story. The wood on the chairs was fine but the seat covers not so good. They were pretty dirty and worn on the edges. The price on the whole set was less than $1200.00 so we decided to get it and I decided to learn to upholster chairs!

Below is a photo of one of the chairs before I recovered it and after I cleaned them twice. They were worse and I forgot to take a before photo of that.

The first thing I did was clean all six chairs twice – once by hand and second time with my Bissell using the furniture attachment and some Young Living Purification oil, blue dawn and vinegar in the machine. They were so bad I didn’t want them in the house without cleaning them – plus I knew I would have to work with them when I went to recover them.

The next thing I did was research pinerest to see how to recover dining room chairs. I found lots of great info on various blogs and websites and decided I could do this.

The next thing I did, the day after buying the set, was go to the fabric store and get some home dec fabric. I had to remove one of the seat covers and take it with me to find something to coordinate since two of the chairs have a fabric back and I did not want to try to tackle recovering that part – it looks kind of difficult.

Removing the old seat was really easy – you just find the four screws on the bottom that hold the seat on and remove them.

After finding the fabric I used the seat cover I had removed to make a template-pattern. I then measured the side gussets and calculated how to cut those. For my template I added 1/2 inch seam allowance and then cut the gusset strips 4 1/2 inches wide by the width of the fabric which was 54 inches. You need to sew two strips together to make the strip long enough to go around the seat part and cut some of the excess off. The existing gussets were less than 4 1/2 inches but I decided to make mine wider to wrap around to the bottom to have more of an edge to staple on. Also, I decided to line the top seat part with muslin so I cut muslin templates as well. The foam on the chairs was in good shape other than the discoloration so I didn’t have to replace that.

Sewing the covers was super easy and fast – probably took me about an hour. Removing all the old seat covers was another story – that took about an hour per chair. For that part I used a flat head screw driver, to pry the staples up, and some pliers, to pull the staples out. Basically I worked on one chair at a time so it took me about five days to do all six chairs – in between cooking, cleaning, laundry, carpool, band events in the evening and general life!

After removing all the old staples you can slide the old cover off. Then slip on the new sewn cover and get it fitted onto the the chair pad and then begin to staple with the staple gun. My one son even did a few staples on one chair – he thought it looked like fun for a few minutes. Actually stapling the new cover back on was a lot more fun and easier than getting that old one off. I did this on the floor with an old towel laid down – I also did a couple of them on my sewing table – basically you need a hard firm surface to be behind the chair pad as you drive the new staples in. As you can see on the corners you have to fold the fabric in to get it to be smooth on the sides and the top front piece.

Overall I am pleased with how they turned out and how our dining room now looks. The other table we had was over 20 years old. We bought it when we first got married and it was more of a kitchen type table not really for a formal dining room.

So, now that I have accomplished recovering dining room chairs I am contemplating reupholstering a chair and ottoman we have in our living room. If I decide to conquer it I will share it here on the blog so be sure to check back or follow me.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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Sewing A Quilt As You Go Table Runner

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Sewing a quilt as you go table runner is a very easy project that can be made in just a few hours. I recently made this little table runner to go on our new-used dining room table that we bought a couple of weeks ago at B & B Consignment Store in Plano, TX.

This project was made using fabrics from my stash that I have probably had for at least five years (or more). At least I was able to use up some fabric, create something I like and I didn’t have to buy anything to make it since I had everything. The piece of batting I used for the quilt was actually a scrap piece I had laying around.

My runner measures 32 inches long by 18 inches wide but you can really customize a project like this to be whatever size you want. Basically you cut your base-backing fabric and your batting a little larger than your actual finished size and then you cut it once you are through sewing on the strips and before doing your binding.

To make this particular size you need about a yard of one cotton fabric and half a yard of a coordinating print for the contrasting strips and the binding. Basically what I did was cut the heart fabric I had 4 1/2 inches wide because I wanted the print, which was kind of large, to show up and then I cut the contrasting fabric 2 1/2 inches wide for the strips as well as the binding.

You then begin by laying your fabric backing piece down with the wrong side facing up then lay the batting on top of that. Then find your center point and center one of the 4 1/2 inch strips there and lay a 2 1/2 inch strip on top of that and sew it with a 1/4 inch seam – I use a walking foot which I recommend so the pieces do not shift.

I just continued to alternate my 4 1/2 inch and 2 1/2 inch strips until I got to the one end then I did the same to the other end – ending with a 2 1/2 inch strip on each end. NOTE: After you sew each strip you will need to press them open so the right sides are facing up before sewing the next strip.

Then when both ends are done you will trim the excess batting and backing. It is best to do this with a rotary cutter and a quilt ruler.

After this step you are ready to bind the quilt. I used three 2 1/2 inch strips sewn together to make a very long strip – I then pressed it in half to be 1 1/4 inch with the wrong sides together. I like to sew my binding on to the wrong side and then wrap it around, press it and sew it to the right side but everyone has a different method for this it seems.

Mitering the corners when sewing on the binding is always a challenge for me. I have studied books on it and just try and do the best I can. I figure this is for me so I don’t have to have it totally perfect. Once the binding is sewn all the way around I then press it to the front side of the quilt, pin the corners and topstitch it down using my number 10 edge stitch foot and the needle in the far right position. You could also use a regular presser foot with possibly the inner toe of the foot as a guide.

I then press the quilt one more time and it is done.

This table runner is super easy to make and can be made with any type of fabric combination – not just Valentine’s Day like mine. It is also a great stash buster project if you have some fabrics laying around, like I did, that you want to use up.

I will be offering the pdf pattern with step by step instructions and photos on how to sew this in my etsy shop and on craftsy in the near future. I wanted to share it here first on my blog since I got it done a few days ago and today is Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentines Day!

-Kimberlee

P.S. I will also be doing a post in the next month on the new table we bought at the consignment store and how I recovered the chair seats so follow my blog to receive updates.

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Hormone Help Using Essential Oils

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I recently made up a couple of essential oil blends to help with my hormonal issues. Any woman in their 40’s knows what I mean when I mention hormone issues. So far these blends have proven effective for me and my needs and I wanted to share them on my blog.

Hormone Balance Blend from Kimberlees Korner

Hormone Balance Blend using Geranium – 20 drops, Clary Sage – 14 drops, Palmarosa – 8 drops – in a base of jojoba or grapeseed oil

The first blend is an oil that I have been using topically in the morning and at bedtime on my neck, lower abdominal area and on my spine and sometimes my feet – the inner side (like the arch area) which is the reflex point for the spine. I call the blend Hormone Balance – as you can see from my lovely handmade masking tape label in the above photo – it is getting kind of worn out after using it for the past month.

Here is the blend:

Geranium essential oil – 20 drops
Clary Sage essential oil – 14 drops
Palmarosa essential oil – 8 drops
Jojoba oil or grapeseed oil – 4 tsp

Blend all of the above listed oils in an empty 15 ml bottle – shake lightly before each use. Use 2 to 3 times a day on abdominal area, lower back, spine, neck, wrists and feet. Note: all oils used are Young Living essential oils – those are the kind I prefer to use due to their therapeutic qualities. Also – I do not use the reducer dropper on the bottle – I just pour the oil onto my palm from the bottle.

I actually think this blend has a better and stronger scent to it if you use the jojoba oil but I have also used the grapeseed. I like the fact that this blend works to help my hormones and it also smells nice – I had it on the other day and a friend of mine commented that I smelled good. Some blends I have made up do not always smell so great but I use them for therapeutic purposes – not always to smell great. It is nice that this one has a pleasant scent.

The other blend I made up about two weeks ago is a spray. The spray can be used on your body, clothes, in the air in a room or on your bed linens or a pillow. I am calling the spray Hormone Happy Spray. In a 4 oz. glass bottle combine:

Geranium essential oil – 8 drops
Clary Sage essential oil – 6 drops
Elemi essential oil – 3 drops
Fennel essential oil – 2 drops
Add 1 tsp witch hazel and top off with filtered water

Again, I have my really fancy hand written masking tape label. I am constantly changing blends or using the bottle for other things when one runs out so I hate to invest in printing labels – also those seem harder to get off the bottle and the masking tape comes right off. This is just for my personal use anyhow so it is fine for my needs. Again all the oils used in this blend are also Young Living.

These two blends seem to be providing me some relief from some hormonal imbalances I have been experiencing – the joys of getting older! Please note that I am not a doctor and I am just sharing with you what has helped me. Everyone is different and sometimes you have to try some different oils or blends to figure out what will work for you and your body.

Young Living also makes some of their own blends like Dragon Time, Lady Sclareol, and Sclar Essence that also help with female hormone issues. I have tried Sclar Essence and it also works well but I think my new blend is working better for my needs at the moment. Sclar Essence is a blend of clary sage, spanish sage, peppermint and fennel and it has a pleasant scent. It can be applied topically, diffused and also be ingested – I have drank it as a tea.

I have recently ordered Lady Sclareol and I will write more about that one after I have tried it out for a while. I like to use things for a little while before I decide if I like them or if they are working for me.

If you are interested in learning more about Young Living please contact me via email kkg@kimberleeskorner.com Also, if you are interested in signing up for a Young Living account you can click on the highlighted Young Living link or the button in the sidebar.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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EOM Fitness for January 2015

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This past month my fitness routine consisted of five or six workout days per week using my Cathe Ripped with Hiit workouts and yoga dvd’s or routines from Yoga Journal magazine that I have saved. I have been alternating the two doing a Hiit workout one day and yoga the next. I have really been enjoying this schedule.

Ripped with Hiit Upper Circuit with the cat

Me and the cat doing the RWH Upper Circuit workout

Another upper body exercise from Cathe’s Ripped with Hiit Upper Circuit dvd

Yoga with the cat on the mat

Scheduling your workouts is part of the key to getting them done, in my opinion. If I make a schedule up on Sunday, that is usually a non workout day for me, then I am going to commit myself to getting them done. “It’s not about having time, it’s about making time.” I have seen these words before somewhere and they are very true – everyone is busy these days – even my retired parents and in-laws always seem busy – but you have to make the time and make the commitment to yourself to be more physically active. I know that I always feel better and have more energy on days that I workout.

Another thing I have been doing this past month is watching health documentaries – I know this sounds really boring but they are actually really informative about many things concerning the health of Americans and their diets and I find them interesting. Some of them can be found on Netflix and some I checked out from the library. The video in the photo above, Fed Up, is one I checked out from my local library. A friend of mine recommended it to me. This is a real eye opener about the food industry, how much sugar and artificial ingredients are really in those so called healthy foods you see at the store. This documentary also goes into detail on the health of our children and how many are becoming diabetic at an early age due to poor eating and lifestyle habits.

back view of Fed Up dvd

The other two documentaries that I thought were really informative were Hungry for Change and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2. Both of these are on Netflix. If you are wanting to learn more about eating better, juicing, and changing your lifestyle habits to become healthy, lose weight and get off prescriptions, I would advise you to watch these two documentaries. My overall health and eating is good but these documentaries oped my eyes to even more changes I need to make to how I eat and what I eat for it to make a positive impact in my daily life.

For the month of February am thinking of doing my P90X3 workout. I am not going to do the whole three month program again like last year, I am just going to use it mixed with some other workouts for the month of February. I have been doing my Ripped with Hiit and yoga for over a month now so it is time for a change. If I change things up then I don’t get bored – that is another key to making your workouts fun, challenging and keeping you interested in sticking with it. Also, I believe it is a key to seeing results because your body needs a change.

So check back at the end of February for my end of month (EOM) fitness update – of course you can also check back sooner as I will be sharing other posts before the end of February on various things.

Have a great Superbowl weekend!

– Kimberlee

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Healthy Smoothies with Goji Berries

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A year or so ago I learned of a new berry called goji berries. Apparently they are poplular in Chinese medicine and considered to be a fruit of longevity. These little dried berries are a real superfood that can aid the immune system.

Blueberry Smoothie with Goji berries

The little bright red dried berries – pictured in the photo above – can be eaten by themselves, kind of like dried cranberries, or you can add them to other foods like a smoothie. That is how I prefer to have my goji berries – in a refreshing fruit smoothie.

The other superfood ingredient I have recently rediscovered and am using in my smoothies is chia seed gel. Chia seed gel is really simple to make. To make the gel you take about 2 Tbls of chia seeds or I use Spectrums ground chia seeds and then add about 3/4 to 1 cup of filtered water and stir, allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes and stir again – it should be a gel. I put mine in a mason jar and label it and date it – I usually use it within a week in my smoothies or even yogurt or oatmeal. I like adding this gel to my smoothies to thicken them a little and to provide extra fiber and antioxidants plus omega-3’s.

Today I am going to share a couple of my recent smoothie creations using goji berries and chia gel. To make these smoothies it is best to have a high speed, good quality blender, like a Ninja blender which is what I use.

The first one is Blueberry Goji – this one is super healthy with the blueberries and rhubarb plus the goji berries and the chia gel. This is great for breakfast or for a snack.

Blueberry Goji Smoothie Recipe

The other smoothie I recently made and love the taste of is Peaches n Cream Smoothie. This one is also great for breakfast or a snack – the frozen peaches make it really creamy along with the peaches n cream greek yogurt.

What kinds of smoothies do you like to make? Let me know in the comments – I am always looking for new smoothies to try.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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Essential Oil Books Part 1

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Essential oil books are great to refer to when you get into using essential oils. There are several essential oil books that I refer to and use on a regular basis. I find myself referring to these books and continuing to learn more about different oils all of the time.

One of the books I received from my friend Julie when I signed up for Young Living. It is the Essential Oils pocket reference. This little book has a wealth of information – I don’t think a day goes by without me looking at it. To give you a breakdown of what is in it:

Chapter 1 – Yesterdays Wisdom, Tomorrows Destiny – This gives you the history of essential oil extraction and includes biblical references to certain oils
Chapter 2 – How Essential Oils Work – info on the chemistry, standards and testing and the influence of aromas
Chapter 3 – How to Safely Use Essential OIls – This is about guidelines for use, a chart of cerified GRAS – generally regarded as safe – or as a food additive, by the FDA. Also in this chapter are things to know before you start; info on topical application, diffusing and other uses
Chapter 4 – Single Oils – This is alphabetized and lists all the single oils from Young Living. For each one you get: Botanical Family, Extraction Method, Key constituents, Historical Data, Medical Properties, Uses, Application, Cautions (if any), Found In (lists other Young Living blends or products can be found in)
Chapter 5 – Essential Oil Blends – This describes how Young Living blends are formulated then lists each blend alphabetically and the same info I just listed above for the singles such as use and applications, etc.
Chapter 6 – Techniques for Essential Oil Application – This explains the different techniques in detail and gives you vita flex foot and hand charts as well as a nervous system connection point chart of the spine. If you are into massage therapy it gives you the overview for the application of the raindrop technique
Chapter 7 – Personal Usage – This is a great reference chapter on giving you info on taking charge of your health, developing your program and a complete reference guide for many common health issues like: arthritis, colds, flu, headaches, insomnia, pain, skin care and problems, sore throats, and stress – just to name a few common ailments. I love this chapter and refer to it all the time just to learn more about certain health aspects.

Another book I refer to a lot lately is Aromatherapy 101 by Karen Downes. I have owned this book for over 10 years. I bought it back in early 2000 when I first got into using essential oils. I like this book because it explains what aromatherapy is, what essential oils are and gives you info on how to properly use them. The book also lists the oils alphabetically. She gives you a great description of each oil, the issues it addresses, what it helps promote and any safety information.

Lately I have been reading this book a lot again and referring to it along with the pocket reference. I also like how in the Aromatherapy 101 book she recommends oils that blend well together. Even though this book is older, published in 2000, I still see it around on the internet and I think it contains some really good and helpful information for anyone learning to get more from their essential oils.

If you are interested in learning more about Young Living essential oils you can email me kkg@kimberleeskorner.com Also, if you are interested in signing up for Young Living you can click on the highlighted Young Living to take you to the sign up page. You can sign up for a retail account but if you sign up for a wholesale account, or distributor, you will save 24% on all your orders. There are not a whole lot of rules and requirements to be a wholesaler – you have to order a starter kit is the main one. After that you can order as much as you want or never again.

If you decide you love Young Living like me then you can sign up for Essential Rewards that is a monthly auto ship where you decide what you want in your order each month and it has to be a minimum amount of $50.00. Also, if you decide to sign up I will send you a copy of the Essential OIls Pocket Reference – that is the first book I mentioned above in the post.

One of the books I will be reviewing in Part 2 of this series will be Aromatherapy Through the Seasons. This is another book I have had since the early 2000’s. So follow my blog or check back for part 2 on essential oil books coming in February. I will also be sharing some recipes for foods and skincare using essential oils in the future.

I hope everyone had a great week!

-Kimberlee

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Ripple and Lace Knit Sweater

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This sweater is a recently finished knitting design of mine. I have designed many cowls, scarves and shawls and decided to give sweaters a try.

This is not the first time I have knit a sweater but it is the first time I have actually designed a sweater with my own idea. It was a lot of fun and I love the way it turned out. I have already wore it several times.

The idea for this sweater began first with the variegated yarn which is Red Heart Soft. I then found a pretty ripple scallop sytle stitch to use for the lower edge and the ends of the sleeves using this yarn.

For the middle section I chose a lace, openwork, stitch and switched to a solid color yarn to bring out one of the colors in the variegated yarn – this part is the brown. I also knew I had made some brown leggings last winter and that they would match perfectly.

The top part of the sweater and the top of the sleeves are knit in another stitch – the stockinette stitch – and I switched to the turquoise color yarn for this part to bring out the turquoise blue in the variegated yarn.

I really enjoyed using my creative ideas to knit this sweater. I am currently taking a class on craftsy to learn sweater designing techniques. Hopefully I will be able to offer this pattern in multiple sizes – currently I have it written for a small to medium size and it will be available soon on craftsy and in my etsy shop.

Craftsy is a wonderful place to take online courses to learn new skills. I have taken many of their knitting and sewing classes and have always learned a lot from them. Below is an affiliate link to take you to craftsy if you are interested in checking out any of their knitting classes. They have classes for beginners as well as advanced knitters. This weekend, January 17 and 18, 2015, many of their classes will be half off – this is a great time to give a craftsy class a try or to stock up on classes you have on your wish list.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

-Kimberlee

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Essential Oils from Young Living

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Essential oils seem to be everywhere lately. I first learned about essential oils over ten years ago. I was learning how to make my own cleaning products and found that essential oils are used in many of the cleaning recipes in some books I purchased back in early 2000. I still have and use the books and they are still available today.

Essentail Oils Books for cleaning recipes

Books for natural cleaning recipes

Recently I have learned about Young Living essential oils. I kept finding information about them on pinterest and I also read about them in my fitness group on facebook from someone who was using Thieves oil for illness with her kids. Then, I remembered that a friend of mine was selling them so I contacted her to learn more and how to get them.

After talking to my friend I learned that Young Living is a company that only sells the oils to “members”. You can buy at a “retail” level but you pay more money. To get a better price you have to join and be considered a “distributor” to get the wholesale price. Also, when you join at the distributor level you are required to buy a kit for your first purchase.

Well, after learning those facts I was kind of apprehensive about “joining” their company and being part of something I may or may not like. I talked to my friend some more and she assured me I would love the oils, since I already knew so much about essential oils, and that the Young Living oils were very high quality. She also told me there was not a catch to joining that if I bought a kit and decided I didn’t want anything else ever again I would not be obligated to order monthly or ever again for that matter. The only way you are obligated to maintain a monthly order is if you join their ER – Essential Rewards – program that is optional on your part.

So, I did more research on Young Living – found even more great info on pinterest and decided back in November to join and ordered the Everyday Oils kit that also comes with a diffuser and a few samples. The oils that come in that kit are the 5ml bottles and I have already used most of them up in the past six weeks.

Everyday Oils kit

I am in love with these oils and use at least two or more daily for the past six weeks. I like the fact that so many of their oils are therapeutic grade and can be ingested. The essential oils I have used in the past could only be used topically or in my cleaning recipes. I also notice the Young Living oils smell much stronger and have a lot more staying power – the scent does not fade off quickly. The Young Living oils have also helped me and my family with some recent health issues. I think that when used properly essential oils can offer some alternative therapy for many common ailments.

In addition to making my own cleaning products, which I have done for years – I am now making my own face and body care with these oils. Some of the things I have made are recipes I have found and tried from pinterest and others are a combination I have created using books I have and my own personal preferences. I am trying to be more chemical free and use less toxic ingredients on my skin. I am now making and using my own face wash, face toner, moisturizer, body butter and deodorant. I will be sharing my recipes and more info on these in future posts on my blog.

If you are interested in joining Young Living you can click on the highlighted text to take you to the sign up page on the Young Living site. You can also message me via email at kkg@kimberleeskorner.com for more info if you have any questions.

Have a great day!

– Kimberlee

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Working Out Week 52 of 2014

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This was the final week of 2014. I cannot believe another year has gone by already! Time seems to go faster and faster the older I get. For this last week of the year my workouts were mainly my new Cathe Ripped With Hiit workouts and then yoga at the end of the week.

Sunday 12-21 – off
Monday 12-22 – RWH Circuit Upper Body premix 4 timesaver – 34 min.
Tuesday 12-23 – RWH Circuit Lower Body premix 2 scrambled express – 32 min.
Wednesday 12-24 – RWH Low Impact Hiit One + Abs Two – 41 min.
Thursday 12-25 Christmas Day – off
Friday 12-26 – RWH Circuit Upper Body – 46 min.
Saturday 12-27 – Yoga – Light Up sequence from Yoga Journal magazine – 20 min.

I think I have done all nine of the workout dvd’s on the Ripped With Hiit series now. Some of them were the shorter premixes since this was a busy time of year and I just didn’t have the time to do a full 45 or 50 minute workout every day. I will say I truly love this new series from Cathe Friedrich. The workouts are fun and challenging and you will sweat a lot and feel like you got a great workout in – even if you only do a 30 minute premix version. I like how some of the dvd’s are cardio based, some are cardio with weights and then there are a few that are just weight training. All of the dvd’s offer the two ab workouts so you can always add that at the end of your workout.

My persian cat waiting to do the Ripped With Hiit Lower Body Circuit

The above photos are some of the Hiit Circuit Lower Body dvd. This one is a combination of cardio and weights and uses the step for a lot of the exercises. The cardio exercises are done in between weight exercises and your arms also get in a workout since some of them use heavier weights. I really like this workout.

The middle of the week I did Low Impact Hiit One plus Abs two. This workout is all pretty much body weight exercises and uses some dixie cups for some lunges. For part of the workout you use your mat as a workout prop to jump around, over or straddle for various exercises that are fun and get your heart rate up. There was a ton of sweat after this workout. As you can see my faithful workout cat was present for most of these exercises – sitting on the corner of the rug. The rest of the workout he sat under the Christmas tree after finding his present under there – he sat right on the present.

Cat ready and waiting to workout

The Ripped With Hiit Circuit Upper Body dvd is another fun and challenging total body workout. I used this dvd twice this week – the first time I did a shorter premix version but I did the entire workout on Friday. This workout focuses on upper body strength training with the weights but there are cardio exercises in between the weights and those are total body exercises. This is another workout I really like and will be using a lot.

I chose to end this week with yoga. I was planning to do the Lower Body Circuit again but decided some yoga would be better for my early Saturday morning. I love (I think I have mentioned this before) doing yoga on Saturday mornings.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Try doing some workouts at home before joining an expensive gym

- This is the time of year when people decide they are going to get fit and join a gym – personally I have never belonged to one and probably never will. I choose to workout at home on my own time and with my own schedule – I have been doing this for about 10+ years now. Once you develop a schedule (meaning write down your weekly workout plans and stick to them) it becomes a habit and you will soon make it part of your day. Also, you won’t have to worry about driving anywhere and won’t have that excuse as the reason you can’t workout -no time to drive to the gym.

- For the amount of money you are going to spend on a gym membership contract for a year you can buy some weights and bands to use at home. You could also invest in a good workout program and still have money left to buy the weights for what you would spend on a membership. Beachbody offers great workout programs – a few of which I own and have completed in the past couple of years. Also, Cathe Friedrich dvd’s are awesome – a lot of her older dvd’s (which are still good and I still use) are probably on sale right now, too. They may seem expensive at first but when you calculate the cost of the gym, gas money and your time for going there they are a bargain. The highlighted text are links to the site – I am not affiliated with either of them just wanted to share where to get the information I mentioned.

- Look into some of the fitness websites and YouTube channels like PopSugar Fitness that offer lots of free workout videos and some are only 15 to 20 minutes for those who are short on time.

- There are lots of ways to get in some exercise without joining a gym – check into some of them before signing that membership contract.

I mentioned last week in the fitness tips to think about some goals for the upcoming year. Well, for one of my goals I have decided to focus on some other topics for my blog this coming year. I will still be working out regularly but I will probably only do a monthly update and not a weekly one. I will be trying to focus a little more on my crochet, knitting and sewing for the year 2015 – which are things I truly love to do – there will be projects and I will also share some free patterns and tutorials.

I hope everyone has had a great year. Mine was filled with blogging, cleaning, cooking, crocheting, exercising, knitting, sewing; also keeping our home managed and raising our kids. I am looking forward to a great year for 2015!

Take care and Happy New Year!

– Kimberlee

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