Month: October 2015

Fitness for October 2015

The month of October is almost over…tomorrow is Halloween and the time will fall back this weekend.  This past month I followed a pretty intense workout schedule using my Cathe Friedrich programs – Xtrain and Ripped with Hiit and doing yoga.   I am trying to ramp up my workouts some and get ready for her new series that I have already pre-ordered called ICE which stands for Intermediate Conditioning Extreme.  The title itself makes it sound like the workouts will be a challenge.  The workouts are coming out the end of fall 2015.

Cathe workouts for my October schedule Kimberlees Korner

I alternated my weeks in October with one week Xtrain mixed with yoga a couple of days and then the next week Ripped with Hiit and yoga.  I averaged a 5 to 6 day a week workout schedule with 2 of my days being yoga.

crocheted yoga props and Yoga Journal magazine Kimberlees Korner

For my yoga routines I used this older Yoga Journal magazine I bought back in April 2013.  I also used my new crocheted yoga props that I made myself on many of my yoga days.  For more on the crochet pillow and strap see this post.

I love doing yoga on my non cardio days.  I really enjoy yoga on Saturday mornings, too – it is a great start to my weekend to get up early Saturday, before 7 am, and do 20 to 30 minutes of yoga.  Yoga also helps keep me flexible after the intense cardio and weight workouts I do.

I have also started juicing again this month.  I kind of put my juicer away a few months ago and got out of the habit of using it.  I decided it was time to start up again.  I love buying the produce and looking through my juicing books for interesting juice combinations.  I think the reason I don’t keep up with it on a daily basis is because of the clean up involved with the juicer parts – it doesn’t take that long but it is something else to have to do when you are done juicing.  I find it works better if I make two or three juices up and store them in mason jars in the refrigerator so I don’t have to drag the juicer out every day.

 

Juicing book

A benefit I notice with juicing is how good I feel and how much more focused I am.  I also think it helps influence better eating choices.  My goal is to have a fresh juice at least 4 to 5 times each week.

Fresh Kale from my garden Kimberlees Korner

The fresh kale, in the photo above, is from my garden.  This was something else to motivate my juicing.  I grew some last year and used it with my juicer and remembered how much better it tasted and juiced than the kind I buy.  I grew some again this year, from seed, and it is doing really well lately.  It tends to not grow so good in the hot Texas heat in the summer but does very well in the spring and fall weather.

So, what kind of workouts have you been doing lately?  Let me know in the comments below.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

New Crochet Designs

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I recently finished some new crochet designs.  The first thing I completed at the beginning of October was this crochet laptop sleeve and this little crochet case.

Vibrant V Stitch Laptop Sleeve plus Bonus Small Case Pattern Kimberlees Korner

I love this vibrant V stitch design used to create my laptop sleeve.  I was inspired to create this because I was tired of having a large laptop case to carry when traveling.  This sleeve is perfect for holding my 16 inch laptop and it will slide down inside a larger bag that I carry when I travel.  The stitch is also very thick so it provides some extra cushion for the laptop.  I also created this little mini case to hold the laptop power cord and the mouse that I use.

Crochet Laptop Sleeve Pattern by Kimberlees Korner

My other new design for October was this fun chakra yoga pillow or bolster pattern.  I was tired of using my couch pillows for a yoga bolster when doing certain poses so I decided to crochet one.  I got inspired to do one in chakra colors as I have a book about chakra yoga and thought a crocheted pillow or bolster would be fun to make and something I would use.  I am really pleased with how the pillow turned out and I have already used it many times in the last couple of weeks.  Along with this pattern I also made a yoga strap to go with the pillow.

Yoga Pillow Pattern from Kimberlees Korner

Yoga Strap Pattern from Kimberlees Korner

Both of these patterns are available here on my website under my Pattern Store tab. You can also find these patterns in my etsy shop, on craftsy and on ravelry.

Visit KimberleeG’s Craftsy Pattern Store »

What have you been crocheting or working on lately? I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

Essential Oil Blends for Perfume

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There are many ways to use essential oils.  One of the ways I have found to use them daily is wearing them as a perfume.  Not all oils are good for this but I have discovered a few of the different essential oil blends from Young Living that smell nice when worn as a fragrance.

essential oil blends that smell nice and can be worn as a perfume Kimberlees Korner

Three of the blends I have discovered that work well as a perfume are:

  • Awaken
  • Lady Sclareol
  • White Angelica

Awaken is actually a combination of five different Young Living Blends in fractionated coconut oil.  The blends are:  Joy, Forgiveness, Present Time, Dream Catcher and Harmony.  According to the Essential Oils Pocket Reference Book this blend enhances inner self-awareness, stimulates right brain creativity, amplifying functions of the pineal and pituitary glands to balance the energy centers of the body.  I think this blend has a pleasant smell and have applied it on my wrists and behind my ears and over my heart area in the morning before doing some yoga.

Lady Sclareol is a blend of 11 different single oils to create a lovely fragrance that I have been using a lot as a daily perfume over the past several months.  This blend is suppose to enhance feminine nature by improving your mood and raising estrogen levels for women – it may also provide PMS relief according to the Pocket Reference Book.

White Angelica is a blend of 12 different single oils in fractionated coconut oil.  This blend is suppose to bring a renewed sense of strength and protection to the body, create a feeling of wholeness in one’s own spirituality and neutralizes negative energy as stated in the Essential Oils Pocket Reference Book.  I have also been wearing this one a lot as it has such a pleasant and calming smell.

To wear any of these three essential oils as a fragrance you can apply them as you would any perfume, as each of them are safe to apply without dilution, to the wrists, neck, behind ears, on the forehead, on the shoulders or over the heart area. You could also use a small glass spray bottle and dilute about 15 to 25 drops in one or two ounces of filtered water to create a body spray – I have done this with some single oils to create my own blend and this works well.

If you are interested in learning more about essential oils or about Young Living specifically please contact me using the form below and I will get back to you.

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    If you are interested in signing up to be a Young Living member please click on the highlighted Young Living to take you to the sign up link.  If you join Young Living with this link I will send you a free gift for signing up once you have ordered you starter kit.

    How do you use essential oils and what are some of your favorite Young Living blends?  Please let me know by leaving a reply.

    – Kimberlee