Take...eighteen?

Really?  June 14th was the last time you heard from me, and I haven't had the guts to write again since.  Unfortunately for you, I have the urge to babble.  A lot has happened in the five months I haven't been here, the organization I wrote about on June 14th provided us with this great dog who we renamed Taco, however we have decided he can't stay, even after all these months.  Taco wants very much to eat our cat Nacho.  Poor Nacho is 12 years old and has been hiding in the attic all these months.  It makes me incredibly sad that we've come to this decision, Taco has a lot of potential to be a great companion.  I know he loves me for everything I do for him, and I am sure if he could speak he would say "Thank you."

Alright, sticking with my theme, today is Mexican Monday!  Tonight I made Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps  , which I found on Pinterest, naturally.  Like the post states, these can be tweaked in anyway shape or form to your liking.  I went with a vegetarian version, added salsa and sliced avocado, and left the recipe as is for the boys. 

Here's some healthy facts about  avocados.  Regardless of their calorie count, they have great benefits in other areas.  Using guacamole instead of mayo on your BLT is one of my favorites.  I may need to grow my own seeing I can't stop eating them.

Mandy

Wacky Wednesday: Last Hope K9 Rescue

I know you are all over me wanting a dog, talking about dog, posting pictures of cute dogs, blah, blah, blah.  Well, it just can't happen yet in my life, but it will.  I would like to however pat myself on the back for being so obnoxious about posting pictures on Facebook and getting OTHER people to adopt.  Yup that's right, three adoptions thanks to my annoying posts, and unfortunately that is just encouragement for me to continue.  Sorry.

Let me introduce you to Last Hope K9 Rescue, they rescue dogs from kill shelters.  Kill shelters, seriously?  Who does that?  My heart breaks.  They have these amazingly, cute, well named dogs{and puppies} that need forever homes.  People really need to adopt these dogs instead of breeding or getting a puppy from birth, if you can want a puppy to love, you can love a dog who has NO ONE!

Happy Lame Wacky Wednesday{I'm playing catch up}!
~M

Treadmill Tip Tuesday: Using the Treadmill

Schools out, yippee, so excited!!  No really, my life is about to come to a screeching halt thanks to summer vacation.  I thought this whole school vacation and working thing was going to be a problem, but when am I supposed to get my workout in??  Looks like we'll be testing the alarm clock to see if it works at 5:30am.

First I need you to keep in mind I am not a personal trainer and although I've had my share of fitness training I am not officially certified in anything, so take this information as you wish.  Here's my tip, if you have to hold on for dear life to the treadmill you may want to consider decreasing the incline and/or reducing the speed.  It is more important to get your form right before your  add speed and an incline.  If you are just starting out with exercise, start slow, add speed and incline when you know you are able to hold a steady pace and move your arms freely.  Check out some of these treadmill routines to keep your brain, and body, from getting bored, WebMD, FitSugar, Couch to 5K.  All these routines will keep your heart rate up, and whether you are looking to lose weight or just get healthy, keeping your heart rate up is good all around.

Happy Fitness!
~M

Mexican Monday: Gotta Love the Basic Taco.

I've never been SO happy to throw away a lunch box. T's lunch box was beyond gross, no soap and water, bleach combo could get that thing to not smell!  And tomorrow I'm allowing him to buy lunch which means I get to toss that disgusting lunch box today!!

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like tacos?  I mean tacos can be eaten with a hard shell, a soft shell, as a salad, omelet...What's there not like?  Whenever I ask the question, "What do you guys want for dinner this week?", they always reply, "Tacos."

A few years back I had to make a spice combo for some burgers forcing me to buy LOTS of individual spices.  After that, I started making my own taco seasoning.  Here's what you'll need,

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

 I usually double this recipe for the one and change pound of ground meat, but we like our Mexican food, so you be the judge of how much you want to add.  After your ground meat is browned, add the taco seasoning and water{I use about 2/3c for two serving of the taco seasoning}, cook for a few minutes and serve as you like.

The rest of the things you'll need are, ground meat, or chicken, shells of your choice{mine aren't shown}, and whatever fixings you'd like to top your tacos with{cheese, salsa, tomato, sour cream, lettuce, avocado}.

  

Enjoy!

~M

Here Goes Nothing!

So here goes.  I'm going to attempt to continue{start rather} blogging and I am hopefully setting myself up to be successful by giving each day a theme, a theme of something I love.  Those who know me, and once you get to know me, you will see I am a huge fan of themes.  A theme is like fuel for my brain, it allows my creative wheels to work and occasionally spiral out of control.  Feel free to read the definition of theme.

Here's the order:

Mexican Monday:  A recipe, not necessarily a Mexican recipe.

Treadmill Tip Tuesday:  A fitness tip, new exercise, muscle group focus.

Wacky Wednesday:  Anything, funny story, rant, random fact, DIY project.

Thirsty Thursday:  Adult beverage mix, kid drink, beverage event.

Photo Friday:  I'm always browsing photos/helpful tips, and I'll share some of my own too.

My weekends will be for recovering and setting myself up for the following week.

I'm super excited to start this, I realistic my life can get out of hand so I will do my best to stay on top of things.  I really just hope that I am able to reach some people with what I share.  I want so badly to have a positive impact on someone's life through words, fitness and photography and if there's other things in my way I must go over them to try something else.  So for you I will blog.

~Mandy

When, not If.

Why is it that when I sit with the laptop in my lap, balanced with one hand and a full cup of coffee balanced in the other, Tucker wants to give me all kinds of loving??  Then when we're driving around from place to place and I turn the radio on to fill the awkward silence, he has something to say, turn it off to hear him, leave it off for a bit, turn it back on, etc. etc.  Is it on purpose, or do kids just not have the common sense? Don't get me wrong, I know I should be cherishing all these moments with Tuck before they are no more, and I do put the computer and coffee down to get the hug and kiss, but...I'm still going to complain about it anyway :)

Anyway, I have this really bad habit of saying "If I...", instead of "When I...", like in the instance with becoming a group fitness instructor, "WHEN I become an instructor, this is what I want to teach..."  I need to change my mindset to IF it's an option, WHEN am I going to do it.  Right?  There's all things feel good quotes about being happy, and centered, and if life was perfect, but that's not always how we behave.  The past few years, I sat around waiting for something to happen when I realized it wasn't going to I had to do something.

"At any given moment you have the power to say: This is NOT how the story is going to end."

(Credit)  See what I mean?  It sounds all fulfilling to the soul, makes you want to drop everything you've been doing, that you probably hate, and do something you love.  And why shouldn't you, everyone deserves happy.   Now here I am waiting to pass a fitness certification or two so I can do what I love and help people be healthy and fit.  When I    helped my friend last week get around the track and showed her some added moves, it was such an adrenaline rush.  That moment told me, I've made the right choice to get into the fitness world, that I can do this, and this IS how my story will end.

Helping a friend

Hi!  Happy 60 degree day with gusts at 40 mph to go with it!!  I can say the same for yesterday but yesterday I was on a track at a college and man was that wind cold.  Wanna know why I was on a track yesterday...to walk around it silly.  Only I was there with a friend who needs some motivation to lose a few pounds and I was happy to help.  We started with a lap around the track then we moved to alternating walking, walking lunges, pausing for ten jumping jacks, and we even added a little punching while we walked.  We also went over biceps curls, shoulder press, mountain climbers, planks, burpees, etc., to do in addition to the cardio.

If you are looking to lose some weight, and don't have a gym membership, this is the perfect time to get outside and utilize all those basic workout tools.  I found this website called Fit Sugar, and there's lots of good information, including some circuit exercises that you can do anywhere.  A high school or college track are usually opened to the public, making it a great place to go.  Hey, you could even refer to it as your "gym".  Keep in mind you need to increase your heart rate to burn calories, along with some strength training, and stretching.  


~M

My Photography

So my big plan was to blog about each individual shoot I've had over the last year or so, and you know what?? It's just not going to happen.  It is just not possible to get it all done.  So here is an overview of a few images I am so appreciative of being able to create, just to give you a little taste.

Ashley and Dan Engagement Session{They have since been married!}

I've gotten lucky and  was able to shoot this family twice!

And the Jenkins Family

Jessica Rose with Austin.

And this might be my favorite, maybe because of it's challenge to get all those kids in one place, sitting and all looking at the camera.

Thanks for looking, I can't promise I will blog each photo session, but I will make an effort.

~M

Madison

Hello! I had the pleasure of taking some portraits of this lovely young lady named Madison.  Though she's only a junior in high school, Mom hates the way her school pictures come out so we basically did a dry run for next years senior portraits.  The sheep pasture in Easton is beautiful on some many levels, it's got great character, lots of options for backdrops and animals you can say hello to.

She's gorgeous right?

And fun too.

Once she came out of her shell there was no doubt she'd want to do it all again! Can't wait for senior portrait time :)