Its 6 am on Sunday Morning

Why am I up? Why cant I sleep in like normal people do?  I start thinking about what I want to do for the day and how I want a cup of coffee and I just have to get up. I also like my quiet time before everybody else gets up. It may also be because this has been one of the nicest weekends of the summer. It may also be because I have a new sense of well being.

I have been bitten by the walking bug. I don't know where the motivation came from but I am glad it finally came. I just simply could not get motivated at all. I have been so lazy lately. I went from doing cardio kickboxing and walking 6 days a week to doing absolutely nothing. I went from being in the best shape of my life to the worst. I am going to change that. I want to be able to eat what I want and not have to wear spanx. I am tired of complaining about it and doing nothing about it. I just want to be the best me I can be (and perhaps eat a bagel instead of broccoli and summer squash every once in awhile? Is that to much to ask?)

It is not so much of a weight issue for me as it is not being toned and zero energy. I don't want to just maintain my weight by watching what I eat.
I really don't have much stress but exercise is good for the body as well as the mind. I don't feel good about myself when I am lazy. I may not exercise every single day like before, but I am going to try my darnedest to fit it in as much as possible.  I will be adding crunches into my routine. Muffin tops only look good on muffins.

I am giving it about an hour or so before we go walk the lake again. I am walking with my husband and I am glad he is walking with me. The lake is about a 3 mile walk. I did not plan on walking the whole lake the first time out but once we started I wanted to keep going. I actually could have walked it twice no problem.

When we got home yesterday we contemplated walking the neighborhood too. There is what we call the big loop and the small loop. When I am motivated I will walk both. When I am not, I do one or the other. The big loop is about 2 and a half miles (a little more than a half if you want to be technical)  and the small loop is about a mile and a half.
Instead of walking again yesterday we decided to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. A note to everyone out there, do not go to a driving range that is also a dairy farm with ice cream. The stench will make you dizzy. I couldn't hit those balls fast enough! I could still smell those cows for hours after we got home. Yuck!  We will have to stick to our old boring driving range in the future.

After walking today we are going to go boating with my daughter and her boyfriend. Row, row, row your boat. This should be interesting. Wish me luck! If you don't hear from me by the end of the week it is probably because I am stuck out in the middle of the lake. Maybe we should bring a picnic of bagels?

Enjoy your Sunday!

My latest obsession

Today I am linking up with my dear friend Kathe for Youre gonna LOVE it! Tuesday. Well I certainly know I LOVE my latest obsession. I hope you do too! Join the link up! Anything goes.

My latest obsession is www.AlexandAni.com bracelets.
Alex and Ani, LLC is an Eco-friendly company that believes in re-using and recycling materials. All of their pieces are infused with the (+) positive energy symbol. All of the jewelry is made in the USA. They are actually a sponsor for the Olympics this year and have a beautiful collection just for the Olympics.

Alex and Ani's flagship store is located in Newport, RI where my daughter went to school.  http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/forbes-names-newport-prettiest-town-in-america/. It is always crowded! I now know why.The Alex and Ani headquarters and factory are located in Cranston, RI.

I blame my latest obsession on my daughters wonderful boyfriend. He got my daughter these two adorable bracelets for graduation to commemorate her time in Newport. I just had to get some of my own.

A compass and an anchor. Very appropriate for living in a beach front town for her four years of school.

These bracelets make great gifts. They are a great way to start someone with a collection. I personally have to refrain from going out and buying 25 more for myself. I want to build my collection slowly and let my kids have the option of getting something special for me. Being older, I don't need another vase or nick knack. I have more than enough.
Personalized gifts are probably my favorite gifts. I also happen to love dangly and jangly jewelry. If you love stackable bracelets, you are going to love Alex and Ani.

My husband started my collection for me. I got my initial and my birthstone.

The bracelets are adjustable making for easy off and on.

 

 

These bracelets to me are the modern take on the charm bracelet. Did I mention the quality is exceptional and the prices are very reasonable? I don't know how many of these bracelets I can own but I will not limit myself. I can always mix and match right? I haven't figured out how many I will wear at a time but I will worry about that when the time comes. Right now I am thinking I need a few of their beaded ones to break up the look. The possibilities are endless.

A note to my children, if you are reading this (I know you are) I will give you my name and password so that you can see the ridiculous amount of bracelets I have on my wish list. My birthday is coming up after all.

*This is not a sponsored post. I am just sharing my love of Alex and Ani Jewelry.

Its "OK" Thursday 7/12

I am linking up again with with Neely: A Complete Waste of Makeup and Amber: Brunch With

Amber Click the button above to visit and link up too!

"Its OK"

-That  I am not on the Fourth of July Committee anymore but they still call me to help out. I had to help coordinate the carriage/bike/dog contest in town. Our town population is 14,892. Why wont anyone else step up to the plate?  Its OK because I actually enjoy doing it but still.....Its always the same volunteers for evertyhing that goes on in town..

-That I am seriously only dieting so that when football season starts I can eat my weight in queso.

-That my curling iron died (R.I.P) and I was to uncoordinated to use my daughters newfangled one. Hello straight hair.

-That for the next 3 weeks I am not only working Monday, I am also working on Thursday. I will need a vacation after.

-That my daughter landed a job on the first real interview she went on. Yeah G!

-That I am a little sad that we wont have as much time to hang out because of said job.

-That my favorite grand baby will be coming to visit in a few weeks. Yeah!

-That I found the picture that goes with my marinade post so here it is

-That I am so excited that Big Brother starts tonight. It is not summer without Big Brother.

-That as much as I like Emily from the bachelorette, I couldn't help but notice on the last episode I watched (I am a week behind) that she picked the men from first to last according to how much money they had. Was it subliminal on her part?

-That I am obsessed with the sister wives blog http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/

-That it is 11:00 am on Thursday and I am finishing my blog at work because my daughter tweeted me and asked me where my Its "OK" Thursday post is.

-That while on my way to work I make two stops. One to play the lottery and one to get coffee. When I stopped at the store to play my lottery , the woman ran my tickets through the machine then looked at me and said "are you in a rush?" I said "not really". She asked me if I would watch the store so she could run to the ladies room. She was waiting for someone to come in that she trusted.. I guess she picked me because I am a regular gambler customer and I look trustworthy. We always have nice chit chat when I go in,  I obviously watched the store for her. It was uneventful.

-That the ice cream man in our neighborhood needs to get new music and a new player for his music. He plays slow Christmas music and other weird un-ice cream truck like  music that almost sounds warped. His lifetime movie title would be "The ice cream truck killer". The music sounds that creepy. If I were a kid, I would stay away.

-That I am loving this Soft Soap Vineyard Escape body wash. Now I can bring happy hour into the shower with me. We all know how much I love my happy hours. You can bet I will be having happy hour today.

Happy Thursday and enjoy the rest of your week!

A simple marinade

Today I am linking up with my very talented friend Kathe for You're gonna LOVE it! Tuesday. Join in. Anything goes. She is nice like that.

Seeing that I am in summer vacation mode, I figured it was only fitting that I share a quick and easy steak marinade recipe. I have been doing a whole lot of nothing and keeping busy.  I don't know about everyone else but I feel like once July 4th passes, summer is almost over. I am trying to soak up every ray of sunshine that I can before being cooped up in the house for 6 months.

My husband is the grill master. The man has 3 grills on the deck. He is a really great cook. He makes sure everything coming off of the grill has cross grill hash marks. The food usually looks like it came out of a magazine ad. He is at his happiest when he has a barbecue brush in his hand. He looks forward to entertaining and parties where he is the chef.

 I love summer because I know I get a break from the kitchen. I barely cook. My husband wants to cook every day. That's fine with me. I will have plenty of time to cook in the winter.

 

Here is his recipe for steak tip marinade. Unfortunately I do not have a picture. I went through all 700 pictures on my phone twice. I swore I had one....

You will need:

4lbs of Sirloin Tips
6-8oz Wishbone Italian Dressing
6-8oz Heinz 57 Sauce
3 TBS brown sugar
fresh cracked pepper

Let it marinate in your refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

That's it! I told you it is very simple. Our biggest dilemma when making steak tips is to leave them plain or to use this marinade. It is that good. I think I will be going to go get some steak tips today.

Barbecue while you can and enjoy this beautiful week!