30-Minute Total Body Workout

On Saturday morning I put together another quick workout since I had to be at my church early in the morning to help with a sale. Whenever I'm in a time crunch, I like to mix and match as many moves as possible to make sure I'm using the best of the time I have. So I did a little bit of everything to hit multiple muscle groups. 

It took me about 30 minutes, 10 minutes each round with little to no rest between rounds and exercises. The most I did break-wise was get some water every so often. 

Then I whipped up some bacon and eggs! I actually prefer turkey bacon over regular bacon and the macros of the brand I get at Sam's club are awesome. It's 0C/6P/2F per slice so it's a great protein source. The egg whites had 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese and salt and pepper. 

I've also recently had to cut out caffeine because I got these insane heart palpitations last Monday afternoon that didn't go away until exactly 24 hours later on Tuesday afternoon. Amanda can't do caffeine for that same reason and the rest of my family is pretty sensitive to it as well. So I can't say this is surprising because I knew eventually my time with caffeine would run out haha! Which means I've been drinking decaf everything in the past week, and my heart has been doing just fine. I thought it would be awful giving up caffeine but I actually feel a lot better! 

I'll do an update soon of how my cut is going, but so far so good! I'm happy with how it's going so I'll work on getting a post up about that. 

Non-measurable Victories

So I decided that this was an important thing to talk about because so often people get caught up in the numbers. As though success can only be quantified in numbers be that as how much money you make, material things you have, or pounds/inches lost.

I'm not saying I don't do this because I do. I catch myself focusing too much on numbers, and now that I'm starting my cut I don't want that to be my focus. I don't want to do this just to get to a certain number or to chase that perfect body or to prove anything to anyone. I'm not doing this so people will go "wow! did you lose weight?" or "what's your secret?" or "I wish I looked as good as you!".

I'm simply doing this for myself and because I have goals. Because chasing those goals is what I love, and it's a challenge. And quite honestly, I don't think I'm obligated to explain or justify why I'm doing this to anyone else. If someone wants to get leaner then that's their choice. If they want to build muscle then that's their choice. If they don't want muscle growth then that's their choice.

My point is don't measure your victories by the scale or measurements or what other people say. I listed 10 things that have nothing to do with anyone else or the numbers but are simply for yourself!

1. Found something you're passionate about 

2. It changes you for the better

3. More confidence in your abilities 

4. The knowledge that you're doing something good for yourself 

5. Feeling yourself get stronger

6. Being more comfortable in your skin

7. Seeing your progress

8. You learn discipline

9. You discover you're so much more capable than you gave yourself credit

10. You're empowered

These are all things that I'm going to keep in mind during the coming weeks, and the first day of my cut I woke up to this Bible verse in my email and I kid you not I almost laughed at God's timing. Not in a bad way but in a "okay, Jesus I hear you LOUD and CLEAR" kind of way haha!

No discipline is enjoyable while it's happening-- it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:11

So for me this cut is more spiritual and after reading Made to Crave I understand its purpose more than I ever have. That's all I'm going to say on the matter because it's between me and God but out of all these 10 non-measurable victories, bringing me closer to the Lord is the biggest victory for me.

So go out there and kick butt, whatever your goals and victories may be! 

The Easiest Cherry Cobbler

This is quite possibly the easiest dessert I've ever made and people went CRAZY for it. My grandma has been making dump cakes for awhile but this one was a bit different as I made it more cobbler-like. I see recipes like this all over Pinterest and honestly haven't been able to find the true source of who came up with this so this is not my own recipe. I only wish I could give proper credit to whoever came up with this genius idea! 

Here's what you'll need: 

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 can of pie filling (your choice of flavor) 

1 stick of butter

In a traditional dump cake you literally just dump in the pie filling then the cake mix on top then cut up the butter and lay it on top of the cake layer. It's that easy! And totally lives up to the dump cake name since you just dump it and go. 

This one I saw was more like a cobbler so I wanted to try it out. It's just as easy but only takes one quick extra step. You can also use two cans of pie filling or mix and match different flavors! My grandma likes to do cherry with a can of crushed pineapple. 

1. Place the pie filling on the bottom of the pan (grease a 9x13 pan)

2. Melt the stick of butter in the microwave

3. Mix the cake mix with the melted butter until it's all incorporated

4. Crumble up the butter and cake mixture on top of the pie filling

5. Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes until the top is all golden brown

I don't actually have a picture of the finished product since we were in the middle of my mom's 2-year anniversary dinner, and totally forgot! I baked this while we were eating dinner so that it came fresh out of the oven. I served it with cool whip and people were raving about this. They kept asking me for the recipe and when I explained how simple it was, they were amazed! I would highly recommend this dessert as an easy crowd-pleaser that takes a total of 5 minutes to prep. 

Also, I couldn't help but share this adorable picture from the dinner! Figures, I forget to take pictures of my food but if there's an adorable photo op of Layla then I remember haha! 

I wouldn't let her in the living room while everyone was eating (her hair would be everywhere) so the twins hung out with her on the sun porch. Then I look over and see these little cuties! Like I always say, three peas in a pod!