#HelloKeurig Keurig 2.0 K200 Brewing System

I got the chance to review the new Keurig 2.0 brewing system. This was provided to me from Influenster and it was all totally free! Even though this was sent to me for free, this is my honest opinion. I have an old Keurig I got in 2011 and it was seeing the best of its days, so I'm very happy I got chosen to do a review on the new one!

Some things I noticed:

It is a lot quieter than my old Keurig

The water container is in the back compared to the side.

It is slimmer

Heats up water faster

Has more features

Brews coffee slower for more concentrated coffee

Touch screen display

Came with a water filter, which my old machine did not!

I absolutely love this Keurig! It has 4 cup sizes to chose from, 4, 6, 8, and 10 oz. It also has an option to brew normal, strong, or a hot chocolate/other option. I tried the strong option and it did brew the coffee strong. This setting I noticed took longer compared to just a normal brew. The machine recognizes when there is not a kcup inside when you want just hot water which is a nice feature.

 The touch screen is a nice feature as well. It is very responsive and works well, you just lightly touch it and it responds. When you want to power it off you have to hold it for about 3 seconds and it will turn off. 

 If you need to clean the machine, it comes apart in 3 separate areas which is nice.

The only thing I noticed that was a little disappointing was the top of the water tank got some condensation on the top after water was in it for about a day, but other than that it is a great product and will be used a lot in the near future!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. This is my honest opinion!

AB Blast!

You will be sore for days after this ab workout! At least I was..(and still am). For the hanging abs, use your resources, if you don't have access to anything you can hold on to, use a captains chair or a stability ball or do mountain climbers and more leg raises instead.

Run: 2 miles on treadmill speed 6.5+

2 sets for the following:
50 crunches
50 Oblique crunches
30 Leg raises
Hanging abs (knees bent, and legs extended) 20 each (these tire me out so I did 4 sets of 10 total)
10 Pikes on stability ball

Don't forget to stretch after! :)

DIY Sharpie Mug

Let's get crafty!

I got a pack of sharpies on Black Friday last year and I wanted to display them in a mug so their easy to access (and they look pretty too) anyway, I could not find a mug with the right quote on it, size, ect. so I decided to make my own.

This technique is really simple and I actually used it for my chalkboard at my wedding as well (wedding blog coming soon!) 

What you need:

White Mug

Image/quote of choice

pencil

tape

Sharpie (I used black)

Step 1

Cut out your image so it is the size that will fit your mug best. 

Step 2

Shade the back side of the image with pencil, make sure not to miss any spots.

Step 3

Tape the image with the penciled side on the mug.

Step 4

Trace over the letters with either a pencil or a pen. I went over mine several times to make sure it transferred.

Step 5

Remove image and it should be traced to the mug with pencil

Step 6

Fill in with the sharpie

Step 7

Wait at least 24 hours before placing mug in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. This helps seal the image in the mug.

End results!

If your planning on using a sharpie mug for beverages, do not place in the dishwasher and try not to was over the sharpie, just in case it decides to fade or come off completely! 

If you mess up with the sharpie, take some rubbing alcohol to remove it. 

Cardio Day!

Hello!

Today's workout is just cardio but I threw in some abs after.

I did this today on an indoor track so the laps are shorter, but its the same concept. 

1 set is 3 laps.

lap 1 walk, lap 2 jog, lap 3 sprint the straights jog curves.

repeat for 10 sets. I took a water break after set 5. 

All together this workout equals about 4 miles.

Don't forget to cool down and stretch really well. I then did some core. Have fun!

Bootcamp Workout

Workout time!

This workout should be done at a gym if you have access to these items, if not I will put substitutes in for them. It is a brutal workout and I am sore! :)

Each "station" is 50 seconds in duration. For exercises where you switch legs, do each side for 25 seconds. Your rest is to get to the next station (or about 5-10 seconds) Start with workout #1 for 50 seconds, then repeat #1 and add #2.

The format for this workout is doing stations in this order:

1

1, 2

1, 2, 3

 1, 2, 3, 4, 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Warm Up: run 2 laps, 4 walking push ups, 30 mountain climbers, repeat.

1. Rope: either pulses, slaps, or alternating arms (if no rope is available do front and lateral raises with dumbells) (Or do walking push ups with weights for 25 seconds plus rope or raises for the other 25 seconds)

2. Box Jumps

3. TRX pull ups or upright rows (if no TRX use dumbbells and do rows)

4. On stability ball, put feet on the ball, do push up, In-out, push up, then V-up

5. Burpee with overhead press (use either a bar or weights)

6. Single leg lunge: On Bosu ball, use dumbbells, put one foot on ball, the other on floor 

Cool down: slow run for 2 laps, slow push ups (x4) and slow mountain climbers (x20).

Stretch.

This should last about 45 minutes.

Have fun!

Welcome 2015! A Tabata Workout

Happy New Year!

If your stuck in a state where its negative degrees outside and you don't want to go out to the gym like me you've come to the right place! 

Lets start off this year right with a tabata workout. Tabata is a HITT type of workout (High Intensity Interval Training) which is great for burning calories more efficiently for less time. Tabata is based on 8 rounds of the same exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest for a total of 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes you get a 1 minute rest period before switching exercises. 4 minutes of hard work that's it? It can't be true but it is. Here is the workout I completed today and can be done anywhere. It does not require weight however you can add extra weight to some exercises if you wish.

Start with a 5 minute warm up consisting of lateral lunges, forward luges, jumping jacks, high kicks and butt kickers each will last one minute. 

Do each exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest for 4 minutes straight or 8 rounds. I used a stop watch on my phone but you can find an interval timer app or use a timer like me:

burpees

push up (either full push up or on knees, just keep the back straight and never fully extend elbows)

lunges back with forward kick *kick with right leg only for 20 sec then switch on next round

toe touches

boxing (pretend to punch a punching bag, fast)

front plank on elbows

jumping jacks (faster then warm up)

squat with double pulse below knees if possible

bicycle crunch

side plank (2 minutes or 4 rounds on one side then switch)

cool down:

stretch major muscles used (shoulders, triceps, quads, hamstrings, abs and anything else you feel is needed) hold for 20 seconds each

After the workout, finish with a protein smoothie and enjoy your day!

Better Than Salt Dough Key Ornament

Hello!

I wanted to save a memory of our first apartment, and what better way than to make an ornament! 

Preheat oven to 175 degree F. 

what you need:

Ingredients for 1 ornament:

1/4 C baking soda

1/2 C cornstarch

1/2 C water

double recipe if needed

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir for several minutes until mixture thickens like smooth mashed potatoes. 

Place in a ball in a bowl with a damp cloth to cool. I only let it cool until it wasn't too hot to touch.

Place some cornstarch on a table and roll dough into a ball and place on counter. Use more cornstarch if it is sticky. I used my palm to flatten my dough to about 1/4 inch thick, feel free to use a rolling pin.

Once you have the shape you want, (I did a heart) place key into dough carefully. If your dough starts to crack or dry out, just add small amounts of water. I used my finger to spread water on the dough. I also did this to smooth out the dough before I placed it on my baking sheet. Use a toothpick to make a hole in the top of the ornament.

Place parchment paper on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, flip half way through baking.

Once cooled, I wrote "Our first apartment 2014" and on the back I put our address. I then covered the ornament in Mod Podge to help seal it in.

A fun little way to remember your first place. It's not perfect, but it works. :)

Happy Holidays!