Upper Body Fusion Workout

*Need a small set of hand weights ( < 5lbs. )

Start with a weight in each hand; feet hip width apart.  Bend forward at the waist, keep neck straight and extend arms back, weights perpendicular to the floor. 

11.  Triceps Fold-over: Arms kicked back straight and pulse up (arms straight & back of the neck flat) – 20 reps

22.  Small presses in towards the midline of the body, keep arms straight – 20 reps

33.  Raise arms slightly higher; then move them in up (combine first two moves) & hold.  Important to maintain the   

h     height of the weights – 20 reps

44. Turn palms up – press the butt of the weights toward eachother, bend elbows slightly (if necessary) -20 reps

*Release*

55. Standing up straight, feet hip width apart, knees soft - begin bicep curls – arms held out in front (alternate arms)– 30 reps

66. Turn hands to hammer position and alternate bicep curls – 30 reps

77.  Double arm extensions – extend & bend at the same time – 30 reps

88.  Put arms in L shape (elbows parallel with shoulders), pump up & down – 30 reps

*Open arms to field goal shape

99. Chest flys – 12 reps

110.   Arms in L shape and pump up & down - 12 reps

111.  Open arms wide for  Pull downs – squeeze shoulder blades (feel it in the lats) - 8 reps

112.   Small, pulsing lateral pull downs – 8 reps

*Release

13.   Bend over, arms extended out to the side – Perform Flys. “pinch a pencil between shoulder blades” - 12 reps

14.   Small outside pulses – arms extended out - 12 reps

Door to Desk Project

I love re-purposing stuff.  Check out this awesome desk that my husband and I made out of a salvaged door and some sawhorse legs!

Filing Cabinet Project

We got the idea to paint and thus re-purpose an ugly (but, free) filing cabinet last weekend.  Here's what we ended up with:

 The idea was that the stripe running around it would 'invert' when it hit the new color.  Pretty cool - lots of painters tape used in the process.

Homemade (Vegan) Granola Recipe
3 c. Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 c. Cashews
1/4 c. Walnuts
3/4 c. Sunflower Seeds
1/2 c. Slivered Almonds
1/2 c. Flax Seed
1/2 c. Wheat Germ
1/2 c. Raisins
1/2 c. Dried Cherries
1/4 c. Agave Nectar
2 tbsp. Water
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tsp. Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.
**NOTE: Measure all of your ingredients now to save time - this cooks fast and requires attention so you will not have time to measure midway through.
2. Spread oats out on a large baking sheet or two glass casserole dishes - whatever you have.
3. Place oats into the oven and bake for 15 minutes - stirring twice!
4. Rough chop your cashews and walnuts and mix them together - when the oats have cooked for 15 minutes, take them out.  Then add the cashews and walnuts to the oats and throw them back in for another 10 minutes.
5. In a bowl - wisk together your agave nectar, water, vanilla and cinnamon
6.  Remove your baking sheet from the oven.  Add almonds, flax seed and wheat germ to a large bowl and toss with your toasted oat mixture.
**NOTE:  At this point I turn the oven down to about 300
7. Add your agave mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly.  You want everything to be evenly coated and sticky.
8. Now spread your granola back out on your baking sheets and pop them back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Stirring OFTEN!  (Flax and almond slivers tend to burn quickly)
9. Remove from the oven and pour all of it back into the big mixing bowl to let it cool.  I let it sit in this bowl and stir it for about 30 minutes before I pack it up.
10. Store in AIRTIGHT containers.  This will be good to eat for approximately 1 month.. though there is no way it will last that long.

This recipe yields just about 7 cups. The calorie count is an approximation (based on the fact that I am bad at math)
1 cup = 489 calories
1/2 cup = 245 calories