Planting our Gardens

Gardening planning and prepping has gone underway! I'm so excited to have a bigger garden than last year and to have more of a variety. My man bought this beast tiller to get down and dirty in the ground. 

We bought a few seeds as well to get a start on our planning. I made a map of what I want my area to look like. 

Clay started his garden a few weeks ago and got all these lovely green plants to put in his garden. 

Home Depot had so many pepper plants and different tomato plants he decided to get a few of each us some onions. Once we got back to the house we began getting dirty! 

Looking good with that rake! I was raking up all the top soil so we could use to nice soil underneath. We had so much fun being outside and getting some fresh air. 

The aftermath of my awesomeness. 

I can't wait to start seeing these plants grow and to pick fresh veggies out of the garden to eat.

My babe getting his hands dirty putting these beast plants in the ground. 

My awesomeness once again with putting stacks and twine around Clays plants. Starting to come along. 

A little baby tomato plant. We got 4 different kinds of tomatoes this year and I hope they are delicious and juicy! 

My garden is coming along slowly we got the tiller out today and began get the area all tilled up, but the ground was extremely hard so hopefully we have better luck on Thursday. Here is a picture of what I started on before there was any tilling. I planted sweet potatoes and I really hope they grow! 

I was very proud of my work because it took me so long to do. This area looked like a mess with weeds and dead grass so I'm glad I cleaned it up. It makes the deck area look much nicer. 

Today after I got back from my run Clay began working on my garden. I'm so grateful to have a man who does so much for me and enjoys it. It was a perfect day to be outside as well. 

My man getting his tilling on. I must say a man at work is extremely sexy. Can't wait to get back out there again on Thursday and hopefully start planting my garden. 

I hope to have cantaloupe, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beans, watermelon, cucumbers, cauliflower, asparagus, strawberry plants, and cabbage this year. I hope they all come up and look delicious! 

Commit To It!

When 2013 rolled around many of us decided to make changes to our lives. Personally I made the change to be a healthier me and find a new love for working out and changing my body. I will not lie there have been a lot of struggles along the way where I haven't been fully committed to my new lifestyle change, but I am going to share a few things that have helped me keep my mind on my main focus, which is staying healthy and sticking to it. 

Many people have asked me how do you do it? Well here are some of the answers to those questions.

Q: How to get started?

A: It all began on November 4th, 2012 when I started doing AdvoCare. Being on this product helped me get my mind focusing on the right foods to eat and fuel my body. I focused on one thing at a time so I didn't overwhelm myself. After I figured out the correct foods to be eating at certain times of the day I gradually added in workouts. I looked to Pinterest for many ideas, but I found that I would pin them but not return to them to actually do them. So from there I started going to the gym. For me being in a setting with an instructor or trainer is the best way for me to get my workouts in. I started with Zumba where I went 4 times a week, but I got bored with this class and looked for something else. That is where I fell in love with this class called H.E.A.T. which stands for High Energy Aerobic Training. You can burn 600 calories at a class like this for just 1 hour! I like this class because we do everything from cardio, to weight lifting, and even abdominal workouts. A full body workout for just 1 hour and you feel completely amazing & tired after one of these workouts.

Q: How to keep the momentum going?

A: This is always the challenging part of any exercise/diet plan. I found though if you can stick to a plan for just 10 days it will only get easier from there. Starting out is the hardest part because your not sure what you can eat. What I did was follow the AdvoCare plan and made sure I was on target 90% of the time, and if I wasn't sure if I could have something I simply just didn't eat it. As for getting into shape there were definitely days I woke up and didn't want to go to the gym, but I made myself go. Once I was there I was relieved I had gone! Setting your mind to it really is the key to any success story. Your mind is your biggest enemy or fan when it comes to making changes and sticking to them. Having a positive mindset and saying your going to do it will really keep the momentum going!

Q: What inspires you?

A: Everyone else who is getting amazing results! I can look around and see many of my friends making the changes I did and they are looking fabulous. Find someone to inspire you it will make your journey easier, because when you see someone else succeed your going to want those same results!

Q: What foods do you eat?

A: When losing weight it's important to eat many small meals a day. I eat egg whites, fruit/veggies, salads, chicken, fish, and a few whole grain items. I'm not a great cook so I try to just stick to things I can make, so eggs in the morning or oatmeal, raw fruit and veggies, and mixed salads with cooked/grilled chicken. 

If you have any specific questions you can send them to me at simplypureandbeautiful@gmail.com I'd love to answer anything!

Vacation Planning!!!

I can't believe that time of the year has come again. For the past 2 years I have spent my Fourth of July in Minnesota with a week full of camping and fishing. Well that time has come and in a week I will be on my way up to the land full of lakes state with Clay. We can't stop talking about how much fun we are going to have while we are up there and it's getting me all psyched up and ready to go. 

Since I have changed my eating habits we have been talking about what groceries to pack, so hopefully I don't slack off that week I'm there. Last year I remember us both spending way to much money before we left for vacation so we are brainstorming of what all we actually need and making lists so it makes shopping much more of a breeze. Heck we had all kinda of little items in our cart last year that we both spent $50 without even realizing it. 

So instead of buying a bunch of crap that I won't use I splurged at Victoria Secret for some more clothes to take with me. There semi-annual sale was this week so I had to get me some new stuff! When I shop I buy per use and so I love comfy clothes and will pay a little extra for something that will last me a long time. Hopefully both my orders come in before I leave :) 

Well I have one more week til I am in paradise but until then Ill just be working to save up for my trip! 

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!! 

I'm Back in Action!

Wow it's been forever since I've posted on my blog. School got super crazy towards the end of the semester and then I started up work just a few weeks after we got out. I haven't had a break since I returned back to my summer factory job it seems. We have been working 10 hour shifts and one day during the weekend and let me tell you I am ready for a vacation. Working 3rd shift is wearing me out. Besides being a workaholic this last month I got back on my AdvoCare grind! 

This is what a box of AdvoCares Herbal Cleanse looks like. It comes with 6 pouches of a Fiber Drink. 7 day herbal cleanse tablets. And 7 day probiotic pills. 

Here is my product separated out for each day. Makes it so much easier when you wake up to just get started for the day. 

So now I am all prepped out for the week and I started my 10 day cleanse yesterday and I'm ready to shred some unwanted waste and fat away before I head to Minnesota in a couple of weeks!! Man am I so excited to be out on the lake and just relax for a whole week. Doesn't get much better than that. Unless I was on a beach in Florida some where then yea it could get better than a lake but I will settle for a week up north. Haha. 

Besides that so much has happened since I haven't been blogging in a while. I recently turned 21 (June 2) and had the best birthday weekends. My boyfriend Clay took me out two weekends in a row and I had so much fun celebrating it with him. 

We had dinner at Scotty's Brewhouse in downtown Indy then hit the bars with some of my friends and sisters :) I am so grateful I have this man in my life because he will literally do anything to make me happy. I can't wait to one day be his wifey!! 

I absolutely love this photo of us from the night. He truly is my Prince Charming and I can't wait to make more special memories of milestones and new chapters in our lives together. :) 

Another special person I got to spend my birthday with is my big Annie! 

This girl and I had an instant bond when we met and then we became big and little! I will never forget the day I got her as my big and she will never know how much laughter and great times I have had with her while she was an active member of Phi Mu. Hope to go out again really soon with all of my sisters who came out to make my birthday spectacular!!  

Us at Kilroys looking like we had a pretty good night!! 

Other than turning 21, which was a really big deal haha, Clay took me to see Tom Petty this last weekend! It was by far one of the best concerts I've ever been too. 

Just look at all the people that came out to see this guy! 

Clay and I had a blast while so did our 5 other friends that came along with us for the ride! 

I'm looking a little drunk but that's okay! I kinda was haha but also was running on 4 hours of sleep from a super busy weekend. It was all well worth it though. This past month has been so much fun and I can't wait for more exciting events to come up along the way! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful sumer and hope you enjoy this post even if it was a little jumbled with multiple things that really weren't that important haha. 

Well adios amigos (not sure if that's correct considering I don't know a lick of Spanish) :))

Ps! I don't always look fancy so just thought I'd share :)