SeeCateCreate.COM!!

Hey guys!  I’ve finally worked up the gumption to take this little bloggity-blog to the next level by turning it into a .COM!  I’m super excited about it actually and have been working hard at setting up my new site and transferring my tutorials.  I also created a brand new logo!  Gone are the days of my scrapbook-style, slightly immature looking, header and welcome grown-up Cate with a new fresh and clean look and a real BRAND and original style.  I seriously played around with logo designs for days coming up with this little baby and I really love it.  I hope you guys do too.  The site isn’t quite ready, but go check it out and let me know what you think and if you have any tips or tricks to make it even better.  Thanks SO much everyone for following this blog!  You’ve really inspired me to keep it up and continue being ME amidst all other lifes distractions.  I sincerely thank you and hope that you’ll continue to follow me into this next level of creative awesomeness.  🙂  Seecatecreate.com people.  Thats where I’m headed, how about you? 😉

Read Full Post »

My Better Body Weekly Workout Schedule

Following along with my organization kick, I have created for myself a Weekly Workout Schedule.  I actually really like exercise, as long as I have time and energy for it.  I think with my new daily routine I can really make it work and make sure I get my workouts in every day.  I created this workout schedule based around what I think I realistically can/will do.  I’m used to running at night since that is when I was running when training for the half marathon I did back in November.  I don’t have a gym membership so I use workout dvd’s and equipment I have at home to do my workouts.  I have LOTS of dvds (you can find them at Ross for like $3 or $4 or Walmart for $10 or so), but my favorites are the Jillian Michaels series. You can see on my schedule below that I workout my lower body often but I don’t focus any days solely to my upper body.  This is because I am already a “boy-shape”, broader shoulders than hips, virtually no waist definition, etc.  I build muscle easily on the top half of my body so I don’t really need to work on that area as much.  But my hips, butt, and thighs are skinny so my goal is to virtually “build-a-butt” by adding muscle to those areas.  I call this my Build-a-Butt plan!  Haha!!  My hopes are that this will balance me out a bit.  It is super frustrating to be this shape because most women are the opposite so there aren’t many workouts design to help us flat-bottomed girls.   Anyway, if you are wanting to create a workout plan, assess your body type first and focus on the areas that need extra attention.

Back to my workout DVD’s.  Here are the ones I use/like if you are interested:

Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

Jillian Michaels: Ripped in 30

Jillian Michaels: Killer Buns and Thighs

Jillian Michaels: Maximize Back in Action

I also like the Best of Tamilee: Buns, Abs, Arms

As well as Slim in 6 which also has an abs and stretching dvd

My favorites are the Jillian Michaels dvds though because I feel like you get lots of bang for your buck.  They are short 20-30 minute circuit style workouts that not only build muscle but keep your heart rate up as well.  Even the early levels are TOUGH on the Jillian Michaels dvds.  And since I know that realistically I’m not going to have more than 20-30 minutes in the morning to workout, I want every minute to count.

If you don’t have a gym membership and you don’t want to go out and buy dvds, there are also great websites with free workouts.  I REALLY like BodyRockTv.  There are tons of great, intense, short workouts you can do at home with little or NO equipment.  There is also a photo gallery of people who are using the BodyRock workouts and the results will really motivate you to start sweating.

I personally have no desire to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated anytime soon, I just want to look less like a mushy mom and more like a fit woman.  There are really no downsides to exercise if you are realistic about your lifestyle and time constraints as well as your body shape.  Basically for me, I just want to be able to eat a big bowl of ice cream every night before bed and still be able to fit into my pants.  🙂  So heres my plan:

By the way, I made this and my Weekly Chore Chart with Picnik (which I’m aware is sadly closing in April 😦  so use it up while its still here!) in case you want to create your own.

Wish me luck on my Build-a-Butt plan!! 🙂

Read Full Post »

Protest Your MESS!! Get Organized, Stay Sane.

So I’ve been trying to get myself organized lately (which is really an ongoing effort), and have decided I need to crack down on my mess-making-procrastinating-daydreaming-disorganized-chaotic ways.  With two little rambunctious boys, a (dare I say) up-and-coming blog, a moderately busy photography business, and side decorating jobs as well as the normal household duties, church responsibilities, volunteer opportunities, relationship maintenance, physical upkeep, etc. I’ve become in a large sense OVERWHELMED.  I am not naturally a very organized person.  I LIKE order and I like things to “look pretty”, but I’m a completely right-brained, slightly crazy, artsy fartsy person who is more inclined to CREATE “mess” (or as I like to call it “PROJECTS”) than to organize it.  I tend to make a lot of To-Do lists, but it seems by the time I’m done writing the list, I’m bored already and get sidetracked to something that tickles my fancy (like Pinterest, or the ukulele).  I’ve got all kinds of great plans and intentions of being organized and sticking to a routine.  Typically I go to bed thinking, “Okay.  Tomorrow is the day.  I’m going to stick to it.”  Then I wake up, hit the snooze (or in other words tell Peyton to go watch PBS kids until I’m ready to get up), get out of bed late, don’t feel like working out (and who can with two kids under your feet anyway), and before I even get my day started my plan is completely out the window.  The only way I can think to combat this utter lack of self discipline is to publicize it!  Naturally.

Anyway, so here I am, and here are my plans.  Feel free to help yourself to any of my schedules, printables, etc. if you feel inclined to come with me on this organization journey.  Wish me luck that I might act like a grown up for once and actually stay on task!  I have SO many goals and dreams and I know if I could just stick with the plan(s) I could become much more productive and maybe reach a few of them someday.  🙂

The first thing I’ve decided I need is a Dinner Menu.  I HATE thinking of what to make every night for dinner.  HATE IT.  Staring into a pantry full of random items and trying to come up with a decent meal is like building a rocketship out of legos.  At least for me.  I actually liked cooking until I had to do it every night and I think I could possibly like it again if I didn’t have to go through the “what can I make out of THIS” part.  I need a menu.  And a grocery list that coincides.  A great site I found could really help with this if you’re facing this same issue.  Its called Eat At Home and has years (yes YEARS) of printable menus along with their recipes and grocery lists.  My only problem is I have picky eaters in my household so some of the menus wouldn’t work for us.  I LOVE the idea though and think the site could really help.  Along the same lines I came up with my own menu system.  It involves themed dinner nights (Italian night, Pizza night, Mexican night, etc.).  I assigned a different “theme” to every day of the week.  Then I just made a list of 13 dinner options under each nights theme that I can choose from on any given week.  This way, I can look at my theme night, choose the dish, and shop accordingly.  It should allow me for about 3 months of meals without having to make anything twice (unless I want to).  Also, I can shop carefully to make sure that I’m using up ingredients.  For example, on Mexican night I can make a dish that has rice and make double the amount to store in the fridge until Asian night, using up the leftovers as well as cutting out a step on Asian night.  Does that make sense?  It does to me and I think it will really help that brain block I have at dinner time.  You’ll notice that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are sort of whimp-out meals.  Thats because by Thursday frankly I’m sick of cooking.  I figure if I just acknowledge and work around this fact, it will save us money (and my sanity) from running out to “pick up dinner” or from me having to feel the pressure to summon up the will to make another fabulous meal.  I printed out on cardstock all the pages below, punched a hole in the top left corner of each page, and put them all on a ring to hang in my kitchen for easy access.

Weekly Menu

Menu Options

The next thing I’ve done is created a Daily Routine.  I am TERRIBLE at following routines.  I am very spontaneous and admittedly flaky.  These are traits that cost me precious hours of useable time every single day.  I realize that I need to get on a routine, not just for me, but for my kiddos as well.  I think that they would greatly benefit from the security that routines and schedules give.  I created a pretty full daily schedule but I feel like it is pretty realistic and something that is flexible enough to be manageable.  I am quite aware that I will never be one of those schedule driven moms that sticks to the plan with the veracity of a drill sergeant.  And I have no intention of becoming one.  I realize that I will probably NEVER have a day that goes exactly as planned.  But, I need to try my best to create some structure so my household will run smoother and nothing, and no one, gets neglected.  Sadly I’ve realized that I DO need to schedule in playtime with my kids.  If not, I tend to (in my perpetually overwhelmed state) use the phrase “in a minute” or “when I’m done with _____” until the kids are tucked into bed at night.  I’ve realized that there will ALWAYS be something else I can be, should be, could be, want to be doing.  I need to put parameters around how much time I allot to the different aspects of my life and when that time is up, its up, and I need to move on to the next thing on the schedule.  You can see my Daily Routine below.

Mom’s Daily Schedule

I also decided to make me a Weekly Chore Chart.  My mom is a professional homemaker.  Seriously.  She could teach lessons.  She has told me over and over again that the key to keeping a clean house (ours growing up was always immaculate, with the exception of my room of course) is to do a few chores everyday.  She has days of the week that she always does certain tasks and so nothing ever gets out of control.  So far my cleaning philosophy has been “If you can’t stand the mess, turn off the lights!”.  I hate cleaning for the most part but I think thats because whenever I get myself to finally DO IT, it is when I absolutely have to.  And by then, the mess seems so huge that I don’t even know where to begin.  I will do the basics to survive:  dishes once a day (most of the time), laundry once a week (most of the time), vacuuming when someones coming over…you get the idea.  My house is not atrocious, but it definitely wouldn’t pass mom’s cleaning inspection without due notice.  To remedy this I have created my Weekly Chore Chart that includes tasks like vacuuming twice a week as well as keeping up with my family blog and couponing on Sundays.  You are welcome to save mine to your computer and print it off as you’d like if it suits you.

Thats what I’ve done so far.  I think they are definitely steps in the right direction!  Soon I will be posting my exercise schedule as well as other tips I’m doing to get myself organized and regain my sanity!  What tips do you have for keeping yourself on track?  I’d love to hear them!

Read Full Post »

LOVE IS FREE!!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! Remember, LOVE IS FREE!!! 🙂

XOXOXOXO

Read Full Post »

Don’t Worry Be Happy :)

Hey guys!  This is my FIRST uke tutorial!  Hope you like it! 🙂

Read Full Post »

Here We Go Again

I’m reconstructing my blog and have decided to start doing video tutorials every now and again.  SCARY.  Anyway, I was testing out my webcam (which I’ve decided kinda sucks, so if anyone has recommendations for a new one…) and I sang this little ditty I wrote a week or so back.

I am definitely under no illusion that I’ll be winning American Idol anytime soon, but I hope this puts a smile on your face anyway.  🙂

Part of my new video tuts will be on how to play the ukelele so come on back soon if your interested in learning a few fun little songs to impress your friends with!  Have a great day everyone!

 

Read Full Post »

Happy Halloween 2011!

I LOVE Halloween!  Any excuse to dress up is good to me!  I hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!

Here are some pics from my Halloween party last week:  🙂  Daniel and I were a scarecrow and a crow:  He looks pretty creepy here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Cate’s Great FREE Halloween Printables!!

Hey guys!  I told you I’d give you all the printables I made up for my party and so here they are!  I made them all on Picnik so if you are feeling crafty, get on there and make up some of your own!  Enjoy!! 🙂  (Just right click and save to your computer and then print.)

First here is the banner I made.  If you’d like to make your own, you can use my bunting template found here and upload it to Picnik and add any letters in any font that you’d like.

Next I made a sign for the Creepy Photobooth I’ll be doing to get great pics of everyone in their costumes.

There were a lot of free printable tags out there but none that suited my needs so I made these little babies up.

(I left the bottom right label empty so you could fill it yourself in picnik if you wanted to.  Also, I just realized I spelled “labels” wrong.  Duh.)

Then I made this sign to put on the refreshment tables.

I also made this little sign to put on the voting box for our games and contests.

And there you go!  There are all of my FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES for you to use at your Halloween bash!  I hope you enjoy!  Happy Halloween! 🙂

Read Full Post »

Check These Out!! Awesome DIY’s!

Don’t have time to post today so I’ll throw out a few great DIY projects I found on Pinterest lately.  THEY ARE AWESOME and I can’t wait to try every single one…

 

First, check out this circle wrap skirt by The Crafting Chicks.  I love it because it can adjust to your size (if you are in the baby making phase of life like myself) and there is NO ZIPPER (which is also great since I’m not sure if I know how to sew in a zipper yet).  Yeah, I know the tutorial is for a little girls skirt but I figure it wouldn’t be too hard to make it for big girls too.

 

Then for a nifty decorating tutorial/inspiration, check out this honecomb-ish painters-tape wall treatment done by The Vintage Laundry.  Super fun.  Love it.

Then I LOVED this paint by numbers with Picnik tutorial by The Ambitious Procrastinator .  Completely AWESOME.  I’ve actually been wanting to do something just like this with Picnik for a while.  I LOVE the idea of using this technique to do a wall mural or a VERY LARGE piece of art.  VERY VERY COOL.

 

Anyway,  there you go.  This should keep you busy for a a bit then… 🙂  See you again soon!

Read Full Post »

YAY! An Apartment Therapy FEATURE!

Wow!  I am SUPER excited and flattered this morning!  The AMAZING home decorating site Apartment Therapy has just featured my DIY Plastic Placemat Chandelier!  All I can say is THANKS A BILLION!  Wow! 🙂

Read Full Post »