Lego Table

I have 2 boys, ages 9 & 7.

They used to really LOVE trains.

So we of course had a train table and all the millions of expensive, over-priced Thomas the Train stuff!

Well, once they got to a certain age, 5 or 6, they were no longer using their trains and the train table was no longer needed.  

I hated to just give something like that away!

BUT, it was taking up valuable space and becoming an eye sore (meaning the kids would stash  toys on top of it in their efforts to clean up).

I was basically to the point where I was going to either list it on Craigslist or haul it down to the Deseret Industries.

Then I saw this post at Deal Seeking Mom and I knew that  it was what our "train" table was destined to become!

A Lego Table

Here is how we did it...

I measured the table, then went to Toys R Us and bought the flat Lego pieces to fit on top.  They were kinda pricier than I was hoping, just giving you a heads up!

For our table, which we bought at Costco years ago, I think it cost me $75 in flat Lego pieces (and that was during a Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off sale at TRU).

My husband just went to town screwing them down into the table.  *Of course you could always hot glue it down also if you didn't want to mess with screws & tools.  The one trick you need to remember would be this...

have a lego handy that you use to measure the space in between each flat piece.  For example, put a lego on top of the flat piece, right where 2 big flat pieces will be meeting up, so you know how far apart to space the big flat pieces and still be able to build the legos on top!

I hope that makes sense!!

We decided to cover the whole top with flat Lego pieces but you could really just do half and then do something more creative.  

Our boys LOVE it!  Most days it looks like this though...

Messy.

But played with and loved. 

That is all that matters in my book!

Here is a version that Tenille did.

She bought a cheap end table from Ikea (I think for like $15)

then covered it with a few flat pieces

and voila!!

Isn't repurposing things so fun!!

Don't forget to enter our GIVEAWAY!!!

A Fitness Plan for Anyone!

First of all before I start, I have to point out that the PRODIGAL SISTER has finally appeared! I'm sure my sisters were beginning to seriously doubt if I would ever follow through with my promises to contribute to this blog. I am embarrassed that all 5 of my sisters have been posting so faithfully and I have been the big dud. I actually have been keeping a list of all the posts I want to do . . . . someday. Story of my life. So hopefully you will see a lot more of me from now on. Now let's just hope I don't disappoint everyone.

My background fitness story:
I've always considered myself a somewhat physically active, somewhat in shape person. There's times I have looked better than other times. There's times I have done super good at an exercise routine, and there's times when I have gone long periods without doing anything. The bad thing for me was that no matter what I was or wasn't doing, I seemed to stay within a 5 pound range. Why is this a bad thing? Because it tricked me into becoming a bit complacent. It tricked me into thinking I could do whatever I wanted because it didn't really matter - if I was exercising good, I stayed at the lower end and if I was being a lazy bum, I stayed at the higher end. Well guess what folks? That worked for only so long. Along comes my 35th birthday and very sneakily and slowly, the extra pounds started showing up. I denied it for awhile, convincing myself it was just a fluke weigh in, or I'd just had a bad eating day. Sure my clothes were becoming a little snugger and I was becoming quite self conscious about my gut, but I continued to tell myself that I wasn't that bad. By last fall (a few months after my 35th birthday), I was almost 7 pounds OUT of my 'high end of the comfort range'! That's when I realized I had a problem. I wasn't working out at all more than an occasional run every few weeks (so lazy) and wasn't doing anything to change what was happening. But at least the seed had been planted in my mind that I needed to make changes. It would take another few months (and some serious motivation & great examples by my sisters) before that seed really took root and I took the first step - getting off my butt and doing something about it.

It's been almost SEVEN months since I took my first step. The journey has been slow & steady, but guess what? I have lost 15 pounds and feel better than ever. Lots of people have been asking me what I am doing, so I thought I'd share it with all of you this week on Junk in Their Trunk because a) I'm not doing anything spectacular or hard, b) everyone can do at least what I'm doing if not more and c) everyone deserves to be happy with their bodies! To be honest, feeling healthy and happy in this area of your life transcends to all the other areas. Here is the breakdown of the steps/tools I used/use for my fitness journey. Over the next week, I will take each a couple of steps and go into more detail. So keep checking back all week long! (I know you are all just on the edge of your seats with anticipation.)

STEP 1: DESIRE/THE MENTAL GAME

STEP 2: MORE WATER & ACCOUNTABLE EATING (no diets here people!)

STEP 3: DAILY EXERCISE

STEP 4: PERSISTENCE, PERSISTENCE, PERSISTENCE!

STEP 5: PATIENCE, PROGRESS & SUPPORT

I can't stress enough how ANYONE can do what I'm doing. I'm not spending hours at the gym. I'm not on a new fad diet where I can't eat anything delicious. I'm not depriving myself of anything. Anyone and everyone can do this (and probably way more) and I am living proof that results will follow! I'm usually the one behind the camera, so there's not a lot of pictures of me to show the changes - especially in a bathing suit, but here's a picture of me from July of 2010. It doesn't show me too well, but you can definitely tell I'm a little frumpy in the belly & my arms were getting big and flabby.

And here's me from the past few weeks. Again. Not sure you can tell much, but my arms are more toned, my belly is flatter and I fit in a pants size I never thought possible. It works people!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here.

We have another Birthday Giveaway

Today is a very special day for us here at {Junk in their Trunk}.  Our crazy and silly sister Heidi is celebrating her birthday.  Here are a few pictures of Heidi throughout the last 33 years of her life.  

Look what a cute baby she was.  But seriously do you know anyone else that could rock a bonnet like that?



She was destined to be a part of {Junk in their Trunk}

Lots could be said about this picture.  While we would love to make fun of it, we can't since we all rocked this same hair do ourselves.  Do you think this hair style will ever come back?  I mean the 80's clothing is making a comeback so why not the hair? 



Always the poser for the camera. 

Because we are celebrating her big day, we thought we would spread the love around and give our faithful readers a fantastic giveaway. 

Today we are giving away a $25 gift card to T.G.I. Friday's and 2 Fandango movie passes.  Wouldn't that make for the perfect date night?  

To enter for your chance to win this movie/dinner package you can do the following:

***Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do....You can have up to 6 entries.

1.  Like {Junk in their Trunk} on facebook.

2.  Become a follower on our blog.

3.  Subscribe to our blog through a RSS Feed like google reader.

4.  Share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or your blog.  ***1 entry for each method you do.

This giveaway ends on Thursday, July 21 at 10 pm MST.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!!!   WE LOVE YOU SIS AND CONSIDER OURSELVES LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS OUR SISTER.

Keeping Celery Fresh

Have you ever bought a bunch of celery at the store

just to find that it is all bendy and soft after just a day or two?

Who wants to eat bendy celery?

I for one prefer mine crisp!

Here is a tip to help yours stay fresh & crisp in your fridge for up to 3 weeks!

Start by cutting off the end and separating all the stalks, throwing away any parts you don't want

Next, wash it under cold water real good using your fingers to scrape off any junk

Lay it on a paper towel and roll it up

Then dampen the roll with cold water

Next, lay your damp celery roll on a sheet of foil

Give it a good roll again until it is nice and tight, like a homemade burrito!

Seal the ends closed and you are done!

Now label and stick in your crisper drawer and enjoy at your leisure!

What do you like to do with your celery?  

Eat it raw with a yummy dip?

If so, what dip is your favorite?

Forgiveness

I happened to be watching Oprah the other day and heard her give an amazing quote on forgiveness.  She said she had once heard someone say that, "Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."

I immediately loved this quote and hurried and wrote it down.  I had never looked at forgiveness in this light.  Yet once I heard the quote it made perfect sense.  When true forgiveness happens, whether it be forgiving ourselves or someone else, we accept the fact that what happened has happened and there is no changing it.  And it means we stop wishing that the said event had never happened. 

Shortly after the wreck I found myself being really mad at the driver of the semi truck.  Her negligence had almost cost me my most precious possessions, my children.  She had not only caused this terrible crash, which thankfully we had been watched over, but she had scared my kids and left us all stranded on the side of I-15 in the middle of Utah.  I only remember asking once how the driver of the semi truck was doing.  I am sure at the time I only asked out of habit more than anything else.  I just didn't care how she was doing.  I cared about the man in the military truck, but I didn't care about her. 

And then something happened that I would consider a sweet tender mercy from my Heavenly Father.  I found myself feeling guilt for my part in the crash.  While I hadn't done anything to cause the crash, I just was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I still felt my share of guilt knowing that I had been involved in a crash that had taken a mans life.  Its hard to explain that feeling.  Myself and the military truck had been innocent drivers in the wrong place, yet I felt guilt for hitting the military truck when he was pushed into my lane. 

After this wave of guilt hit me, I began to see the driver of the semi truck in a whole new light.  I now was experiencing a little of what she must of been feeling.  At that moment I put myself in her shoes and realized the pain and guilt she must of been feeling.  This changed my perspective 180 degrees.  Instead of being mad at her I began to feel sympathy for her.  Shortly after getting to the ER and getting checked out, the kids and I found ourselves all alone in the hospital room.  We had all knelt down and said a prayer thanking our Father in Heaven for protecting us.  We also had prayed for the family of James Ruman who had passed away in the crash.  But we hadn't prayed for the semi driver. 

As my perspective changed we again all knelt down and said another prayer.  Again we thanked our Father in Heaven for protecting us, but this time around we said a prayer for the semi driver.  We prayed for her to be comforted and for her to be able to forgive herself.  We also prayed that she would know that we had forgiven her and held no ill feelings towards her.  I then said my own prayer asking my Father in Heaven to forgive me for my harsh feelings towards this driver. 

The great thing about forgiveness is the peace you feel once you have done it.  The minute I forgave this lady I immediately felt peace come over me.  Prior to forgiving her I was filled with bad feelings and feeling sad for myself.  I had kept wondering what if.  What if I had left 5 minutes earlier or later, then I wouldn't of been involved in this.  I kept wishing that we hadn't been involved in this. 

After hearing that quote from Oprah I realized that once I had forgiven this lady I came to accept what had happened.  I couldn't change it, nor did I want to anymore.  All I could do was learn and grow from it.  I hope that had our outcome been different that I would still be so willing to forgive. 

Because I never want to forget this quote and because its a great reminder to us all, I decided to type this quote up so any of you who want to display this in your own home can.  We all must forgive, whether it be ourselves, a family member, a friend or even a spouse.  I hope to become more like my children and be willing to forgive so easily.  My children are so good to forgive me when I make my many many mommy mistakes.  It is no wonder that our Savior counseled us to become like little children.

 

                                                                                                                                                      

Click the links below to download the quote. I made it in 5 different colors.  They are all 8x10 in size, but could be printed in 5x7 too.  If you don't like any of the colors let us know and we might be able to change

 the color for you.

             burgandy                    green                      brown                        blue                          red

Most requested hair right now

So remember when the "Rachael" was the most requested haircut ever??

I was in beauty school at that time and totally remember trying it out on my sister Tenille. I know I have a picture of when we cut it but can't find it at the moment. Maybe for another post, cause it's a classic;)

Well times have changed since then.

So I thought it would be fun to showcase some of the most requested hairstyles I get

as a hair dresser.

The Bob will always be around. It's a classic.

However, there are so many ways to wear a bob right now.

Right now the tousled bob is really in

I get this picture alot. It's a fun playful twist on the bob and works for most age groups.

The Lob (long bob) is still getting asked for.

It's nice and sleek and it's still versatile since it looks so cute with loose waves still.

I've seriously had a million clients bring this picture in!

I know why cause it is really cute and doable.

Plus, most people like it cause they want something different but are too scared to cut it too short.

This hairstyle is a cute medium haircut.

J-Lo's hair gets requested alot too.

It's sometimes for her amazing color or just her long layers.

My short hair clients bring in this picture alot still.

Even when their hair isn't quite this short they bring it in cause they love the chunkiness of it.

I love this style on Reese!

Straight across bangs are still requested alot

This picture just shows how you can very slightly part it.

I have clients constantly bringing in a Victoria Secrets magazine to show me one of the models hair. I seriously love all the models hair in there. It's just that natural haircolor and natural waves. Very feminine for sure!

Kim Kardashian's "winged" bang hair is requested alot.

Here's a shorter version.

And a good way to wear your hair when growing out the straight across bangs.

I get this picture mainly for the swooped bang

Jennifer Aniston is always brought up mostly for her very natural colors

I get this picture alot for Carrie Underwood's bangs and for the front layering.

And the most requested hair is

The Ombre or Color Melting

I love this because you can be dramatic with it like these:

Or less dramatic like these:

Now do you want to know what I'm loving right now?

I'm obsessed with the fun pops of color in hair these days!

How cute is this rainbow tipped hair??

I'm totally going to do this to my hair! I love it!

I mean how could I not after seeing my fav Britney Spears rockin it in her new music video!

And I just had to add this picture because it's gorgeous!