Checking In

Hey all,

Just checking in to let you know that I have sinned. Against good food eating principles. And I am not ashamed. It is something I will be better at because let's face it I can't take this sluggish, ornery, gross and bloated feeling I get after eating crap food. Cuz it makes you... you know.

The 3 pounds I lost last week have almost completely come back after all my hard work and discipline. The point of this post is to admit I am human. I let my old habits come back and my problem is I don't prepare enough. I always run late, let things go that I should be on top of and when it's crunch time I don't make the extra effort it takes to really make sure I am taking great care of myself.

I don't EVER want to put on this show that I am perfect or that I know what I am doing. I don't. I have started a journey with baby steps and I will share what has worked for me. I have been struggling the past few months with maintaining my portion sizes. I haven't cut out sugar (not the chocolate) or fried food or work out everyday. It's something that I am always working on.

This helps me be accountable. I know there isn't much of you out there that care what I go through but putting this out there and if there is one person who feels a connection with what I do and who I am then I LOVE it! It helps me to know I can help people when I am also learning to love myself through the physical and very emotional struggle of doing what's best for me.

I am a big advocate of doing what makes you happy and friend if I can come as far as I have with out giving up then SO CAN YOU!!!!


Just felt like I needed to post this. Please I love feedback so let me know if you like what I am doing.

New Year = New Motivation (Fitness)

I don't like New Years Resolutions. I don't like the idea of making a change just because of the time of year. Knowing myself I would never stick to anything. Now having said that January is my favorite time of year for fresh starts. That sits so much better with me.

A fresh start.

Ah so refreshing.

One year ago this month I had it. I was sick of feeling huge and gross and self conscience and tired and unattractive and chunky and just sick of feeling sick. Few months after Ethan's delivery (which was SO HARD- I still have to write about that one) and I was still in my mommy depression fog. I was leaning on my crutch (Pepsi and lots of sugar) more than I wanted and I just wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out.

Ethan is the best thing to have EVER happen to me and also the hardest thing to ever happen to me. Nobody tells you how difficult it is after you have a baby for the first time. I'm not sure how it is after that because I only have my little angel.

Anyway nothing was helping me feel better except working out. I would do a few YouTube videos and half a P90X workout a few times a week. After my strength got better I could do more in a workout. At the beginning of last year I stopped drinking soda all together. Switched my white bread for wheat. Ate turkey instead of beef. Made sure I got a lot of water in and eventually I felt better.

I am where I am right not because of that. I haven't done anything crazy healthy yet but that is what brings me to now. I got comfortable. I stopped making improvements and my weight loss flat lined. You can't stop. It is a lifestyle change not a diet that lasts 2 weeks or 30 days. You need to keep doing what you can to be healthy.

After our move I joined the rec center. It has been almost 3 weeks and I go 5 days a week and I am getting educated about what is good for my body. What can it do? What can I accomplish? My goal for January was to go work out 5 days a week and I am feeling so so great now.

The new year isn't a time for me to make resolutions because those fail. I am making a fresh start and finding new motivation to keep going. To be even better this year than last year. This year I will be in the best shape of my life because I know I can.

Mommy Fabulous Make Up

Smokey Neutral and Light HAC

This is the perfect easy neutral, smokey, everyday makeup I used all the time. I still feel put together without going overboard. Perfect to pair with soft and natural hair. 

Products used: 

Liquid Foundation- Makeup Forever HD color 127

Set with- Bare Minerals Original powder in Fairly Medium 

Eye Shadow Base by StillGlamorus Cosmetics 

Shape and fill in brows with NYX dark brown duo

Eye shadow as follows-

Highlight and inner corners in Mischeivious by StillGlamorus Cosmetics

Naked3 palette Darkside on outer corner of eye blend in 2/3 way towards inner corner and Buzz to blend the two together

Victoria Secret bronzed to countour and blush to give a little color and StillGlamorus Misheivious to highlight ontop of blush, between eyebrows blend upwards, down center of nose, on top of upper lip and on chin in middle very lightly

Light coat of Clinique lipgloss on lips and top with Flower Cosmetics nude lipstick

Growth of Ethan

My baby boys first year in pictures...

Day One:

7 pounds 5 ounces

21" long

Didn't like baths or being cold. Had dark curly hair and curly little bat ears. Loved to cuddle with mommy and daddy.

One Month Old:

Little personality coming out. Makes cute baby noises and tries to talk. Hair from birth thinned out. Mommy and daddy already so in love.

Two Months Old

Started to chunk up 

Three Months Old

Holds head up well

Four Months Old

Smiles so much and loves to play

Five Months Old

Little love bug and started to bald 

Six Months Old

Growing hair back and starting to really teeth

Seven Months Old

Went to the zoo for the first time 

Eight Months Old

Loves to be outside, camp and hike

Nine Months

Showing interest in toys and can clap his hands

Ten Months

 Smiles all the time and can now crawl

Eleven Months

Has fun playing with cousins and friends

One Year Old!!!!

Got first pair of shoes (black Converse!), babbles, picked first pumpkins, says dadada momoma nonono

My Mommy Body Story

First off I would like to say that I have LOVED being a mommy. Every precious minute of it. Granted my little munchkin is 11 months old tomorrow so how much mischief can he get into. Not really very much right now. He is such a good little guy and it is the biggest joy I have ever experienced watching him grow, learn new things and show me things that he comes up with all on his own.

His delivery was hard. Hard on my body especially with the added taxation of having pre eclampsia. That be nasty to deal with. Recovery was harder. Not just for my physical body but my emotional and mental state took a punch. It is so hard not to be able to do things for yourself and to wait for when you feel better. To sit in a state of not feeling well and not being able to do anything about it was the worst. At one point I even thought I needed meds to make it through the day. One dose of that and I changed my mind. I was determined to feel better. 

Before my doctor gave me the ok to work out I did very light excersizes. I would put in P90X and do the warm ups and the things that didn't require my core muscles. After a few weeks I started to notice a difference in my mood. After I had my last checkup I kicked it up a notch. I tried tae bo, yoga, zumba and even some Jillian Michaels while little man was napping. This was the best anti depressant for me. Natural. Healthy and I was doing something extremely good for my body. 

I had gained way more weight than I dreamt I would with my pregnancy. Getting it off was my goal but instead of focusing on pounds I wanted to choose one healthy change and do that until it was second nature. 

I stopped drinking soda and drank more water.

I stopped eating white breads and pasta and ate whole wheat.

I stopped eating so much red meat and switched to turkey and more chicken.

I stopped expecting myself to workout every day but would be satisfied with a few times a week.

I started eating more fruits and vege's. 

I ate every few hours. Boys napping schedule helped me stay on track.

Well it has been almost a year since I started this journey. It has always been about doing well for my body and being happy. I have lost 70 pounds and have 11 left to lose before my pre pregnancy weight and a good 20 more to loose after that. Lately I have lost focus. We have been eating out more. It's hard to say no but I always try to get the healthiest thing on the menu... that is until I get bored of salads. 

I am back on the wagon. I have been thinking of doing Ragnar next summer which means I would need to start training. Now. And I would be starting from scratch because I run but it's mostly walking. My average mile is around 16 minutes but I need to be under 11 minute miles. Can I do it? 

All this and I am beginning to really love my mommy body. I love my curves. I love my strong muscles. I love being able to improve. That is half the battle. Being happy with yourself. I hope that I never lose sight of that. 

Quick Asian Style Dinner

Hello Everyone,

I have a delicious Asian style dinner I would love to share. Full of flavor and you don't need a lot of ingredients. Best of all it only takes around twenty minutes to prepare. Bonus for my busy home girls ;)

Here is the menu: 

Tangy Asian Meatballs 

Ham Fried Rice 

Start with the fried rice. It is easier to use cold leftover rice for this recipe but if you don't have any you can make a quick batch on the stove or rice cooker. About 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice per 2 cups water. 

In a greased wok (or large saucepan) on stove at medium heat drop 3 eggs and scramble. Add rice and diced ham and a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Mix well. Douse rice in soy sauce and mix until soy sauce is evenly distributed and to your liking. Let sit on low until you are ready to serve.

Meanwhile warm frozen Italian meatballs in microwave for five minutes on plate. Transfer to bowl and drizzle sweet chile sauce and stir until lightly coated. 

Serve ham fried rice and tangy Asian meatballs immediately while warm. Enjoy! 

Modifications:

Skinny Fried Rice

Use brown rice instead of white. 

Instead of ham use chicken. 

Use low sodium soy sauce not regular. 

 

Recipe: 

Ham Fried Rice 

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

2 cups water

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup diced ham

2 tablespoons olive oil 

3-5 tablespoons soy sauce

Fry egg in wok until done on medium heat.

Add rice and ham and olive oil. Mix.

Cover rice in soy sauce to taste. 

Let sit on low heat until ready to serve.

Tangy Asian Meatballs

Plateful of frozen meatballs

Few tablespoons of sweet chili sauce 

Microwave the meatballs until warmed up. Around 5 minutes depending on microwave strength. Place in bowl. Drizzle sauce until lightly covered. 

Now serve together! Enjoy friends 😁

Dark Smokey Eye Tutorial

I love what a smokey eye can do for you. I love the drama and the depth and it is just plain fun. I do this technique almost everyday with variations. The depth and drama you can achieve with this look is something that can make a girl feel oh so special!


So let's get started...

First off you will need to apply foundation. I like to use liquid foundation, conceal and set with powder. Give yourself a clean canvas to work with. This is art baby!

Next I prime my eyes with a shadow base to give me lasting staying power. Above my face is all ready for the fun stuff.

The Eyes.

To give us the smokey goodness we want we will choose 3 colors to work with. Dark for depth, lighter medium shade and a highlight. The shadows we will be using is Gunmetal (Dark), Money (lighter medium) and Skimp (highlight) from the Urban Decay Mariposa Palette.

Take a medium brush to apply your Skimp (hightlight) underneath your brow and then in the inner corner of your eye making a V shape. This will brighten your eyes and will so pretty. Next take a new medium brush and pack Money (lighter medium) on your lid using short outward motions toward the middle of your lid making the shadow gradually blend.

There should be no shadow on your outer lid. Take a short bristle blending brush and pack Gunmetal (Dark) in a circle motion at the end of your eye. 

This step is important and critical to the whole look. Take the residual on your brush and extend the color along the line of your lower lash. See the different between the two pictures above? Now blend it back toward Money that is already there. 

Blending takes a little practice but keep your strokes light. You can always add more if you want it darker. You should end up with something like this when you are done. 

Take a liner brush and Gunmetal under on the lower lash line blending nicely as you go. Stop about the middle to 3/4 of your eye. You can decide for your eye shape. Ignore the sun light coming through my window blind LOL.

Take your medium brush you used with Money (lighter medium) and connect Gunmetal (dark) to Skimp (highlight).

Line your lower and upper lash line with a black pencil stopping 3/4 of the way in to keep your highlight looking bright. Add some mascara and curl. Also I fill in my eyebrows. 

Now for the cheeks!

For dark eyes like this I would use a lighter peachy shade of blush. You want the focus to be on your eyes so let's keep the cheeks on the softer side. With an angled brush apply in the hollow of your cheek in quick back and forth motion and blend in the apple of your cheek.

Next take a new angled blush brush and apply on the top of where you applied the blush. Dust what is left down the center of your nose, in between your eyebrows and up and on your chin.

The completed look- with bangs up.

And with bangs down. Smashing ain't it? What we want to do with this is darken the outer edges of the eye and draw attention there while at the same time brightening the inner eye. This will make it look clean and effortless. Use a neutral or nude lip gloss and you're all set. 

Before ........After 

Products used:

Liquid Foundation: Flower Cosmetics About Face in LF4

Concealer: Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in 20 Light 

Powder: Bare Minerals Original in Fairly Medium 

Eye Makeup Primer: StillGlamorus Cosmetics Shadow Base in Light
Eye Shadow:Urban Decay Mariposa Palette in Skimp, Money and Gunmetal
Eye Liner: Almay Intense I Color pencil in Black
Mascara: Covergirl flamed out mascara in Very Black Blaze

Brow Powder: Mac Eyeshadow Pot in Handwriting
Blush: Sigma Paris Palette Peche
Highlight: Sigma Paris Palette Lumiere
Lipgloss: BonneBell Vanilla Swirl

Disclaimer: I am not a cosmetologist. I am not an expert. I love makeup and have been experimenting with it since I was very young. The techniques described are what I have found to work for me, my skin tone and texture. Comment if you have questions. Thank you for reading! I appreciate your support.