Recently I attended a spin class at my local gym, I was so nervous and it seemed so daunting I never wanted to actually try, but after being forced (lol) by my friend Joanne, I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made. Not only do I look foreword to doing it 4 times a week, but I'm also seeing results through the amount of calories (average of 700 per class), I'm burning each time I go.
I would like to challenge all of you to step outside your comfort zone, try a new workout and then come back and tell me about it, i am now down to try anything and can't wait to hear your experiences!
I have been making a point to do my hair and makeup daily as I have found it makes me feel more positive going into the day, and not because I think I people think I look better or anything, it's because it makes me feel more put together and honestly it makes me feel better about myself.
Do you feel better about yourself when your wearing makeup?
For breakfast this morning Don and I wanted something a little bit different from our usual oatmeal or cold cereal so we made corn beef hash and eggs, with whole grain waffles (I like the Klondike brand at Safeway), with fresh strawberries and orange juice. It was literally the greatest breakfast ever and even though it completely goes overboard it was so fun doing something different.
Afternoon snack:
Then my day got absolutely insane and all of the sudden it was almost 3 and I had not eaten since breakfast so whilst I waited for my lunch to cook I had 1 of these homemade pickles that my neighbor was kind enough to bring me.
Lunch:
I went completely off diet and made good old fashioned Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for lunch and it was amazing!!!
Dinner:
For dinner I just had leftovers from lunch as Don and the dogs were sleeping and it was almost 8pm so I didn't want to make a ton of noise or food as it was just for myself.
Even though today was so insane I should have made better choices as far as lunch and dinner went, I am making an extra point this coming week to always try and have healthy snacks and meal items on hand so that I have better options available to me.
What do you do when you are having a crazy day and haven't had a chance to eat?
Today I filmed a video all about giving to charity, as well as a list of a few charities I like to give to on a regular basis, as well as a list of charities I have given to in the past.
Here is the list of charities I make an effort to give to:
As you guys know from last weeks post, I recently took the plunge and purchased my first GHD Flat Iron, and I used it for the first time today!!!
I completely loved it, I was so shocked by how quickly it heated up, as well as how quick I was able to straighten my hair compared to my previous straightener.
As you can see from the before photo my hair was straight with a bit of wave to it and quite frizzy, in the after photo my hair is completely straight and smooth but it didn't loose its volume because I started about an inch down from the root.
I have mentioned before that Don got me a Pilates Reformer last year for my birthday, as one of my favorite workouts is Pilates, but it was getting very expensive going 7 days a week, so the reformer paid for itself after about 4 months of owning it. Sadly the reformer sat unused for many months as its so big and heavy I was unable to pull it out and use it on my own, but I recently got some furniture pads to stick under it and now I am able to drag this thing all over the house!!!
I thought I would share with you my lower body Pilates routine for today's Workout Wednesday and I am hoping to reignite my love for Pilates, and hopefully start doing it everyday day again.
Also I have linked the reformer I have above but I thought I would link this one as well because it is much smaller and can actually be used and then placed under a bed or stood up in a closet, and is almost half the price of the other one.
Here is today's Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog!
If you've been in our little corner of the Internet for a while you will already know that I deal with OCD, and one of my offshoot's of that is nail biting, and its not your nervous I have to give a speech nail biting, its the disgusting obsessive kind that when you can't get any lower on the nails you start of the cuticles and sides of your nails. Its repulsive I know, but its also my life, so welcome lol.
I have found that when I wear fake nails I feel less self conscious about people seeing my hands, as well as it gives my nails some time to recoup from the self-inflicted damage I have caused, I also recently saw Zoe Sugg aka Zoella wearing fake nails and thought, "hey if she can do and talk about it, so can I!'
I know that applying fake nails seems self explanatory but over the years of hiding my nails in shame I have picked up a few tips and tricks to help make them last longer and look more natural.
So here we are again, another day of my being behind and unorganized, so today is My Meals Monday and while I did actually vlog it I didn't however remember to get pictures, which means a very lack luster blog post, but here is today's Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog.
Todays blog post would typically be photographed somewhere nice like a beach or the foot of a mountain range, but it is actually pouring rain today...which I am in no way complaining it is nice to have it a bit cooler albeit more humid.
Unfortunately due to the weather I was able to film but not get any pictures, so here is todays Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog!
Stat Saturday's are back!!!! I have found that I'm better at actually focusing on my weight loss and fitness if I am actually telling you guys about it, probably so I don't feel like I'm disappointing any of you ;)
Anyhoos here is todays weight and measurements:
Bust: 39.5 Inches
Waist: 35 Inches
Hips: 46 Inches
Thigh: 25 Inches
Calf: 14.5 Inches
Left Arm: 13.5 Inches
Weight: 180.8 LBS
Now that we seem to have working a/c (fingers crossed), I feel like I can start focusing on my diet and exercise more. I have recently overhauled the space that my Pilates Reformer lives in so that I can slide it in and out with minimal effort, so my goal for the rest of the year is to go to the gym Monday-Friday and do 50 minutes of Cardio and 30 Minutes of the Kayla Bikini Body Guide. I also want to complete 30 minutes of Pilates 7 days a week, as well as try and squeeze in a longer walk with the dogs everyday.
Hopefully I can make this all work, I have recently ordered a little something for myself that should help me keep all this going, as soon as it arrives I will post it here. Until then here is todays Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog.
Recently I shared via Facebook that GHD was doing a massive sale on their flat irons, and when I say massive I mean $100 off!!! So I made the leap and ordered this bad boy, something I had been coveting for as long as I can remember, and the moment it came in the mail I knew it had to be opened and shared with all of you.
I cannot wait to do a first impression post on this next week, until then here is todays Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog.
Awhile back Anna SacconeJoly mentioned she was using the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa and was deeply in love with it, also Caroline Hirons (my go to skin goddess), mentioned Emma Hardie as well, so I thought clearly I need to give this a go. Sadly the price was quite high for just a try and see, especially because I suffer from sensitive skin and sometimes buy something and after one use its in the trash because of a bad reaction, so I did some googling and found the Emma Hardie Essentials set from Feel Unique. It came in the mail, badly damaged to say the least, what was once a box now seemed to be a flat envelope lol, but after opening it and realizing everything was undamaged I was finally given my opportunity to play with this heavy desired set.
Please excuse Charlie, he feels like he needs to be included in every blog picture lol.
After opening the box I couldn't wait to give it a go so that night I used all of the products and can happily report, no skin sensitivity problems at all, it smells very "earthy" or "natural" there doesn't seem to be any heavy fragrance added, (the package does say it has fragrance). The oil is crazy big for this being a sample/travel size kit, as is the cleansing balm. The exfoliator and night cream are true sample sizes, and the wash cloth is literally amazing! As your removing the cleansing balm with this cloth not only is soft and actually removing product but it doesn't pull at the skin (as long as you have a soft touch).
I can say I will be repurchasing all of these products in full size, as well as all of the woman in my family will be receiving this kit as their Christmas present.
Today is like The Best Day EVER!!!!! We hit 700 Subscribers on my youtube channel today!!! I cannot even tell you how happy and excited I am, I feel like I am finally doing something that I love and am really passionate and dedicated to, so as a way of saying thank you for your dedication to me and our little space in the big bad world aka "the internet" lol, I am doing the 700 Subscriber Giveaway.
Since I live in America I had to order this from FeelUnique, the order has already shipped so the 2 winners of the October Giveaway should receive their palettes pretty quickly.
I started my morning outside with my Coffee and Water but forgot to take a picture (sorry), and then I had my usual oatmeal with almond milk.
AM Snack:
I am loving Greek Yogurt at the moment but I have been eating a lot of it, so this may look small but its a good sized amount for a snack, this is the Greek Gods Honey and Vanilla topped with Local Hawaiian Granola. I normally would add a little bit of fruit but we are currently out.
Lunch:
For lunch I had leftover pizza, this is the Skinny Club from Pizza Hut and it has a white garlic sauce, ham, tomatoes, chicken, and raw spinach, I added a few anchovies to it.
Dinner:
I have been craving Mac-N-Cheese so bad its ridiculous but I know that the boxed stuff isn't so healthy so I made my own using whole grain pasta, cheddar cheese, a tiny pinch of flower, and almond milk. It came out really good, but not as good as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese hahaha.
Recently I popped into Ross to get a few night shirts to sleep in due to our very hot humid weather, and lack of A/C, so I thought I would do a haul for you guys.
This shirt says,
"Eat
Shop
Sleep
Repeat_____"
This is an XL which is quite nice to sleep in because it's so stretchy, it's made of 95% Rayon and 5% spandex.
This navy and white striped night shirt, is also an XL but doesn't run as big as the other one, but is made of the same material.
This is also of the same material and is quite comfy, I think it's so cute the way Louis is pawing at my shirt, although now that I look at it closely it looks like he is pawing my boob lol.
This is a two piece set from Tommy Hilfiger it's very soft and comfy, and the inseam is quite long compared to a lot of other sleep shorts, which makes it easier to walk in.
I thought I would throw in these last few pictures just because they are so cute and I'm a little obsessive when it comes to my fur babies lol. This is Charlie he is 2 years old.
This is Louis (pronounced the French way), and he is 1 year old.
It's so funny seeing them together because Louis is actually 1 year younger than Charlie, and yet he is almost two times bigger than Charlie.
Today has been a very busy day for me as I am cleaning out all the closest's in my house and trying to reorganize my office, so unfortunately I didn't have time to edit and write todays blog post and pictures but I did get the video and Daily Vlog up....
So I know you guys are going to totally kill me when it comes to my Stat Saturday posts, as they have been crazy far and few between, but I am completely focused on this right now, and so I want to make sure we are all included in the loop, and up to date.
So as you can see from the picture above I have actually gained weight since my last post, I blame that on my lack of a/c which is a totally lame excuse but here in Hawaii its been about 90 degrees with 84% humidity DAILY!!! So I caved to peer pressure, Don! And have been enjoying some ice cream lately, which is quite unusual for me because I actually hate the stuff, i don't like that its cold and I think its too sweet, but with the last month of no a/c I have way over indulged in this sweet treat, and to be honest I'm really pissed at myself for doing it because I was actually down to 177 in July, and I have totally self-destructed my diet, but each day is a fresh start and so I am taking that philosophy to heart...
Starting next week I will be going back to normal Stat Saturday's where I do full on measurements, and have pictures and all that good stuff, but I lost my cloth tape (for the billionth time!), and if you watch the video below had some technical issues so I just wanted to be over this whole stat Saturday lol. Here is todays Main Channel Video and Daily Vlog.
I know this post is going up a day late but I have been so hot in this crazy 84% humidity that I have tried to spend every waking moment at the pool lol, I also wasn't able to get the pictures done for this post as I spent most of today at the pool as well (sorry). So for this month here are the things I have been loving:
My neighbor recently introduced me to the Rodan+Fields brand, having never heard of it I was a little leery to buy from a company that isn't sold widely throughout the US, but then I realized I buy from Avon, Mary Kay, and Melaleuca so who am I to judge haha, I started off small with their sunscreen lip balm, and after using this everyday in this hot Hawaiian sun, I will be purchasing more items from Rodan+Fields.
The first thing I noticed about this lip balm is it is SPF 25, that's the highest SPF I have been able to find in a lip balm, I mean my Sun Shades is SPF 15, and my Kiehl's is SPF 4, (Which to me SPF, whats the point? lol).
The next thing is even though it has such a high SPF it doesn't have that nasty "Sunscreen" taste to it, there is a slight hint, but nothing annoying or disgusting. It also has this amazing citrus scent, but its not over done so it doesn't cause your lips to get that gluey feel to it, and it also doesn't make you feel like your 12 years old with a bubble gum lip balm hahaha.
Another thing I want to mention is the amount of product you get, for $14 you get 2 lip balms that are filled completely, that was huge for me, I can't stand when you buy any sort of lip product and they fill it only 1/2 or 3/4 of the way full, in the video I linked below I show it twisted all the way up and that's after almost 2 full months of use!
Finally after doing my research into this company it is the 4th largest Premium Skincare Company in the world, and it was created by a couple of female doctors you may have already heard of, Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, if those two names don't ring a bell maybe this name will, Proactive...Yes, the creators of Rodan+Fields are also the creators of Proactive, and while I am completely happy just being a customer, there is a business side to this that a lot of people are making an actual living at (the business side of this is not for me, as I need to make sure any and all reviews I do are completely unbiased).
Let me know if you have ever tried Rodan+Fields, and get ready for another post next month on there Reverse Skincare Set.
As I mentioned back in June I decided to join a gym, because I was struggling to get myself to workout at home. Now that I have a set schedule where I workout from 6am-7:30am I have upped my game once again, to include a few extra items to improve my workouts.
Whilst working out I sweat, I know most girls don't like to admit that but I will freely, as I feel like its a symbol of my work for the day lol, but I also start to lose energy about half way through my workout so I have started to incorporate Sustain Sport. This is an electrolyte drink similar to Gatorade or powerade, just without the excessive sugar and calories. I love the Raspberry Lemonade the Grapefruit, what I do is take a normal bottle of water with me and halfway through my workout I add in half a packet if I have 8 ounces of water or 1 whole packet if I have 16 ounces of water. This will replace the electrolytes you burn whilst in the gym, without overloading your blood sugar.
After my workout I enjoy a protein shake, in a blended I add 2 bananas, 2 handfuls of strawberries, 2 Sun Chlorella tablets, 2 scoops of ProFlex Protien Powder, and 16 ounces of water, then blend and enjoy. As a quick side note, I don't drink the entire shake, my husband actually takes half, so if your making this just for yourself then cut it in half.
About a year or two ago a girl asked me to do a tutorial on How I Shave My Legs, because her mom had passed away and she didn't feel comfortable asking her dad, since then it has become my most popular video, and I receive requests to update this video almost weekly. So here is my Updated How I Shave My Legs video as well as my Daily Vlog.
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