Healthy Livin'

I haven't really wrote anything about this because usually when I write about it... Nothing ever happens.

:/

But anyways I've been on the road to getting healthy for the past few months. I've lost 22 pounds!!! Which I am really excited about! Still a long journey to go but I'm freaking stoked (do ppl still say stoked?? That's how out of touch with reality I am. Lol)

So I wanted to tell you about what things I'm totally loving on my healthy journey. 

1. Plexus!!

     I know I've mentioned it once before but seriously. Plexus has changed my life! I love all the products but the Plexus Slim, Accelerator and X-Factor are my favorites!!

    Here is a little bit of what the Slim and Accelerator is. Plexus Slim is a natural health and wellness drink. It was originally made for diabetics to regulate blood sugars as well as getting your levels regulated such as lipids, cholesterol etc. Then they realized that one of the main benefits was weight loss along with being much healthier. So they targeted it to everyone. You just take 1 plexus slim drink in the morning. It's a little powder stick you mix up with a bottle of water similar to crystal light. Tastes good not gross at all, tastes like a cherry tootsie pop. One of my favorite benefits is my willpower over food and sweets. I no longer want junk or sweets. Which is pretty awesome. The accelerator which most people take with the plexus slim is just a pill you'll want to take with your breakfast. It just boosts your weight loss and it does have caffeine in it. 

   
     The X-Factor is a multi vitamin that I just love. It is made with aloe which is great because it is proven that your body will absorb the vitamins when taken with aloe. So the vitamins are made with it  and I can tell you i feel awesome! My hair and nails are growing like crazy. My skin is feeling so much better! Bomb.com

You want more info?? You can check it out here or contact me...info above!!!

2. FitBit

 

  So I am totally in love with my FitBit! It is a fitness tracker that you wear as a bracelet. It tracks your steps and calculates it for you. What I really love but you can't see in the picture is that it tracks your sleep!! Woah?! Right? It also has an option for silent alarms. It just vibrates on your wrist. But they are kinda touchy so don't put your life on this alarm if you know what I mean. I love that it just updates via bluetooth if you have a newer phone. The app is super easy to use. I dig it! Check it out!


3. C25K - Zen Labs

 

 I actually really really like this running app! I hate running/jogging i hate all of it. This makes it completely do able. For a complete inexperienced and out of shape person as I am... it is a little tough but the way it works up to it is really nice and easy going. I love how it gives you the prompts while you have your music playing. For some reason, this may sound dumb but having the app tell me to run versus me telling myself to run. I will run longer and actually do it when the app tells me to do it. But I like the whole set up and once I get finished with the 5K one I plan on getting the 13.1 and doing that! 

Yup!!! You read that right!!! I plan on doing a half-marathon! I want to get it done and my goal is to run in the Disney Princess Half Marathon!!!! BIG GOALS!!

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!

4. DietBet

 

Have you heard of a dietbet? It essentially is when you put down some amount of money and say you will lose weight. Everybody that loses the required amount of weight in the time period gets to split the pot. For what I have seen the bet you put down is usually in the 20-30 range.They have a 1 month and you lose 4% and a 6 month and you lose 10% of your body weight. This is my very first dietbet and I learned about it through SkinnyMeg. I do think this is a great incentive to lose weight. It has helped me break a plateau. so if you are interested... Check it Out!!!

Well, those are the things that I are helping me on my journey right now!! Next month it could be a totally different thing! We will see... I'll keep you updated either way though!! 

until next time

xoxo

B

What I'm digging right now

The other day I went to Target all by myself!!!!

Eeeeekkkkk!!!! I know! Every moms dream come true. Just to get some alone time at target. 

I blared some music on my old school iPod on the way there. It was epic. This song came on and I'll be honest... I am pretty sure that this song was meant for moms that get to get out of the house with no kids or husbands. Lol.

 Don't get me wrong I love spending time with my family but I think a little "you" time is necessary. Sometimes when I pull out of the driveway to go to target this is how I feel!!

So while at Target I picked up some new girl stuff. So I wanted to tell you about them! I've had a couple of things for awhile but I just need to tell you about them.

1 & 2: E.L.F - Lip Stains. Crimson Crush #31206 & Pink Petal #31021

 I don't wear lip stick. Ever. I think I look ridiculous. My lips are super wrinkley like 70 year old lady smoking pall malls wrinkley. I don't smoke so I'm not sure how I got these wrinkle lips. So, wearing lipstick makes my wrinkles look so much worse. Plus it wipes off in like 3.2 seconds. Also, the smell and taste of lipstick. Yuck. Obviously I am not a lover of the lipstick.  Yet, I've always wanted to have that bright red Marilyn lip. I look better with some sort of color on my lips. Enter Lip Stain. I am completely new to the lip stain world. I received a sample in my Birchbox once kinda liked that so here we are. I totally dig lip stain. Stays on forever. Bright color. Didn't bring too much attention to my old lady lips. Best part of it all this brand was 2 freaking dollars. Just get in my cart! *These were the only 2 colors Target had. :( on the website they have more colors I like the crimson a lot. Mo doesn't like it really and thinks it is too dark. He liked the pink which i hated on me. I felt like an ugly barbie.*

3. PlusWhite - 5 Minute Premier Whitening System
 Okay, so about a month ago i saw thing on pinterest about teeth whitening. I then tried to find it again and couldn't find it for the life of me. Now, that I have gave up pinterest for Lent I can't look but right after Easter I will be on the search again. Anyways the clip was about how you get the cheap mouth guards at Wal-Mart for under a buck, then put them in hot water for 15-30 seconds and let it form to your teeth. Then you put this whitening gel on your teeth and then the mouth guard and let it set for like 30 minutes. This stuff works!!! Like good! It is super cheap! DIY whitening trays. It rocks. Try it out!!!

4. Pure Romance - Basic Instinct
  Okay, this is my second bottle of this stuff. I am absolutely in love with it. I know it says sex attractant and before you think I am a creep. Just hold on a sec. This perfume does or it did have pheramones in it which I guess could be a "sex attractant". The reason I am in love with this is because the smell changes for every single person. It generally just smells sweet but when it mixes with your body chemistry the smell changes. It smells great on me. I love it. I've tried it on everyone and the smell changes. On my husband it goes from sweet to smelling like wood and ceder like. I am not sure how it does it but Oh MY Lanta do I love this stuff!! PS. Pure Romance is a sex toy party thing. So do what you want with that but this stuff is legit.

5. BB Cream - Garnier
  I like the idea of BB cream. It has a bunch of stuff in it to make your skin better. It is not super full coverage which is exactly what I like. It's perfect for me as a mom it takes like 14 seconds to put on. Awesomesauce. The problem I have found with most BB creams is that since it has a moisturizer in it, it can make my combination skin gross. Add in some South Georgia humidity and its nasty. Also, SPF is good for me. SO far I am digging this. It stays on pretty well, it has a little bit more full coverage than normal for me but its okay. Doesn't make my face a huge grease ball. It was about 12 bucks which is a ton better than the 50 dollar one I liked from birchbox. I'll update you once it gets warmer here and how its holding up in the heat.

6.L'Oreal - Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara
  I heard about this mascara from Mama Lauglin. This is what she uses and her eyelashes are ridiculous. Forrealz. So what the hey lets give it a whirl. For a "Drugstore" makeup it is not bad at all. I will use it till its gone most likely. It is my favorite mascara ever. No. It made them a little longer but nothing dramatic for me. I guess because I am used to putting a primer on my lashes then mascara. So for someone that doesn't do that then this may be a good one for them. It was like 8 or 9 dollars. I think it is worth a try. It came off easily in warm water. I am just kinda blah about it. I really want to try the Younique mascara. problem is its 30 dollars for it!!! Yikes thats like a gas or a meal out. I will probably try it out just because I am super curious about it.

                                              

 *Here is my face with the pretty much everything on. Yeah I know it is a terrible selfie but I was just sending this pic to my friend to see what she thought of the crimson lip stain.*

So there ya go... My fav's for right now. This all could change tomorrow! If I find some more stuff I love I will let y'all know!

Have a great weekend!!!!

until next time

xoxo

B

how coconut oil saved my life

Okay.

that may be a bit of an exaggeration. 

seriously, this stuff is the bomb.com

unless, you've been living under a rock somewhere... I am quite sure you've heard of the benefits of coconut oil. If you have been living under a rock, you can read about some of its amazing qualities here. 

So now I will be to my reason on why coconut oil saved my life. 

This past winter lil' man caught the stomach bug at the same time as he was getting teeth then the following weeks we both were sick with bronchitis among other things. Needless to say December wasn't very fun.  With all of these things going on in his little body, he got a diaper rash. A bad diaper rash!!! I can count on one hand the times he's had some sort of rash down there. We've been very blessed. With this rash nothing was working. Aquaphor, desitin and a variety of other things I've read on the Internet. After looking all over the Internet for something to relieve my poor lil' mans pain. I stumbled upon someone saying they used coconut oil. 

I'm here to tell you folks that it works!!

We gave him a bath with baking soda in the water. Which is what we usually do when he has any type of skin irritation. Then after his bath we lightly patted his bottom to get the water off. Then put coconut oil all over. We used it instead of lotion and covered him head to toe. On his bottom we put on ALOT!!! By the next morning it was a complete 180. He was no longer red only a little pink. No more bleeding and he was one happy camper!! I also noticed the places around his mouth where the drool made him breakout were all healed!!! Can you believe that???

With all that being said you can NOT use the cheap stuff and get the same results! (Ahem LouAna I'm talking to you...DO NOT USE THE CHEAP STUFF!!) You need to get organic virgin cold pressed coconut oil. We get ours from Sam's club for super cheap. 16.00 for this big jug!!! Super great deal!!

Other things we use coconut oil for: cooking, body lotion, great for psoriasis, hair masks, lip scrubs, add to hot tea for sore throat. Honestly there are so many more. These are just what comes to mind at the moment. Oh.. I got one. Lil' man fell on the concrete the other day and used his face to catch himself. (poor kid didn't stand a chance with two clumsy parents lol) It looked bad! like i thought it would be really ugly for a long time. it has been one week since that accident and with putting coconut oil on it every night . its practically gone. just a little spot. where as a week ago it took up half his forehead.

Do you use coconut oil? If so, what do you use it for?? Let me know!!

book review: love the one you're with

I recently read the book : love the one you're with by emily giffin. First off lets give you the amazon description of this book:

A novel for anyone who has ever wondered: how can I truly love the one I'm with, when I can't forget the one who got away?

Ellen and Andy Graham have the perfect marriage. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo. The one who brought out the worst in her. The one who left her heartbroken nearly a decade ago. The one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she's living is the one she's meant to live.

So here are my thoughts...
Thank god I did not buy this book. It was given to me after a friend read it. I've heard great things about emily giffin books. I know something borrowed is a book and a movie, i haven't seen or read either of them. I am pretty sure I just didn't like the whole concept of the book. Shes married to a great guy that has a great family. Of course, they are rich and everything else that seems perfect. i don't know. i just did not like it at all.

I am well aware that I have hit the mother load with my husband. he seriously is the best. so maybe i just can't understand the concept of it all. like i have guys that dumped me in the past but if they came crawling back i would be repulsed. especially to pursue a married woman. what kind of person does that make them? ya know??

My friend loved this book though, so who knows it may be me. she is a good writer unlike some other books i've read. try it out. it was an easy read. i got the book done in a total of a few hours. any reading is better than no reading. use your brain. its a muscle too!!

eggs

So with Easter right around the corner. its the season of eggs. i remember dying eggs as a kid and the house smelling like eggs and vinegar. i remember seeing kids at school with dyed fingers because they had a little too much fun. either way, i love easter. i love all holidays really.

funny story: well not that funny. Mo and i have the greatest intentions with all holidays but never quite follow through. ive always wanted to dye eggs for easter. it still hasnt happened. we have a dye kid in the cupboard. last year we bought the eggs and still didn't follow through. mostly because of ONE thing.

i hate hard boiling eggs. i never get it right. the yolk is all gray and gross. the shell never comes off right. it just was uber frustrating.

but boy howdy. do i have something to tell you.

The oven. boom. So i am sure you have all seen making hard boiled eggs in the oven on pinterest and facebook. whatever. nothing new. i know i have seen it like a kajillion times. i didn't believe it could be that easy. ya know. like hard boiling eggs is hard.

no. hard boiling eggs is EASY! i'm going to be honest here and tell you the reason i finally tried it. i was wasting time on pinterest (this was like last week BEFORE lent) i ended up on LC's blog/website. i am no huge LC fan. im not, not a fan. she just is nothing really much to me. well was. im starting to dig her after this egg miracle. she had a post on there about it. i figured what the heck. i'll try it. mark my words. I WILL NEVER MAKE HARD BOILED EGGS IN WATER AGAIN!!!!

The Miracle Recipe is...

Hard Boiled/Baked Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put eggs in cupcake pan.
3. Bake in oven for around 30 minutes (keep in mind do this according to your oven. if yours runs hot do a bit shorter time. you get it. you are not dumb!!)
4.When there is only a couple minutes of time left fill a bowl with lots of ice and water. Plus a pinch of salt.(not the slightest idea what the salt does here)
5.When eggs are done put eggs in ice water till they cool down. Seriously use tongs to pick up those eggs. those suckers are hot!!!

I did have a little brown burny spot on the shell and the egg from where it was sitting in the pan.but the yolks were perfectly yellow and the shell came right off. so its a fair trade. also, i'm not sure why the eggs had spots on them when they were out of the oven. it came off when in the water though.



 I hope you will try this out. let me know what you think!!

until next time
xoxo
B

what what

wow. it has been a long time. so much has happened in the past year. i wanted so badly to keep track of it all and put it in my own little space. clearly that did not happen. so here we are again with the awkward "ehhh I promise to be back". I can't promise anything as I am clearly writing this to myself but I need to do this for myself. anyway back to topic...

LENT

So, today is Ash Wednesday. The beginning of lent. 6 weeks till easter. If you aren't sure what Lent is... well I will tell you.

Lent (Latin: Quadragesima - English: Fortieth) is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar of many Christian denominations that begins on Ash Wednesday and covers a period of approximately six weeks before Easter Day.
The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the tradition and events of the New Testament beginning on Friday of Sorrows, further climaxing on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, which ultimately culminates in the joyful celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is clearly the definition from wikipedia. Do y'all remember Encarta? When did that stop being a thing? I guess right around when floppy discs left.lol. i am feeling super old. Memory lane for a second... in my senior year of high school we had to do our senior exit project on what you were going to do in your life. if you didn't pass, you didn't graduate. so that year we had to save our project and our portfolios on floppy discs. then i remember the next few months starting college and the list of stuff we would have to buy...memory sticks. i had no idea what is was. this was in 2004!!! yikes

back to lent. i like to give something up every year for lent. i am not catholic or any religion that requires you to do it. generally i feel like the odd one that does do it. i do it because it seems so miniscule. i can give up something for 40 days, i mean c'mon God gave up his son. 40 days of some little thing seems pathetic almost. I really like in the times that i am wanting whatever i gave up this year. i like to pray and remind myself of his sacrifice.so i enjoy it because it challenges myself and it connects me closer to the Big man.

So this year I am giving up ...

Yup, I am giving away pinterest. I am a pinterestaholic. I have a problem. I seriously could just look at pinterest all day and be happy. I am going to use this time to actually get some stuff done though. I always add more and more projects to the list but I never cross any off. Now its time. I am really hoping to track my progress on here with it. I should have a lot more time on my hands now. lol

until next time
xoxo
B