Friday, May 30, 2014

Influenster and Birchbox!

Happy Friday!

So this week I got two spectacular packages in the mail. Influenster and Birchbox, Influenster is a sample box that you take quizzes for and if you are a right fit, they send you products at no cost in exchange for your reviews, and Birchbox is subscription box that is $10 a month and you get beauty samples each month!


This travel razor from Gillette Venus is AWESOME! Its called Snap. It has five blades and the conditioning strip and comes in a traveling case. I was doubtful at first because it is so tiny and I just thought it would be annoying to shave with. Actually it is quite the opposite! This thing is so handy and nifty! I'm able to throw it in my gym bag and take it with me, or I can use it at home, shaving wise its right up there with a standard razor, but this fits on the shelf a bajillion times better. The best part of all of it is the convenience. It snaps into its case that drains water so it goes from used to packed in seconds. The coupons it came with for blade refills was awesome too! 

Have you used a Gillette Venus razor before? 
This was my first one. 


And this months Birchbox contained:

A $25 off orders of $75 or more from Kate Spade.

Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm- It is awesome! It smells delicious, goes on super smooth and doesn't feel heavy.  It has a nice light shade of pink to it, but not enough to look like a little kid that got into mommy's makeup.

Greenleaf Candle Co. Candle in First Blush- Oh my the smell! Its like spring time, fresh flowers and outside. I'm a candle and smell good junky, so this was opened and lit right away!

Nexxus Color Assure 3 Part System- For color treated hair, its a pre-wash primer, shampoo and conditioner. It is infused with oils to help protect hair color from washing out and fading. I color my hair all the time and products like these keep me going. Although I've never used Nexxus and usually use strictly salon products, after my next color I'm going to put this to the test.

Cotz Natural Skin Facial Sunscreen- Oil free and mineral based sunscreen with an SPF of 40. It goes on smoothly with a sheer appearance so it doesn't mess with makeup application and doesn't leave skin greasy.

Caldrea Body Wash and Lotion- Natural ingredients make these super good for your skin, and helps hydrate and soften skin. Perfect for the summer time when the heat can dry out your skin.

Do you subscribe to monthly boxes?

I have to work all weekend, but we have to make a pit stop for groceries at some point. The hub and I have been watching Bonnie & Clyde each night, if you like history at all, watch this! It's only $13 at Walmart. It is 176 minutes long, but we've been breaking it up into chunks and watching it each night, tonight should be our last installment. I'm excited to watch it but sad its over. I'm also looking for some fun crafts to do, I've been searching pinterest for days and haven't found anything that sparks my interest yet, any suggestions? What are your weekend plans?

-J


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Bikini Challenges and Random

Ahhh, so sorry to have disappeared again. But the craziness that I have in my life has finally settled down. My schedule isn't jumping all over the place any more, which makes it totally easy for me to come back at this lifestyle both arms swinging

So Tatum and I's 60 day Bikini Challenge ended great for her, for real I'm so incredibly proud of her. Go check her out on Instagram @fittatum (you won't be sorry). My results kinda tapered off in the middle of May. Between moving, garage sale, work trips, life got in the way. I know that sounds like a sorry excuse and it is, but thats what happened. My schedule was changing each day and my hours were getting longer. I was working over 10 hours a day and usually 6-7 days straight and then I had a half  a day off. All this while trying to get settled into a new home and a new schedule. But thats a thing of the past now. Our new normal involves getting up at 7am and in bed by midnight. Tatum and I want to keep going, so we started our Bikini challenge again Monday. Today is day two. Tatum still has 4 weeks left with her amazing trainer and thats what shes doing for those weeks. I have 8 weeks worth of meal plans and workouts from Michelle but before I get back on that, I'm going to take a week of using my macros to make my meal plans myself. I'm also getting back into running. I had got so sick of it when I started training for a half that it had turned me off of it. But I missed it so I'm easing back into it and running in the mornings just for as long as I want to and after lunch I hit the gym before work. With our schedule being active has become even easier, hub and I have been eating outside more, doing more gardening, walks and all that good stuff. But I also have time to read again. I love reading, I just finished the last book in the Lying Game series by Sara Shepard. She also wrote the Pretty Little Liars series. I read those too, but the show ruined it for me. They aren't even close to the books so that was a major disappointment for my inner bookworm nerd. But without any further ado, my final pictures of the challenge and they are also my beginning of  the next go around.






Overall I'm still proud. I still see quite a bit of toning going on. Even more this time, I promise you :P But I also was able to gain something new from these last 60 days. Body acceptance and self confidence. I've never worn tank tops in the summer I usually hid behind sweatshirts, but this summer I've worn more tank tops than ever. I never even owned this many before! I'm comfortable with my body because I'm proud of how far I've come. I know I worked for it and its the product of hard work. I know that even if I never lose another pound, I still can't go back to my shitty eating and couch potato ways. I will have to maintain this new earned achievement and always strive to improve my health and fitness.


I felt slower than a one legged turtle running through molasses and into a cement pit, but I was pretty pleased with my time this morning.

Sunday Funday for us involved the zoo and a picnic afterwards.


We loved this turtle, he took two steps then let out a sigh and slammed his head into the ground and then began eating. We also really like this giraffe, not as much as he like the fence pole though. He was cuddling it and licking it- alot.


For some reason I also thought it would be a good idea to straighten my hair. Humidity reminded me why the summer and my hair are not friends. It was a curly frizzy mess by the end of the day.

Then we went to the mall to walk and gawk some more and well I leave him alone for two seconds and he finds this hat...



How was your Memorial Day Weekend?
What are some good books?
Tips on getting back into running?

-J




Friday, May 23, 2014

Travels and Weekday Shenanigans

Happy Friday Love's!

     Wednesday I left for a class in Kansas City Missouri. My sister lives outside of the city in Grain Valley, so I used this as an excuse to get to go see her and my lovely little niece. I really hate long drives though, I'm terrible in car rides with others, because I always want to go to sleep, but when I'm driving its a battle of not getting tired and trying not to just get bored where I want to stop. Road construction made it even better- not. 

So I checked into my hotel first, I stayed at the Staybridge Suites, just because of the awesome gym they had.

It had free weights, the bowflex style machine, and the essentials. Its by far the best hotel gym I've seen. When I make reservations, I scope out the hotel to make sure the room will have a fridge and that the gym is at least semi functional.

Because I'm from such a small area, my parents called me and asked that I make a special trip to Costco for them. It's like bringing home the Holy Grail.


After getting the important stuff out of the way like 30 thousand rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. I met up wit my niece and sister and we spent the day together. We got our nails polished, did some light shopping and went out to dinner at Cheddars.




She was sad Aunt Jeshi had to leave, but bribery always works, get her to chear up with promises of a nerd slush from sonic.

I loved my shirt for class. I got it at Vanity and it had a little peek a boo in the back to show off some back definition.



The worst part was traffic. I hate driving in bigger cities, I get road rage and so all these people and the congestion of the road didn't help.

I did manage to eat decent. Chicken and vegetables, lots of water, eggs and yogurt for breakfast, healthy snacks and more water. Tatum and I's 60 day challenge ended Yesterday, I haven't had a chance to take my pictures yet, but I will have them up on Monday, and then we are jumping in for round too. I began to stray this last part of it because of crazy life, but as of Monday my life should be completely back to normal. Which will make plenty of time for workouts, food prep, and all the good food I can handle. I hate getting off schedule. I like routines and having a plan for the day. But just becasue I'm in between plans right now, doesn't mean I'm going to eat shit. I'm still utilizing my meal plans, and working out. Then Sunday the hub and I are going to pack a healthy lunch and go spend the day walking around Rolling Hills Refuge Zoo.

What are your weekend plans?
-J

Be sure to stop by the always incredible Holly's page, shes giving away a Tarjay Gift Card!!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Breaking The Vampire Curse

Good Morning!!

I apologize for being MIA randomly. But I do have a good excuse the dog ate my keyboard...

For the last three and a half years the husband and I have been working night/evening jobs. He works in production and of course the second shift pays more so that is where he gravitated too. I wanted to see him so I began adjusting my schedule to fit somewhat around his. We would typically go to bed between 5 and 8 in the morning and get up between 1-4 in the afternoon. We hardly saw daylight. In our downtime, ninety percent of the world was closed, it was dark and nothing was going on. That was the time I surfed the internet, did all my blog posts, killed time, played games ect. Just because there wasn't a whole lot else that we really could do. But over the last couple weeks we have transitioned from vampires to normies,


 we get up between 6 and 8 in the morning and are fast asleep by 1am at the latest. We have time to be outside, go on walks and just enjoy the convenience of the schedule. We even started eating breakfast outside just to take more advantage of the sunlight. I started planting flowers, he started random outdoor projects, heck we are basically just finding every excuse we can to be outside more.


Our phones and computers have been seriously neglected and for once I'm not minding that I hardly know what is going on in social media. Mostly because I'm actually just getting to spend time with my husband. This extra time is doing us good, we actually begun discussing the future of babies :) Not for a while longer though mom. But we've had a lot of good deep talks. So I do apologize if my posting is spotty or I disappear for a day or two :)

All though the move and the change of schedule has been good for us relationship wise, our food and workouts took a bit of a beating. Not too terrible but we just either haven't been eating or when we do it eat its not the absolute best. I can say the scale hasn't budged either way, so that is good. But I need to get my ass back in gear. Luckily Complete Nutrition had their huge customer appreciation sale so the Hub and I stocked up and our making this week a good one. We are also trying to incorporate more outdoor activities into our lives along with workouts. We are going to the Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge/Zoo in Salina on Sunday which is a HUGE park with lots of walking involved and are going to have a healthy picnic!

What are some of your favorite cheap/free and fun activities to do outside with you lovies?!
How was your weekend?

-J

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Swag Swap Goodies!

Happy Hump Day!!!!

So today I'm showing off the goodies I got in the Swag Swap I took part in, that was hosted by Alicia at Brew Mama and Candra at Camo and Lipstick. My partner was Brittany! You can find her on Instagram at @brittany__harper and her blog HERE. So here's what I got..


This freaking cute customized decal is still on its way, but she sent me a sneak peak so I could post about it. I'm excited, its too freaking cute!

This snazzy outfit and headbands, there is also a purple glitter one, but its at the gym because I couldn't resist not wearing it!

No, there aren't any babies but this little container is perfect for my little snacks on the go! And really, who can't use a water bottle. You can never have enough! (And it's PINK)

Ahhh my favorite things to relax with, this bath soak is an absolute must have of mine and I always keep some on hand, I was actually out so my mind was read! And yummies of Justin's Peanut Butter Blend (All-Natural) and a scrumdiddlyumptious Quest Bar!!

Brittany did an amazing job, I've already used everything in some way! I hope she enjoyed her gifts as well!

Swag Swaps are super fun, this was my first and I'm definitely interested in doing more, Thanks Alicia and Candra for putting it all together!!

Brew Mama

In other news, over my past two day off I got my wildflowers planted

It was freezing last night so they got to sit inside, and today they are going out for some sun. I will not kill these, I will not kill these...

I also got my hair done

The color didn't take like I wanted it to :( I had more of my natural color added in and some brown, but the brown lowlights didn't seem to stick. But it's okay, it's hair it colors easily. But I took off four inches of nasty-ness! Cheers to healthy hair!! And if you have any shade of blonde hair, I highly reccomend Matrix' So Silver. It's a purple shampoo that does wonders, I swear by it and have used it for 3 1/2 years.



Hows Your week so far?
Have you done a Swag Swap?
-J


Monday, May 12, 2014

Catchin' Up


Well first off happy belated Mothers Day to everyone! This weekend had been crazy with a Capital headache. I took part in a multi family garage sale to clear out stuff from moving and that was a sideshow act all it's own. We tagged items, loaded items, unloaded items, set up, tore down, set up again and packed off the leftovers to thrift stores. That in itself was enough to make your head spin, but throw in 90 degree weather, and seven children under the age of ten- hectic is an understatement! Talk about rethinking the baby pleas I'd been antagonizing my husband with! ;)



All though the garage sale was a success, my eating wasn't. I hate admitting defeat, but it happens, it's apart of the journey and I'm totally okay with admitting it. Between last weekend being the move and this weekend the sale and working we weren't near either of our homes, nor did we have the goods we needed at the right time. We are out, I ate healthier- like subway salads and chicken wraps and veggies, but I wasn't on my plan. My week days have been great just the weekends have been suffering. But we are going to do our long overdue grocery shopping and today we are both back on the healthy train and not going to let this weekend win!! My workouts have been great and not missing a beat, which is probably the only thing that helps keep me a float. I'm mad at myself for not finding better ways to make sure my eating was on olan, but I'm not going to stress out about It because it's over and done and I can only move on and make the future better. So here's to buckling down and kicking add this week! 



How's your goals coming?

I'm super excited to be off today, I had a seven day stretch I worked and those just take a tole every now and then. Today depending on this great Kansas weather that brought storms all yesterday and early this morning, I'd like to get out and do some gardening. My summer isn't complete till I plant a bunch of pretty flowers and then manage to kill them all off by the Fourth of July. I have a thumb of death when it comes to gardening. Some day I'll break the spell, I hope know I will. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done by one of my best friends and I'm so excited, I love hair days!! It's nice to pamper yourself every now and then! 

What are your plans this week?

-J

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up Link Up

As I was moving over the last week, I came across a box that had my childhood items it. We all remember all the different times in school we had to write about or do a project on about what we wanted to be when we grew up, it was fun to see and remember how I thought back then. It also got me to thinking about that MASH game, the one where you found out who you'd marry, how many kids, jobs, honeymoons, ect. The more I thought about those things the more I realized how crazy and far off some of those were. But today, we are all kids again so throw responsibility out the window (you'll need it back later) and join me in this! I made it into a link up- kinda. If you want to take part, copy the button, put it on your page, copy the the questions below, replace with your answers and leave a comment with your blog address! I think this will be fun! 


Marry: Johnny Depp, I just had the hugest crush on him after Pirates of the Caribbean 

Drive: Porshe 911, this was my choice car in a playstation game I played with my cousin all the time, I think it was like Need for Speed or something. It was lime green too.

Live: Hawaii, need I say more?

Job: Flight Attendant and a Lawyer, I was ambitious. I wanted to be like the people on tv and wear cool suites and carry a briefcase and be awesome. I also wanted to wear a cool outfit and fly all over the world for free.

Honeymoon: Ireland, I did a report on it in the 3rd grade and went through a mini obsession with Ireland. I learned to step dance- yeah I was THAT cool.

Kids: I wanted two, a boy and a girl. Because you can totally choose that...

House: A log cabin style mansion, with a kitchen like the disney channel movie "Smart House" and It was going to have a moat around it. Why a moat? I guess I was worried about attacks from other castles at the age of 10..

Pet: A monkey and a koala, because what log cabin mansion protected by a moat doesn't need them?

Now if for old time sakes you want to play the real mash game, theres an app for that. No really there is, go HERE for more info.

Can't wait to see if anyone does this and read them!

Happy Hump Day!
-J

Monday, May 5, 2014

We Survived The Move.

BRRR! It's cold this morning!



So the last two days have been hectic to say the least. We managed to move in 4 trips, 6 loads, and I didn't go to jail for murder or strangulation. They never made me drive with the trailer, and I only had to drive the beast of a big truck once!




I had one tip from a reader here that said bag your clothes on the hanger...THANK YOU! That made unpacking a billion and one times easier.

We are all unpacked and getting settled in, I made sure to unpack the same day that I brought stuff. The top pictures were day one and the bottom, day two- as you can tell the stress was showing.

Along with moving it made it hard to follow my meal plan, I tried but hell either my food was in one place, or the cooking items were in the other, or we'd have a lil emergency that made us run to town to the store. It was just a mess, I didn't eat badly, I just forgot to eat. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'd get so busy unloading or unpacking that I lost track of time. But today I'm back at it 110% so my body doesn't feel starved.

How stressful was moving for you?

I did get this B-E-A-utiful necklace in the mail from the lovely Tatum.


She got it for me to remember to be empowered and basically be awesome. I'm so glad to have an accountability partner. And after this crazy weekend, I need this!!

Which by the way if you ever need someone to vent to about workout problems or successes, feel free to email me. I do my best to respond within 24hours and as for comments on here, I do respond to them through email! :)

If this weather stays beautiful this morning and my Garmin charges I might just have to go for a run.

How was your weekend?
-J

Friday, May 2, 2014

Five on Friday

Yowzers. This week seemed to just fly past. I'm getting the hang of this morning life, I'm actually coming to really like it. I get up go to the gym, eat breakfast, do laundry and I even have time to take a little nap each day and I LOVE it! But now the next few mornings and days are going to be filled with packing, cleaning, moving and unpacking. Blah. I know that over the next week I may not be the best with keeping up with the blog because I'm not sure where my computer will be, when I'll have internet or if I'll be hiding in a closet. So please bare with me. But today I'm linking up with Darci at The Good Life Blog for 5 on Friday.

Childhood memories.. Did anyone else see this on Facebook The Class of 2018 will never know... ? It made me think about some awesome things from my childhood that I loved and had forgotten about or haven't seen since.

{one}

Sky Dancers.

I had this exact one and I would refuse to put it down. I always managed to get in trouble for aiming it at things or playing with it in the car...

{two}

The show Molly and the Big Comfy Couch..


I watched this show religiously.


{three}

Vault.

I drank this way too much. My friends and I were on a ski trip and we would mix it with orange juice and take it on the slopes with us, because of the OJ we thought it made it breakfast acceptable. 

{four}

Ez Squirt Colored Ketchup

I had the green and it gave me the heebie jeebies. It just wasn't normal and it scared me.

{five}

WOW Potato Chips


I think I just liked these because they said WOW.  But now as an adult and being able to understand the "anal leakage" issues these were linked with.. I don't miss them near as much..


What do you miss??

-J