Boyfriend/Hubby Makeover

No this is not about changing up yo' mans look, it's a crazy fun thing to do with him!

Lay out all your makeup and brushes, wash your face put your hair back, hide the mirror and tell your guy to make you look pretty (or like a clown, thats how I turned out)! The rules: you can not say anything! You can't tell him no when he tries to use lip liner on your eyes, or when he uses blush as eyeshadow or when he puts the wrong brush into something or even when he picks the ugliest colors, just let him have at it!

I recommend that you do this when you don't have somewhere important to be...

This was my outcome, he used bronzer in the dead of winter, used his fingers in my powdered eye shadow, and put mascara on like it was a crayon... but we laughed our a$$e$ off! I love my crazy husband who though that I would look good like this, but hey, he tried and we had a blast!

If you try it, post me your before and afters!

- J

Let's get personal

So now lets take a second for a personal update, according to my handy dandy scale, I am  OFFICIALLY down 23 lbs since 1-1-13 and 13 of those pounds alone I have murdered this month! 

You seriously don't understand how proud of myself I am or how much of a total bada$$ I feel like!! My hubby has been complimenting my ever changing body and telling me how utterly proud of me he is! It feels so DAMN good!!!! GAWWWW like words will never express how amazing I'm feeling, I feel, I feel EMPOWERED, like I could change the world or do anything! It is such a euphoric feeling! Working out has now become a constant in my routine again (It only took  2 1/2 years..whomp whomp whommm) ! It is never to late to make a change, no matter how big of a change it is, its still a change!  You honestly just have to stay positive about it, and damn it if you can't be positive about working out or lifestyle changes, well I have 6 words for you and you better never forget them:

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

and that means, putting on a tough face and pretending to have all the confidence in the world until you actually do! 

TRUST ME you will eventually have it all!

One of my teachers in cosmo school told me that about self confidence and that burned permanently into my brain the second it rolled off her tongue and from that day forward I vowed to live by that and never let the fear of failure keep me from trying to reach the stars in anything and everything I attempted.

So go forth my fellow peoples and make your confidence and succeed in anything you feel like doing :)

Whew I feel good now, sharing your success along the way to any personal goal is a great way to stay positive and motivated.

- J

Bahh dahh dahh duhhh dummm

Incase you were wondering that is the song they play at graduations...

why?

BECAUSE I GRADUATED!!!

Not school or anything like that but the Couch To 5k program!!

 YAY MEE!!! ( claps hands and jumps around)

No no I'm not fabulously skinny, YET!

Because I am not done, I will never be done working to better myself and my health, because dying is for old people and I haven't cause enough havoc yet to not be able to run around.

I am going to re-start the program Sunday and work to increase my speeds and decrease my times and just to basically be awesome, I mean come on, who doesn't love being awesome?!

To any one out there who is scared to start running or doesn't know how, 

Don't be scared, I promise it gets easier by day 2, the hardest part is lacing up the shoes and saying "Im going to be a runner!" Once you get past that, everything gets easier.

Never over due it though. That doesn't mean don't push yourself, just don't push yourself TOO Hard.

More info here : http://www.c25k.com/

Heres the break down of the work out, you can do it on a treadmill or outside or BOTH!

They even make (free) Apps for Droid and Apple phones that you can download and make it a bajillion times easier to follow the program!

Want more info on C25K? ask me!

- J

Edward Scissor Hands?!

AHHHHH HELP!!

Do I have your attention??

Good.

Now as to why I'm screaming, As i've said earlier, I am a licensed cosmetologist,

lets break it down ya'll

that means I have:

* completed over 1500 hours of the required hands on training and book work that the state board requires.

* passed all exams in school

*graduated school

* passed my state written exam

* passed my state hands on exam

* passed the CRITICAL, blood spill safety procedure

* understand the chemical working of hair color and all sanitary items found in a salon to protect the client from the spread of disease or contamination

Why should you care that I went to school?

Well let me set the scene for you....

You walk into a new hip salon you have never been to before, but the place seems pretty cool, you sit down pick out your hair colors, tell the stylist how you want it cut and away you go because you are TRUSTING them to provide a professional service..

BUT WAIT!

The person who is mixing the chemicals to go on your head and is holding the scissors that will make or break your beautifully coifed tresses, used to be a janitor, and just decided today that they were going to do hair!

But why? They can't do that without training??!??! 

But they could. The government is trying to take away the licensing for cosmetology which will mean every Tom, Dick and Harry will be able to cut or chemically alter your hair or provide beauty treatments to you with no training or a clue as to what they are doing!

So PLEASE! I beg you! (literally I'm on my hands and knees as we speak!) talk to your stylist, tell your friends, VOTE NO, sign petitions, share the awareness, or Edward ScissorHands might just be your next stylist..

Go to probeauty.org to learn more or to support the cause.

- J

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So over on the right hand side you now see a page titled Hair FAQS, if you have a hair care question or concern or just a regular old beauty question, message me it and I will post the question and my professional opinion on there. As a cosmetologist I strive to educate as many people about proper hair care as I can and I know with the TV filling heads about not so great products that there is a lot of misinformed people out there.

I would love to help anyone I can!

- J

So as a stylist, I have my absolute favorite hair products that have become major staples in my hair routine and that I 100% of the time recommend to my clients.

What is it?

Its a 10 miracle leave-in conditioner

I personally prefer the Plus Keratin version, but they make it with out it and it is just as good, I promise!

(Keratin is the protein your hair is made of, so why not put that protein back in your hair)

Whats so special about this little purple bottle? (yes all the its a ten bottles are purple)

Well, it does 10 things! It is the absolute worlds best miracle hair detangler its a heat protecter, it softens hair, restores moisture and oh so much more! I swear by this stuff, its around $20 but I use this every time I wash my hair(at least 4 times a week, and no don't go EW GROSS, you are not supposed to wash your hair daily, its bad for it, it strips away the natural oils and nutrients your scalp produces, trust me I am a professional) and one bottle lasts me a minimum of 6 months every time! 

How I use it:

I wash my hair as normal,towel dry hair so it is no longer drippy wet. Then I spray 4-6 pumps all over my head and using my wide tooth comb i comb my hair out and it is exactly like a hot knife through butter. Kid you not! I can even go to bed straight out of the shower with out coming my hair get up spray this in and still comb right through it with hardly any effort and ZERO pain.

I recommend this product for any one with long hair, thick hair, curly hair, especially if you have children, and basically if you have hair, USE IT!

Its a 10 has a whole line of products from leave in conditioners, shampoos, conditioners, hair creams, deep condition treatments, hair sprays and so on. Using this will restore your hair to the healthiest form its ever been in! I could gush and gush for hours about this product but I won't, want some?

Go to 

http://itsa10haircare.com/hairsite/ 

and you can find a store/salon near you that carries it.

Try it and let me know what you think!

- J

Lets get some SHOES

Im not one to normally gush over running shoes, BUT oh my goodness, I am in LOVE. Here are my new little gems:

These are my Asics Gel Noosa Tri 8's.

Coolest part? They glow in the dark! Yeah you heard me right!! GLOW!

So back to why I'm so incredibly ecstatic about these puppies! As Im newer to the running world (training to run my first 5K) I've been going hard on the treadmill at least 3 times a week, and I finally had to come to turns with the fact that my pretty pink Under Armour shoes just weren't cutting it anymore. I had long out ran the padding in them and the support was non-existent. So I polled my friends on Facebook about their favorite running shoes, and over and over again people kept telling me about a place called the Running Company (Salina & Manhattan Kansas and a place in Nebraska). Whats so special about this place? Well they scan your feet and then have you jog a few seconds on a treadmill equipped with a foot camera and then they review all the data and tell you what type of shoe is best for your foot. Totally Awesome and the process only took about 10 mintes at the most! Then I was directed to a section of the store with color coded shoe selections with the most padded shoes on the top shelf all the way down to least padding on the lowest shelf. With in a split second of glancing over my color my eyes were immediately drawn to these beauties! and they are a medium range of cushion. I threw them on walked, jog and jumped around and knew they were my new mates. So for $130 i was out the door. I usually don't like to pay that much for shoes but I had to remind myself that you pay for quality and after wearing them for almost two weeks now, I know I got my moneys worth! They are super supportive, majorly cushiony and they have a great air flow so my feet never sweat! Its safe to say I'm in love.

- J 

Penny Pencher, who me?

Who likes saving money??

     Now I know (okay no I don't, but I'm guessing) that all of you out there do! So where I live in North Central Kansas Im no where near a grocery store that "doubles coupons" or any of those sweet deals that those extreme coupon-ers are able to pull off, but I do live a mile from Wal Mart. 

Walmart doesn't do any awesome deals! You never see WalMart on Extreme Coupon-ers!

     I know, I know! But you know what WalMart does do? 

AD MATCH

Ohhh whooo hoo, save three cents on a pack of cheese, coooool...

     But ohh no, its so much more than that! Example I ad matched 90% of my grocery list last week and i got about 170$ of groceries for $80 and I didn't use a single coupon! (mainly because you can't use coupons on ad matched items) Walmart will ad match any competitor with in a 50 mile radius of the store you go to! For me that includes, Dollar General, Walgreens, Kmart, Target, Dillons, Aldi, Menards, Thrift-way  IGA and Big Lots! Even the generic brand at say Dillons (Kroger) Will ad match to Walmart's Great Value Brand! (if they say no, ask for a CSM because I used to work there and know that they do!) 

How do I do it?

     So my system is like this, i save up ads from papers and print the flyers from the websites and then I sit down and make up a fast grocery list. Next I go through and circle the items im ad matching from each ad and I make a new list with a section title of the store and the item thats ad matched. With all the left over items that aren't cheaper any where else I put on a separate list. Finally load up the ads and your list and off to the store! I make my husband push a separate cart and i throw all the ad match items in there because at the register you have to tell the cashier what item cost what and where before they ring it up, and VIOLA savings!

I ad match so much and its always the same people working that I dont even have to bring in the ads anymore they just take my word for it! It is a little bit more effort and a few extra minutes in the check out lane, but its SO WORTH IT!

Whats the best deal you've got?

     Well I got a bag of Tyson Grilled Chicken Breasts (regularly 7.95) for $2.50!! (thanks to a two for 5 deal at dillons). I have also got Kraft 8 cup bag of shredded cheese (reg 4.95) for $2! (Dillons!) and my favorite one, Tide Laundry Detergent ($8.99) for $4!!

Hopefully you will try this out next time you head to Walmart, its totally worth a try!

- J

Motivation!

So lets rewind for a second,

2009/10- Highschool senior, varsity track team, completely active teenager, best shape of my life, lots of muscle and a healthy strong body.

Then college came, granted it was only cosmetology school, but you put 50 girls on the same schedule and dang it, your biological systems synch like an iphone to itunes! And 50 girls on their period plus each ones individual cravings, thats a recipe for a break room full of sweet, salty, sour, and chocolate treats. My figure was doomed, then came the part where i worked in Fast Food, being surrounded by grease all night, not to mention all the food you ate on your shift was free.. And with college comes a college kids budget, bye bye healthy nutritious food my parents bought, hellllloooo ramen noodels and take out,wahhh.

fast forward a bit...

Now its July 7 2012, my wedding day, also the day i weighed the most i have ever weighed...

Not that I wasn't able to get out of the house or lived off of fast food anymore, I had just got complacent with my college diet and I had the man of my dreams who was happy with who I was, but at the end of the day I wasn't happy with how i looked anymore..

fast forward to now..

I have been officially trying to change my diet and lifestyle to a healthy more "clean" way since New Years Day '13. I hate when my husband will ask how my 'diets' going. Im not on a 'diet'. Im making lifestyle changes to improve my life quality and body image (as well as his, he just doesn't notice how I've switched out the unhealthy stuff for better and healthier substitutes, he just thinks he miraculously loosing weight...)

What are you doing? You may ask,

Well here is my daily run thru

  

Wake Up 

(even though those new egyptian cotton sheets are ohhh soooo comfy)

 Do my hair and makeup regime

Pour a glass of lemon & lime infused water

 ( I like to call it spa water because its nice and refreshing)

Now I take my daily supplements that I used to get my lifestyle change started.

I take 2 ACE ( I'll explain in a minute) pills

and 1 daily probiotic. 

Now let me take a second to tell you about ACE its a product made by a company called SABA, and the ACE Pill, ACE takes away hunger pains awhile providing you with a TON of energy ( more then soda or coffee has ever been able to provide). Finally the probiotic, thanks to Dr. Oz i was turned on to these and have noticed a difference in, uhmm, my "regularity" thanks to these little gems!

Back to the daily grind,

Then I make myself a healthy but generous in calories, breakfast to jump start my metabolism,

Work Time :/

I make sure to bring healthy snacks with me,

For example :

*2 light cheese sticks, a pack of Buddig lunch meat and a Fiber One Brownie bar   

 (280 calories)

* Veggie Snack Pack from the deli at WalMart (includes ranch, broccoli, carrots, almonds and a piece of cheese, all for 230 calories)

* Or tuna salad on Sandwich Skinnies ( thats what they're called, bought from Aldi's)

They are a type of flat bread made with multi grain.  

(for around 185 calories)

Now home, every other day of the week I do a running routine on the tread mill and daily I do a mix of HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts with some sculpting/stretching moves.

Thats basically my day.

So as for daily changes I tried to substitute as many natural foods in place of processed food as I can paired with TONS of water in place of all soda and sugary drinks.

Now not to drag this post on any more but now you all will know what im all about!

PS as to date im down 18 lbs since 1-1-13.

- J

Debut!

Hello to all!

As a I start my adventure into blogging, I hope all that come across this blog enjoy it! I will be posting about everything! From food, workouts, make up tricks, hair how to's and everyday life hacks! So many thoughts and tid bits in this head, I decide it was time to share with whoever wants to listen! :)

-J