Prepping for our summer vacay: Beginning of diet

Woohoo!! Our summer beach vacation is finally within sight! I'm beyond excited to take off of work and spend time with the family frolicking on the beach. I've got the reservations booked and the calendar marked...now on to finding swimsuits I can squeeze my butt into. That part = not so fun. So, what's a girl to do? Diet & exercise of course! Easier said than done.




I've only got a little over a month before we leave so I guess I need to get my butt in gear! I have a gym membership and T25 dvds (collecting dust) at home. My plan is to eat a more whole foods balanced diet, meaning: plenty fresh fruit, veggies, lean meats, and minimize dairy, grains, and other processed foods. I'll also begin exercising either at the gym or at home with T25. Wish me luck!



Birchbox October 2014 Revealed

Birchbox October 2014

I'm pretty stoked about this month's Birchbox!

I'll receive samples of the following:

• BeautyBlender sponge - I've seen some awesome reviews on this product, hopefully it's worth the hype
• ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick (in shade Kitty) - This was my month's choice - love neutral lipsticks!
• Camille Beckman Glycerine Hand Therapy lotion - This comes in four different scents, I'm not sure which one I'll receive until I get my box in a few days, but it's hard to have too much lotion
• Dr. Brant Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner - Eh, another face cleaner. Not super stoked about this one, but it does have some good reviews
• SAGE + fasten fragrance - This also comes in four different scents. I always like to try new fragrances

Birchbox is $10 a month for a box of samples picked for you based on a questionnaire. They have also started letting folks choose one item from a set group of samples each month. My choice this month was the lipstick (yay!)

If you'd like to sign up for Birchbox, you may do so here

Ipsy October 2014 Revealed

Ipsy October 2014 Revealed!

This month's theme is Beauty Candy..

Everyone will receive the same cute bag.

I will receive:

• Patagonia Body Butter by Ayres - can't go wrong with body butter as you enter cold weather season. [full-size is $28]
• Brightening Cleanser by Indie Lee - not super excited about this one, but we'll see [full-size is $32]
• Nicole by OPI in either Feeling Very Cherry (dark red) or On a Gilt Trip (gold) - bring it on, love me some nail polish! [I believe this one is full-size worth $6.99]
• Noyah lipstick in Deeply in Mauve - I just hope this color looks as great in person as it does online [full-size is $18]
• Tattooed waterproof eyeliner by Skone Cosmetics - I've never been a big fan of liquid liner on myself (mostly because I don't know how to use it properly and I end up looking like a raccoon) [this one may be full-size worth $15]

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my glam bag this month.


For only $10 a month you get a great selection of sample and full-size items to try.


If you'd like to sign up for your own Ipsy bag, get on the waitlist now and sign up here!

DIY laundry soap - that actually works!

Last year, I looked online for a good recipe for homemade laundry soap and ended up with one I really enjoy. It works great, and it lasts my family of 4 about 5 - 6 months. No, really!

This is information pulled from a few other sites and a few tweaks that I've made as well.

Ingredients needed: (all of these items can be found in the laundry aisle)
1 box of Borax (76 oz)
1 box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4 lb)
1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (55 oz)
1 tub of OxyClean (3 lb)
2 bars of pink Zote soap (14.1 oz)
2 containers of Purex Crystals (28 oz) (Optional - this is only for an extra scent boost)

This can be used with any laundry bar soap, but I prefer the pink Zote bars. Zote does make white soap flakes (which would eliminate a step), but from my understanding, the violet dye in the pink bars actually help keep your whites from fading and looking dingy.

Steps:

1. Grate & ground your bars of soap. I use a cheap cheese grater to make large soap "curls" and then I put it my old food processor to break it into even smaller pieces. I usually mix it with one large spoonful of the baking soda to keep the mix dry and from clumping up. This is the only time consuming step of the process, but it gets faster the more you do it. Also, you may see on some other websites a recommendation to dry out your bar soap in the microwave to make it instantly crumbly. Well, let me save you the trouble, it doesn't work and you will NOT get that smell out of your microwave.
2. Put all of the ingredients into a clean kitchen trash bag, and then in another one. Believe me, you'll be glad you doubled up if you accidentally poke a hole in it. Speaking from experience!
3. While holding the tops of the bags tightly, mix up the ingredients by pushing and pulling and flopping the bag around until it is well mixed.
4. Scoop it into your containers and enjoy your DIY laundry soap! I use the scoop from the OxyClean tub for measuring for each load. You'll only need to use up the second line.

Notes:

• I buy my soap bars a couple months in advance. I unwrap them and place them in my linen closest to dry out. This makes it a little easier when it comes time to grate them.
• I purchased two plastic 1 gallon canisters from Walmart for a couple dollars each. The mixture always fills up the two canisters and the OxyClean tub.

21 Day Fix - cracking the code

I've seen numerous posts and reviews of Beachbody's new product, 21 Day Fix. The plan consists of color-coded containers (used for determining portion size), workout videos, and plan booklet. I thought the plan sounds simple enough with portion control and macro planning for meals and at least 30 minutes of daily exercise. If you want to read more about their plan, you can check it out here.  I figured I can surely do this on my own without paying $60+ for small tupperware and some workout DVDs. I found cheat sheets on Pinterest for the containers showing the portion size for each container,

 lists of foods allowed,

and container allowances per estimated calorie range.

This chart only shows the category I need, there are multiple other categories with higher daily calorie allowances.

I've heard that the videos that come with the plan are great, but I have others at home I can use. 

I'm already meal planning and excited to get back to exercising regularly. Looks like I need to go grocery shopping....

Training for ColorVibe 5K

I'd like to think that I've always been a runner at heart....just the rest of my body disagrees. I love the idea of running, I love how clearly it lets me think, but my lungs don't appreciate the way it makes them burn. You see, I quit smoking last year. After being a smoker for 10 years, my lungs don't appreciate being exercised. I'm working to change that.

So this year I've signed myself up for my first 5K, unfortunately I live in the south and the 5K I chose is in mid-July. This will be a ColorVibe run, so they'll throw powdered paint at all of the runners as they pass certain checkpoints. It looks like a blast, but I can only imagine I'll leave a trail of sweaty paint along the course. :)

My training has consisted of evening jogs/walks with the kids. I'm only a few weeks out and no where near able to even slowly run 3 full miles. Luckily, this 5K is non-competitive but, unfortunately, I am. I don't need to be first by any means, I just certainly don't want to be last. We'll see how it goes!

And so it begins...

I have been contemplating starting a blog for a while now, and I've finally decided to go for it. I can use this platform to share about myself, my family, my interests and opinions. I love crafting, camping (or any outdoor activity for that matter) with the family, and trying out new recipes. I truly hope my blog can inspire creativity as I have been inspired by so many others!