Hair Affair

Mar11

When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time on my hair. My hair is naturally wavy, curly, and frizzy but it’s not super kinky. It always felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to do. So I straightened it, Every Day. My dad wouldn’t get me any flat irons so I used a blow dryer and my curling iron. I would get up super early in the morning so that I had enough time to make my hair “presentable” by my standards. If I didn’t have enough time, it would go in braids or a pony tail. It took forever to do my hair because it was long. “We want what we don’t have” and I didn’t have straight, shiny, silky hair like my sister. When I was out on my own and had the money, I bought a flat iron. Needless to say, I was not kind to my hair.

It wasn’t until I became a mother and found AndreasChoice on YouTube, that I came to accept my hair as it is. Having two boys doesn’t give me a lot of time to do much of anything. Now I only straighten my hair once in a while, usually for a special night out. On a daily basis, I leave it to do it’s crazy natural thing. I’ve tried a lot of products to help tame the frizz and help define the curls, and the best by far has been BubbleBabez’s Whipped Body Mouse. It makes my curls look great and helps it from becoming a frizz ball. The best part is that my hair smells Amazing all day long!

I’ve learned to love my hair. I take much better care of it now. I focus on keeping it healthy. When I style it, I make sure to use Heat Protectant. My faves are from CHI and Tresseme. I laugh at how I use to be but we do Lots of silly things when we’re young.

BeachBody Challenge Day36

Mar10

I just realized that I’ve been doing this challenge for over a month. lol.  It really doesn’t feel like 36 days have passed. Guess I’m having fun? I really am enjoying doing Turbo Fire. I think that I picked the perfect BeachBody program to do for me.  It’s helped me a lot with training for my races. Exercising isn’t just something I do now. It has become a part of my life and I look forward to my workouts – most of time ;-)

It was another long day.  There aren’t too many people I know that get up at 6:30a on a Saturday – by choice! In order to get my morning workout in, I had to get up early.  Usually I ride my bike 10+ miles but Ben’s dad is visiting and the air mattress is right in the middle of my living room. It doesn’t leave room for me to get my back from the patio and out the front door. I decided to go for a run so I could quietly slip out. I had a mini Luna bar and some water before heading out. The boys actually got up while I was getting ready for my run so I didn’t head out until 7:30a.

Saturday Morning Run

My legs felt heavy during my run but my pace wasn’t too bad. I just felt like I was going super slow for some reason.  I planned on going for a 4 mile run but wound up going 5. I don’t think that I should have gone that far because my knees were not happy with me for the rest of day.  I try to keep my miles lower when I run back to back days.

The rest of the morning belonged to my boys tball games.  My legs were not happy about standing around filming the games. I could have used a nap today but there just wasn’t any “free” time for me.  I even considered skipping my TurboFire workout – but I didn’t :-)

TurboFire Day 34

I’m glad I didn’t skip my workout today. Fire45 is my favorite :-) I was dragging my feet getting to it but I immediately got excited once class started and I heard the music.  I couldn’t wait to do the first combo.  I know that one really well and I can really get into it. I decided to go for the star jacks and tuck jumps even though I was tired. I figured I was already tired, why not make the most of the energy I have left?  I was worn out when I was finished but I was in a good mood. I’m always happier after a good workout. Wonder how long it will take Ben to realize this is the best time to ask when he wants something? lol.

I really didn’t want to do much of anything else but I still had my MadAbs March Day10 and plank to do. I decided that if I’m going to stay up to work on videos and blogs, I must have some energy and there was no excuse for me. I took a break from my computer and did my workout.  The MadAbs challenge is getting a little tougher now.  I am still doing regular pushups but boy is it starting to get hard. I’m trying not to think about how many I’m suppose to do at the end of the month and just take it one day at a time. It’s hard to squash the doubt that I’ll be able to do 45 pushups by the end of March :-/  I will just keep doing my best. Ended with a 2 minute plank.

30 seconds on hands, 30 second tummy tucks, (on elbows) 30 seconds left leg lifted, (on elbows) 30 seconds right leg lifted

Meals:

M1: mini Luna bar (prerun) and a Starbucks Spinach, egg white, and feta cheese wrap – Ben’s dad is here and he always gets breakfast before I can decline.  Had a Zico to drink.

M2: Strawberries with cocoa almond butter.

M3: I know that Gene (Ben’s dad) means well when he takes us out to eat. I just get tired of it. I am just as happy to cook for everyone. It really isn’t an inconvenience. We went to Red Robin because that’s what the boys wanted. I got the Brushetta Chicken sandwich with no cheese and lettuce wrapped.  It turned out just being put on top of lettuce. Not to mention that it took over a half hour to get our food. It was barely warm. I just ate the chicken, tomatoes and a small amount of the lettuce. Ordered sweet potato fries which were also cold. This was the worse experience we’ve had at our local Red Robin :-(

Brushetta Chicken Sandwich on top of lettuce - no cheese.

M4: Larabar

Snacked on a few Snapea Crisps while making dinner – maybe 10 at the most.

M5: Panko Chicken and Green Beans. I made a double batch because it’s so popular with my boys. It will only last a few days.

Double batch of Panko Chicken - my healthier version of chicken nuggets/chicken tenders.

Lots of green beans with my chicken.

80 oz. of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day35

Mar9

It was a Long day for me.  Started at 6:30a with a 3 mile run. I’m debating about having something small to eat before going on my bootycall runs. I don’t Need to eat before a bootycall run. I don’t get sick or anything, but I can tell that I don’t have the energy to go as fast as I’d like to. I still went at a decent pace though and as always, it helped wake me up. The boys were already awake and up by the time I got home so my work started right away.  And trust me getting my boys dressed, fed and ready for school takes a lot of work!

Morning Run

I did Day9 of the Mad Abs March challenge before walking Gio to school. I worked on the boys’ tball games for a little bit before taking Seppe to speech therapy. I started Tone It Up’s Friday Happy Hour Challenge of 30 squat jumps every hour at 8a.  It’s amazing how 30 reps really adds a challenge. It got my heart racing and my legs burning. I did these all day long and did my last one at 8p.

When I got back home, it was lunch time. I kept thinking I’d be able to take a nap before doing my Turbo Fire workout, but no luck.

Turbo Fire Day 33

It was Fire55EZ for me today.  The last couple times I did this, it seemed super long to me.  Yes, it is an hour long workout, but I think because I wasn’t very good at it, it seemed longer. Today, I felt like the hour went by quickly. I’ve gotten pretty good with most of the combos so I was able to really focus on my intensity and less on whether I was doing the moves right or not. Love the combo with all the kicks. I’m able to kick a little higher now too :-) I went for all the tuck jumps and star jacks today. I also did the turns – which I usually avoid because turning around throws me off. I even jumped when transitioning to the high low punches. It always impresses me to watch the people who jump and click their heels together during the jumps – gives me something to work towards :-)

I tried to get Seppe to lay down for a nap before his tball practice but it was just too noisy for him. We went to his practice, had some trouble with Gio and then dinner time.  I kept up with doing the squat jacks and ended with a 2 min plank.

30 second tummy tucks, 30 second plank jacks, 1min on elbows

Meals:

M1: Maple Nut Oatmeal with Cocoa Almond Butter, chia seeds, and fresh strawberries.

M2: Frozen Grapes and Almonds. I packed extra because I knew Seppe would eat some and he did.

M3: Left over quinoa black bean mix and left over salmon

M4: Larabar

M5: Salmon burgers on top of spinach and topped with sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes with kidney beans. I only ate 1 of the salmon burgers though. Boys had Round Table pizza since Grandpa was visiting and that’s what he got for them :-/ Ben kept trying to get to me to have some saying that I’d just work it off tomorrow. But I know that if I did, I would have felt badly about stuffing my face with pizza and bread sticks. I wouldn’t have minded if it were lunch time, but I’ve been really making an effort to keep my dinners Lean, Clean and Green :-) Every time I stick with it, I feel like I have a mini victory and I know that it will help make it easier for me to continue making healthier choices in group situations.

80 oz. of water and 1 Zico. I am going to try and have 1 Zico a day :-)

BeachBody Challenge Day 34

Mar8

I really need to get to bed earlier. I finished one of the boys’ videos last night. Finding and adding music takes me the longest. Despite how tired I was, I got up and got dressed.  I love that the sun is out bright and early now :-) Now, even though I am tired, I can get up and at least go for a nice 30 minute walk.  If I hadn’t been so tired, I probably could have gone for a run. My knees were still pretty stiff from my long run yesterday. I think that it will just get worse as my runs get longer so I wanted to get into the habit of going low impact the day after.

Sunrise Walk on the peninsula

The sun was just coming up when I went out.  It was a really nice morning and I could tell that it was going to be a beautiful day.  It was nice that the wind had died down a bit too. It was cool but I warmed up as I walked. I don’t take an easy stroll when I walk. I walk as fast as I can without going into a run :-) Low impact but lots of intensity!

I meant to do a workout right after dropping the boys off at school, but I got started on Seppe’s tball game :-/ I got a lot done by the time Ben got up. Finally got Ben to go to the gym with me :-) Well – I went with him.  He is really trying to get back into working out and I thought that if I went with him, it would help. I’ve stayed away from the gym – except for speed training – now that the weather has been so nice because I love running outside. And today was a big reason why I don’t hit the gym often.

Rockin my Tone It Up tank to the gym. Forgive the crazy lady appearance :-)

When we got there, a lady was on the bike talking on her phone. It is my biggest pet peeve! Why even sit on the machine when you’re obviously not getting a workout while you’re sitting there casually pedaling and talking up a storm – and talking loudly.  Ben got on an elliptical. An older lady was on the one working treadmill, so I decided to warm up on the other elliptical.  I decided to do Tone It Up’s Max Burn workout (minus the Itty Bitty workout at the end).  I figured the lady on the bike would be getting off her phone soon since I had no idea how long she was there before us. I finished my warmup, went through the first set of of exercises and lucked out! The older lady finished on the treadmill so I was able to hop on for the 5 min jog interval. I kept my pace easy for my knees. Lady on the bike was talking even louder. Second set of exercises and she was still talking. 2nd 5 min jog, she moved next to me and now I could hear her even over my headphones which I had up pretty loud. ugh! Thankfully Ben told her to quiet down because he was super annoyed. She just plugged in her headset and continued to talk. SMH. I finished up and did Day 8 of the MadAbs March challenge while I waited for Ben to finish. We were going to lift some weights but the lady was still on her phone talking so we left.  Our gym is small so there wasn’t any place we could really go to get far away enough to Not hear her.  Ok enough about that annoying bitch. lol.

Turbo Fire Day 32

I decided to be nice and let Ben have the tv for his video game. I used my laptop to do my workout. I started with Tone30. This one is killer on my arms.  I’m still getting use to the resistance band.  I kind of want to use weights instead, but I’ll stick with the band. Fire30 was also on the schedule for today.  Definitely did better on it today.  I kept it low impact so no jumps or tucks. I did do the sumo burpee  though. My favorite is the second combo. I can really get into that one.

Ended with a 5 min plank.

1 min on hands, 1 min side plank (30 second side dips) each side, 1 min hands (30 sec tummy tucks), 1 min elbows (30 second hip dips)

Meals:

M1: Chobani Champions with raw almond butter and chia seeds.

I try to get every last bit of yogurt :-)

M2: Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakeology. I usually use almond butter but I decided to change it up and use peanut butter.

M3: I bought some collard greens on yesterday so I could try out collard wraps like the one in Tone It Up Nutrition Plan :-) I’ve never had collard greens before and I was a little worried about the taste. I told myself that I’ll never know unless I try it so I bought it. I took my left over quinoa mix and wrapped it in a leaf. I made two because even though the leave were big, I didn’t a lot of filling in so it would wrap. I really like collard greens and I want to try cooking it :-)

Collard Greens

Left over quinoa, chicken, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, and squash mix.

Quinoa mix Collar Wrap

M4: Lara bar.

M5: I made burritos for the boys. Kept it simple for the kids – a little refried beans, ground turkey and cheese. For Ben, I added guacamole and plain Chobani yogurt. I was hoping that it would be a good enough substitute for sour cream for Ben. He can be quite picky so I was glad that he liked it with the greek yogurt. I used whole wheat tortillas. For me, I made salad using the ground turkey I made for boys, red kidney beans, and tomato avocado salsa on top of spinach. I added a bit of plain greek yogurt on top.

My No Taco Salad :-)

Topped with Plain Chobani Greek Yogurt - just as good as sour cream :-)

I wanted to something sweet so I decided to have 5 strawberries.

90 oz. of water. 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day33

Mar7

TurboFire Rest Day :-)

Today didn’t start off all that well. Yep, I was up late again last night working on the boys’ tball games. Since I was doing a long run, I skip my bootycall workout to help give me more energy.  But I still had to be up early to get Gio to school.  I was running a little late because I had fallen back asleep after my alarm went off :-/  It was a rough morning where I was rushed and very tired at the same time.

After getting Gio to school, I had to get some grocery shopping done.  I was hoping to take a nap just so I could have energy to do my run. At this point, I didn’t feel like doing my run at all. I got a frustrated that there was always something that I had to do – feed Seppe breakfast (since he hadn’t eaten anything since getting up at 7a), help Ben do dishes that have been sitting there for 2 days that he now felt needed to be done, and get Seppe showered and dressed.  I was relieved when Ben took Seppe with him to run his errands and said he would pick Gio up from school. I was starting to think that I wasn’t going to have time to do my run at all.

I felt much better after my hour nap.  It was just what I needed to shake that exhausted feeling. Got dressed, filled my water bottle with some Zico, set my Nike+ app to do 7.5 miles and headed out.  It was a windy day but it felt good once I warmed up. I felt really good my whole run. I felt my knees a little bit after the 5.5 miles but they didn’t hurt.  I do like to do my runs earlier because at the time I went today there tends to be more people to weave through – like middle school kids getting out :-/ Then there were the people who decided to feed birds in the middle of trail and take pictures of them without moving at all.

Getting closer to 9 miles. Big Sur race coming up in April :-)

Got home and Gio was pretty much done with homework :-) Did some stretching and made myself a protein shake. Then I hit the shower and wished I could stay there.  Gio had practice to get to so I didn’t have time to relax after my shower.  I decided to take pictures today so instead of sitting down and watching, I walked around. My legs were pretty tired once practice ended.

I don’t usually do much more on my long run days. Over an hour of running really wears me out. Even though I had a nap today, I could fall asleep right now. I did Day7 of the MadAbs March Challenge. Up to 15 regular pushups :-) Then I did a 5 min plank to end my day.

1 min hands, 1 min side plank each side, 1 min hands, and 1 min elbows.

Meals: I have been really making an effort to stick to 5 meals a day and not eating more than one serving.

M1: Flax Plus Oatmeal with chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and just a tad bit of cocoa almond butter.

Fueling up for my long run.

M2: Choclate Shakeology with unsweetened almond milk, spinach and half a banana. I ate the other half of it while I blended my shake.

I also had a mini Luna bar after my nap before heading out for my run. I didn’t want to eat a full lunch but I needed a little something.

M3: Post run Protein shake. This is from the Tone It Up Slim Down and it is my absolute favorite. I usually use almond butter but I used some natural peanut butter that Ben doesn’t like so I’m the only one who uses it.

M4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabar.

M5: Quinoa, Black beans, chicken, spianch, zucchini, squash, onions, and mushroom mix – seasoned with sea salt. I could have easily had another bowl but I made myself stick to one :-) This is a big deal for me since lately I’ve been going back for seconds ;-) I also passed on pot stickers, rice, and chow mein that Ben and the boys had. I count these moments as small victories that my willpower won.

Protein packed dinner.

60 oz. of water 1 Zicos, and 1 Chocolate Zico. I had the chocolate Zico after dinner so it was like dessert.

The Best!

BeachBody Challenge Day32

Mar6

I tried my hardest to get up for a bootycall workout this morning. For some reason it was super hot in our room last night and I couldn’t get comfortable. I tossed and turned a lot. When the alarm went off, I felt like I hadn’t gotten any sleep at all.  I did get up but everything was in slow motion. Plus, I was sore from my workouts yesterday. I did do Day6 of the the Mad Abs March challenge. Even though I was tired, I did 13 regular pushups.And that was all I could get myself to do.  I figured I needed the energy I had to get the boys ready and off to school.

I had planned on taking a nap when I got back from being a chauffeur, but when I got home I realized that there was a lot to do. I started the first load of the boys’ laundry. I did the dishes and then sat down to pay the bills. After that, I had to rest for a little bit. Instead of a nice 2 hour nap, I got 30 minutes. Even though it was tough, I made myself get up and do a workout. Tuesdays are the only days I get the house all to myself for a few hours so I like to take advantage of it. I needed to make up for not doing my bootycall workout the way I should have. So I did a set of M100’s as fast as I could. Beat my last time by almost a whole minute :-) That got me warmed up so I decided to do a NTC workout focusing on the back muscles.  I realized I don’t work my back that much and I need to incorporate more exercises that do. Shaped Back is only 15min but like every other NTC workout I do, it makes me sweat.  I still had time before having to pick Seppe up so I went for another NTC workout. I had unlocked Lea Michele’s Triple Threat workout yesterday and couldn’t wait to try it. I was little worn out yesterday so I went for it today.  There are no weights in this 15 min workout but OMG! it is tough. It probably didn’t help that I was a little tired from the back workout but still, this is a great Total Body workout.  It’s a new favorite and I know I will be feeling it tomorrow :-)

New M100 Best Time

Turbo Fire Day 30

I wanted to do my Turbo Fire workout before Gio came home, but I got started on creating and editing one of the boys’ tball games, and got carried away. I had forgotten how much time it takes to make these videos and it doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist so everything has to be my idea of perfect before I consider it done. Lol.  Gio is actually very good at allowing me to do my workout after I’ve helped him with homework.  Honestly, I think it just allows him an hour away from mom watching everything he does :-)

No mismatches between the class schedule and the SuperGym today. It was Fire30 and Sculpt30 for me. I started with Scukpt30. I try to make the resistance harder every time I do this – especially with the bicep exercises. I still feel so wimpy with my arms but I’m working on it.  I also used the resistance band during the first set pushups this time too.  The fact that I could do a pushup with the band just shows me that I’m improving.  I hadn’t done Fire30 in a while so I kinda forgot what it was like but I still just went straight to class. It didn’t take me long to catch on since I know all the moves. I only fell behind a couple times. I was able to increase the intensity by really focusing on my punches and dropping down lower with my legs. This time I did the squat jumps, tuck jumps, star jacks, and the sumo burpee during the fire drills :-)  The only time I don’t jump is with high low punches. For some reason it throws me off but I’ll work on it because it definitely looks neat when they do it.

I think that’s pretty good for today. I am still going to do my PlankADay. I have the @PlankPolice on twitter calling me out because I don’t tweet my planks that much anymore. lol. I’ve really made it  a point to doing at least a 2 minute plank every day.  It’s a simple but effective exercise that doesn’t take long to do and you work so many muscles all at once – especially your core :-)

Meals:

M1:  Chocoloate Shakeology with blueberries and spinach.

Added blueberries and spinach.

M2: frozen grapes and 6 dark chocolate almonds. Can you tell that I have a sweet tooth? lol.

I was craving sweets so I went for fruit and dark chocolate almonds.

M3: Kashi Mediterranean pizza.  This is the only pizza I really ever eat these days.  They taste great and is pretty healthy too :-) Today is my carb up day for my long run tomorrow – going for 7.5 miles (eeeeks!) Seppe loves these too but his favorite is the Margherita one.

My Favorite :-)

M4: Almond coconut Kind bar.

M5: Left over whole wheat pasta with white sauce and chicken. I made the white sauce from scratch using almond milk and organic parmesan cheese. I added some peas and corn. I also used my new favorite sauce (balsamic/honey) and roasted some zucchini, squash and bell peppers. I have to say that the roasted veggies were the best part :-) Make sure to check out FitFoodJunkie.com for the recipe.

All Homemade.

100 oz. of water. I’ve been really thirsty lately. I feel great when I’m drinking enough water :-)

BeachBody Challenge Day31

Mar6

I meant to do have this up last night but I decided to catch up on some episodes of Spartacus. It’s my guilty pleasure ;-) And about the only thing I watch on TV.

I was up late again the night before trying to recover some old videos of my boys that I had lost. I still got up at 6a yesterday  to do my bootycall workout. It was tough though. I had actually woken up at 5:30a because I thought one of the boys were trying to climb into my bed but it turned out to be an earthquake. I just went back to sleep. lol. I found after getting up about the earthquake.

Before doing my workout, I weighed, measured, and took pictures to track my progress. The numbers aren’t that impressive, but I go by how I look and feel. I’m feeling great and I think I’ve toned up a little. I know that I have to really watch my diet in order to tighten and tone up my middle section more.

Weight – 106.4

Chest – 30

Waist – 25.25

Hips – 33

Right Leg – 19

Left Leg – 19

Right Calf – 13.5

Left Calf – 13.5

Right Arm – 9.5

Left Arm – 9.5

On Left - Day1 of the Beach Body Challenge On Right - Day 31 of Beach Body Challenge

Like I’ve said before – I’m not going for weight loss. If anything, I’d like to put on some muscle :-) I’m really focusing on getting a stronger upper body.

My Bootycall workout – Itty Bitty X3 and Mad Abs March Day 5. I did 13 regular pushups and I think that I’m going to keep trying to do regular pushups for the Mad Abs challenge :-) After dropping Gio off to school I came home and did NTC Razor Sharp Workout – reached 1000 minutes and unlocked Lea Michele’s exclusive workout :-) I can’t to try this one out.

Turbo Fire Day 29

When I logged into Team BeachBody’s Super Gym, it had Fire45EZ as my scheduled workout but my calendar said Fire55EZ. I double checked with the Class Schedule that came with the DVD’s and it was Fire55EZ. I guess the auto schedule messed up. Oh well. I did great with Fire55. I’m getting better at the moves so I’m really able to get into it.  Dripped sweat the whole time.  Did all the tuck jumps and star jacks for the fire drills. This is a long class and it wears me out but it’s so much fun.  I ended with a 2 min plank.

All on elbows with a stand up comedy act on tv that made me laugh which actually made it really tough to do :-)

Meals:

M1: Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk with 1/2 tbsp of raw almond butter and chia seeds

I could eat this All the time :-) Adding Chia seeds gives it texture without adding any extra fat or calories.

M2:Choc Shakeology w/ avocado, mango, pineapple and spinach. Small bowl of frozen grapes.

Green tropical Chocolate Shakeology

Frozen grapes are like candy to me :-)

M3: Left over quinoa chk stir fry

M4: Originally going to have a Larabar but my 5yr old decided he wanted it so I had an Almond coconut Kind Bar

M5: Salmon and green beans. Used my girl Sharisse’s  (FitFoodJunkie) balsamic/honey sauce on the salmon and the green beans. It was soooooo yummy. It’s my new favorite :-)

Using the balsamic/honey sauce to season my green beans.

Clean, Lean, and Green :-)

Dessert – 4 dark chocolate almonds.

100 oz. of water.

Update

Mar5

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve done a makeup tutorial or posted on my blog :-( It gets crazy for me during the holidays. And then I just couldn’t get into a groove with doing videos and blogging.

I also started a new blog all about my Life as a mom and my journey to a Healthy and Fit Lifestyle. That has taken a lot of my time lately because it’s easier for me to write about my life. With Makkeup – there is a lot of prep work. Doing beauty videos and blogs is A Lot of Work! I truly admire those who are able to do it Consistently :-)

I’m not quite sure what I want to do. Part of me wants to combine both of my blogs. But I feel that they are two separate sides of me. I still want to do makeup and fashion posts. I just need to find a way to juggle it with my busy mommy world. I think that I will have a little more time once Seppe starts kindergarten :-) So I might just do my best to post when I can and then really get back to it in August.

I hope that you all understand :-) My family always comes first and even my mommy blog gets put aside for a few days when Life demands a little more from me.

As far as my makeup, shoe and fashion addiction – they are all still going strong :-) Especially the shoes! JustFabulous is just about the most wonderful thing in the world! I have added quite a few shoes since my last shoe post. I think my next post will be an update on my JustFabulous collection.

Box from JustFabulous with Birthday Sale Goodies - 4 pairs of shoes and 2 purses. Couldn't resist BOGO :-)

Just recently got some new Stila and Urban Decay. Stila is my all time favorite makeup line and I used my rewards to get some of their newest items. I got a great deal on Urban Decay makeup on Hautelook. I’ve gotten Stila and Too Faced cosmetics from Hautelook too.  I am so addicted to Hautelook for makeup and workout clothes.

Stila is my Favorite Makeup Line - Latest Haul :-)

Found this exclusive Stila Palette in Vegas at Khardashian Khaos inside the Mirage.

Urban Decay from HauteLook :-)

I’ve fallen in love with Sally Hansen Salon Effects – what I call nail polish stickers :-) I always get so many compliments when I have them on and they are super easy to put on. I picked up an expensive brand of them at a mall while in Vegas – Inoco. I’ll do another post on those later.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Lace

For fashion – I have started to really enjoy blazers. It just really polishes off a look and adds sophistication. My favorite trend are colored jeans! I want one in every color but for now I have a pair in my favorite color – red :-) I always feel like I’m behind when it comes to trends but I don’t really care because I wear what I Like regardless of the trend.

Red Blazer from Forever21

Cropped Blazer layered with long flannel and tank.

My Favorite Material Girl Black Blazer

I am still very much following the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan. Health is such an important part of Beauty and my skin and hair have improved greatly now that I am living a healthy lifestyle. Exercise helps give me a natural glow too :-)

Supery comfy TIU top :-)

So I hope that you will stick around. I will have new posts and videos coming soon. And I am also working on doing a give away once I reach 1000 views on my blog to say Thank You to all of you who have been patient and stuck with me :-)

“Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful” ;-)
~Mia

Check Out my mommy blog – msmammamia.wordpress.com

BeachBody Challenge Day30

Mar4

Last night I didn’t set my alarm so I could sleep in today :-) It was absolutely wonderful not to hear the sound of my phone. I was awake at around 8a but stayed in bed until 9a.  I tried to go back to sleep but it was no use – that was as late as my body would allow me to be asleep today. It was still nice though. You wouldn’t think an extra couple hours would make such a difference – but it does :-)

I got up and had a mini Luna bar just so that there would be something in my stomach before heading out for a run. I decided to go a different way than my usual. I took the streets and realized why I don’t go this way that often.  The traffic lights annoyed me. I don’t like stopping and waiting. I jog in place but I feel like it messes with my flow. That and it slows my time down.

Sunday Runday :-)

The rest of the day was for laundry, house cleaning, and importing photos and videos.

———————- Turbo Fire Day 28 ———————

Of course I made time for my Turbo Fire workout. I wouldn’t miss doing Fire45 :-) Have I mentioned it’s my favorite? Lol. The first and last combos are the most fun.  I know those two the best so I really have fun with them. The second combo I’m still working on. I did the Star Jacks for the fire drills and the tuck jumps.  The only time I don’t jump is during the high low moves. I get mixed up when I throw the jump in there so for now, I stick to the low intensity version. Stretch10 felt Amazing today.  I think I was also tight from last night’s workouts and from the run this morning. It felt really great to stretch out my arms.

I’d love to do more tonight, but I have a mountain of clothes to fold so I can have a place to sleep. I will be doing a 5 minute plank and calling it a night.

PlankADay - 1min elbows, 1 min hands, 1 min side plank (each side), 1 min hands

I’ve made it through the first 4 weeks! I will do measurements and weigh myself tomorrow morning. I’m not expecting drastic results – especially with my weight. I was never doing this challenge to lose weight. I was looking for something fun and challenging for me to focus on.  I like to do challenges – big and small.  They help me from getting bored and give me something to work towards. I think that it’s what has really helped me stay on track with exercising regularly.

So has there been any changes? Well, I’m not sure what the numbers will say tomorrow morning. I know I could have done a lot better with eating. I don’t think I ate too badly but I can always do better :-) I can say that I feel a lot stronger. I’ve gotten faster in my runs. I’ve gone further on my runs too.  I can do more regular pushups and I can do more reps with heavier weights. I’ve improved in my Turbo Fire workouts. My biggest win is getting my left knee back.  I was really worried that starting this challenge would make my knee worse or that because of my knee, I wouldn’t be able to give it everything.  But it turns out that as I did the Turbo Fire workouts and my other exercises, my knee got better and I was still able to run :-) I am ready to head into the next 30 days with even more intensity!

Meals –

M1: Mini Luna bar and water.

M2: I was going for an omelette but I can never get it right when I have the veggies and eggs in the pan at the same time.  I was really hopeful since it looked like it would be the perfect omelette but when I went to flip it, it just fell apart and became a scramble. It tasted great though.

Looked Like it was going to turn out to be the perfect omelette.

Turned into a scramble - 2 egg whites, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and 1 piece of Havarti Natural Cheese

M3: Brown Rice tortilla with the last of my chunky olive hummus, spinach, chicken, left over roasted zucchini and squash, and carrots. I only ate half of it.

Brown Rice Tortilla Wrap: chunky olive hummus, chicken, roated squash and zucchini, and carrot.

M4: Trailmix and a Larabar.

M5: Made a Quinoa stir fry – with a red and white quinoa mix, spinach, zucchini, squash, peas, corn, chicken and tomatoes. All I did was season with sea salt and it was actually very tasty. All the flavors worked well with each other.

Quinoa stir fry - red and white quinoa, zucchini, squash, peas, carrots and chicken.

80 oz. of water.

BeachBody Challenge Day29

Mar3

Today started off great right away :-) Even though I had stayed up a little too late last night watching a movie with Ben (well he watched it while I slept through most of it because I had already seen it) I got up at 6:30a and headed out for a bike ride. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do my usual hour long ride because I had a lot to do to get ready for the boys’ first t-ball games. I decided to to do a short 6 mile ride, I kept the gears high and pedaled as hard as I could most of the time.  There are times when passing and crossing streets that I had to slow down.  It’s been a while since I’ve done a bike ride and I could tell. I was able to get up to 14mph before but my legs felt heavy doing 12mph today. Maybe they were just worn out from yesterdays workouts? I just know that I need to get back to riding my bike more often.

The rest of the morning was ruled by t-ball. I packed snacks and drinks so we wouldn’t have to settle for the food at the Snack Shack. It’s mostly hot dogs, chips, and nachos. Gio’s game was at 9a and we were late because they switched fields on us. His game was short but he did really well. We don’t live far from the fields so we had time to go home after his game for snacks and so Gio could change. Seppe’s game was at 11a and he did a lot better than we thought he would.  I didn’t expect him to last the whole game without just walking off the field. He made it through 4 innings :-)

I was pretty tired after we got home. I record all their games so I was on feet walking around for both games. After lunch, I wound up laying down and fell asleep. A couple hours later I got up and made sure to do my Turbo Fire workout.

———————- Turbo Fire Day 27 ———————–

It was all about core and flexibility today with Core20 and Stretch40. It felt like Core20 was harder for me today. Maybe I was still tired? I’ve been working on keeping my feet off the ground during the matt exercises. Those hurt so good :-) Last week I felt like I was making progress, but I had to keep my feet on the ground quite a bit today :-( I did a lot better with the Stretch40 workout though. I can do the triceps pushups and the chataranga :-) My left knee did great. I was able to keep it straight for the triangle pose and when stretching with the band. I think that the stretching in this video really helped my knee get better and that I’ve gotten a little more flexible :-)

Mad Abs March Calendar

I found a Mad Abs March workout on Pinterest that I decided that I’d start today. Since I didn’t start on the first, I had 3 days to catch up on. I did Days 1, 2, and 3 back to back. For the plank – I just added up the time for all the 3 days and did all at once. I did the crunches and pushups separately for each day. I did regular pushups. The last set of 12 was tough. I looked at the calendar and saw that by the end of this month, we’re suppose to do 45 pushups. eeeeks!! Not sure if I’ll be able to do all 45 regular pushups but I’ll be trying :-) I figure if I follow the calendar, it will help me get to 45. Decided to do a 4min plank to end my  day :-)

PlankADay - 1 min hands, 1 min side plank (each side), 1 min hands

Meals –

M1: last slice of zucchini loaf because Seppe took a couple bites and decided he wanted something else. Had a Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk with raw almond butter and chia seeds. I’m kind of addicted to adding chia seeds to my breakfast.

Small but filling breakfast

M2: Grapes and a Luna bar in between the boys games.

M3: Ben decided to go to Panda for lunch and I was too tired to put much effort into making anything. I went for a Veggie Bowl with Chicken and String Beans.

M4: Snapea Crisps and Olive Tapenade.

M5: Panko Tilapia, broccoli, and roasted zucchini and squash. I used a little olive oil and sea salt for seasoning. This is the first time I’ve cooked veggies in the oven. I think it’s going to be my new way of cooking veggies from now on. It’s so easy to do :-)

Veggies going into the oven :-)

The rest got cut up and put in the freezer :-)

Fish and Veggies - had to finish off the left over broccoli and Tilapia

80 oz. of water.