2012 - A Year of Fabulousness.

It's the end. I'm only sad to see 2012 go because soon I'll be yet ANOTHER year older. 

Those damn years start adding up.

Let's remember some of the best of 2012 shall we?

First up is my Master Bedroom. I started the year off by making my own headboard.

Which is soooooo fabulous, my favorite project EVER.

I also dyed a ruffled bed skirt and ombre'd the wall.

  Next I tackled my master bath, I refinished the cabinets, hung new mirrors, and installed a new light fixture {my first!}. 

I also covered my ugly shower and created storage from ball jars and a pallet.

Some that were just plain fun.....like Bambina.

Or my pink dining room table.

My daring kitchen color choice followed by my kitchen nook {which is my favorite wall color in the house!}.

Details on the curtains here and the sugar sign here.

And finally my most viewed post of 2012.

How I got into a 6 and didn't lose a pound.

Now I'm feeling a little sad. I worked on some fun stuff last year and have not one thing planned for my house this year.

I'm kinda loving my house right now! 

The only room that needs some help is the playroom and hopefully that will become a nursery for 2013.

God willing.

Happy New Year to all of my readers, I am thankful for all of you that come and support me in my crazy painting schemes and weight loss goals. I've gotten close to many of you and it's been nothing but a blessing in my life. This community that we have all built is something to be treasured :)

Have a safe and happy holiday!

What's today?? Wednesday?

Christmas hangover is in full effect. My house is a disaster and I don't want to do anything but sit in my pj's and drink coffee.

Good thing we are snowed in.

I know some of you are accustomed to snow, but this is the whitest Christmas I can remember in Dallas.

It was quite the miracle and such a lovely surprise, until you have to go out side and it's freezing cold.

I got lots of good stuff, including chevron and angels wings.

Not together, although I think that would be amazing.

Miss M is a little cray cray.

She totally stripped and photo bombed my sister and I.

Yes, she's a booby pincher. She does it all the time, I've been told it's 'normal'.
She thinks its funny when I tell her to stop doing it,
let's just hope the stripping thing is a phase too.

My Mom thinks she's funny getting my sister and I matching pj's like we are 5.

They are comfy, just not when you have to tinkle.
No, that flap is not functional.

Miss M drove me a little batty, she would rip open a gift then demand more.
If she ran out she would pout, ohhhhhh that kid.

Next year I may just wrap empty boxes because all she cared about was opening them.

My turkey was amazing, you need to pin this recipe for next year!
It's so juicy and perfect!
{yes, that's what she said}

Brown Bag Turkey Recipe.

Dress up clothes were the biggest hit.

She was so happy she was giving out free mani's.

Hopefully I get motivation to clean.

I will be at the gym tonight to work off the food baby, although I did pretty good yesterday.

Except for that piece of cheesecake :)

I REALLY want to take down my christmas mantle and hang my wings to see if thats where I want them, but that seems like a LOT of work right now.

Maybe another cup of coffee will help...

Happy Hump Day!

Interview and Raising Money for Sandy Hook

My first interview in 9 years! Eek.

Jacket-Kohls Pants-Express Necklace-boutique

I had to buy a whole new suit, everything I had from the last time I worked was a size 14-16.

I've sent out 30 resumes and only had one call back, yikes. Honestly this position is EXACTLY what I'm looking for and they seemed to really like me, keep your fingers crossed! Lets all pray I don't have to stay home long, my husband said I'm a TERRIBLE babysitter.

What am I to do when she's throwing a tantrum because she wants to go home and put on a party dress??

She may have taken, not one, but TWO naps in shopping carts.

oops.

I also wanted to take some time and ask for your support. One of my readers, Jacy, is part of a group of running Mom's who wanted to help out the families of Sandy Hook. They designed this amazing shirt and all proceeds will go to help the victims families.

 The logo is surrounded by the names of those that died in the attack on December 14th, with the outer ring being the teachers and adults that protected. The inner ring is the names of the 20 children that died. 

Please consider helping out and buying a shirt, I did. 

Click here to purchase the shirt for $20.

How much should you exercise?

How much should you work out?

This is the big question, almost as daunting as how many calories should you eat.

I get a LOT of comments on the fact that I workout 2 hours a night, this may seem excessive to some of you, but I'm here to tell you my story.

When I first started exercising I joined a bootcamp and went 3x a week for an hour. I never ever missed, those 3 hours were the highlight of my weeks. After a few months I started to take up running, so I would go 30 minutes early to bootcamp and run a mile or two before class. Well, run/walk/crawl.

My fasted mile to date! That crap was HARD.

Slowly I became stronger {and thinner} so I decided I should run a half marathon. That's when I started running on the 2 days I didn't go to bootcamp. 

Then bootcamp ended and I just ran and did my own workouts at home 5x a week. I couldn't go to the gym because Miss M was a crazy nut who screamed the entire time she was in there.
Then one day she grew up and loved playing with other kids int he nursery. So, I started taking classes at the gym 5x a week. I loved them, one thing lead to another and I started doing 1 cardio type class and 1 weight lifting type class a night.

Miss M was stretching me out.

I did a post before on Cardio Abusers, I will say this was totally me. I am not doing 2 hours of cardio a night, I've learned that weights is where the magic happens.Aerobic exercise burns calories, whether you opt for running, spinning, zumba, whatever gets your heart rate up.
 Strength training, like weight lifting, increases muscle mass and strength and tones your body.
You should start off with 60 minutes of exercise 2x a week and as you get stronger you should increase your intensity.

Strength training should be your main focus with cardio being the last, but both are important.
The American College of Sport Medicine actually supports 60-90 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
You have to decided what's right for you, what you can fit into your life.
The most import thing is not how long, but how effective they are.
YOU NEED TO KICK YOUR OWN ASS.
If you are short on time the best route is to do circuits, short bursts of cardio in between strength training.
No, two hours a night is not necessary, but what else am I going to do? Watch TV??
I'd rather be sweating!
I'm sure my workouts will change once I start working again, I'm ready for it though. I'm already formulating a plan to deal with it because if it's important to you, you will find a way to achieve it!

Exercise alone will not result in weight loss. 
Diet without exercise leads to loss of weight, but also muscle mass.  This means you will burn less calories through out the day, muscles eat calories!


Happy Hump Day!

Bad Day = Motivation

I bet some of you think I'm pretty damn close to perfect when it comes to diet and exercise.

I am here to ruin that picture for you and tell you alllll about my Sunday.

I went out Saturday for a friends birthday, Dirty 30 and all :)

I ate this.

It is a turkey burger, but those fries are, well, FRIED. No good spin on that.

BUT you know one cheat meal a week if FINE. I worked out that morning and ate healthy the early part of the day because I knew I was going out.

Then Sunday came.

Madison was with my parents so it was just Oliver and I. 

While she was gone I thought I should fill out some more job applications because those things freaking take FOREVER.

One thing led to another and I decided not to go run like I usually do on Sunday.

Big mistake. My entire day is crap if I don't get a sweat on.

 Plus, GASP, I took 2 days off from the gym.....I know...shocking.

Remember how the kids made cookies? Yeah, I ate them at like 9am.

I just COULD NOT stop thinking about them.
Cupcakes got involved around 11.

I swear it was like I had NO CONTROL over my actions, maybe the job search was stressing me?

I even checked my calendar to see if my period was about to start.

After that we went to get Miss M and have Christmas Dinner with my In-laws.

I ate too much.

Plus 2 servings of brownie truffle.

At this point I though my stomach was going to explode.

I came home and I swear when I walked past a mirror I was sure I looked like this....

Think that would stop me??

No, I FUCKING ate cookie after cookie until I finally fell asleep in a sugar coma.

I woke up today and did the unthinkable.

I weighed myself.

Why??? Just to torture myself I guess.

I weighed the exact same.

All I can say is THANK GOD I have more self control other days.

My good choices help me over come my bad ones more easily.

PS. No you can't go 'work it off' at the gym either.

Today, I feel fine. I'm back to my normal self. I don't even feel like eating a damn cookie.

We all struggle, but it's how you get back on that damn horse that counts!

I had a bad day, a REAL bad day. I just know the way I felt after eating all that crap is not the way I want to feel every day. Maybe it's was just a reminder of why I choose to sacrifice and make time for working out and eating clean.

If you struggle with your healthy lifestyle you have to think about how you want to feel at the end of the day. Do you want to feel proud? Do you want to feel good about your choices? Then you HAVE to put in the work. Take the shit food out of your house. Meal plan. Learn to eat things that are not as yummy because they are better for your body.

I get a lot of emails asking me different aspects of how I lost all my weight.

I am here to tell you that I sacrificed. I MADE time to workout, even when my husband had to work late or I had no babysitter for Madison.

I don't buy crap food and keep it in the house because I know I have very little willpower.

I put in the WORK.

I'm 5 episodes behind in almost every show I enjoy watching.

I WANT it so I DO it- NO EXCUSES.

Happy Tuesday!

Non-Baby Situation and Baby Diva's

Started off my weekend back at the Dr., again. It actually went better this time than the last few times, I got to see the PA and she actually LISTENED to me when I told her what was going on with my cycle. She said it sounded like a luteal phase defect, WHICH IS WHAT I SAID FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY. ugh. FINALLY she gave me progesterone and we will see how it helps next month, I am still staying on the clomid though just to try to move it up a bit.

I know I don't talk on here much about my non-baby situation, but I just know there are women out there going through much worse than this and I don't feel comfortable always complaining about it.

Not to say it's not difficult, the mood swings, the frustration, it's not fun.

And I'm not going to lie and say I won't bitch once I am pregnant :)

Sorry, but true. 

My BFF's Mom {Mimi2} had a 'cookie party' for the toddlers, which was so much fun!

These girls have been friends since they were babies.

I named them Baby Diva's :)

Year 1

Year 2

The kids aren't the only ones who got cuter, right ladies??

I can only assume at this rate we will be MILF's when we hit 40!

Happy Monday!

Why I Love Makeup {Ipsy Review}

I've said it before, but I love makeup.

Do you know why I spend the extra few minutes putting it on everyday?

Because the 'before' picture is SCARY.

My December Ipsy Bag came yesterday so like any true product junkie I had to try them all out this morning.

1. The Mirabella Primer- felt oily going on, but gives a nice smooth finish. LIKE!
2. 24/7 Glide On Pencil, Urban Decay- Smooth, but not a long lasting finish in my experience.
3. NYX Shimmer Shadow- Pretty, but the application sucks. You have to pour some out somewhere and then use it. I used the lid, but it was still messy.

I know I need my brows done!

I added a little Meet Matte from my last bag.

I think I may need to buy more of the mattes, they blend well and I have too much shimmer in my stash.

4. Bombshell- ummmm HELLO this shit is the BOMB.

Not sticky and so pretty on!

5. Mai Couture Highlighter Paper- Honestly I couldn't tell a difference in the before and after. Good idea, but maybe my tan was too dark to see it on?

There ya go! I'm still very happy I switched from Birchbox to Ipsy.

I got all of the above for 10 bucks and that lip gloss was full sized y'all. 

Happy Thursday!

Over-Dyed Rug

I have things I obsess over.

Angel wings, chevron, rugs to name a few.

I LOVE a fun rug and I have one in just about every room of my house.

The one I had in my living room before came from Marshall's, CLEARANCE! 

Holla for a Dolla, right Noel?

I liked the color and pattern, but the white areas were taking a beating from Miss M's chocolate milk and crumbs.

I came across Rugs USA and signed up for their emails, probably not a great idea because they have some AWESOME sales. 

I spent WAY too long deciding on which one I wanted when they had their Black Friday deals.

I think you may be shocked I didn't go with pink OR chevron.

I know!! Crazy!

Ok, it's still purple so maybe not THAT shocking :)

I'm digging the over-dyed look!

The quality was good, it has a nice non slip backing which is fabulous.

I also hung the awesome medal holder I got from Kassie.

Now I just need a 26.2 medal :)

All in good time!

Happy Hump Day!

Clean Eating Food List

Today we are going to talk about food.

Clean food.

What is and isn't clean and how I incorporate them into my life.

First the list.

Oils

• sunflower oil
• coconut oil
• walnut oil
•  avocado oil
•  olive oil
•  grape seed oil 
•  pumpkin seed oil

Fatty Proteins

• avocado
• coconut
• nuts
• nut meal/flour 
• seeds 
• all natural peanut butter 
• salmon 
• bluefish
• trout
• mussels

Lean proteins

• most types of fish
• egg whites
• chicken breast
• extra lean ground turkey
• top round
• turkey
• pork chops
• game meat
• bison
• tofu
• shellfish
• scallops 

Sweeteners

• sugar free maple syrup use sparingly
• coconut sugar
• applesauce (no sugar added) 
• birch sugar Ideal(xylitol)
• Stevia in the Raw or Truvia

Dairy

• Unsweetened almond Milk
• Unsweetened rice milk
• Greek Yogurt
• Cottage Cheese 

Condiments

• Sauerkraut
• Kim Chee
• Tempeh
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Balsamic or Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Red Wine Vinegar
• White Vinegar
• Rice Vinegar
• Ketchup Heinz Reduced Sugar or Wholefoods Organic
• Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• Reduced sodium Teriyaki sauce
• Salsa 
• Hot sauce 
• Steak sauce (low sugar)
• Chili Paste
• Herb Pastes  ginger, garlic, cilantro, etc
• Tomato paste
• Tomato sauce 
• Mustard Yellow or dijon
• Broth Low sodium fat free beef, vegetable, and chicken
• Worcestershire Sauce  no high fructose corn syrup
• Fat free cooking spray 

Carbs/Starches

• barley
• corn tortilla (Food for Life brand is best)
• Cream of Wheat/Rice or Rye
• Ezekial bread (made by Food for Life)
• lentils
• oats
• whole wheat pasta
• potato (white, only occasionally)
• brown rice
• rice cakes
• Sweet Potato
• Pinto
• Chickpea
• Kidney
• White Beans
• Black Beans
• Quinoa
• Couscous

Misc

*coffee, teas, all flours except white, spices, fruits and veggies.

**info sourced from Bodybuilding.com.  Not a complete list.

That's a HUGE list of food! If you can't make a yummy meal out of all of that then we need to talk.

Here's a few shots of what I keep around my house.

Some things aren't as 'clean' as they should be, like the bagged salad kits for lunch, they have regular dressing, but I deal because I have yet to find a 'clean' dressing I can get down. Sorry, its true.

I still use some No No items, like butter, I use the "I can't Believe' brand and the spray kind.

Well, not the ice cream or the Lean Cuisines {those are my husbands}.

I can't completely get rid of sour cream, cheese, and milk, BUT I stopped cooking many dishes that call for a lot of it. Like casseroles.

I use it sparingly. I also still use my Splenda in my coffee. I need it sweet.

I have a lot of great recipes on my Food Board and my Clean-ish Food Board.

I do make things that are not fully clean, like this and this.

Worlds Best Chicken and Whole Wheat Pasta with Broccoli and Parm. Cheese

I try to only eat carbs at dinner twice a week. I honestly only use chicken and turkey for my meats. I like fish I just don't cook it often.

If I stressed about every single part of my diet being perfect I would fail.

I can't afford to buy all natural/ organic items all the time. I do the best I can and I still lose weight.

My grocery bill is not much higher since I've switched, I do have to go more often, but only like 2x a week with good planning.

Oh yeah, after my race I had chocolate milk AND that giant cookies was soooo freaking good!

The real item to avoid is sugar. Which is the root of all evil, but DAMN it tastes good.

Get it out of your house and check your labels. No more than 5g per serving when you can.

I spend a good 5 minutes in the pasta sauce aisle looking for the lowest one. 

No frozen prepackaged meals.

I do sometimes use canned/frozen veggies which is fine. 

No chips, crackers, wheat thins.

I'll leave you with my Move of the Day from yesterday for those of you STILL not on Instagram :)

Happy Tuesday!