Life Hack: Beauty tips!

It's coming. Summer is nearly upon us, and you know what that means, ladies! With the warm weather on it's way, many women are getting themselves ready for swimsuit season. Regardless of your moral convictions on modesty, you're gonna want to look good for summer! But there's only one problem. You don't have the time or money to get that perfect tan,

First things first. Legs. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. In summer we want perfectly smooth, tan legs so we can be proud to wear our shorts in public, rather than see the general public run in terror after one look at dem white gams! We'll get to the tan bit in a minute, but first let's address the problem of smooth legs...and by problem I mean razor burn. In the winter, you probably don't get it as much, because you don't shave your legs more than a couple times a week. (at least I don't) But come summer, you don't want to walk around looking like the wolf man! Not cute girls. Not. Cute. But, as with most things, every good thing has its downside, and the downside to keeping your legs silky smooth is razor burn. But are you ready for the beauty tip of a lifetime? Aloe. That's right. I know y'all have a bottle of Aloe in your house. It's the clear stuff your mom always put on your sunburn when you were a kid. It stung like the dickens, and was bloody freezing, but you felt so much better after. Yeah, that Aloe. Not the Aloe Vera, which is the green stuff. Just straight up Aloe. I'm pretty sure you can get this stuff literally everywhere. Just apply the aloe to your legs right after you get out of the shower(and after you've dried yourself, of course!) and let it dry completely. It makes your skin amazingly smooth and reduces chance of razor burn.

The reason you need to apply it right out of the shower is because your pours are still open from the steamy shower, which means the product will soak in faster. You can do this with lotion too. I used to apply lotion every day after I got out of the shower, but it didn't help my razor burn at all....in fact, sometimes it just made it worse. Aloe. That's where it's at people! (sorry about the bad grammar mom! Love you ) I like to apply aloe twice a day. Morning and night. You don't have to do this, but I just find it makes for even softer skin, and my mom rubs a thick layer onto her feet, and then puts socks on and goes to bed. Her feet are then really soft the next day.

The aloe is all for nothing, however, if you don't have a close shave. I have found that the best way to do that is to use a body scrub BEFORE I shave. If that's your thing, you can find a million body scrub recipes on pinterest, and they're all good, though most of them can be rather pricey. I'm trying to keep the cost down here. I have used store-bought sugar scrubs, my favorite brand being found in Kroger of all places...but even that's $6-$8. Currently, I like the meijer brand apricot face scrub. It's the meijer version of St. Ives face scrub. It's like $2 and you get a huge bottle....plus you can also use it on your face!(but we'll get to that later)

Also replace your razor every couple of weeks. You can't get a close shave with a dull razor, and it's a lot easier to get razor burn(or worse). There's no need to spend mongo bucks on something you're going to throw away in a week. The plain old 20 pack of disposable pink razors from wal-mart will do just fine.

While we're still on the topic of legs, I have one more little tip to get softer legs. Ditch the shaving cream and use conditioner instead. It's WAY cheaper than shaving cream, and you get, like, triple the product. Nothing fancy. There's no need to dash out and by Garnier deep conditioner. Suave, or whatever the cheapest  brand your store has will do the trick. In fact I've found the cheaper conditioners work better than the expensive ones, and it makes your skin very smooth. Plus it smells nice!




So you've scrubbed, shaved, and aloed, and your legs are looking mighty fine and smooth!!! There's just one problem. You have vampire skin and jut looking at that pale whiteness brings on a migrane. You don't have time to lay out and get a tan, and a tanning booth is either too expensive or just to darn scary. Well self-tanner has come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days of strong chemical smell and orange palms. There are soooooo many good brands out there now that will give you a gradual tan, and you can buy your Jergen's, or whatever, but my personal favorite is just the Equate Healthy Glow daily moisturizer. It's really inexpensive, and it works. It's a moisturizer....that tans you! You get soft skin AND a healthy glow! Also, bonus. It has almost no smell at all, and the little aroma it does have is more lotion than tanner. I seriously love this stuff for the beginning of summer when I'm not naturally tan yet, or if I had a sun burn and now I have massive tan lines. Obviously, the best way to get a healthy glow to your skin would be to eat healthy, exercise, and soak up some of God's rays, but if you can't do that, I definitely say you stop by your local wal-mart and pick up the Equate Healthy Glow Daily Moisturizer.

Lastly, I want to talk about hair. Specifically hair masks. I don't really have any specific recommendations here. I say all hair masks are created equal....mostly because every hair type is going to require different specifications. All I can say here is do your research. Only you can know your hair, so look for products that will meet your individual needs.

And you're one step closer to being "summer ready"!

Starting from scratch

Anyone who's ever tried to get healthy and fit knows that getting started is the hardest part, especially if you never were very active or concerned with health. I was one of those people. My decision to become healthier was a new one for me, and let me tell you, getting the ball rolling was really hard. So here's some things I learned along the way that may help you first timers out there!

First of all, you have to actually make the decision to change your lifestyle. And here's the kicker. All those doctor shows and health magazines tell you to make that same decision every single day, so you can't talk yourself out of it, but I'm telling you to only make it once. If you really have made the decision, there shouldn't be any other question about it. You've decided, so you're going to do it. You should have to make another decision to stop doing it! So before you begin, make sure you've actually made the decision to get healthy, because that choice means you're committed.

Once you're on board, I challenge you to give up one thing in your diet. For me it was soda. I actually stopped drinking it because I read somewhere that soda was really bad for your skin and was a strong contributing factor to breakouts. My skin was really bad at the time, and I was desperate to try anything! I went from drinking two or more cans a day to none at all. What I didn't know was that the sugars in soda also cause belly fat. I mean, so do other things, obviously, but the sugars used in soda go straight to the gut, so when I stopped drinking it, I lost a lot of weight! It was a total surprise to me, but I think that was really my turning point, and what got me inspired to do more.

Now, if you can't give something up cold-turkey like that, I suggest you try severely limiting it instead. It could be anything that causes you to be unhealthy. It could be soda, it could be rice, it could even be too much tv. When I gave up soda, I didn't want to be a debbie downer at parties, so I told myself I would only drink it when I went out to eat, etc., but the longer I went without it, the less I wanted it. Now, even when I eat out, I generally order water, not because I know it's good for me, but because I want it! And, bonus! Soda tastes REALLY good now, especially with pizza, which is basically the only time I drink it. A lot of people don't want to give up something they love, but I've found that I enjoy those things more now. It's a treat!

By giving up(or severely limiting) one thing from your current lifestyle, you are kick-starting your journey to health not only by eliminating bad calories, but by strengthening your self control! You may not know this, but self control is a muscle, and it needs to be exercised daily, or it will backfire, especially with my next tip. Eat the recommended portion size. I sure hope you were sitting down for this one because that little gem of information probably blew your mind. But I'm serious. When you're making food at home, read the packaging, and see what they recommend be a serving size. Make as much food as you want, leftovers are yummy, but only eat the proper serving size. And not just for one food, or one meal, but all your meals! If you're eating out, google is a lifesaver. There are SOOOOO many resources out there that tell you what a serving size should be for pretty much any food you encounter. And don't think that just because you're at a restaurant you have to clean your plate. No one is going to judge you for taking a box home.

If you've had your properly portioned meal and you're still hungry, by all means, eat more. Your body is telling you it still needs fuel. But be careful, because chances are your body is used to larger portions, and is just telling you you're still hungry because it's used to getting more. Eat until you're satisfied. Candace Cameron Bure says in her book "Reshaping it all", that she will stop every so often during a meal to reevaluate her hunger status. Is she still hungry? Yep. Cool, keep going.

Also, eat slowly. So often we shovel food in as fast as we can, and our bodies keep telling us we're hungry because it hasn't registered that we just fed it. If we eat slowly, we give out bodies time to realize it's getting fed, and it will act accordingly. And the best part is, your body WILL tell you when it's full. You just have to pay attention.

The calorie counter I use is called myfitnesspal

On the subject of food, I suggest getting a calorie counter app for your phone, or if you don't have a smart phone, find a calorie counter website and keep track of what you're eating. I'm not a huge advocate of counting your calories. That just seems like too much work for me, and frankly one giant guilt trip. But knowing what you're eating will really change the way you think about food. I actually started out just writing down everything I ate(and drank) in a day, not worrying about calories, and if you're just beginning your weight loss journey, I say that's a good way to go. Just knowing what you ate that day will help you in making good choices for the next day, and I know that knowing I was going to have to write down that I had three brownies really worked as a deterrent for eating those things. I didn't want that on my record!

I do suggest a calorie counter as the next step, though, because you may not know what you're eating. So many things that seem healthy, especially the "healthy" options at restaurants, aren't as great as they claim, and some of the "unhealthy" or "bad" foods we're told to steer clear from really aren't that bad. Did you know 4 marshmallows is only 50 calories? I didn't. And that's why a calorie counter is so important. Losing weight and eating healthy doesn't have to mean you give up all the things that taste good! It just means being more aware of what you're putting in your body, and making choices accordingly.

I'm gonna blow your mind again. You NEED to make time for exercise. I cannot stress this enough. A busy schedule is the biggest excuse in the book for so many people, but it doesn't have to be! Obviously, my best recommendation would be to workout a minimum of 30 minutes a day, either at the gym or at home, but, being a student with a job and some shadow of a social life, I understand that we all have those days where a full workout plus shower and getting ready time just isn't going to get squeezed in, no matter how you try. HOWEVER, just because you can't fit a full workout into your day does not give you the excuse to not exercise at all.

A great way to fit exercise into your busy day is to multi-task. Ladies, this is our speciality, so let's make it work for us! Do calf raises or squats while you're brushing your teeth. You're just standing there anyway, you might as well make it doubly productive! Another great one is to do counter pushups, squats, calf raises, standing crunches, etc. while you're waiting for that microwave minute to be over. See how many squats you can do before the timer beeps! Butt clenches are great to do in the car on the way to work or the store. And speaking of that, try parking a little farther away. I'm not saying find a spot in the nose bleeds with the tumbleweeds, but don't try to muscle your car as close to the handicap spots as possible. Someplace in the middle should be just fine. That way, you get a bit of a walk in, but if it rains, you don't have to make the dangerous trek through the elements to your long forsaken vehicle.

I'm sure this next one is going to sound funny, but just go with me here. Stand up. Just stand up, move your legs, stretch your arms, whatever. Then, sit back down. At work or at home, remember to stand up every once in awhile. So often we forget to move, and our bodies begin to settle, and we're sore and tired and cranky. My mom has a desk job, and so several times a day she'll just stand up, stretch her arms, maybe walk to the door and back, and then she'll sit back down and continue her work. Not only will this get the blood moving again, but you just did a squat. Now imagine doing that 20 times a day!

That's 20 squats! I'm not saying 20 squats or counter pushups a day are going to make you skinny, but it's a great and easy way to kick-start your new healthy lifestyle and get it incorporated into your daily routine. The hardest thing to remember about getting fit and healthy is that change doesn't happen over night. So many people will start a diet and then quit after a month when they aren't seeing results. You have to give your body time to get used to this new way of living! Give it time....lots of time, but, if you've made the lifetime commitment to a new healthier way of life, you'll be able to push through it and before you know it you'll be healthier and happier!

Book review: Reshaping it all

My new Year's resolution was to read 100 books this year....and because that isn't challenge enough, I decided that I should incorporate as many new(as in, I haven't read before) books as possible, specifically non-fiction, which has never been of much interest to me. The book I'm going to be reviewing today, "Reshaping it all" by Candace Cameron Bure, is a non-fiction book, and my first, actually, since starting my resolution.

alright, let's do this thang!

This book was not recommended to me, I didn't read anything about it, nor had it been something I'd been wanting to read for any amount of time. I literally was in my library, wandering around, saw this on a shelf, grabbed it, and checked it out. For those who may not know, Candace Cameron Bure(Bure is her married name) is an actress, wife, mother, and Christian. She played DJ Tanner on the show "Full House" in the 80s, and her brother, Kirk Cameron, is also an actor, first on "Growing pains" in the 80s, and more recently the "Left Behind" series, among like a hundred other things. Candace is also currently a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars", which is why I think her book was even on display. I already knew these things about her, and I really like her a lot, so I figured her book would be a good place to start in my journey through the realm of non-fiction, so, I checked it out.

Before I get into the details of the book, I should let you know that "Reshaping it all" is a book geared toward helping people obtain physical and spiritual fitness(remember, Candace is a Christian, so of course it's going to be about God!) In general, it's about her story of weight struggle and eventual weight loss, and how, through hard work and strength in God, she managed to keep off the weight and beat her addiction.

Sound interesting? Yeah, I did to. And guess what! It was really interesting. I wouldn't say I'm on some health kick or anything, but I feel like I have been finding myself gravitating toward more health related talk shows, cooking shows, etc lately, and I'm always open to learning new things that I can apply to myself, and then pass on to you guys, my wonderful readers!

Now down to business. I think the most important thing about a book is how it's written. The content is important, but no one's going to get to the content if the format is bad. Not so with Candace's book. It's written in the typical non-fiction first person, and it's easy to read, without being dumbed down or condescending to those like myself that are used to a little higher level of literature.(I had just finished reading Lord of the Ring, so you can imagine the shock my brain went through reading "Reshaping it all" lol) Also the chapters are short, which makes getting through them much more enjoyable...because nothing is more overwhelming than thumbing through a book and realizing each chapter is like 47 pages long.

While we're on the topic of chapters and writing format, I'll let you know that at the end of each chapter, Candace has a summary of what she talked about, a fan letter with a health or spiritual question, her answer to that letter, all the Bible verses she used in that chapter, simple tips on how to apply that chapter to your life, an inspirational quote, and then a healthy recipe that she makes for her own family. WHEW! That's a lot packed into a few pages, huh?!

Because Candace is a Christian(and not afraid to proclaim it to the world, thank you very much) she does scatter bible verses throughout her book as they apply to what she's talking about, and many of her tips on motivation and staying strong revolve around prayer and staying strong in God, which is something a lot of people don't think about when it comes to their physical health. But think about it. God calls us to take care of our bodies, because they are a temple for Him, so it makes sense that we would need Him to help make us new. Genius.

She also talks a lot about how a healthy lifestyle is necessary, rather than optional. Basically she's saying that, once you've committed to living a healthier lifestyle, you have to stick with it, and not just live healthy when it's convenient for you. She also discourages diets. She doesn't discredit them, but going "on" a diet implies you will one day go "off" the diet, and the only way to stay healthy is to....get this....stay healthy. Candace encourages a lifestyle change, which is what she did, and what I did, and it, frankly, works.

Candace has MANY tips and tricks on how to make that lifestyle change, and how to make it so habitual that you eventually don't even have to work at it. One of the things she suggested was to write down your reasons for losing weight, whatever they may be, and read them whenever you get discouraged. Keep the list somewhere you can see it, like by your bed or on your mirror or fridge, so you never forget WHY you're doing this.

I don't want to give away too much information, because I want you to read this book, but I'll leave you with a quote that really impacted me, and will hopefully speak to you and give you the push you need to get yourself healthy....for the right reasons!

"You are beautiful, interesting, accepted, and loved by the most high God. Be content with both the woman you are today and the woman you'll be tomorrow."
-Candace Cameron Bure

a little T.M.I.

So there's this tag going around the internet, called the TMI tag. Basically It's a bunch of questions about me that you never thought to ask...most likely because you don't care....but I thought this would be a great time to let you all get to know me a little better! Ready? Here we go.

1: What are you wearing?
Jammies. Specifically an Aeropostal shirt and white and blue flannel jammy pants....super sexy, I know. 
2: Ever been in love?
Yes I have :)
3: Ever had a terrible breakup?
Never had a breakup
4: How tall are you?
5ft. 4 1/2 in.
5: How much do you weigh?
This is a nosey question! 133lbs.
6: Any tattoos?
......not yet.
7: Any piercings?
Yes. I have my ears pierced, and I'm getting second piercings in a couple weeks.
8: OTP?
I think this means one true pairing...Shawn and Gus from psych. They're not a couple, they're best friends since birth, and it is hilarious. 
9: Favorite show?
Oh, so much answer, so little blog space!!! I'm gonna say it's a toss-up between Psych and Dr. Who
10: Favorite bands?
I'm not much of a favorite bands person. I have songs that I like, but I generally don't like everything an artist does....however, I can say that I am a huge fan of Barlowgirl, Michael Buble, The Band Perry, and Taylor Swift. 
11: Something you miss? 
I miss the free time I used to have. Figures. Now that I have reasons to plan things, I don't have the time to devote to it!
12: Favorite song?
In Christ Alone.
13: How old are you?
20
14: Zodiac sign?
Sagittarius...just like Bruce Lee and Walt Disney! WHA?!?!?!?!
15: Quality you look for in a partner?
-God-fearing
-Kind
-Funny
-Hard working
16: Favorite Quote?
"It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities." -Albus Dumbledore
17: Favorite actor?
Johnny Depp and Grace Kelly
18: Favorite color?
Perriwinkle
19: Loud music or soft?
Loud baby, all the way!!!
20: Where do you go when you’re sad?
To my room, under the covers, curled up in as small a ball as possible.
21: How long does it take you to shower?
well.....it depends. I can be in and out in five minutes, if I'm just washing my hair. But if I'm doing everything, including standing under the water contemplating life, it can take as long as fifteen minutes
22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
If I'm doing hair and makeup.....20 minutes. 30 if I'm also taking a shower....but I like to give myself an hour, just in case my flat iron decides it's not gonna do my hair that day lol
23: Ever been in a physical fight?
No I haven't. Thank God. My upper body strength leaves much to be desired, unfortunately. 
24: Turn on?
Great sense of humor, smelling good
25: Turn off?
excessive/unnecessary swearing, smelling bad
26: The reason I joined Youtube?
Oh yeah. This was a youtube tag. lol next question!
27: Fears?
Extreme pain that leads to death, being alone(like, in life), failure/being a disappointment 
28: Last thing that made you cry?
Oh gosh. Probably "Call the Midwife". That show turns me into a whimpering fool, I swear!
29: Last time you said you loved someone?
Today. I told my momma I loved her :')
30: Meaning behind your YouTube Name?
Ditto to question 26!
31: Last book you read?
"Reshaping it all" By Candace Cameron Bure(book review coming Thursday! yippee!!!)
32: The book you’re currently reading?
"The Fall of Arthur" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and "Joan of Arc" by Mark Twain
33: Last show you watched?
White Collar *SIGH* Matt Bomer. 
34: Last person you talked to?
The daddeo
35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?
My BFF Allison
36: Favorite food?
This isn't fair. Pizza. Or my mom's eggrolls. 
37: Place you want to visit?
Everywhere! America(road trip, aw yea!) England, Ireland, Scotland, France, New Zealand, you get the picture. Everywhere. 
38: Last place you were?
Work.
39: Do you have a crush?
Yes I do
40: Last time you kissed someone?
Like a week ago
41: Last time you were insulted?
Last week. My boss's son said I looked like a school teacher. 
42: Favorite flavor of sweet?
CHOCOLATE!!!!!!
43: What instruments do you play??
Piano, and the cup for that one song from "Pitch Perfect" lol
44: Favorite piece of jewelery?
My butterfly earrings from Forever21
45: Last sport you played?
LOL that's funny. Baseball...which quickly ended once Allison hit me in the face with the ball....don't worry. We got it on video. Comment if you want to see it!
46: Last song you sang?
Currently singing "Demons" by Imagine Dragons
47: Favorite chat up line?
Don't have one
48: Have you ever used it?
I hope not! Chat up lines are sooooo cheesy!
49: Last time you hung out with anyone?
Last week
50: Who should answer these questions next?
IDK. whoever wants to. I always like reading junk like this :)

Well, now you all know me a little bit better. Tune in again Thursday for that book review, and if you have any more questions about me, or suggestions for future blog posts, comment below! 

Stay Classy, y'all!

Save space:Organizing your dresser drawers

So you've been on this cleaning/organizing kick(The weather's reenacting "Frozen", what ELSE is there to do?!) and your room(or house, if you're an over achiever) is looking pretty fantastic, if you do say so yourself. *insert a nonchalant rubbing of the nails on your shirt* But you get to your closet and you're just stumped. Like you've been standing there staring at it for 20 minutes and.....nothing.



I definitely had this problem not too long ago. I have always had this thing about closet doors. When I was little I was convinced that if my closet had doors, then obviously, the monsters would be able to hide in there and come out to get me when my parents were conveniently sound asleep. Even to this day sleeping in a room with closed closet doors is very unsettling to me. I no longer believe monsters are out to get me, but the feeling of dislike and uneasiness just never went away....so, I don't have doors on my closet.

Because I my closet doesn't have doors, I have had to revert to other ways of hiding my clothes. When I was little, it was butterfly bead curtains....loved those things. But as I got older and the hot pink butterfly beads just got WAAAY too lame for my oh so sophisticated 14 year-old self(yeah, no) I had to think of yet OTHER ways to hide my crap....I mean, totally neat, spotless, clothing collection. :)

My biggest problem is this. I am a selective neat freak.(You learned about my childhood fears AND my strange lifestyle habits. I guess today is sharing day.) By selective I mean this. untidiness makes me itch....but I'm not gonna clean it! So basically, my room is like always spotless, because I have, through much trial and error, learned to pick up as I go, because if I let it slide for too long, I'm gonna forget what my floor looks like and "Hoarders" is gonna have to come in and do an intervention on me. Basically.

Long story......still really long(sorry!) I just got really tired of looking at all my clothes all the time. No matter how I hung them(at one point they were hung long to short!) the whole thing just looked...messy. So I came up with this genius idea to put a dresser in my closet and make a little "get ready" station with mirrors and baskets for my perfumes and curling irons!(actually, I got the idea from a display at IKEA, but who's counting, right?) I went out an bought myself a super dope dresser with the really nice glide-y drawers that don't slam when you close them, and stuck that baby in my closet. All by myself. I was very proud.

But then the hard part came. Namely, getting all my stuff in those drawers, which, FYI, always look like they can hold more at the store then they do when faced with a bed full of shirts I totally forgot I even had! and that's where I get to the "How-To" part of this really long-winded story, because I KNOW you've all gone through something like this in your life, and wondered HOW it was all going to fit!

Well, to answer that question, it might not all fit. Switching to a dresser is a perfect time to go through all your clothes and get rid of some stuff. I'm talking, stuff that doesn't fit(and can't be fixed, a.k.a. taken in or out), stuff you don't like/wear anymore. Those jammy pants that are just too ratty to technically be called "pants" anymore.....hypothetically.

Once you've rid yourself of that burden, I'm sure you'll find it much easier to squeeze everything in. But, if it's still a tight fit, or even if you just want to be able to find all your clothes without having to dig through piles, I suggest this next little tip(thank you pinterest!). Rolling. Aw yeah. If you do it right, and fold your clothes right(ie nicely, without any wrinkles in it. Don't get lazy!) your clothes will stay wrinkly. Like my mom says, "If they don't go in with wrinkles, chances are they won't come out with them, either."

And this doesn't just work for clothes either. With all that extra space, you could fit your scarves, belts, even jewelry in your dresser drawers and save even more space that way! Plus, It just decreases the over all "cluttered" look of your space. Just add little containers or spacers so nothing rolls around and gets lost. It'll look super cute...and how awesome would that be to only have to go to one place to get your whole outfit together?!

Another bonus tip for you lovely readers: This tip works with packing for trips too. Say goodbye to the multiple suitcase weekend trip! You're welcome.

Wait, what time is it?!

So, suppose you stayed up really late last night watching makeup tutorials on youtube, and, suppose you didn't hear your alarm and overslept, and when your eyeballs finally pop open, you look at your clock and see you have fifteen minutes to get out your door if you want to make it to work on time....hypothetically.

Now, this is a totally unrealistic situation that didn't actually happen to me yesterday....ehehe....but it got me thinking that there are a lot of people in this world that might benefit(or at least find interesting) from some tips on how to get out the door faster...and be able to face the public.

But enough chit-chat, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty:

1- KNOW WHAT TO WEAR THE NIGHT BEFORE
Yeah, yeah. This sounds totally gradeschool, before your mom let you pick out your own clothes. But seriously, how awesome is it to get up in the morning and just be able to put your clothes on without standing in front of your closet for forty-five minutes wondering how you can buy so many outfits and somehow have nothing to wear. I don't do this every day, but if I know I'm going to have an early start the next day, or if I've been having trouble getting up with my alarm lately, I definitely have to choose my outfit the night before. It just saves me sooooo much time!

2- SKIP THE ELABORATE BREAKFAST
Before you have a cow, let me explain. I'm not saying skip breakfast(never EVER do that!) but you may not want to break out the eggs and pancakes. A great alternative would be cereal, or a protein bar, or maybe toaster waffles(don't judge. They're good.) My personal go-to quick breakfast is a smoothie, which only takes about eight minutes, and I can carry it around with me while I do other stuff to get ready.
If you need a healthier option than cereal or toaster waffles, you may want to find some on-the-go breakfast recipes, and spend a day making them. Then you can pop them in the freezer and just pull one out when you need it.

3-TONE DOWN YOUR FACE
This was a hard one for me. The busier my life got, the less makeup I wore, and I wasn't happy. When I started wearing makeup, I was all "YAY! Cover up my whole face!" But not only is that really bad for your skin if you do it every day, it takes a WHOLE lot of time to do. The fastest full face makeup I've ever done(including foundation) has been fifteen minutes...and remember, we only have fifteen minutes total to eat, get ready and get out the door.
anywho, youtube is great for finding "natural" or "school" makeup tutorials, both of which basically mean minimal and fast. Yesterday I did my hair and makeup in five minutes. Embrace the facial nudity!

4-SHOWER THE NIGHT BEFORE
Pretty self-sxplainitory. If you get in the habit of taking showers the night before, you will always have clean hair the next day, and you won't have to worry about looking like a grease ball...because that is NOT cute. At all.

5-DON'T FREAK OUT!
Seriously. You're not going to get anything done if you're running around like a chicken with it's head cut off freaking out because you over slept. Just calm down and do what you can. If all else fails, call your boss and tell them you'll be late. You will never get in trouble for giving them warning.

Now that you know how to get ready in a short time span, you can feel free to get your beauty sleep! But the best way to get everything done is to NOT over-sleep, like I did. Wait, what? This was a hypothetical situation, that wasn't me! Uh....yeah.

5 things to do instead of watching TV

 

So the weather is yucky, you're out of school, and you have no job. Basically, you're stuck at home with nothing to do and you're going a little stir crazy. In this completely hypothetical situation, you may be wandering the halls trying to figure out what to do to pass the time...that you haven't already done eighteen times. After awhile it gets kinda hard to think of stuff to do. You don't want to watch TV; you've already spent the last two days having a "Full House" marathon and Doctor Oz just said too much TV is bad for your brain development; but what else are you supposed to do?!

These are my five things to do instead of watching TV:

1- EXERCISE
Yeah yeah yeah, I know. You don't want to do that! You want to do something fun! But January is the perfect time to kick-start your health, especially when you have nothing to do and no where to go. Even if you're only killing half an hour, you'll feel better, and maybe even have more energy to get out there and shovel your driveway so you can leave your house! LOL no, probably not. But you get the idea.

2- READ A BOOK
This is pretty self-explanatory, but what if you don't like to read? It's a difficult concept for me to imagine, but I've heard there are people in this world that are like that. No biggie. Get an audiobook. Your library is jam packed with great books just waiting to me listened to! And if you listen to a book, you can do something else while you're listening...because multi-tasking is good :)

3- CLEAN YOUR HOUSE
This doesn't sound like fun to me at all, but how often do you tell yourself that you're gonna do it when you've got the time? Suddenly you find yourself with all the time in the world! You don't have to do it all at once, take a room a day, and then come spring cleaning time, your house won't be such an overwhelming project! Plus you can listen to that book while you clean, which only makes the time go faster!

4-DO SOMETHING CRAFTY
Whatever that may be...sewing, knitting, painting, drawing, scrapbooking, whatever. Just make something crafty. Make some wall art for your bare living room walls, make fun crafts with the kids. Get a head start on some Christmas presents! Remember that pair of pants you told your mom you'd hem...and then totally forgot for like six months?(hypothetically, of course) Even if you're not a crafty or artistic person, days like this are a perfect time to experiment and find out just how creative you can be!

5- EXPERIMENT
I reserved this last tip as a sort of miscellaneous section. Everyone has those little things they saw on youtube and always wanted to try, but never took the time. It may be a recipe, or a hairstyle, or whatever, but I know you've all got something you've been putting off 'till later. Well, it's later, and you've got nothing better to do, so try that new smokey eye tutorial, or that recipe for homemade red velvet cake(I'm available for taste testing)

See? There are so many things you can do with your day that doesn't involve the TV! I'm not saying TV is bad....I really really like TV...and often, I'll do many of these things while watching TV. But sometimes it's good to unplug and try new things. I find I have a greater appreciation for easy entertainment when I don't have it. Now get out there and make your day productive!

Living healthy? Ain't nobody got time for that!

'Tis the season for New year’s resolutions, and while we’re all still motivated to keep them up, I thought I’d talk about the most popular resolution, getting healthy.

So I was talking with one of the ladies I work with the other day, because she’s trying to loose weight. I always like to talk about stuff like this, not only because I find it interesting, but because I know what these people are going through. Not too long ago, I was pretty fat, until my church started a program called C3Fit, where the whole church would come together and try to live healthier. (Your body is a temple, etc. You get the idea.) Doing that through my church kick-started my interest in health, and to date I have lost 45 pounds, solely with exercise and eating healthier foods/portions.

I want to say something right off the bat. I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, and I don’t eat super healthy organic everything all the time. I had Taco Bell last week. So I just want to let you know that you can live a healthier lifestyle and not deprive yourself, or be that friend who is always complaining about how they can’t have what their younger friends are having because they’re a victim of a slowing metabolism, or whatever. I have had to give a up a few things, but I found in the long run that I didn’t even miss them or want them.

I guess I’ll start with the foods I gave up, but it’s a small list, so don’t panic. I stopped drinking soda and eating candy. I still will have those things now and again though. I’ll have a glass of soda maybe when I’m eating out…and you gotta have soda when you’re eating pizza! They just go together! But I was drinking three or four cans a day, and that’s a lot of fructose, which is what causes belly fat. When I gave up soda, I actually did it because I read somewhere that drinking it was bad for your skin, and I had really bad skin at the time. So I decided I wasn’t going to drink it anymore, and I gave it up cold turkey, fully expecting to go nuts craving it within three days. But you know what? I never had any cravings for that soda! Now I feel like I can enjoy the soda more now, because I’ve made it a treat.

The candy was something I started eliminating from my diet when my parents made me do this fasting thing(Which was horrible.) As I was going through this fast, my youth group had a pizza party that I didn’t know about until I got there(Doesn’t that just suck when you’re on a fast?!) And, knowing I couldn’t have any of it, I was eyeing the pizza, and soda, and all the things like that, but I realized I wasn’t even interested in the bowls of candy, and it got me thinking…I wonder if I could give this up? I know it’s not good for me. I think I’ll try it! And just like with the soda, I found I didn’t even miss it after about a week. I know the vice for a lot of people is the candy, but let’s face it. Chocolate is better anyway!

Those were the only things I really “gave up”. With everything else, however, I just cut WAY back on my portions. I think this is the only way I was able to loose weight at all, and it’s also one of the healthiest, because you’re changing your lifestyle, but it’s not a diet. Like my mom says, “You can’t go off your diet if you were never on one!” Eventually, though, I did start incorporating some healthier alternatives into my diet.

First, and probably most important, I started drinking smoothies for breakfast every morning. People drink smoothies at any time of the day. I chose breakfast for a couple reasons:

1-It’s the most important meal of the day!!!

2-I wasn’t eating breakfast. I would always just wait for lunch. Mostly because I liked to sleep in and wouldn’t be hungry for breakfast, but also because all that heavy breakfast food would fill me up, and then I wouldn’t feel hungry for lunch, so then I would eat WAY too much for dinner. And that is really bad for you.

Anywho, so I have smoothies for breakfast. I bought myself a nutribullet and started experimenting with different fruits and veggies. FYI, I love my nutribullet. It is SOOOO much better than a blender, I can’t even tell you. Seriously. When I started, I didn’t like many veggies, so I would add as much fruit as possible and leave the veggies as almost an afterthought. As time went by, and my body got used to eating healthier foods, however, I started adjusting my fruit-to-veggie ratio, and now I’m almost entirely veggies, with the fruits acting as flavor. I made a video showing how to make my favorite smoothie that you can check out now:

When I was fat, I thought the only way to loose weight was to starve yourself, and I was pretty sure I would never be able to do it. But I started doing my research, and I discovered snacking. Best. Discovery. Ever. To supplement my smaller meal portions, I started eating little snacks throughout the day. Little things, like a Clementine, or a handful of carrots or apples, or, my newest discovery, dates. While having a small snack a couple times a day has been proven to be a healthier way of eating, I had to be careful what I was snacking on. It’s really easy to go for chips, etc. That’s a snack food. I had to do a lot of reading, but I did eventually find several things I could snack on that wouldn’t blow my whole day.

Do you ever watch those healthy cooking shows where they make holiday favorites like mashed potatoes, but they use cauliflower instead of spuds, and you just sit there like “No.” Because we all know it’s not really mashed potatoes! DUH! One of those foods I didn’t believe in was Spaghetti squash. It’s supposed to replace pasta, hence the name. But I saw it on an episode of Doctor Oz, and I trust what he says more than those pinterest recipes, so I thought I’d give it a try. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to do it again! But here’s the thing. Spaghetti squash is freaking amazing! Like, something that isn’t pasta shouldn’t taste that good. My personal favorite way to eat it is by making mac and cheese, with the spaghetti squash as the “mac”, and then I just make my own cheese sauce. From this experience I learned to try new things! Sometimes I failed epically, but I found a lot of new foods that I really liked!

Along with eating healthier, I very recently started counting my calories, purely because I was curious about how many calories I was eating. I found an app called My Fitness Pal that not only counts my calories, but keeps track of my water intake and how many calories I burn with exercise!

Which brings me to exercise. Anybody who’s put any kind of thought into weight loss knows you can’t get fit if you don’t exercise…which was a hard concept for me. I am probably the laziest person in the history of the world…no, I take that back. My sister took the trophy when she started texting her kids(in the same room) to go get her something(also in the same room). But I’m up there in lazy!

I don’t really have any advise about exercise, except to just grit your teeth and do it anyway. And make it fun. I knew I wasn’t going to do it if I wasn’t enjoying myself. I tried pretty much everything, but I found out I liked Zumba WAY more than I liked Pilates. But my mom prefers Pilates, so you just have to try it all and see what you like best. I was also able to find exercises that I could do in front of the TV, meaning you never loose sight of the screen, and I knew that would work really well for me because I watch a lot of TV. Just do your research. Pinterest has been a huge source for me, for sure!

As I began to get more into a routine with my workouts and was able to do more, I started looking for harder workouts. This past summer, I got into running, and I really love it. Cardio is REALLY important to weight loss. You can build all the muscle you want, but cardio is what will melt the fat so you can see that muscle. I used the C25kfree app, which was a life saver. My first time running was with my neighbor, who’s idea of a beginner’s workout was four miles. Yeah no. But I randomly found this app, which starts you out slow, and with only one mile. It’s a 9-week program, and I think the first week was to walk five minues, run one minute, walk five, run one, etc. for 30 minutes, and then slowly build from there. At the end of the program, you should be able to run a 5k without any walking. If whatever day I was on was still really hard, I would just keep doing it until it wasn’t hard anymore, which is why I’m still using that program. But you can listen to your own music and it tells you when to walk and run, and when you have a minute left. It’s really great! If you’re thinking about taking up running, I recommend the C25kfree app!

I know that running isn’t for everyone, and I didn’t want to run every day, so I found MANY youtube videos and pinterest pins with non-running workouts that I would do on my non-running days. Eventually, I happened upon another app, called the Wherever Workout. And that’s just what it is. It’s an app full of 20 minute workouts designed for small spaces with almost no equipment. All you need is a chair, and the kind of space a hotel room might provide. It also has stretches for if you’re taking long car or plane rides. This app was kind of like discovering gold, to be honest! And all these apps are totally free! SCORE!

I know that, when you’re first starting out, any kind of drastic change is daunting, and you’re like, “I can’t do that! I would be wanting to give up like every day!” And I did. Still do. When I literally roll out of bed in the morning, I have to have a debate with myself because I really want to sleep longer, but I also don’t want pancake butt, so I have to decide what I want more. Bleh. In order to let my healthy side win that argument, I had to give myself a day off. I chose Sunday because it’s the day of rest, and because I was already using that day to do absolutely nothing at all, but everybody has their own “off” day. I told myself I was going to be good all week; get up early, exercise, eat right, etc. every day; and then Sunday I wouldn’t exercise, I would take naps, and, if I wanted to, I would have that s’more, gosh darn it!

I think if you’re not going to go crazy doing this, you have to give yourself an “off” day, where you don’t have to think about what you’re doing and eating…at least for a day.

And that brings me to my last tip. Do this every day (except your “off” day). One bad meal doesn’t make you fat, just like one good meal doesn’t make you skinny. It took me two years to get to where I am today…because I had to make this a lifestyle, not a diet. I had to get in the habit of doing all of these things every. day.

If you’ve been thinking about how to live healthier, I hope you found this helpful! Living healthy is better with a friend, so make this a community, comment and tell me your story, or any advise you may have for me! I’m always learning and changing, and eager to hear more! Let’s make this year the year you actually go through with your new year’s resolution!

Running out of time

Do you ever feel like you’ve got so much to do that you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off? Sometimes I have so much crammed into my day that I just want to curl up in a ball and weep openly.

 

I recently started a new job, and I’m also a college student….and I like to get in about an hour of exercise a day. I don’t have a family to look after or anything like that, but I know that feeling of drowning in your day. I had to learn quickly how to manage my busy schedule or I wasn’t going to make it at all…and I’m pretty sure most of you know exactly how I felt.

 

First thing’s first…you’re going to want to give up pretty much every day. I don’t know how many times I’ve decided I’ll just be dumb, fat and poor, but then that pesky little common sense steps in and ruins my pity party. So annoying. So, I had to think of other ways to make my life easier.

 

I started writing down everything I had to do each week, split up into individual days, and, more often than not, I was surprised to see that I didn’t have as much to do as I thought I did! By writing it down I also made sure I didn’t forget anything. I always like to get cute little notebooks(currently I’m sporting a vintage mickey mouse journal! Yay!) I mean, who said organization has to be boring?

 

Along with making a to-do list, I’ve also had to work at getting rid of my frankly worrying habit for procrastination. Seriously. It’s pretty bad. The biggest problem I was having with cramming everything I needed to do in just 24 short hours was, well, I was spending a good number of those hours not doing anything productive. I’m not saying that breaks are bad or that you need to go go go all the time, but I was spending too much time watching TV, or something equally useless. Basically, don’t leave it for later, because later quickly becomes never. It’s like what your mom always said, “Clean as you go!” or was that just MY mom? Ah well, you still get the point.

 

This next tip was something I still have a hard time with. Sometimes you have to say “No”. I know, I know. But don’t get out the pitch forks just yet. Remember, we’ve only got 24 hours in a day, and, let’s face it. We’re not going to spend all 24 hours crossing off stuff on our to-do list. So, foul as it may seem, I had to train myself to realize my limits, and to never go past them, which meant sometimes I couldn’t do everything I wanted to, but in the words of a wise lady called my mom, “There’s always more”. She calls this her e-bay method. Seriously. I think she needs to write a book of one-liners. She could make millions and then I wouldn’t need a job, and wouldn’t have to use any of these tips!

 

Something that goes along with this is realizing you may not be able to do all the things you’ve planned for each day. Ideally, I would like to work out for an hour or more every day. But sometimes that just isn’t going to happen, no matter how early I get up. So I modify my plan, and maybe work out for half an hour. But each day is going to be different. Saturday I barely squeezed in 20 minutes, but today I had enough time to devote that entire hour! As much as managing my life requires structure and discipline, I also have to remember to play it by ear and understand my priorities. If I had taken an entire hour on Saturday to work out, that would mean sacrificing homework time, which, frankly, is more important to me. Ya see?

 

Anywho, I come now to my last tip. Get ready, because it’s massively profound. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF. Boom. I’m talking to you, moms! I know you have a bit of a control problem and you just feel more comfortable doing it yourself. At least you know it was done right! But you’re only human, and sometimes you need to act like one. Chances are you’ve got a kid or a husband who will take those library books back if you just ask them. Hypothetically. I understand that this will be really hard for most of you. Trust me. I am a HUGE control freak, and I get fidgety when I have to let someone else do something for me…but you know what? More things get done and the world doesn’t end! Which means less stress over how much is left to do at the end of every day!

 

This may have been a rambling bunch of nonsense to many of you, but these things really helped me make the most of every day, and I hope it helps you a little too!