Single Saturday & Total Money Makeover

So I am single parenting it today.... While I am normally a single parent for half the month, today felt different because 1) Mike is off and was supposed to be home and 2) he is gone for over 24 hours at a bachelor party. After Lucas being a MaJOR crabby bear last weekend, I was nervous! BUT he was amazing and we had a blast today!  I did have quite a few unhealthy indulgences (donut, McDonalds cheeseburger, fries, and hot fudge sundae) so even though I just wanted to crash when Lucas did and we had taken TWO walks today, I made myself do Pilates Fix (doesn't feel like a real workout but know it's good for my running) and 30 minutes on the bike. After an indulgent girls' night last night (love my MCC girls and will miss them like crazy next year), I keep telling myself that June 1 will be different. It marks official half marathon training as well and I know nutrition will be key to that!

In addition to a food makeover, I finished reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And man did I need it after the past few months. We have not been sticking to our budget and I could feel it when I applied extra to my student loan this month. In the book, Dave talks about being gazelle intense and that they are always on the lookout for cheetahs and we need to be too. And we got hit by a BIG cheetah this month!

Last summer Mike and his dad ripped the rock out of our stone pathway in the fenced in area of our yard and we also removed a tree back there. And it looked terrible right now! It's not very safe to walk on and it just needs to be fixed. I also ripped out mulch from one of our landscaped areas on the side of our house TWO years ago and we haven't fixed that yet. So I had a landscaper come to give us a quote.... Ouch! The quote was THREE times what we had budgeted for it. CHEETAH!!!! Dave would say not to do it because is not a necessity but if we are selling our house anytime soon, it needs to be done.  So we are doing bare minimum to make the walkway functional and WE are doing he rock ourselves. We knew we could but it just seemed easier to have someone else do it... Until we saw the price.

This was a different Dave book and I wouldn't read it if you are new to Dave. But if you need motivation, this is your book! 

And BONUS: I got to cross a book off my list for my New Year goal! 

 

So any time that I go to spend extra money from this point on, someone yell CHEETAH at me! 

Making homemade snacks- applesauce bites!

So in order to relieve some of the guilt that comes from sending Lucas to daycare two times a week this summer (even though with my work schedule and daycare taking a week off, it's only 8 days to myself), I told myself that I would use those days to do some meal prep.

So today I tackled two goals: start actually doing the things I pin on Pinterest and make something for Lucas. I had pinned a relatively easy recipe for applesauce bites so thought I would start there.

The recipe was one cup quick oats and half cup applesauce but I added a little extra applesauce.

Mix together. 

And then drop in little bites on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 325 degrees. I put them on parchment paper because I don't like to wash dishes :)

End result: pretty tasty and healthy. And Lucas' thoughts? Took one bite and then didn't want anything else to do with them. Of course :)

It was really nice to get my run in during the day although I forgot about running in the heat- holy cow! I was slow and clumpy and had to walk after running up a hill. My husband tried to goad me on about how he hasn't run in a year and he was running faster than me but it really just made me want to trip him. I always laugh because I imagine people who see us running together must think we are so cute but most of the time I am swearing at him or threatening bodily harm... I was the one laughing in the end though when about 5 minutes later HE had to take a walk break. I told him slow and steady wins the race! 

One last day at Slayton tomorrow- having a get together with my co workers after to celebrate the end of an era ;) 

 

Hip Hop Abs= LOL

Ok you guys.... This Beachbody on Demand might be a bad thing! I wanted something fun tonight for a strengthen routine so I decided to do Hip Hop Abs Buns & Thighs. I wish I had pictures but my husband went running out the door within the first minute of me getting started.

It was terrible. I don't even know if I can count it as a workout because I am SO uncoordinated and ungraceful that I am 99% sure I didn't do most of the moves right. There was a glutes section that I have done in other workouts so I kicked that part's booty... And the cool down lol

I think Hip Hop Abs would be a lot more fun after a few adult beverages!

Followed it up with 30 minutes on the bike where I sadly cut a show off my watch list- Good bye Undateable. Season 1 was funny but Season 2 is not holding my attention and I don't waste time on things like that anymore! So continuing on with trying to finish Dancing With the Stars before the winner is ruined for me :)

Bit the bullet

ISo most products that I try I am super excited about but with my Bulu Box I was a little nervous about the products because I didn't know much about them and didn't know anyone else who has tried them!

If I was going to take a fish oil supplement, I would definitely order these! I have a very sensitive stomach to vitamins and this didn't upset me at all (I did take it with supper, just FYI). I have heard that most fish oil supplements have a gross taste but these were tasteless. I don't currently see a need to take a supplement like this because I feel like my diet is pretty good but I am getting older and will probably need to start soon! 

THIS was what I was nervous about because energy things make me very jittery and sometimes pukey.... And sometimes they taste like crap! This one was not my favorite... First few sips I enjoyed but then it got too much. Maybe throw it in a smoothie to take away a little bit of the bite? Energy wise.... Yes I did have a lot of energy on my run but I also got that gross shaky too much caffeine feeling so definitely not something I'm going to try again. 

One item I did not try from my box was this: 

I just didn't feel like it was a product I needed and I didn't feel like 2 days worth would allow me to do a fair review.  You win some, you lose some.

Ending on a positive note, I found a product in my BirchBox that I loved enough to order the full size! 

It was originally $40 but it was on sale for $20 and I had $10 for reviewing products in my box and free shipping... So if you did the math, that's $10 for 20 colors. Lots of purples, browns and golds which is perfect for these brown eyes.  If you remember from precious posts, I throw all my makeup away in June and January to replace it every 6 months so this came at a great time for me! 

Today's workout was a 30 minute run. I set an alarm for 15 mins to remind me to turn around. I didn't officially keep track of distance but I know the path well enough to know that it was 3 miles :)

It is in the 60s today so I wore leggings and a long sleeve shirt.

At the last minute, I threw on a hat which earned me a lot of grief from the hubby

But it was raining and windy and I hate when my ears get cold. I kept it on until the last 2 miles. It was then used to wipe my wet face and my phone. This is the first time I have ever run in the rain and it actually wasn't that bad (who am I?) it wasn't my ideal weather but Lucas is at daycare today so I told myself I had to use my time productively while he was there so off I went...

Small changes every day in the right direction! 

Happy Memorial Day!

First, just a big thank you to all who serve others. Not just the military but law enforcement, fire, ambulance and all others. It's not an easy calling but it's the most important one there is!

Today was an emotional day. Lucas and I played this morning and took a walk with Jake- I laughed thinking back to last summer when the idea of walking both of them was just too overwhelming. Now it's going to be a daily routine! Lucas took a 2.5 hour morning nap... I am a little worried that he's dropped his afternoon nap. This is the second day in a row he has taken a long morning nap and nothing in the afternoon. He goes back to daycare tomorrow so hopefully she can switch that around!

When he woke up, we ate a light lunch and then drive an hour to a graduation party of a student I've seen for the lay 3 years. We did 45 minute sessions one time a week and I just can't believe I am not going to see her anymore!! I'm not returning to that school next year so that might? make it a little easier. As we were walking back to the car, I started to think about how fast a year goes and that in 17 fast years I will be crying in the corner of Lucas' graduation. Made me remember that time is short and precious and to not sweat the small stuff- I need those reminders a lot! So we got home and I weeded while Lucas played with rocks and mud and just got to be a boy without me freaking out about how dirty he was! He had a blast and I did too!

After supper, we played and then Lucas went down around 7. I picked up for the cleaning lady and then selected a Beachbody On Demand video- tonight was Stretch and Strengthen night 

so I thought Yoga Booty Ballet would be a good choice. I did Pure & Simple Yoga because it was 30 mins... 30 mins of plank basically! My arms were killing me. My favorite part was when she said to pick up the flesh of your butt- this German girl has a lot of that going on! We at least ended it with my favorite yoga pose- corpse! Ironically it has the same music as the 21 Day Fix yoga. I am willing to give her one more shot but I am thinking I will either go back to Autumn or look elsewhere for my yoga. 

My original plan was to do two workouts on S & S day but I am feeling like just doing a Yoga is going to be best for me. I like to set realistic expectations for myself and that seems more likely to me! 

Off to shower and use another magazine product: 

Nivea In Shower Lotion

$6-7?? At Target

Totally worth it whatever it is

I was highly skeptical of how well this would moisturize but I even used it after shaving one day and it kept my skin moist (ugh I hate that word so much but I couldn't think of another one!) you just put it on like body wash AFTER your body wags and dry off. It does say to rinse shower after because it will be slippery but I haven't had any issues. A definite must for those who covet every minute of their time like me! 

One of those weekends....

Good thing we don't have wine in the house or I would have been buzzing every night this weekend! My poor baby is getting all four morals and not only is he not sleeping at night, but he is being a crabby bear now during the day as well which is so NOT like him! 

I managed to power through last night and give Plyo from 21 Day Fix Extreme a try. Had to pause a few times to get Lucas back to sleep but that was ok because I needed the breather- holy cow. It's only 30 seconds of each exercise and then 30 seconds of rest but still a killer. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I hit the bike for an episode of Greys Anatomy which turned into me finishing the series and staying up too late... And eating a box of crackers. Remembering WHY I don't buy that stuff!

Definitely paid for the late night this morning when Lucas started waking up around 5! He then took a 3 hour nap this morning, 2.5 which was sleeping on me... Poor baby is just miserable.

When he woke up, we headed to Sioux Falls for a few returns. I got a couple sport bras from Target and I just wasn't impressed with them. I hit up a sports store and tried on about a dozen. 

No I was not exaggerating!  I found one that I liked... It was super expensive for something that I don't love but I needed it.

At least it's cute ;)

Made it through a couple hours of play and one really long supper that involved a lot of food throwing and me eating a bunch of Oreos in addition to everything else in the kitchen.

And I decided to just let go of the pressure to work out tonight and relax! Yes I am going to beat myself up a little bit about not doing it but some nights you just need to know where your limit is and I hit mine today.

Here's hoping for a happier baby tomorrow! 

TGIF

I decided to take yesterday as a rest day and try to get caught up on sleep- Lucas had other ideas by fussing from 9-11 but then at least he slept the rest of the night.

I had today off and I sent Lucas to daycare. I had a lot of Mommy guilt about it. As I do about sending him 2 days a week this summer. But I justify it as he needs the routine, the time with other kids, and I am basically a single mom half the month and I needs break.

I took a long overdue nap this morning and then set out for my run after lunch. I took a different route today and decided to tackle a route with a couple hills. I hate hills but I know there are a few on the half marathon route so I need to start incorporating them more. It was amazing to get outside again and run- even if I did take Jake with me and he annoyed me and pooped twice along the way. 3.1 miles in 32 minutes- not my best but not my worst. 

The one thing I enjoy about running is that when I am stressed, I let myself mull it all over on my run and then I need to let it go. I got my reviews back from my behavior conference that I did a couple months ago today. While the vast majority of the comments were good, a few were negative and my boss wanted to discuss hem just to see what the back story was. She wasn't mad and said that I hadn't done anything wrong after I explained (long story that I don't want to explain), but the perfectionist in me was just annoyed! Especially since so many other people expressed how much they enjoyed my presentation and said it was the best one of the day.  Growl. You win some, you lose some.

Two tips for the week.

Put your bananas in the fridge. The outside may go brown but the banana stays nice and firm. And it's a delicious treat on a hot day!

Cut your sandwiches in half. It makes it feel like you have more to eat :) Sandwiches are my go to lunch and summer meal but with my turkey, mustard, and 45 calorie bread they aren't always the most filling to my eyes.

I made homemade pizza for supper and the ingredients all cost me about $15- am I crazy or could I have ordered a pizza for cheaper? Or bought a frozen one! Note to self :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Mike works so no big plans for us but I'm sure Lucas and I will find something to do!

My first (and last?) attempt at Piyo

First things first... This was supposed to be a What I Ate Wednesday post. It started off promising...  

Cinnamon Vanilla Thomas bagel with butter before I hit the road with my coffee...

A banana when I got to work...

And Greek yogurt with Stevia around 10 

And then lunch. We had a staff meeting so I was too embarrassed to take a picture. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great... Lettuce salad and fruit- very healthy. Follows by a roll, cookie, and mashed potato bacon side dish. Eek.

Ok so I didn't get to skip my workout if I ate good but my day still wasn't ruined.

Supper was Italian Chicken Bake with carrots and the crust of Lucas' butter bread with a few peaches... Again, not bad.

And then I ate the damn cheesecake! It started with just a bite of my husbands.. And then Lucas wanted some. So I got "him" a piece... Aka he ate 5 bites and I ate the rest. 360 calories per piece.... Slow exhale. Damn Inlaws brought it over!

So off I trotted after Lucas went to bed to pay my penance. I picked Piyo Sweat because I really wanted to try Piyo. I love Pilates and I am starting to come around to Yoga so I thought this would be nice, especially since my legs are SO sore still. 

No. Not nice. I think the workout itself would have been ok but there was ZERO instruction from Chalene on what to do. Step out- croutch push-up- sun salutation- repeat but faster. The whole 38 minutes! I feel like maybe if you ordered the whole program there is a DVD that shows you how to do each move but not with Beachbody On Damd in which this is the only one you can access. I was disappointed for sure.

30 minutes on the bike catching up on my favorite blogs and Facebook and done for the night. Definitely didn't burn off that cheesecake.... Can I blame PMS for all this junk eating? Can't be because I lack all forms of self control right?

Ha! You say :) ok ok... I will get better... Eventually. Or decide a 6 pack by 30 was a dumb idea. One or the other- can't have both! 

Things I Tried Tuesday

I have a plethora of things to share so I am bringing back "the post title that cannot be an acronym". 

I had to go back to March 28th to find this beauty of a picture. If you want whiter teeth and don't want to do white strips, buy this. Heck, buy it anyways and replace your old toothpaste. It's a little spends ($12.99 at Target- I had a $6 off coupon when I bought it) but if you are an avid coffee and dark pop drinker like I am, this is a must. For 7 days you do this twice a day: brush with step 1 for a minute, spit, brush with step 2 for a minute. Luckily my electric toothbrush has a timer so I knew when to switch. I was religious for a week and I definitely saw immediate results. Now I just use it at night and use a regular toothbrush and crest 3D white toothpaste in the morning- and truth be told, I probably only brush for 30 seconds in the morning. I promise 100% honesty right?

I love a good Cliff Bar and this one was amazing. Sierra Trail Mix is my other favorite but I've never had a bad flavor yet. I've been mixing up having Shakeology or a protein bar after my workout. Sometimes I just want to eat something and not drink it :)

After lots of swearing, time wasted on customer service, a headache, and multiple password resets I finally got Beachbody On Demand to work. If you ever sign up for the 30 day free trial, here is a helpful hint... even if you get an email telling you to log in and start streaming, your account will not actually work until you get an email about 6 hours later saying your order had been processed. You are welcome!

Despite the stress, I am very excited to try it. Especially since Lower Fix is not an option during running season- my poor legs were killing me during tonight's treadmill 5k. I am getting bored with 21 Day Abs so I streamed 10 minute trainer Abs instead- oh younger Tony Horton. How you made me laugh.... And then curse because that workout was a beast. Things I am most excited to try: Chalene Extreme and the one episode of Piyo, T25 and 21 Day Fix Extreme they let you try. 

Mixing up the workouts is the only way I'm going to maintain this regimen so I think for $2.99 a week, I will keep Beachbody on Demand :) 

Magazine Monday

So I have always had a love for magazines. I remember going to Walmart and promising my mom I would do every chore under the sun if she would buy me all my favorites- Teen Bop, Tiger Beat. The classics right?

This love has carried over and increased as I got older- because now I can afford magazine subscriptions! My faves: People, Real Simple, Women's Healh and  Runner's World. Shape and Self are pretty interchangeable to me and Oxygen is way too bodybuilding focused for me. I quickly realized after having Lucas that subscribing to multiple magazines was no longer a logical expense because I just don't have time to read them. So I cut back on everything but People (some of my other subscriptions are still going for the end of time it seems like but I know one day they too shall stop).

Despite cutting back, I still have a huge pile of backlog:

There's another stack of about 10 downstairs :)

I get this love from my mother, who also taught me this neat little trick- If you find something you like, just rip out the page so you don't have to keep the entire magazine. Genius right? Except it's one of my husband's pet peeves... And let's be honest, when he's around I do a slow loud rip just to irritate him even further.

Why does it annoy him so much?

Because I leave them scattered all over the house. And I never ever come back to them once I rip them out. I literally have a binder of them (long ago attempt to organize). Books I want to read. Movies I want to see. Web sites to visit. Products to buy.

So I decided that I am going to start actually utilizing the pages I rip. So last weekend we were driving home and I immediately put the pages in my purse so when I was at Target I could buy it.

Product #1

John Frieda's 7 Day Volume

$6 at Target

This was in one of the "Best Of" product reviews for getting volume in your hair. I have the world's flattest, finest hair. I have literally had a hairdresser swear trying to get my hair to hold a curl (my current stylist is a genius in case you're wondering about my curls from Saturday). So I am always on the lookout for good volumizers that are low maintenance. This fit the bill- and worked!

You use it every 2-3 shampoos and it's supposed to give you volume for 7 days. I tried it for the first time last night. Wash and condition like normal in shower (they recommend their product of course burnt have my own I just bought) and then squeeze wet hair and put 3-4 pumps in wet hair. Wait 3-5 minutes (shave your legs ladies, it's summer soon) and then wash out.

Full disclosure: the product feels gross. It made my hands feel weird and my neck where it touched. And my hair feels a little "producty" today which I don't 100% love.

BUT it worked. I woke up with a ton of volume even though I didn't follow the directions and blow dry. So the gross feeling is totally worth it- plus is cheap and available at local stores and I don't have to order it online.

Hope you enjoyed this new little segment- more to come!

Tonight was Lower Fix and Yoga Fix- note to self: do yoga first because after lower your legs will not function.

In case you're wondering why I am still using 21 day videos and not Beachbody On Demand yet, I will explain tomorrow. Just know it was a long annoying process to get. For now, I am off to bed 💤

Time for a change...

With all these healthy changes, I decided to mix up the hair today too:

I will never take the time to curl it but look how cute it looks.

Also for those of you who wash your hair every day and can't imagine ever not washing it evey day- make the switch to every other day. Buy Aquage dry shampoo and do it. I have never made it 8 weeks without split ends before and his was before my haircut; 

Not a split end to be found. If my roots didn't grow out, I could probably have pushed my appointment further. Just FYI, I used to need a cut every 4 weeks!

Yesterday was a rest day- woo hoo! I took the time to pick my book and movie list for my New Years resolution that I kind of forgot about- to read every book off one of those Pinterest reading lists and to watch a movie on a top movie list. I am doing People's Top 2014 movie list.

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/gallery/0,,20875012_20882578_30265682,00.html

I already watched one. Into the Woods. Not a fan!  Which was really disappointing because 1) I don't get to watch a lot of movies and 2) I really had high expectations for that one. 

The book list was "8 Books to meet your New Years resolutions". 

http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2014/01/must-reads-8-books-for-a-better-2014.html

Fitting right? And one of them was Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover which I owned AND need to read again to get my financial butt back on track! I did some retirement calculations the other day after listening to a Suze Ormen podcast and I need to get saving 

soon! Which means I've been using my fun money this month to cover my overspending... Not so fun but I figure I need to make it hurt if I'm going to get back on track. 

I did a Target trip today and picked up a delicious new protein bar: 

Sadly I only bought one because I didn't know if I would like it. There was a Salted Caramel Cliff bar that I really wanted but they were sold out- Darnit! 

There's always next weekend to try :)

Bulu Box- May Edition

So a month ago I saw a Groupon for Bulu Box for $10 for a 3 month subscription. Now you all know how much I love a good subscription box so I had it ordered as soon as I got home... And my first one came today! 

A+ for the packaging- definitely looked like a happy surprise on my doorstep, especially on this gross dreary day!

And what's inside....

Goodies... Lucas already enjoys throwing the energy shot around the house!  At first I was a little hesitant because nothing looked familiar to me but thankfully they include a description card with how to use it :)

I haven't tried anything yet but here is what it came with:

SK energy shot- this will be interesting to try- probably going to do it on a weekend because many of these products make me crash and feel jittery! 

Sportea-I love tea and this one says its energizing without sugar or caffeine... Tall order ;)

Apothederm stretch mark cream- if it makes a difference, I will definitely buy!

Ovega 3- an alternative to fish oil. Mikes first question "What's wrong with fish oil?" Well the gross taste for one... Fingers crossed.

Shapeology burn blend- not to be confused with shakeology ;) I have heard of this brand... My one hesitation is what results you would even see with one dose ? I might skip trying this one altogether.... We will see.

I will give you updated reviews as I try things!

Tonight's workout was my best all week. I set out to run 30 minutes on the treadmill since it's raining and my husband is working and someone needs to monitor the baby. But since I stopped several times to add songs to my work in project, the Ultimate Half Marathon playlist, I made myself go a few minutes more. And then because I was so close to 3 mph (I run a lot slower on the treadmill than I do outside), I ran until it hit 3. But then I was close to 3.1 so I ran a little further... And then I guilted myself into a little more to make up for all the stops and still say I ran a 5k tonight on the treadmill ;) 

I followed it up with 10 minute abs.

Hopefully that undoes the damage of the Popsicle, cherry sour balls and cookie I ate today at work. I will be glad to be done working just so I'm not tempted to eat crap- if it's not around me, I can't eat it right! 

Hopefully the sun will come out soon and it will actually start to feel like summer! 

Take a break!

Sometimes in life you have those days where you just need to take a time out. You know the days- where you are tired, work was stressful and you are snapping at everyone. Lucas had a rough night on Sunday (teeth!) so I cut back on Mondays workout and just did yoga instead of a double workout. Monday night was better but he woke up at 5:40- ouch. So I skipped my workout last night in the hopes I could recharge and get to bed early. The child screaming down the street and my dog barking at everything that walked by had other plans apparently but I tried! Sometimes you have to admit you can't do it all and take a break. That's been hard for me in the past but I'm learning...

Tonight I was back at it with Cardio Fix and 30 minutes on the bike for my cross training. 

My main thought while riding has been whether or not to invest in Beachbody online access.... I think I'm going to sign up for the 30 day free trial this weekend and try it out. I am hoping to access at least one Chalene video and one 21 day fix extreme video, as well as T25 so I can try them before I decide to order a whole series..... 

Yup some serious heavy thoughts over here tonight ;) can you tell I have 10 days of work left? Sucky thing is it's over a 4 week period. Hopefully next year with all my schools being on the same schedule this won't happen again! 

Sweet dreams 💤

I finally found it!

I see people posting all the time about the latest Quest Bar flavor and how they buy them by the boxes and all I can think is.... Bleh! You crazy fools! I jumped on your chocolate cookie dough flavor bandwagon and it was disgusting. But for some reason, I decided to pick up a few new flavors today so I could have them instead of a protein shake post- workout if I was feeling like I wanted something to snack on. But today... I found a winner!

Cinnamon roll! 

Trust me, this recommendation corns after lots of failures so it's a good one!

And after tomorrow, I need to cut out the crap food again! I say Monday because I already bought myself some pull apart sticky buns for my Mother's Day breakfast ;) Today started off well but then I took Lucas to the mall over inch time. I was going to get myself Subway and knew he would like pizza with mac and cheese, but I didn't want to spend money on both because I knew he wouldn't eat much. So good mommy I am, I bought pizza and Mac and cheese. Terrible choice- I could see the oil lol plus the pizza actually wasn't that great, so why did I eat it?!? Growl at myself. The Oreo I ate post- supper was totally worth it :)

I did do a 45 minute walk with Lucad and the dog, Dirty 30 and now am getting in a 40 minute bike ride on the stationary bike. 

I was afraid I'd already undone my 21 day work but I measured myself and I am still in the same place. But that belly is still hanging during push-ups and planks so I'm using that as my motivation to keep working!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Hope it's a special one! 

BirchBox

With all my 21 Fix madness, I've strayed a bit from posting about anything else. So tonight's post is about a secret pleasure of mine: subscription boxes. I've been obsessed with them since they started a few years ago but I've never bitten the bullet to actually subscribe to any. So instead I drool over other bloggers who pay for them OR even better, get them for free.

So I was BEYOND thrilled when my mom got me a 3 month subscription to BirchBox. 

I'm going to be 100% honest, my first box was a tad disappointing. 

The smells of the two lotions did not do it for me. I love the smell of the hair oil but I can't really see it doing any difference yet. I enjoy the scrub that I got and it has a really pleasant smell and it seems like it will last awhile. I haven't used the face gel yet... Thank God for the information card because I definitely thought it was nail polish :)

This month's box was WAY better!

I was in need of some new eye shadow and am LOVING the gold color! I am excited to try the sea salt hair spray this summer- we will see if my straight hurt gets some beachy waves. I am on the fence about whether I like the perfume or not- Lucas wouldn't help by telling me his thoughts! I like the facial gel- I didn't think it would moisturize very well but it did! I haven't used the eye cream yet but j am excited to try it.

It's $10 a month so I will probably continue it when my subscription ends. I love trying new things and this is a cheap and easy way to do that!  I got a Groupon for Bulu Box so hopefully that review will be coming soon.

In other news, I am loving my rest day today but I really need to go back on the 21 day fix! My eating is already out of control and I'm 4 days post- 21! Ugh.

Damn you cotton candy Oreos!!

Hopefully will get back on track tomorrow!

Good night 💤

21 Day Fix Approved Recipe- Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Garlic Parmesan Chicken

It's easy, it's healthy, and most importantly, it's DELICIOUS.  Go make it now...or tomorrow if you don't have chicken, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and spinach on hand.

Post 21 Day Plan

No my post 21 day plan doesn't involve eating a hamburger, cheese balls, milkshake and chocolate chip cookie for supper, although that IS what I ate today ;)

I cannot tell you how delicious my pop was today, especially since it was free from the PTO.

And for those of you who think I will never find a flavored water I like, I need to share this:

Run to your nearest Target and get some!

Ok so what are my next plans on my path to a healthier lifestyle... Well half marathon training is part of it! The plan I picked looks like this:

Monday- Stretch and strengthen

               Yoga, Total body

Tuesday- Run

Wednesday- Cross train

                Upper Fix, Pilates

Thuraday- Run

Friday- Rest

Saturday- Cross train

                Alternate Dirty 30/Cardio Fix 

Sunday- Long run 

Mea Plan

Breakfast (350 calories)

Probably overnight oats with berries and a banana 

Lunch (350 calories)

Protein, carb, fruit, veggies 

Snack (250 calories)

Nuts or cheese, Veggies (probably celery with PB2) 

Supper (550 calories) 

Protein, carb, fruit, veggies 

Protein shake with cashew milk (150 calories) 

I will probably have to tweak and modify as training progresses but here goes round two! 

Day 21... Party time!

I made it!!!! Ok there were a few bumps in the road and I almost ate cake today (luckily it was all gone by the time I broke down) but I made it!!! 

Ok so let's start with the positives:

1- I lost two pounds.

2- I lost two inches off my stomach.

3- I feel stronger than ever.

4- 21 days with no soda and I feel pretty awake.

Now yes, there are some things I would probably do differently next time if I did this again. I had results and I'm proud of those results but let's be honest, they should be better if I was true to the program. Remember that at Day 2 I went to the next calorie level than what the program called for. I also used 3-4 Stevia packets a day on various things and the program really recommends one. Oops. I would also truly meal plan and make actual meals with variety instead of emsg and rice or sandwiches. I know it can be done, I was just lazy ;) I was much happier tonight eating steak with corn on the cob (carb on this program) and a vegetable and fruit.

I also had two skipped workouts and two cheats... And a few bitefuls of things shoved in my mouth by this crazy boy

But when Little Man shares, you take it.

Time to take a day off and then continue on this healthy lifestyle! 

Day 20

Day 20... Morale is low. I had a great day with Mike & Lucas and I even was given an uninterrupted 45 minutes to take a nap. Lucas went to bed at his usual 6:30 time which had been unusual this week. I decided to prep all the food we bought at Costco today before I worked out because my stomach was feeling a little unsettled (I had beef for supper instead of my usual turkey and chicken and my stomach was not as impressed as my taste buds).  

An hour and a half later, I finally got down. Note to self: when you buy Costco size, expect Costco size time to pre it all. I'm so glad it's al bagged and ready (not going to lie I didn't wash it- yes I'm going to die from cancer. My goal is to wash it before I eat it!) but by the time I got done, I was tired. I had 20 minutes left of the latest Greys so I decided to finish it and then workout. Big mistake. By the time I got ready to workout it was 8:30 and I still needed to shower and fold all my laundry. So no Dirty 30... But I didn't totally throw in the towel. I did do 10 minute abs- still hurts! 

Tomorrow is my last day officially... A chest on Tuesday and then right into my post 21 day plan.

Days 18-19... I cheated for real

Sigh.... I was really hoping that I would et to this weekend and be able to power through but the cards were not there.

Yesterday was good. I was low on groceries so I forgot a fruit because I needed to take a fruit cup instead of one of my bags of fruit and we got home late (yay for really nice clothes on garage sales) so I had a lame supper (turkey sandwich with carrots... Wouldn't have been so bad if that wasn't what I had for lunch) but I made it through. I even enjoyed my Pilates Fix. I'm not good at Pilates but I do enjoy it.

Today was a friend's baby shower and I thought for sure I would blow it on a piece of cake. But I turned down cupcakes, punch, fruit pizza (that was the hardest), and cheesecake. Stopped by my nephew's wrestling match to see him wrestle and then headed to my grandparents house.... Where I got some really bad news. My grandpa who just got out of a nursing home stay post- hospital is moving into hospice and my grandma will probably be going to a nursing home. This shook me because 1) I thought if my grandpa was coming home it meant that he was doing better and 2) I didn't know that my grandma was doing that bad. They are still so in love after so many years and I'm just broken hearted that they can't be in the same place in their final days. So my aunts wanted to do a toast after these hard decisions (I visited on a bad day!) and I wasn't going to turn down a toast to an amazing duo.  Now the cookie I ate at my grandma's.... Total emotional eating ;) I also didn't pack a lunch because we had NO groceries at this point so I had to grab half a sandwich at the grocery store. Probably not completely 21 day approved, but I was an emotional wreck and probably impacted by the lunchtime wine so I justified it.

Cardio Fix tonight! I only had to modify half of a couple moves so I can feel improvement so that was exciting.

Two more days left! I am taking Tuesday to rest my body and will probably eat something a little naughty and then start my post- 21 day meal and exercise plan. 

P.s. To my friends who were convinced I would like the lemon Hy-vee water... Water with a dash of lemon pledge at the end. Gross.