A Healthy Journey Part Two - Get In Touch with Your Feelings

Hi everyone! This is my second post in my healthy journey series.

So why not me? There are tons of fitness models and coaches and professional athletes well in to their 60's who are in better shape than me. I'm only 34, surely I can get fit too? Right?

Sure! Of course! But it won't start in the gym. It won't start at the grocery store either. And it certainly won't start online shopping for cute work-out clothes.

It starts inside. In your head. Yep.

Dig deep and get in touch with those feelings!

(This is Dahlia. Stealing sports bras off the drying rack is her version of getting healthy.)

Something in my brain had to finally turn on and get it. This can't be about being a certain size. It can't be about looking like a Kardashian or Cindy Crawford. This is about being healthy. Which means FEELING good. And feelings start on the inside. And then they work to the outside. And when you feel good, others can feel it too.

Notice I said feel. Not see. Feel. Just think about it.

If you feel good about yourself, you are likely to smile more, use more open body language, have a more positive mood and generally be more pleasant to be around. I am not saying you are perfect, or never crabby, but generally people who feel good are more fun to be around than people who feel shitty. Just think about people you know and how you feel when you are around them. Crabby, fun-suckers might be funny for awhile or you can understand their struggles, but being around them constantly is draining. When you are around someone who is smiling and positive (not like nauseating-Polly Anna-optimistic all the frickin time either) is more relaxing and fun to be around. Agreed?

Once I was able to start getting my mind on the right path, it wasn't as much of a struggle to start getting the rest of me there too. It wasn't a cake walk, but it wasn't as much of struggle as it has been in the past. You can't do nothing, eat like shit and mope and expect to suddenly feel better or lose weight. You have to own who you are and decide that you want to feel better and then figure out what you need to do to get there.

This mental clarity or realization has take me YEARS to figure out. It's still something I have to remind myself daily and some days are better than others. But physical health is directly linked to mental health. Get your head in the game and watch it change everything.

A Healthy Journey Begins

I know a lot of people are using the word "journey" to talk about a lot of things right now. Today I want to talk to you about my journey. This will be the first in a series of posts as this is a long story to tell and one that is still in progress.

This is not a story of weight loss, though that is part of the story, it is not the focus. This is not a story of being skinny or thin. Healthy does not equal skinny. Being fit does not mean losing massive amounts of weight. Being healthy is more than just what you put in your mouth or how many burpees you can do or what size jeans you wear. This is my story of how I am getting healthy.

(This is Onyx. He is not on a journey. But he likes it when I put pictures of him in my blogs.)

Health and fitness is something we all work on everyday. Some of us work harder than others and for some of us it's easier than for others. Many people have huge obstacles and hurdles in their way; be it financial, disabilities and disease, or simply a lack of motivation. Everyone is different.

I've seen a crap ton of fitness and healthy quotes and some of them are really awesome, and some are really stupid. But one that stands out for me as really cheesy and true is that fitness is a journey, not a destination. I don't know who originally said that and I don't know where I originally saw that so I can't credit the source here, but that's not the point. The point is, is that I didn't really get that until now. Seriously, like in the last week or so I've really been thinking about that statement and it's never been more clear to me. 

I have struggled with fitness since I was a little kid. A lot of kids around me were into playing sports and being active. Me? I was totally content to hang out inside with my toys and not get sweaty or deal with bugs. As I got older, I still didn't really care about participating in sports because that would have required interaction with others and I wasn't super in to that. Once I was in my late teens and early twenties I decided I wanted to "get in shape" and tried various magazine workouts and bought a couple of workout DVDs from Target to help me get fit. 

In college I worked out pretty hardcore, but didn't really do anything else to support my healthy lifestyle. I drank a lot and ate like total crap, but I was 23 so my metabolism was working in my favor. I am now 34 and my metabolism is looking at me like "Pay back is a bitch, eat those fries, I dare you." And when I look back at pictures of me from that time period I am not as fit-looking as I thought I was. I am not saying I look bad, I just am not as defined as I felt (or remember feeling). 

Then I entered the professional work force and went from one desk job to the next. I gained some weight and then would decide to eat better and would lose a pound here and there. Then I decided I didn't care and ate whatever I wanted and screw eating salad. 

A couple of years ago I had started working out more, but not really quite eating as healthy as I should have been and I lost a little weight due to increased activity. Then we moved into a new house and had all kinds of other things going on in my life and eating healthy kind of took a back seat. I felt fine, I was tired and stressed, but I felt like that was normal. I wasn't paying any attention to my weight, but I knew that some of my clothes were feeling tighter than normal and just thought, well I'm over 30 now so this is what happens.

But it's not what happens. Why should I have to accept that because I am now 30 that it will just be down hill from here? People over 30 can be healthy and fit right?! Why not me?

Everything Happens for a Reason

Ok time to get a little deep on the blog. Do you believe in coincidence? I don't. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you don't know why, and sometimes it takes for freaking ever to determine what that reason is. But ultimately I do not believe that things are random.

Take one example. Back in 2002 I went to college and met some extremely awesome people. I didn't know it at the time but one of them would be responsible for introducing me to Tony. It took four years for the timing to be right, but here we are nine years later and still going strong.

Another example, taking a chance on a business opportunity with mark. (now under Avon) allowed me to make some really awesome friends I would never have met otherwise and that has led to not only some amazing friendships but through that network of friends I was introduced to more business opportunities and new networks of people. And this blog.

It's really crazy how things are all connected, even when you can't see it right away. Especially the smaller things. If you would have chosen to sit somewhere different or take a different route to work; all of those little things can lead to something that could have completely changed your life. It could be something as small as a shittier commute by taking a route that had unexpected road construction, or by introducing yourself to someone at a networking meeting who ends up becoming a co-worker down the line. Crazy.

Sometimes things happen that are good, and some things that happen are extremely shitty. But all of those things are there to teach you something and make you stronger and wiser for what is yet to come.

I'm sorry if that is too deep or vague or weird; but I was just reflecting on my life lately and feeling really awesome about how things are going and grateful for all of the lessons I have learned (good and bad).

What are your thoughts on this? any strange "coincidences" or choices you want to share?

Fall Scents - Bath and Body Works

As mentioned in my previous post, fall is my favorite time of year. I especially love the smells of fall. Pumpkin, spice, cinnamon, etc. I love it! And one of my fave places in the world is Bath and Body Works. I have been a fan of theirs since the first one opened up in the Lawton Mall in Oklahoma and changed my world forever (not a lot happened in Lawton, so this was literally life-changing at the time).

So today, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things I like to get this time of year.

Before we get started, I want to point out a couple of things:

• Try and wait until the candles are two for $22 this happens several times a season.
• Wall flowers are ALWAYS 6 for $24 or cheaper, but don't get duped by the two packs, if you do the math they are not always cheaper than buying them individually. 
• Bath and Body Works gives out coupons like nobody's business. Use them.
• Retail-Me-Knot ALWAYS has discount codes for shopping online at B&BW's website. You can download the app for free. I use this when I shop anywhere because they almost always have some sort of discount code going.

(excuse the non-fall candle hiding in the background - it's Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut if you're wondering)

I freaking love candles. I always have, and then I had a slight obsession with the movie The Craft and they were always burning candles for some sort of magical purposes and my love for candles has just intensified. I used to have like 20 of them in my room in high school, kinda weird I guess. And yeah,  I happen to think that Bath and Body Works has some of the best ones. My favorite scents in fall are Leaves (classic cinnamon-y scent), Marshmallow Fireside and then the Pumpkin ones. Here I have Sweet Cinnamon Pumkin and Pumpkin Pecan Waffles. One year they had a Pumpkin Latte scent and I LOVED IT, but I haven't seen it the last couple of years. 

I also picked up wallflower refills in Leaves. I have these all over my house and they typically last at least a month if not slightly longer (it usually depends on the size of the room they are in). 

And finally, I needed more hand sanitizer so I purchased their Autumn Scents pack for $5 (making these $1 each). My favorite so far is Fall Lakeside Breeze. It smells divine (as far as hand sanitizers go).

So that's it for today's post. What are your fave fall items to pick up from Bath and Body Works? What was your first scent you ever bought from them? Mine was Sun-Ripened Raspberry and then I was hooked on Juniper Breeze for awhile. 

Bye Felicia!

I am a make-up hoarder. Well, kind of. I really like make-up, so I tend to buy it a lot. It's like...a hobby. People ride bikes, collect comics and stamps, I collect make-up. Or I used to.

A couple of  years ago I really felt pressure to buy a lot of the new make-up items, mostly from the drugstore, in order to make sure I was trying the latest and greatest and providing my readers with reviews, swatches, etc. I had So. Much. Stuff. Too much actually. And it was really stressful to me to have all that stuff that wasn't getting used and wasn't being enjoyed.

But then over the course of the last couple of years, I realized two things:

1. Not every new product that comes out will look good on or work for me.
2. If people want reviews of every damn new product that comes out, there are already 400 bagillion blogs and videos out there with that info (I'm lookin at you YouTube).

So what does that mean?

I cleaned the shit out of my stash. I mean that literally and figuratively. If the product didn't look good on me, or wasn't something I used a lot I got rid of it. I didn't just throw it away (unless it was expired). I returned a crap ton of stuff to Sephora and Target, and gave away BAGS of make-up to friends and family (you're welcome Jen and Laurel!). And now what I have left is a stash of my most favorite and most used make-up.

This is not to say I don't still fight the urge to buy (or at least want to buy) all the new things. I just don't give in. [Note - to be clear, I NEVER actually bought ALL the new things.] I really think about whether or not I need a sixth foundation in my drawer, or another dark red lipstick in my purse. Most of the time the answer is no. I try to limit myself to picking up new items either, when something runs out that I don't already have a replacement for, OR a couple of things for each new season.

I have gotten to the point this year with make-up (and other things in my life) that if it's not working for me, then it's done. I am done hanging on to stuff that I won't use. I don't care how trendy it is or how much someone else says they love it. I am not a YouTube Beauty Guru (and that's okay - I love them, I'm just not one of them!), I don't have millions of followers and an endless supply of cash and sponsor-ships to try out every new beauty item under the sun. I am done trying to be something I am not, it's exhausting and expensive and stressful and just plain shitty. I am who I am, and I think I am pretty awesome.

Have you every had one of these "epiphany-style" moments? What was it?

Fall Favorites

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing colors of the leaves, the crisp cool mornings, snuggling into warm fuzzy blankets and sweaters. I love football and Fall TV (Empire and Sleepy Hollow are my faves!) So for this post I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite fall "things".

1. Orange and gold. Pumpkins, leaves, nail polish, everything this time of year is some variation of orange and gold. I love how rich it makes things look (not like money rich), it's just the best.

2. Cinnamon and pumpkin scented everything. My house never smells better.

3. Family time. I have the best memories of fall as a kid and this time of year always makes me feel nostalgic for those times. But fall means the beginning of the holiday season and some of the funnest times you will spend all year with your fam.

4. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! The best fall/Halloween movie. Ever.

5. Halloween - I love to decorate for it, celebrate it and just everything.

6. Boots! I love boots! And scarves. Fall fashion is so comfortable and I love the chunky knits, the fleece lined things, everything is just so cozy and COMFY.

7. The September Issue. As in Vogue. I seriously wait all year for this to arrive. I look at it probably 100 times and tear out pages of clothes, hair, anything that inspires me for season and I try to re-create looks with things I already have or identify (much cheaper versions) pieces that I want to buy for my fall wardrobe. Burgundy knee-high boots and plaid everything made in this year (thanks JustFab and Target!) but I am huge fan of plaid anything all the time, not just this year.

8. Baking. Is there any time of year that has better baked goods than fall? The answer is no. Pumpkin pie, pumpkins seeds, cinnamon cookies, banana bread. Bam.

9. Bonfires. Sure summer bonfires are great, being at the lake/beach, blah blah blah. But fall bonfires smell better, they burn brighter, AND there are no bugs. No bugs. #winning

10. Fall folklore and rituals. So interesting. Preparing for the fall solstice, All Hallows Eve, Day of the Dead, all those things, fascinating.

What's your favorite thing about fall?

Hi, I'm not dead.

Eight months.

That's how long it's been since my last post.

(Dahlia isn't impressed either.)

Some of you are going, "I know!" and some of you are thinking, "Who is this bitch?". Yeah, it's been awhile. Life happened, I left this blog in the dust and just didn't really feel like doing anything about it. Lazy? Kind of. Rude? Maybe. But I am really hoping to be back on track with things and move forward from here.

Part of why it's been so long is I just honestly haven't felt all that inspired by blogs lately. It seems like the same old same old crap content everywhere. And I just felt really blah about my own blog. I felt like I was trying to be and keep up with someone I'm not. I am not a professional blogger. I do not want to forgo sleep and snuggles with my fur babies to write a post for you. Sorry. And then I just got really crabby about the whole blogging thing in general. So I stopped.

But now, I want to get back in the game and take this blog in a bit of a different direction. I want you guys to feel like we are BFFs sitting down to a glass of wine and I have something fun (and maybe sometimes it won't be so fun  - not everything is unicorns and rainbows) to share with you. I want to take a look at other areas of my life and share those with you as well. Beauty will likely still be the main focus as it's something I really enjoy and like to share my opinions on, but it can't be the only focus. I bored myself, so I hope I didn't bore you.

Some of the things that have been going on since my last post:

- I lost 20 pounds, maybe you want to hear about that?
- I switched jobs.
- One of my dogs had ACL surgery.
- One of our chickens was brutally murdered by a hawk/owl/chupacabra/alien.
- Tony and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary.
- I was in a fashion show and made some kick ass new friends.
- Other shit I can't remember; it was eight months guys. Jeez.

As soon as this post is done, I am going to write up several more so that I have more consistent stuff for you.

Quick question. If you have a blog/website/whatever, how do you stay motivated to keep posting content for your readers?