Coconut Oil & your hair

April 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

So…who thinks it’s crazy that I’m posting just a few days after the last time I posted? Yeah…me too…I must be feeling frisky!

Anyway, I just wanted to tell y’all about how wonderful I think Coconut Oil has been for my hair!

You might remember when I cut all of my hair off and donated it back in the summer, right before getting pregnant, right? Well, I have learned my lesson (for now) and I just don’t like myself with short hair. It’s convenient and all that jazz but I’d much rather keep my hair long, so I’ve been growing it since that cut and we’re getting there.

Ever since I started growing it back out I wanted to take better care of it, I am HORRIBLE at getting my hair trimmed and usually just shampoo it and throw it in a pony tail on days we’re not going anywhere so I needed something that was easy and cheap to keep up with it. So, it was off to Pinterest…

What did I find?

Coconut oil is GREAT for your hair (among LOTS of other things)…seriously? I already keep coconut oil around because we cook with it instead of other oils because of the nutritional benefits and all that jazz so I thought I’d try it.

**Coconut Oil is the shiz-niz!**

Everything I found on the subject said to use it as an overnight mask or leave it on for an hour so I experimented with both and found that I am too much of a mover and shaker in my sleep to use it that way so, about once a week (or every two weeks) I put it on my hair about an hour before I have to take a shower, let it sit (sometimes I put a walmart bag on my head, lol, and sometimes I just tie it in a pony tail – either way is fine) and then wash it out in the shower…and then…my hair is SUPER SUPER soft and light and lovely!

I know a few questions I’ve been asked in the past about this so I thought I’d answer those below too.

How much do you need to use? Well, I have SUPER thick hair and at the point it’s at right now (hits my collar bone), I use about 3 tablespoons to work through my hair BUT, most of the blogs I found and such said it only took them one tablespoon or so, so I think it really depends on your hair texture and length.

Apply Dry or Wet? Dry! You just work it through your hair until it’s completely saturated and really oily looking. The first bit you put on feels weird and like it’ll take forever but just keep working it through. If you’re not sure what I mean or you’ve never “worked with” coconut oil before, it is a solid when you buy it and turns into a liquid above a certain temperature. Just the heat from my hands melts it, so I just rub it between my hands with my head hung over the bathtub and then go to work.

Do I just wash my hair like normal? Yes AND no. Wash it like normal but wash it like 4,000 times, haha. I usually have to wash my hair a total of 4 times during my shower to get all of the oil out completely. What I do is really thoroughly scrub my hair with my normal shampoo the first time, then REALLY go at it a second time, washing much more vigorously than I would normally; I then do everything else I need to do (wash, shave, exfoliate, etc) and then wash it normally two more times at the end of my shower and that’s usually sufficient. The first time I did this, I washed it twice but I didn’t REALLY scrub it like it obviously needed and when I got out it felt like I might not have gotten all of the oil out but I ignored it, within about 30 minutes my hair was stiff – it was sexy. LOL.

Well, I guess that’s it – it’s really very very easy and I think has been a key to my hair growth and health this time (that and keeping up with my trims) and you won’t believe how SOFT your hair feels after this. I normally do this treatment, like I said, once a week or so, maybe once every two weeks but you can do it as often as you’d like but I would imagine if you have oil-prone hair that you’d want to do it less often…just experiment and have fun! Oh and rub some on your belly if you’re pregnant, it’s amazing (although if you’re already prone to stretch marks, it won’t help you much there – stupid genetics).

Anniversary date here we come!!! #happyanniversary #idontlikeleavingmykid

Geez, this belly is huge!!!! #almost34weeks

My hair right before I found out I was pregnant, just a few days after I cut it (on the left) and then now, about 8 months later – not a great picture but I can’t find any of just my hair :/ (on right).

Filed Under: healthy living, life, Mommy talk, personal, Products, Random Leave a Comment

The plan & a pregnancy update

February 6, 2013 By 1 Comment

So, first, I’m 26.5 weeks pregnant at this point, so ready to be done but loving feeling the rolls and kicks and punches in my belly.

At this point with Casen I was swelling in my ankles/feet on a daily basis and, knock on wood, I’ve had ZERO swelling – wonderful! I am feeling SUPER DUPER achy and stretchy and sore these days and I’m HUGE and, honestly, I don’t remember this being the case with Case (haha); I don’t remember being this achy and sore and such, maybe because I had a desk job where I hardly moved and now I’m chasing after a toddler all day everyday? Who knows.

Sleep sucks, well, that’s not COMPLETELY true, once I get to sleep I’m generally okay but getting to sleep is like a 2 hour process of rolling and tucking and removing of clothes and propping of pillows, etc. That being said, this entire pregnancy I’ve had a horribly dry mouth at night, I’m also fairly stopped up in my sinuses so I assume that’s the reason, I’m breathing through my mouth at night instead of my nose; anyway, that’s annoying because I wake up gagging almost every morning needing to hydrate my mouth. Yuck.

Overall my anxiety over this pregnancy has gotten better, for the most part. I have to have a c-section and I have come to terms with that, finally, and I’m actually very calm about it right now through lots of prayer and knowing that’s what God wants me to do (I have an option to switch hospitals and doctors and try for a vbac but the hospital doesn’t have the best reputation, etc so I did A LOT of praying and felt that the c-section at the hospital I like was where I needed to be). My blood pressure is completely normal, I’m monitoring it at home and the doctors finally realized that I am a TRUE case of White Coat Syndrome BUT at my last appointment a few weeks ago my BP was completely normal and I was so excited that I went and got a chocolate chip cookie and sweet tea from McDonalds! haha. I go back tomorrow morning, I’m praying it’s normal again tomorrow and that I pass my sugar test AND that the shot I have to get doesn’t hurt to badly.

I guess that’s all…this was me last week sometime…

Feeling huge today! #almost26weeks

Now, onto “The Plan”

You guys know that I was working out and focusing on healthy eating A LOT in the months before getting pregnant and was fairly successful, as I lost about 15 pounds in about 3 months. I wanted to lose at least 15 more before getting pregnant, who knew we’d get pregnant the first month we tried especially since it took 18 months to get pregnant with Casen…so, yeah, that didn’t happen.

Well, I cannot wait to get back at it, honestly, it’s one of the things I look forward to most about not being pregnant anymore (second to meeting my new baby boy, of course). I worked out fairly well until I was probably 16 weeks and then it just sort of dropped off, between the flu and not wanting to take Casen to the childcare, then my family being here from Hawaii and then the weather and now being HUGE and aching just from climbing steps…it’s just not happening anymore. I still try to walk on the treadmill when I think of it but that hasn’t happened in a few weeks either.

Anyway, I have to have a c-section (as I’ve mentioned before) so I won’t be cleared to start working out until 6-8 weeks, probably 8 but maybe 6 (I was cleared at 6 with Casen). So that means for that first few months after the baby is born, I need to rely solely on breastfeeding and my diet to shed some pounds. Now, that being said with Casen when I nursed (and when I was pregnant for that matter), I ate horribly, HORRIBLY – cookies and milk like 2-3 times/day, sugar cereal for breakfast, lots of Sierra Mist, too much food for lunch and supper, sodium & calorie-filled Chef Boyarde “meals”, etc and I still lost all of my baby weight (which was over 50 lbs because of LOTS of fluid from Preeclampsia) within 2-3 months. So, surely, if I’m watching my intake of calories (don’t worry, I know I need extra when nursing) and I’m nursing and I don’t gain as much this time I can lose all of the baby weight in the same time frame, hopefully (I know this may not be the case but it’s what I’m hoping for, don’t kill a girl’s dreams).

Then, after the 8 weeks is over I’ll hopefully be at my pre-pregnancy weight (which is about 30 lbs (or more) from my goal weight/size) and can jump start more weight loss by easing back into exercise. I plan to take things fairly easily those first few weeks I’m back at the gym and then try and jump into a routine of working out 6 days per week and watching calories (although the way I figure it, I’ll need X amount of calories to healthily lose weight PLUS 400-500 calories for nursing PLUS the extra calories I burn at the gym…so, geez, that shouldn’t be a problem, it may be a problem getting that many into my diet in a healthy way!).

Now, I plan to run the Color Run in November and I plan to be VERY close to my goal weight at that point (6 months after giving birth). Once I hit my goal weight (or size, I haven’t been a healthy weight/size in a while so I’m not sure where that’s at anymore and I have a huge amount of muscle so I tend to weight more than others my same “size” so I may hit my goal weight earlier or later than I think, I’ll definitely use my body size as a judge, not the number on the scale), I plan to just keep up my workout routine as I have been and add a few more calories back into my diet (which may not be necessary since the baby will likely be eating baby food and nursing less at this point – however, Casen NEVER nursed less even when he started baby food, so I won’t know that until it’s here) so that I don’t lose more than I want to.

Then, after Christmas I plan to EITHER start working out with a trainer 1-2 days/week OR start CrossFit. The decision here lies with the drive, I have to drive about an hour to Crossfit and I’ll have an 8 month old and 3.5 year old at that point so we’ll just have to see what’s easiest for me in scheduling but I’d like to focus on major toning and such at this point BECAUSE in the summer of 2014 we’re going to HAWAII!!! My sister-in-law and her family moved over there in November (from Japan) and we were going to go this summer but, well, yeah, don’t think that’s happening so we’re planning a trip for next summer. And I am NOT going to Hawaii looking all postpartum-yucky…I’m just not!

After that point I just plan to keep working out as normal and eat the way my body tells me to and to never have to worry with pregnancy weight gain/loss again! lol.

Did you get all that? I really needed to write it down because I think about it, I think about what I’m going to do and how I’m going to get to the point I want to be at before we go to Hawaii and I was afraid if I didn’t write it down, in a public forum that I wouldn’t do it. However, I’m very dedicated to healthy living these days and I can’t wait to jump back into it all.

Just a side note, if I were to have this baby at the same time as I had Casen, I have less than 10 weeks left (Case was born at 36 weeks)! I HOPE, I can at least make it another week to get to ‘full-term’ but that makes it not sound very far off at all…seriously…woah.

Oh, one more thing :: One of my best friends announced she was 19 weeks pregnant on Facebook the other day (I hadn’t seen her since I”ve been pregnant or I’m sure I would have known before now, but I found out on Facebook too, lol)!!! Then, she wrote a blog post about what she’s having…we’re going to have best friends and BOY, I thought I was going to have MY hands full! LOL.

Filed Under: baby #2, exercise, goals, healthy living, life, Mommy talk, personal, pregnancy, Random, weight loss 1 Comment

Fit Friday :: Guest Post!

June 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You guys, I am so excited for this Fit Friday, I have Clare from Fitting It All In here with us sharing her YUMMY smoothie recipe with us! How cool, right? If you’ve never been to Clare’s blog, make sure you do it now, she’s awesome and so inspirational AND shares lots of fun CrossFit and outfit photos!

Make sure you go to the bottom for an update on my goals/fitness and for the link-up!

Oh and be sure to stop by tomorrow for the first Small Business Saturday where I’ll be showing you a day in my life!

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My Favorite Smoothie Recipe

Hi everyone! My name is Clare and I blog over at Fitting It All In. I started my blog to share my efforts at living a balanced lifestyle after my eating disorder, and now I write about my favorite workouts, healthy meal ideas, work outfits, and random musings. Come say hi!

I don’t know about where you live, but it is HOT in Dallas. It’s been pool weather for a few months, but now that were in June we’re going to have 100+ days frequently. That means that if I exercise after work, or honestly even just walk from my car to my door, I’m craving something quick, easy, and cold.

I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say: a SMOOTHIE. Ever since I learned about Angela’s Green Monsters a few years ago I’ve never gone back to the plain old fruit kind. I love that even when I’m eating something sweet and creamy I can still be getting in some nutritious veggies. That means I can have smoothies for dinner every night, right?

I change up my smoothie recipe every once in a while, but currently I’m on a berry vanilla kick. Here’s what it takes:

  • ~1 cup frozen berry blend
  • 1 -2 handfuls spinach
  • 1 serving vanilla protein powder (I use Zrii Achieve but also love Jay Robb and SunWarrior)
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
  • 4-5 ice cubes


I layer my ingredients in a blender in that order and stop to stir a few times so all the spinach gets incorporated fully. Then I poor it into a bowl (it’s way more fun to eat it with a spoon!) and dig in.

Enjoy!!

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Isn’t she awesome?!? Thanks so much Clare for stopping by the blog today!

Not much to update you guys on as far as I go, I lost ONE pound this week, which is great…would I have liked to have lost more? Sure, but at least I didn’t gain…right? I hadn’t been to the gym in a WEEK before yesterday, I was a little sick and tired on Tuesday so I didn’t go and didn’t get a chance over the weekend but by-George, I went today and it felt great, oh, and…Casen normally screams when I drop him off at the childcare room and then runs to me when I get back and wants to leave immediately, well, I guess his little 2 week break (my parents were on ‘vacation’ last week so they watched him while I went) really helped him because he didn’t cry at.all, in fact he WANTEd to get down and go play and could have cared less that I left. Oh and when I got back, he didn’t want to leave, I kept saying “Ok, are you ready to go now?” and he’d say “No.”. Well, okay, I’ll take it. I hate making him cry!

Ok ladies, link away!


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Filed Under: blogging, exercise, Fit Friday, Food, guest posts, healthy living, link-up, series Leave a Comment

Fit Friday :: Week 1

June 22, 2012 By 4 Comments

So, WELCOME to the first week of the new Fit Friday link-up/series here on Freckles & Dirt!

To start off the series I just wanted to give you guys an update on where I’m at as of today.

My Stats ::

My starting weight (as of May 10th) was 186lbs (OMG).

Here I am 6 weeks later at a weight of 174lbs (-12 lbs)…yay!

I would like to lose AT LEAST 20 more pounds, 30 would be great but 20 is what I’m shooting for right now and then I’m going to evaluate my body and see if another 10 pounds is realistic. As I’ve talked about before, I’m a VERY muscular person so I weigh a little more than most people my same size at any point, so 140 is probably the smallest I’ve ever been (and size ZERO…see, weird muscle) and that was in my teenage days so we’ll see what my body wants to do now that I’m older and such.

I’m not doing measurements, I get a little discouraged by them because I feel like I’m not losing enough but I can definitely tell a difference in the way pants are fitting, etc. For example :: I bought a pair of white pants at Old Navy a while back and they were TIGHT but they were only like $11 so I had to have them. Well, they fit now, and guess what…they’re TOO BIG! So yeah, I’d rather have that feeling than measuring myself every week but you do what works for you!

What I’m doing ::

Exercise :: I workout at the gym at least 3 days/week (childcare is an issue, that’s really all I can get…plus my gym is a 30 minute drive) and on my “off” days I try and at least do something. Sometimes I do Insanity, sometimes I do P90x, I ride my bike around our neighborhood, I do workouts on the Wii, sometimes I just walk, etc. I try to take at least one day where I’m completely off, but the thing is, I still at least do abs this day…abs is an everyday thing here. At the gym I generally do a HIIT workout for about 20 minutes (I can’t physically go longer than that) and then do weights and abs for another 25 minutes or so. If you’re looking for some awesome HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts, check out Meals & Moves, she has a 20 minute treadmill (I did that today) and a 20 minute elliptical (what I normally do). I want to try Crossfit BUT the closest class is about an hour away, and a little on the pricey side so we’ll see…I may go just to see how it is.

Eating :: I don’t log in to MyFitnesspal.com every day like I was in the beginning, I try and count in my head BUT if the weight continues to be a slow loss this week, I’ll probably begin doing this everyday again…I’m afraid I’m eating more “extra” calories than I should be. But basically, I keep my diet to around 1200-1400 calories/day (depending on my workout for the day and what I feel like my body needs). I don’t eat a lot of sugar (although with this past weeks festivities around here, I ate a lot more than normal and I can tell it…yuck), I don’t drink sugar (something else I did this past week but isn’t normal for me) and I snack super healthy (fruits, cheese, veggies, etc).

How the link-up and series is going to work!

Each week, on Friday, I’ll be putting up a post with tips, tricks or even workout fashions, some from me and some from some of my favorite fitness bloggers! Attached to the post will be a link-up where you can link your fitness posts! I know, for me, it’s always nice to see how someone else is doing on their journey, it’s a breath of fresh air and sometimes it’s what I need to get “back on track” if I get off.

If you’d like to guest post for me, I’d love that, just shoot me an e-mail!

Feel free to link up ANY posts pertaining to fitness :: healthy recipes, workouts, your goals, tips, tricks, your progress, etc.

Oh, and there’s a lovely little grab button, over there ———> that you can get if you link-up to put in your posts, help spread the word, I’d love to have LOTS and LOTS of linkers!

 


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Filed Under: exercise, Fit Friday, healthy living, link-up, series, weight loss 4 Comments

New Series Coming…like tomorrow!

June 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

First of all, sorry for my absence; I had family in town last week for LOTS of surprise parties (photos coming from those next week) and didn’t have time for ANYTHING including this little bloggy blog and since they’ve left I’ve spent all week catching up on work…so, yeah…busy and SORRY!

Secondly, I have some EXCITING news for you!

As you know, I’ve recently gotten into fitness and healthy eating and decided it was time for Freckles & Dirt to start a fitness link-up and guest posting series! The new series will be called Fit Friday and will debut TOMORROW! I am going to start the series and link party out with giving some tips and and an update on my journey and you guys are welcome to link up and join in on the fun! I have some guest posters lined up and each Friday will be a new and fresh Fit Friday geared towards helping each other with our goals and linking up to show our progress. I am hoping to have my post up in the morning tomorrow but it could be in the afternoon but from then on, I’ll be MAKING SURE the post and link party goes up by 7:00 AM EST.

If you’re interested in guest posting or you have any questions, please let me know. Also, spread the word!

And now, onto the SECOND new series!

I am going to be starting a series called Small Business Saturdays (I am certain that’s not an original title, lol) and each Saturday I will have a new small business showcasing their talents and business in a way that most don’t normally do…by showing us a day in their lives! I always enjoy looking at the “a day in my life” posts with pictures and times allotted, it’s always nice to see how someone else plans out their days so I thought it’d be a neat way to spotlight a business, particularly small businesses, where their day is probably pretty hectic. I, again, am going to be starting off the series next Saturday, June 30th with a day in my life and then from then on will be new and fresh small businesses showing you through their daily lives!

If you own a small business and would be interested in guest posting, I’d love that, just send me an e-mail!

Well, I guess that’s all for now, it’s 12:30 AM and I am SO tired and SO sore (I’ve worked out HARD the past few days because last week was a little off with my family being here)…so, NIGHT!

Filed Under: blogging, business talk, Fit Friday, healthy living, life, link-up, series, Small Business Saturdays Leave a Comment

My Goals & Rewards

May 29, 2012 By 7 Comments

I recently told you guys about my new obsession with working out and eating healthy and in a few weeks I’ll be having a guest post on a friends blog about some of the things that keep you motivated and one of those things is to give yourself realistic goals and rewards that are NOT food. So, in the spirit, I thought I’d share my weight loss goals & rewards with you guys.

GOAL 1 :: Losing 10 lbs (I’m 2 lbs away!)
REWARD 1 :: Getting my hair CUT OFF! I have been wanting to chop my hair and donate it for a while now, the husband loves it but it’s HOT and it needs to be gone.

GOAL 2 :: Losing 20 lbs (hope to reach by July 3rd)
REWARD 2 :: A new pair of tennis shoes and new workout clothes!

GOAL 3 :: Losing 40 lbs
REWARD 3 :: Getting my nose or SOMETHING pierced. I have always wanted my nose pierced but I don’t know if I’m getting too old for that or not so I may end up getting a place on my ear(s) pierced that I’ve always wanted instead, but either way, somthing.will.be.pierced.

GOAL 4 :: Losing 46 lbs (overall goal)
REWARD 4 :: Tattoo!!! Don’t know what, don’t know where, but it’s happening!

I am sure I’ll come up with goals for the space in between 20lbs & 40lbs but I don’t know those yet…these are just the goals I have thus far.

Now, I consider losing 8 lbs lost and the fact that I’ve been VERY diligent about hitting the gym and working out and watching my food an act that deserves rewards SO…for this goal/reward I’m getting myself a bike trailer for Little Man to ride in behind my bike. I am actually getting it because I’ve decided to make a 10 mile (round trip) trip this weekend while my husband rides his horse to a family get-together. But yeah, exciting!

Filed Under: exercise, healthy living, life 7 Comments

On the Healthy Wagon

May 14, 2012 By 1 Comment

So, I mean, I’ve only been the gym three times now but I am officially addicted!

I used to love weight-lifting/training class in High School, I took it every year and always loved it; then I went to college and loved working out at the gym on campus there, but had a hard time knowing what to do without someone telling me.

Well, I’m hooked on the gym now.

When I went the first time a VERY NICE employee of the facility showed me some different workout sheets that I could follow and explained what each of them accomplished, etc. I found a workout routine that I really liked and did it full force the first day (boy, did I pay for THAT the next day) and then also did it again on Saturday…I love it!

I think part of my fear of going to the gym was the fear of looking like an idiot, jumping from machine to machine without any rhyme or reason and then coming home and not even feeling like I worked out…nope!

I hit the elliptical for a 10 minute interval warm-up, hit the weight machines, do a specific 3 machines 3 times, hit the elliptical for another 2 minute POWER session, back to the weight machines for another 3 machines for 3 times, back to the elliptical for a 2 minute power session, to the last set of weight machines and then back to the elliptical for a 10-15 minute interval and cool down.

Oh, the childcare room at my gym is very small because there’s only like 3-5 kids in there but let me tell you, Little Man LOVED it…he was excited to see me when I got there but I don’t think he missed me, I think he was very content playing with the “new” toys there. That made me so happy all in itself, it makes it easier to want to go knowing that he loves it too!

Heaven.

Let me tell you a little about my eating.

I have been eating healthy for a few months now but I definitely had the occasional piece (or 3) of pizza, cheeseburger, etc…not.any.more! I am sticking to a strict calorie intake limit of 1400 cals/day (or more if I workout that day) and I LITERALLY lost 5 lbs in the first 3 days. I am not wasting calories on junk that I didn’t realize I was wasting it on before (by junk I mean too much cheese, random snacks on Teddy Grahams the toddler drops, etc) and I’m DEFINITELY not wasting calories on soft drinks. I am not a huge soft drink drinker anyway, but I love some Seirra Mist and even more than that, I’m southern and I LOVE ME SOME sweet tea! Well, no sweet tea for this girl and I’m actually not that sad. I plan to make a gallon of either sweet black or green tea in the next day or too so that I don’t start craving it and make an impulsive stop at McDonalds for one one day.

I drink a protein shake (if you haven’t tried Dashing Dish’s recipes, go…NOW) on the mornings I workout for breakfast and also have some fruits for a mid-morning snack and then on the days I don’t work out, I usually have an egg and some fruit or whole-grain toast.

For snacks I have string cheese (but only ONE per day, this is where I had trouble before), fruit (grapes, apples, bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc), graham crackers and healthy cookie dough dip made with Stevia.

For lunch, I sometimes have chicken cheese pitas on whole grain 90 cal pitas and spinach or left-overs from supper the night before on top of a bed of spinach (I don’t like lettuce) or sometimes I have a snack-type of lunch and occasionally even a Smart Ones meal or something.

For supper, I cook fairly healthy for the whole family so I usually have what everybody else is having, something like whole-grain spaghetti with ground turkey or baked potatoes & veggies, etc. We’re not very ‘adventurous’ eaters around here so I have to eat what I like that’s healthy, lol.

The food thing has been going on a long time but I haven’t been watching HOW MUCH I eat, duh…I don’t know why, I guess I thought I wasn’t eating too many calories but I definitely think I was just eating enough to maintain my weight before, definitely not enough to gain or too much to lose.

As of today, I’ve lost right at 6lbs since last Monday…so, in a week!!! I think that’s part of my new obsession with the gym, I can already see it paying off in combination with the healthy eating and I love it!

I hope everybody has big plans for this week!!!

Filed Under: exercise, healthy living 1 Comment

Homemade lemon-lime soda

May 2, 2012 By 1 Comment

Let me start by saying that this has

ZERO calories &

ZERO grams of sugar…

ZERO, y’all, ZERO.

I am not a big fan of aspartame so I use stevia, I’m sure something will come about in a few years where it’s causing people to grow a 3rd eyeball, but, for now, it’s safe to me!

I LOVE me some Sierra Mist, like, LOVE. I love to buy it in a can so it’s super fizzy and guzzle it down…the problem is, it has calories, empty calories, sugar-filled calories.

So, why not make my own? DUH!

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INGREDIENTS

  • Carbonated Water (3 cups is what I used)
  • About 4 limes
  • 1 lemon
  • Stevia

STEP 1:

Make a sort of ‘simple syrup’ with water and Stevia. Basically, just use a sauté pan, add about 1 cup of water and 1 cup of stevia and bring to a boil, stirring, until the stevia is completely dissolved. Transfer over to another container (a glass bowl works well) and let cool.

This step is necessary so that the stevia is completely dissolved and you don’t get that crappy ‘gathered at the bottom of the pitcher’ thing.

STEP 2:

Squeeze out the juice of about 3-4 small limes or 1/4 of a cup of juice (fresh juice is best). You might be able to get the 1/4 cup out of less limes but I had to hand squeeze.

STEP 3:

Add lime juice and simple syrup and about 1/2 a SLICE (you know, slice it up and put about 1/2 of one of the slices – do not put too much lemon, been there, done that) into your carbonated water.

**I combined all ingredients into a pitcher, it got flat VERY quickly, next time I will DEFINITELY just put everything into the carbonated water “jug”.** Either way, make sure that your container is air tight.

Sorry, I took this photo with my phone, my camera was MIA at this time. And, yes, it has two whole lemon slices in it, that’s how I know only to put 1/2 of one.

picplz_upload

Filed Under: Food, healthy living 1 Comment

Fit Club – sign me up!

March 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

I’ve been on and off with my healthy eating and exercise routines over the past year or so, it’s sort of annoying. Back in the summer I was walking every day, still nursing my little man and wasn’t losing anymore weight, actually I was gaining.

I started exercising lots and really watching my portions and what I was eating back before Thanksgiving and I actually LOST weight over the Holiday.

I lost track around Christmas,

Started back at the New Year,

Lost track just a bit later,

And now, I’m back and doing very well with it.

I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so…

I promised myself 21 straight days of working out (I think I’m on day 8 or 9 now) and I’m sticking to it so far.

Up to this point, all I’ve been doing is walking/jogging intervals on the treadmill and then crunches afterwards which is great, except, I have a bum knee from cheerleading and dancing all of my life and it acts up when I do the same thing over and over.

I plan to start mixing it up and do the treadmill about 3 days a week and either my Wii workout things or videos of some sort so I think that’ll help the knee situation.

On eating:

I have REALLY been doing VERY well with eating healthy.

I don’t diet.

I just eat healthier.

Spinach doesn’t have a taste when you put it on top of pizza. So why not add it since I don’t eat a ton of veggies? Yep, no reason, it’s been added here lately.

Speaking of pizza, why not use a flatbread, whole grain pita thing as the crust? Is that not healthier than regular crust and those frozen lunch pizzas I used to eat? Oh yeah.

Do you know how much sodium is in canned foods? LOTS…I stopped these a long time ago but still, bad for you.

As a snack, I eat fruit or cheese. Lots and lots of fruit in my diet right now, not a bad thing. I am not a huge veggie person but I try to snack on them when I can or have a small salad with my meals sometimes to get my veggies in.

So, anyway, that’s what I’m doing.

I officially started “tracking” my weight loss last Monday again since I noticed the scale had crept back up to a place I’m NOT ok with.

Here’s my stats.

STARTING POINTS:

Weight: 184
Arms: 12.25
Hips: 44
Thighs: 26
Natural Waist: 34

WEEK 1 (3/12/12):

Weight: 179 (-5 lbs, oh yeah!)
Arms: 12.25 (no loss here)
Hips: 42.25 (-1.75)
Thighs: 25.25 (-.75)
Natural Waist: 32.5 (-1.5)

Ok, I am going to be linking up with Kim over at It’s a Crafty Life for her Fit Club this week – you should too!!!

Filed Under: exercise, healthy living, weight loss 1 Comment

Blah!

February 5, 2012 By 4 Comments

Do you like my new design? I’m LOVING it, l.o.v.e!

I’ve been struggling with a few health issues for years and I think I’ve finally nailed down the problem and I am excited to begin getting myself back on track!

As long as I can remember, I have struggled with nasty, disgusting, manly excess facial (and everywhere) hair. When I was in Elementary school I remember my Aunt coming over (she is a hair dresser) to wax my upper lip, literally in Elementary school, it was THAT bad! I started shaving my legs in 3rd grade because I HAD to, like, ya know that little peach fuzzy stuff most girls have on their legs and nobody cares because it’s blonde and no-biggy? Well, I had like man-legs by the time I was in 3rd grade so my Mom (after a TON of begging and pleading) let me start shaving my legs, I was the first one in my class, for sure. As I grew older, it only got worse and it was something I was always (and am still) embarrassed of. For a wedding gift my Mom purchased laser hair removal for me and, although it worked, it came right back. Fast forward into pregnancy and got EVEN WORSE and has stayed at that “even worse level” ever since.

Not only do I struggle with that but I have not had a ton of energy in a very very long time. I remember when we were building our house (3 years ago) that I was always so tired and I kept thinking “I’m 22 years old, I should still be able to pull all-nighters and be fine the next day”. I chucked being tired up to everything going on because we have literally NEVER stopped (college, got married, built our house, got pregnant, had our son, started my business, etc) going full force but lately I have begun to realize that it’s NOT normal, I SHOULD have more energy, I’m only 25.

Anxiety has been another struggle in my adult years. This started happening right around the same time I got married and I think it was a combo of moving away from home for the first time, graduating college and starting my new job and all kinds of other changes all at once. This is something that THANKFULLY has gotten better and better through the years but, it’s still there.

Anyway, I said all of that to get to this…

I went to the dermatologist a couple of weeks ago for my yearly skin exam (have I ever mentioned that I CONSTANTLY have pre-cancerous spots taken off of my skin? yeah.) and I mentioned and inquired about laser hair removal and mentioned that I’d had it before (at a different doctor) and that it didn’t work and the hair that I tried to “remove” only came back worse than ever. I got sent for blood work to make sure there wasn’t a hormone imbalance causing the hair growth (I was almost certain it would come back that SOMETHING was not in balance).

I got the results and my testosterone levels are high.

Let me rewind again for a second…

The hubs and I tried for 1.5 years to get pregnant with Little Man and the doctors were constantly thinking and referencing that I might have PCOS and immediately wanted to try fertility meds, I am not huge on taking unnecessary meds so I refused and we did eventually get pregnant on our own, but not without struggle.

K, back to present day…

The derm wanted to put me on some type of hormone meds (again, not a big fan of stuff like this) but I refused and decided to do some research on my own.

Turns out, I have just about EVERY symptom of PCOS and high testosterone levels are a big clinical symptom and is, in-turn, what causes the excess facial hair.

I really think I have it figured out and it makes me feel so much better!

I have decided to really alter my diet and eliminate sugars and carbs and such (something I want to do anyway) and exercise a lot more (something I started the New Year off doing well but have slacked off on) and then talk to my OBGYN about it when I go next month for my annual check-up.

All of my research has shown that with diet and exercise you can eliminate a lot of the symptoms and, now that I think about it, I don’t have near the ‘hair’ issue when I’m at a ‘normal’ weight for myself.

So, that’s it. It HAS to be done now.

Do any of you suffer from PCOS? If so, please give me ANY tips on natural ways to deal with it and help eliminate symptoms, I’d GREATLY appreciate it!

Filed Under: healthy living, life, weight loss 4 Comments
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