My friend Julia started a modest clothing business a while back called Whimsey Lane Apparel. She makes dresses, accessories and the cutest swimsuits ever!
Now, she is doing a giveaway at Happily Domestic for her Ava Dress, in Black Midnight. The dress comes in teal, lipstick red, black midnight and snow white and are on sale for $59 if you want a different color.
The giveaway ends at midnight on March 21st, so hurry over! And while you're at it, you can catch the tail end of Happily Domestic's Mikarose giftcard giveaway. I discovered Mikarose from this giveaway and I have definitely been missing out. Their dresses are AMAZING! Even if you don't enter the giveaway, you should definitely check out their website.
The goal I set for myself last month(technically the end of August) was to lose 4 lbs of fat. Unfortunately, I didn't even come close. The begining of the month was bad all over the place. We had 4 birthday parties and a wedding in the course of 3 weeks (that was a whole lot of cake...). I still struggled with getting my workouts in on a regular basis. About mid-September, a friend of mine invited me to go to a Zumba class with her (well, more like begged me to go so she wouldn't look like a fool since it was her first time too). I have to say, I totally loved it. It is some serious cardio and you are bound to break a sweat (or, in my case, drown in it). I have consistently gone at least once a week, and tried to squeeze in a a second time. It has been a very fun way to do cardio without the feeling of "working out." I highly recommend it. And for those of you that think that you are too old/fat/out of shape, watch this video:
This awesome lady is 65! She's "old" and probably not in the same shape that she was in her mid 20s. She also isn't on the same level as all the young ladies in class with her. But that hasn't stopped her. She keeps going and keeps trying. THAT is what exercise and being healthy is all about. It isn't about being "perfect" or having the perfect body. It is about constantly getting up in the morning and TRYING. One step at a time.
Take my measurements for example:
I started with this in July 2011:
Waist: 31 in
Hips: 40 in
Weight: 142 lbs
Body Fat: 34%
Goal:
Waist: 28 in
Hips: 38 in
Weight: 125 lbs
Body Fat: 30%
I set my goal so low because I didn't think I could actually get to where I wanted to be. I secretly wanted to have a 24" waist and 36" hips, but didn't think that after 4 babies I could ever get there again, without making some drastically unhealthy choices.
A year later, I hadn't made a lot of progress, except in the body fat area (although I am entirely convinced that the 18% drop came straight from my poor boobies that went from 36 DD to 30 B). I fully believe that this was because I had set my bar SO low that I didn't have any drive to actually reach it.
July 2012:
Weight: 140.8
Body fat: 16.3%
Waist: 31
Hips: 38.25
Chest: 29.5
Arms: 10/10.5
Thigh: 21
Now, only 2 MONTHS LATER, I am smaller than I ever thought I could get again, and I still have inches to lose if I want. I learned more about my body composition and that the magic number I was constantly reaching for (125lbs) was not going to make me LOOK the way I wanted. Seriously, what was I thinking? 125 lbs with 30% body fat would have meant that I was carrying around nearly 40 LBS OF FAT! Uh, no thank you (think boxes of butter, ew)!
So now, I am here:
Weight: 137 lbs
Body Fat: 15.6% (HALF of what my goal was last year!)
Waist: 27 in (smaller than my original goal)
Hips 36 in (my secret goal)
Chest: 29.25 in
Arm: 9.75/10.75 in (ha ha, I'm lopsided :/)
Thigh: 20 in
I am only carrying around 21lbs of fat and I have already hit my goal in several areas. The sheer difference in muscle/fat percentages is pretty awesome. I went from 94 lbs of muscle and 48 lbs of fat to 116 lbs of muscle and 21 lbs of fat. I can actually SEE the definition in my biceps that I never have before, even in High School when I was curling twice the weight I am now. The best part is that I am nearly the size I secretly always wanted to be and I'm still healthy. I always thought that in order to be as "skinny" as I really wanted that I would have to starve myself, or something. Nope. I just had to work my butt off. At this point, I can still safely lose 5 lbs of fat, putting me at 12% body fat and 132 lbs. With how many inches I lost just losing TWO pounds of fat, I'm kind of excited. In theory, I could lose an additional 11 inches. I don't know WHERE, but I would be totally happy with just another 4 or 5.
So, here's my new, improved goal:
Weight: 132 lbs
Body Fat: 12%
Waist: 24 in
Hips: 35 in (that would be so amazing)
Chest: 29 in
Arm: 9.75/9.75 (it would be nice to be even lol)
Thigh: 18 in
Total to lose: 5 lbs of fat and 6 inches
Think I can do it? We shall see...
July 2011
October 2012
Dang... That is the fist time that I have seen those two pictures together... I feel a whole lot better
Let me start off by saying that I am rather embarrassed to show you this photo.
This is one of my all-time favorite shirts. It is 100% bamboo cotton and feels so amazing. It is light weight and breathable and works great for layering. One problem:
Yep, that's right. The dreaded yellow pit stain. I have an excessive sweat problem (no, really, I sweat ALL the time, even when I'm cold...) and, sadly, I have a LOT of white shirts that have suffered this fate. Most of them have been tossed in the trash or cut up for rags or projects. Some, (like my awesome flame-sleeve shirt from High School) were rather painful to part with. Others, like this amazingly comfy shirt, I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of. I have spent many times wearing shirts like this and trying to keep my arms at my sides, or wearing extra layers to hide the dreaded pit stain. This particular shirt has looked just like this for more than 4 years. So sad! :(
I came across a few things on Pinterest to try to get rid of deodorant stains (as that is what the yellow stain actually is), but they all did little to nothing. I tried straight bleach. I tried White-Brite. I tried Rit dye (yes, they sell white dye). I tried peroxide and baking soda. NOTHING worked.
Then I found a few blogs that suggested adding dish soap to the peroxide/soda mixture. I tried it. Didn't work. So lame! So my shirts sat in my closet, longing to be worn, along with a grease-stained dress shirt from Riker's side of the closet.
Now here's the kicker: I always use cheap dish soap. It cleans, I don't care. Lately, I have been buying Ajax just because. It is relatively cheaper, but I figured it would work better than the super cheap brand. Riker always gives me a hard time because it doesn't SAY that it fights grease on the bottle (this coming from the man who INSISTS on Bounty paper towel, Huggies diapers, and top quality toilet paper. And to be honest, don't tell him I said this, he has been right so far), so how well can it actually clean?
I found another Pinterest tip for another project that REQUIRED Dawn dish soap and no other brand. I thought that was stupid, but I picked some up anyway as Geordi had dumped 3/4 of my dish soap on the kitchen table and I needed more soap.
With my ultra-concentrated de-greasing Dawn in hand, I figured I would start experimenting with things to see if it was really all it was cracked up to be. I think I have been converted! I used 1/3 of the soap I normally use for dishes. That right there convinced me. Then, I figured, what the heck, I will give this peroxide/baking soda/dish soap thing a try again.
...Dude.
Wait, let me show you the original again, for reference.
This poor shirt has suffered needlessly for FOUR YEARS!! I am going to go crazy on my white shirts tomorrow! Plus, it even removed the grease stain that has been washed and dried multiple times and then sat in the back of my closet for over a year.
So, I know you want to try this too now. I guess I can share my secret with you :)
I mixed 2 T baking soda, 3 T hydrogen peroxide, and 1 tsp DAWN dish soap in a small bowl. I spooned it over the stain, scrubbed it like crazy with a scrub brush for about 2 minutes or so (didn't damage my soft shirt at all) and let it sit for about an hour. The blue shirt sat for 1 1/2 hours since I washed it in a separate load, but it didn't affect it at all. Then I laundered it normally.
As a side note: this mixture wound up being more than I needed for both shirts, so I would probably halve that for 1 or 2 items. I think tomorrow I will wind up using it all, if not more, but I have 5 or 6 shirts to treat.
12 eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons barbeque sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
1 dash chipotle pepper 12 slices whole wheat bread 6 oz cheddar cheese 6 pears, sliced Peel and chop eggs. Mix mayo, barbecue sauce, mustard and chipotle powder in separate bowl. Add eggs and stir to combine. Serve on bread with cheese slices and pears.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and I can't get enough of it (honestly, that happens every time I make it). It is SO good! It is adapted from a recipe found here.
Tomato Basil Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust
Serves 6
1.5 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup melted butter 1.5 cups milk
5 eggs, beaten
large handful fresh basil, chiffonade (fancy word for chopped in strips)
15 grape tomatoes (I greatly prefer this recipe with sun dried tomatoes, but I don't always have them on hand)
4 oz log chevre, crumbled salt and pepper to taste
2 bunches asparagus
In a 9-inch pie pan, combine butter and flour and mix with a fork.
After mixing well, use your hand to form a ball in the pan and then
press into pan. Bring it up on the sides and pinch the top (with your
finger or a fork). Evenly spread the cheese, tomatoes, and bail over the crust. Then mix eggs and milk and pour gently over filling. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until filling is set. Serve with steamed asparagus spears.
