Bodyrock.Tv 30 Day Challenge: Fit Test #2

Going Strong!! So I missed my workout on Wednesday, picked back up on Thursday, and skipped again on Friday. Who wants to workout on a Friday anyway? I would much rather go out with friends and have a few adult beverages. Which is exactly what I did!

Although I was hurting the next day (and I don't mean sore muscles), I pushed myself to get in a workout. I had finally gotten to the second Fit Test of the 30 Day Challenge. Knowing that I was probably dehydrated from drinking the night before, I was a bit worried I wouldn't score well compared to my original scores. However, I can proudly say that my scores absolutely improved!

Fit Test #2:
Squat Jumps: 30 (5 over original test)
Push-ups: 15 (3 over original test)
Burpees: 10 (3 over original test)
High Knees: 112 (36 over original test)
Switch Lunges: 30 (16 over original test and no modifications)
Tuck Jumps: 12 (4 over original)
Straight Abs: 9 (no modifications)

And to celebrate my achievement, I went out and gorged myself! Ok, so it wasn't really to celebrate, but it was date night with the hubby and I did gorge myself. And to add a bit of Fashion & Beauty to this post, here was my outfit for the night.

My Brows on a Budget.... e.l.f. Brow Kit

I envy all of you ladies that have beautiful eyebrows. You know, the ones that are full, perfectly shaped, and require minimal maintenance. I used to have these brows back in the day. I can remember on my wedding day, my make-up artist telling me how beautiful my brows were. Oh, those were the days....

Fast forward eight years and my brows are now a MESS... A special shout out to my lovely friend who I like to refer to as "anxiety". Thanks to him, my brows are way over plucked and super sparse in areas. Not only do I pluck with a tweezer, but when I get super stressed I pull the hairs out with my fingers. I know, it's insane. So, because of this, eyebrow powder/pencils are my best friend. I never leave the house without filling in my brows. Even when I did have nice looking brows, I still used eyebrow powder to give me that polished look. It truly makes a difference!!

My go to eyebrow powders are Smashbox in Brunette and Anastasia in Brunette. If I had to choose between the two, Smashbox wins by a small margin. Both have lasting power, but Smashbox tends to stay the best in my city's outrageous humidity.

I was using the Anastasia powder (in Ebony this time) which tends to be dark on me, but that was a good thing because my hair WAS dark. But after getting my hair cut and colored for the New Year, my hair is now much lighter. I continued to wear the Anastasia powder for a few days, but I noticed something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it. At first I thought it was my new hair color that I didn't like, but then I realized my brows were way too dark for the new color. I needed to add some warmth to my brows.

Since it was the beginning of the year, and one of my resolutions was to spend less money, I decided to try a drugstore brand. While in Target a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that e.l.f. had a new brow kit for $3. Yes, only $3! Who can pass up a deal like that, and the colors matched what I was looking for. I had never tried e.l.f. brand cosmetics before, but figured I could stand to lose 3 bucks if it didn't work out.

The darker brown is the "gel" which is more of a wax. I use my Anastasia brow brush to apply the wax where my brows are sparse to even out the color. I also apply a small amount over my entire brow to help keep the hairs in place. Then I apply the lighter color to my entire brow to add a bit of warmth so they better match my hair color.

For $3, I would definitely recommend this product. The gel and powder were easy to apply. It lasts throughout the day. And most important, it does I what originally bought it for - to match the color of my brows to my hair.

If you've tried e.l.f. cosmetics, let me know your thoughts. Were you happy with the quality? What e.l.f. products do you use? Also, do you have any other recommendations for not too expensive brow products?

BodyRock.Tv 30 Day Challenge: Day 3

Third straight day of working out! Woohoo!! 

Yesterday I did Day 3 of BodyRock's challenge titled "International Love Workout". I was going to skip it since I was going out that night, BUT I decided to stay motivated so I did the workout before getting ready to go out. So glad I did!

Here is the workout hosted by Lisa Marie (She is super spunky!!). You can find the video on their website or on YouTube. 

Playlist of the Day from inthegym.net: Foundation

My Scores:

Superman Push-ups: 14

Elevated Push-ups/Knee Touch: 6 (no ball) & 6 girl push-ups

Squat & Press: 8 (no sandbag)

Clean Press/Jump Forward/3 Squats: 4 (no ball)

Reverse Pull-ups: 12

Side Burpee/Obliques/Tuck Jump: 3

Forward Lunge/Side Lunge/Knee Lift: 9 (no sandbag)

Ball Push-up/Burpee/ Sumo Knee: 5 (no ball)

Tricep Dip/V Abs: 8 (modified - half dips, knees up - no V)

Overhead Abs: 20 (no sandbag)

Shoulder Lift/Squat/Switch Shoulder Press: 12 (no sandbag)

Speed Run: Forgot to count :)

Who in their right mind is going to do this? I'm talking about posting a horrendous looking before pic. Well, I'm gonna be brave and DO IT!! 

So, here it is, before I decide to change my mind!

Excuse the weird face and smudgy mirror (4 year old handprints, lol). 

Did someone say "skinny fat"?! Cuz that's me!! 

I'm not overweight, but I am lacking in the tone department. My goal over the next couple of months is to tone up and just get in better shape overall. I want definition, people!! 

And, as I'm sitting her typing out this post... :::: Hold That Thought, Please! Interrupted by my smudgy fingered son who wants to ride his scooter. Be back in a bit. ::::

Ok, I'm back. So the dilemma right now is: Do I workout or eat the Papa John's pizza that just got delivered? Hmmm...decisions, decisions. 

And here is a pic of my OOTD that I wore yesterday to Moms & Margaritas Night at our local Chuy's. (Yes, those are pillow pets in the background!).

T-Shirt: JCrew Outlet
Cardigan: JCrew Outlet
Skinny Jeans: Target
Boots: Famous Footwear

Off to work out! And THEN eat pizza!! :)

New Year, New Me...

Ok, well maybe not a completely new me, but I did get my new "do".  Love it!!

My head feels so much lighter and my hair looks so much healthier. Not too mention, I look about 10 years younger. No more grays!! 

I'm still trying to get used to the color. It's a bit lighter than usual (you can't tell from the pics though). But, other than that, I'm so glad I made the change. Now on to shopping tomorrow. :)

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone has a fabulous night with family and friends. I'll be cozying up with the family watching the ball drop from the comfort of my home. I'm such a homebody!

Time for a Change...

The new year is almost upon us. I'm definitely looking forward to starting fresh next year. The end of this year was pretty much a downer.

I did get some good news today though. My HCG levels have returned to 0! My red blood cell count went up as well but it was still low - 9.2 - so my OB wants me to continue to take the Folgard. Hopefully, in a few weeks my Hgb and iron count will be back to normal.  We will start trying again in March. The plan is to schedule an HSG before we start trying to make sure my left tube is all clear. This should help our chances of conceiving. If we haven't gotten pregnant by May/June then I will see a specialist. Praying that we can avoid this though.

So, on to the fun stuff...

After two months of not being able to go to the salon, I finally have an appointment for tomorrow. I'm super excited!! You wouldn't believe the number of gray hairs that I have growing at my roots. If I let my hair grow out, half of my hair would be completely gray! Boo.

I've decided to make a change and go shorter. Currently my hair looks like this...

photo courtesy of pattijohnston.com

It's hard to tell from the pic, but my hair hits mid back (right at the bra line) when it's straight. More often than not it's straight except for special occasions.  

Here are some inspiration pics of what I'm going for:

Love it!! And hair color:

An interesting fact I learned while searching hair color is that you can tell if you have a "warm" or "cool" skin tone based on the color of the veins in your wrist. If the veins in your wrist have a green hue to them, then you have a "warm" skin tone. If the veins are bluish, then you are considered to have a "cool" skin tone. Pretty cool! Although, I still don't know what skin tone I have. My veins look both greenish and bluish. :) 

Oh, and I'm loving this cut. Maybe one day I'll get enough nerve to actually chop all my hair off! :)

If all turns out well, I'll post a pic of the new do. If I don't post a pic, well, then you know what happened. I'll be crying all afternoon. :)

Here's to a new me!!