sunshine & starlitwishes

I’ve slacked a little on the workouts lately. It is what it is - no point in making any excuses. I’ve had a rough trip emotionally, lately, but I’m working through it all, one step at a time. 
Right now, my main goal is to focus on what matters the most - the people in my life. 
The movie The Bucket List has been replaying in my head - I don’t want to wait until I’m at the end to decide all the things I want to accomplish. So, this is it, I’m doing all the things I want to do. It starts with spending as much time with the little one as possible. Weekends are wrapped up in activities with the beautiful little blondie. We spend our free time doing crafts, dancing around the house, having slumber party/movie nights in her bed. 
I have no bucket list, but if I did, it’d be never ending. 

What is your favorite workout to get the heart pumping?
For me, it’s dancing. I’m a dancer, I love dancing. Part of the reason I think I enjoy it so much is because it doesn’t FEEL like a workout. It’s fun. It’s something that anybody/everybody can do. I have the worst time putting how I’m feeling into words; often I turn to music and dance to do it for me. Getting a workout in while I’m expressing my thoughts/feelings is just twice as awesome. Especially now that I have a mini-me who loves it just as much. We dance ourselves silly on a daily basis around here!

 This post is sponsored by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

What steps have you made so far this year to improve your quality of life?

Everything [okay, not everything] I’ve done has been some kind of active attempt at improving the quality of life. I’ve recently came upon a handful of health issues. Not only are they physical health issues, they’re emotionally draining. 
I went through a period of self pity. I cried, a lot. I felt like giving up, giving in. Shutting the world out. And then, one day, I realized, this is MY fight. I have to fight this. I CAN fight this.
Every day that I make it through is another day I’ve improved.

I LOVE the way a workout feels. That satisfaction I get after I push myself through something I really didn’t care to do in the first place… I know there’s going to come a day where I won’t be able to do a workout. Where what I do now will be too much. So, I’m going to make the most of what I CAN do right now.

I’ve made everything about the blue eyed blondie who is my world. The weekends are ours- we do girly things - paint our nails, have pajama parties, bake cookies for complete strangers, go shopping & try on random dresses, just because.
Everyone says you’re suppose to draw a line between being a parent and being a friend. But right now, I NEED this.

 

This week’s blogging carnival question fits in well with things I’ve feeling day to day lately. 
I recently attended a Mary Kay party and did the whole makeup thing. As someone who rarely wears makeup, it was a little bit out of my comfort zone. After doing all that was asked of me, I received several compliments about how good I looked with the makeup on. It was sweet, yes, and I appreciated the compliments,
but, then, it got me worrying: were they suggesting (in a roundabout way) that I didn’t look good without the makeup? Were they saying I was only pretty because I had makeup on?!

(Of course, that’s not at all what any of them were saying, or would ever say, but it’s how my self esteem fighting ways push me down) 

What would make you feel sexier?
I have low self esteem, and always have. Partly because of the way I was raised- I’ve always felt like what I’ve done isn’t enough. As though, no matter how good I do, I could be doing better. (I.E. That A- I got in English wasn’t good enough; it should have been an A+. That score I got at a dance comp could have been 5 points better.) I’ve spent most of my life hearing these types of things, and for a long, long time, I believed what I heard. It went as far as me feeling as though I deserved the bad things that happened to me. 
I hear I’m sexy. He tells me he wants me, and that things like that. And of course, I love hearing those things. They do help, immensely, I won’t lie. 
But there’s this little part of me…that just doesn’t believe it. Me? Sexy. Yeah, right.
I am learning though, that I can be just as sexy in a tshirt and some underwear as I can be dressed up.
It’s all in how I feel. 

This post is sponsored by Eden Fantasys and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation.

When I last left off, I talked about how despite people around me saying I looked like I lost weight, I felt it was impossible, because I had completely slacked in all things healthy. Soon after, I stepped on a scale- for the first time in a long time. It took more than a couple minutes of calming myself down before I could even open my eyes to look at what it said. I was terrified that because of all the slacking I had done, the number would be higher than I had seen it in a long time. 
BUT! I looked. And stepped off. Stepped back on. Wash, rinse, repeat several times. Somehow, someway, I lost 10 pounds. 10. 
I stood there, and fought away tears. If I can lose 10 without trying, imagine how much I can lose if I get it my all? And that, my friends, is why I’m here. I’m so close to my goal weight. SO CLOSE. I NEED to keep pushing myself, harder than I was before. This time, there’s no quitting. No backing down.

This week’s blogging question: “What is your favorite way to relax?”
For me, I’d have to say one of my favorite ways to relax is reading. I rarely get time to dive into a book and give it my one hundred percent undivided attention. But when I am able to, I forget about everything else.
On that note, anybody have any good books to suggest?

This post is sponsored by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

The quote ‘what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger’ gives me a little bit of hope, I suppose. This hasn’t killed me yet, so apparently it’s making me stronger? 

Most days, I don’t feel it [stronger, that is] but it’s a quote, so it must be true, right? Right.

I haven’t blogged in a  long time. Way too long, honestly. And I’m aware that I’m half way between Mamavation Monday posts, but who cares, at least I’m writing. 

The sad thing is..even thought it’s been lightyears since I’ve last updated the world, I have absolutely nothing to share. Amazing, no? I’ve been busy - with work, school, the little one…life in general. 

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of “you’re losing weight” type comments from people around me. This last weekend, my aunt asked me if I’ve been losing weight, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. She said I looked good, and asked what I’d been doing to lose weight. The truth is…I’ve slacked. I haven’t done much of anything. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see that I’m losing weight. I don’t see that I’m looking good. And really, it sets me into some kind of downward spiral. 

And I’m realizing it’s all on me. I can’t blame anybody else for how I’m feeling. I know why I feel this way. I can change. Yeah, it might be a little hard. Yes, there will be days I want to give up. But, it’s all on me. With some hard work, and a lot of changes, I can do this.

My very smart 4 year old often says “Momma, I’ve got this.” Today, I’m saying guys, I’ve got this.

I don’t have much to report on this week, we’re battling cold weather and sickness over here, so not much has happened otherwise. The 4 year old has a mild case of the chicken pox. I’ve been moving as much as I possibly can, but have been MIA most of the week. Hopefully this week is a little less stressful.

This week’s question ties in with the exact things I’ve played over and over in my head this week. I could never sum up into one post all that I am thankful for, honestly. 

What are you thankful for in your life?

As we’ve all battled the sickies here, I’m finding myself thankful for the things I was never really acknowleding before. I’m thankful to have a safe place to take my daughter to get checked out when I know she’s not feeling well. I’m thankful that the safe place (also known as the hospital) was full of people who didn’t mind that a grumpy four year old was in their presence. I’m thankful to have a roof over my head, and people who truly care about me, even if it seems like they’re working against me sometimes.

I’m thankful for the ability to hear, and see, because there are so many people in this world who have not been blessed with these senses. I’m able to watch my daughter, to see her face light up, to hear her voice, whether it be her giggling, crying, singing, or just plain talking. I’m able to watch the sun rise, see the sun set, hear the raindrops as they hit our roof. 

I’m thankful to live where I live - I complain, especially on days like today, when it rains and is gloomy gross, but I love this place. I love that I’m where I grew up- that I’m showing the kid things that I loved when I was young. 

I’m thankful I’m here. Alive. Healthy. 

I’m thankful for you, for reading this, for being a part of my life that I so deeply treasure.

**This post is sponsored by Belly Beautiful Postnatal Fitness and Busy Mom Workout and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention &weight loss for women“

I’ve never MIA for a while now. Life’s been tough, and finding the time to write has been even more difficult. But, I’m yet to stop. I’m still pushing myself daily. I’m still moving, making goals, and working towards checking off each of those goals. I fell back intoa rut with the no pop drinking, but I’m slowly getting there. I’ve done it before, I know I can cut it from the day to day, so no more excuses. 

I’m battling cold/allergy stuff, again. This stuff never ends, I’m sure. On top of the stress of daily life, I’m trying to make time for ME, so I don’t get burn out. Not always easy, but I’m moving in the right direction. 

What kind of activities have you done with a pedometer on?

We do a ton of stuff with pedometers. When I bought mine, I picked up a cheap one for my daughter. Most mornings, we put them on and wear them throughout the day. Any weekend that comes with sunshiney warm weather finds us, and our pedometers, searching for adventures, whether it’s a walk to the park, a hike through the woods, or just chasing each other through the backyard. There’s always something. 

This post is sponsored by Omron and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women“”

Fitness wise, this was my week. I rocked the step chellenge, everyday, making my goal of 10,000 steps with the exception of two days (both of which I was pretty darn close.)
The 4 year old’s father has been home, so she’s spent the majority of the week with him (this is the first time she’s seen him in a handful of months. IE the first time she’s been gone/away from me in months.) So, I did the only thing I could to distract me from missing my mini-me. I worked out. I worked out hard. I rocked working out.  
And then, at some point, I over did it. I worked myself too hard, or atleast I’m guessing? My left side - from my stomach/ribcage area all the way to my shoulder hurt. It felt like I pulled multiple muscles or something. Laughing, coughing, heck, even breathing made it hurt more.
I’ll be honest, at first, I wanted to work out through it. I wanted to push myself harder, to the point where I was numb from the pain.
I’ve held in a lot of my feelings lately, and working out was my way to release the stress. Not working out isn’t good for me. But I know my body is telling me I went too far, so here I am, relaxing. Doing everything my body tells me to, so that when it’s ready, I can push again.

I started an account with LiveStrong, and have been tracking all that I eat. It helps, seeing what I’m putting into my body written out in front of me. As long as I stick to it, I think it’ll definitely do some good.

 How would you brand your health and wellness lifestyle?  How do you want others to know you in this area?
I’m not sure how to answer this. I feel like I’m really just starting this journey. Sure, I’ve been around for a while, but in all honesty, I never gave it 100%. I was coming into it all with a shrug and a “sure, I guess I’ll do it…” Now though, it’s more of a jump up and “let’s get this started!” I’ve been so strongly influenced and supported by so many of the other Mamavation sistas. Ultimately, I would love to be able to lend a supporting hand to others as they’ve done for me. 

This post is sponsored by New Balanceand I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women“.

This week’s blogging carnival question got me thinking.

I’ve had a really stress filled week, like hardcore, near the point of tears more than once, trying my hardest to not think about all the bad things going on. BUT I pushed through it. I worked out harder than I ever have before. On more than one occasion, I set my alarm for five in the morning (and actually got up when the alarm went off the first time!) with every intention of working out. I rocked the #2weekchallenge this week, even though I felt like giving up every time I started.

And honestly, that’s what I was going for. Instead of emo eating like I wanted to, instead of giving up and sitting on my butt, whining, I got up and pushed.
More importantly, I’m craving more.
I want to create a daily workout routine. It’s easy to keep up right now, with the 2weekchallenge, but once that’s done, I want to do more. I was some kind of written schedule, so I can just glance at it, and get to it. Any suggestions?  
What do YOU do? How do you plan your workouts? Do you do any certain workout each day, or just go with the flow?

 My ultimate goal for this campaign round, is to keep up with it. I don’t want to fall back and let the stress get to me. 
What is your goal?