A Few of my Favorite Things.... August 2014

I decided I wanted to start a new series talking about things I have found that make life just a little bit easier for this eating real food, health and fitness wannabe, trying to limit unnecessary chemicals in my home,  momma.

So here are a few things that are making me happy. Right now.

Wool Dryer Balls

I have been contemplating the idea of dryer balls as opposed to dryer sheets for a while. Dryer sheets in my house had become the fodder for, well, my husband getting super annoyed with me. Laundry is one of those things I just despise doing and I tended to not be the best at cleaning up my laundry space. I would let dryer sheets float around everywhere (which made him crazy.) So in an effort to help the situation, I switched to the dryer bar. It made me crazy. It always fell off the side of the dryer and clunked around the entire time. Or I would forget to check it and it would be gone and I would have static-y clothes. And I was always worried about the bar getting gooey or getting whatever its bar-ness is made from all over my clothes. It just stressed me out.

So on a whim I ordered some dryer balls and have been so happy (and wonder why I waited so long to do it.) I am really pleased with them. They claim to shorten dryer time, I am not sure about this but am working with an old dryer. (Plus I am one to leave my dried clothes in the dryer forever hand have to re-fluff them to get the wrinkles out. Worst laundry doer ever.) So while I have noticed it reducing drying time a little bit it doesn't make a huge difference in my life either way.

I do love that there is no scent whatsoever. I have always been the girl that hates having my sheets and clothes smell like summer breezes or ocean winds and all those weird laundry scents. They make me itchy and give me a headache. So the fact that these come unscented makes me super happy. (If you are in the opposite camp as me and love opening your closet to yummy scented clothes, you can actually scent the dryer balls with essential oils. Custom smelly laundry which could be kind of awesome.)

The brand I picked up was Smart Sheep 100% Premium Wool Dryer Balls . It is a smaller company and they have actually emailed me a few times to make sure I was happy with my purchase. (Yay for awesome customer service!) So that makes me have warm and fuzzy feelings about them too.

Simple Sugars Facial Scrub

I saw this product on Shark Tank and as I have super sensitive skin and I LOVED the idea of supporting a local business run by a young lady (Yay Pittsburgh!) I was eager to run out and grab one of these. I will tell you that it has become a staple in my daily beauty routine. 

Thanks to all the amazing oils in them I have been able to ditch my super expensive moisturizers. Now I only use a little bit of coconut oil in the winter. In the summertime I don't even need it. 

Check out Lani's story and all of her awesome products here. Or if you are in the Pittsburgh area you can pick up Simple Sugars in Giant Eagle's beauty department. (I have also seen her featured on Zulilly a few times too.) The coffee face scrub is the best! 

Disney Wonderland Tea

I am not a HUGE tea drinker and those that are will probably mock me or chastise me for talking about Disney tea. But this is something I tried on one of our trips to the parks and I became an addict. I LOVE it. (I also love their Coffee  too. So there's that.) It's kind of fruity and yummy and on rainy days a book and a cup of tea is kind of magical. 

My absolute favorite? The Mad Tea Party Blend (Loose Leaf). It totally saves me when I have the afternoon munchies hit or I am not in a coffee drinking mood.

Curly Hair

It's summer. It's humid (in theory) and hot and the last thing I want to do is spend tons of time in a hot bathroom with a blowdryer and flat iron trying to tame my hair. (Only to have it turn frizzy the moment I walk outside.) I have temperamental curly hair. Not truly curly. Pretty wavy bordering on curly but the front kind of stays pretty straight. And it frizzes. Even without humidity.

I love the idea of being able to let my hair just air dry. Wash and go. And still look super cute. So I have tried every curly hair product that lines the shelves of my Target. And of course none of them worked. I figured I was destined to have to straighten my hair every day until my stylist convinced me to try Unite "BOING" Curling Cream. This stuff, albeit a little pricy, is the best. It leaves my hair almost totally frizz free, wavy to borderline curly and soft. No crunchy 80's waves happening. And it lasts forever. I don't use it daily so I have had the same bottle for like a year. For me, it is totally worth the investment on those days where I don't have 40 minutes to dry and straighten my hair.

Skinny Jeans Are Coming....whether I am ready or not

No matter how hard I try, I can't run away from my retail roots. As soon as August hits, my thoughts are filled with denim, denim walls and wondering what denim will be on sale. Because if we are being honest here.....Fall means honey crisp apples, pumpkin flavored everything, boots and denim. LOTS of denim.

As a former pusher of denim, I was super curious about what exactly the trends were going to be this year and one of the big ones....high rise denim. I grabbed a pair of these to check them out and oh my word is the waist TINY. Maybe I am used to looking at jeans cut to fit around the hips but I immediately sucked in and tried to figure out if I would even be able to button them.  It was at that moment that I knew I NEEDED to do another fall denim challenge group.

So what I am dishing up for August....A 30 day Skinny Jeans Challenge

How would it work?

For 30 days I would put you in a closed Facebook group with others trying to achieve the same goal (including me! yay!) We will break our goals down into weekly goals. We will talk about clean eating, meal preparation, meal planning and everything you need to get set up for success. We will measure progress by not just using the scale but by measurements and photos (I know. Super scary but when you think you aren't making any progress it is amazing to see what you actually done in the photos. Believe me. I've been there!) We will do this on Day 1, Day 14 and Day 30.

We will post daily in the group and rate our day on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 being the worst. We will rate our diet and our exercise (basically how hard you brought it!) and whether or not we had our Shakeology.

We will commit to trying out Shakeology for 30 days. I know once I did it, I fell in love with the energy I had and how great I felt from getting all the nutrients I need. (*Side note* my nails look awesome. Better than when I was on prenatal vitamins. It is my current obsession since I have struggled with weak and peeling nails forever! One of the perks I didn't know I was going to get.) So Shakeology is going to fuel your body (keyword fuel) with the vitamins and nutrients you need throughout the day. And there is a 30 day guarantee on Shakeology so if it isn't working for you, we'll talk (and you get your money back.) --For more on my experience Shakeology read this.

We will eat clean. (For more info on what that means read this.) But basically just strive to eat real, whole food. No chemicals and no processed food. I will provide you with recipe ideas, meal planning and all the tools that have worked so far for me on this journey.

We will also commit to working out 5-6 days a week. I don't care if you run, walk or lift. Just get that body moving! If you already workout regularly think about stepping up your game. Adding some weight training to your cardio. If you don't have an exercise regimen we can talk about options. If you are interested in trying a Beachbody program, we can talk about that too and get you set up with something that totally works for you. There are so many options outside of P90x and Insanity (which I feel gets all the love) so if hard core intensity isn't for you, we can totally find something that is. I am currently doing a PiYO and Les Mills Pump hybrid. I have found success with the at home programs from BeachBody because they are a killer workout and they all come with a schedule. So I can wake up, get my kiddo some breakfast and toss in a movie, look at the schedule, pop in a DVD and press play. I don't have to worry about getting her ready to go to the gym with me or what series of exercises I am going to do that day. I know me and I need that schedule. I get really freaked out if I am going to miss a day and "mess up" the schedule or the order. But whatever works for you, we will make it happen.

Plus I will give you daily motivation, tips and tricks and share all the research I have accrued over the last few months.

Need even more incentive? 

For the FIRST time I am SO EXCITED to offer a challenge group grand prize! I am partnering with a few coaches to make this happen. The goal here is to get you into a new, smaller pair of jeans. So what better prize than a gift card to your favorite store to make that happen?*  

Our official start date is August 25.


Want to join us? Fill out the application below

*amount will vary based on the number of participants signed up for the challenge. To be eligible for the grand prize participants must have purchased a challenge pack during the month of  August  2014. 

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo templates to make your own HTML forms.

Four BIG things I learned from doing the 3 Day Refresh

I have been putting off talking about this. But the time has come where I HAVE to talk about it. I have put it off long enough and need to share what I think are the whys of why it didn't work for me.

I am talking about the 3 Day Refresh.

I am a HUGE fan of the shakeology cleanse. I loved it. I had great results and talked about it openly all the time. (For more info on the shakeology cleanse click here. To read about my experience with it click here.) So I was kind of dismayed when Isabelle Daikeler (co-creator of shakeology) talked about how it wasn't designed for a cleanse. There wasn't the right balance of protein and fiber or calories for optimal results. But since the cleanse was so popular she set out to design one that would incorporate those things, and the 3 Day Refresh was born.

So I eagerly ordered mine as soon as I could. I had a cross-country move coming up, followed by a holiday week at home that would be filled with friends, family, food and booze. I know how I feel after those weeks. And being on vacation at home with my husband means eating at all our favorite restaurants before he heads West again. (Because out there they are desperately lacking in all things pizza and Italian food. So when back home in Pittsburgh, he eats his fill.)

It sat on top of my fridge as I anxiously waited for the right time to start it (like the day after my hubby left.) I tore into it with wild abandon and read all the details. I made a plan. I shopped. I tried to incorporate all the leftover veggie tray veggies from the Fourth of July party into my meals (hello moroccan carrot salad.) I was excited and prepared. I was going to rock this.

Except I didn't.

The first day was okay. I was hungry but nothing I wasn't expecting. I drank a lot of water. Forced down the Fiber Sweep shake. (It's not bad but the chia and flax in it get clumpy if it sits and the texture gets really gross. Seriously, shake and chug. It's better for everyone that way.) I made it through the Vanilla Fresh shakes with no major issues. They were okay. Not terrible but not amazing either. I used my allotment of frozen fruit in my shakes so they had a thicker texture. I drank my water. I went to bed. I didn't feel headachy or anything like that which was a plus.

Imagine my dismay when I woke up on Day Two and gained 3 pounds. Crazy. So I googled. This was what I found:

"Improved regularity is a possible benefit of the program. However many users may not be accustomed to the higher levels of fiber in their diet, and this can lead to temporary gas, bloating or constipation. If users get a little gas or bloating, this is a sign that they need to up their fiber levels in general." (Source) 

But I eat vegetables. ALL the time. I get TONS of fiber. I knew that was not my issue. But maybe it was water weight or something like that. It would just go away. No big deal. So I pressed on. 

Day Two continued on much like Day One, except I learned these little tricks. Choose lettuce for lunch. Seriously, 3 cups is a serving. That's a major win compared to 12 green beans. 
      
And on Day Three I woke up having gained another 2 pounds. (So a total of five pounds.) For someone who was hoping to lose the five happy good times travel pounds she put on the previous week this was not an ideal situation. Also by this point in the cleanse the Vanilla Fresh shakes were starting to really hurt my stomach. I didn't even use the last one. 

So I was done. And crabby about the whole thing. 

The final verdict. I gained 5 pounds. From a cleanse. And I felt terrible. That was a really hard thing to wrap my head around. 

But I am a glass half full kind of girl so I refused to see this as a major setback. I knew there were takeaways from this I could use to move forward in my journey. So what did I learn from this situation.... a few things. 

1. I most definitely have some type of food intolerance happening. 

Doing an elimination diet and figuring that out to get my health to the next level has been moved WAY up on the priority list. 

2. Starting the day drinking 8-12 oz of water is awesome. 

This is something that is recommended on the Refresh and I am going to implement daily. No coffee until that water is down the hatch. 

3. Beachbody has a pretty awesome return policy.

 I was able to return the completely EMPTY box the refresh came in for a full refund. No questions asked. (Just remember to keep your tracking number!) *

4. Not everything works for everyone. 

This is true for workouts, foods, diets and apparently cleanses. Our bodies are all different. Our lifestyles are all different. There is not a one size fits all solution. Luckily when it comes to workouts and nutrition there are TONS of different options to find the one that works. A year and a half later I am still trying to nail down the nutrition side of it but I am getting closer every day. 

Despite all of this...was I disappointed? Yes. Was I frustrated? Extremely. But there was nothing I could do to go back and fix it at that point besides get right back on track with my workouts and my meal plan. 

What was even more frustrating....to see all of my friends and teammates having killer results with the 3 Day Refresh. 

Michelle lost 6 lbs. SIX POUNDS in three days. That is crazy. (You can read more about her experience here.)

AND Amber lost 8 lbs. EIGHT pounds and TWO inches. (Are you starting to feel my frustration now?) (You can read about her story here.)

There are tons of stories I could share with you to illustrate awesome successes in three days. (Or you can just google 3 Day Refresh Results.) But I wanted to mention these two ladies because they are on my team. I know them. I work with them. For me that seems WAY more credible that an image straight from google. 

So what does this mean? 

I will not be jumping on the Refresh bandwagon anytime soon. There is something in there that just does not agree with me. But I am in the minority by far. (Still angry.) 

And if you too happen to fall in that minority, you have the 30 day guarantee to fall back on. Money back. Empty Box. No questions asked. 

Should you try it?

I would take a look at your health, your history, the ingredients and determine if it is something that can work for you. If you have questions take them to your doctor. But I am a firm believer in giving everything a shot....so if you are on the fence I say go for it. What do you have to lose?

For more information on the Refresh click here. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. 

The 3 Day Refresh - The What, Whys and Hows....

The last two weeks in my life has been a crazy whirlwind of packing, moving, unpacking, cleaning, doing yard work and more recently celebrating a number of things with my friends and family. My first week home is pretty much like a vacation with A LOT of hard work (and spiders!) I don't get to grocery shop until I have already eaten out a bunch of times and pretty much completely messed up my system.

I have learned over the past year that I don't do well on dairy. I had some great success trying out an elimination diet for two weeks last month but I really overestimated being able to move across the country and maintain that kind of rigor in my diet. (But this is something I am really looking forward to trying when I can really commit. I know there are other things that are messing with my system besides dairy but that is an entirely different post.)

So 2, 169 miles, 9 suitcases, three people, two dogs all got home to a house full of dust, spiders and
weeds that were of prehistoric proportions.

It needed handled.

A truckload of mulch, 5 hydrangeas, two flats of flowers and a day later. The outside of my house was getting close to handled.

But I also had 3 cheerleading practices, a hair appointment, a party to throw for 60 plus people and 3 dinners on separate nights with friends who wanted to say hey, but couldn't make it on Friday.

The way I was eating went out the window and was taken over by convenience and all the at the places my husband wanted to eat before he packed back up and went out of town again.

Needless to say I am kind of a mess right now. We had beer, pizza, German food (amazing!), birthday cake, brownies, hotdogs, hamburgers, and all sorts of different and yummy sides. Not to mention seafood, the best risotto I have ever had, more beer, sangria, caipirinhas, creme brulee, fish tacos, guac and chips.....I mean I could keep going and going and going.

So I am more than eager to get all of this sugar (among other things) out of my system by trying the new 3 day Refresh starting tomorrow.



What is the 3 Day Refresh? 3-Day Refresh is a straightforward 3-Day program to lose weight, get a clean break from bad nutrition habits and feel immediately cleaner, lighter and more healthy…without starving! (There is real food called for on this program which is kind of awesome.)

So What Comes with the 3 Day Refresh?

• 3 shakes a day
•  a fiber drink
• plenty of filtered water,
• plus 3 small meals and fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day to keep your energy and metabolism going. 

Why would I want to Refresh?

Maybe you had a weekend (or a week or two) like mine and you just want to get back on track and back to feeling full of energy and generally awesome. Maybe you have a big event coming up and you want to rock it. Maybe you are looking to break a plateau or kick off a new program by hitting the ground running. There are a ton of reasons to give this a shot. 

How Do I Refresh?

1.  Start your day off with Shakeology- Packed with potent superfoods, Shakeology starts each of your days on the Refresh with Your Daily Dose of Dense Nutrition^® to help improve and support all your body's vital functions, while also helping to maximize energy and maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
2. Vanilla Fresh Shakes FOR LUNCH AND DINNER This patent-pending, delicious, and protein-rich formula helps curb your hunger with more than 20 grams of wholesome plant-based protein, 22 essential vitamins and minerals, probiotics for digestive health, and a patented potato protein extract clinically tested to satisfy your appetite.*
3. FIBER SWEEP DRINK-Gently and naturally eliminates waste from your digestive system with its patent-pending blend of whole ground flax, chia, and psyllium seed husks. As part of a healthy diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, Fiber Sweep can help lower cholesterol, support healthy blood sugar levels, and may even reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.* 
4. PLUS 9 HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS RECIPES 9 easy-to-fix, healthy, and delicious recipes for lunch and dinner, each one packed with rich flavor that even veggie-haters will love. Then treat yourself to Refresh-friendly snacks to add a little tasty variety to every day.

I look forward to sharing my experience on the refresh with you. I am also eager to get back on track. I mean this week was totally fun but I would be lying through my teeth if I told you I felt better than poo right now. If you want to experience the refresh for yourself give me a shout. (And in the month of July ONLY there is a way to get your refresh on for only $10. Crazy talk.)

Zoodles (and why this zucchini noodle maker is for so much more than zucchini)

I have been obsessed with the idea of zucchini noodles for a long time. I just loved the idea of them. In salads, mixed with pasta to bulk up my veggie intake (and cut down on my pasta intake!) alone, mixed with other things, as a side dish. The idea of being able to twirl my zucchini instead of stab it made me very excited. Maybe because it is different or that because we are so conditioned to look at pasta as something indulgent....so twirling zucchini taps into that happy place for me?

Sometimes it's better to just go with it.

So I did.

I sucked it up and bought myself a vegetable spiralizer. I was so excited when that box showed up on my front porch that I squealed. Mama had a new toy to play with! Since it was one of those things I really, really, really, really wanted, I looked into a bunch of different kinds before I bought it and narrowed it down to two:

the kind that spiralizes the way you would sharpen a pencil (like the Kitchen Basics® Spiral Vegetable Slicer)

or

the kind that you turn a crank and out pop the noodle shaped veggies (like the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer)

Since I am of the overdramatic, overcommitted, go big or go home mentality, I went with the Paderno. Plus I figured I would get really annoyed sharpening multiple zucchini at a time. I am not a patient person. (I pretty much trick my husband into cutting and dicing veggies whenever I can.) I figured that one would just end up in the back of a drawer after I my arm hurt from doing it the first time and I would never use it again. But if you are more patient than I, it may be a nice option. It would take up less space in an already crowded kitchen for sure.

I was a little disappointed in the plasticness of it. It wasn't very sturdy feeling. I wanted something that felt solid like if I was going to crank out veggie noodles for the next three hours it would stand up to the challenge. 

But overall, not bad. Once I got the push and crank at the same time thing down it went really smoothly. A little messy (ok a lot messy but that was probably 90%my fault as I am the messiest cook ever.) AND I found out this little baby is not just for zucchini. 

I spent the week spiralizing anything I could get my hands on. Apples (for a awesome zucchini apple salad I took to a cookout), sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, yellow summer squash....and I have lots on my list to try. Like beets, carrots, cabbage, pears, cucumbers....basically if I can get it to stick onto the little grippers, I am going to try and spiralize it. (Which is another reason I am glad I chose the crank and turn version, I am not too sure how well a big old sweet potato would fit in the little one.)

I have also been making a big batch of a basic zoodle salad and keeping that in the fridge. I then dress it up with different things for lunches or dinners. Ground turkey, salsa and all my favorite taco toppings for a spin on a taco salad,  lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce for a little greek flavor, chopped tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella for a summery caprese salad. 

The Paderno also came with a few extra blade sizes so you can do little c shaped cuts, thicker linguini style noodles or the ones that are more like spaghetti. Which I probably will never use. I was hoping one would cut potatoes like the ribbon fries you can buy at a fair in the summer. I mean how much would baked ribbon fries rock with some clean burgers for dinner? I was sadly mistaken and just ended up with linguini sized cuts instead.

But overall I am still super stoked about my newest kitchen tool. I mean they even twirl like spaghetti. And my kiddo thinks it is way more fun to eat worm veggies instead of cut up veggies. She devoured her zucchini and made birdie noises while she did it. A new toy for me and a win! I will chalk that up to an awesome day.

Unplug, Process and Breathe

Friday and Saturday were really rough. I just hit the wall where all of my worlds were very needy. We are starting to prep to move back to PA. Packing, deciding what to take and what to leave, mountains of laundry, what is going on a plane vs what is going in the car. Trying to use up all the food in the fridge and freezer. Lists upon lists upon lists.

And with that relocation also comes the start of a new cheer season. Schedules, and camp lists and preparations were all there needing to be done, addressed and communicated. Making sure orders are in on time and trying to orchestrate things from over 2,000 miles away.

On top of that, Beachbody was also conducting our annual Summit conference full of meetings, announcements, parties and new product launches. My social media outlets were blowing up with celebrity trainer photo opps, parties with sparkly dresses and new information I needed to learn and share.

I was just overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start.

So I didn't.

I just stopped. For two days. I didn't try to learn all the ins and outs of anything. I didn't worry about if our cheer bows would be here in time for camp. I didn't pack or do laundry. I didn't cook or meal prep or plan.

I worked out. Hard. (hello stress relief.)

I took my kiddo to the park and took a book (never underestimate the power of fiction in the sunshine to help you escape.)

I played Barbies.

I watched a movie (or three).

I had a few beers and grown up conversation with some really awesome people.

And I woke up today feeling like I could handle it all.

I made a list (or twelve).

I started on the mountain of laundry I don't really want to trek across the country dirty.

I got back to business.

Checked in with my peeps.

Followed up on our cheer gear.

Started writing this.

And I feel renewed.

Typically I am all for digging in and working hard. Plow through and make it happen. It will all make sense. I always viewed those who stepped away as not as dedicated or hard working as me. They must not want it like I do. Because crossing things off my list helps relieve my stress. It makes me feel like I have things handled. I can see what I am getting done. I am in control.

But this time those lists just made me feel like I was being crushed.

So I get it now.

In a world that is so plugged in, all the time, the expectations on us can be so big. To do more, accomplish more, achieve more, and work harder, longer, faster. It can make you feel so small. So unable to get anywhere. So defeated.

Sometimes it is okay to just run away and just hide for a minute, to take a deep breath and refocus.

As long as you come back swinging.

Mocha Mint Shakeology

Somehow when my hubby and I are living in the same house and sharing our shakeology....we can't quite seem to figure it out. At first it seems like we have a TON and are on shakeology overload. So I play with the shipping dates. Then the next thing I know, we are running really low so I panic and play with the shipping dates again.

And we are left with mornings like this one.....

Not even a scoop left in the bag and tracking the next shipment.

I pretty much always have packets laying around for occasions such as this (and they make traveling really easy.) But all that I have left at the moment is the vegan chocolate. And I kind of hate the vegan chocolate.

I mean it's okay. I needs some doctoring in my opinion. It is kind of gritty and chalky (**Beachbody has actually reformulated the vegan flavors to make them less gritty. I have yet to get my hands on the new formula. So I will update once I get to sample those.) But this is nothing that can't be fixed with a half a banana or a tablespoon of nut butter. It smooths it right out and makes it taste all chocolatey and delicious.

I came up with this little recipe this morning to make my chocolate vegan shakeology taste like a super yummy treat. And I had some mint leaves in the fridge that needed to be used up. Chocolate and mint together is awesomeness. Throw in some coffee and who needs Starbucks?