Becoming a Squatter

So my new challenge on top of trying to eat healthy, running, zumba, and being overall a happier less grumpy mom, is squats.

I wanted to get my activity level to go up but I feel like I am sort of wearing myself thin on trying to do too much. I sort of feel like I am not doing enough but I also feel like there is just too much going on for me emotionally and physically. Do you ever feel conflicted like that? Anyways :D

Back to increasing my activity I thought I could do another 30 day challenge. I wanted it to be easier than going out and running. One I could do with my kids around and so I stumbled upon "30 Day Squat Challenge". I know I can do this. Its sorta difficult. Currently I am on day 5 (70 squats) and so far so good. By day 30 I will be doing 250. YES, I SAID TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY. That is so many to me. I will be able to do it though. Brandon is doing them with me and so are 2 of my friends. I have been doing them while I watch T.V., between cleaning, or my many home dance parties with the girls.

Want to join me in my quest to become a squatter? I squatter with a real home though. I don't want to be a "real" squatter. I have a home and its cleanish and I think I like living that way. But lets become a round, firm, booty thigh squatter. Sound good?

Here's the squat challenge chart (found here):

If you do it take some before and after pictures if your confident. Or at least some measurements and share. I would love to hear about how it works for you, weather you're trying to lose inches or gain some.

A Challenge Fail- for me

So I posted a while ago about a challenge that I was starting. I found a blog on pinterest (cant find it- great!) where this girl talked about a challenge she did on NOT washing her hair. It intrigued me. She claimed it made her hair so much better and shinier. I am all about that. I used to be pretty vain about my hair. But I was really closeted about it. Never told anyone. Having children has drastically changed my hair. It used to be fairly thick and shiny, bouncy, and soft. It would hold curl for days if I wanted it to. I only had to wash my hair every 4 days. I only know this for a fact thanks to camping and being sick. It was wonderful. Then after I got married something happened to my body. I gained a lot of weight, my skin broke out a lot more, and my hair started thinning. Don't get me wrong I was no where near bald. I don't like my hair anymore. It's limp and gets oily faster and is slightly dull. Not to mention how much thinner it is (hah- just mentioned it :D).

Back on track.  So according to this blog (and other sources I read) you only wash your hair every so many days (not very often) with a baking soda water solution and "condition" your hair with an apple cider vinegar water solution. To start this process you have to let your hair get oily. I was sick with a cold so it was the perfect time. I let it go about 5 days without washing and let it get good and oily. It was sort of like I dipped my head in a vat of melted butter. However, it didnt smell anywhere near as yummy. That first wash was amazing. I appiled that "shampoo" and my hair was really slippery getting all the gunky build-up off. and when dried looked really shiny and soft to the touch.

So doing this type of hair care you aren't supposed to ever use shampoo and conditioner. I tested this hair method out and it worked fine the first two or three times but over the course of a month it stopped working. My hair was being super oily and wouldn't get clean. I tried changing up the ratios of the solutions and NOTHING. It was really frustrating to me. I was really hoping that I could get away from using so many extra and unnecessary and possibly harmful things on my hair. But NO. Didn't work for me. One thing though- I will probably use this solution on my hair once a month or so just to de-gunk my hair. I should say though that I do not use product in my hair. I also don't use heat on my hair. I think I only blow dry my hair about 4 times a year. I have read a lot about it being great for people with curly hair, making it less dry. So if you have curly hair I would say give it a try.

Here are some before pictures. Look at that greasy rats nest!

 

 

 Here are the after pics. So much shinier and cleaner. Thank goodness.  Too bad this wasn't something I could stick to.

signing in public

I wish I could sing. It's a talent I have always envied in others. I can sing in the sense, that yes, they will put me in a choir and I can read music but my career as a famous soprano ends there. My range is horrible and since I haven't been in choir since high school my ability to sing has been slipping away. It's true that you have to practice and use your voice to keep it. I do enjoy singing though. I promise if you were a fly on my wall (gross) or had a hidden camera (creeper) you would see that I sing a lot. I sing everything. From show-tunes (currently singing the epilogue to Les Mis. (all parts)) to Elvis. I love it. So if I could have every dream come true I would have a magnificent voice. I would sound somewhere between Julie Andrews/Sarah Brightman/ Judy Garland/and Adele. Is that such a tall order? Makes sense right? Could totally happen. Why would I pick these women of all women to sound like? Well, first off they are the ones I could think of that weren't too trendy sounding. I mean the sound of voices and whats cool changes and I would want to sound timeless and classic.  I love Julie Andrews voice. It's so perty. It's like listening to yours mothers lullaby (if your mom is Julie Andrews, that is) and being rocked into relaxation. Then there is Sarah. I think I picked her because she can sing crazy high and loud and shocks everyone who listens. It would be cool to do that. Like you're all singing and people will stop and look and are like "WOW"- for a good reason though. If it were for a bad reason- I've already got that down. Then theres dear ol' Judy. I love her voice. It's dreamy and makes me feel are warm and stuff. I love how her voice tells a story. Does that make sense? I think I am starting to sound strange. Lastly Adele. Adele's voice is so deep and throaty. Sounding like her automatically makes you sound like the hottest thing ever. You could draw in anyone with a voice like hers and perhaps people would even join in.
Anyways I've rambled on and on about nothing interesting I'm sure. I've also allowed you into my crazy weird mind. So there it is. Do you ever think about things like this? If you do please tell me. As I am writing this I am starting to think I might be crazy.

Shortest post yet

I had a thought come into my mind last night as I was sitting in our backyard watching the fire in our firepit.

"I was a better mother before people started judging me"

Not trying to get all "emo" up  in here but seriously. If you are a mother think about it. Let me know if this is true for you as well.

Chubster ran a 5k.... Sort of.

So after 8 weeks of training for my 5k I was ready. It was my last night of training and I decided to go with some friends. The weather was pretty nice considering it was July. I started off strong and wasn't getting too tired. I thought everything was going great "I'm so ready to kick this 5K's trash". Well, not so much. Somehow about 16 minutes into running I started getting a really bad pain in my right knee. It was bearable as far as I could probably keep running but do I really want to seriously injure myself? I know so many people who have fought through the pain to find out they pushed just a little too hard and now they have to have surgery. I certainly didn't want to be an idiot. So I stopped running. I was hoping that by the time Saturday came around I would be healed enough to run my whole 5K. NO SUCH LUCK. This was pretty hard for me to handle. I know that a 5K really isn't a big deal, but to me it really is. I mean- I trained for it. Does anyone actually train for a 5K? I am guessing not. I did run probably half of it in the end but I definitely had to take walking breaks. Aside from my inability to run I had a lot of fun. I encourage you to run a 5K or better yet a color run (which is what I did).  It was fun to turn run through a tornado of color and come out looking like you belong in OZ or something. I loved getting all "pretty". I even got a tshirt and a bracelet from it (GO ME), and my shoes now look like they have been splatter painted (which is awesome). I took a week off of running and any other physical activities to avoid hurting me knee anymore. I did go to Zumba yesterday and so far my knee did pretty good. That sure got me excited. It's been so hard for me to keep myself from running. I have started enjoying running the last 2 weeks of my training and want to keep it up. I especially need to keep it up for the Dirty Dash I am participating in on August 10th. But I need to take it slow and not over aggravate my knee. Here are some pictures to show just how "colorful" I can be :D

 Awkward length pony tail ablaze- running like a girl through a cotton candy fog.

More awkward running shots. Lovin' that weird bump on my head (aka my pony tail).

Finished! Glad I didnt make my knee any worse but sad to not have ran the whole thing.

My friend and I. I have great muscles LOL.

 Makayla took a picture. "From the perspective of a 3 year old".

 

At home resting my sore knee and tired feet. I was so sweaty. Thanks to the colored chalk/cornstarch stuff you can literally see where the sweat was dripping down my face.

 One funny thing- I cant wear contacts anymore so I HAD to wear my glasses and they are permanently stained purple around my nose.

Remind you someone?

So I haven't been posting lately thanks in part to going to Utah twice and Brandon being out of town and me going nutso. I have to say that being a single parent has got to be so incredibly tough. I am having a hard time with it and its only been 1 week. I am so grateful that I have a husband who shares responsibility with me in raising our children.

On a slightly different note though related. Do your children ever drive you crazy? Do you ever wonder why they act a certain way? I have the answer for you. The reason your kids act a certain way is probably because of YOU. Take a look in the mirror- if your kid is doing something annoying its probably something that you do and they have caught on to it. Seriously, whenever Makayla does something that drives me BONKERS its 98% of the time something that I do in a slightly more grown up way. Even some of the noises she makes when she is mad at what I say or do are exactly the same ones I make when I am upset with her. I just never realized it. Your children will show you your worst and best qualities. They are a mirror of us. Now, I am not trying to mean that our children are exact replicas. Every child is born with a personality. I believe that 100%. I just think that our children will do the things we do.

I have been thinking a lot lately that past year on how to make my girls be the best women then can be. I want them to be smart, confident, funny, kind, beautiful, compassionate, and to love freely. But if you want your children to be that way then YOU have to be that way. This is a big part of my exercising/health kick thing I have been on this year. I want my girls to see how happy I am being active and how being healthy makes you happy. That exercising is normal and is fun and that it makes you feel good. If I feel good then my children will feel good. I totally believe that. I want to be beautiful inside and out so that my girls can strive to be like me. I want my girls to be brave and try new things and to be able to see someone that is in need and know how to help them. I am trying to be that person. I know I am FAR beyond it. And some days I feel that that women is in a galaxy far far away with Jedi's and Wookies. But I am really trying. I am trying to be better. I am trying to be more loving and kind. I am trying to be happy.

A child is only as happy as his/her parents are and I know that to be true. If your kids are acting out or being cruel examine your own life. What do you need to change in your relationship? not even necessarily your relationship with your child- but with your extended family or even your spouse. Fix it and so many problems will go away. I have seen these things to be true in my own personal life and in my work and with those that I am friends with.

I am not saying I am perfect. I am not saying I am even a good mom or wife. I am trying though. I have to keep trying every day. This is one of my greatest struggles and I can honestly say that some days I don't try and I don't care. I have to get away from that attitude/mentality. I hope you guys know what I am saying and maybe even a few of you feel the same way. I hope I haven't offended anyone, but if I have, its your problem and you need to lose some pride.

LOVE FREELY and LOVE YOURSELF

See your children are a reflection of you- look at this picture. LOL. I never realized how much Makayla and I look alike until I came across this picture today.
 
Me at the top, the bottom two are of Makayla.

Lets be naughty....The Meal of DOOM

I am sure MANY of you (when I say many I mean like 2) have been wondering what the first naughty thing I ate when my whole30 challenge was done. Well, let me tell you I didnt eat anything bad for breakfast. I ate whole30 compliant because I didnt want to run to the bathroom during zumba in case things didnt agree with my stomach. Then lunch came around and I was in Idaho Falls and didnt pack anything. I got pretty hungry but honestly NOTHING sounded good at all. I was hoping something would but nothing came. So I decided to stop at one of my favorite chicken places (not a chicken lover, its that good :D ) Chick-Fil-A. I ordered their basic sandwich:
 bun, chicken, pickle. Then I topped it off with some ketchup.

I took the sandwich out and just stared at it. Did I want it to be good? did I want it to make me sick right then and there? So hard to decide. On one hand if it made me sick then I would be repulsed by bad food and eat good but be sad that i couldnt eat scrumptious stuff. But if I ate it and it was amazing then I would enjoy it (then maybe go back to my old ways). I took a bite. HEAVENLY chicken filled my mouth. The sweet and sour kick of ketchup was amazing. It was good- bad food was still yummy.

Nothing had changed. 5 minutes later- no more sandwich- stomach ache. I felt so queasy. I barely made it home from Idaho Falls. I could barely stay awake. I went home and took a 2 hour nap. The ketchup also made the roof of my mouth swell slightly. So weird. Conclusion: Although greasy naughty food taste sublime it will make your tummy hurt and your body lethargic.

Speaking of naughty food here's what I have noticed. This is gonna get personal and give a lot of info that you may not be wanting to know. If that's the case then leave this blog. Here we go. Dairy has lost a lot of the yumminess it used to have which just flat out flabbergast (best word EVER) me. Speaking of 'gast' lets talk about gas. Yep that plus tummy aches-'nuff said. I have also seen that the more wheat/grain I eat my severe seasonal allergies come back and I get constipated. Right now I am paying for my food sins. I need to get back on track. It wont be that hard this time around. I am also thinking of doing another whole30 after my 5k on the 6th. Then I will probably be able to train faster and longer for my Dirty Dash which is coming up on August 10th.

I have also started a new challenge for myself. I will write a post about it in a few days. I am currently on my 8th day of it. Interested? Just wait.

p.s. I took these pics on my phone and I have a ghetto phone.

from cute to awkward to me

Me through pictures.

From Baby

To toddler

From toddler 

to kiddo

From kiddo

to super horribly awkward

From super horribly awkward

to a little less awkward

 

 (this one is just to show that I was actually skinny at some point- because I thought this was my fat pose)

From a little less awkward

to now (more awkward less awkward? who really knows?! Probably just weirder)

 

 

It's funny to see yourself in a picture progression. So many memories come flooding back and you think about what has shaped you as a person. I know some of you will get a kick out of these pics but for the rest of you, think about what  you've gone through- what has made you? Share it. Yes- even those horrible weird awkward pictures from middle school (YUCK). If it wasn't for middle school I would have been super shy still. This was just a good reminder.