These are a few of my favorite things...right now

OK I would like to start with a product review. Apple AirPods. OMG. These little wireless earbuds have completely changed my work out! I have tried several different types of wireless headphones and have had nothing but issues. They fall out, they lose connection, they don’t stay charged. I have not had any of those issues with the AirPods. I do a lot of jumping around at the gym, I run on my lunch break and they stay securely in my ears. They are the best! I love them! LOVE LOVE LOVE! If you haven’t ordered them ORDER THEM! You will not regret it! Best investment ever……even those these were a gift BUUUUUUTTTTT I would have bought them for myself anyway.

So in my last post I talked about how I’ve been trying to wean myself off of my almond and cashew addiction. Well I think I took care of it this past weekend. Following the Whole 30 is difficult because you can’t make or eat and “paleo”-ized baked goods or desserts. Almonds and cashews have helped me fill that void. Well Sunday I was craving sweets SOOOOOO bad I went completely ham on cashews and almonds to the point I can’t even look at them anymore. UGH!  I binge ate the f%&$ out of almonds and cashews. So disappointed in myself. I reminded me of how I can’t drink tequila sunrises anymore or chardonnay. Oh man……Jon's cousin fed me tequila sunrises all night at his brother’s wedding. I tried to drink one a few months later and couldn’t get past the first sip. With Chardonnay, basically I drank it till I puked. I was left sleeping next to the toilet with my poor puppy watching over me. I’m such a great parent LOL such a shining example of what not to do. I haven’t been able to stomach it since. Sheesh, I have better control than that. Shameful. When I got up Monday morning I was very disappointed in myself. I try to tell myself its ok, it happens but it’s not ok. I just feel like I took so many steps back in my progress all because of one weak moment. DARN YOU Almonds! DARN YOU delicious Cashews!

Yah know, they say when you go after sweets that your body Is really craving or needing some nutrient. Maybe I should have cooked up a sweet potato or had some spinach or something. So, frustrating. I didn't think this Whole 30 would be difficult but it is. Not during the week so much but the weekends. Oh man. I usually have a cheat meal on the weekends and it includes dessert. Albeit a paleo cheat meal and a paleo dessert but still. Dessert is involved. Whole 30 equals no dessert, no paleo biscuits with Sunday morning breakfast and no Smoothie King! Oh man…I’m obsessed with Smoothie King! So delish!

But, I can’t dwell on it…even though I will. One day of lunacy does not mean the week has gone to shit.

Monday morning I did crush my back workout though!

I love back day. I think it’s my favorite. I also really enjoy hamstring day. I have been separating my leg workouts lately and dedicating a whole day to hamstrings and one whole day to quads. I love hamstring day because I need to work on my hamstring strength and my booty. Gotta try to calm that thing down. When its hamstring day two songs are on my play list. I feel like these songs were made with me in mind. LOL

1.       Can’t believe it by Flo Rida

2.       Just a ‘lil thick by Trinidad James

With my leg workouts, I’ve been working in more, what I call, pretty leg movements. By that I mean like hamstring curls on the ball, bridges, abductors, step ups etc. I already have thick, bulky legs so I’m trying to do more movements to lean them out a little and make them more “pretty.” I’ll let you know how that works out for me. I know it won’t make a huge difference. I was blessed with short, thick legs and a long torso so I won’t have model legs from incorporating more of these movements but we’ll see if I can make them look a little longer. While we’re on the topic of legs I have another product review for you! I have problems with my right knee. I contribute my knee issues to when I fell roller blading many moons ago, all my running, and all of my jumping around. This past year I purchased a knee sleeve and it seemed to help. It wasn’t anything fancy, it was super stretchy and seemed to offer a little extra protection during squats, lunges and leg extensions. Well, I’ve realized lately that I really need to take better care of my knees and I wanted to buy more durable knee sleeves. Yes, sleeves, I want to wear them on both knees. So I purchased some through amazon. I was finally able to use them this week. They are so difficult to get on but let me tell you, they are worth the struggle. My mobility was slightly limited but I could squat more, leg extensions didn’t bother me and leg press was a breeze! It was so great to feel like I could push weight and not fear my knee crumbling beneath me. Great purchase and great investment for my knees. I mean, I’m not getting any younger over here!

Ok, I have a question. I want to apologize to my male readers as this part will be agonizing for you. If you want to, just skip this part just move down a paragraph. Anywho….how do you keep your makeup on your eyes!? I am really trying to embrace my femininity in 2017 and that includes putting more effort into my hair and makeup, getting my nails done and taking better care of my skin.  I feel like everything is coming together but every day before lunch I have raccoon eyes! It’s so frustrating! I use eye primer, I use the translucent powder method, I use waterproof mascara and waterproof eyeliner. No matter how little or how much makeup I wear on my eyes it ends up on my lower lid or even my cheek before ½ the day is even over. I even use a makeup finishing spray. ::sigh:: Please help me. I’m just trying to adult. Oh, speaking of adult, I now have a 401K. Oh yeah!!! I was also able to put my husband on my vision and dental insurance! So responsible I am!

So lately I’ve gotten several compliments on my gym attire. Calm down Barb…..not my boy shorts, but my joggers and my zip up hoodie. So I wanted to share with everyone so you can help support this wonderful small business. Wait for it….its short story time!

After I ran my marathon in March of 2014 I didn’t want to run anymore. My body was so beat up and I was just over running. I couldn’t bear to think about running another mile let alone another 26.2.  I was still in the gym everyday but with no purpose. I had no direction. All I knew was cardio. I had always done some weight training but nothing significant or even that heavy. I wanted to be fast and I wanted to be thin, not strong. So for the rest of that year I just plugged along at the gym. Being on Instagram allowed me to see several women and men in the fitness community.  I would follow some and try to get ideas. This one female kept showing up in my feed. I would look then scroll past. I didn’t really pay her much attention. One day I saw a post of hers and I thought to myself “why does this girl keep showing up in my feed? There must be a reason.” So, I went to her page. I spent forever just looking through her pictures. She was so strong. She trained intense but still looked feminine. She was adorable. I found myself visiting her page daily after that. I wanted to know more and see more. Then I started following her and I knew this was my inspiration. This is my next endeavor. My body was never going to be naturally thin so why not work with what I have. If I can’t run my body to the figure I like maybe I could build my body to a figure I appreciated. This female is Dana Linn Bailey. She is a natural athlete. She just likes to lift! She doesn’t follow the conventional rules of body building. She is the 2013 Ms. Olympia-Women's Physique and I idolize her. Her husband created the company Flag nor Fail. A homemade/handmade clothing company. They are small and have limited releases of items from time to time. The clothing doesn’t make me stronger but it makes me feel cool! It’s comfy, affordable and durable. They put so much of a personal touch into everything they do. I watch their You Tube videos every day. I stalk their IG and Facebook. They inspire me to follow my heart and follow my dreams and not worry about what others think. She has been berated up and down on social media and she is still such a genuine, kind, positive person. I like to think I’m that way. You should check them out!

Flag nor Fail

Dana Linn Bailey

Rob Bailey

Well, that about wraps up my favorite things....right now! What are some of your favs either in the gym or out in the real world? I'm always looking for new stuff to try, especially if it makes my life easier!

Come on back next week! I’ll be talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of diet pills and supplements.

Have a great weekend!

Oh before I forget..FUN FACT! We have all heard great things about Green Tea...well here's another one! Drinking a cup of green tea stimulates the release of fat from the cells and converting it into energy! So get to drinking some green tea and release those that fat people!