Summer Slimdown - One Week Check-in | Fitness Friday

This first week has been awesome! I feel better and I look better (in my opinion). I am excited to see what kind of changes happen in the next 10 weeks. The changes aren't extremely apparent in these pictures but my stomach feels so much less bloated and swollen than it did a week ago! Plus my measurements are already starting to change.

Weight - 155.2 lbs (-1.2 lbs)

Height - 5'4"

BMI - 26.6 (overweight)

Bust - 38 1/2" (no change)

Waist - 32" (-1")

Hips - 38 1/2" (-1/2")

Butt - 40 1/4" (-3/4)

Thighs - 24 1/4" (-1/4")

Bicep - 10 3/4" (-1")

Updates on what I'm doing:

Diet:
I have not had ONE SINGLE SODA POP and I am so proud of myself. Like I said last week in my starting point post (https://tinyurl.com/y9o2zuhv) I have a soda addiction. It was hard to kick it in the butt but I think I did a pretty decent job. I definitely noticed that I am less bloated now that I'm not consuming 1-3 cans of carbonated sugar a day! I also have been really good about drinking my coffee unsweetened. Sunday is my cheat day so I will let myself have creamer in my coffee on Sunday's but that's it. I also did not deprive myself this week which was really important to me. I didn't have time to pack a lunch a couple of mornings and I had to order something but what I did was just try to order the healthiest option and STOP EATING WHEN I WAS FULL! The main thing I focused on with diet was being conscious of what I was eating and just making the healthiest choices I could without burning out. No one wants to eat nothing but grilled chicken and broccoli, you know?

Exercise:
OK, I know I said I wasn't going to do any kind of workouts but I sort of did. I just did fun things like play basketball for an hour (which burns a lot of calories actually) and walked places instead of driving. I just felt so good that I wanted to jumpstart it even more. Then towards the end of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Today) I went to the gym and it felt so good to be working out again. I feel like I forgot that I don't actually hate working out. I just need motivation sometimes.

I think when I reach 140 pounds I might reward myself by buying either some cute workout clothes or some 1Up Nutrition products! You gotta give yourself something to work towards. :)

How I Budget | Whatever Wednesday

Budgeting is never a fun task. No one says, "Sorry, I'd rather be home working on my budget." However, budgeting is a CRUCIAL part of adulthood. Not fun, crucial. I have seen a lot of budget plans and videos out there and none of them have worked for me. I finally just sat down with a legal pad and wrote out my expenses versus income and tried to figure it out from there. I'm going to walk you through the steps I take to figure out my monthly budget so that maybe you can do it too.

(DISCLAIMER): I split all of my expenses with my boyfriend whom I live with so this is just kind of my share of things.

The first thing I do is figure out how much I am actually taking home. I multiply by 0.75 to figure that out because it gives me a smaller number than I will realistically bring home which I prefer rather than thinking I have more money and then not having it. I currently am only working thirty hours a week because I am in college and have a hefty work load as it is.

Next I write up all of my expenses for the month and the amounts (rounded up) of how much each of them cost me. This gives me a ballpark of where I'll be sitting after all the payments have been made. As you can see my current expenses are running me about $760.

That will leave me with approximately $50 after all of those payments. Again, I want to point out that I am working with approximations here. I work in a place that I get tips, usually upwards of $30-$50 dollars a week. Those tips I don't budget in because that's what I like to call "Fun Money". Fun money can be for anything from going out to lunch to going to get my hair cut. I also save A LOT so this is just a bare minimum income budget. 

I hope this helped you in some way to see how I budget and maybe use some of my techniques to incorporate into your own budget which I hope will help you manage your money better.

$160 Worth Of Makeup For $87.91?! | Makeup Monday

I love makeup! I would spend my entire paycheck on makeup if I could. Of course, I have a budget, just like most of you probably do. So I am always looking for ways to save money and still get amazing, high-end makeup. One way that I do that is with a Boxycharm subscription (posts to come showing the April box). However, one place that I LOVE to shop for makeup is discount shops. Marshall's and T.J. Maxx are the best place that I have found that sell awesome Sephora brands but sometimes Ross even has some! Here are some of the cool things that I found at this most recent shopping spree in Marshall's.

Ardell Eyelashes - Regular Price $10.00 / Marshall's Price $7.99

These are a neat find but they weren't overly exciting for me because you can usually find inexpensive lashes at Marshall's. $2 off MSRP isn't a huge markdown but when you enjoy wearing lashes a lot, it's good to save some money in the process. I bought a natural and glamour pack for $7.99 each. 

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation - Regular Price $11.99 / Marshall's Price $2.99

Usually when I find super discounted foundations, they are not my shade or even close to it. So I was super excited to find this specific foundation in a shade that works on me. I have been wanting to try this foundation out for a long time because  I have seen it circulating the beauty community on YouTube but I have a ton of foundations that I haven't used up yet so I couldn't justify spending money on another one. That is until I saw it for $3 at Marshall's. I couldn't pass up that kind of deal.

Lorac TANtalizer Baked Bronzer - Regular Price $12 / Marshall's Price $7.99

I'm not gonna lie, anytime I'm at Marshall's I have my eye out for name brand makeup. It's not like I don't love drugstore makeup but that's already something that I buy a lot whereas name brand (or high-end, if you prefer) is kind of a treat for me. I was pumped when I found this bronzer, even though I'm pretty sure it's been discontinued because I couldn't find it on Lorac's website, Sephora, or Ulta. 

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipsticks - Regular Price $19 / Marshall's Price $7.99

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was to find these lipsticks! I have always wanted to try Kat Von D's lipsticks but I couldn't justify spending $19 on one. I got the colors Motorhead and Vampira which are both very vampy, dark colors which are right up my alley. Plus, over half off MSRP is a huge steal!

 Left is Motorhead
 Right is Vampira

GlamGlow Lip Balm Treatment - Regular Price $19 / Marshall's Price $9.99

Glamglow is another one of those brands that I have always wanted to try and have heard a lot about. But, again, the products are so pricey that it would be a big treat for me to splurge on something like that. $10 is still kind of a lot for me to spend on a lip balm but I have heard such great things about this brand that I couldn't help myself. I got the colors Kiss And Tell and Sugar Plum.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Aurora - Regular Price $40 / Marshall's Price $24.99

OK, this was definitely the highlight of my trip (pun intended). I was done my shopping and had decided that I had spent enough money when I see this beauty behind the cash register. Of course I had to ask to see it and after I did there was no going back. I bought, not only one, but two of these glow kits. One for me and one for my sister. Not quite half off, but close enough to make it more than worth it!

The Verdict:

Overall, I bought $159 worth of makeup for $87.91 and, to me, that is a good day. If you are someone who loves a good deal I would highly recommend checking out your local Marshall's or T.J. Maxx!

A couple other goodies I found 

Regular Price $5-$10 each / Marshall's Price $3.99 each

Regular Price $5.99 each / Marshall's Price $3.99 each

Regular Price $7 / Marshall's Price $4.99

My Summer Slimdown - Friday, April 6th, 2018 | Fitness Friday

I don't know about you but I am in the mood to be super hot this summer. One of my goals is to get rid of this mom belly that I have been carrying around for two and a half years now and feel comfortable in a bikini. I wanted to share this journey with all of you so that maybe you can get some inspiration and join in with me and it will also keep me accountable... I think. I am going to be very raw with you guys here which will include pictures. This is something that makes me nervous simply because I am not super happy with where my body is at but I hope that you will all respect me and realize that this is just where I am with my journey right now.

Weight - 156.4

Height - 5'4"

BMI - 26.8 (overweight)

Bust - 38"

Waist - 33"

Hips - 39"

Butt - 41"

Thighs - 24 1/2"

Bicep - 11 3/4"

What I'm Doing

Diet:
For this first week I want to just ease in and make sure I don't overwhelm myself too much so as far as diet went, one of the main things I watched was my added sugar intake. I started drinking my coffee breve and with no syrup (I work in a coffee shop). I also cut soda out completely which is a challenge for me because I have a slight soda addiction. One other thing that I am doing but I'm not going to be too cautious of is cutting down on carbs slightly. I am still eating pasta, just not as often and smaller servings. I am also trying to drink 80 ounces of water a day at the very minimum!

Exercise:
I am going to be straight up honest with you guys and tell you that I don't like to work out. I don't have a lot of time in my day and I spend most of the day being active anyways. I might start integrating workouts as I go but as far as the first week goes I am going to just make sure I am up walking and not sitting on my butt as much as possible as well as doing softball practice since it's warming up outside. Easing in, remember?

My Goals:
So I am thinking that I will keep these posts up until at least the 22nd of June which is the Friday after the first day of summer. That being said, I don't expect to look like a Victoria's Secret model in three months but I would like to see some visible changes. I do want to lose some weight but I don't have a set number and I want to see some change with my stomach. I think I would like to lose three inches minimum on my waist!

I am so excited to change my body and my life and I hope you guys will join me on this journey!

Guess Who's Back...

I'll give you a hint... It's not Shady. Okay, that was pretty lame, I'm not gonna lie. But yes, I am back at it again trying to successfully run a cool, interesting, and popular blog. I've given up so many times before when I saw that some of my posts were getting only three or four views. But this time I have decided that I am doing this just for me as a sort of creative outlet and to share my love for beauty, organization, motherhood, and everything in between. I plan to stick with it this time but I am a mom and I am in college so it might not be as consistent as I would like. Anyways, hopefully you guys will stick around with me and allow me to show you some cool stuff. I have some neat ideas to share with you guys in the next couple of moths so stay tuned!