Good-bye Muffin Top!

Yes, skinny people can have them too.

That unsightly bulge over the top of your pants. While it seems that some girls can let it all hang out, I'm super paranoid about it. I've always prided myself on being able to eat whatever I want without gaining a pound. The closer I get to 30, I'm finding it's catching up with me. I have not worked out regularly in a few years. I'll get motivated occasionally, and it usually only lasts a day or two. We have a Bow-Flex and a treadmill in the extra bedroom, but the most use they get is when I hang clothes on them to dry. I just can't seem to find a workout I can stick to! I get bored so easily. However, I think I may have finally found my answer.

I was asked to coach cheerleading for basketball season. These young girls have the most positive energy, and just being around them makes me feel more energetic. Today was my first official practice as coach, so I had an idea. I packed a change of clothes, and showed up dressed for practice. I ran their laps with them, and led them through stretches and conditioning. (I know how to do it, even if I don't do it regularly). It felt amazing.

I debated all day long, even though I had my clothes there with me, if I was going to take that step and actually dress out and work out or not. I kept thinking that I needed to "start out like I can hold out". It would have been so much easier to remain in my dress clothes and bark orders at them while I sat in my chair. I finally just went for it. Now I have set the standard and there is no turning back. I also had so much fun! Hopefully they will also have a respect for me as I'm not asking them to do anything that I won't get out there and do myself.

Hopefully, by the time basketball season is over in February, I will have lost these annoying few pounds that seem to gather right at my waist and spill over my jeans. Wish me luck!

Weekend Shopping & Weekday Planning

I have had the best time shopping this weekend. The stores have their Christmas decorations out, and good sales, and it's totally putting me in Christmas Spirit!



Friday night J took me out to eat and shopping. (Neither one of us likes to cook on Fridays). We had such a good time, and I got some new boots!

I'm usually not one to follow trends, I have more of a classic style, but I do love the whole "skinny jeans/boots" trend. These are cuter in person. I'm very petite and they don't make my feet look big and bulky at all. Of course to go with the boots, I had to go buy these:

These are from American Eagle, who happened to have all their jeans buy one/get one 50% off, so I got another pair in the regular boot cut.

I have been stuck in a "Pink and Black" rut for so long. All I buy is pink and black. I'm now trying to incorporate more red into my wardrobe. My new school has the colors red and black, and I'm coaching cheerleading, so I need to sport the school colors and show some spirit. I've never been partial to wearing red, because I don't think it is very flattering with my blonde hair and fair skin. I have to find just the right shade of a blue-red. I got this red top from Express last weekend:

The silver embellishments really stand out more than they do in the picture, and it looks really cute paired underneath my ruffly black cardigan, also from Express.

J is such a good sport when we go shopping. Of course he gets his turn when we go to Best Buy! We're buying a new 46" TV for the living room and a new digital camera for our Christmas presents so we had a good time looking for those. Of course I found Season's 1-7 of Gilmore Girls, and I had to have it, but J said no. He doesn't usually say no, so I'm hoping that I'm going to be getting it for Christmas.

Saturday was spent helping J with his homework. He's taking a college algebra class that is rediculously hard! Then we had lunch with his parents at Chilis. I saw several of my cheerleaders at Chili's, which is always fun. Then we came home and I cleaned house while he played Starcraft on the computer. Sounds fair, right? :) Just Kidding! I like having him out of the way, and he does help when asked so I can't complain. We ended the evening with a game of Monopoly that he won. (He always wins, I don't know why I play with him).

Now it's Sunday morning. The sun is shining for the first time in over a week. J is still asleep, and I'm wrapped up in the recliner cuddled up with Delilah. My house is clean, my errands are run, and I have the whole day to do whatever I want! I love weekends like this...

However I can't completely relax because I'm thinking about my busy week ahead. I have cheer practice everyday until 5:30, Tuesday I have Open House from 6-8 after school, and Wednesday I have a meeting with all the cheerleaders' parents after practice. Not to mention my class is really busy making ornaments to decorate a 9 foot Christmas tree, plus we have to get through the curriculum! But I'm not complaining. I love my job and I love to be busy.

The only thing is I feel guilty that my house seems to suffer until the next weekend. I've never been good at cleaning during the week. I'm too exhausted when I get home. I've tried the Flylady system a few times, but it never seems to work for me. I don't have time to clean in the mornings, and getting up earlier is not an option. Luckily it's just the two of us and J is pretty good about picking up after himself, so it doesn't get too bad. Does anyone else who works full time have suggestions for keeping your home clean during the week? Please leave them in the comment section.

Thanks!!

My Darling Doggies...

Yes, I dressed my dogs up for Halloween. Judge me if you will, but nothing makes me smile like putting an outfit on a dog. Delilah (the ladybug) absolutely loves being dressed up. I have dressed her ever since she was a puppy. She gets so excited, but it's hard to get her to sit still for a picture. Notice the death grip I have on her collar. Georgie (Bumblebee) however, wouldn't move when I put his outfit on. I had to carry him. He better get used to it because I've got an adorable Santa suit waiting for him!

Here they are from last Halloween. Georgie was my little pumpkin and Delilah was a ballerina. Delilah loves to look out the window! She greeted all the trick-or-treaters. I've got to find her an elf outfit to go with Georgie's Santa outfit. I would love to put that on a Christmas card, but my husband would never let me send out something so cheesy. :)

I've already got their outfits for next year. (I love to hit the day-after clearance sales). Delilah is going to be a witch and Georgie is going to be a pirate.

This may be the most pointless entry I'll ever write, but maybe it at least made you smile! :)

BTW - I'm surprised that my flower beds are still looking awesome this late in November. Notice the pink gerber daisies behind me. These flower beds are a trial and error project from last spring. I know nothing about gardening so I just did a little reading and threw some stuff in the ground. Most of it has turned out wonderful with only a couple casualties. I'm not sure how to prepare them for winter. We've already had a frost or two here. I guess this season will be trial and error as well!

My Favorite Things: Beauty Products

My current favorites:

1) Arbonne's FC-5 skincare line - This has completely transformed my super sensitive skin without causing breakouts. The redness is GONE! The moisturizes is so light and doesn't feel greasy, but it really works. Amazing! It also smells fruity, which I love! It's a little pricey, but well worth it!

2) MAC Prep & Prime - makes all the difference in the world for my makeup's lasting power! I often have long days and no time for touchups so this is a MUST!

3) Redken Guts 10 Spray Foam - My BFF who is a hairdresser turned me on to this product. I just spray it on my roots and then blow dry with a large round brush. It gives a lot of volume and it's so lightweight. It doesn't feel like you have any product in your hair!

4) Velcro Rollers - After I blow dry I set my hair in a few large velcro rollers (just at the top) and let it sit for about 20 minutes. It gives me tons of volume that lasts for 2 days! Even after sleeping on it.

5) Skintimate moisturizing shave cream - I've always had problems with dry skin, especially after shaving, but this new formula leaves my super dry skin feeling soft and smooth. The only complaint I have is the packaging. The product is dispensed out of the flower petal bottom, but it's messy and leaves a mess on the side of my tub. It's a pain, but not enough to keep me from buying it.

These are a few of my favorites. What are some of the tried and true products you use on a daily basis? Any beauty tricks you want to share? Leave them in the comments section!

Thanks for reading! :)

A great day for beef stew...

It's a cold rainy day, perfect for snuggling up in the recliner! My plan for today is to rest as much as possible and enjoy my day off work. I also plan to make a beef stew for dinner. This is a recipe that I stumbled across while searching for "easy recipes" and it turns out great every time. Trust me when I say it's fool proof!

60 Minute Oven Sirloin Steak Stew:

1 lb sirloin steak, cubed.
4 small new potatoes (I leave the skin on)
1/2 lb frozen green beans
6 carrots (I boil them first to make them extra tender)
1 sm yellow onion cut in wedges
1 (14 1/2 oz) can of beef broth
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (I use McCormicks "Season All")
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/4 black pepper

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whish remaining ingredients.
3. Pour over meat and veggies.
4. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
5. Uncover (carefully!) and stir
6. Recover and bake 20 more minutes

A fresh loaf of french bread goes great with this dish!

Enjoy!