From Never Working Out - to Everyday Fitness

On a different note from what I normally post, I wanted to post about fitness. Working out has never been a priority for me. I work full-time and could never find the motivation to even really go for a walk down my block. But, my priorities shifted almost 2 months ago to where I now find health very important.

I am a type 1 diabetic, I was diagnosed 14 years ago when I was 10. I've been good about taking care of myself and controlling my diabetes, however 2 months ago extreme low blood sugar caused me to black out when I was driving and roll my car 4 times. I walked away from the accident with perfect health except for having 13 stitches in my left upper arm.

Having a near death experience causes a lot of introspection and especially if you are in a rut like I was,  makes you evaluate your life and make necessary changes to better yourself.

Now, my sister was in a near fatal car accident 2 years ago and afterwards wanted to work on her fitness to celebrate her survival. She has since gone from never being a runner to running many 5k's and half marathons. She has always wanted me to do them with her, but I have never been motivated to make the necessary changes to be able to participate- until now.

On November 23rd there is going to be a 5k in the town my sister lives in, and we are both going to do it together. This will be my first race, and I need to train a lot for it, because up until recently, I haven't been running since high school gym class.

So what have I been doing the last few weeks? I have a few apps I'm using: Nike+ and 30 Day Squat Challenge.

The Nike+ I got because my sisters use it to track their runs. And although at first when I was just walking I would use it, it is motivating for me to try to beat previous times I have set. I wouldn't even label myself a novice runner yet, so I know there is much to still be explored with this app.

The 30 Day Squat Challenge was something my sister wanted me to do with her. It will initially give you tips on the correct form to do a squat, and each day you will check off the amount of squats they want you to do. I believe the first day started out with 30. After I go out for my run/walk, I come home and do the daily squats. Even on days I don't go for a run, the days where the squat numbers are high [today I did 120 of them], you will feel the burn in your legs and sweat.

Now, something I bought to wear when running and doing squats is a waist trimming belt. I don't like the name of it, because when you hear that it makes you assume I'm talking about wearing a corset or something, but it is really just a belt you wear when you workout that helps you sweat. I bought this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009RDZV46/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like wearing it for multiple reasons. It makes me feel like I'm getting more out of my workout than I would without it, it'll make you sweat like crazy, and when I'm running, it compresses my belly enough to wear I don't jiggle when I run.

The last app I use is called Happy Scale. You can enter in your current weight, your goal weight, and it'll give you milestones to hit. They recommend weighing yourself when you first wake up after using the restroom, and it graphs your weight loss or gain. I've used a lot of weight tracking apps before, but this one is my favorite.

I've lost a couple pounds since I've started these methods, and it has made exercise a part of my day that I look forward to. I'll try to stay updated with my progress!

Vidal Sassoon Merlot Vibrant Red 5RR/ L'Oreal Absolue 300

I have 2 days in a row off from work [which never happens], so that means I'm going to do something new to my hair. Because if I totally screw it up, I have an extra day to fix it! I really want red hair, but I've also been playing with the idea to dye it light brown. I already have a box of red dye and that won out.

Now, at this point, my hair is a weird auburn-y color, with the ends being a sort of red. Sorry if that is a confusing answer, but my hair is kind of confusing at this point. 

[I'm super fluffy here because I didn't style my hair after blow drying]

SO: Red is the goal, but since my hair is dark in some points [and I'm nervous it won't be very red], i'm using this product first:

I can absolutely guarantee my hair won't turn out blonde, but this should lighten the dark enough to make it a nice red when I dye it with the Vidal Sassoon. Plus, I'm curious how this stuff works. I have tried to find picture reviews, but they don't seem to exist.


AFTER:

Uhh yeah, Well, it did lighten up certain parts of my hair, I of course can't judge this product too much, because I have dyed my hair for years. If I had virgin hair, i'm sure id get better results.

Its very patchy. I didn't expect for there to be as many dark patches as there were. The bad thing about that is, with the red hair dye, my roots and other places will be bright red, and the dark spots will be dark red.

Plan B:

Brown hair it is! I don't want to risk screwing up my hair by making it red and being super uneven. I've wanted to try this Absolue product since I heard about it.

After using this, I am not a fan. I have used foam dyes before, and they do work, but they require you to be thorough. It is nice not having to mix part A with B and C, but the results were horribly patchy.

The foam is so light, it is difficult to tell where you actually put the dye, because it doesn't change color to show you like liquid dyes.

Overall this is how the color looks, not bad until you compare the ends to the roots. Now, I've dyed my hair for 10 years, I know how to do it. But this dye makes it way to easy to miss areas. I have areas completely missed, roots untouched, blah blah blah. I don't recommend this dye, which is unfortunate. 

High & Low Priced Makeup

Despite hair being the #1 thing I post about on here, I actually have a lot more interest in makeup. It is a sickness. My favorite thing to do is mix high end, pricey items with cheaper drugstore buyable items. I figured I'd post today about my look for the day and share with you the products I used.

High Priced: 

Naked 3 Palette [Buzz] by Urban Decay

High Beam Highlighter by Benefit

Full Exposure Mascara by Smashbox

Low Priced:

Just Bitten Lip Stain [Twilight] by Revlon

Dream Bouncy Blush [Plum Wine] by Maybelline

Scandaleyes Eyeliner by Rimmel

Cameo Girl Eyebrow Kit

Fit Foundation Sticks [Porcelain & Coconut] by Maybelline

Ok, so I used 2 different foundation stick colors, because I use those to contour my face. I like using the Fit sticks because they blend, it is foundation so it provides coverage, and they are inexpensive. 

                    Fresh Faced                                              My contouring pattern

                      

                                           My overall result

For the longest time I only used nude lip colors, but I've recently gotten into using dark berry color stains. I highly recommend Just Bitten brand. I sweep a little amount on my lips than press them together, and even if you drink a lot or lick your lips, it won't come off. 

Stripping black out of hair, and after

My very first post on here was about ombre-ing my hair, now that spring has sprung, I think it is time for me to lighten my hair again. I was planning on going to a salon to have them do it, but yeah, I'm too cheap, and Feria's Wild Ombre works well.

My hair has been black for months and months, and I do love having dark hair, but I need a change.

Here is my current hair, holding my best friend Color Oops:

My previous times using Color Oops, my hair has come out my natural medium brown shade. Now, the suggested time for keeping the product on says 'no more than 20 minutes'. I however got distracted watching an episode of Star-Crossed, and left it on for like 40 minutes. I'm smart. Anyway, I think that is the reason I got the results I did.

Results:

This made me super happy. The picture isn't the best, but my hair is a light reddish brown. It is a BEAUTIFUL color! Now, I did also buy this:

However, I bought this intending to use it with the brown I thought my hair would turn out. I don't think it would look great using this with the color my hair currently is. And I don't want to double dye my hair like I did last time I ombre'd it [dying it brown on top and then bleaching the bottom]. SO, I plan on returning the ombre, and keeping my hair like this for a while, and then keeping my hair in the red color family for a while.

FOR EXAMPLE: I was at Walgreens with a friend, and we discovered this incredibly awesome, vibrant shade:

It's Vidal Sasson's shade Runway Red! It looks even more bright and vibrant in person! We didn't buy it, but we were both curious what the results would actually look like, and in googling up a storm I found a blog where a girl had this beautiful result:

So, yeaaaaah. That is an amazing color. That is where my head currently is. 

Long time, no post

Since the last time I posted, I yes indeed dyed my hair back to black. And I love it! But, of course, Ive had it for months now and I keep stumbling across adorable hair pictures on Pinterest that make me want everything but my black hair. I spent 10 minutes in Ulta today staring at all the various hair dyes, trying to talk myself out of Color Oopsing the black out [since I've proven it actually works], and dying it ombre again.

The last time I ombre'd my hair, it wasn't a disaster, but I wasn't the happiest with the placement of the ombre. Which is why, as much as I love doing my own hair, I'm considering letting the professionals do it. The big thing I saw on Pinterest, and now really want is balayage hair. Which is pretty much just a fancy way of saying nice highlights, slight ombre [?].

Example:

Back to Black?

After all i've done to my hair in the past year, I still have the urge to change it. I never thought I'd want to go back to black hair, but stumbling across old pictures, and remembering how much I loved it, I can't help but want to go back. Plus, seeing Catching Fire and seeing how gorgeous Jennifer Lawrence is with super dark hair, that's what really flipped the switch.

I mean come on. She looks Great.