It’s that time to share some of my current favorite things that I’m obsessing over. So get your thank you cards out because you’ll be excited to send me one for all of these gems.

Listen, if you’re anything like me you love eggs but can’t figure out how on earth to make a perfect hard boiled egg. You’ve tried all the tricks that promise to make the perfect hardboiled egg only to peel all the egg white away.

This little cooker is going to be your new best friend. Get yours here. They are truly magic.

These are everything! Not too high rise, yet hide the mom pooch/stretched skin we all have after having babies. The way they fit allows great leg coverage…or not. A little on the leg but they do not go too short. You can pull them down for more coverage. These are my go to short all summer for working out or lounging around the house with my kids. Here are a few of the colors. They wash up well but wash the hot pink separately because they bleed.

If you’re craving something berry sweet, this is it. I am obsessing over this limited edition protein powder. I blend it up with about a cup of frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries blend), almond milk and a 1/4 of banana with ice. YUMMMMOOOOO . I’ve also made protein pancakes with it and top it with fresh raspberries and greek lemon yogurt.

Get your tub of it here. I do earn commissions from this one so as always thank you for your support.

Here is a smoothie bowl I made out of it. I added beets and raspberries into the smoothie part.

Every gal needs a great lounge/sleep/hang around bra. I recently discovered this one. It’s light weight yet moderate support with cups yet with an open back. It’s adjustable and comes with extra straps to add for when you have those fun dresses where going braless is not an option. Super light weight and I love to sleep in it. Not quite a sports bra but not a regular bra.

That’s it for now friends. I hope something in here helps your Find Your Fabulous just a little more everyday. Thanks for hanging around. If you want my newsletter for updated content share your email below and get it directly sent to your inbox for updated tips and inspiration.

It’s always so much better when you share all your goodness with the world so we can all get a little more fabulous every day.

In today’s post I’m updating you on all things  recovery for my hip labrum repair. It’s been 5 months now since I’ve had my surgery.   I’ll share my Physical Therapy journey, what I’ve done, and what I’m currently doing to recover.   For more details  on the story about my labrum tear read this post here.  

The surgery itself was fine. It took about 1.5 hours and my wake up from anesthesia was great.  The recovery hasn’t been necessarily painful just long and frustrating.  I was told it will be about a 3-6 month recovery.  

I have learned that finding the right person who specializes in this type of surgery is key to recovery and a “good experience.”  It took me 1 years to get a correct diagnosis and 1.5 years to find the right Dr. who specializes in this type of surgery.  I found Dr. Durham Weeks at OrthoCarolina.  He is one of the best in the nation and he focuses on athletes/Sports Medicine.   His Physician Assistant Jeff Dabkowski is just as fabulous as Dr. Weeks is. They put up with all my millions of questions, listened and let me make the decision if I wanted this fixed.

I recommend having someone prepared to help you for 3 weeks if you have kids.  If you don’t have kids 1-2 weeks for sure.

Get crutches.  

I didn’t feel like an ice machine was necessary.   They called and tried to sell me that service. 

Plan on staying on the downstairs floor if you have a two story house.   I started slowly going up the stairs week 3.  

Get a small chair for the shower. I used my kids chair and put tennis balls that were designed to be on the legs of chairs.

I started physical therapy the second week post surgery.  We did a lot of hands on physical therapy the first month.  We also included glute bridges and core work.  I was on crutches for 2 weeks.  As far as help needed, I had help the first 2 weeks with life (kids, cooking). I personally got around great and didn’t need any help getting around and going to the bathroom.  I got a little help getting in the shower just to make sure I didn’t fall.  I used my kids’ small chair to sit on and put tennis balls on the legs of the chair to stay safe.  You can shower within 2 days of surgery.  If you have kids I recommend getting help for 3 weeks.  The 3rd week was really hard by myself.  My husband is a pilot and gone often so it was just me with the kids.  I was able to drive after 2 weeks but just drove short distances.  

The second week is when I went back to the Dr. and they check in and see how you are recovering.  No taking a bath due to possibility of infection on wound site.  I had 3 little scars where the scope went in right below the hip on upper leg.  

The 3rd week I was able to work out upper body carefully with dumbbells. No heavier than 10 lbs.  So I did what I could to stay active and sane.  Think standing biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders.

How I felt:  Overall I felt just like I had surgery. I needed to rest and relax. Not too much pain.   

2nd Month I continued to go to physical therapy 1-2 times a week.  We started leg presses on the leg press along with stability work.  Think planks, Pilates ball,  and bands.  I returned as a participant in a hot yoga sculpting class at Life Time called Warrior.  I modified and did what I could. I always encourage people; who cares what you look like, show up and do what you can and listen to your body. Rest, get back in and modify and do what you can do.  I modified a lot this month in the class but it felt good to do what I could do.  

How I felt:  I met with Jeff, the PA, and he validated everything I was feeling.  It was very hard going to the grocery store for 20 minutes and walking around without feeling like I need to sit down. I tired very easily when walking.  I would go to the store for just a couple things and I would have to stop because I had pain in my groin and need help out to the car with my groceries.  It gets worse, then better at this point.  I sat down to cook and rested in the afternoons on the couch.  I was prepared for all of this but still discouraging.  

I continued to go to PT once a week and do the exercises they prescribed at home as well. Think lots of band work, glute stability and core work.  One of my issues along side healing from my labrum tear is instability in my SI Joints/sacrum/pelvis.  

I met with my Dr. for the first time (I saw the PA before) since surgery. He reassured my tear was very large and surgery was definitely valid. It’s hard to tell via MRI how large the tear is. He shared everything is fixed and perfected in my hip now.  He said there was no other damage to cartilage or anything in my hip.  

How I felt:  I have two different issues going on.  I did feel like my sacrum felt better for  2 months after my surgery and then all of a sudden I feel the SI area hurting again.  We are still not sure if they are related.  For me, I was hoping the labrum tear was the answer to my sacrum being in constant pain.  Unfortunately it still hurts.  

I did start doing Body Pump barbell workouts again in the 3 month while being careful with lower body.  Either using no weight or very light weights.  During this month I also bought a SI belt to wear.

How I felt:  I felt very discouraged as this..   sitting cooking doing dishes in kitchen afternoon/evening.  

I put a hold on my PT and decided to try Pilates on the reformer and still do PT on my own with the exercises they gave me.  My main issue is getting my pelvic floor and sacrum to stabilize and be strong.  I currently am doing Pilates twice a week in a small group setting so stay tuned for an update to see if that will help me.  

I am doing Body Pump barbell work outs 1 time a week.  Modifying the legs and back track still.  I do Warrior Sculpt at Life Time 2 times a week and I am currently training to teach at AKT studio: a dance fitness method. Stay tuned for more about that.   I am also doing a Barre Core class at Life Time and will be teaching that class as I slowly get back into teaching group fitness.  Everything low impact right now but slowly able to do more cardio exercises.  

I also just recently went to a  “Body Worker” who does manual therapy manipulation for the whole session. You know how Physical Therapists usually only have their hands on you for 5-10 minutes? A Body Worker does that work for the whole session.  I’ve only been once so stay tuned to future posts on my experience with that.  

How I’m feeling:  I feel very discouraged because my sacrum hurts more than the labrum/hip recovery. I know the hip and groin will feel better eventually.  Common symptoms of a hip labrum tear is pain in groin, not the sacrum. I did not have much pain in my groin, just weakness.  Lots of weakness when doing anything like leg raises or hip exercises.  Most of my pain was and is in my sacrum.   In my 3 month follow up with Dr. Weeks he said, “How can I help you simmer down?”  LOL  Therefore, I am dialing it back a bit. Currently Pilates, Barre Core, one Barbell workout and Warrior Sculpt. All low impact.  

I just hit the 5 month post surgery mark and I although I can do more I feel very tired in the afternoon. If Im up all morning workout and and walking around and moving I just want to sit in the afternoon to rest. I just had my follow up with Dr. Weeks and he said I’m exactly where I should be. I feel like it will be a 12 month recovery before I’m feeling strong again in the hip/sacrum.

Overall, I am very happy I got the surgery and very satisfied with my experience with Dr. Weeks and His PA.  I was told the recovery is long and it’s not a surprise to me that it’s taking a while to feel like myself again.   I have never been in crazy pain before or after surgery it’s just something that needed to be fixed for long term and highly likely that by having the surgery it prevented me from having major hip issues later in life.  

 Stay tuned to hear how I progress in the near future.  

I’ve had back surgery before and know that in due time I will get stronger again and feel like myself. 

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Thanks for reading about by Arthroscopy hip surgery.  Please share with anyone you know who may be going through the similar experience.

Til next time friend, 

I am a party waiting to happen as my husband calls me and on my birthday I will go buy myself my own balloons and make it happen! I believe we are gifted life and another year is something to celebrate. We are not guaranteed another second. So why not be loud and party?

Ok, so that is my normal birthday year.. this year something different happened. And as I talk to my friends and others I hear many of you have “birthday blues” too and can’t quite explain why. It had nothing to do with getting “older” or looking in the mirror. I had no idea and it just came on. I learned that a few of my friends feel that way every single year and I was able to process it with them. Make sure to get yourself a couple friends you can talk to about anything. Super helpful.

I turned 43 this month and I’ve heard it’s about this time/age in life when you start to really notice the gradual aging process. The vision, the botox needed, the collagen depletion and the aches and pains not just physically but emotionally. But, does it just happen at 43? No, I believe we all have a different story. We all have times in our lives that we feel better, look better and show up better. That doesn’t mean it happens at age 21 or 30. Some people finally find their fabulous at age 65 or 70 and they feel better at 45 than they did at 25. It all depends on their story in life. I recently got a head shot done and the moment I saw it, I said ” I have this same photo from when I was 23!” I went and found the photo and was surprised at how closely the pictures were and how they were taken. It made me think, I would NEVER go back to being 23. I am exactly where I’m suppose to be at this exact time. I love looking back at pictures. Which is a reminder that I need to print more pictures into books because I there is something about finding “old printed” pictures. I want my kids to have that same experience. It is an experience, finding old pictures. It brings back a lot.

Do you get the birthday blues? I want to know, and what did you learn about yourself from them?

Another thing that’s been happening in my life that I feel you can benefit from is learning to be your own advocate in the medical space. I am not going to spend much energy or time on my experience the past 1.5 years because it’s exhausting financially and emotionally and I’m still nowhere “healed” or have answers. I’ll give you one example, I fired one pain management doctor and I should have done so after the first big let down when they forgot about my appointment. I arrived and the office door was open, noone was the desk in site (out to lunch) The dr was in the back working by himself the whole time….yeah… unbelievable. I’m like yelling…”hello” anyone here for an hour. No joke.

I paid a babysitter and waited a 1.5 hours for them to show up and paid them 1,000 for an injection (that did nothing for me.) They could have at least offered me a couple hundred dollars off and or paid for my sitter. Needles to say, they ordered a new MRI and that was 2 months ago, it took me 1 month to get into schedule the MRI and the Dr. office still has yet to call me about the results… 4 weeks later. Needless to say, I fired them. LOL Moving on. That’s one experience in this process for the last 1.5 years. Bottom line, YOU know your body, you have to find the right people you want to work with. I’m currently waiting 2 weeks from another orthopedic dr for a referral from another dr they are sending me to.” It takes every bit of my mental energy to make these calls because the processes are messed up and they appear to not care and or just don’t have a good system down. Be your own advocate and fight. Fight for your life, fight for your health. Some days I get so tired of it I just want to hit my head against the wall in disgust. It always reminds me to just lean on God and know who my ultimate healer is. Keep showing up. Show up at different practices and ask them who they know. Life is a who do you know game. That’s it. Who do you know. I went to yet another Physical Therapist not because i think i need PT it’s because I wanted to know who they knew and they did find me someone else I am seeing now in hopes of results. Keep showing up and advocating for yourself. g

Let’s move onto something more fun. This Calpack laptop backpack is one of the best things I’ve ever bought. In fact, this is now my second one. I wore the zippers out of the first one so it broke down. I’ve never bought another one of something because I wore it out. It’s one of those items that I get compliments on every time I leave the house. It has a special spot for a laptop and has a rectangular shape. Not ideal for a baby bag; however, now that my kids aren’t babies I do keep one diaper in it and wipes. I prefer not to as it doesn’t have a lot of bulky room. It’s super functional for travel and when I’m by myself. Check out the Calpak’s here. I wanted to get the dragonfruit or guava limited color but as it says..limited and sold out. Boo! So I just got another new blush color.

Lastly, a new find that is super fun are these hot pink flats. I love me some heels but I don’t wear them a lot when I’m with 3 kids out and about not in athletic wear(which is not very often LOL.) These are a great shoe that can be wore with jeans or leggings or dressed up with a dress or dressy pants. I love them. I was shocked at when I got them in the mail at the quality for the fabulous price point. I love some good priced shoes. These look like $800 shoes I’ve seen at Sak’s 5th Avenue. You can find them here.

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Til next time!

Find Your Fabulous!

I’ll always remember the first day I walked into a True Foods restaurant in 2010. OMG! I got their tacos. From that day a love affair started and I became a “True Foodie” Snob!
I love my food to be tasty, full of flavor yet healthy. I recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and I am awaiting for the first True Foods to open here. Phoenix has 2 of them within 15 minutes from each other and now I’m missing it dearly. I love everything they have on the menu. So with that, I’ve had to learn to recreate what I can not get. I lived in a town for 4 years with nothing but your basic fast food and Applebee’s so I needed to figure out how to make this delicious food. I added a bit of my own flare to their recipe.

Dr Andrew Weil created True Foods Restaurant with a focus on the anti-inflammatory way of eating. You can see his exact recipe here. There is a video of him on this page making it at the Phoenix restaurant. He talks about the key to making it taste just like the restaurants is having high quality olive oil and everything fresh. Fresh chopped garlic, kale and lemon juice, freshly grated cheese. I have been able to perfect it where it tastes just like True Foods and eat it at least once a week.

He’s a great person to learn from if you want to learn how to be healthy without starving yourself and with “diet..ing” I mean really, the first three letters of the word DIET are die. If you’ve hung out here for any amount of time you will see I am not a dietician, or nutritionist. I am simply someone who learns from others how to make healthy food taste great!

I always pair my kale salads with salmon or chicken. Mostly salmon. I made some coconut rice for my kids this specific night and added that to my bowl. My kids love coconut rice, and they eat this same plate of food. I do use a different dressing for them because I like a lot of garlic in mine and they don’t.

Have you been to a True Foods yet? What is your favorite thing to get? If I don’t get this kale salad, I get the Ancient Grains bowl and hummus plate. Yummo! Oh and their sweet potato hash is AMAZING! You can see my trick to making this kale salad here on Instagram. Enjoy!

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For those of you who love home decor and transformations this post is for you. There’s also a great tip for you at the bottom so keep reading!

We recently moved to North Carolina and the first rooms we transformed were my four-year-old’s room and eight-year-old’s room. We wanted to make them feel finally “at home” since we’ve been in serious transition the past year and not sure where we will be living due to building a home in another state and my husbands outprocessing retirement from the Air Force.

Remington’s room turned out absolutely adorable. When starting a room idea, I usually get inspiration from something first, like a bed spread or sheets or a picture or something. My mom is really great at this stuff so she found the bedding and that gave inspiration for the room theme.

No, I did not do this myself! We hired an artist to come in and paint. One of the things I’ve learned from moving around is less is more. We would move to one house and many of the decor wouldn’t fit into our new home. I would “hold onto it” hoping it would fit in another house if I loved it. This time I finally purged tons of stuff since our military moving days are “retired.” We decided to keep less “decor” and things up on the walls.

The artist took pictures of the wall and then mocked up an image on what she visioned painting (below.) Once we made some minor changes she then came and free hand painted the artwork.

Here are some before and after photos. Bedding, furniture links are below if interested in where those came from.

Here are some of the pictures right after she was done.

The bedspread from this photo is from Home Goods and this quilt is from Pottery Barn.

These touch lamps in their rooms are awesome. I love them! They turn on and off by touch and have different levels of light intensity so it’s great at bedtime. Here are the pink lamps.

Charleston’s room was designed in mind so she wouldn’t grow out of it in a couple years. Around junior high is my guess when she will be “into something else.”

Here are where I found all the things to make this come to life.

The cute grey heart chair: Home Goods

Lamps: Amazon link above.

Charleston’s bedspread: Home Goods

Grey fluffy wall flowers and white frames with pictures: Hobby Lobby

Artist: Lisa Conant Waxhaw, NC

Charleston’s pink bench and flower pillow: Home Goods

Charleston’s blow up reading chair and white frames with pictures: Hobby Lobby

One of the things you may be wondering is “where are their toys?” Most of the toys are in their closet in a toy box for Remington or in the loft in some shelving baskets. This is a chest my mom bought for me when I graduated high school and it fit perfectly in his room for him to throw all his toys in it and climb up to get his clothes.

Charleston has a piece in her closet like this with all sorts of space.

I go through stuff often and if it hasn’t been touched in 6 months its outta here!

Clutter clutters your brain, routine and therefore life. I try my best to be clutter free and have things that are being used and or beneficial. (Besides shoes, shoes are another story LOL) Most importantly children thrive when there are routines and structure including things. Less is really more and they know exactly what they have and where things are. It felt good to get rid of a lot of stuff when we moved and I still have a room holding some decor I probably won’t be using as well.

I always try and leave you with a tip or idea that inspires you. Be inspired to create a clutter free space for your kids. I am now working on the space under the stairs where all the toys are thrown in!

Let’s get real…..we can’t be perfect but we can become 1% better every day! Now on to my under the stairs toy space.

Hope this gives you some inspiration today!

Until next time friends,

Vangie

I remember being in elemetantary school and I hated wearing jeans. They felt thick, tight and as if I was stuck in them and they didn’t keep me warm. I loved wearing leggings and let me tell you some things never change. I am still 100% a legging chick! I don’t have very many pairs of jeans.

Now….leggings, I LIVE in as a momma and someone who loves to work out. I will spend good money on a pair of leggings but I tend to stick to spending $50 and under as I haven’t found a pair I love that are any better than the lower cost ones.

I asked many of you who love their less pricier activewear to tell me where you go and here are the top ones I keep hearing about. Let me know where you find your favorites!

Arie is a sister company to American Eagle. Arie has some awesome leggings and sports bras at a nice price. Their “Offline” brand is my favorite for leggings. Super soft and comfy. I don’t always love the patterns or colors so I have stuck to black and navy. Here are the Offline leggings. They have the second skin feeling where you don’t feel like you have thick leggings on. I’m a super fan of these. They are around $30.

These next ones are from Amazon.

CRZ Yoga you can buy off Amazon. They have great sports bra tops I love here. I love their Longline Strappy sports bra. (below) Great quality and fit. Great quality for $24. I will try an xs next time I order. The small works but I think the xs may be more snug. The “naked feeling” yoga pants 7/8th length are popular. I have one pair of those and think they are great buy for $23.

Colorfulkoala The leggings from here are highly popular from what I hear because of the second skin feeling. I have one pair and like them.

Running Girl: The bras are fashion forward yet practical and made well. I love this specific bra. It has good support, cute and I love the color options. It is just as high quality as any other higher priced brand.

Here are some fun activewear fashion I really like but are on the pricier side. I got these on a super mega sale and had to snag them. The whole outfit was under $50. You have to just keep checking back on offers and holiday sales when they offer more of a discount. I feel like a wrapped Christmas present in this! LOL

This one below is an amazon purchase you can find here. Super cute and supportive.

I love a SheFit bra. They are fabulous because they adjust via velcro around body as well as on top. The zipper is a fabulous focal point for breast feeding. I wish I had this bra while breastfeeding all my babies. I found these after having my 3rd baby.

Check out my blog post here for all my love on SheFit bras.

This is a fun one. I love the way it looks. Love the crop. The pants are not super soft or comfy but cute to wear around. I feel like a workout mermaid in it. You can check out more of her designs here. Cute stuff.

I always like to know where you get your activewear from! Let me know!

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Xoxo,

It’s been 25 years since I first stepped into group fitness! I was 17 years old and never looked back. Throughout the last 25 years group fitness has been my mode of working out. You would rarely find me working out on the gym floor. So let’s talk about it.

I started with a step class in Oregon and fell in love with a lifting/barbell class and then kickboxing. I feel like kickboxing is what got my in really good shape and I loved the energy it gave me. Those were my loves for the first couple years of working out. I never had a health or weight loss story. I just simply fell in love with moving as I was a cheerleader and dancer in high school and I needed an outlet to continue that once I graduated. I loved moving to music and I simply loved it! I didn’t realize at that time what it was doing for my mental health though. So let’s talk about it.

First of all, I want you to get out of your head that YOU are enough! Over the years and lately as I get ready to launch my own on demand fitness workouts I have survey ladies and asked them what motivates them to workout? To my surprise, many ladies say they feel uncomfortable going to a fitness class. They are afraid they won’t know what to do, how to do it and how they will look. Listen up. That is why there IS group fitness! Everyone in there wants to be motivated, encouraged, learn how to work out with great music, high energy and space to grow and become.

When I had my first child, group fitness became even more valuable mentally because I decided to retire from my school counseling profession. Therefore I was at home and needed more of an outlet to get out of the house as I am not a homebody. It was so good for me and my daughter to get out of the house everyday. I went to a great gym that had one of the best childcare so she was well cared for and had a social outlet as well. Being a military wife, I eventually moved and I had no access to a childcare with gym for a couple years and had two more kids while in that position. This was really hard. I worked out at home often but it wasn’t my favorite. I have worked out at home and in a gym and my favorite it with others in a group fitness space.

It’s a place to find your freaking fabulous and have fun while doing it. With practice everything becomes better. You find your fabulous by failing, learning and figuring out WHO you truly are! Who you are called to become. Fitness is a metaphor for life. It’s a time to see how you can fight for it, how you can fight for your best you! Inside this post, I’ll share with you some of my favorite type of group fitness practices and how you can get in the best shape of your life by participating.

Cycle: There are a couple different kind of cycle classes and it’s important to realize each class and instructor are different. So if you didn’t like one, try more. There is the RMP cycle class. That’s going to be focused on numbers. If you are a number person and want to track your progress through numbers then this is for you. My personal favorite is the “Ride to the Beat, “party on a bike” class. One of my favorite studios in Phoenix is The Madison. This studio focuses on the party on a bike class. It’s like going to the nightclub but on a bike! You can find different formats of cycle everywhere. On demand, in gyms, or boutique studios like The Madison.

Body Pump: This is a workout designed by Les Mills in New Zealand. It’s uses a barbell for equipment and it’s focus is to create muscle fatigue by using lighter weights and higher reps, otherwise called the rep affect. I never get tired of it and it works…every single time. It tones, shapes your muscles gets your heart pumping and if you do it consistently it gets “easier” but never easy. It’s choreographed to music and taught on the beat. I do this 2-3 times a week. You don’t want to do this type of workout more than 3 times a week. This is how I got into teaching group fitness. I fell in love with Body Pump. This workout is on demand as well as at some gyms. A gym has to buy the licensing to have it at their club. If you start on demand and don’t want to get the barbell right away just use dumbbells. Check out the on demand option here.

Rebounder/Trampoline: This is one of my favorite exercise equipment. It creates a heart pumping cardio workout without crushing the joints. I incorporate the trampoline into a HIIT workout, strength intervals and choreographed fitness. These are hard to find a place to actually work out with them in a studio or gym so make sure to check out my up and coming on demand workouts that incorporate the rebounder here.

Barre: Barre is a pretty diverse workout. You can walk into a class titled “Barre” and experience so many different teachings, techniques and styles. I am so glad I keep an open mind because I met a master queen instructor in the last year who has taught me so much about group fitness especially Barre Fusion. I call it Barre Fit. It’s more like a dance, shake your booty, strength cardio fun. Traditional Barre is based off ballet style moves and choreographed to fitness like workout. It uses a ballet bar like below and focus on small leg moves. Think dance form in low impact like releve, plie, and positions. I’ve experienced all different types of barre. Just keep trying different instructors and classes to see what fits your style.

Hot Yoga: I am a hot yoga gal. I don’t care for regular quiet yoga. I need loud music with energy and music pumping. There’s tons of different types of hot yoga. I prefer True Hot Yoga in Phoenix the best. I recently got hired at Lifetime Fitness a group fitness leader and I have been taking all their classes to see what I may want to teach. I love Lifetime’s Warrior yoga class. Super high energy, heated with great music. I’m pretty picky when it comes to how I spend my time working out and I want it to be worth my time of showing up. I need loud music and high energy even in my yoga classes. Try a hot yoga class to get you sweating.

HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training is basically a shorter time frame with serious work. You’re going to work harder in a shorter amount of time and you will get the after affect of burning more fat/calories with your body because it’s still working/recovering. There are many different names for HIIT you will just need to check the description of the class you are going to. HIIT can be integrated into any forms of a workout . It’s basically a name for more intense workout with shorter times.

Music is an important part of any class. When taking a class notice how the energy is in the room for yourself as well as the group when the music is on beat to the workout. It makes a huge difference.

When you move your body you feel great and when you find something that helps you move your body, that’s when you know you are on your way to finding your fabulous! Try one of these workouts, you never know you may just fall in love with a new habit.

So I use to have these awesome animal print zebra chairs that matched a bench I had. We moved and we really had no room for them so I had to let them go.

But I still have the bench! LOL can’t let go of it all at once.

and… then I recently discovered these fabulous short and joggers that I’m going to be loving for a very long time! so i still have some animal in me.

When you wear these shorts or joggers, just pair a cute black top with them. Super cute and simple! You can see on here in my Insta.

And who can’t get enough of fun joggers? I know post baby #3 I lived in joggers during the winter. I currently am in love with these ones for all things comfy and fashionable. They do run large so if you order, get them a size down. And P..S The mask is sold out as I type this post.

The great thing about joggers is you can dress them up or down. I dressed them up here with some camel booties with a heel. Gotta have some booties in your closet since they are very versatile and can wear them almost year round depending on where you live.

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When my friends ask me “how are you doing during this crazy time?” I say, “the rest of the world is feeling like I have felt the past three years since I’ve had babies and moved to a small town.” Regardless, it’s been a challenging time for all in their own unique way. We are all in the same storm but a different boat. I have had to change some things and figure out ways to handle the madness. Here are some of my favorite things that have helped me through this time.

Songs for Littles/Toddler Learning Music:  This is geared for 5 and under.  My daughter liked it but got disengaged quicker than my 2 year old .  She focused on it for about 10 minutes where my son 15-20 minutes.  Super engaging fun resource.  

Art Hub for Kids You Tube channel.   This has been so helpful for my daughter and I.  When I need that hour to just be with my other two or to separate the two-year-old and her so I have a break from constantly correction their behavior and fighting with each other.  She will be drawing with this dude and his kids for hours if I let her. It’s super creative, kid friendly and fun.  She calls it “art craft.” 

The Berenstein Bears.  Yes! It’s been challenging navigating the waters of a 2-year-old and 5-years-old developmentally to keep me from going crazy and them. They both love this show and it keeps them focused during my 1 hour workout every morning.  

Speaking of workout, one of my favorite virtual workout experience is with Les Mills Programs.  Here you can check them out and get a monthly membership where you have access to all their class programs.  There is also a program called Born to Move for kids of all ages on there my daughter loves to dance to when she’s not dressing up in my crowns, clothes and jewelry.

Sometimes we dress up “to do school” too. Which is usually just on the weekends and right before bed when daddy is home to watch the other two. Whenever I may feel the “overwhelm” feeling I always go back to the long term vision…..it’s ok if I don’t do everything. She’s still going to graduate high school if I don’t sit with her for hours every day.

Another great workout option is my favorite hot yoga True Hot Yoga. They are based in Arizona. I just get in my garage where it’s hot enough and push play on the video they shared with their specialized flow. Check it out!

Looking for new recipes and things to eat?  What’s Gaby Cooking is a great place to find some new eats.  Check her out and get ya some good tasty food!

I also love Right Now Media. My kids love the bible shows like BibleMan and Gigi. Lots of good stuff on there to play.

Find somewhere outside you can be “away” from people but still see the sky!  I go to the football field/track and let my kids run wild while I walk around the track.  

I want to know what your survival tools have been? Connect with me on social!

Until next time,

It’s true….. I HAVE LOST my *&^%%%!! More than once in the past few weeks. As I talked to my friends I realized they have too. I realized I am not alone. I am not my “best” momma when I’m constantly being crawled on, whined to, and being a restaurant. I am my best when I have a break and lets get real, we all are. No matter, what we are doing, it’s best to take a break from whatever we are constantly doing to refresh our spirit and minds.

But… right now, thats even harder than ever. When friends ask me how I am holding up during this time I honestly say, “well, not much has changed for me, the rest of the world is feeling what I have felt the past 3 years.” I find ways to work through the challenges of mom life that is the biggest blessing yet the hardest most expensive personal development program out there.

For the past two weeks during this Corona Virus epidemic, the biggest feeling I’ve felt is shock. Shocked, yet feeling at peace knowing in faith, that God has already overcome the world. During these last two weeks I’ve seen many posts of people wanting ideas and activities on what to do “with” their kids all day. I too felt some of this and have thought maybe I should be doing MORE. I know some of you have felt that way too.

Then I realized after sitting back and just “being” my kids who are small children (5 months, 2 and 5) they need me to just BE with them. My daughter always says she misses me and wants me to just BE with her and play. As a woman who has a soul on fire to become and learn and strive for more “being” doesn’t come easy for me. It’s something I intentionally have to be aware of to do. I thrive off being in action. Taking action on my God given goals, dreams and plans. I intentionally have to create private play time with her. We call it special mommy time. My kids don’t necessary need an activity every second, they need me to “be” in their world of play.

Then I’ve noticed that many of us are not doing ok with this “social distancing” lifestyle and my mind has been racing. We are called to be in community with people. We are called to impact people and we are called to serve people.

During this challenging time of “being” and many even being on an emotional rollercoaster I challenge you to trust in the little things to work through this time.

Be STILL, Just Be and slow down.

Being still is challenging for me. I am always on the go and I really enjoy being productive, active and impactful. I have a hard time seeing the productive and impactful side while “being” at home with my kids. Especially because mine are so young I feel like I’m a restaurant and professional pee and poop cleaner. If I’m not wiping butts or cleaning up pee off the ground, I’m feeding someone and not always myself. LOL My food usually has bites here and there from me walking by unless I’m intentional with just “being” and deciding to sit down and not get up. Focus on just “being” without having to be stressed about a super structured minute by minute day. Routine and structure does help but if it’s making you stressed out and overwhelmed we don’t need anymore of that right now. By slowing down, I’m able to practice gratitude more and appreciate these little human beings who rely on me to “keep them alive” as my friend calls it!

One thing I do every day to get re-grounded is 1 hour of quiet time in my house. For my small boys it’s nap time. My daughter has 1 hour of quiet time in a separate room doing something quiet. It keeps structure and most importantly resets our mind and bodies to conquer the rest of the day. Mindfulness is important to keep grounded and I get it by being protective of that time during my day. Rest time is biblical and I’m all about it! Do something that gets you restored: sleep, read, journal, work out, sleep on a beanbag with your garage open like me below! LOL

Find Something to Feel Normal or at least “good”

So I’m not the “park mom” or the “go on a walk with my kids mom.” I feel like it’s more work to get OUT of the house for a simple walk that it’s worth… however, today I decided to just go outside for a later night walk before the kids went to bed and it was gorgeous weather. I just needed to get out and look to the sky and see God’s creation telling me “he’s got this.” I just happen to take this sweet photo of my baby and I both looking at the sky at sunset.

And seeing my little ones in their new “tricycle trailer” is definitely precious even if it takes twice as long as it should to go around the block because they want to go up everyone’s “big driveway.” So go and appreciate something as small as a walk with your kids and look to the heavens with gratitude.

Or even better, do your hair and make up EVEN if your only going to the fridge and couch today! Or maybe do a facial mask and video chat with your friends. This is something I have done a lot more of. It’s interesting. I don’t know why I don’t do it more often. I assume because I feel connected normally without it but because the only people I am seeing is my little babies I feel a deeper connection for my friends and family. The small things can make a difference. So go Face Time a friend, do your nails or make up or go outside and look to the heavens with gratitude.

Music!

Music is so powerful. Go turn on some worship songs or good ol’ country music and dance with your kids and sing loud! Some of my favorite songs to encourage, uplift and get positive are I Hope You Dance, Anything Eric Church, Hillsong Worship, Bethel Worship, Jesus Culture, This is Me from The Greatest Showman, Tim McGraw. I also just love to blast ol’ school songs to get back to the heart of what I love and who I am… (New Kids on the Block Debbie Gibson, Guns N Roses) I love music and how it heals, moves and inspires, Blast your Alexa and create an atmosphere of fun in your house.

Be Intentional

All those days you say “you don’t have time for something” well THIS is the time to make those things happen! I am finding much more time in my day even with 3 little kids to do things I don’t normally get done. And you know what… I”m really feeling accomplished and it’s helping me feel like there is light. If you feel like you need to get out, go for a run or walk! If you need a friend to be with, video call each other and check in. If you want to feel your best, move your body and make yourself a good meal or just take a shower for the day and blow-dry your hair. It’s the little things that are going to help you get through the tough times.

Would love to know what your strategies are to get you through this time of isolation and “social distancing.”

Always remember, there is hope out there if you are lonely, afraid or depressed. Everything is temporary and there is a time for everything

Love yourself hard and those you are seeing in your house everyday. But also sister.. GIVE yourself GRACE!! #lotsofgrace