Let's Chat!

It has been quite a while since I have done one of my "Let's Chat" posts; which are my random thoughts and shares about all things related to life lately. Since I like to keep things light and easy on a Friday, pour cocktail of your choice, and let's talk...

Most of you are probably aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I have teamed up with Sketchers and they have sent me a pair of their durable performance but absolutely stylish special edition shoes. 

Sketchers wants our help in the fight against breast cancer. More so, they want to know who or what you fight for. Why do you run? Why do you exercise? What is your purpose? 

I run, I exercise, and I try to improve myself every single day. I just want to be better today than I was yesterday. To me exercise is not just about my body. It is about healing my soul, pushing my limits, and becoming mentally stronger. I fight and I try everyday for my father who has terminal cancer, for my mother who battles Multiple Sclerosis, and for me. I have had the hardest year of my life and overcoming heartache of this caliper has been debilitating more days than I care to admit. However everyday I try. Everyday I fight.

Tell us: what do you fight for?

More information about my absolutely fabulous special edition kicks:

My style is called the Skechers GOrun 3. Awareness is designed for speed with innovative performance technologies to foster a barefoot running experience while offering impact protection. Breast Cancer Awareness edition. Skechers Performance proudly supports the American Cancer Society in the fight against breast cancer

• Breast Cancer Awareness special limited edition
• Improved breathability and flexibility
• Roomy forefoot. 3 layer Power-prene mesh on front panel allows for support while offering ample room for toe splay
• GOimpulse sensors offer flexibility and feedback for a responsive running experience
• M-Strike Technology™ promotes a midfoot strike
• Custom Fit insole is removable for an even more minimal feel
• 4mm Heel Drop to bring you closer to a natural barefoot experience
• Resalyte™ Midsole - Proprietary lightweight injection-molded compound with memory retention helps absorb impact
• Nearly seamless flexible mesh upper with lace up front
• Skechers Performance proudly supports the American Cancer Society in the fight against breast cancer
• This special collection celebrates those who use sports and fitness to lead an active, healthy lifestyle

I received so many kind messages and last week regarding my post desperate for a new beginning. I think that post was the scariest one I have written yet. I was truly at a breaking point though. Every ounce of me was begging to be heard and understood. Once I published that post, I felt like I was held responsible. Which was needed. 

Since then I have felt like a weight was lifted off of my chest and I have been a lot happier. I have felt "OK" lately, which is really, really nice. I am taking it day by day, and I have made necessary changes, so now, I am ready to close the chapter on writing about that pain. I have written about it a few times, I accept it, and I understand, so now it is time to move on. Does that make any sense?

To help with my situation, last week I purchased 5-HTP and Sam-e. Both of which are natural supplements that with help stress, mood, depression, and anxiety. Plus Sam-e has helped with my RLS! I have absolutely felt a difference, which has been fantastic. 

I am steadily dream chasin' all day everyday. Thus I ordered my first round of business cards! I designed them myself and I love the "glossy" finish. I was pretty proud for my first time. I truly love writing, blogging, and all things social media promotions, and marketing, so I hope to keep growing; so far, so good. The hustle must continue though!

Speaking of blogging and growing, my friend Jasmine has the same state of mind. She is the proud owner of Fleurty Bands, which are super cute affordable, and stylish headbands. Headbands have been go-to lately because all I do is throw one of those bad boys on (it must match with my outfit, of course), then go on about my day.  I love seeing women chase their dreams and go for what they want in life, so help me support small and wonderful business. 

Jasmine has generous enough to offer to a coupon code for 20% off of your order, which will be valid through November 30th, 2014! Click here to check out her collection and order your band today!

Join the fun and link up with these fabulous ladies today!

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Let's Chat: All About The Week + Giveaway Winners

Happy Friday. On Friday's, I like to link up with these fabulous ladies and chit-chat about the week. Friday's just feel mellow and easy like that. Coming back to work this week after 5 days off was brutal. I hate the way it is always like for me. Once I am off of my normal schedule for more than a couple of days, it's hard for me to get back on it. I have been struggling. 

At least after my first day back at work on Tuesday, I had tickets to an advanced screening of "Let's Be Cops". I loved it, too! It was hilarious and raunchy. Everyone in the theater laughed out loud the entire time. You could tell everyone was really enjoying the movie.

I love to read and wish I had time to do it more. Because I have not been sleeping well, I have been reading when I get into bed to help. Here is what has been on my Kindle lately:

The Happiness Project: I heard so many great things about this book. Unfortunately I have to disagree. The author is happy. She leads a charmed life; has a solid marriage, healthy children, owns a home in New York City, went to law school, and they have a very comfortable lifestyle. The author just wants to be happier. Her plan of improving her life was well thought and executed, but not profound or lifechanging in the least. I found it very, very hard to relate to her. I purchased this book when I was going through one of the worst times in my life, and all I kept thinking was "She doesn't know how lucky she is". I am not judging her by her outward appearance or tangible pocessions, but by how she described her life herself in the book. I commend her for her intensive study and investigations into being "happy" and enjoyed the philosophical references, but overall I could not finish. I stopped about 100 pages in.

Master of the Mountain: I love this book. It is just that simple. It's sexy, easy to read, and realistic. I enjoyed "50 Shades of Grey" like anyone else, but it was too much. It was too unreal and too much of a slap in the face to anyone who understands and practices any part of BDSM (sex is almost the least of it, truth be told). Though this book has a lot of sex scenes it, there is still a sweet story as well. I am invested in the characters and reading fast -- those are my traits showing I'm into a book.

I am excited about the feedback I received from people curious and interested in reading my book. The pressure is sure on now! I am working hard and hope to have it finished by the end of next month. I will then send to 10 people who showed interested to read and provide an honest review. I find myself doubting my ability a lot now, but I am just going to try the best I can. Since my best friend left for the beach this past Saturday, I sent a copy of it with her to read while lounging by the ocean. She sent me this picture on Monday - very cool! I hope one day to search #PrettyLies on Instragram and see millions of other people posting pictures like this, ha!

I received a fabulous shipment from the best nutrition company known to man; Quest Nutrition. Their loyalty to customer satisfaction and customer service is unsurpassed. I received my favorite Quest Bars, of course. But I also received their new protein chips. If you read My Weekly Nutrition and Training Plan, you see that I eat protein chips pretty regularly, so when Quest announced their new protein chips, I was excited. As expected, they are great. My favorite is flavor is BBQ. They have a great "crunch" to them like regular chips do, they're flavorful, and they have 21g of protein. It's a complete win. Quest also sent their "miracle noodles". You may have heard about these before. They have virtually no calories, fat, or active carbohydrates. The only downside is they have an awful "seafood" smell when you first open them. I do not eat seafood at all so this is especially discouraging when I open the package. Luckily, it goes away completely once they are rinsed. It's a wonderful substitute for pasta so I am eager to try. 

There are some special women I would like to introduce you too. I am fortunate to read the most inspiring blogs and get to know the intelligent and driven women. I feel like we can never be surrounded by that enough. Please stop over and say hello to them.

Akirah is passionate about helping other women. She left an abusive relationship after 4 years of turmoil and pain. She encourages women to be brave and know their self-worth and even offers her resources to help. She and her husband live in Pittsburgh and she works as a licensed social worker. She spends her free time writing and connecting with women in an online community called “Our Brave Hearts.” Akirah is also co-director of Pittsburgh’s chapter of Hollaback; a movement to end street harassment. 

Maegen is a dear friend and former co-worker of mine. What I love about her most is how beautiful she is inside, not just her outward appearance. She has dedicated her time and blog to tackling issues that desperately need awareness. In world where self-worth is valued by the label on your shirt, the number in your account, sex, and partying, she raises awareness on how wrong it is. She challenges women to find themselves internally and create confidence by your values, morals, education, goals, and dreams.

Ashley is a good ole' southern girl living in a small town in Texas. She graduated from the University of Arizona Little Rock in 2012 with a double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She is currently digging deeper into her walk with Christ and loves all things books and girly. Ashley has awesome style and fashion and I love seeing what she comes up with next. 

Last, but not least we have the giveaway winners! Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to those who won.

Kimberly, Meredith, and Mary, please email me your shipping addresses so your Quest Bars can be sent!

Dani, please email me the style and size of the Quest Nutrition shirt you would like!

My advertising information has recently been updated so check it out and let's do this!

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All About The Week + Quest Giveaway Winners!

Since it is Friday and my brain is ready to shut off for the weekend (ha, who am I kidding, it is always ready to shut off) I am going to partake in the fun Friday 5 and favorites link up's and share randoms about the week that has been!

First, I want to thank you guys for your participation in the Quest Nutrition giveaway. They emailed me to let me know how much feedback they received from it, so I am hoping we will team up again very soon away to give you guys more products! I have tell you, even on my darkest and hardest days, you guys never fail to make me smile and give the that push I need to keep going. As I said earlier this week, it has been difficult adjusting to the abundance of changes ensuing in personal life, but you guys make it worth it. This my passion. It's hard work, but I love it. Some of you say I inspire you, but you will never know how much you all inspire me. Thank you for all of the meaningful and heartfelt comments and emails. They gave me hope and faith. OK enough sappiness...

Last week when I was in the grocery store, I happened to see a trial/travel size of John Frieda's Curl Reviver Mousse. Since it was like $1-$2 I figured why not try it. I love big hair. There are three things that can never be too high in life - one's heels, hair, and standards. Ha! I forgot it about over the weekend, but found it on Monday morning when I was fixing my hair for work. I absolutely love this product! It gives tons of volume, does not weigh the hair down, and it adds just enough curl - not too tight, but not too dull. It is like a wavy/beachy look. If you want an affordable, good product to add volume, I say give it a try!

Tuesday I awoke to hitting the 50 pound loss mark. It was exciting and rewarding. It's been a lot of hard work getting my life and body back, but I continue it one healthy choice and one kick-ass workout at a time. I have really stepped up my cardiovascular training over the past 2 months. I believe it is really helping. Of course, clean eating must be the top priority, but intensifying workouts never hurt anyone! Plus I rarely ever drink anymore. In August of 2010 when my gym first opened, I used the StairMill. My gym is huge - 3 stories, and only has two StairMill's. It is the hardest cardio machine I ever used besides the Jacob's Ladder (I wish so much I had access to this machine!). Last year I did not use it at all. I lost motivation, so the last thing I would want to do is use a machine that pushes me to my limits. Even earlier this year, I stayed away. Finally, I snapped out of it and I have been using it again at least 4 times a week. The StairMill aids tremendously in training to make me stronger while hiking and jogging. I can absolutely tell a huge difference strength wise. If you have access to this machine at a gym, use it! It is hard, but worth it. It makes me sweat like no other. Do not expect to use that machine and look pretty. It is all about hard work. When I first started using it a few years ago, I could barely do 10 minutes. I kept it and kept working and now I can do an hour. Do not be discouraged if you can only use this machine for a few minutes - just keep trying! It is worth it!

To celebrate my 50 pound loss, I went to Polished Nail Bar for a pedicure. I never ever get manicures or pedicures... I do everything myself at home. However, this past weekend I decided to treat myself to manicure and pedicure since I worked so much last week and my body was aching. I loved it. I received a leg massage that my calves were so thankful for, the chair vibrated your back, and you are served a class of Chardonnay. That is my idea of relaxing. Thus I went again. I didn't even need another pedicure, but I loved the massage and relaxation part of it so much that it felt worth it!

Wednesday, my Ipsy bag came! What do you guys think about yours so far? At first glance, I was not excited. I love makeup and color. This bag just seemed kind of... boring. However, now that I have received it, it is not so bad. I am eager to try the hair mask; I am always looking for good products for my hair. I never wear concealer so I am happy to have a tube to try out! If anyone wants to try my facial cleansing wipes for something they received - let me know. I' m open!

If you don't know what Ipsy is - it is a monthly makeup bag you receive via mail. It is only $10 a month and with that you get a makeup bag and 3-4 beauty products. You are billed on the first of every month and products arrive between the 10-15th! When you sign up, you get to customize your settings so you get products closely matched to your beauty preferences. If you want to join, please click here and use my link! I will appreciate you!

My mom arrived yesterday! She is here for the weekend and I am so excited to have her here. She single and ready to mingle, so I hope to show her a good time this weekend. We already started it good last night. We went grocery shopping at Target, bought some goodies at Ulta, then had dinner and a cocktail at one of our favorite restaurants "City Tavern". Now to get through this work day, then it will be time for the weekend!

Least but not least, I have the winners from the Quest Bar giveaway! They are listed below and were chosen via Rafflecopter who used Random.org. All entries were verified and I will email the winners for their shipping address! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Let's talk about the fabulousness of the week for Friday 5!

*I am going to be getting my fashion blogger on a little on this post because I want to show y'all my cute new clothes finds this week! However, I have no digital camera or a tripod so bare with me and my Iphone pictures, haha!*

Happy Friday ladies! I am linking up to share the 5 fabulous, fun things about my week. It has been cold here in Charlotte - way different than last week, but we are going to have a nice weekend. I am so ready for Spring. I bet my girls up north are too. I hit the gym this morning so now I just have to tackle the work day. I go to my doctor's office at noon for my B12 injection and have them weigh me. I hope I lost weight this week, but I am not sure. Last week I lost 5.2 pounds (I have no idea why so much) so I don't know how it will be this week. I have been on track, trained hard, and I feel great, but you never know with that damn scale. 

Tuesday morning, bright and early, I had a wonderful email stating that (1) I won the "Healthiest Honey" award from My So-Called Chaos! If you took the time to vote for me, I want to say thank you so much! This was so cool! Angie, the author behind the blog, is actually pretty amazing. Her blog is well run and I look forward to learning from her. If you are trying to grow your blog or just obtain new information, go over and say hello! 

(2) Later on Tuesday evening, I was recognized for the first time from my blog. I was working out at the gym and one of my reader's came up and introduced herself to me. We workout at the same gym! She doesn't blog, but she reads along on my crazy spot. Hi Crystal, it was awesome meeting you! 

Ulta sent me an email to activate "double points" for everything I bought. Thus I decided a trip there would be much needed! With my purchase, I received enough points to have $12 off my next purchase! (3) Let's talk new beauty products:

1- L'oreal "Volumizing Dry Shampoo": I have to have dry shampoo! I hate washing my hair more than 2-3 times a week. However, I cannot go around being dirty and a hot mess though. Dry Shampoo is our savior. I tried many brands and hated them all because they made my hair greasy. Not this kind! It does not make my hair greasy in the least and it does add a lot of volume. I will never use another brand.

2- Redken "Color Extend" shampoo: I cannot be without my Redken. I have to preserve the precious red streaks in my hair and this shampoo/conditioner helps. I have been using it for a long time. It's great quality and moderately priced. 

3- Redken "Extreme Strength Builder" hair mask: I color my hair a lot so I have to take extra care of it. I normally use "It's a 10" hair mask, but since Redken was buy 2 get 1 free, I bought this instead. I have not used it yet so if you have, feel free to let me know what you think. 

4- Redken "Smooth Lock" heat protector: I add this to my ends before I dry, curl, or straighten my hair. I love it. It makes hair silky and smooth. It's a great product.

5- Smashbox "Photo Finish" foundation primer: AH! I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! I used it for the first time Tuesday morning and it is amazing! I normally used Ulta brand's hydro primer or Mary Kay's, but those do not hold a candle to Smashbox. This helps my foundation look so even and lasts all day. This product gets 5 stars. 

6- Urban Decay "All Nighter" makeup stay spray: I have not used this yet, but Urban Decay never disappoints. If you have used it, let me know what you think.

7- LORAC highlighter and bronzer combo: I was unsure what I would think about this so that is why I bought the smaller version instead of the big compact, but I love it! I apply the highlighter on my cheeks and forehead and the bronzer along my cheek bones, it looks great. I normally just use Smashbox's bronzer, but I am enjoying this compact! 

8- Benefit "They're Real" mascara: This may sound crazy, but I never buy full size mascara's. Why you may ask? Because the longer the brush is, the harder it is to get length. That is a secret I learned doing makeup. I always buy and obtain trial sizes when I can. Since I use a shorter brush for my lashes I can pull harder and get deeper at the root of my lash. Try it! You will never see mascara the same! This is a great mascara too. 

(4) Wednesday, I wore a shirt I have had for nearly 2 years, but never fit! I order 90% of my tops from Venus.com. In 2012 I ordered the below shirt. I love anything lace like. When I received, it was really hard to put on. The shirt does not stretch at all. The material reminds me of a corset and it doesn't budge. It fits OK now, but once I get 5-10 more pounds off, I will enjoy it more. 

Besides my awesome makeup finds at Ulta, (5) I scored some great deals on supplements and clothes as well! Yesterday the UPS man came and made my day! There is nothing better than getting packages from two of your favorite companies! I like to shop at places that reward loyalty. I always scout those kind of places out. 

If you see above, I love the company Venus. I buy almost all of my clothes from there. Their clothes are sexy, flattering, and reasonably priced. Since I have been buying from them for so long, I get all kinds of coupon codes emailed to me. Also at least once every 4-6 weeks the company sends an email with the promotion spend $50 dollars and get a $25 gift card! Well, that is what went on this week so I ordered three tops. Unfortunately one is on back order until next Thursday and one just shipped yesterday. I just received one of them yesterday:

The jeans are also new. I love the holes. They were only $20 bucks from Target. I love this outfit. It's funky and fun! I then scored a pair of workout pants from Target that were on clearance for $19 bucks! They were previously $40. I wore them last night to the gym and I am hooked. I like the way they make my booty look. I want to go buy more now. 

I normally buy most of my supplements from GNC. The Quest Bars are always buy 3 get 1 free, they email me a lot of good coupons, and I enjoy the gold card prices. But I still do my research to get the cheapest price when I need to make a purchase. This time Bodybuilding.com won - I love ordering from those guys. I always get my items in only two days, a free sample of something new, and the prices are great. I got a two pound tub of protein for only $20 and my BCAA's with B6 were only $14. Those are great steals. If you are the market for a new protein, SNI's whey protein is delicious! I bought Vanilla Cake Batter!

Before I go, don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends tomorrow. They winner will be announced Wednesday! Have a great weekend!

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It has been a really weird week (Friday 5)

We are at another Friday. Thank goodness. One of my best friends is coming down to stay the weekend with me, which of course I am excited about, but I am most excited about sleeping in. (Ha, love you Jen!) This week has been okay, but just... odd. I think it's mainly due to my own mental state. I can be pretty crazy, I suppose.

Sunday night, (1)I got an email from my step-mom telling me my dad is not doing well. My father has been battling cancer since basically 2006. It isn't curable, it is in his bones and keeps spreading. In November he started having really bad seizures. The doctor's did MRI's and found a brain tumor. To me, that was not a huge deal. He also had a brain tumor in September of 2011, the doctor's removed it via surgery, and dad lead a mostly normal life. That was all they would need to do again. He went in for surgery the week before last and the doctor's could not remove the tumor. The MRI was wrong (that only happens 15% of the time - my family's luck) and the tumor was too far into his brain to be removed. Since the surgery he keeps going back to Duke for more and more tests. As of right now, there are not a lot of options to help him and he continues to have seizures regularly. 

That broke me down. I have never had to deal with death before. I am 24 years old and my father is dying of cancer and my mother is sick with MS - both incurable. And I'm getting really damn bitter. I'm single, live alone, have no partner to be my rock during these times, and I was getting so mad at God. I'm too young to lose them. My father will most likely never walk me down the aisle or see a grandchild (I am his only child). It's just really hard. However, instead of asking "why me", I have to look at is "why not me". This is life. This free will... things like this happen. And I know there a lot of people out there who have never had parents or lost their parents way before I will. I know many, many people have it much worse than I do, it's just hard to look at the big picture like that sometimes. I apologized for blaming God and I am just trying to be the best daughter I can. My dad loves "The Beatles" so I have a DVD on the way to his house for him. I'm sure that will make him cheer up, at least a little.

That's all I want to say about that. I hate even talking about it on my blog. I just really think that is what threw me off this week. You guys have been so supportive and loving and I really appreciate it. Moving on...

(2) I am still trucking along on my weight loss journey. Finally I am starting to feel differences in my clothing. For a while I noticed differences naked and on the scale, but clothes - not so much. I am wearing shirts and jeans that have been put a way for a long time. I am really excited about the below white shirt. I love to wear white, but when my stomach and arms became bigger, I avoided it like the plague. I go for my weigh in later today and truth be told, I will be happy to be down a pound. I wanted to completely kick ass this week, but it didn't happen. I did good, but not as good as I should have.

Tuesday morning, I was still an emotional mess. My adorable angel, Marty was being so clingy. I could not get ready without him rubbing up against my legs wanting attention. (3) I was an awful mom. I was getting irritated with him and yelled at him because he almost tripped me up. On my way to work, I was in tears because I yelled at him. Am I psycho or what? It was eating away at me because I love my cat so much and I would never yell at him. I went home on my lunch and played with him then bought him catnip. When I got home from the gym Tuesday night, I let the water run from the sink (his favorite in the world) extra long as well. I think he has since forgiven me.

Wednesday I was a (4) I was so proud of my steal at GNC. As a lot of my fitness girls know, Quest Bar now has a new flavor out: cookies and cream. I for one am obsessed with it. It is absolutely delicious. So of course I needed to add a few to my stash at work. They were buy 3 get 1 free, my pre-workout (Lipo 6x black - I hate taking powder) was on sale, I had a $10 off my total purchase coupon, and they gave me a lot of free samples! I saved so much money. I was extremely proud! I love saving money, ha!

All of that prompted for a kick ass work out at the gym later. I started core workout's twice a week a couple of weeks ago, and I am really pleased at how strong I am getting. I stopped doing core work for a long time. There is no real reason as to why I stopped, but I know I needed to get back to it. Planks are becoming easier and I go longer... it's been a great feeling.

(5)Yesterday I had my 90-day review with my HR mentor and my boss. It is hard to believe that I have been with my company for 90 days. Do you guys remember me telling you the incredible story of how I even came about this job? If not, read it here. It was really and truly fate and God's work. My boss took me out to a delicious lunch, we had the review, and things are great. This job saved me in many ways. Even if some of my employee's are mad at me because the new shipment of paper towels does not have designs on them! (I am not even joking)

I got my booty up bright and early this morning to get some cardio before work. My best friend and I hate working out first thing but we pushed through!

I have my vitamin injection and weigh in at 12:45 so wish me luck, After work, I am getting in a lift session at the gym, then wait for Jen to get into town. Don't forget to link up today! I hope you guys have a great weekend! 

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A Very High 5 for Friday!

It has been a really, really good week. It was filled with nothing but work and the gym, but I feel really accomplished.

To begin, I would like to ask for you guys to pray for my dad. I have mentioned before that he has incurable cancer. He has been battling a brain tumor over the past couple of months. It has been causing him to stay really sick and have seizures. He went to Duke yesterday to have brain surgery so the tumor could be removed. However, once the doctors started, they noticed that the tumor is too far in his brain to be removed. 

To say I am shocked would be an understatement. I could barely breathe last night when my sister told me what was going on. But the doctors are going to meet with him and my step-mom to go over the next steps to help him. Chemo does not work and he has already had too much radiation. I have been told though, that the doctors may able to do radiation again. I do not know what is going to happen, but my family seems in good spirits and it looks like there may be alternatives he can do so I feel OK about everything right now.

I went to the doctor yesterday for my B12 injection. While I was there I was weighed. Last week I was up 2.3 pounds for the first time in 6 weeks since beginning my journey. I lost 4 pounds this week! I am down 23.1 pounds since November 25th!

I work out with my best friend everyday at the gym after work. She then comes over to my apartment at least once a week for dinner after. This week I made some delicious concoctions:

Roasted vegetables - zucchini and mushrooms. I sliced them, drizzled extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and feta cheese then roasted at 350 for 45 minutes. Delicious!

Next I had a sweet potato left over from when she was over at my apartment Friday. It was a really big potato and I did not want it to go bad, but I did not know what to do with it. So I boiled it until tender, added 1/2 cup of unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, ground cinnamon, and took my mixer to cream it. The result was an odd type of mashed potatoes. However, it tasted so good - it tastes like pie to me!

At my work, we dress business casual everyday. On Wednesday's we have a Manager's meeting. I usually dress up for that, just because. I am the youngest person there so I like to make myself look better when I can. Ha. I wore my black business suit with a lace and leopard print cami under it. I am glad my President is so cool and lets me be me. Ha! The top is from Victoria's Secret but I have had it a while, I don't know if it's still available.

Oh and my curls cooperated, too. Score!

My company is an Administration company and we provide the support for many publishing distributors. Thus we get free magazines every week on Wednesday. I am really excited about my picks this week!

Yesterday was my off day from the gym. Man I needed it too. I was so sore. I grocery shopped after work. Since I have been trying so hard to work off the baggage I obtained in 2013 via weight gain, I am really educating myself on eating more organic. Thanks to my Amazon Prime account I was able to "borrow" a book on the Kindle library about organic eating on a budget. I want to continue to eat this way as long as I live so I am really excited to play in my kitchen this week to create new, delicious, and most of all clean recipes.

Lastly, since it is the middle of the month, you know what that means - Ipsy bags! What do you guys think about the bag this month? I finally received mine last night. The bag is different than the usual style, but I like it. Also the items in the bag are not usually what I get, but I am intrigued. I am most excited to try the deep conditioning treatment for hair. Since I color my hair a lot, I spend a lot of money to keep it healthy. Also included was a light face lotion. My face is naturally really oily so a light lotion is a must on my face.

If you do not know what Ipsy is, it is a makeup bag that comes once a month. It's $10 flat. You are charged on the 1st of every month and your items come in the middle. When you go to the website to sign up, you will answer questions about your beauty and skin routine to closely match which products will suit you best. You then receive 4-5 full size beauty products. If you do not receive Ipsy and want too, please use my link! Click here to sign up!

Don't forget to be a part of all of the awesome Friday link up's going on today; click here!

That is all I have for now, I hope to have some delicious recipes coming your way next week! Have a great weekend.

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