Day 4 and Counting!

Over the last few days I have noticed so many changes.  First of all being my overall energy level.  I have been more productive these last few days than I have in a long time.  I am able to get so much done it is ridiculous.  Next, would be the weight loss.  I know it is crazy to hear, but I have lost 2 pounds already and I cannot wait to see how much I will lose by the end of this.  I also have been noticing an increase in my workout performance. I am able to run longer, and lift a little bit more than before.  

Plus, throughout these last few days I have had to change my eating habits.  I no longer crave sweets.  I see other people eating them and I no longer feel the need to grab their fork and dig in.  Last night I scooped my husband his last bit of Chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cup ice cream and I got some on my finger.  Now, normally I would lick it off, but not this time.  Go me! 

This time around it has been a lot easier to get through.  I have a friend doing the challenge along side me and we are both having great results.  We push each other at the gym, keep each other accountable and help each other stay on track.  This would be my one piece of advice if anyone is considering doing the 24 Day Challenge, find someone to do it with you.  It makes it that much easier.  Having a buddy keeping you going is the best thing for your success. There are those of you reading this thinking you can do it alone, and yes you can.  I truly believe that anyone can do it alone.  If your motivation is great enough, you can do it.  Having someone by your side telling you that you can do it and you telling them the same, is, in my eyes, greater than doing it alone. 

If you and a friend, or friends, or just yourself would like to begin the 24 Day Challenge, please let me know.  

Here is the link: 24 Day Challenge

Also, if you have any questions, or you yourself have completed a 24 Day challenge and would like to share your results, please leave a message below. 

It's Only Day 2 and...

I am feeling GRRRREEEEAAAT!  I have been going to sleep at a normal time (anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30), got a good workout in yesterday.  That Jillian Michaels is a mean lady, but dang is she ripped.  Hopefully by the time I am done I will look like her.  I used the No More Trouble Zones workout DVD.  The reason for me using the DVD and not going to the gym was because... (travel back to 6 pm last night) I get home and my husband is playing on his computer.  I said, "Hey babe, are we still going to the gym?"  He then gets off his computer and we proceed to change into our workout attire.  Btw, can I just say that I am in LOVE with my tennis shoes! ASICS are the BOMB!  After we are fully dressed we head to the kitchen and take our required pre-workout supplements, mine being Catalyst. (I will put links below to everything I have mentioned and also to the 24 Day Challenge if anyone reading this would like to purchase one as well.)
Then we get in the car and head to the post gym that we frequent.  Come to find out... it's closed. WHAT?!?!?!  Yep!  So we turn around and start driving to another gym on post.  It's closed too!  Ugh. Frustration nation is setting in.  Finally, we give up and head back home.  By this point we are pretty upset because we wasted our pre-workout supplements and now we have nothing to do.  Correction, he has nothing to do. Muahaha!  That is when I dig out my Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones DVD.

I set up my mat and get to work.  PHEW! The DVD is 40 minutes long, but I get so tired and shaky and sweaty that after only 25 minutes, I'm about to die. So my little body gives up.  Though I wasn't able to finish, I still got a workout in none-the-less. And in the end I am proud of myself.

Today, I have extra energy and tons of focus.  Today also happens to be my husbands birthday. Sadly, I have to work, but we shall celebrate tonight.

If you would like to try the 24 Day Challenge, you can email, call or text me.

Here is my AdvoCare Microsite: www.advocare.com/121013857

My phone number is 503-701-4530 and my name is Alicia!  I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the 24 Day Challenge, or any of the products.  If I cannot answer your questions, my sister-in-law who got me started with AdvoCare can help.

24 Days of Awesomeness

This Saturday I will be starting my second 24 Day Challenge.  This time I will be more active and completely committed.  The last time I completed the 24 Day Challenge I did not work out at all, mainly because I did not have the time. I was super busy with school, the kids, the dog, and PTO.  However, this time I have a big support system and a friend who is doing the challenge along with me. I am so excited to have a buddy in this.  We are going to rock it!

The best thing I like about this next 24 days is that I do not have to give up any major food group.  I can eat meats, veggies, fruits, and complex carbs.  This is not a fad diet.  No South Beach, Atkins, weight watchers, shakeology (whatever that is), counting calories type thing.  I actually get to eat!

But that is only the beginning.  These 24 days is just the start of a new lifestyle.  I am fully invested in my future and I am taking the steps to becoming healthy and happy.  But not only that, I am looking forward to paying off ALL of our debt by this time next year.  Who knows, maybe it will be paid off before then. The possibilities are endless. I also have in my list of goals to take my children to DisneyLand. I went when I was their age and I really want them to experience the magic.  Normally, I would not even be thinking about taking them there.  But with using AdvoCare as a vehicle to make those dreams come true, it is now going to happen. I just know it. 

I will put into my phone right now to re-post again this time next year with an update of where we are and our trip to DisneyLand.  It will happen, mark my words. 

Back to the 24 Day Challenge.  I will be posting every day updates on my progress and how I am doing, workout and activity wise, overall wellness and energy.  At the end, I will post my measurements at the beginning and at the end as well as before and after pictures.  I cannot wait to start this journey.  Hopefully, this will inspire more people to take the first courageous step forward and take charge of their health and wellness or even begin their road to financial freedom.  

Welcome to my journey. I am so excited!

AdvoCare... my story

So back in October I joined the AdvoCare community.  I remember because I was at my lowest, mentally and physically.  I could barely keep my eyes open the whole day, I was tired all the time and barely wanted to get out of bed to take the kids to school.  I was so out of shape and could barely do a sit up to save my life.  If someone stood in front of me and told me to do a sit up or I would die, I would have said shoot me now.  

The day I was introduced to AdvoCare was the day I woke up and realized I could be someone better.  A better mother to my kids, a better wife to my husband, a better friend, and just an all around better to person to myself.  My sister-in-law introduced me to Spark and I do not know what I would do without it.  Not only do I have more energy now, but I am able to stay awake and focused throughout my day in order to have fun and play with my kids and not just be in the same room with them, but actually be present in their lives.  Spark has re-energized me and my life. 

After seeing the effect Spark had on my life, I went ahead and started the 24 Day Challenge.  And oh my GOODNESS!!!  Not only did I end up with energy to spare, I lost weight and inches.  I went from a size 7 to a size 4!  I can wear skinny jeans and not feel like a jiggly mess!  That feeling alone, WOW! After Phase 1 of the challenge I began to feel like a new person. Not only could I feel the effects, but I could see them as well.  My jeans were getting a little loose, and my energy was through the roof.  After Phase 2, I could tell that there was a noticeable change.  When my husband came home that next month, he noticed the change in me as well.  He noticed not just the physical change, but also the mental change as well.  When he left for Afghanistan, I was not a happy person.  I was short tempered, I would yell at my kids when they would get out of control and I was just very unpleasant to be around.  But after using these products from AdvoCare, my life has changed for the better! 

There are so many amazing result stories out there.  The reason for this is because the products WORK!  They are amazing and healthy.  

I want to share these products with the world as well.  I want to help all the tired moms and overworked dads out there.  I want to help you all feel and see the future with the new and healthy you doing what it is you have dreamed of doing.  It is possible, anything is possible. 

Here are some touching and inspiring stories.  Please watch these videos and really think about if AdvoCare is right for you.  

There are so many more videos I could post here, but I do not want to overwhelm you.  Just know that these products and this opportunity could change your life and I want to help you.  I want to help you just like my sister-in-law helped me. 

So, what do you think?  Are you ready to take the next step and change your life forever? 

Busy days and sleepless nights

I am so sorry for my lack of posting. It has been a busy long while. I can't even count the amount of time it has been since I last blogged. I'm sure I could if I looked at the date of my last post, but I'm too lazy today. 

So, since my last post I have been busy with being a proud Momma to some AWESOME littles, running an amazing book fair with some equally amazing ladies that helped oh so much, and so much more.

First off, my little man won an academic achievement award! YAY! I am one proud Mommy! He has been working so hard. He really wanted to get that award and he did what he needed to do to get it.  I could not be more happy with his amazing achievement.  I saw him put forth the effort and he did a great job and stuck to it.  Now, if only he could put the same amount of effort into keeping his room clean. *sigh*

A friend of mine who is the chairperson for Book Fair on the PTO was offered a position to work as a Substitute while one of the Pre-K teachers was on maternity leave.  Of course she said, "Yes!"  She is a kind woman with a heart of gold and even with her husband soon to deploy, she still accepted the job. So, while she was out of commission when it came to handling the Book Fair, she had asked if I would take over for her.  Like any awesome friend would do... I said yes!  I love the book fair and I was happy to help her.  

So I took on the responsibility, and oh my goodness! It was crazy. From decorations to restocking, taking care of getting enough volunteers, to being they early every morning and late every day, I was exhausted by the time I got home.  Thankfully I had a fantastic group of ladies that helped make the Book Fair a spectacular event! The kids loved it and that is what counts. 

Now that that is over and done with (at least until April), now we are moving into a new place.  My parents are coming to stay with us for a while and we are in the process of finding a new place. By golly, it is difficult to get a rental management person to call you back. Lordy!  

After two long weeks of scouting, we may have found the perfect place.  3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, eat in kitchen, CARPET!!! (I'll tell you how excited I am about that in a minute) There is a finished basement, a two car garage and a fenced back yard. Not to mention, it is very close to post! Woot!  I am so thankful that we found this place.  Tomorrow I will be going to check it out.  If we do end up getting it, I cannot wait to start decorating.  That is always the best part. 

I'm looking forward to the adventures to come. It's going to be quite an adventure at that, but fun none-the-less. Can't wait to fill you all in. 

I'm sorry, hurry up and WHAT NOW?!?!

I love being married to my soldier.  He is everything I could want in a man and everything the Army could want in a soldier.  He is a phenomenal husband, father, friend, and soldier.  But I HATE waiting for him to come home from deployment.

These last 8 months have been hard.  The kids are getting older and they are understanding more of why Daddy isn't home and that he won't be home for a long time.  They know that Mom is in charge now, she's good cop and bad cop, but more often then not, they see the bad cop.  It is difficult to find that balance between good cop and bad cop.  I try every day to see things from a different perspective, especially when the littles act out.  I try to look at the situation and think, "It's because they miss Daddy.  They are testing their boundaries, they are seeing how far they can push me."  But I hate that that is the excuse.  I miss Daddy too, but I'm not going around acting like a crazy mad woman, hitting people, throwing tantrums and being rude to every one.

Thankfully, this deployment is coming to an end and very soon at that.  These last 8 months went by very fast, but these last couple of weeks have been dragging on and on and on.  It is so hard to sit back and wait. This last week I was busy every day.  We had the Holiday Shoppe at the school where the kids all came and shopped for gifts for their family.  It is a really fun time for them and they all loved it.  At the end of each day I was so exhausted I ended up falling asleep super early.  But now, I have nothing to do! What do I do?  I could clean the house and do the laundry, but that only takes so long and then after that I've got nothing left.  I've got lunch with some girlfriends on Monday, but after that, nothing.  NOTHING!

Needless to say, I'm getting restless and I just want my husband home.  It will be a weight lifted off my shoulders and the littles will (crossing my fingers) go back to being themselves again.   Plus, I could totally use a Mommy's Night Out.  I've been missing my Mommy time for the last 8 months.  Don't get me wrong, I've been missing my Husband time too.  Lord knows I could go for an all day cuddle-fest.  But Mommy needs some adult interaction, preferably with some wine in the mix.

Okay, now that I have ranted, I will go back to watching my awesome reality television!

Goodnight all!

It's December and that means...

Time for Fancy Projects!

Last night I was up late creating a cute advent calendar for the kids.  I got the idea from iHeartOrganizing!  I love the website. Jen always has some great ideas for organizing and family fun!  I used her idea for a holiday countdown, and created a variation of my own. 

First, I went to Hobby Lobby.  By the way, do not go there on a Friday (it was also payday), after school (which is 3:30), and expect it to be not crowded.  Holy CRAP!  There were so many people there.  I suspect it was because there was a 50% off sale on all Christmas decor.  I was nuts to think it would be slow there. 

I got a cute wooden box.

You can find these online here. 

First I painted it all white.  A little accident happened after it dried.  Oops! I forgot to leave the top propped open a little so it wouldn't stick to the box.  When I went to pry it open I ended up ripping off the top, the front edge and side edge.  Thankfully there was a part still attached to the hinges and one of the other sides.  So I scrambled through the house to find some Krazy glue.  When I found it 10 expletives and 20 minutes later,  I was able to glue it all back together. YAY!

After the scary party was over, I then painted on red stripes to the top of the box.  I just used regular scotch tape to tape off the lines.  No, I did not measure, I did it all by eye. 

After that was dry I tried to use a stencil and paint on letters that spelled "Advent Calendar"  Unfortunately, that did not work out as I had hoped.  Grr.  So I had to hand paint the rest of it on.  Yes, the A looks funny.  Sue me!

This is what it looks like when I finished it.  I think it looks cute no matter how cracked out the letters look.  ;)

From there I made cards for each day and wrote down activities for the littles to do each day.  

I used a lot of the ideas from iHeartOrganizing, but I added in a few of my own.  One, in particular, is my favorite.  

They don't know when Daddy is going to be home.  All they know is that he is coming home this month.  We have talked about different scenarios to surprise them.  

1. Surprise them at school during class. (that can only happen if he gets home during school hours)

2. Surprise them at the park after school. (again depends on the time he gets home)

3. Waking them up super early and having them see what Santa brought them for an early Christmas present. 

4. Having them see this card before knowing Daddy is home. 

Any of these will be great, I'm just hoping we can pull it off.  Thankfully I have amazing friends that are willing to help out with each scenario.  

The other project I did turned out fantastic.  I LOVE IT! I have seen it about a billion and 13 times on Pinterest, so I thought I would finally do it. 

Super cute Wreath wrapped in red and ivory yarn with cute felt rosettes and holly!

It is now hanging on our front door. We have never had a hanging wreath on our front door. I am loving this one! 

One last thing the littles and I did for a few good times and a bunch of laughs was made chocolate mustaches on a stick!

Needless to say it was a lot of fun!  And they tasted delish! I love dark chocolate mustaches in the evening! tee hee.

I hope everyone is having a great December so far.  I know it has only just begun, but it's never too late to have a great time!