Random Facts about Cupcake

Hey y'all!

I came to the realization that people read this blog.  I even found out Wednesday night that PEOPLE I KNOW read this blog. (Hi y'all!) WOW.  I know you don't have to, but you do. I can't see who you are but to know that people actually come here, actually read it, and actually see what I have to say... It's an eye opener!

I use this space as my outlet.  For everything.  Not only do I use it for weight loss accountability, but to also talk about my life. Its my journal so to speak. Thank you for reading and tolerating me. Thank you for not blasting me if I drive you crazy, thank you for your support and positivity.

For those of you that I don't actually know, haven't met, or may be new in my life, I thought I'd do a post about random fact about me that you may or may not know. I love to know new things about new people, and it occurred to me, you may want to know too. So, here goes!

1. I am a mom to two wonderful little boys.

Ayden (8) 

and Remington (7).

2. I date the most wonderful man (Darrell)  I've ever met and I wouldn't trade him for anything.
This man brought me back from some darkness that I can't even explain.  He helped me walk away from relationships that I didn't need and has brought so much joy to my life. I love you honey.

3. I am an only child, the youngest child, and the oldest child... which also makes me an only child.
My mom and dad split when I was very young.  I was their only child, and was treated as so until they each found another partner. My dad, Tracey, married Kathy and she had two daughters already.  Dondi and Stephanie. Both are 2-4 years older than me.  My mother, Connie, married Ron shortly thereafter and he had a son, Brian who is about 3 years younger than me.  They then had Todd (17) and Desaree (16). I also have a "brother", Brent,  who's not really my brother, but IS Brain's half brother, but that has been raised in the family our whole lives.  He's 9 months older than me. It's a big-ol screwed up family, but it's mine. :)

4. I have 4 nephews, 1 niece and one on the way.
My oldest sister has Adam Bill, JR.

My next older sister has David & Justin

My "brother" Brent has a son and a daughter, with one on the way. I love ALL these crazy kiddos. Every last one of them.

5. I made the hardest decision of my life back in March. My oldest son went to live with his dad, Zack in Colorado. We don't know for how long. We don't know how any of this will turn out.  I know I miss him, but as his mother, I have to do what is best for him and his brother and it's not about me. You can read more about that, here.

6. I'm THAT mom.
Remington plays baseball.

We play at least twice a week and I've made all but one game this year I think.  He's a slugger, he's a third baseman, and he loves the game.  Until something doesn't go his way.  Then he's huffy. I'm the mom that is always cheering, always letting the kids know where the "play" is, and I'll be the first one to tell that coach to pull my kid and put him in the outfield if he's not playing his part. I will ride your ass to perform better, and it's not just cause you're my kid. It's because it's YOUR team.  YOU have to help THEM win. It's not just about you.  They count on you as much as you do them and you should always give 100% plus more. I'm not afraid to call you out... or anyone else for that fact.  I'm a baseball mom. I've grown up on or around the field for 20 years and it looks like I've got at least 10 more.

6. I plan parties
I LOVE to have an event to plan for.  I start months in advance.I decorate weeks in advance (if I can) and I try to use local businesses to make things work, as much as I can. I've done mostly birthday parties, but I've also planned 3 weddings (all mine, lol), a graduation party, and love details of other peoples events.

7. I met Darrell, THROUGH my ex-husband.
AWKWARD! Yeah, tell me about it.  They worked together, we met though their job. We all hung out. And then my relationship ended.  Its so hard to tell the story without being judged, and I honestly avoid that question as much as possible. Darrell was my support group during my divorce, and NO, it's not like that. He even told me to go back a time or two.  He tried to be a much of a middle man as he could.  We were TRULY friends before we became boyfriend/girlfriend. I wouldn't change it if I had to though. :)

8. I'm EXTREMELY modest.
So modest that it bothers me to talk about being modest. I don't do naked, I don't talk about naked, I don't like to talk about sex, I don't even like TV sexual encounters. It all makes me SO uncomfortable. My face turns bright red and you can automatically tell that I'm no longer at ease.  I don't even like to do naked in the comfort of my very own home... by myself, let alone in front of Darrell. I'm hoping that as I come more comfortable in my own skin, that I become more comfortable around him and myself. One day. Baby steps.  Putting my weigh-in and progress pictures on here is one step... my spray tan parties are the next. LOL

9. I'm a licensed Cosmetologist.
I took cosmetology school while I was a junior and senior in high school, missed my baccalaureate to test my state boards, and received my certification letter in the mail, the same day as my high school graduation. :) I don't "do" hair and nails in a shop.  I do haircuts in my kitchen, I paint my own toes, but I go get my hair did... I get a new set of nails... I don't take care of my face. lol. All those things I learned... they're in the back of my head. I just don't always do it myself.

10. My bestest-best friend lives in Austin.
Meagan has three beautiful little boys and an amazingly smart hubby and we DO NOT get to see each other often enough. We became friends when I asked her if her name was MAY-gan or MEG-en.  BIG difference. I needed to know. We've been together (pretty much) ever since. I was her MOH in her wedding she was there for the birth of my children. She loves me and I love her. She is the one that knows ME. And still loves me for it. We know secrets, we don't always like the same things (Dr. Who?), but we always come back to each other.  We both visit her moms house when she's in town, sleep in the same bed, drink, laugh and stay up entirely too late. And you ought to hear the gossip. LOL She gives the best hugs and the best gifts. She's my Meagan. I couldn't exist without her.
10a. My other Bestie- Suzan, I just found out is moving away from me next month. :( More on that subject later. Love you lady.

Well, there you have it... 10 random fact about this Heavy Cupcake.  I hope you learned something new. I hope you come back.  And if you ever want to know more... Just ask. :)

Tanning on Wednesdays

It's Weigh in Wednesday, but I don't have a weigh in.  I started my sugar detox on Monday, and while I feel better, I don't want to know if it's working or not. LOL. Yeah, it's only been a couple of days, but psychologically, it could make or break me.  Not to mention, we had a very. long. night. last night and I straight up forgot to weigh in. (oops!) So... I figured I'd wrap up my spray tan post that I had hinted around at, yesterday.

For those of you that DO have a weigh in, don't forget to link up with Ashlee over here.

 

Last week-ish, Skinny Meg posted about tricks to make you look skinnier, without an app. You can read that post here. After reading it, I def agreed with most of her post. And just the day before... I had a spray tan done!

My friends Kim & Becky had gone and bought themselves a spray tanning set-up and they FINALLY started offering tans to us common folk.

So... I set myself up with a party at my place (after a couple of weeks of wishy-washy people going in and backing out) and Wednesday before last, we got our tan on.  Now, these ladies use Sjolie products and my first experience was great!

After deciding I was actually getting sprayed (in all my buff-ness), I immediately started researching. Cause that's what I do. OCD, CDO, whatever you wanna call it... I gotta be informed before I jump in to anything.

As their flyer says, you must shower, shave and exfoliate. Showering is always good, no matter a tan or not.  And unless you wanna have to immediately shave after tanning, you better do it the night before or right before you get sprayed.  As for the exfoliating, I started two or three days before and made sure that I hydrated and moisturized every day leading up to the spray.  The more hydrated your skin, and the more exfoliated it is, the better the tan takes, and the longer it lasts.

I started with my homemade recipe for a scrub... I use a mixture of Sea Salt, Sugar, Coconut Oil and vanilla right now... although, one of my favorites to make has coffee grounds in it! Yum! Make sure that you SCRUB all things that will be exposed.  ESPECIALLY your elbows, knees, heels, feet, etc. And if you're gonna have your face tanned, make sure you've kept it up well. I can not stress to you HOW IMPORTANT it is to be sufficiently scrubbed.  The day of, they suggest using St. Ives Apricot scrub to do your whole body with.  It doesn't have any oils or lotions, so it's perfect to "prime" your skin.

After your shower the day of, DO NOT use lotions, sprays, oils... ANYTHING. You want you skin as plain and clean as possible for the tan to be sprayed on.  Just before you tan, you'll put a "barrier cream" on the palms and heels of your hands, between your fingers, around your cuticles, your elbows, knees, your heels, toes and feet. this keeps the pray from penetrating these especially "dry" areas too much and from turning orange. I learned from experience, you CAN NOT have too much barrier cream on! Places that you've put it, and places you think you've gotten enough, WILL change colors. I promise!

However, do not fear! With all of the research that I did, I knew exactly how to get rid of the places that tanned and shouldn't have, and how to lighten the tan that was just a little too much.

Enter: Lemon Juice

Seriously, lemon juice can solve all problems. It works on my headaches, it lightens hair, it disinfects, it cleans, and hey... it lightens a spray tan! Put a little bit on a cloth or napkin, lightly rub it over the area that is too dark and you'll slowly start to see it lighten. Works perfect for the tops of your feet, your rough spots, or your hands.

Next: Magic Eraser

Yup.  Works like a charm! But ONLY on places you want to REMOVE your tan. I used this on the bottoms of my feet, the heels of my hands and just a couple spots that were WAY too dark. I'm so glad I had some off brand ones in my cabinet! AND... if you use lemon juice to wet the eraser, it works even better! :)

My tan lasted about 11 days before I decided it was time to scrub it all off. It had lightened in the cleavage part of my chest, but it was from sweating and rubbing the sweat off. The next place I noticed it, was some light "spotting" on the underside of my forearms. This is a common area because of the constant friction in that area,  Rubbing on your shirt, desk work, etc. It wasn't SO bad that it made me self conscious, but it was enough that *I* noticed.  After that, my neck area decided to wear off.  Mostly in the crease where you sweat, and if I were smaller, I probably wouldn't have had this problem. So, I decided to scrub it off.  Again, I used my homemade scrub, while soaking in a tub and it all came off pretty easy.  There were a couple places that I had to scrub a little harder, but pretty easy, nonetheless.

The best way to make sure that your tan lasts it to take care of it. Scrub, moisturize and hydrate yourself several days before your tan, make sure to moisturize morning and night while tanned, and no loofas or anything harsh when showering. No harsh soaps or anything that contains alcohol.

We've scheduled another tanning party tonight at my place.  I learned a lot from the first tan, and this time I'll use MUCH more barrier cream on my feet and hands!

Have you done spray tans before? What are your experiences?

My Favorite Things... June

I don't do these often, so  when I felt like it today, I decided to run with it! THis is a link-up with Beauty and the Greek for June's favorite things... Although, since June is just starting, I think it should be labled May's favorite things. Whatever. Either way, link it up and check it out!

1. Fabletics (sign up here)
Seriously... I found them through Ashlee over at Ash's Right Direction and I'm so glad I did! Once a month, you get an email to pick your outfit, they ship it almost immediately, and viola! You've got yourself some brand-spankin new workout clothes! If you don't like it, return it! Prices range from $49.99-$69.99 for the monthly outfits, and if you're not feelin it one month (or just don't have the cash), you can opt out! Best news?! Your first outfit it only $29.99! AND- After you rack up so many points (from purchases) you've qualified for a FREE outfit! For real... check them out here.

2. Faded Glory Henley Tank (buy it here)
THese cute little tanks are so flattering.  Even on us big gals.  I bought one for the Vegas trip and I feel so great in it. And, it's cheap! A good price always feels better!

3. Danskin Women's Cotton Performance Tank (buy it here)
I jut bought a couple of these for Memorial Day weekend. I got a couple pairs of compression pants from Fabletics (see above) and while I love what they do for my legs, and their fit, I still don't like my ass. So, these are long enough to cover it (mostly) and flow-y (lose) enough that I don't feel like every roll is showing. Apparently, online, they come in a two pack, but in the store you could buy them one at a time. I got the pink and blue ones and LOVE them. Again, WALMART!

4. Anker Astro E5 15000mAh Dual USB Portable Charger (buy it here)
We bought this for our Vegas trip. After several trips to Vegas, we both figured out that our phones DO NOT hold a good enough charge for all day site-seeing. We've had other chargers before, but both were maker-specefic and wouldn't work for both of us. (he is an Android user, while I am an AVID iPhone-r... unitil this year) This is big enough to charge a smart phone FOUR TIMES before it needs a charge. It also will charge two phones at once, charges my FitBit Force and for that fact, anything else that has an adapter that fits a USB port.  I take this thing EVERYWHERE. It's especially handy for car rides when you only have one car charger (or yours goes missing thanks to little brother and sister) or for me, at the ballgames in the evenings. If you're on the go and your phone is always die-ing when you need it, this is the product for you!

5. Spray Tanning
Specefically, spray tanning parties at my house, where I don't have to stand half naked in front of a person I don't know, or a machine, and I can continue to walk around half naked in the comfort of my own home, with a couple other people. lol My friends Kim and Becky have bought their own spray tanning system and they've decided to take it to another level, by offering it to the "public". If you host a party (of four or more people) they'll come to you AND yours is FREE! But they're price isn't bad anyway, so I don't mind forking out the $15 every once and a while. And no, the photo above is not me... (although I wish it was) but that's the gist of it. I'm working on a blog post now of my last spray tan and what I learned to do... or not to do. I'll post it soon!

Anyway, these are my favorite things right now... What are your current go-to's? Anyone need a tan? :) If you're local and need a good, quick tan, let me know and I'll get you in touch with them!

Camo and Lipstick: My Running Essentials Giveaway!

Just a quick post to get things started off this week:

This lovely lady is doing a giveaway in honor of her first Half Marathon! Please check her blog out for the ways to enter and help raise some money for a great cause! 

Camo and Lipstick: My Running Essentials Giveaway!: