SALE on Bee Mine Products -- 12/29/12

I used to love Bee Mine products, and still do, but the price plus shipping costs made me want to look at other more inexpensive options. For those of you who are interested, Bee Mine is having a sale tomorrow for one day only. 20% off is enough to entice me to purchase a few products again. My favorites are the Deja's Hair Milk and the Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer.

Quick and Easy Updo Using Prota Hair Clip-In Extensions

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a blessed Christmas full of family, love and joy! It scares me to think of what this world would be like without Jesus. Let us praise His name on this special day and think of how we can make a difference in the lives of others rather than concentrating on what others can do for us. God Bless!

I have some great ideas for YouTube videos and blog posts coming up. I will be back after the holidays :)

Relaxer Day & Trim

I decided to relax my hair a few days ago at 18 weeks post relaxer. As you can see in the video, I had to really take my time to detangle my hair before relaxing. I want the benefits of stretching relaxers, but sometimes it seems like the longer I stretch, the more difficult it is for me once it is time to relax. I know I once said that I was not going to stretch longer than 14 weeks to prevent tangling and breakage but I am not sure if that is what I want to do. I will think about it. 

I also did a trim. Check out the video below.

SistaWithRealHair's Contest Length Check

Working It Out

Man, I have been really working hard in the gym. Mainly cardio but it feels great! I am so blessed to work for a company that has several onsite gyms so on my lunch break, which is an hour, I go to my closest gym and get on the elliptical machine for about 45 mins. Dr. Phil keeps me company during my workout that I purposely schedule from 3-4pm everyday. Before this past week, I would put the resistance on the elliptical machine at a level 4 or level 5. I would get a fairly decent workout, but no sweat and no sore muscles…just calories burned. So last week I decided to crank the resistance up to a level 10. It was a bit tougher than what I’m used to but very doable. Got some sweat and burned more calories than normal. This week so far, I have put the resistance at a level 12. Even more sweat and more calories burned (per the elliptical machine reading) and my thighs and bum are sore. I think I will stick at a resistance of twelve for now because it makes me feel like I really worked out when I leave the gym. I am not even sure how high the resistance level goes. I’ll eventually find out :)

Weight Loss Update #1 (159.2 lbs, down 3.8 lbs)

Not Giving Up

It is nothing like a picture to make you remember the things you may have forgotten, lol. Things like I am supposed to be losing weight! In this picture, I am much bigger than I would like to be. My arms, shoulders, stomach all need to slim down.

I cannot believe that the last weight loss post I did was over a month ago, October 31st to be exact. In that post I talked about how I had gained a few pounds since ending WeightWatchers. My ending weight on WW was 155.4 pounds. On October 31st, my weight was 158.6 pounds. Today, December 10th, I weighed in at 163 pounds. Good grief! I cannot seem to keep the weight off if I am not constantly working at it. Yes, it is the holidays, and yes, Thanksgiving was last month, but there is really no excuse to gain 8 lbs back in a couple of months. I have to do better and get back on track!

All last week I did not go to the gym. It was a stressful week at work and I spent my lunch break catching up on work instead of working out. So today (Monday), I am back at my weight loss journey. I am back to eating right and watching my caloric intake. Back to working out daily. Back to not eating after 7pm. Back to all the things that contributed to me losing the first 30lbs, minus the Weight Watchers.

I will be doing a weight loss check-in every single Monday until I reach my goal, which I have decided will be 136 lbs. That is 27 pounds to lose. Seems like a lot but it could be worse, so for that I am thankful.

I like to share with you all wonderful bloggers/vloggers that inspire me. I found this young lady on YouTube and her personality, spirit and attitude is so amazing. After just watching a few of her videos, I was hooked. I wanted to watch more and more because her determination and will power has given her amazing results in her weight loss journey. As of her last weigh-in, she has lost 183.8 lbs total!!! AMAZING! She lost a whole person! If that does not motivate me to lose the 27 lbs, I do not know what will. Talk you you all again soon :)

Being Exceptional at the Ordinary Things

I always wonder what is my full potential. I know I am not living up to my full potential and I definitely want to. I wonder if trying to live up to my full potential will cause me to drive myself crazy. You know what can happen if you are always trying to make sure you do everything perfectly. But really, when you think about it, it is not about doing everything perfectly. It is just about doing your best and you know when you have not done your best, when you have given less than your best because of various reasons. Some of my reasons for doing so are simple and straightforward. Maybe I feel lazy at the time, or maybe I feel like it does not matter because no one is checking behind my efforts, or maybe I feel as if someone else will do it so I don’t have to.

So I have been thinking, what if I tried to be exceptional at the ordinary things. What if I start thinking of life as a marathon, and even though I am tired, I keep pushing and keep pushing until the end. Yes, I know the end if far off from today and I know you can burn yourself out, but I think I will be able to tell the difference between the times when I have more in me to keep pushing and when don’t have anything left at all to give.

Being exceptional at the ordinary things....I think I am going to make that my motto for 2013. I truly believe it is the little things that count, the little things that bless my family, and the little things that are easier to overlook. What happens if I try to be exceptional at those little things? I think it will naturally and organically lead to greatness in the more substantial things we do in life. I would love to know your thoughts :)

The Enemy Lies...

I was reading one of my favorite blogger's blog today and she mentioned how the devil has been lying to her, putting thoughts in her head that were totally false, causing her to react negatively to her husband. She said that she has had an attitude of self-pity....you know that attitude that you can sometimes get where you feel as if no one is helping you, as if you are doing all the work, as if no one sees how much you do and no one seems to care.

Well, in reading her post, I felt convicted because this is exactly the attitude I have been having lately. The enemy has been lying to me, too. Unfortunately, I have fallen for the trap and have been believing the lies. I was getting frustrated at work because I felt as if I have been doing more than my share of the work because someone in particular was being lazy and not applying themselves as they should. I was feeling frustrated at home because I felt as if everyone relies on me for everything, even things that they should be able to handle on their own.

I have been feeling a lot of pressure from all of my responsibilities and with the enemy telling me that no one appreciates what you are doing, no one is courteous enough to help you, you do all the work and no one cares, etc., I was becoming bitter and sometimes a bit unpleasant to be around. I would be snappy when asked the simplest of questions. I would be critical and negative in most situations. I did not recognize I was doing this until I read her post. Then it kind of clicked, "Hey, this is what is happening to me, too."

The great thing about blogs and sharing on the internet is that you can help others to learn and grow. So after realizing how the enemy has been working in my life, I am making a conscious effort to ignore the lies. I am making an effort to look at situations from a place of gratitude because I have SO much to be grateful for but it is easy to lose sight of that when you are going through life's day to day drudgery.

I am blessed to have a family to care for even though sometimes it is tough. I know that I am already equipped with the tools needed to do the job, I just need to make sure I am approaching it from a position of gratitude rather than looking at my responsibilities as "just more work on my plate." I am blessed to have a job, and yes I may have to do more than my fair share of the work somedays, but isn't that better than being unemployed and not having the financial means to care for your family? It sure is. I remember six years ago I prayed very hard for this job. I was sooo happy to finally receive the job offer from the company and now I complain because I have to "work"....you see my point?

Check out the blog below that I was referring to in my post. This lady is a wonderful blogger and has truly been a blessing to me since I have started reading her blog. God bless you all.

She Looketh Well