Olive Oil and Sugar Hand Scrub - Tested

So I read on pinterest that you could use a simple mixture of olive oil and sugar for a scrub to make your hands softer and healthier. I tested this theory. I am going to try it once a week on my poor dry and scaly ezcema hands. So here is the basis of what you need.

(About a table spoon of sugar and equal parts olive oil of any variety)

Pour the tablespoon of sugar into the palm of your hand and the same with the olive oil. Scrub hands. I went all the way up to my elbows. For someone who has hand ezcema this feels like heaven. My hands are very itchy after dealing with chemicals at work. I got home and had the idea to do this, PERFECT solution for a long hard day. It seriously did make my hands 50% softer and during the time that I was scrubbing, my hands were in ecstasy. Rubbing my hands now they are really smooth. But the itching has come back. Now this might not be the case for those of you without ezcema. It says in the post for using hand scrubs to make sure you moisturize frequently after a scrub to protect your new layer of skin. I have since added a layer of lotion and plan to add more before the night is over. 

Overall I think this is a really cheap and easy solution to making your hands softer. I would recommend it and continue to test it further to see if prolonged use is either helpful or more damaging to my dry skin.

Fitness Journal 4/1/12 - All to Hell...

As usual on the weekends when I am working at the Jockey Lot my diet and exercise routine go out the window. Since I am so busy during the day, I pick up breakfast and don't ever have time to eat lunch. I usually get a quick dinner. Which equals fast food which is never good. So needless to say this weekend was not good for my weight loss journey. I keep preaching to myself I need to make wiser choices but sometimes you can only eat whats in front of you and isn't too expensive. Hopefully if I can find a baby sitter I will be going to the gym tomorrow and get back to feeling good about myself.

Breakfast: Saturday: Sonic chicken cheese and ham biscuit. Sunday: Nothing but coffee and five hour energy drink. (None of this was healthy)
Lunch: Saturday: Peanut butter and strawberry preserves on wheat bread. Sunday: Less than half a piece of chicken fried chicken a biscuit and two bites of macaroni and cheese. (The sandwich was okay on the healthy scale)
Dinner: Saturday: Half a turkey burger and fries from Ground Patti. (Later that night I ate bbq potato chips and the other half) Sunday: Ham and white beans and mashed potatoes.
Snacks: Saturday: Medium Choco Cherry Lovers Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Later that night ice cream with cool whip chocolate syrup and a banana. ( I was feeling ice cream...) Sunday: More ice cream and chocolate syrup and another strawberry pie from McDonald's.

(McDonald's hot fudge sundae - my demon)

Exercise: None

Writing all this down makes me realize just how much I eat in a day and how sometimes I don't eat enough. Both make me feel guilty. Which is progress to making a healthy change. So everyone please fuss me about all my bad habits and help me to better myself.

Glow Stick Party

Cheap, easy and fun. Things you will need.

1. Glow stick (I got an awesome pink heart glow wand from the Dollar Tree $1)
2. A closet or dark room
3. Your phone (Play some great music and I put a toddler lock game on my phone so she could play with it while the music was playing)

Bam! Perfect for kids around 2 years. Ava absolutely loved the idea. She danced to the music and swung her wand for about an hour. Hey cheaper than going out somewhere.

Fitness Journal Entry 3/30/12

I think I personally did well today. Although the beginning of the day I was pretty lazy. I did manage to portion control and incorporate more healthy items in my day. Hit the gym and felt great afterward so I ended up taking Ava to the park for a little extra running around.

(Ava enjoying the park)

Breakfast: One and half of frozen blueberry pancakes with cool whip. Honeydew melon.
Lunch: The other half of my 12 oz coke and a small portion of taco ring leftovers.
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Bean and cheese tostada with sour cream.

Exercise: 30 minute express. For those of you who haven't been to Planet Fitness here is the breakdown. 20 stations. Light turns green you are either stepping or using a weight machine. If done in order it takes 30 minutes.

1. Stepper 
2. Seated Leg Press     15 reps 50 pounds
3. Stepper 
4. Leg Extension      15 reps 25 pounds
5. Stepper
6. Seated Leg Curl     15 reps 25 pounds
7. Stepper 
8. Chest Press             15 reps 25 pounds
9. Stepper 
10. Fixed Pulldown       15 reps 55 pounds
11. Stepper 
12. Seated Row          15 reps 25 pounds
13. Stepper 
14. Forgot name of machine (doh)      15 reps 10 pounds
15. Stepper 
16. Biceps Curl        15 reps 30 pounds
17. Stepper 
18. Triceps Extension       15 reps 30 pounds
19. Stepper 
20. Abdominal Crunch     15 reps x 2 20 pounds

Arc Trainer for 30 mins on Program 8 Cardio.

One thing I have learned from working out and reading a lot of fitness materials is that its not how many pounds you lift or how many reps you do. Always lift weights properly. If you feel yourself using the right muscle to do the technique you will feel and eventually see the cut in the muscle. For a person like me trying to make lean muscle and not bulk up its best to lift small weights for more reps. This would be opposite for someone trying to be a pro weight lifter. 

During 30 minute express there isn't much time to do multiple reps so I do what I would normally lift in one set. On days when I work certain muscle groups I do multiple sets. An example would be 15 reps of 20 pounds wait 30 seconds then lift another 15 reps. That would be considered 2 sets. Sorry if all this jumbled mess is confusing.

Always always mix weight lifting with cardio. If you only do one or the other you won't see much difference. You need cardio to get your heart pumping and burning calories and you need muscle to continue to feed that burn.

A Modge Inspiration

So my friend Amy says "Let's have a craft day." To which I say "Yay!" We begin looking on pinterest for ideas and came out with a pretty awesome piece of artwork.

First we started with blank canvas. We made our own modge podge (FYI all it is one part Elmer's glue one part water). Cut lots of leaves from scrapbook paper and threw it all together. We both did it a little different.

(Our inspiration)

 I decided to change the colors up a bit. Teal background. Amy thought I should just leave the canvas like this that it looked just fine to hang :)

Purple and green leaves/petals.

Our homemade modge podge seemed to work perfectly on this project even though I have seen some comments saying otherwise. I guess its all in the technique. Remember half water half glue and to use a roller of some sort rather than a paint brush. Let dry after you apply your petals for about 20 minutes then apply another coat over all petals to hold them in place forever. I'll post pics of Amy's once she has them up on her blog.

Fitness Journal Entry 3/29/12 - Struggling...

I guess you can say today was my off day. Which I need configure my brain when I am on a off day it doesn't mean I get to eat what I want...

Breakfast: 1 kiwi, few pieces of honeydew, 2 bites of a french toast stick Ava didn't eat..
Lunch: 6" wheat chicken pizziola sandwhich and half a yogurt parfait from Subway.
Snack: Half a 12oz coke...

(Leftover Jambalaya I will probably eat for dinner tomorrow)

Dinner: About a cup and a half or two cups of jambalaya. Damn you cajun food goodness. Ava actually did help me eat most of this.
Snack/Dessert: Small vanilla shake from McDonald's and a new strawberry cream cheese pie. (I was totally only planning on the shake and then convinced myself to eat pie...)

Exercise: Off day (I am so sore from the last two days)

Current Life: All summed up..

Currently I live in Lafayette, LA.

 I am 27 soon to be 28 on May 23rd. I am married to a wonderful hard working offshore man. His name is Michael Haley. I have a daughter named Ava Ann. She will be turning 2 on August 26th. 

(Most recent picture 3/25/2012) 

I guess you can consider my weekends spent at the Lafayette Jockey Lot my occupation. I make ladies and girls feel beautiful with gel nails and designs. It is something I look forward to every week. Most of the people there are like family. Great to speak with and always looking out for me.

(The largest open air flea market in Louisiana)

(A few nail designs I have done)

I have a few close friends I see on a regular basis to keep my sanity. Being that my husband works offshore the only way to stay sane is stay busy. I try my best to hit the gym or craft. I am working harder at that now more than ever since I have gotten to the terrible two stage with my daughter.

I am very happy with the life and family provided for me. We have a nice home that we rent and a new car to drive. I am very thankful yes indeed. I pay my bills on time and we keep food on the table. Although I find it very hard to not focus on the things we need or don't have. I am tired of renting and living check to check. I am ready to be in a stable position and not always worry about the future or what will happen when the next hurricane hits or oil spill comes. The future is never certain. I know I will be provided exactly with what I need. But is it wrong of me to always want something more. I guess not but it is wrong that I drive myself to destroying my fingers (I now have been diagnosed with dyshidrotic ezcema) and my emotions are always getting in the way of my relationships with friends and family. This blog is my new way of expressing my stress, letting it out and hopefully getting past it.