Challenge Yourself

Am I the only one who's terrified and extremely intimidated by the thought of going to the gym to work out? I have no idea how to use the equipment they have! Can't I just stay home and workout in private where I can't be made fun of by avid gym goers who think (and are right) that I have no idea what I'm doing?

Okay, that's not the point of this post. Yes, I am terrified of the gym, but I will face that fear when I get off the road in July to go to college. Meanwhile, I promised a new fitness challenge, so here goes.

I surfed Pinterest for some workout plans and then YouTubed  researched some of the exercises that I didn't recognize for proper form. 

I am doing an "at home" workout that requires no equipment or optional weights/something heavy for the russian twists and squats. I'll be doing these workouts every day around 4pm to create consistency, taking pictures of my progress every Thursday. At the end of a month I'll post the side by side pictures to see the improvement, and then switch up the exercises and add more in to challenge myself and continue making progress. Baby steps, right?

Here are the two workouts I plan on alternating throughout the week. The "Extreme Body Weight" workout almost killed me, can't believe I've gotten so out of shape! Of course, it's not a workout I am used to, so maybe after a couple more times I'll be able to do every rep (I had to take some stuff down a bit). The early morning workout is meant to be a sort of rest day without resting, it's easier but not slacking. You feel me?

Yoga anybody? People say yoga improves your strength, mental health, agility, flexibility, over all well being, endurance, focus, etc. Seems like something I should look into, right? I found a simple yoga sequence I felt would help with my hamstring flexibility and hopefully reap some other benefits, and will do it every other day. I'm no expert when it comes to yoga, any tips would be greatly appreciated! Maybe we can entreat a post from Aurora about it?

This challenge is about getting in shape and challenging myself.

Wish me luck!


***Important Update***
Due to a knee injury resurfacing, I had to stop seriously exercising, but I will be starting up again and posting my progress soon!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Fitness Update

Hey all!

It’s time for some real commitment fitness posting. We all posted our goals awhile back, and for the most part I did a lot of “working out” in the form of several different dance classes that incorporated various forms of exercise. Here’s a rundown of what I would do in a week:

Monday
Intermediate/Advanced ballet for an hour and a half. 

This class works as an all-over body workout focused mainly on core, butt, and legs, but also works your back, shoulders, and arms in a less extreme way. The class included a combination of cardio and strength exercises in the form of barre and center work.
Barre consisted of plies, tendues/degages, ronde jambs, fondu/developes, frappe, and turns designed to warm up, strengthen, and stretch calf, thigh, ankle, feet and core muscles. Center work is comprised of petit and grand allegro made up of turns, leaps, jumps, tendue, and adagio.

Tuesday
Intermediate ballet/pointe for an hour and a half

This class is the same as Monday’s class excepting less strenuous forms of barre and center work. It also included pointe work in the last ten minutes of class where we did small variations of the barre and center work en pointe, adding extra stress to ankle, legs, and core.

Modern for an hour 

Modern begins with an exercise to warm up the feet; a combination of popping your heel, plies, tendues/degages, and small developes and envelopes (de-vell-up-ays and en-vell-up-ays) facing forward, feet in parallel and then turned out. After that we move to a series of plies in first-fifth ballet positions, facing a different direction with every new position. Following these exercises we’ll do a variation of turns, rolls, and other modern movements and then learn our dance.

Wednesday
 Rest day 

Thursday
Jazz for an hour 

Warming up we would jog, skip, or chasse for a minute, high knees for thirty seconds, kick butts for thirty seconds, and jumping jacks for thirty seconds and repeat it three times. Then we would move into a series of stretches, followed by a differing arm or leg work out that we would change every couple of weeks and often a series of squats. Sometimes we would finish this off with butt/hip isolations and a coordination exercise.
After the workout we did complicated combinations of turns, leaps, kicks, and whatever else she decided to throw at us that day, and then our dance.

Lyrical for an hour 
Intense cardio, arm, and leg work out that we started with various forms of crunches, pull backs, and “c-tuck” hovers. We would go on to do kicks, plies, and stretches, and finished with inner thigh leg press exercises, lying toe touches, butt exercise, plank into push-ups, and lower back strengthening/stretching. After the initial work out we would do combinations of turns and leaps and then our dance.

 Friday
Ballroom for two or three hours, depending on the week. 

This depended entirely on the willingness of the participants to focus that day on whether or not we accomplished much dancing. I’d usually end up doing several intense swing dances and waltzing before I left though.

Saturday and Sunday are designated rest days cuz I usually didn’t end up doing anything those days towards actual “working out”.

I feel like that took more effort mentally to write up than it did to actually do it. Anyway, I had pretty dang good abs, firm thighs, butt, and arms from doing those exercises consistently. Stay tuned for a post about my fitness challenge I've come up with that will list specific exercises with reps and everything listed!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Beauty on the Go

Hey ya'll.

I'm in Texas right now, so that's a fitting greeting, right? Right. Basically, I'm traveling in a van towing a trailer across the United States for over six months. We hop from place to place every two weeks, often driving several hours a day a couple days a week to get to our next destination.

Up sides: I am traveling the U.S. and making new friends and seeing what there is to see.
Down sides: If I'm not careful I go around looking like a hobo.

With my short curly hair and pale as snow skin I've had crazy trouble looking presentable while on this trip. My hair seems prone to oiling up super fast no matter when I've washed it. It drives me nuts! As if that's not annoying enough, my skin does the same thing. It feels a little like they're conspiring against me.

So here's a couple tips for beauty on the go.

1) Invest in a spider clip, bobby pins, and simple beauty techniques
No matter long or short hair, bobby pins and a spider clip work wonders. Pull it up all messy like into the clip and pin down some fly aways and you've got yourself an instant classy laid back look. Learn some braiding and twisting techniques as well, it'll add dimension and intrigue to an otherwise drab look. If all else fails, slick it back into a tight ballerina bun or French twist. Chic and easy.

2) When you have the chance to shower, DO IT. 
Do not say no to a shower. When you have the chance, take it. 

3) Get some baby wipes
Use these to wash your face. Baby wipes are designed to be gentle on your skin, so these shouldn't make you break out and they'll help make it harder for dirt and oil to build up in your pores and create mass breakouts.

4) Take advantage of rest stops 
As unsavory as it sounds, go into that gas station bathroom and rinse your face with some real water. Make sure they have paper towels to dry your face off before you do otherwise that could end up really awkward. Also, bring a small bottle of mouth wash in with you. It'll make you feel so much better about the stinky snacks you're eating while on the road.

5) Wear comfy clothes on the drive. 
I have a pair of yoga sweats, leggings, and jeans that I love. You're going to be cramped in a small space for a large period of time, and you might be tired. You don't want tight material pinching your legs uncomfortably or bunching funny when you try to maneuver your way into a semi comfortable position to catch a nap. Wear a t-shirt you feel good in even after it's stretched a bit, and grab a jacket to throw on top or a scarf to make it an outfit when you stop to get out and stretch. Play around with what you have. Don't forget a pair of comfy shoes. I suggest a pair of easy slip on shoes. Seriously, take them off while in the car and then easily slip them right back on when you have to get out.

6) Get a good brand of dry shampoo that works for you. 
Dry shampoo absorbs oil and gives your roots a blast of volume. You can put it in the night before or let it sit in your hair for ten minutes the next morning, whatever works best for you.

7) Minimal make up 
I go without make up most traveling days. With how much I touch my face, or press my face against the window/pillow/seat, it rubs into my pores and causes nasty breakouts. If I want to look more than a ghost of myself I'll splash on some blush and a little brown eye shadow as eyeliner. Other than that, I go bare faced. If you're in a sunny area, spend some time tanning your face. It'll help bring out rosy tones in your skin and give you a more healthy glowing look.

8) Wash and moisturize your face 
Always wash your face at the end of the day. If you don't have running water, use a water bottle to wet a rag or something. GET IT DONE. You'll thank me later. Then, use a moisturizer of your choice.  Hydrate that skin.

9) Drink as much water as your bladder will allow 
Don't dehydrate yourself while you're on a road trip. It's worth the extra bathroom breaks to keep yourself hydrated. It's good for your skin, it's good for your body, and you'll feel good. Okay? Okay.

10) Exercise a little. 
Did you know exercise can actually help even out your skin tone? If that's not enough of an incentive, remember that sitting in the car all day hurts your back and can leave you feeling a little pudgy by the end of the trip. Avoid the worst of it! You might feel stupid, but when you're out of the car do some jumping jacks. Do some sit ups. Get out your wiggles. Stretch. Exercise!

11) Prepare to not care 
No matter what you do, you'll probably end up a little bedraggled. That's okay, own it! Look confident and nobody will question you (too much). Think of it this way: They're going about their average lives and you're on vacation. HA!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

All Things Pixie

Tips for Having a Pixie

Disclaimer: For those of you searching for pros and cons of a pixie, short hair is NOT easier than long hair, it takes ten times more effort! If you're going to cut your hair, be prepared.

Research
When I cut my hair, I didn't do the research that I should have. Things such as different ways to style your pixie at the length that it is, as well as how to grow it out, different accessories, etc. Check out Pinterest and Google!

Appearance and Confidence
I will start out by saying if you're getting a pixie, EMBRACE YOUR FEMININE SIDE. I know, that's a little backwards since you're cutting all your hair off, but as a girl with short hair, if you don't want to be mistaken for a lesbian, you will have to up your game in the make up and wardrobe department. Maybe this won't be a problem for you, but this was tough for me because not only was I used to wearing baggy t-shirts and little to no make up, I felt like my head was suddenly too small for my body. Once I got rid of  the baggy boy t-shirts for something more "feminine", I felt ten times better about how I looked.
I don't mean you always have to dress up and be "soft" all the time, I certainly didn't, but here are some suggestions for the days you just want to be pretty;
Defined eyebrows and some contouring in your cheek bones can make a huge difference in how you look and feel. 
Try some jewelry; dangly earrings, necklaces, and a couple bracelets to spice up an outfit and say "I'm a girl".
High heels and dresses or flirty skirts are also some fun options that you could take advantage of!
If you're more of a t-shirt kind of person, go for something more fitted with a couple accessories. Casual and comfortable, but still slightly girly.

Experiment
Try out different gels, hair accessories, clips, etc. If you have a pixie cut, you're probably on the spunky side so have fun with it! Don't let the world's expectations ruin YOUR haircut. Soft and feminine or spiked and spunky, you choose.

Well, there's my ten cents about pixie cuts out of the many posts about them across the interwebs. Don't just take my word for it, go do your research! YouTube, Pinterest, Google!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

IT'S FALL EVERYBODY!

Summer flew by, and I might as well be the first to say that a lot of my fitness goals weren't entirely achieved. Then again, they were just goals. And big ones, too. I'm not going to beat myself up about it because I'm still trying to meet them, it's just taking a lot longer than just the summer.

And there's the added plus of me sort of loving my body right now, too. Booyah. (Except for some slightly pesky love handles).

The days are getting colder and shorter. I'm so excited. This is honestly my favorite time of year. The colors are gorgeous, the air has that perfect nippy chill in it, and everyone gets all bundled up and warm during the easiest fashion time of the year. You can basically dress in leggings and an over-sized sweater with your hair in whatever messed up state you woke up in and you're in style and adorable. Seriously, who doesn't love that?

I myself have already worn a tunic-like shirt I got from Elle, leggings, and long purple socks underneath a pair of brown boots, a rusty colored orange long sleeve turtleneck with leggings and aforementioned brown boots, and the usual jeans and long sleeve sweater with my lovely and TOTALLY NOT UGLY Uggs. And yes, I did look adorable, thankyouverymuch.

Welcome to fall everybody.

P.S. Stay tuned for a post about my hair! 

 ~La vie est belle, Bri~

Tanning what?

Holla!

None of us have posted in forever. There are reasons for that. However, being only one of the three of us, I can explain why I fell off the face of the planet.

I moved. Things got crazy. Read my other blog if you actually wanna know what's been going on.

The summer is ending, and I only have one bit of advice that I have gleaned this summer.

Self tanning sucks.

Now, some people love it and that's great. It has it's time and place. BUT here are some cons that I went through this summer:

It can streak. Now, if you get a good kind, this is minimized. But still.

When it fades, it's not always even.

It can get orangey if applied too often.

When you shower it ain't pretty. By this I mean that you get little funky streaks of orange around your ankles and toes. Yum.

I tried out a few this summer with the intent of making a post about which ones I liked for all 4 of our readers, but then learned only the above things. SO. I've heard St. Moriz is real good. I may try that out this fall.

Yay for a basically useless post!!

Self Tanning Fail

Okay, so this was kind of my desperate attempt to get tan quick before I left Utah unexpectedly. It was a terrible idea, really. But I had spent several hours in direct sunlight and I didn't tan. At all. So, I mean, what's a girl to do after spending three months in Utah? You can't come back to Alaska NOT tan! No, instead you should come back splotchy. Ugh.

So I followed this article's instructions on how to apply the self tanner. Basically to the dot.

But then, I sat for two hours and I didn't seem to be getting darker at all. So I thought, "Well, might as well apply another coat of it, right?"Carelessly. Thinking "Oh it won't that big of a difference". Um, yeah, it made a difference. Also note that I went and laid under my blankets after I applied it, making it even worse.

Mistakes I made:

1. I didn't apply enough lotion to my more dry areas, (knees, elbows, hands, etc.) and ended up with them much darker than the rest, even after several showers. 
2. Applying a second coat soon after, and without being careful about making it even. 
3. Laying under my blankets before it dried...
4. I don't think I have the best self tanning lotion...

Does anybody know where I can get a good spray tan in Wasilla/Palmer area after this stuff washes off/fades? Something that won't turn orange or streak...

Here's some covert pictures I took in the airport. 

What are your tanning escapades? Leave me a comment below :)

P.S. Sorry for posting this late...it happened two and a half weeks ago...

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Rora's Weekly Update

What up, my peeps? It's been a week. Well...a little over a week...but still. It's roughly a week. So, here's my update:

Monday 3/25:
41 Pull-ups
50 Calf Raises

Tuesday 3/26:
42 Pull-ups
1/2 Mile Walk

Wednesday 3/27:
43 Pull-ups
100 Calf Raises
25 30" Box Jumps

Thursday 3/28:
Rest Day

Friday 3/29:
44 Pull-ups
50 Calf Raises
1 1/2 Mile Run

Saturday 3/30:
45 Pull-ups
1 1/2 Mile Run

Sunday 3/31:
Rest Day



Normally, my rest days are Saturday and Sunday. HOWEVER, I woke up Thursday with a really bad muscle cramp in my neck. I'm talking like, I couldn't turn my head to either side. And when I had my dad(who is a Chiropractor..) adjust me, I couldn't lift myself off the table. I had to slide down... SO, I didn't feel like I could do pull-ups, and I took Thursday off.

Now, you may've noticed that Pull-ups are the ONLY thing that I did consistently, and that it moved up in number each day. Usually, I will run every day as well. BUT my dog recently got neutered, and since he is my running buddy, we didn't start running again until Friday. Also, my dad and are doing a 100-day Pull-up Challenge. We started sometime in January, and we basically add an extra Pull-up every day. So...that's where that comes from.

That's basically all I can think of for ya'll...so, peace out.

I don't want to be perfect

It's my turn to talk fitness goals.

Contrary to what Aurora thinks, I am actually technically the biggest here, although I am the shortest. I won't be posting before pictures on the blog due to modesty reasons, but I have taken them for myself.

I know what you're probably thinking. "You guys aren't fat, whats wrong with you?"

I am not fat, I have fat that I would like to get rid of. Yes, there's only a little bit of it, but that little bit is spread out all over in awkward places. Like many normal people, I have the infamous love handles and belly pooch. I'm hoping to rid myself of those, SOON. I don't want to be normal, nor do I aspire to be perfect, I just want to feel better, look great, know I'm healthy, and be able to rock any outfit I choose. Yes, that last bit was stolen from an inspirational picture, but it describes my goals perfectly.

I want to have a strong and healthy body, and by golly I will get it.

I started listing the things I want to change/improve, and realized that I basically want to work my entire body, but I'll lay it out for ya anyway. This may seem like a lot, but there are so many exercise programs and workouts out there, that creating one that works all of my specific goals won't be hard. It's actually doing the exercise that will be hard.

• I want toned and strong arms. 
• Because I aspire to be an aerialist and acrobat (among other things), I need strong arms, but I also don't want bulky muscle. How do I do that? That's where the world wide web comes in. We have the world at our fingertips people! I personally love Pinterest, it works great for me. 
•  I want not only a flat belly, but I want defined abs.
• Not grossly defined, but if I'm going to work this hard, might as well, right?
• I want a noticeable gap between my thighs.
• My legs are pretty great. I'm pretty proud of them for the most part. But some days I'd like to wear leggings, so slimming and firming up my thighs isn't a bad idea. Also, summer is coming. That means swim suit season. Yeah.
•  I want to abolish my love handles. 
• They're love handles, not curves. They're these random bumps in an awkward place and they make finding pants that look nice difficult, and make dresses look funny. They've got to go. 
• I want a toned back. 
• My future holds years of wearing leotards. And toned backs are awesome. 
•  I want to be a B cup size
• I hate big boobs. Right now I'm a C. THIS IS HORRIBLE. I don't understand the big boob fad, honestly. A nice, on the small side, B is fine by me.  
• Bubble butt. 
• I don't want to end up with a flat butt. So better work that, too. 

Hey look, it's not that much after all!

 

~La vie est belle, Bri~

No Poo to you too!

I'm here to preach.

Just kidding. Sort of.

Most women have one small thing that they have control over, that they obsess with. I mean things like, the well being of your toenails, or they take pride in their tan, or their eyes. You get the picture. Me? It's my hair. My hair is my baby, and I take care of it better than anything else.

There are a lot of things I've done to take care of my hair over the past few years. My hair is(was) really damaged, because I went through this crazy hair dyeing phase a few years ago where I dyed the bottom layer of my hair cherry red. It was really cool, and I'd still be doing it if I wasn't 18. Oh, and if it hadn't completely destroyed my hair. ;) This required bleaching it often, and then depositing a highly pigmented dye onto my hair every few weeks. I didn't do it as often as I was supposed to, because I was concerned for my poor hair...when I stopped dyeing my hair, I went it to defensive mode with my hair, trying to repair the damage. I'm proud to report that my hair is pretty dang healthy now. That's due to a LOT of things that I do for my hair, but I'm gonna talk about only one of these things. One fairly new thing.

No Poo.

If you frequent the Beauty and Health boards on Pinterest, you probably know to what I'm referring. to clarify, it's no SHAMpoo.

The main reason I tried it is just because I wanted to try it. I'd heard a LOT of good reviews, and I thought, why not?

Here's MY results, take them for what you wish:

-My hair is considerably less frizzy/dry.

-My hair doesn't get as oily as quickly.

-My hair feels AMAZING.

-My hair doesn't get a post-shampoo funky smell.


Okay, dissection time. Pretend you're in highschool biology for a minute...

-My hair is considerably less frizzy/dry. Let me give you two thousand words or so on this.

I'm using this first picture as a "before" picture. This is the best representation of my frizzy hair. It wasn't always this frizzy, depending on the month, but this is a general idea of how frizzy my hair usually was. My older sister likes to call me Hermione, for this exact reason. My hair gets big. The biggest problem is cuz I like to let my hair air dry.

Noooow for my after pictures. *drumroll* This one is one I took on Saturday. Please notice how, not only is it significantly less frizzy, but my curls are a lot nicer.

And dis one I took like, 5 minutes ago, just for you. Funny lighting, my hair looks a different color. Forgive meh.

The basic idea is that my hair is a LOT nicer. I've been doing No Poo for about a month, and it's the only thing I've changed in my hair care, because I wanted to properly gauge it's effect. I'm still using the same hair toner, I take the same amount of Biotin, and I still use the same amount of heat on my hair. NOTHING else has changed. My hair has just decided to de-frizz.


-My hair doesn't get as oily as quickly. You'd think this contradicts the last one, since my hair isn't as dry anymore. The magic in No Poo is that it doesn't strip your natural oils, so they don't reproduce as quickly, therefore leaving you with less oily hair. My second day hair doesn't required ANY dry shampoo any more. Not even my bangs.


-My hair feels AMAZING. You'd have to come to New Mexico to attest to this one. Just take my word for it. It feels super soft. Even my ends, which are generally the driest part of my hair.


-My hair doesn't get a post-shampoo funky smell. I don't know if anyone else gets this smell. Maybe it depends on the shampoo, or the person. But occasionally, by the end of the day(rarely) or on second day hair, my hair would smell...funky. Like, not like it would STINK, but if you smelled it, it wouldn't be pleasant. I wouldn't let people touch my hair unless I'd washed it like, 10 minutes prior. Usually. My second day hair doesn't even smell. At all.


The only downfall I see to this, is that my hair doesn't have any nice fragrances from the shampoo, like strawberries or cucumber or Koala food. BUT I've heard you can put a few drops of essential oil on your hair brush, which will make your hair smell nice. Never tried this, but YOU could.

Last thing, my friends. My older sister is a cosmetologist and worked at a high end salon for two years before college. I called her to verify the idea behind No Poo, just to make sure it wouldn't be damaging at all. And she said that not only was it not harmful, that the science behind it made perfect sense and that it would be GOOD for my hair.

I was sold.

http://coderedhat.com/no-poo-method/

That's the article I learned from.

It's simple. You shampoo with baking soda and water, and then condition with vinegar and water.

It's amazing. You can thank me later.