What if I finally tried?

source
I’ve been in a running funk for about 1 year now….it started last summer after I took 2 months off  of running to do other types of workouts, and found myself struggling to even run 1 mile.  It continued throughout the fall while I was working a 10 hour day with 1 hour commute each way.

At the beginning of January I had pneumonia and lost so much fitness I felt like I was a running newbie all over again.

And since then, I haven’t really felt “it”.  I’ve run, on average, 1-2 times per week since March.  Usually once/week with my dad and once on the treadmill.

But over the past, hmmm, about 2 weeks, I’ve been feeling the feeble little spark start to ignite and burn again.  Don’t know if it’s because I started reading some new blogs that talked about running or the fact that I’m going to be 30(!) next March and I want to do something monumental before then or if it’s because everyone and their sister is pregnant and I’m thinking that if hubby and I are even remotely considering having kids in the near(ish) future I need to achieve some of my running goals.

So here’s my secret little burning desire, I kind of really want to train for and run a marathon.  I’ve blogged before about starting a training plan but I’ve never stuck with it.  There’s always been excuses(sometimes legitimate, more often not), interruptions, cancellations, ect.  What would happen if I finally just put the pedal to the medal, got out there and just DID IT.  I might fail, I might not finish, I might get injured….there’s a laundry list of negative things that *might* happen, but there’s a flip-side to that list of positive things that can and WILL happen..and I’m never going to know what I’m capable of unless I really go for it!

These are the things I know if running a marathon is even the realm of possibility for me:  I want at least 6 months to train.  Weight training is an absolute must and will be done as part of training.  I will only run a cool or cold marathon, so it must be in Dec-Feb.  I don’t want to travel very far.  It can’t mess with the Tybee 10K, the Gate River Run or the Savannah River Bridge Run.

Savannah is having a marathon this year.  …..but its’ too soon(Nov. 5) for me to realistically consider it.

After doing some research I have looked at three possibilities: Charleston Marathon(Jan 16), Myrtle Beach Marathon(Feb 18) and the Run with Donna Marathon(Feb 12).  Myrtle Beach is 3.5-4 hrs away so that’s a huge downside and the Donna Marathon is in Jacksonville, which is where the Gate is so I’d rather go to a different city just because I don’t want to have to run parts of the same streets for two totally different races, so as it stands, *IF* I decide to go for this, I will be training for the Charleston Marathon!!

And this also would mean that I need to start training….NEXT WEEK!

So, lots to think about in the next few days!

-Tamara

TA-DA!!

All righty everyone, my new beauty blog is up and running! I’ve taken several of the makeup posts from this blog and added them to that blog(the ones I liked the most) so there isn’t anything new on there currently but you can go check out the layout and see how you like it:

http://ordinaryfashionista.wordpress.com/

If you scroll all the way to the bottom there’s a button that says “sign me up” ….if you click this and put in your email, you’ll be notified every time there’s a new post!

Cha..cha..cha..changes

So I had this flash of an idea tonight whilst lying in bed unable to sleep….

Since my most successful and well-read posts are those that are about make-up and fashion, maybe I should branch out and devote an entire blog to just make-up and fashion?

So, as of 2 minutes ago I started working on a brand new blog that will focus pretty much on make-up, fashion and other girly pursuits and start posting about running and fitness again here.

I’m soooo excited I can’t sleep! I can’t wait to share the new blog with you!

The Teal Deal(30 days/30 ways Day 29)

Wow, we’re almost finished with this beastly challenge! YAY!!

Today’s look is one first seen at my graduation from optometry school over 1 year ago:

This look really started my obsession with makeup application, and it’s actually quite simple once you have all the right tools.

For this look, we’re going to be using loose powder shadows….eeek! Say it ain’t so! Those are so complicated, I feel like I’d get powder all over my face!

Au contraire my darlings, you just need the magic of mixing medium.  And guess what, you can make your own super cheap!

All you need is some glycerin(you can get it at the drugstore for about $3), water(from the tap is fine) and a bottle to store it in.

The ratio is 1 part glycerin to 3 parts water; so you can be all technical about it and measure but I just eyeballed it, filling my bottle about 1/4 of the way full with glycerin and then the rest with water, then shake and voila you now have mixing medium(and tons of glycerin left to make more in the future)

To use mixing medium, you just have to saturate your brushes with the mixture(you don’t want them dripping but definitely damp) and pick up your loose powder with them.  It will go on like a dream, no flaking and super intense.  AND you don’t have to just use it with loose powders; it works great for all shadows, giving you a lot of color with minimal application(the downside, it’s not as easy to blend)…..

Here’s the color’s I used(all from Makeup Forever):

Blue, teal, purple shadow along with purple and black eyeliners. Plus unpictured primer and mascara.

You can get by with only 1 shadow brush, but it’s better if you have two(one for the  two greenish blues and one for the purple). Optional is a smudgy brush.

I used the teal on the inner part of my lid and the blue on the outer.  It doesn’t really matter which you do since they are very similar in color and shade. But anyways, saturate your brush with mixing medium and *carefully* open your shadow and dab your wet brush in the powder.  Then you just gently dab the color wherever you want it to be(which is the entire inside half of  your eyelid for this look).

Wipe off your brush with a paper towel, re-wet it and apply the blue color to the outer half of your upper lid

Next, grab your purple eyeliner and line your lower lid extending the line slightly up and out at the outer corner of your eye.

Now grab your other shadow brush(or really clean off your first shadow brush), saturate it with mixing medium and pick up some purple shadow and apply that just to the outer corner area of the eye and slightly along the edge of the blue(filling in where you made the line with your purple eyeliner)

Now you may either line your upper lid with the black pencil OR with the purple.  And then as an added bonus, if you have the smudgy brush: saturate it with the mixing medium, pick up some purple and go over the line you just made along your upper lid.

Better lighting/camera makes a lot of difference huh??

Side view:

And one more for good measure

If you’re really ambitious, you can(and I did NOT do this) go back in with a black liquid liner and make a very thin line around your eyes to really bring out definition. But as you can see, I didn’t do it and it still looks good!

Only one more look left!  YAHOO!! Hopefully it won’t take me a month to get it up here!

-Tamara

Nailing It!

So awhile ago, I showed you a picture in which I had a french manicure that I, a complete nail novice, was able to do in the morning BEFORE work.  Yes, it is that EASY

I can’t promise it will last, because when I paint my nails or get them done at the salon, they last an average of 1.5 days before they start chipping, but it will look good for an event, job interview or whatever you’re doing it for.

You’re going to need: white polish, a sheer pink polish, clear top coat, acetone and an old makeup brush(or a painting brush about the size of a shadow brush)….I’m assuming that you’ve already filed your nails and such.

Don’t bother with a base coat; you’re going to be apply acetone to your nails anyways so it’ll come off if you do!

So, grab your white polish and paint the tips of your nails, about 1/3(or more) of the way down.  You can basically be as sloppy as you want because you’re going to clean it up later.  And your area of paint can be pretty huge!  My white polish needs at least 2 coats to be sufficient so do as many as you need.

Messy right??!! LOL

Now dip your makeup or artists brush into the acetone and hold it against your nail with the tip of the brush against the bottom part of your white painted area and gently push it up, which will remove the polish and create a smooth line.  The more you apply it up the thinner your white area will be.  I personally like a thicker white line, but do what works for you.

Once you do all you nails, then go over them with your sheer pink(from bed to tip, yes it will slightly alter the white color but I think it creates a nice even look)

Then finish up with your top coat and voila you have a beautiful french manicure!

-Tamara

Glow For It(30 days/30 ways day 28)

Okay I’ve come to the realization that I don’t have good follow through with 30 day challenges that require daily blogging……..in the future if I do any kind of challenges, I plan to do them on a much shorter basis…or not give myself a deadline!  LOL!!

Moving on to today’s look.  I’ve done a lot of dramatic heavy eye looks with lots of eyeliner, so I figured it was time to do something lighter and fresher(maybe the string of 100*+ days has pushed me this way….)

I think this look would be really beautiful if you’re attending a beachside wedding or for a bridal brunch or shower.

It’s very simple and quick yet it doesn’t look like you just slapped some makeup on and ran out the door.

All you need for the eyes is eyelid primer(I used UD) high-lighting cream and powder(I used shell cream from MAC and silver dusk powder), and black eyeliner(I used a combination of fluid line from MAC and my Zero pencil from UD).  And of course, mascara.

Pearl Cream Highlighter

Silver Dusk Powder

I did my face makeup the same way I always do, then I applied my eyelid primer to my upper lid.  Then I used my finger to apply Pearl all over my lid, on the tops of my cheeks and down the center of my nose.  I used a flat eyeshadow brush to go over the cream with the Silver Dusk Powder.

For liner, I didn’t want to go crazy with a super dark line, so I used my eyeliner pencil to just line the rims of my lower eyelid.  To do this, you pull down your lower lid, turn your pencil on it’s side and just apply it to the “lip” of your lower lid.

This is just a demonstration of WHERE to do the eyeliner, I did NOT use a sharpie on my eye!!

For my upperlid, I used fluidline and did the same technique I showed you on the on the pin up day.

Since I literally have on all black and white today and my makeup was so simple, I decided to dramatize it up by wearing bright pink lipstick!  But this look would still look good even with a subtle pink or nude lip!

Check out the glow action!

Have a fantastical day!

-Tamara

Morning or evening?

When do you prefer to work-out?

I’m an early evening/right after work kind of work-out girl.  This is when I have the most energy and I find that I perform the best when I workout at this time.  And used to be that hubby wasn’t home from work yet, so I didn’t feel any pressure to be spending time with him.  I’d come home, do my workout, then start dinner and be all set for hang out time with hubby when he’d get home from work.

However, it’s not always convenient with my life….

Lately hubby has been working opening shifts; meaning he goes into work at 6am and is off usually between 2pm-4pm. He’s home before I am.  Ever since he’s been working these shifts, I’ve been way slacking on my workouts.  For me, I’ve always associated hubby being home with time to relax and take it easy so it’s tough to come home and go workout when my brain says, Hubby is home it’s play time!

Working out in the morning has tons of benefits:  I feel more energized and refreshed during the day, I feel productive and motivated after getting a workout in already, I can plan anything after work and not worry about missing my workout, it’s cooler in the house, If I have a bad day, I know I can come home straight from work and veg on the couch because my workout is already done.

My main problem with switching to morning workouts is that I need my sleep.  I’m not one of those people who can get by on less sleep(like hubby).  I need a solid 7-8 hours or I’m worthless.  In order to workout in the mornings I have to get up earlier than my body wants to naturally; if I have any trouble the night before(got to bed late, something woke me and I couldn’t get back to sleep), I’ll wake up with my workout alarm, think about how I could sleep for an extra 1.5 hours if I skip my workout and badabing badaboom, workout is skipped.

However, one benefit to hubby working opening shifts is that he is going to bed a lot earlier than normal(for him).  So I end up getting to bed earlier and by the time I do my nightly reading I am falling asleep at the time I normally start my going-to-bed process and therefore waking up earlier…..

So in theory I should be able to switch to early morning workouts….

This is my goal because I have been way too complacent with my workouts(the past two weeks have been particularly bad, less than 3 workouts/week!)

So, do you workout in the morning or the evening?  And is this when you like to workout or is it because this is when your schedule allows?

-Tamara

I’m A Slave For You(30 days/30 ways day 27)

Finally, right? It’s only been almost 6 weeks since April ended and I’m still not done with my 30(now more like 90…lol) day challenge.

In my defense, a lot has happened.  I lost, then found my camera.  My job situation went into total upheaval and now I’m working 6 days a week at three different jobs, we had company visiting, sick hubby’s, ect, ect, ect….

But now I’m back and better than ever(…it just seemed right to say that!).

So today’s look is based on Brittany Spear’s look for her video “I’m a Slave For You”….you’re probably wondering why I pulled such an old look out to copy…well….way back when I was making my original list of looks; hubby and I had just discovered Glee(I know, we’re late to the party a lot), and we were going through and watching all of season 1 and the episodes we had missed from season 2.

If you watch Glee you know they did a whole show about Brittany and feature the character Brittany doing “I’m a Slave for you”.  I liked her makeup, so I added it to my list.

To refresh your memory if it’s been an eternity and a half since you’ve seen the video:

Now, a word of warning about my photos…remember on my last look(blushing bride) how all the photos were slightly out of focus and too bright?  These are too….I realized AFTER I had taken all my photos that the settings on the camera had been changed from auto-focus(essential when doing self portraits!!) to manual-focus.

This look is very pigment heavy and it’ll go on/stay on better if you give the shadow something to grip to…so I basically took black(zero from UD), teal(sephora) and white eyeliner(NYC) and  colored in the parts of the lid with those, then went over with shadow(black-oil slick from UD, teal-flipside from UD and white-polyester bride from UD, and a lighter teal(unknown color from sephora)*).  I also went in with MAC fluidline and made a thin black line around both eyes.

*this is optional

I used a flat shadow brush, a domed blending brush and my beloved smudgy brush.

Line your upper lid  and draw in the outer corner of the eyes and fill in about 1/3-1/2 way across with your black eyeliner.  Also take the black across your crease as I did above.

Fill in the rest of your lid with teal.

Now go over the teal and the black with shadows in the coordinating colors.  You’ll probably want to do at least several layers because you want a real depth of color.

The black looks blue in this pic, but I promise it's black

I used my domed blending brush to wing out the sides as you can see above.  Once you get the depth of color that you want, apply the white to the above portion of your brow bone.  I wasn’t getting the depth of white that I wanted so I colored in that area with a white eyeliner pencil and then went back over with polyester bride.

Next line your lower lid with teal eyeliner, then go over it with your teal shadow and your smudgy brush.

If you have a lighter teal then apply it to the middle of you upper lid; just on the lid(where the darker teal is. If you look up at Brit-Brit’s pic you can see it’s lighter in the middle).  You can also do this with the white.  Dab some white in the inner corner of the eye and then line your lids top and bottom with a thin line of black(I used fluidline here).

Lots o’ mascara(and false lashes if you really want drama) will complete this eye look.

She’s wearing lots of highlighter on her cheeks and nose so add that if you want, as well as a soft pink lip with lots of gloss.

Again, I apologize for the out of focus quality of these pics!

See I'm all glowy?

Guess where I went with this beautiful look?  NOWHERE!! Well, technically I DID go to the mall before I washed my face, but I didn’t do it for anything special.  I’m just crazy like that!

-Tamara

Quick update

So if you’re wondering where the rest of the makeup looks are, well, my camera has see seemed to go missing….I thought it was at home but we’ve scoured the house looking for it and I’ve checked my car-no go.

I may have left it in my office but I’ve checked there too, so unless it’s in one very specific place it might be gone for good…..where’re it went and who took it I have no clue.

In other news, We were finally allowed to get an iPad 2!! And it is awesome; in fact I’m using it right now!!

Cheers!

-Tamara

Paleo On a Budget Part II

So last week, I participated in a small challenge to see how much it costs to eat paleo/primal style.  If you remember, my goal was to come in under $100 for the week, feeding both myself and my husband(who has a notoriously HUGE appetite)

I made four different meals that covered us for all 14 lunches and dinners.  Breakfast was the same each day.

Here’s a list of the items I bought:

Eggs: 15 doz for $19.14(9 cents/egg)

Heavy Whipping Cream 36 oz at $3.78 container

Cheese $6.88 for 4 cups(43 cents/serving)

3 lbs Bananas(7 bananas) $1.48(21 cents/banana)

15 pounds potatoes $7.98

1 pound butter $2.59

1 pound sour cream $1.32

3.5 lb Sirloin Roast $14.06

4 pounds frozen broccoli 5.68

2 whole chickens $6.39

16 oz mushrooms $2.98

4 onions   $1

3 lbs ground beef  $ 7.47

5 pack avocado  $5.39

2 tomatoes       $1.50

1 18 pack k-cups(for keurig coffee maker)  $7.89

Grand Total:  $89.85!  Now you’ll have to add in a couple bucks for spices I used that I already had, but all in all, under my goal of $100.  Even adding in the cost of buying a Sam’s Club membership($40/year so 76 cents/week) keeps you well below $100.

And you know what’s great? The eggs, butter and cheese are all still around(meaning we didn’t eat all of them)….so the actual cost for the week was less than $89.85.  I’m certain that it’s possible to save even more money than I did this week if you search around for meat sales and vegetable sales, but that takes more time than I’m willing to invest at this time, plus I wanted to just buy regular food at a normal store and see how that can work.

How did all that break down into actual meals?

Breakfasts are the same: 4-5 eggs cooked in butter plus cheese and a banana for hubby, three eggs cooked in butter for me.  We each have a cup of coffee with cream(and we go through about 1 container of cream/week).

I made three different main meals that lasted through 14 meals(lunch and dinner) for both of us.

Meal #1:

Sirloin coated in a mixture of 2T olive oil, misc spices and roasted at 300*for several hours+mashed potatoes(potatoes, butter, sour cream)+broccoli.  We ate this four times.

Meal #2

Roasted Chicken.  2 3.5 pound chickens liberally coated with S+P roasted with chopped onions and mushrooms.  Blend up the juices and veggies when the chickens done with a splash of cream and a little thyme for a delicious gravy.  Also ate mashed taters and broccoli with this meal.  5 meals out of this one.

Meal #3

Mushroom burgers.   Sautee 8 oz mushrooms+1 chopped vidalia onion in some butter with S+P, once they’re well cooked, toss them in a food processor till they are of the same consistency as your hamburger meat.  Mix together mushroom mixture, hamburger and 2 eggs, + S+P.  Form into patties and grill or pan-fry. We ate them bun-less with oven fries, fresh made guacamole(avocado+garlic powder+S+P), sliced tomatoes and cheese. 5 meals out of this.

I boiled up a big batch of eggs at the beginning of the week and we ate those as snacks.

It was definitely a fun challenge and nice to see that we can save money and still eat healthfully when we have to! Luckily, I have found some extra work so we’ll be able to go back to eating farm fresh meat and veggies, but if you cannot, either due to financial constraints or location constraints, just know that you *CAN* eat good, healthy food on a budget.

-Tamara