-

My little B….

This little girl is probably way spoiled. And without a doubt stubborn. And bored if she doesn't have friends over 24/7. And a tad whiny. And is quite unable to put outfits together that match. This little girl is also ah-mazing! And without a doubt smart, funny, witty, loveable, affectionate, and kind-hearted! And persistent! And smiley! And social! And grateful! And has a style all her own! I can't really remember what I was like at her age but I'd love to think I was just like her. She's 7-1/2 going on 13....yet it seems like it was just yesterday she was born. When we called the hospital the morning before she actually arrived, they told us to just stay home. But, I'm guessing a lot of you moms out there can relate that when we know....we just know. And, when the closest hospital is 40 miles away, I wasn't really in the mood to just stay home and see what happened. So, we left anyway. When they finally checked us in to stay … Read More

Reinventing myself…..

Hey happy FRI-YAY y'all! So, funny story. I was getting my hair done last night (ok it's now been a few weeks ago....ha that's how long I was working on this post lol!) and I've been obsessed with pink hair lately (and my pink hair is already gone....#tears #itwasfunwhileitlasted). Like seriously if you haven't checked out my Pinterest hair board for CUTE hair....including tons of CUTE PINK hair....you totally should. Here it is if you need it or click on any of my hair crushes below!! PINK So, when I showed my stylist (who FREAKIN' ROCKS by the way! If you live in the northwest North Dakota area and are looking for a new stylist, go see Mindy at Evolution Salon in Minot. She is part-owner of the salon and has been doing hair for over 10 years.....and seriously is just amazing at what she does....including taking the time to really listen to what you want! #highlyrecommend ~ She's the second on the left in the pic below.......has amazing hair herself.....AND you can click on … Read More

Bring it to the light….

I remember the morning my brother died like it was yesterday. It was 18 years ago.....but, the thing about tremendous grief is that it doesn't go away.....it just changes. I was at work in a clinic that day in August 1999, and I remember my aunt walking through the door to our business office with a look of shear panic on her face and my heart immediately sank. I knew what she was about to tell me was bad....but in that moment, I had no idea just how tragic the news would be. She took me into my boss's office and told me that Kjell was gone.....that he'd taken his own life. I remember my legs giving out underneath me and my body going limp. I remember falling to the floor. I remember uncontrollable screaming, sobbing, shaking and not being able to breathe. And, then.....I remember nothing. I don't remember leaving work. I don't remember what I did the rest of the day or the days to follow. I don't remember who I talked to or if I slept or if I … Read More

Tough Love

Hey y'all! Just hanging out watching some football and blogging! The other 2 yayhoo's are asleep! And, I'm realizing that Thursday nights and Friday mornings are my fave time to blog :) But, I should probably not try to multi-task and watch football 'cuz it's taking me forever to write....I'm especially excited for the NFL this season. I always love football....especially my Broncos (and I will tolerate the Vikings but dang do they disappoint a person....just ask my hubby).....but this year is my first year in Fantasy Football and my team is rated 2nd on our report cards :) My kicker was the only player I had playing last night but he got me 9 pts!! AND, I was #7 in the draft and picked up Aaron Rodgers, so here's to hoping he has a good season!!....which is basically saying I hope the PACKERS have a good season....and, well, meh. Ha, sorry Bothe's if anyone is reading this ;) That's the interesting thing about Fantasy football. Sometimes you gotta cheer for players and teams you … Read More

The 5 am club, 5 second rule & a crushing the rush!

For real, I can't stop watching this vid!! I'm totally the one on the left!! HOWEVER, I'm working hard to be the one on the right!! I'm such a night owl! And, I always have been. But, here & there in the past several years, I've went some pretty long stretches getting up at the crack of dawn to get my Miracle Morning and my workout in before I have to go to work! SO, after this summer totally kicked my butt with late night after late night, I'm determined to get back to my early mornings!! I love mornings!! I love coffee! Heck, sometimes I just wanna go to bed at night so I can wake up and drink coffee lol. I love getting up to have quiet time before my fam! I love my MM lifeSAVERS. AND, yes I LOVE getting my workout done before work! This coming home after 5 and getting it done is really starting to piss me off! They say the best time to work out is simply....when it works best for your schedule. My after work workouts are NOT working anymore. I … Read More

We’re only human…..

For most of my life when I decided I wanted to get in better shape and lose weight, I would go the grocery store and grab whatever health & fitness magazine with eye-catching titles and images of amazingly beautiful and svelte women on the covers stuck out to me the most and decide that THIS was the last time I would start something new and THIS would finally be the "DIET" or workout that changed everything. After all, it worked for the girl on the cover, right?!? ;) I would get all excited and plan my attack. What was typically my plan? Well, I would usually decide that I needed to enjoy "just one last weekend" of partying and eating whatever I wanted and I would change my life starting on Monday. Yeah, I was that girl. I always needed to wait until Monday.....the 1st of a new month....after the New Year. And, always with the mentality that I would enjoy one last hurrah and this was be the last time I started over. Monday would roll around and by then I was … Read More

I will beat her!

This is one of my fave all-time quotes. If you've been around here for a while, you know why. If you're new here, let's catch up you a little. I'm a TeamBeachbody Coach and have been for almost 4 years. I'm actually currently a "plus-size" TeamBeachbody Coach. And, in all honesty, in a place in my life I can proudly say that. However, a year ago, I did not wear that honor well. In fact, I was such a hot mess I couldn't see anything for what it was worth in my life. And, I was letting my plus-sized-ness start to paralyze me from what I had set out to do to help myself heal and help support others along the way. You can read more of the story here and here but my life has been a history of yo-yo dieting and yo-yo weight loss. I've tried every "diet" under the sun ~ many many pills, wraps and quick fixes ~ spend thousands on gym memberships and at-home equipment like treadmills, ellipticals....even some "amazing breakthru" ab belt that was supposed to do … Read More

A reason….not an excuse.

Have you ever seen the quote "My kids are my reason, not my excuse" when it comes to finding the time to exercise? I think all us moms out here can relate to how much our lives changed after kids. Of course our lives became even more amazing :) But, our time was no longer just OUR TIME. And, I totally admire the moms who are "plus1" in the kid department. How y'all get it done every dang day impresses the crap outta me. I have the 1 kid and some days I STILL don't get it "all" done. Let's take a pause to talk about my kid :) If you're new here, this is my B :) (We were camping for the weekend and she was SO excited that she found me a heart rock 'cuz she KNOWS how much I love hearts :) ) Ok, and I just have to share one quick story :) This was from just last night :) She is 100% tom-boy & 100% girlie-girl. She loves to get dirty and ride 4-wheeler and legos and climbing trees. She's also OBSESSED with dolls and "real babies" and watching "real baby videos" on YouTube and … Read More

I feel like a crazy person!!

My IUD Story (This should maybe read "My IUD LONG Story" lol ~ sorry it's so long but not sure what to leave out) "I feel like a CRAZY person." ~me This is often how I've described myself in the past two years to family, friends, doctors, and my therapist. I've said "You think I'm crazy, don't you?!?" to my hubby more than once. I can't remember the last time I went through an entire day without thinking it. And, I've said, "I feel like I'm sucking at life" to my gynecologist and therapist very recently. I've felt like a terrible mom, wife, friend, coach and employee. I've been undependable, scattered, forgetful, and more. I've felt like a fraud, a hypochondriac and a hypocrite. AND, I'm not sure I've EVER felt more relieved than I do as I write this post!!!!!!!!!!! If you're new here, you can catch up a little HERE, HERE and HERE. For a little more than two years now, I've been dealing with an array of health issues. I've gained over 35 lbs. My … Read More

FIT(ish)

Have y'all seen FIT(ish) apparel?!?! I've been in LOOOOOOOOOOVE for a while now but every time I add a few super cute tops to my cart, I forget to ever actually checkout lol. (Hey, my shopping friends....do you ever just go to your fave online shopping site and add things to your cart....and then kinda purposely LEAVE them...IN THE CART? It's like the rush of shopping minus the spending part. lol #sometimesitworks #sometimesitdoesnt) ANYHOO, I saw another coach with a FIT(ish) tank on yesterday so I finally decided I was gonna order! But, not really seeing a FB ad for it like how I normally see them, I went to Google. So, funny story....I type in FIT(ISH) and Google asks "Did you mean FET(ISH)?" and then proceeds to pop up a warning that the key word I'm searching for MAY bring up some sketchy content. Ok, sketchy is my word, not Google's...but I had to laugh that GOOGLE tried to autocorrect the word FOR me and THEN proceeded to tell me that I probably shouldn't have been … Read More

You Fall. You Rise.

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY strangers!! It's sad I had to look back at the last time I blogged. It was the middle of March!! I've missed it....without a doubt. But, truth be told, I've been struggling to find my words. I was stuck in a pattern of thinking I had nothing of value to say but I didn't really know why. And, the longer I went without blogging.....the easier it was not to blog. Ha, isn't that just the thing about life?! Once you go a few days without doing something....even sometimes the things you love doing....it's easy to let the days turn into WEEKS....the weeks turn into MONTHS...hopefully not YEARS but that happens, too! (I see and hear this with exercise ALLLLLLL the time too btw ~ especially when people start out with something they don't love OR they don't see immediate results! Instead of trying something else, they give up. And, instead of practicing a little patience, they give up when they don't see results.) And, as with exercise, … Read More

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

My journey to repair my relationship with my body and with food has been filled with many peaks and valleys. I've tried countless "diets", pills, potions, fads and quick fixes. I've went through seasons of totally not caring about what I ate to obsessing about what I ate over and over again. I've isolated myself from family and friends in my more obsessive of seasons. I've watched my weight yo-yo time and time again. I've spent countless hours researching and reading and reading and researching for the "best" approach to finding food freedom and a healthy body image. I've went through seasons of obsessive and excessive exercise. All in the pursuit of finding my happy and "healthy" place. "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." Henry David Thoreau Wow. What an ah-ha moment reading that was for me! My answer has really been right in front of me my whole life. I just never saw it for what it was! I had been looking for something … Read More

Monday Matters ~ Why Not You?

I looked into coaching for almost a year before I finally took the plunge. I sat back and watched a few coaches online. I researched about it here and there. And, for the better part of a year, I pretty much convinced myself that I didn't have what it took to make it work. I convinced myself like so many times before that SURE other people could do it, love it, and change their lives but that I couldn't. After all, I wasn't a salesperson. I didn't already have a "BEACH BODY." I didn't know enough people. I lived in a small, rural community. I didn't feel like I could afford to use Shakeology. I didn't wanna push products on my friends & family or anyone else for that matter. And, I wasn't an expert in health or fitness. Yep, I thought all those things and let those things hold me back. But, wow, was I wrong about what coaching really was! I finally started coaching in October of 2013 and I've never looked back! I started asking WHY NOT … Read More

#TuesdayTransformation

Hey hey out there! Finally getting a blog post up! I've been busy sleeping in my free time. (Only partly kidding.) I'll admit my life right now seems a little consumed by this whole detox thing lol. While it's definitely gotten easier, there have been different phases and supplements and body changes to go through and get used to. And, being sure to LISTEN to my body has left me resting a LOT. Hence, the #ivebeenbusysleeping part. So, I'm still taking the stance that while this is not easy, it's not hard. That being said, if you know me, you know I like to say it like it is.....so.... Given how this has went so far and some things I've been researching along the way, I'm not sure this strict of a nutrition plan is a good idea for someone with a past history of an eating disorder like binge and closet eating. I will admit I was a little worried that this would set me up for failure. And, while I've stayed strong and on the plan 100%, I'm not sure I was quite ready for this. … Read More

Why me?……Why NOT me?

If you're new here, you maybe don't know that on Wednesdays I love to talk about a #wcw (women crush wednesday if you've been living under a rock...j/k lol)......someone who especially inspired me for the week and who was on my heart to give a shout-out to or about women empowerment, girl bosses/boss babes, being a woman of Faith and really simply just about GIRL POWER. Today, I wanted to share this post to talk a little more about my journey from being EMPTY and EMBARRASSED to being EMPOWERED. I spent most of my life walking through the days asking “why me.” ~Why did I have to struggle with my weight and body image and food? ~Why did I have to grow up without much money? ~Why wasn’t I more like {insert name}? ~Why wasn’t I smarter? ~Why wasn’t I better at trigonometry?? (Thank God for my besties Tasha and Traci in high school or that could’ve turned out badly lol). ~Why did I have to leave my friends on the weekends and summers to go spend with my dad? I was … Read More