Happy Friday everyone! We made it! I am sitting here thinking about all of the things I should do this weekend, but in reality I want to laze around and do nothing. Ever have one of those weeks? I have been having A LOT of those weeks lately. I have finally decided enough is enough and I need to get my butt moving. I am bringing you a new series every Friday where I discuss fitness and healthy living. I am embarking on a journey to lose some weight and get healthier.. on a budget.

Getting healthy can be really expensive. If you follow any fad diet you will probably fork out a lot of cash. Between food, equipment, supplements, and apparel you can be dropping hundreds of dollars in no time. I want to show you ways to get healthy without breaking the bank. You can achieve this with one main thought in mind. Stay Positive. Negativity gets you nowhere in life. Remember that.


Since this is the first week in this series I wanted to start off with one of the best tips I can offer when embarking on a weight loss journey. It's free and can really motivate you to getting yourself going. What is this awesome free thing? Take pictures! Full body shots wearing a sports bra and shorts if you are a girl and shirtless and shorts if you are a guy. This may sound scary at first, but once you start to see the changes you will appreciate that first scary photo.

I took my photo Monday night. It was really hard to look at because I saw how much I have let myself go over the past year. Even though it is hard to look at for me, it is also a reminder to work harder. I am even going to share my picture. It's hard for me but it's the only way I will continue to do better and get back to a healthy weight.

Here it is. The most awful picture I have ever seen of myself. I know its not pretty and I know that means I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have accepted the challenge and now I am ready to share this adventure with all of you! Keep coming back every Friday for more tips and tricks to achieving a healthy lifestyle on a budget. We can motivate each other to a happier, healthier life!

Does anyone else just love the heck out of Influenster like I do? I have been a member with them just about 18 months and have been invited to try some pretty awesome products. This month I was invited into the GoVoxBox which included some awesome products geared towards what I would call an active lifestyle. This made me super happy due to the fact that I am premiering a new series on Friday which is going to be geared towards a healthier lifestyle on a budget.

Before I get into the goodies I wanted to talk a little about what Influenster is and why you want to join! As stated on the website, Influenster is a community of trendsetters, social media masterminds, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences. So basically this a cool place to share your reviews on products and influence others to try new things. The more you influence the more opportunities you get to try out new products that come via a VoxBox.



Now for the goodies. My VoxBox included 7 full size products. Also included were 2 coupons. Looking into the box I was super excited at what I had to sample.

1. The Vitamin Shoppe Next Step Jaxx Shaker Cup- This really made me happy to see. It was a cute cup that has a giant "jaxx" that helps to keep your shake or smoothies mixed. Shake it up and you have a smooth beverage. Get it here! Price: $7.99 US
2. Next Step Fit and Full Shake Packs- I was provided with 3 different flavors to try with the shaker cup. They included Swiss Chocoale, French Vanilla, and Fresh Berries. Get it here! Price for 3 is: $4.02 US
3. Playtex Sport Fresh Balance Tampons - I always love to try new feminine products. I am working on leading a healthier lifestyle so I am excited to try these in my healthy adventures. Price: $10.49 for 32.
4. Blue Diamond Blueberry Almonds - Love me some almonds! I was so excited to see these in the box! I am a huge lover of almonds and new flavors always get me excited. These packets are great for on the go convenience for a quick healthy snack. Price: $1.12 US
5. ProFoot Pedi-Rock - This looks like it is going to by my best friend during the summer months. I don't know about you but my feet get destroyed from wearing flip flops. This is a soft rock that smooths out all of the calluses and dry patches on your feet. Happy feet ahead! Get it here! Price: $9.99 US
6. ProFoot Triad Orthotic - These inserts are supposed to relieve knee, leg, and back pain. I am excited to try these on a hike. My feet will thank me I'm sure! Get it here! Price: $9.99 US
7. Aqua Spa Relax Body Creme: This smells so good. It is lavender and chamomile. This formula is supposed to leave your skin feeling silky smooth while having a calming effect. It includes Marine Youth Complex which diminishes signs of aging. This stuff is pretty awesome! Get it here! Price: $9.99 US

There are some wonderful products here that I cannot wait to try out! All of the products included came out to $43.60. That's pretty sweet! I can't say it enough. I LOVE this program! Please check it out if you are interested in trying new things and sharing it with the world. I am gonna go and tinker with all of the products! Have a wonderful Wednesday and stay tuned for my Friday premiere!

Click to find out more!

Happy Monday everyone! If you're anything like me today, you are enjoying a day off to remember all of the men and women who have fought to keep this country free. I hope you all take a moment to put down that beer and hotdog and thank a service man for all that they do! Because it is a lax kind of day I chose today to show you all some of my vacation photos. So without further adieu: My vacation to the deep south!

Travel Time!

Getting up early always seems to be the way when flying. We were up at about 4:30am so we could make a 6:40 flight. We made it in time with an hour to spare due to my trusty travel tips (Which you can find here). Once into the terminal we got notice that the plane was delayed due to a crew illness. The plane was there waiting for us yet we couldn't get on. It was about a 4.5 hour delay before we were finally able to board and get in the air. We ended up missing our connection flight and spent a few hours in Detroit waiting for our second flight. While in Detroit these pictures were taken:



We had some lunch which off course included a beer and saw a Sanrio Surprise. I haven't seen one of these stores in ages! I loved Hello Kitty and all things Sanrio as a kid! It was very cool to see. After the 3 hour layover we were on our way again into the air. So pretty. Calm and blue skies ahead.
It was so beautiful to see the clouds and the sky from above. I am always sitting by the wing when I fly though. Not sure why! We landed later than anticipated due to the delays throughout the day so Saturday pretty much passed as a travel day and once into the hotel we crashed early for the night.

Sunday was the day I had been waiting for. I was going to finally meet up with a friend who I met first in South Carolina when I was in Kindergarten! We were both military "brats" as they so called it back then. Moving all about every few years. It was such a surprise when her and her family showed up on our door step in Texas the summer of 1996. We were both going to be in 8th grade the following school year. It was amazing to see her, but since then we haven't crossed paths again. Social media has played a big part in bringing us back in contact. We had an opportunity to get together and I made my trip to the deep south at last to see her and meet her family.
 It was so much fun to get to see her! I loved every minute of it. The rest of the trip was lots of catching up, food, and beer of course. I will leave the rest of this post with those photos as they are pretty self explainatory!






I had a wonderful trip and definitely needed this coffee mug my friend made me the next day. Speaking was optional due to being so tired! I hope you all enjoyed my pictures. I am sorry there weren't more! Have a great memorial day!

I know, I know, I promised vacation deets today. I really wanted to show off my fun time off the radar but something really irked me and I needed to vent about it. It is that time of year (Summer) where social media really REALLY annoys me. I am sure some of you are going to read this and roll your eyes (and that's ok) but I needed to get this off my chest before I un-friend everyone and that wouldn't be fun either. (This post isn't meant to offend anyone, these are just my opinions. Everyone is different and you may disagree but that is okay to my friend!)

The first thing that absolutely drives me bonkers is all of the season finale spoilers! I really hate to bitch about this one but seriously, NOT everyone can watch a show when it airs. Plus you have all the people in other time zones who have no choice but to wait. Please refrain from immediately telling the world who died or what crazy shit went down. I DIDN'T SEE IT YET! THANKS!

The next thing that I could live without is everyone on social media becoming a meteorologist. "OMFG It is SO hot outside! I can't even deal! It needs to cool down!" Okay people we all know its hot outside. It may even be hot inside depending on your living situation. But the point is we had a really cold winter all over the USA and now it is warm and everyone is crying about it. Take a chill pill! (Literally!)



I love taking vacations over the summer just as much as everyone else, but seriously do we need to do a day by day countdown? We get it, you are excited about going to Mississippi to visit your BFF from kindergarden (Yes I just made fun of myself :) but you do not need to post about it everyday for 4 weeks straight.

Speaking of counting down to a vacation, you also get the "I need to get in shape" posts along with "I am going to work out now and look hot for my vacation" which is in 4 weeks as we learned from previous posts.  I get it, we all want to look good for our summer vacations, but unfortunately this usually can't be fully achieved in one month like some magazines claim. You need to have a healthy lifestyle year round if you want to look "hot" in that little bikini.

Work it girls! (Source)

 The last thing I really get annoyed at is all of the meaningless full day events posts. "I went to 27 BBQ's today and only ate one hotdog but I think I went swimming in a lake, a pool and a pond. It was fun. I will go and do it again tomorrow but this time I might try a hamburger." Must we know every detail of your summer day? This is how you get stalkers ya know!

I hope you found some humor in some of these summer social media hates of mine. I really don't like to complain. but after 2 of my tv shows being spoiled this week I was absolutely steaming at the ears.