Here we are, just trying to get through one day at a time.
Follow me on FB @cam Di genti to join my LIVE PILATES WORKOUTS (almost) every morning during our #coronaquarantine.
Let’s do this together to maintain some universal motivation & positivity.
Here is the flow from my video yesterday: 
Needless to say, this is a challenging time for everyone. We are being tested!
❤ Cammy
Good morning ya’ll!
Dogs, babies, and Christmas decorations do not go together. From burning candles, a giant evergreen covered in fragile baubles and even strings of food, to a kitchen with frosting and sprinkles on every surface. If you’re hosting, forget about the nice china and stemware. Sorry folks, we’re using solo cups this year!
Why, yes, I happen to have three dogs, a baby, and a passion for Christmas decorations. Check out my tips on protecting your holiday home from your pets, and protecting them too! Candles, breakable objects, and even poisonous plants can turn your Christmas cheer into a trip to the vet…
We have dogs, it’s kind of a thing. Although they are pretty well-trained when it comes to dog Vs. people items in the house, when the decorations go up it’s like kids taking a trip to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
This is Stanlee (on the left), the annoyingly alpha male of the pack, and a completely neurotic baby.
This is Stella, the only well-behaved member of this entire household..besides myself. Also the only other female, interesting.
This is Gavin.
Two years ago, my heart grew three sizes.
Gavin is the worst behaved corgi possibly in existence. He constantly nips at his sister and he chews ALL of my socks and underwear (seriously, I had to create a monthly underwear budget after we got Gavin).
However, he is my baby, my firstborn. The year i got Gavin let’s just say I was a little preoccupied. It was the year I served pizza bagels on Christmas Eve. I’m not kidding.
Proof:
So how do I avoid absolute catastrophe during the holidays? I don’t. Catastrophe and the holidays go hand in hand. They’re like PB&J. However, I do generally avoid burning the house down, or say, that ‘Elf’ moment where someone takes a flying jump across the living room onto the tree. I won’t say it’s easy, but by just keeping a few things in mind, you can avoid the,”Welcome! Allow me to pour you a glass of this lovely full-bodied Zinfandel in this red plastic cup in case the dogs get excited and break my nice stemware.”
Maybe you have already thought of all my ideas, after all, we as humans are adaptive creatures and when there is chaos, we adapt. In case you haven’t, read on for some tips on how to dog-proof your home during the holidays!
This has nothing really to do with decorating. Every year we host a Christmas party for our families and close friends, and every year, we deal with (we? I. I deal.) two very crazed, confused, and excited bulldogs, and one hyper disaster of a corgi during our holiday gala. Some of our family is not keen on dogs at all, so this just adds to the chaos (standing on chairs like the dogs are mice or spiders, you know this type).
Dogs feed off on one another, and it is WAY easier to fend off one dog than three so my tip to you is unveil one dog at a time. We (AGAIN, just me. I, myself.) did this last year and it worked so well I’m not exaggerating when I say it set a more relaxed tone for the whole evening. we just shut the dogs upstairs for a little bit before the guests arrived, and about half an hour after everyone was there we let one dog out every 20 minutes or so. by the time the third dog was out, the other two had already settled and you barely noticed we had any fur-challenged members of the family. Winning.
Shortly after the introduction of a crazed puppy into our household, we learned that Gavin had very specific and unusual tastes when it came to what he was going to destroy next. Strange things..unexpected things…like my freaking tree skirt. What? Like, why…?
So I just bought a new one, which Gavin didn’t destroy, but the dogs were constantly lying on top of it and wrinkling it and putting treats and dog toys on it. I, possibly the most quintessential virgo in existence, was moving closer and closer to insanity as more and more of my time was devoted to straightening out the tree skirt. Then i smartened up. I bought a tree collar!
I didn’t even know these existed. They may not be as traditional or fun, but us pet owners have to a make a few sacrifices here and there. What’s great about the tree collar is that it also deters the dogs from drinking the water out of the tree stand, we don’t need to talk about that though. It’s too frustrating for me.
Besides my tree, I am not really into bringing a whole bunch of living plants into my house during the holidays. I know some people go fake for even their tree, but I really have nothing to say to ‘those’ people. Buy a real tree, people.
However, in case you can’t live without your poinsettia, mistletoe, or Ivy, check out my post on poisonous Christmas foliage.
Another lesson I learned the hard way. I have, since I was old enough to contribute to Christmas presents, always just put the presents under the tree as they were wrapped. Until Gavin was seduced my the shiny wrappings and ate, literally, four presents. The gifts were fine, but if you’re as meticulous as I am with your wrapping, having to re-do four presents is just devastating.
Now that we have a human child and are experimenting with the whole ‘Santa’ thing, keeping the presents safely hidden (on a very high shelf) will make more sense.
Did I scare you with my mental image from Elf, you know the scene where Will Ferrel takes a flying leap on to the tree? Well, if you have particular tempting ornaments, it could happen. My recommendation: keep tinsel, popcorn strings, or anything remotely breakable up high.
No, I don’t mean only decorate the bottom half of your tree. Perhaps just opt for some nice, non breakable ornaments! They actually sell shatterproof ornaments, they have thought of everything…
Those pretty, delicate days are over. Consider decorating your home with things that are just a little more substantial!
There you have it guys! From one pet owner to another, I’m sure you have all your own tricks and tips up your sleeve for keeping your pets (and your decorations) safe during the holidays. If not, I hope you can use some of mine!
Share some of your tips with me! I’m always looking for new household hacks:)
❤ Cammy
Hiya!
It is cold. Like record cold. Like it was 18 degrees last night.
Continuing along with our Christmas decorating series, first stop: A White Christmas. I have to say, I was really excited to get started with my decorating early and just have the process be a slow, relaxed one. You know, like unpack all the boxes gradually, maybe hang up a string of lights, relax for a few days, hang up another one, etc… Especially after I heard on the radio that a survey was conducted and concluded that those who hang up their holiday decorations earlier, are happier. Weird survey, I know. But still… Of course, life happened and I actually have not had time to embark on my decorating journey, but I have had lots of time to plan…
Does everyone know where ‘White Christmas’ came from? Obviously the song, yes, and the ‘White’ refers to snow on Christmas Day. The original song by Bing Cosby is actually kind of sad, as it was released in the wake of Pearl Harbor. The original producer of the song has his own sad story as well, which I will not discuss here because it makes me too sad, but you can totally read about it yourself . Just know that you might feel a little crappy for a few hours afterward.
Inspiration for White Christmas decorations are more than just a white color pallet. A White Christmas is of course reminiscent of snow, so I like to think of it as bringing the outdoors in. This is an opportunity to decorate your home with things that celebrate nature and remind us of the holidays at the same time.
I don’t even need to say this, but if you have a fake tree, your first step is throwing that sh*t out.
The holidays are about tantalizing all the senses, smell, touch, sound, etc, and there is nothing like a fragrant Christmas tree to welcome you home during the holidays. Note – If you are a newb to having a real tree, I’m sure you are ‘afraid’ of the pine needles that are left behind when it comes to say goodbye to Douglas. Don’t be, most of us own a vacuum, or very least a broom. Try plugging in a humidifier next to your tree to keep those needles plump and hydrated all month long, and most importantly, attached to the tree. DO NOT forget to change the water. Last year, our 8 ft tree drank about a gallon of water PER DAY.
To highlight the natural beauty of winter, I like to start with the most obvious element; snow! These snowflake decals are awesome on windows, or even on your oven door/refrigerator. Of course, if you have time, crafting paper snowflakes yourself is always a fun project. Fake snow is always great to have on hand. A little tip about buying fake snow:
I was in an art store, that shall remain nameless, and was perusing the holiday section in search of fake snow (aka pillow stuffing) and I finally found a box full of bags of ‘fake snow’ for $15.99! OK, hell no, My budget-friendly-minded self said. So I wandered over to the textile section and found a similar bag, this time labeled pillow stuffing, for $4.99… Needless to say this bag was the winner. Anyways, moral of the story; don’t get carried away in the holiday department of a craft store, even though it is So. Hard. Not to.
There are so many ways to use ‘snow’ in your holiday decorating. The two main things I do with it are: Using fake snow for setting up my Christmas village, and using fake snow in Christmas Centerpieces.
Ya’ll, Christmas decorating does not have to be expensive, and no, you do not have to DIY everything. One great centerpiece that I make every year is just pillow stuffing inside either an oversized fancy vase, or a trifle platter with either some LED Candles, or string lights inside. Add in some festive berries and a sprig of ever green, and you have the perfect White Christmas Centerpiece! I should add that all of my plate wear and vases I generally get from the Goodwill. At least in my house, I don’t need the latest, shiniest thing. What I need is something different, that makes a statement, and is cheap. Although I desperately want my home to look like the inside of a Pottery Barn Catalogue, with three dogs and a baby, this is just a ridiculous dream. Nothing in our house is shiny and new, and nothing that once was shiny and new stays that way for long. This is what Pinterest was created for. My ‘Home’ Pinterest board is actually my second home, the one where nothing gets broken or dirty, the one that exists only in my dreams.
Got leftover snow? I’ve got a solution! I know I’ve sworn off DIY projects but this is a pretty unoffensive decorating project. Get your hands on some empty ornaments.
These ornaments have a removeable cap so the world is your oyster in terms of what to stuff inside them! I’ve seen anywhere from hot chocolate powder and pre-batched cosmopolitans, to DIY snow globes. I’m pretty low key, so the most I’ll do is take my leftover snow and stuff a little bit inside. It sounds pretty unspectacular, but the effect is actually very pretty! IF you haven’t yet banned glitter from your home, you could also throw a little glitter inside…also very pretty. You also might be glittery for the rest of your life, so I’ll leave that one up to you.
The Tree is the most iconic symbol of Christmas, in my opinion, except maybe Santa. The issue with Santa being he is not really a fun-for-the-whole-family, great outdoor adventure, decorating-extravaganza that a Christmas tree is. Santa gets a letter or two and a plate of cookies… and a jolly outfit, a sleigh, reindeer, GIFTS, an entire chilly microcosm…OK maybe it’s a draw between tree and Santa. Whatever Santa, we’re not talking about you here.
What constitutes Holiday in nature exactly? Berries, mistletoe, evergreen trees, pinecones, and snow! And the great thing about Holiday florals, call me a hypocrite, is that you can buy fake ones and use them year after year.
Trust me, one year I spent hours hunting for pinecones in the backyard, in the snow, only to produce like 4 or 5 passable, albeit soggy, specimen. After dropping $11 on the silver spray paint, and another hour finding a safe location to spray them (which resulted in a few patches of silver on the driveway), I am all for buying a $4 bag of pinecones from the craft store. You can use pinecones in centerpieces, or wire them to a garland or wreath for a nice natural accent.
Using these wooden serving boards for placemats or centerpieces is a great way to bring more of the natural winter-wonderland inside! Using them as placemats for a Christmas dinner, or underneath serving trays for a Holiday Cocktail Party is a beautiful way to showcase nature.
You can find beautiful wooden placemats like this on Etsy, Target.com, Amazon,
…really anywhere with a household department.
I’m a big believer in real Christmas trees, like I mentioned before. I am also a big believer in ‘Artificial florals’ (aka fake flowers). Like these placemats! Layer on top of wooden place mats for a beautiful natural effect.
I am so guilty of overdoing it with the garlands sometimes. I need to just choose one out of the following; garland on the mantle, garland around the front door, garland wrapping the bannister, garland on the table. It’s so easy to get carried away! But too much looks tacky to me. when it comes to decorating for the holidays , I try to remind myself it’s all about subtle accents that all tie in together, which after all, is really the purpose of this post in the first place.
A GREAT place to find garlands (and wreaths for that matter), and yes I do purchase fake wreaths sometimes, is Ocean State Job Lot. Amongst the hideous wrapping paper and pointless gift boxes, there are some true, super inexpensive steals!
They also sell an antlers and nose set for your car, for like $7, If you’re into that kind of thing.
I think the most important aspect of our ‘White Christmas’ theme, is that nothing is super garish or ‘on the nose.’ Subtle whites, slightly less-subtle silvers and golds, and small pops of red and natural green is all you really need. Deer figurines are such a great addition to your white Christmas decor. I ALWAYS keep my eye out at the local Goodwill for discarded figurines, because they can be pricey.
Wrought iron deer figurines can be pretty pricey, but they will last forever. Sometimes it’s worth it to bite the bullet and just buy something if you really love it. My trick: if I see something that’s too expensive for me to buy on the spot I give it like 5 days. If I’m still thinking about that one thing and have not found anything better, I just get it. I think one significant purchase to add to my holiday decor per year is acceptable. Obviously, holiday decorating is important to me so I prioritize it a little…
There are so many different styles to decorate your home in. I hope this post gave you a few new ideas! What is your Christmas decor style??
❤
Cammy
Good afternoon!
Now that it’s actually November and getting chillier, I’m really into my groove. This basically means I no longer feel guilty about drinking my coffee out of a snowman mug.
Holiday decorating is so important to me. It gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling to see my little Santa Clause figurines, string lights, wreath, snowflakes, etc… twinkling at me when I’m hanging at home. I would bet a decent amount that I’m not the only one who feels this way about the holidays. I’d also bet, possibly more, that others like myself have large families with kids who ‘need’ lots and lots of presents, host events over the holidays, and totally stress over how to afford it all! Being the leader of this highly motivated, yet financially humble, group of individuals, I have taken it upon myself over the years to come up with a few REALLY GOOD ways to save money with Holiday decorating.
One of the best ways to save money, although it might not make sense (and therefore I shall explain), is to stick to a theme when you’re buying decorations for your house. Which is just so hard. But, if you pick a theme each year, you automatically rule out ALL of the things that do not fall into your chosen category. This makes me feel less deprived, more focused, and who doesn’t love a little congruency in their Holiday Decorating.
Think about your holiday style. Are you more Whimsical? Do you own so many plaid shirts people think you robbed an Eddie Bauer? Are you just the classiest mofo out of there and the thought of a garish red and green wreath makes you throw up a little? If you are one of these people, then you probably already have a theme in mind… But maybe you’re like me; anything red with a red nose, ‘Merry and Bright” in glitter, straight down to a white and gold table cloth catch your eye when it comes to the holidays.
Clearly I need a little congruency in my Holiday Decorating.
The traditional, elegant, and super classy White Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? White, gold, silver, with maybe a splash of red here and there. Check out more White Christmas Inspo!
Before I start…did you know that the M-W definition of Whimsical is ‘characterized by whim.’ REALLY GUYS?!
What I mean by a whimsical Christmas is just that ‘feeling’ you get when you see an object or arrangement and it just transports you right to the polar express.
Christmas Gnomes are one of those things for me. They popped up a few years back and I am just obsessed with them. I put them everywhere. E v e r y w h e r e. If you find yourself at our house during the holiday season and maybe wanted to take a nice quiet pee for instance (a rarity in our house), you might find one of these little friends staring you in the face from the bathroom vanity.
Elf on a shelf, anyone?
The fun doesn’t end with surprising guests with a bathroom visitor. Gnome houses, hats, and trains are all great additions. The simplicity, and child-like innocence of this style of decoration is so perfect and nostalgic. I highly recommend a little Christmas Gnome Decor.
A few years back during a bout of seasonal depression, I bought about 45 boxes of string lights from Amazon. They were SO pretty I put them everywhere. By the time I had finished putting up all the lights, I was so tired of decorating, I didn’t make it to the rest of the decorations for weeks! However, the lights alone were so pretty it was worth all of the effort. Get creative with the lights. A few different places I have done over the years:
2. Stairwell
3. Bathroom mirror
4. Hall closet
5. Bedroom headboard
6. Living room ceiling.
Loving these ideas, but feeling like it might all start to get a little pricey? Check out my top five tips on decorating on a budget! Don’t get freaked out, I’m not sending you to a page full of week-long, stress-inducing DIY-projects. As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t DIY for the life of me…Seriously who has time to go to three different goodwills to find the perfect pillow, pull all the stuffing from said pillow, repurpose an old flannel shirt to be stuffed with once-was-pillow, soon to be flannel-shirt-pillow????? Not this girl.
Until next time!
❤ Cammy
Good morning!
Let’s jump right in; the holidays.
Am I getting a little ahead of myself? No. I tend to jump into holiday mode as soon as it is consistently below 55 degrees for over a week. Once Halloween is over, just forget about it because the decorations are going up. I am known to my friends and family as somewhat of a ‘Christmas-nut,’ or as I like to ever so gently re-label myself a ‘Holiday Connoisseur.’ Yes.
In fact, I am so notorious, I think every member of my family has already tagged me in at least one holiday meme on Facebook.
A million times yes. Can you relate?
I will admit the Holidays come with a lot of stress. I have definitely made the mistake some years of ‘Holiday-ing’ a little too hard, too soon, and burning out days before the actual event. And by ‘burn out’ I mean emotionally and financially, because those decorations are expensive! Being such a Holiday connoisseur, I feel morally obligated to share my top 5 tips to save money over the holidays, in particular, ways to budget your holiday decorating!
Because I am such a practiced ‘Christmas-er,’ I have a pretty good stockpile of decorations and I have a good rhythm down each year. When you love the holidays, it’s hard not to go a little crazy! Everything is just so tempting… My first piece of advise when it comes to saving $$ over the holidays;
It’s kind of the anti-advise, but yes, a great way to save money during the holidays is to simply buy less. Which is just so hard. But, if you pick a theme each year, you automatically rule out ALL of the things that do not fall into your chosen category. This makes me feel less deprived, more focused, and who doesn’t love a little congruency in their Holiday Decorating.
Some themes I have done over the years are
NOOOOOOOO. But online shopping is like my #1 de-stressing, happy-hormone releasing, from-the-couch doing, everything! Exactly, that’s why it’s expensive; it’s awesome. Let’s just face it, when you’re looking to save money on your holiday shopping, you have to get off the couch. For Budget Friendly Christmas shopping, you are going to have to exert a liiiiittle more effort. But that’s totally fine, because what’s better during the holidays than going to, let’s just say the mall for example, and meandering through all the cheesy mall-decorations! It’s the little things, people.
But why…I’ll tell you. Big box stores such as Walmart, Target, etc. don’t update their inventory online, and ESPECIALLY not the clearance sections. This little patch of heaven is different in every store. If you have ever said something like, “That target is so good!” then you know what I mean.
Coming from someone who does half of their grocery shopping while seated at the kitchen table, advising other consumers not to shop online is… hard for me? I feel like a total hypocrite. But you just can’t deny the fact that stores do not post their best bargains online! It’s just true. Not to mention online shopping takes away our ability to do a little basic quality control *ahem* you get what you pay for…UNLESS it’s on sale, and then it’s just a great deal. Holiday Decorations are an investment, you want something that will last, or at least I do (another reason I can’t DIY for the life of me; 5 hours of hard work, 3 days of mess to clean up, and the thing falls apart after one season). OK! Hopping off of my soap box now.
I am a little skeptical of ‘bargain’ stores. I often find similar prices and poor quality, and I think the poor quality is to trick us into thinking we are getting a deal. Think, “Hmm, this is terrible quality, so it must be cheaper than other stores with better quality!” Not always true…For example; I love the Christmas Tree Shops so much. It’s your one-stop garden-party-hosting/random-decor- you-never-knew-you-needed shop! However if you’re looking to save money, stick to the party supplies. In terms of holiday decor, you might as well go to Home Goods or shop on Amazon because the prices are comparable.
The Dollar Tree is another one I avoid at all costs. It is a DIY-ers dream, and I am not a DIY-er as we have already established. Just the mental exhaustion of going there and picking through…what is all of that stuff anyways…to find something remotely useful is bad enough. Again, party supplies.
One mans trash….OK nothing I have ever spent money on and used in my home from marketplace, Ebay, or Craigslist is trash. It’s stuff that was really expensive new that someone kind of wanted/didn’t really need, used for a few years, experienced late-onset buyers remorse and tried to sell it. They tried to sell it for close to the purchase price but no one wanted it because if I’m going to pay close to purchase price I’m going to buy the damn thing brand new AMIRIGHT?! So they dropped the price, like, significantly.
Take my stocking hangers, for example. Beautiful Pottery Barn wrought iron stocking holders, I believe I paid $15 for a set of 5. The description literally said something along the lines of; “I bought these brand new two years ago, but we are remodeling our fireplace and don’t have a mantle to put them on anymore.”
I’m telling you, if you want to find Quality Holiday Decorations on a budget, bookmark these three sites.
Make an afternoon of it. Pack a lunch and canvas a few of them in your local area, every Wednesday. If this sounds like a terrible waste of a Wednesday afternoon, navigate on my [friend?]. You know you want a frosty the snowman mug, complete with scarf, for $0.30. Because decorating is in the details (dishtowels) which leads me to my last little tidbit of advice!
There you have it, my friends. Phew! I’m ready to jump right in! It’s really taking every ounce of control I have to not hang up my wreath – let’s just try to make it through Halloween… :P.
But remember, there are other ways to dive into the Holiday spirit without potentially offending others living in your home who may not share your enthusiasm for the holidays… For instance, who is going to know if you throw on a Hallmark movie during your well-earned alone time? Maybe do a little baking, or throw some vanilla, orange peel and cranberries in your slow-cooker and let the aroma of all-things-Christmas fill your nose….the possibilities are endless…
Until next time!
❤ Cammy
Afternoon!
Our first truly fall-day here in New England; cold, drizzly, generally bleak. It’s easy to forget that this is a large portion of the glorious season; cold and drizzle. It’s not all sunshine, sweaters, and apple cider, ya’ll. It’s easy to get stung by the seasonal depression bug during this time also, we wake up in the dark, drive home from work in the dark, eat in the dark… Are we sensing a theme here? Oh, and it’s cold. But some people love that, hey.
Anyways, I’m not here to talk about how much I detest the cold. I’m also not here to tell you how difficult it is to write from the comfort of the couch when there is a baby within arms reach, who has made it his sole purpose in life to bang on the keyboard and scream whenever you look the slightest bit comfortable. Because those would be excuses for not writing in two months, and I’m not in the business of excuse-making.
Feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious can be really super debilitating, and I am more than familiar with all three. Generally, the three emotions are stemming from the same thing, or lead to one another. Example, I’m feeling overwhelmed which makes me stressed out, and this pattern gives me anxiety. How. Do. We. Deal?
Life is overwhelming sometimes, especially during a change of seasons, like now. Mother nature begins a new phase, and my subconscious mind decides I need a change too! But not just a change, an improvement. Unfortunately, I can’t just ‘improve’ as spontaneously as the leaves falling off the trees. So things start building in my mind and they sit there making me feel incapable. How do I stop feeling overwhelmed.
Seriously, like write them down. When I do this I’m sometimes shocked to see how silly certain things are and wonder why i was letting them affect me so much! Here’s an example of a few things I wrote down when I did this step. (Keep in mind I work as a bartender).
Yes, there were a lot more to this list and most of them were more serious. Some common themes are probably money, my career path, my life, relationships, etc. However these three were literally on my list!
To worry about being a good enough mother is unavoidable. It’s always going to be a thought in the back of my mind and I think most mothers feel the same. This one I have to accept. To worry about not making enough fancy shots at work, or having scraggly ends is ridiculous. These thoughts pop up in my mind so quickly and contribute to my stress without me even having a chance to identify how silly they are!
Some of the list is cross-off worthy immediately, but there will probably be a lot of important stuff on there that is either super important to you, or crucial to your survival/the people you are responsible for. So obviously we cant cross-off the later, but what about the stuff that is really important to you? Maybe we can’t cross it off, but we can prioritize it and decide to focus on certain things now, and other things later.
For example. Two things that are really important to me; spending time/supporting my friends and spending time with my child. Child won, that one was easy.
Now let’s take another one! Spending time with my child and building my career. Ok these two things are really important to me and, honestly, this one is not as easy. Some of them aren’t, but now I have two things to think about, where as my original list was…how long?
Let’s say my original list was;
Worrying about all of these things is super overwhelming (don’t worry, my list is much, much longer, with categories, color coded, etc..) But in the 10 minutes it took my to write the last two paragraphs, i knocked off 4 out of the 6 items!
Now, instead of feeling super duper overwhelmed, I just face a complicated situation. A complicated situation that so many people face.
In closing, accept the complexity of your life, but don’t let it overwhelm you. Life is too complicated to let things that don’t matter bother you.
So tell me…what’s on your list 🙂
❤
Cammy
Good morning all,
Yet another morning spent lying in bed for 20 minutes after the initial flicker of wakefulness, denying that it’s time to get up. We’ve been having a lot of these. I also spend these minutes protecting my face as I was pretty decently head butted the other morning; my nose might be broken. Generally it’s a waiting contest, which parent will get annoyed and just bite the bullet to get out of bed and carry the squealing child downstairs (who yes, ends up in our bed most nights), allowing the other parent to sleep. I have to say, usually I win this contest and score an extra half hour of zzz’s. Broken nose or not. (I lost this morning).
We went to see Cirque Du Soleil: Luzia last night, and let’s just say I am seriously questioning my physical capabilities right now. My thoughts were a combination of “Wow, amazing,” and “I really need to stretch more.” It’s easy to forget that those are actual humans doing these amazing acrobatics, and once you make this realization it’s pretty cool to see what the human body is capable of.
This brings me to the first of two things that are on my mind this morning. The first is; When is fitness enough? Take someone just getting into physical shape for the first time. They’re doing great, they have reached their goal and they wake up one morning and say;
“This is enough. I am happy now, I have reached my goal and I don’t want to be any stronger than this.”
First of all, does this person exist? If they do, I’d love to learn their secret because, I’ll speak for most here, for most of us, it is never enough. I can honestly say that I have never woken up completely satisfied. Am I generally satisfied, like 90% satisfied? I try not to be obsessive, but I ALWAYS see room for improvement in my routines.
Form, flexibility, strength, endurance. I always want more.
The second, more important, item on my mind is the aftermath/results of my three-day cleanse.
Just as a recap, I ended with a body weight of 125.2, almost 6 lbs lost from my starting weight of 131 lbs. This morning I weighted in at 126.2, so 1 lb gained back in just under a week.
I did not embark on this cleanse solely for the purpose of weight loss. I genuinely wanted to be cleansed. This is misleading because in my book cleansed and dropping a few LBS are synonymous…right? If things [toxins] are exiting your body, they must have weight right? And if they are no longer there, you do not carry that weight any more… ok.
I would absolutely do another cleanse and I am actually planning my next one. Hunger aside, I really felt amazing during the whole process, and most of the time didn’t even feel hungry (just a couple hours each night were semi-brutal)! I talked previously about feeling oddly energized during the cleanse. I usually get very sleepy in the afternoons, from 1-3pm, and since my return to solid foods, my sleepiness has also returned. During the cleanse I was wired all day. Maybe it was the sugar in the juices. Maybe it was my adrenaline. Maybe the cleanse was working.
A juice cleanse is meant first and foremost to serve as a reset. To relearn how to properly take care of and feed your body. Yes, I have returned to eating foods again, obviously, but I am so much more aware of what I am eating. I have found in the past week that my cravings have subsided significantly and I don’t feel the urge to snack.
I’m waiting for these effects to wear off, and I’ll know it’s time for another cleanse. This might be the start of something amazing…
❤ Cammy
It’s the morning after my first ever juice cleanse!
I had a bad night and woke up too early. But THAT’S OK! Know why? Coffee creamer. I can honestly say this is the thing I missed most. And sandwiches. Wine. Breakfast. OK I missed a few things.
Going to make some eggs and do a little strength training. I can’t wait.
Just to recap, here I am 3 days ago:
131 lbs
21.8 BMI
3 days later
125.2 lbs
20.8 BMI
Total weight loss: 5.8 lbs
I honestly don’t see much of a difference between these two pictures. I guess my belly is a bit puffier in the first one…
Let’s just get one thing straight here; when I decided to do a juice cleanse it was because I just FELT GROSS. I was not sleeping well, working long hours, and eating crap at odd times of the day. Doing a juice cleanse might reset your system, but it can’t change your work/life schedule. That much is on me.
As for how I feel…not hungry at all, but I’m never hungry in the morning until 9 or 10. I definitely have energy but my head is fuzzy.
After years spent paying close attention to my own body and nutrition with a foot in the door of the fitness industry I know my body pretty damn well. Therefore it doesn’t surprise me that I lost 6 lbs. I’m guessing about half of that is water weight, but I will check back in in a week!
❤ Cammy
Enjoying Life, as Mom and Wife!
Unsolicited advice for shit you didn't know you were doing wrong
Fitness, Exercises, Workouts and Shopping too!
Seeking the beauty found in the midst of chaos
Houston & Travel Blog
Welcome to home made, vegeterian, healthy & kids friendly recipes
Unique perspectives on movie marketing, film reviews and much more.
Deelarenti Pilates 