Gym Session :: 04/23/2011

Hey Everyone! It's been awhile since my last gym session. but i decided to go today even though I wasn't really cleared to go. I had my MRI monday evening for my left knee. I'm waiting for the results - so hopefully this week i'll find out what the problem is!

anywho, today i did legs, biceps and abs

Biceps:

- Seated Alternating curls - 15lb dumbbells each hand - 5 sets of 5 repetitions

- Hammer Curls - 15lb dumbbells each hand - 3 sets of 8 repetitions

Abs:

- crunches - 3 sets of 30 (machine)

Legs: 

- Squats - 105lbs (on olympic bar + weights) - 5 sets of 5 repetitions

- Seated Leg extensions (machine) - 40lbs - 3 sets of 12 repetitions

- Leg Curls (machine) 50lbs - 3 sets of 8 repetitions

- Seated Calf raises- 35lbs - 3 sets of 8 repetitions

That pretty much sums of my workout for today. i tried not to go too hard on my knee.. so far it's still a little bit painful - but i'm fine :) 

but of course i messed up my right shoulder so.. yea.. lol im icing it up - hopefully it's nothing.. until tomorrow's workout!

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Requested :: My Vanity Set-Up

So this had been requested by a few moms from worldformoms.com, as well as a few friends of mine.. so don't think i'm just trying to 'show-off'. because i'm not. i have worked hard to get what i want :)

it's taken me SO long to do this, because i haven't had time to organize my stuff lol.. my vanity/drawers.. my whole set up is in my husband and my 'office'.. the current corner that it's stationed might actually change.. and i'm real excited to do the change - this week!

anywho, here's a quick overview of my vanity, my set-up and my mirror.. i will have another blog (with video) on my Vanity Girl Hollywood broadway mirror that everyone has been asking about! :) 

I remember I have a post of ALL my eyeshadows (click here) need to update it though.. i'm not going to do this here, but will update that post as soon as i can.. as i've acquired more eyeshadows over time from purchasing them myself.. or swapping them with other beauty junkies :D

anywho.. here we go.. 

My Mirror, with my brushes, and the eyeshadow rack on the left

How it looks at a glance..

brushes in the middle

MAC eyeshadow (and 2 blush) Palette rack

this is on the left of my mirror

my smaller lighted mirror

and flat iron holder on the right 

side of my mirror

 

close up of my brushes!

and then the items inside the vanity table

Mainly MAC blushes/MSF's (an NYC sunny bronzer lol)

Other blushes: NARS, milani, NYX, Tarte, benefit, korres & UD

Eyeliners (top are colored & bottom are black)

Top: mascaras

Bottom: eyebrow stuff & eyeshadow primers/bases

Now, for the tall drawers on the left of the vanity:

On top: some jewelry, my other eyeshadow palettes

(elf 100 palette, bh cosmetics 120 palette, and no name 88 palette)

and body sprays (not all of them - the others are in my bathroom)

First drawer: drugstore eyeshadows

second drawer: MAC eyeshadows, pigments, PaintPots

UD palettes, and eyeshadows

1 smashbox eyeshadow & 1 lancome eyeshadow lol

Third Drawer: Nail polish/remover

Hair sprays/Hair Products (the ones i use when i style my hair)

back up wipes/nail file.

Fourth drawer: MAC Lipsticks, Drugstore Lipsticks,

Lip Balms, chapsticks, random lip stuff, and random back-up/extras

Fifth Drawer: facial moisturizers, eye gels/creams

Face foundation (liquid, cream, powders)

Concealers. and in the back are my brush soaps 

and back-up make up bags

sixth drawer: Hair brushes/combs

Hair Styling tools (curling iron, flat iron, hair dryer)

Hair accessories (hair ties, clips and bobby pins

This is the opposite side (like right in front of my vanity)

my side and hubbies :)

had to sneak this picture of my daughter's vanity

theres a stool but she was using it while doing her sister's hair LOL

i'm going to be updating the eyeshadow collection post, like i mentioned.. when i get a chance.. i'm also going to do a video on the vanity girl mirror when i get a chance.. so keep an eye out for that! let me know if you have any other requests for my next blog/video! :) 

Random Blogging... super Long post...

Well Hello Everyone! :) 

I cannot believe that April is just about almost finished and May is right around the corner! I've barely any time to study for my Anatomy & Physiology test that is scheduled for May 13th!! jeebus! 

Anywho - things have been so hectic (when is it not?) i can barely remember anything from last week, except this past weekend was a nightmare! 

However, if you're not following me on twitter - my youngest toddler Jasmyn has started preschool! :) she goes to the same school (and same class as her 4.5 year old sister).. we're kind of testing it out and seeing how she likes it more than anything. Her big Sister Tianna will be starting Kindergarten this coming fall (OMG!)

anywho.. on to the weekend..

started saturday, hubby and i went to a good friend/co-worker's wedding ceremony, it was so beautiful! it was my first time going to a wedding ceremony and it was just amazing watching two people commit themselves to one another in love.. :)

after the wedding ceremony was over (it was at 12 noon) their reception wasn't until 5PM, so we thought we'd do some errands and get ready for the evening. My husband is in a basket ball league (nothing big/fancy etc) with my brother and their friends.. and they had a game at 1:00PM.. well hubby wanted to go, so we quickly rushed home to get all his belongings to go to the game.

mind you a month prior to this - he had sprained his right ankle really badly and had to go to ER for that... he had surgery on that ankle too about 3 years ago..

anyway, well we got to the game, we were only like 10-15 minutes late.. so didn't miss out on too much.. and he got to play a bit.. everything was going swell.. my brother's girlfriend Karen was there and she was recording the game (we always do so the guys can see their team plays etc, etc)..

It was the start of the 2nd half of the game.. the game was going.. and a fast break happened at the end of the other court where everyone was running down.. including my husband.. when this happened...

(My husband is the one in the Black jersey #10)

It was BAD.. he hit his face first from the player who stopped and went to his left - totally caught hubby off guard, and with the momentum - he fell backwards and totally hit the back/side area of his head.. he was knocked out for like 30secs to a min.. (in all honesty, it felt like forever)..
after him wobbling up (and it's trimmed in this youtube video - he uploaded it to show his friends LOL boys) .. i quickly ran to his side.. and being the nurse that i am - quickly assessed him asking him some questions to see how bad the head injury he had sustained was..
he was okay the first 2 minutes after it happened.. he had a cut on his lip and a abrasion on his cheek from where the other players head/hair got him..
then it just happened so quickly - i had to keep asking him, what's your name, what's todays date, where are we.. and when he started answering them wrong (he had answered them right 2 minutes prior).. i started to worry.. 
when he actually told me - i'm not feeling good at all, i knew that was our Queue... get the heck out and get him to ER... 
the ride to the hospital was so scary.. mind you - i've never known anyone (even come across a patient) that's had a concussion so i wasn't sure what to expect.. My husband kept asking me the same question every 10 seconds (i'm not exaggerating at all).. he was saying "ow, my face hurts - what happened?", i'd say - "you hit your head really badly", he'd go "how? what was i doing?"
that went on the whole car ride there.. and then checking in was ahhh! although it was quite scary, we look back at it and it was quite comical the things he was saying to the staff etc..
so it was 2 hours after the injury.. and he barely started to come back.. they diagnosed him with a concussion (basically a bruise on the brain).. the dr said he couldn't sleep and needed to be around people to watch him/keep an eye on him.. (he had a CT Scan of the brain and some face x-rays to make sure his cheek/orbital area and nose were not broken and also his neck since it snapped back and forth on the way down when he hit his head).. i didn't know if it was a good idea that we continue on the our co-workers wedding reception.. but i'd feel terrible if i didn't go.. and i'd feel even more terrible if i left my hubby at home..
so HE actually asked the doctor if it was okay he attend.. the dr thought it was in his best interest to go to stay awake.. lol.. that and our doctor friend was going to be there, and we're all nurses so i thought.. hmm i guess so.. he insisted..
so we went - everyone asked what happened.. of course he didn't remember and i did most of the talking - poor thing.. he was so there, but not really.. he was aloof at times.. 
anyway, our doctor friend that was there was asking me if he was being repetitive asking the same questions after the injury.. and asking about all the symptoms that he was having.. and he was spot on with what happened.. 
poor thing.. anyway we ended up staying for an hour or two.. hubby was okay.. he rested that night - not too well of course.. and sunday came and went.. i was busy tending to him since his head was pounding, his face was pounding.. and i was trying to keep the girls quiet while he rested.. luckily my in-laws came to the rescue and took the girls to church and lunch while i got some things done at home and took care of my hubby..
Monday came.. i thought it was too soon for my hubby to go back to work - but he insisted he go because he just started at his new position and did not want to miss it.. (we carpool and work at the same company, just different departments/buildings).. and in the morning he was 'okay'.. but i just felt that he shouldn't be at work.. since his job - he's up on his feet all day assisting the doctor with procedures..
that's when i found out that he returned to the ER during lunch time (when we usually have lunch).. i seriously RAN despite my bum knee.. to the ER and had to wait for them to locate him.. they said he was there, but not in a room.. so i waited.. and finally got the okay to go back to see him.. poor thing looked SO miserable :( 
he had another CT Scan to make sure no new bleeding had occured.. which thankfully it didn't.. but the doctor said he suffered from post concussive syndrome and the symptoms could last from a week up to a month.. if at that.. 
so he couldn't drive and couldn't really function.. so i had to take the rest of the afternoon off work and thankfully my work gave me today off as well.. he's still having a lot of pain/headache etc.. but he's recovering slowly.. 
so that was my weekend lol.. and my monday.. i don't want to go to work tomorrow, but i have to :( 

Gym Session :: 04/09/2011 + today's blogging

Hey everyone! :)

so for those of you that don't know - i injured my left knee about March 19th (i remember the day to the T lol).. i had been told to keep off my knee (no gym for 2 weeks) and to ice/elevate and take motrin for 2 weeks straight and hopefully that'd help it..

well my inactivity really kicked me in the booty.. i literally probably have gained like 5-10 lbs these past two weeks.. not only was i inactive, but hubby had transfered to a new job (same company) with different hours. Same as mine! so we carpooled and also took lunch together.. and we weren't really prepared so we had to eat fast food this whole week! (not good, i know!) and i'm paying for it.. not only was i feeling super bloated lately, but tired all the time and groggy.. which fast food/unhealthy food can do to you.

we had been on the go all the time, we weren't able to go grocery shopping as usual, just food for the kids and that was it lol.. 

all the while my knee was still in pain. finally on friday i had the same ortho provider (i work in orthopedics) take a look at my knee since he said if the pain hadn't subsided by 2 weeks - i need to be rechecked.. well he examined my knee (and had a student PA with him and i was their guinea pig) and did a bunch of clinical tests on me.. and based on my clinical exam - it seemed as if i sprained (sprain is a tear) of my collateral ligments as well as possibly slight tear of my meniscus. 

so he ordered me an MRI which i don't have an appt until monday the 18th of this month. which really sucks because he wants me to be in a knee immobilizer until then when i'm walking around.. the knee immobilizer i have is just that - i cannot bend me knee whatsoever! its a pain in the neck - although i know it's good for me LOL! but i'll tell you know - i'm stubborn as HECK!

anyway - my knee felt good today.. and i felt like crap for 2 weeks.. so today i wanted to go to the gym with my husband..

don't worry - i didn't work out legs, just cardio, biceps and Abs. as that was all i could manage to do... here's what i did anyhow..

Cardio:

- HIIT (High Intense Interval training) - did 30 minutes of this on the treadmill. i don't like to do more than 45 minutes on the treadmill as then it will start to burn the LEAN muscle i've worked so hard to gain!  (25 mins minimum cardio!)

Biceps:

- Seated Alternating curls - 15lb dumbbells each hand - 5 sets of 5 repetitions

- Hammer Curls - 15lb dumbbells each hand - 3 sets of 8 repetitions

Abs:

- crunches - 3 sets of 30 (machine)

after the gym- hubby and i went grocery shopping (for veggies and snacks etc) and also target for other things (will have yet another haul video on that soon!

but we had signed up for a costco membership (finally! loL) on friday evening and had purchased our meats there. How often do you all go grocery shopping?

we had our carpets cleaned today finally! it's been awhile - nice to  have clean carpets in the house! anyway.. i'm super pooped and have to wake up at the crack of dawn to register for the fall classes for my youngest daughters ballet class tomorrow.. 

sooooo good night and til my next blog!

Video :: Collective Haul - target, sephora and other goodies

I had originally wanted to do a collective haul (like 2-3 months ago LOL), but never had the chance to record anything until now. it's funny because i have so many things that i wanted to show you all but only chose a handful or else the video would probably be an hour! 

I Hope you all will "LIKE" this video <3

You can watch in HD quality too if you want! :)

but these were the items mentioned in the video:

- Victoria's Secret - Beauty Rush (spray & lotion) in candy, baby

- Tarte Amazonian Clay blush - in Amused & in Tipsy (i ended up also getting blissful, which i'll try to add in another upcoming haul video

- Urban Decay Afterglow Glide On Cheek tint - in Fetish

- ESSIE Nail polishes in Merino cool & Sand Tropez

- CoverFX Mintglaze (won in a twitter giveaway by CoverFX)

- Cover FX total coverage cream foundation in E40

- Clinique Bottom lash mascara in black

- Bare Minerals Matte powder foundation SPF 15 in Medium

FTC: I purchased EVERYTHING with my own money. the only thing i did not purchase was the COVERFX Mintglaze! I won that as a prize on a twitter giveaway in December!

Video :: Hair update!

Hey all! Remember like last month - i was going to cut my hair short? and ended up just getting a trim because i chickened out and wasn't even sure what i wanted to do with my hair lol..

well this month - the mini heatwave we had.. made me want to cut my hair.. and i ended up taking this super quick video about it LOL

And then here is my video response on what i ended up doing to my hair! mind you this was after a long days worth of work, the house was SOOOO hot when i got home because our air conditioner was broken and we're trying to get it fixed.. and even opening the windows wasn't helping.. i got home and straight knocked out! took an hour nap! lol.. and then afterwards decided to film this lol..

if you already follow me on twitter, then this post is old news to you lol. i ended up cutting my hair shoulder length, well it sits right at my shoulders and has short layers on the bottom. i decided to only trim the bangs a little just incase i wanted to put it in a pouf lol or whatever.. well anywho - hope you all like it!

i've officially had long hair for 2.5 years and loved it, but even my hair stylist said i look better with short hair, because long hair didn't do anything for my face shape =/ that and it was a pain in the booty for me to fix especially being a busy and on the go mommy all the time lol, anyway! stay tuned for my next blog/video! :)

Random Blogging :: What i've been up to recently

hey everyone - thought i'd just update you all as to what i've been up to lately.. 

i've been super bummed out haven't been able to hit the gym regularly as i had planned due to my left knee. i had injured it about two weeks ago and was specifically told to stay off of it for 1-2 weeks. 

i know i'm super stubborn, i decided to do weights "lightly" LOL and of course ended up messing up my left knee even more and now my right hamstring is injured (I pulled it) dangit..

so not only did this totally mess up my work-out schedule/routine. but the two weeks of trying to not do anything to put too much stress on my knee and hammy, i think i have honestly gained 10 lbs LOL..

it's been rather heartbreaking for me because i'm usually such an active person. but i think it was a blessing in disguise as i had more time to study, time with the kids, my husband and of course catching up on my blog, youtube channel and trying to sort things out for my mommy website (worldformoms). 

im going to get it re-checked this week because my knee has not gotten any better, and the PA (physician assistant) that i saw, told me that my knee pain wasn't tendonitis, but an injury to the ligament behind the patella (knee cap) and that if the pain didn't subside in a week or two, it would turn into chronic pain. so i have to get it checked to figure it out..

and to top it off, my migraines have came back in full force with a vengeance! it got so bad that i had to get my nerve block injection in the back of my head (i suffer from occipital neuralgia) it got the injection on March 24th, and my migraines were alright just until today. luckily i'm very close with my physician and she gave me some medication to try to ease the pain. we'll see if it works.. if it doesn't she said she might have to try other preventative medication, perhaps even a calcium channel blocker like atenolol (which also controls high blood pressure - which i don't have.. yet) 

i guess that's why i've put on like what feels like 10lbs! so stressful! lol anyway, i hope to get the clearance that i can workout and then at least get my fat booty on the elliptical or something not too stressful on my knees.

and i definitely should take my own advice and really stretch after working out! lol 

anyway - that's kinda what i've been up to! :) til my next random blog!

Review :: Bausch & Lomb BioTrue Solution

Hello Everyone!

I was contacted a few weeks ago from someone in PR to try out a product. the product is the Bausch & Lomb "Bio True" multi-purpose solution. I have been testing this out for about a little over a week and really have enjoyed using it.

it came with a little tote bag, which i love to use to bring with me to the gym or to my work with little things like my make-up bag, extra contact case, the solution and my eyeglass case (with my eyeglasses of course) just in case i wanted to remove my contacts.

I suffer from severe dry eyes as it is, and i normally use opti-free. so i was a bit hesitant to try something different. I had heard such great things about this particular solution from Pam (xxPinkxx) and so i gave it a go.

Bausch & Lomb was having a giveaway, but had ended on March 27th for a free tote bag - the giveaway was to celebrate their newest innovation (the bio true multipurpose solution)

So the best thing about this contact solution is that it is made and has a lubricant that is naturally found in your eyes. which is a plus for me because i have super dry eyes! and usually sometimes other contact lens solutions dry my eyes out (AOSept being one of them).

the formula matches the pH of healthy tears and keeps certain beneficial tear proteins active. I am very impressed with the qualities of BioTrue because after using this for 1.5 weeks i noticed my eyes are not as dry as usual and i didn't have to use rewetting drops as much as when i was using other contact solutions.

Packaging: 5/5

I really really really loved the packaging! i think because it was different than your typical white bottle of solution, it was clear and it gave it a little more pizazz to it lol. i had the sample size and i know they do sell the smaller ones, which i love because i can tote it around in my purse and for on the go!

Quality: 4/5

I enjoyed using this product quite a bit. i noticed the quality of the solution itself was more lubricating and more thicker. not sticky though. after the first few uses i noticed my eyes weren't as dry (but they normally are ALWAYS dry) and when i wore my contacts i didn't have to use rewetting drops as often. it didn't sting my eyes at all which was awesome! because theres nothing worse than sticking a contact in your eye and it stinging the bahjeezers out of it! 

Usage: 4/5

it was really easy to use, real easy to bring along with me. only gripe about it was the cap. sometimes it was hard to take off with one hand (i usually do that with my others) but i did like that it was not the twist off type. but just harder than usual to take off. otherwise - it's self explanatory on how to use it - it does come with instructions in the box incase you are new to using contact solution or wearing contacts.

Overall 4.5/5

Overall - i absolutely loved this product! i did notice a different that it really worked well with my eyes making me want to use contacts more! kept my eyes lubricated more than regular contact solutions, it was easy to use, didn't bother my eyes at all and it was just a pleasure having!

I only got the smaller sample sized bottle, but when this runs out i will definitely be switching from my current contact solution to BioTrue! 

and if you'd like to try this solution to, here's a link for a $1.00 off coupon! 

if you end up purchasing this - let me know your thoughts!

FTC: I was sent these products by a PR firm for review purposes. I was not paid to do this review, nor does it alter my view on the product. As always, my reviews are with my HONEST thoughts and opinions