Miss America 2010

I finally watched it and fell in love with this girl from the beginning...especially her evening gown! If you missed the pageant, you can watch her crowning moment on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dz4BIvOG2c. Congratulations Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron!
Also, congratulations to Miss California for making it to first runner up! You always have to root for your state and Kristy Cavinder did us well!

Did you watch?

I'm talking about the Miss America Pageant!
I forgot all about it and am really, really sad right now so I've just been checking out the contestants before 10 am tomorrow morning comes around and I can watch the re-run of the pageant.
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/miss-america-pageant-2010-central-south-west-contestants.html

7 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Without Starving or Breaking a Sweat

I found this article today on yahoo and had what Oprah would call an "Ahh-Haa" moment. I don't think I will be getting a gym membership this year with my crazy work and school schedule so I need all the fitness tips without using a gym as I can get!




Weight loss requires two things: burning calories through exercise and cutting them through smart food choices and portion control. In theory, you could create a calorie deficit by spending hours at the gym, but that's not realistic-or much fun. And who wants to live on lettuce leaves? Instead, try these seven everyday moves to drop pounds effortlessly.

1. Fidget

James Levine, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, has spent a decade studying the role that everyday movement, or NEAT (nonexercise activity thermogenesis), plays in metabolism. His discovery: People who tap their feet, prefer standing to sitting, and generally move around a lot burn up to 350 more calories a day than those who sit still. That adds up to nearly 37 pounds a year!

2. Keep most meals under 400 calories

Study after study recommends spacing out your meals at regular intervals and keeping them all about the same size. Eating meals at regular intervals has been linked to greater calorie burning after eating, better response to insulin, and lower fasting blood cholesterol levels. When you eat regular meals throughout the day, you're less likely to become ravenous and overeat.

3. Take yourself off cruise control

Increase the intensity of your everyday tasks, from vacuuming to walking the dog, recommends Douglas Brooks, an exercise physiologist and personal trainer in Northern California. "Turn on some music, add in some vigorous bursts, and enjoy the movement," he says.

4. Drink 8 glasses of water per day

Water is not just a thirst quencher--it may speed the body's metabolism. Researchers in Germany found that drinking two 8-ounce glasses of cold water increased their subjects' metabolic rate by 30%, and the effect persisted for 90 minutes. One-third of the boost came from the body's efforts to warm the water, but the rest was due to the work the body did to absorb it. "When drinking water, no calories are ingested but calories are used, unlike when drinking sodas, where additional calories are ingested and possibly stored," explains the lead researcher, Michael Boschmann, MD, of University Medicine Berlin. Increasing water consumption to eight glasses per day may help you lose about 8 pounds in a year, he says, so try drinking a glass before meals and snacks and before consuming sweetened drinks or juices.

5. Step it up--and down

Climbing stairs is a great leg strengthener, because you're lifting your body weight against gravity. In addition to taking the stairs at every opportunity, try stepping up and down on the curb while you're waiting for the bus or filling your gas tank, says Brooks.

6. Use grocery bags as dumbbells

Letting someone else load your groceries or carry your suitcase is an opportunity missed for strengthening and calorie burning, says certified coach Beth Rothenberg, who teaches a class for fitness professionals at UCLA. "Carry your groceries, balanced with a bag in each hand, even if you have to make several trips," she says. "And pack two smaller suitcases instead of one big one, so you can carry them yourself."

7. Eat 4 g of fiber at every meal

A high-fiber diet can lower your caloric intake without making you feel deprived. In a Tufts University study, women who ate 13 g of fiber or less per day were five times as likely to be overweight as those who ate more fiber. Experts see a number of mechanisms through which fiber promotes weight loss: It may slow down eating because it requires more chewing, speed the passage of food through the digestive tract, and boost satiety hormones. To get 25 g of fiber a day, make sure you eat six meals or snacks, each of which contains about 4 g of fiber. For to-go snacks, buy fruit; it's handier than vegetables, so it's an easy way to up your fiber intake. One large apple has just as much fiber (5 g) as a cup of raw broccoli.



By Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, Prevention
http://health.yahoo.com/featured/78/7-easy-ways-to-lose-weight-without-starving-or-breaking-a-sweat/

Picture from: http://geniusbeauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/weight-loss-and-appetite.jpg

Quote of the Week:

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says:
"Oh Crap, She's up!"

My Story

"Beauty Queen" why me?

(My wonderful husband and I at Mrs. Idaho Int'l 2009.)

When I was 14 years old I participated in my first pageant and haven't been able to get away from the pageant world since!

I have been in the beauty industry for the past 10 years, eight years professionally.

In March of this year I will begin Aesthetics school. It has been a long time dream and even upon receiving my bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho, I still knew that the beauty industry was where I wanted to stay forever.


But what DRIVES me within the beauty industry?
The empowerment of womanhood.

A long time ago I was in a several year relationship with someone who believed that I was his trophy and would forever stay that way. Before he left to go oversees for a while he said things to me like, "There's not much more to [you] than looks." And, "Don't gain any weight while I'm gone!" As well as my ultimate favorite, "I can't wait to leave so that I can find out if I really love you and not just what you look like."

At the time I was blinded through thinking he was the man I wanted him to be yet he ended up not even being close to that man. He was WRONG, ALL WRONG but I learned a wonderful lesson.



I learned that the good men out there are interested in the whole package and the ones who really love you will support your every ambition even if that means you decide you deserve a slice of chocolate cake every once in a while though it may lead to your jeans not fitting "just right" the next day.

A good man will look at you with no makeup, wet hair on top of your head, and scrubs on and think you look gorgeous...at least that's what my husband does every night :)!

I learned that being a beautiful woman is about far more than what is on the outside because NO ONE wants to soley be judged by that, at least no one with an ounce of respect for themselves.



So please, join me on a journey to discover beauty inside & out as we LIVE BEAUTIFULLY together!

Get Organized

Part of living a beautiful life is being organized and what better time than the beginning of the year?

1.) Start Organizing

2.) Divide & Conquer

3.) Reduce & Re-use

4.) Utilize Space

Here are some websites to help...

Organizing your LIFE in general:
http://celebrating-today.blogspot.com/search/label/Organization
This is my friend's blog which you will be hearing more about as I post more.


Storage and basic organization tips (along with some really cute ideas!):
http://getorganizedtips.blogspot.com/


Get organized with simple monthly meal planning:
http://perfectpocketmealplanning.blogspot.com/
Such a cute system that some busy moms came up with!

*Images found through:
http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/organizing-cleaning/clutter-hotspots-bathroom-00400000052975/

Live Beautifully HOW TO

To begin this blog I would like to start with a quote which will act as the foundation for what this blog is really about...

The following was written by Audrey Hepburn who was asked to share "beauty tips".

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows.

The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years."

Audrey Hepburn, Actress.