5 Products I Love Using Right Now (Face & Hair Care!)

I'm always on the look-out for products that make my life easier, enhance my routines or are just new to me.  Whether I'm reading a blog post, flipping through a magazine or talking to my hairdresser, I love coming across something new, especially if it works great! 

5 products I'm loving right now

For My Face

Get it on Amazon here

I first read about this in Martha Stewart's Living magazine and while I've used it for a while, I've recently been adding it to my Essential Oil blends.  I use Melaleuca and Frankincense with it for my toner and with the Protective Blend for hand sanitizer.

Oh my goodness!  Do I love this soap. And yes, it is black. The first time I used it, I couldn't believe how wonderful my face felt!  It didn't dry it out, but left it feeling super smooth.  I read about this one in InStyle magazine, I believe, but they were out of stock the first time I tried to order it - so glad I tried again!  Mule Hell Trading Company (when this was originally posted it was on sale!)

Here is another Martha Stewart Living find:

Eucerin Face Lotion is one I have been using for quite a few years, but every summer I am reminded why I am so grateful for it . With its SPF 30, I use it once in the morning and then I don't have to worry about putting on more sunscreen throughout the day.  It is lightweight,  has no odor and goes on smoothly.

For My Hair

 After washing my hair, I add one squirt of the Coconut Milk Serum - that all I need for my longer hair (side note- for my daughter I use less or else her hair looks a little greasy as she has short hair).  I start at the ends and then work it up.  It has a great smell, give my hair a healthy sheen and also works as a great detangler.  

Dry shampoo . . .  well, since my hair is long right now, and it takes a generous amount of effort on my part to actually "do" it, I've been trying to wash it less.  Not Your Mother's was recommended by my hairdresser after another one I had tried was an absolute flop.   It comes in an easy aerosol spray and absorbs quickly when brushed through my hair.  I've been very happy with it every time I use it and I feel like I don't need to use a whole lot - mainly on the roots of my hair.  (side note - I know a LOT of people feel like their hair is too greasy after not washing it for a day, but I found this helps with that and the more my hair got used to not being washed, the less of the dry shampoo I needed to use).

That's it!  Do you use any of these? Are there any great  face or hair products you love right now?  I'd love to hear about them!

Rita

Fitting It All In

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” 

Socrates

This quote in on the wall of the gym where the kids and I go each Friday morning for our workout (Not the first quote from my gym I've used here). I began my journey to see the beauty and strength of which my body was/is capable of about a year and a half ago at Rockstar Gym.  Rockstar is now just one part of my fitness routine.

Why do I like Rockstar Gym and why do I take my kids there?  The answers to these go hand in hand. Rockstar focuses on Functional Training . . . "Functional training is a classification of exercise which involves training the body for the activities performed in daily life "(Wikipedia).  So, me, only better.  Each workout, whether group or individual, is like a personal training session.  The trainers are always offering suggestions to modify the exercises to make it simpler or more challenging depending on where you, as an individual, are.  They are there to instruct you on proper form and want to make sure that your form is correct before any increase in weight/difficulty.  Functional training isn't necessarily just about losing weight or bulking up either!  This is the part that I feel is important for me to pass onto my children and that many gyms miss the mark on.  Being healthy and fit isn't about how you look - it's about how you feel and that you are able to be an active participant in life!  

After working out at Rockstar, I decided to ask about classes for my kids.  As a homeschool mom, if I find something I love, I want to share it with my kids and others.  Rockstar was willing to host a homeschool class on Friday mornings!  I love that my 6 year old, 11 year old, 18 year old and I can all go and participate in a workout together - we are not only getting fit together, but are also having fun together! 

Originally, when I started exercising, I wanted to just zone out and get it in (running, walking).  However, due to my personality and the lack of my ability shut down my mind, I need something that engages my mind during the workout.  If my mind is focused on the movements and exercises I have to perform, then I can't think about all the other things going on in my life!  Functional Training at Rockstar means that I don't get bored!  I came away from my first workout mentally and physically energized.  Each workout is different, moving from one exercise to another, changing intensity and focus.  And honestly, that is one thing that makes working out so much easier for me.  

Since we work out at Rockstar only on Friday's, I wanted to add something to the rest of my week. It needed to be mentally and physically challenging to me - see "bored" above.  The choice - Yoga!  Yoga offers me the mental challenge of focusing on breathing, relaxing into each pose and the physical challenge of attempting each different pose.  Enter - Yoga Studio:

There are so many reasons I love this app:

• I can do yoga in the comfort of my own home! More specifically, in my bedroom, with the door shut, so I am alone. I can even turn on my diffuser or apply a drop of doTERRA Peppermint oil before the workout to enhance focus and breathing
• I get to choose how much time I want it to take! There are 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minute classes. Just pick a class, download it and you are ready to go.
• I get to choose the difficulty! There are beginner, intermediate and advanced classes.
• I can schedule them in! There is a calendar feature (that will sync with your phone calendar) to schedule out the day/time/class.
• I can mix up my yoga classes! As I mentioned before, I get bored easily.  This app allows me to select from over 65 pre-made classes. Or I can put together my own.
• I can select what I want to focus on!  Strength, flexibility, balance, relaxation or a combo.
• I can go to the "Pose Library" for a demo of any specific yoga pose!
• Lastly, it only cost me $3.99!

I started out scheduling a 15 minute, beginner yoga class 4 mornings a week.  I thought, "I can do 15 minutes, right?"  Ok, it was more like "Will my kids be able to leave me alone for 15 consecutive minutes??"  Now I am ready to move to 30 minutes of intermediate.  Wish me luck - the kids are doing great ;)

With these tools, I am learning the beauty and strength my body possesses, I am training my kids to do the same and I am able to engage and function better in every area of my life. I hope this gives you some ideas of how to fit in the "fit" part of your life.

Back to the Books

It's that time of year again. Time for resolutions, new goals, blah, blah, blah.  I am not a resolution maker - really, isn't the purpose of making them so you don't have to accomplish said resolution?  Ok, maybe not, but that is usually what happens.

I am happy, however, to be moving past 2015 and into 2016.  This past year has been difficult to say the least - maybe, someday, I will do a post on that.  2016 is set to have it's challenges too - I have one son who will be moving away and joining the Marines, another one who will be learning to operate a large metal machine car (thankfully, it is rather large) and many others thing I know nothing of at the moment.  So why am I ready to move on?  If I (re)learned anything in 2015 it is that My God is a big GOD!  He can handle anything and whether or not all is smooth sailing, extremely difficult, incomprehensible or just down right hard, He's got it.  I may not see the whole picture, ever, let alone this day, week, month or year, but that doesn't mean He's not redeeming it all.  So, no matter what 2016 brings, I've got a big God that has already shown His love for me through his son, Jesus and really, what more do I need? So, no resolutions for 2016, just taking it one day at a time and trying to be in the here and now, enjoying the moment and leaning on HIM through it all.

All that to say that I am back to reading.  2015 what not a record breaking book-reading year for me and if you know me, you know I love to read.  I may or may not, at one time, had the nickname . . . Rita-book . . . get it?  Yeah, I know . . .

I don't have a set amount of books to read this year, but I have enlisted the help of Goodreads to keep track of what I am reading and to get book suggestions.  Come, follow me and see what I am reading, what I want to read and even suggest some of your favorites.  There may be a good chance I've already read it, but if not, I'm always looking for a good read!