Fresh Makeup Look for the "Feeling Crummy" Days

When I'm feeling a little under the weather, as I have been lately, it helps to put on a face and get on with the day. So, I made a little video about it. Nothing fancy, just a simple quick look to help brighten the mood.

Basically, it's all about keeping makeup light, while still getting enough coverage to look less zombie-like. I've tried just washing my face and leaving skin bare, but the dark circles under my eyes make me look worse than I actually feel! haha!

Even though I don't go out much lately (it's too blooming hot outside!) I still like to have something on my face. I feel more polished and alert with my mask on. For me, it's fun to play in the makeup!

Oh, I like to pretend I'm not a girly girl and that things like nail polish and blush don't matter to me. Really, there are loads of other things I find more entertaining.

Still, truth be told, I enjoy experimenting with the different looks eyeliners and shadows can give. And sometimes, the pigments and potions help me pretend I feel fabulous, even when I don't.

So here's to face paint and the joys it brings! \(^.^)/

A Bit of an Off Week

This week has been a bit off.

There's a summer cold of sorts going around it seems. Sniffles, sneezes, aches and more. In recovery mode as we speak.

I'd planned to run in the new shoes, though I've only managed a couple of workouts. The running will have to wait. The illness has sapped my energy. That, and the 100+ degree heat. A swim seems more appealing, right about now.

In the meantime, I've been working on other things. And gearing up for another school year. Looking forward to it, and not.

This year marks the first for the littlest one in the house to go to school. Pretty exciting, I must say. Though, he's not thrilled about it. He's tried to convince me he has no need for school, since he knows his numbers and letters already. What more does he need to know? Somehow, I'm not convinced his obsessive playing of Little Big Planet has truly prepared him for the real world. (^.-)

When school starts, I'll be kicking the fitness into high gear. I'll be posting videos about the workouts I'm doing and what I've accomplished with them, in case someone might be interested.

Of course, I'd be doing all this right now, before school starts, but for some reason all that time I was supposed to have during summer vacation has eluded me. Maybe, just maybe, there'll be some time when the kiddos have their own business to take care of.

Earlier today, I stepped outside to test the air. The sun is searing. I can smell the crisp death of yellowing grass. It's a touch warm, to be sure. And though the pool water has reached bathwater stage in temperature... tonight, I'm going for a swim!

New Kicks

My Vibrams--KomodoSport   Photo: ©shaunachan2012

The new shoes have arrived!

No excuses now. I'll give them a try tonight and see how it goes. My first impression, they feel really nice. A bit snug, because I chose to pick a size down instead of up. I'm in between sizes. Some people say to do that, pick a size smaller, so the fit is better and the feet don't slide around. Some say they like a little extra room, so they choose a size up. Me, I like 'em as they are. Snuggie!

I've jumped in them and jogged around the room. Maybe not a true test, but so far so good. Fit like gloves. Feels a bit like walking around in nice socks. I'll have to give them a go when I'm doing the TurboFire later. It might be a little better than working out barefoot, like I have been doing.

We'll see! I'll be sure to let you all know~~

Going for a Jog

I wasn't jogging when I happened upon this double rainbow event the other day. Though surely, such a sight would be an inspiration for some positive thing.

Instead, we were on the road after a bit of shopping at Academy, the sports shop. A sudden downpour happened that day, which was actually quite thrilling. Our little spot on Earth certainly could use the rain.

Soon, there'll be some jogging to talk about. I may blog, or vlog, about it. It'll be an adventure. I've not gone for a proper run in quite some time. Sure, I've been biking and doing loads of cardio. Running is sort of another animal, I think.

Maybe if I keep track of my journey here, or on YouTube even, I can hold myself accountable. Or at least watch my own progress. That'll be fun! Maybe. Haha!

Oh, and I've got some new shoes to try!

Yep, I've fallen for the hype. I'm going to try out the Vibram FiveFingers. I've not received them yet, though they are due to arrive very soon. The model I'm getting is the Vibram KomodoSport.

Now, I know, some people think these are some crazy shoes. But I've got a pretty good reason to give them a go.

I get shinsplints. Pretty bad ones. Even when I used to regularly train for running track. I get the painful shins particularly when I wear traditional running shoes. You know, the ones with the thick cushy soles, especially on the heels. I feel better just taking off my shoes and running in my bare feet. When I'm working out, doing the TurboFire, I don't wear shoes at all. My legs thank me for it.

It's probably not a great idea to just go running across the pavement, or even in the grass, with no shoes on. The Vibrams will provide just enough coverage for my feet, without the unwanted heft and odd angle of the cushy heel most shoes have. And, because they fit like a glove, the toes will be able to articulate and grab uneven surfaces better. Hitting the off-road trails would probably be pretty awesome in these shoes!

Some people have said they do yoga in their Vibrams. I may try that. Or at least do TurboFire in them, to test them out.

I suppose that's about it for this post. At least, until the shoes get here!

I've still got some videos coming up fairly soon about how amazing TurboFire has been for me. I'm going to do a before and after vid! Scary stuff. (O.o) Haha! I don't really care to see what I looked like before I started the workouts. But, it's necessary to sit with that reality. And maybe someone out there will be inspired by it, and get themselves back into shape! \(^.^)/

If you are someone who's interested in seeing what TurboFire is about, or any of the Beachbody workouts, you can check out my website: http://beachbodycoach.com/sdchan Just give it a browse, or ask me any questions you might have. Also, if you want to give some of the workouts a try, there's a link to my shop on the site.

I look forward to showing everyone, including myself, how Beachbody products helped me get my life back.

You all take care out there! (^.^)/

How to Clean Up Background Audio Using the Free Audacity Editor

I thought I'd do a quick tutorial about audio editing.  Particularly, since I do quite a few voice-overs lately and need the audio to sound clean and nice.

I've used a few audio editors.  Some were supposed to be good stuff!  But, Audacity, impresses me with all the features it has.  And, it's free!

Awesome!

When I first came across the noise removal feature in Audacity, I thought it was magical.  I have been able to filter out all sorts of miscellaneous, extraneous and downright distracting background noise from my voice-over recordings.  I know there is other software that does this, but... did I mention Audacity is free?

Here's the link, if you want to get Audacity for yourself and see what I'm talking about.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Oh!  And here's my wee little tutorial.  There's loads more I could tell you about the software, though I'll leave it at this for now.

By the way, choose the HD option and turn up the sound to better hear the noise removal tool's skills. Which probably means it's best viewed on YouTube and not here. Ah well.

Enjoy!

Death of the Endless Inspired Makeup Tutorial

For a bit of fun, and to answer any questions some have had about this makeup look, I made a tutorial.  In it, I show how I did my Death of the Endless inspired look for my A-Kon 23 cosplay.

The makeup is actually quite simple.  For the most part, I wanted a pale look, without an overly chalky look.  Also, it had to be easy so that I could do it fairly quickly for all three days of the convention, with the hope it would stay on for quite a few hours!

Enjoy!

Review: imPRESS Press-On Manicure

Recently, I had the pleasure of testing out imPRESS Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails.  I received these guys in the Mom VoxBox from Influenster, I mentioned in a previous post.  Check out the unboxing  HERE  to see what that's all about!

Please watch my (somewhat awkward) review of imPRESS nails to see what I thought of them.

There will be more reviews and random videos coming soon. Don't forget to so you won't miss them! If you're already subscribed, thank you! \(^.^)/ Check out my YouTube channel HERE.
More coming soon~~

Shooting the Moon

Yep, it's the moon.

I've got probably hundreds of moon photos stored somewhere on laptops and memory cards.  They all look pretty much alike.  Ha!  And yet, I still keep shooting the moon.

It isn't that I expect it to change much over the years.  Who knows?  What if it did???  Now there's  a thought!  (^.-)

Still, it's like home.  It's comforting to see it hanging there in the sky.

I need a better lens to take moon pics.  Something that will get a bit closer.

This particular pic was taken with my Nikon D80.  The lens, 85mm prime.  The f-stop I set to f/8, in hopes of getting the image a tiny bit sharper.  Since I didn't use a tripod, I didn't want to get the aperture too small.  I set the exposure time to  1/60 sec, again because I didn't bring a tripod.  Next time, maybe.  And finally, the ISO at 200.

It's not the best pic o' the moon, but it looks like... the moon.  (O.o)

My Fitness Journey--P90X, TurboFire, and Shakeology!

Okay, ladies and gentlemen. People have been asking some questions, because they've noticed something really different about me. Yes, I've lost loads of weight. And I'm not done yet!

 This is a project of mine. A choice I've made to keep myself around a little longer. For the kiddos' sake, among others. And because it's just nice to feel really good. Really, really good!

 In the upcoming week or so, I've plans to post some pics, or even a video of this transformation that began sometime in March of this year. For now, I'll tell you how I'm doing it.

 It all started with this guy, believe it or not...

Yep, P90X. I completed this workout a couple of times. I lost about 20 pounds with Tony Horton and the P90X crew. And as many have said of the workouts, I hate 'em, but I LOVE 'em!

 P90X workouts are fantastic. I've never felt stronger. But still, something was missing. I hadn't changed my lifestyle. I was still eating the same junk and let life sort of get to me. So, any results I got slipped away. It was time to start again, with some modifications. About three or four of them. 

The first and biggest change, my diet! I mean, really big change. One of those changes that you just don't turn your back on. 

 I gave up meat and nearly all dairy! I say "nearly" because, until recently, the diet supplement I've been taking, Chocolate Shakeology, had a bit of it included. And now, they've got a vegan version of it! I look forward to giving it a go very soon. I'll get back to this in just a second, because this stuff has made a tremendous difference in the results I'm getting with my workouts and needs to be mentioned.

 Now, I love P90X and will always have a fondness for it. But, I could feel myself wanting a bit more of a cardio workout. I was getting some bulky muscles and was really wanting a leaner look.

So, the second change I made, was my workout.  And this is it...




 

TurboFire! Love, love, love this! 

 This workout is saving my life, to be sure. I know, it might sound corny, but it's true. Chalene Johnson is such a wonderful motivator. I'm now doing things I never thought I'd be doing at my age, and after having 3 children, all because of her. There's something about what she says that just clicks and makes you push harder. I'm not ashamed to say, she's even made me cry! Inspiring, that woman is.

Alrighty, I guess I'll call this the third thing I changed, though it's really a fantabulous addition to what I've already been doing.  The aforementioned, Chocolate Shakeology!  

As I said before, I gave up meat and most dairy.  My diet consists of veggies and loads of fruit.  Not much bread in there, though a bit on rare occasion.  Sometimes, I'll have nuts or seeds with my salad.  Though I avoid most fat.  Already, this diet makes me feel much better than I have in years.

What Shakeology has done is supply me with tons of nutrients that I might be missing if I don't eat enough fruit and veg.  Which is actually hard to do.  Unless you sit at a salad bar all day!  Or, you could juice your fruit and veg to get lots of nutrients packed into a glass.  Not a bad option, if you've got the time to prepare the juice and the money to buy lots of produce.

Well, I don't have much of either.  Time or money.


That's where Shakeology comes in.  Okay, it appears to cost a pretty penny, if you look at the price per the entire month.  But really, it breaks down to about $3 or $4 dollars a day.  Not bad for something that gives you pretty much everything you need!

Someone pointed out a nutritional data site, that listed Shakeology as being pretty darn healthy, called foodfacts.com  . While I knew the stuff in it was good, I never really knew how it compared to other foods until I looked it up.  Very interesting.  I was sold!

Now, another really cool thing I've noticed about Shakeology is, the weight I've lost while using it, stays off!

There's this 3-day fast you can do using the product that has helped me lose up to 8 pounds in 3 days.  Some people have lost up to 10!  It sounds crazy, but it actually works.  And the best part, the weight stays off.  At least it did for me.  But, now, I didn't go out and eat a pizza after the fast.  I continued with my low fat vegetarian diet and made sure to keep my workouts on track.  This leads me to my next big change.
Change #4, my ATTITUDE!


Yes, this one might be... No, it IS the biggest one of all.


The whole project will fail without the right attitude.  It is a choice.  There's no one else but me to blame for my poor attitude.  I can choose to be positive and do the hard work to better my health, or not.

This time, I've pretty much chosen to do the work.  There are too many good reasons to do it.  And now, it has become a habit, a lifestyle.

Sometimes it helps to just focus thoughts a bit.  Think about how many aspects of life improve when health improves.  It pretty much changes everything.  In a good way, of course.

When I think about how much money I've spent on purchasing P90X, TurboFire and Shakeology, I don't cringe.  Because, I know this was money well spent. An investment in my health, in my life.  And, yeah, this stuff simply works!  I believe in it enough that I decided to become an Independent Beachbody Coach, so I could share what I've learned with other people who are ready for big changes in their lives.

If any of you have questions about what I've mentioned here, drop me an email and I'll get back to you!
 sdchan@beachbodycoach.com

More about this journey, coming soon~~

Influenster Mom VoxBox 2012 Unboxing!

Yes, I'm finally posting this!

I've actually had the VoxBox for a few days now, but I've just now got the unboxing video posted. So here it is!  In it you'll find a bit of information about influenster.com and the VoxBox program.

My daughter and I had a pretty good time filming this.  I had to edit out loads of our goofiness.  It might be fun to make an outtakes video.  Though we do get obnoxiously silly, so I can't imagine who'd watch it!  Haha!

As for the VoxBox itself, it's pretty cool!  If you've skipped the vid and didn't see it, here's a pic of what's inside and a bit of detail about each item were you to purchase them.

Ivory Bar Soap: $4.27 for 10-Pack bath size bars
DenTek Comfort Clean & Fun Flossers: $1.99 to $2.99 for full packs
Stash Tea Superfruits Tea Sampler: $3.50 (And Nektar Sweetner)
Quaker Soft Baked Cookie: $2.69 for box of 6
imPRESS Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails: $5.99 to $7.99
The Original Dish Drying Mat: $4.99

So far, one of my favorite items is the imPRESS press-on manicure.  Who knew?  I'm normally a bit too busy to worry about my nails and I don't do acrylics.  When I polish my nails, the paint chips off the same day.  I'm a mom, it happens.  The last thing in the VoxBox I'd concern myself with, I thought, is the press-on nails.

But, surprise!  I really like them.  I smell a review coming on.  That'll probably be my next post.

I've been trying out all of these items and will be sure to let everyone know what I thought of them in a week or so, as per agreement with influenster.com .

Oh, by the way, I got the VoxBox entirely free from influenster.com.  And they did not pay me a thing to tell you that!

All I did was register with the site, fill out some lifestyle surveys, and agreed to share what I thought about any products I received with all of you.  This month, I was lucky enough to be chosen to receive the Mom VoxBox.

That about wraps up this post.  More to come!