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Believe in Me – Motivational Monday

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I’m sure that most of you have noticed that I’ve been a bit MIA lately – or at least the last week.  My blog has been quiet and my thoughts not as visible as they normally are.  Honestly, I haven’t been feeling very well the since Saturday – but on a quick road to recovery… thankfully, I had only been running a fever with an achy body.  I hope the worst is behind me.  I have a few posts in the works, but just didn’t feel like I wanted to talk about makeup on my blog today- so I figured I would share a little Motivational Monday for all of you.  It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten personal – so here it goes.

motivational monday

“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou

Those that know me, know I’m just a humble person… always striving to make sure my Husband and Sons have what they need and making sure those around me feel wanted and loved.  But little know the struggle that I have had growing up.  Picture it… a little Hawaiian Hula Girl living in a Paradise that was not quite Paradise for me.  Don’t get it twisted, Hawaii is beautiful and is a tropical oasis filled with hopes and dreams… but it’s expensive to live here.. houses now a days averaging $800K for a 3 bedroom the size of a cottage, cars that cost $20K brand new in the States (Mainland) cost $40K here.  There is definitely a price to pay when living in Paradise.  I grew up a little girl who knew my family didn’t have much, but it didn’t keep me from my dreams and aspirations for my future.  My parents worked hard – to make sure my siblings and I had everything we needed to get where we needed to go and gave use the encouragement to push through and persevere.

So – why the reason for this post?  Well, I’m now 34 years old and while life still offers its choice of challenges, Life is Good.  Summer has hit Hawaii in full swing and the days are beautiful and warm, my family has their health and we are living good.  I have come a long way from the poor little girl with frizzy curly hair, hula skirt and rubber slippers (flip flops) and have become a well respected woman in society (although – I still rock out my rubbah slippahs).  Did it all happen over night?  Well, of course not – but I worked hard, prayed and asked God for guidance, have an awesome support system and of course – Believed in my myself.  This once poor little girl is happy and content where life has taken her and looks forward to God’s gifts bestowed upon me.

I’m not gonna lie… it is probably one of the most difficult things anyone can do… “Think Positive!”  Seriously, how is that even possible when the World is riddled with negativity ready to throw itself at you?  I’ll admit that there are times that I feel like I am surrounded by the negativeness that I try so hard to run from.  But, such is life and as a society we need to just stop and move on.  You life is your sanctuary and you must think of it as such… be rid of all the negative things or those that offer negative or unhappy thoughts and know that you are better than that.  Fill your sanctuary with love and kindness and know that you are the only thing keeping you from being who and what you want to be.  At the end of the day… You must “Believe in Yourself” or as I would say to myself in my head or out loud when I feel like times are tough or I’m in a dark place… “Believe in Me!”

Wishing you all a wonderful and fabulous week filled with thoughts of love and happiness.  Be Happy and Believe in Yourself.

A little music for your soul from Paula Fuga.

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Moo Premium Cards… Klout Perk

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From time to time, I get some pretty awesome perks from Klout, some of which I can make great use of – some I may not, but I’m always excited about finding out that I qualify for a new one.  Last month I received a Klout Perk for 50 Moo Cards.  Now, as a Photographer – I use Moo for my Photography business to promote my imagery to those I hand my cards to.  Knowing how much these cards retail for and the quality of them – I was super excited to find out that I qualified for this specific perk.

KLOUT PERK
Moo Business Cards

So my Klout perk came with 50 cards, all of them with very thick stock paper (if you have used Moo before – you know their outstanding quality).  While each card did come with an embedded Klout watermark (I was unable to remove this), I was still very excited that I got all of these cool cards for being an influencer.  Since these can be customized, you can decide to use the stock images they have on the Moo site or add your own to the back of the cards, so I opted to select photos from some of my favorite Blog posts and videos and used those as images for the back of the cards.  A total of 7 images were used for the back of the cards and I selected an image to place on the front of the cards along with my information.  Since I’m using these as my blogger cards, I included information to my Blog, Email, YouTube and Social Media sites.

This awesome perk has a $60 value – definitely a great goody to have.  As a blogger, these will surely come in handy when I’m passing out my cards, especially since my current ones had outdated information so these arrived at the perfect time.

If you are interested in becoming a Klout Member – check out their website.  Interested in designing your own awesome Moo Cards – you can visit them here.

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Weight loss Motivation – a little inspiration

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I’ll be the first to admit that weight loss or losing weight in general is not the easiest road traveled.  In 1998 I was 125 lbs (that’s when I graduated from high school) and in 2001 I was 160 lbs (that’s when I got married to the love of my life).  While my weight slowly increased over the years, having children definitely added to the weight increase and while I’m working my butt off (literally – lol) to drop the weight, it’s a journey that doesn’t come easy and a goal that is ever changing in my life.  It’s not just a “diet” as they say but a way of living and it’s a constant thing that I know I have to work on.

So let’s talk about my weight issue… I’m a busy lady who runs a full time business, blogs and is a team mom as well as homemaker and wife.  How difficult can it be for me to eat healthy and exercise or stay active?  Well, here’s where the issue lays… I don’t necessarily eat very unhealthy – portions seem to be okay, I don’t snack profusely and I have a green juice every single day.  While I do have my naughty days when it comes to food, it’s quite balance with regards to veggie intake, etc. and we are not scarfing down prime-rib every 3 days.  lol  My issue is more about finding the time to eat and keep my metabolism going.  Starving myself is not my intention but it often is what happens when you live a crazy and hectic lifestyle.  I keep fairly active, chasing after my 3 kids keeps me on my toes, I do daily walks and I also incorporate work outs into my regimen to keep my cardio up.  Again – it’s all about fitting time into my schedule to take time to do for me and that includes eating.  Read a little more on my story about my weight loss here.

weight loss update

I have a little more information and explanation behind the photos above in this post here so you can get caught up if you are not sure what I’m talking about.  But regardless… keep on reading because I got more to talk about. lol

So – while my journey has been long and it continues on I have had some really awesome support along the way and that is why I want to bring you all a little Weight loss Motivation.  This week’s tip…

Surround yourself with those that will love and encourage you – regardless of how long your journey may take.  This may be a long road for you and you may experience a plethora of negativity, but as long as you have someone who believes in you – supports you and encourages you, it makes it much easier to accomplish your goals.

It may seem like something easy to do – it may seem like that is already happening, but I’ll be the first to say that the Beauty Community whether on YouTube or other can be filled with a bunch of Negative Nancys that don’t give a you know what about you.  If that wasn’t bad enough – the World in general is filled with negativity.  Now – don’t get me wrong, I have a strong support system in many of my Blogger buddies and YouTube besties, but I’m talking about those that just seek to destroy.  Earlier on when I first started YouTube, I got pregnant with my twins and let me just say the hurtful comments started and they didn’t stop.  I am so lucky that I have a husband that supports me regardless of my choice so long as I am happy with who I am.  It may seem like this is a small thing in comparison to everything else you should focus on – but it is all about support and encouragement that gets you to where you want to be.

I’ll touch base more on this subject a few times a month with little tips I learned along the way as well as things that help to keep me on track and focused.  I have been promising to make this a weekly thing and I am just working on getting my blogging schedule and life on a system that works.  But I have a ton of green juice recipes (which you can find on my old YT channel) and so much more that I use to keep me on top of my goals.

Lastly, I was interviewed by Fitness Motivation Podcast recently after they found my story through my blog and if you have some time – listen to my interview… I do things very differently than the norm and I’ll be sharing these tips with you soon as well.

You can also listen to my interview by clicking below.

Wishing you lots of love and happiness always!

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Love Is…

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Love is…

Watching a movie on Netflix over and over and over again so many times that you can quote each line, sing each song and play out the scenes in your mind without watching a minute of it – because it’s your children’s favorite movie.

Stuffing your bag with chocolate snacks – even if you know that it will melt, because it is your child’s favorite goodie and you want to be able to treat them.

Missing out on Grey’s Anatomy week after week and having to catch up on old episodes after the season ends so that your family can watch their favorite shows.

Stepping on Legos to get to the kitchen, bedroom or anywhere in the house (if you have children with legos, you will feel for me on this), because they have them all spread out to build their giant creation and you can’t mess up a thing because they are all separated to ensure easy building. lol

Standing at the bathroom door while one of your twins uses the restroom during the night because he is afraid of walking in the hallway at night.

Asking the restaurant to remove the pickles and onions from a sandwich because your husband and sons are not fond of them.

Picking up Tin Roof Sundae Ice Cream in bulk when it is on sale because it is my husband’s favorite and it is not always in stock.

Knowing someone so well that you are empty when they are not around and you can finish each others sentences without hesitation.

Giving up your bed and husband to your children because they want to cuddle with daddy.

Running to the store to pick up supplies for your homemade mac and cheese – even when you know nothing is on sale and you will spend 10x as much on it now then if you waited a week.  But hey – it’s the kids favorite.

Family Portrait

Love Is…

Smiles, Giggles, Snuggles and Holding Hands!  It’s about compassion, support and compromise.  Love is about Family, commitment and honesty.  Give and Take, pain and healing, sadness and happiness.  Love is what keeps me going and makes me strong.  My life revolves around love and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I know I haven’t done a post like this in quite a while and I really miss incorporating them into my site.  You may see more of these… but if you made it this far – then thank you so much for sticking around.  Wishing you all a blessed and Wonderful day and weekend.

What is Love to you?

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Steam Cream – The All-in-One Moisturizer (Review)

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Steam Cream Precious

Winter is the most brutal time for my skin – especially since I have really severe eczema.  After years of battling issues, I have finally found natural ways to keep my crazy skin at bay – but I am always looking for new treatments that can pamper my skin.  I have used MANY different moisturizers in the past and I am very happy to add Steam Cream to my skin care products that I like.

Steam cream - precious

Steam cream is a light weight moisturizer that can be used universally to add moisture to your face, hands and body.  It is suitable for all skin types and is handmade using quality natural ingredients that are fused together with a shot of steam.  By doing this unique method you are left with a light weight moisturizer that provides long lasting hydration for your body, face and hands.

STEAMCREAM is handmade in the UK and Japan with fresh, traceable ingredients. It’s super-moisturising, sinks deep down instantly and revives your skin straight away. It makes your skin simply the best it can be, naturally.

Our beautiful, eco-friendly limited edition tins are designed by us but we do also enjoy working with other inspiring designers to spice things up. Grab your favourites before they sell out!

When you’ve used your STEAMCREAM, keep your tin for storing things and come back to see what’s new.

STEAMCREAM is an award winner. We won the CEW (UK) Award for Best Everyday New Skincare and Pure Beauty Award for Best Design & Packaging. Once you’ve tried it you’ll understand why!

Steam Cream - Precious

Some of the ingredients included in this product include:  Oatmeal, Orange Flower Water, Almond Oil, Lavender Oil, Neroli Oil, Chamomile Blue Oil, Jojoba Oil and Cocoa Butter – to name a few.  The scent smells of a light lavender and I was amazed that it was not too overbearing for me (I’m pretty sensitive to smell).  The cream is not as thick as I thought it would be – it almost has more of a lotion or cold cream texture.  The cream is not only All Natural but also Vegan.  The product is made in kitchens (yes, totally handmade) in the UK and Japan.

Steam Cream Precious

The cream offers a nice hydration for my skin and I didn’t have any reaction to it – which is a great plus considering I always have issues with new skincare products.  While my hands and body enjoyed the moisture, I could not use the product on my face due to my face being too sensitive.  The cream is slightly oily (slippery) and while it soaked in nicely on my body and hands, it left my face feeling very greasy.  I love it for use on the body – but I can’t use it on my face.  I do love how it feels on my body and it soaked in to my hands nicely enough that my hands were not slippery when I tried to drive (my biggest pet peeve).

Steam Cream Swatch

Each cream comes in a very cool tin.  There are many Limited Edition designs available on the site and they come in so many cool looks for any one you have in mind.  I have precious (the pink/white tin pictured) and Shu (gold/red pictured).  The designs are definitely what catch my eye.  The tin itself seems quite tiny – especially for their $20 price tag, but there is 2.5 oz worth of product in each tin which means you will get a lot of use out of this little container.  I love that the tin twists on tight so I have been able to carry it in my purse for safe keeping without worrying that it will damage the contents of my bag or my bag itself.  I also love that the tins are reusable once the cream is gone.  This is totally a plus because these tins are so cool.

Steam Cream - Shu

Overall I’m very pleased with this moisturizing cream – especially for use all over my body.  The tins they have available have me completely mesmerized because of their awesome designs, about 50 total.  While the creams texture is a little odd for me (being a body butter user), it didn’t stop me from using it consistently.  The moisture the product gives lasts for most of the day and the light scent is not overpowering – it doesn’t battle against my daily perfume or body spray.

Sparkle rating… 4.0 – it offers awesome hydration for my body and hands, but I cannot use it on my face.

Check out steamcream.co.uk/for more information, to look at all the tin designs available and to order.

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