Baby steps… get it?

One of the weirdest things I have dealt with in my adult life… the mom bod. I say weirdest, not worst because if I’m being honest, I fucking love my body. (Sorry grandma if you’re reading this) but it’s true. I am 110% digging these sweet, colour-changing, shape-shifting marks on my hips and legs. I have an x-shaped one on my one leg, it’s like a nature tattoo. My hips are wider and every time I look at them, I am reminded of the life I created with someone I love. My sleeves may be tight, but my arms are strong from holding, comforting, raising my son so far.

All of this touching body positivity aside, I do need to exercise more. As I proudly told my doctor about my walking routine, he gently informed me that I would be on the right track… if I were 40. Fair. Walking isn’t exactly vigorous activity.

I started to rack my brain. How can I exercise while watching Riley full time and being on a budget? Fitness classes and gym membership are a little pricey and I’m not much of a runner. I figured I’d give yoga a try. Regain some balance, ground my intentions each day, improve my flexability, muscle strength and endurance. Cool, but I’ve never been a fan of yoga.

Well, guess what! I don’t know what I’m doing now that I wasn’t doing then, but I am really enjoying myself. It makes me feel energized and relaxed and strong!! I do wish that I could be a fly on the wall and see myself attempting some of these poses. I am not in my best shape.

Like I said, baby steps!

Am I the scoby master?

In a previous post I talked about a scoby, what it is, how to obtain one, and why I wanted one. Somewhere in there, I mentioned that I had done it all wrong, but was going to see what happened anyways.

Something happened!!! With immense self control and not going to look at my jars 5 times a day, I finally got through 2 weeks of ignoring it.(as best as I could) And guess what?! There are young scobys in both jars! Even the jar that I thought wouldn’t grow one!(I used ginger Kombucha in it)

The photos unfortunately aren’t the best because my hand isn’t big enough to grip the jars so the photos had to be taken quickly.

My boyfriend is hilariously grossed out by this by the way. It’s great, he won’t even look at them, but he did say that he would test out my brew when it’s all done! I kind of get it. The scoby is not at all appetizing and when I get a tiny floaty piece in my drink, I definitely freak out.

Believe it or not, you can totally eat the scoby. If you wanted to, you could take a bite right out of it. I have read that it has the consistency of squid legs so no thank you. I don’t like that texture deep fried and dipped in whatever you dip squid in and I am not going to like it as a bacteria yeast blob.

So why the heck would anyone want to try to eat their scoby?

Well for one, they multiply everytime you make a batch so you really have nothing to lose if you messed it up when cooking. Mainly, it would be eaten for its health properties. The scoby is made up mainly of cellulose and bacterial yeast and before I lose you with technical terms, I’ll make it short and simple!

The bacteria and yeast of a scoby is what gives the finished kombucha its probiotic properties which will regulate your digestion and bathroom visits.

The cellulose of a scoby is actually an interesting one because it makes up the blob structure of the scoby. It’s an insoluble fibre and if I took anything away from highschool cooking class, I know that that is not the fibre that gives you energy, but is actually a carb… but it’s a good carb. (Yes that is a thing all of you silly dieters!) It cleans out the bowels and the gut and is claimed that enough of this type of fibre will help avoid IBS, heart disease and cancer.

So am I a scoby master? No, I’m still learning. I’m more of a scoby apprentice.

Inevitably overwhelmed

When you are unable to do so many things for so long, you get used to it. I got used to not having to LEARN constantly as I would when I was at work. I got used to not having to TALK to people everyday. Really, I got used to living in a bubble. Since August of last year, when I found out that I was pregnant, I’ve been off work and for the most part, cooped up inside. (My doctor is pretty certain I had hyperemesis gravidarum a.k.a extreme morning sickness that doesn’t go away) and, of course, once Riley was born, I have had no time to think about much else outside of my home. Not to mention, we moved to a new town last summer for my honey’s work so I don’t have any friends here.

Moving on, Riley is almost 10 weeks (ahhhh!) And takes some pretty nice long naps sometimes so I signed up to be a Younique presenter as mentioned before. It’s overwhelming! There is so much to know. So many Facebook groups! (and I am not Facebook group savvy) I don’t know where to start, what to do next. Aaaggh!!

All I know is that I love this brand! I love it and I am determined! I’m not only determined because I’ve been discouraged of it so much, although I can’t wait to prove that wrong… I’m determined to be successful at something again (besides being a mom because I kick butt at that.) I’m determined to get more people behind this outstanding brand and trying some beautiful products. I’m determined to make MONEY. And I have made some commissions already! More than I even expected to be honest…

I’m diving in. I’m overwhelmingly overwhelmed, but that just makes me more excited. I’m going to make my nerves DRIVE me forward. Once I get my presenter’s kit, I’m moving ahead at full speed. I’m so excited to stop wearing make up that makes me break out like a pubescent teenager and hopefully help my fellow sensitive skinned ladies find something to help them as well.

Word of the day: Maquillage

Definition: Make-up

Well, the origin of Maquillage is late 19th century French theater make-up basically, but that’s actually not the topic of today’s post.

Today’s post is just about plain old make-up and skincare, I just like the word Maquillage because it’s more fun. Actually, no not plain old make-up and skin care… Some pretty kick-ass make-up and skin care to be exact. I spend a majority of my day changing diapers, cleaning, making bottles, and as of lately, unpacking. (moved into a larger space woohoo!) With keeping so busy most of the day, I always find myself not really knowing what to do with myself on my downtime.

I always liked finding those live videos of ladies doing their make-up and chatting with the people commenting and 99% of the time, they were Younique presenters. So for the past year I’ve been watching these videos and seeing all of the happy customers and demos of the products that actually look really good. So yea, I really want to try it… Cruelty free, chemical free, mineral make-up that donates proceeds to women who have faced abuse. Sounds like my kind of brand!

I decided to talk to someone I have on my social media who sells it and she suggested I try my hand at being a presenter. Why not? I’ll try it out, I’m going to buy the products anyways. Why not make some money while doing it? This is a brand I can really get behind and with a love it guarantee, you can return it for a full refund or exchange it within 14 days of receiving your products. I’d definitely feel good about offering that to my friends and family.

SOOO… I’ve taken the leap, after almost a year of feeling useless, I’m trying something for myself. I have something to put my time and energy into (after my son of course haha!) and look forward to.

I’m doing it first, for me. Second, because I’ve been told that network marketing is stupid and that I couldn’t do it. Just like this blog. I was told not to start a blog.

So welcome to my blog! It’s gonna be a great blog. I hope you enjoy reading about my everyday endeavors, from make-up sales startups, to pinterest projects (and pinterest project fails), to just general mom life. I have a beautiful 9 week old boy who I’m sure will be a topic often!