Category: lifestyle

Kathie Jayne

The Appalachian Barbie3 Comments

Quick lil’ face-spiration for ya!  

The other day at Sephora I cashed in my points for a mini-lipstick from Bite Beauty (shade is “Radish.”). It was the most fierce shade of fuchsia and, while I was drawn to it, I couldn’t help but think “I am never going to be able to wear this.”  Well, like a sign from the gay makeup gods above, I was watching “Watch What Happens Live” Tuesday night and my new favorite Housewife/spirit animal Erika Jayne was a guest and just what  did she have dancing across her lips??   A gorgeous fuchsia of course!  So taking my inspiration from her head to toe (minus the bubbies) I totally killed this glam look for work the next day.  

My not-so-professional opinion for making this look trendy and not tacky, is pairing it with a played-down ensemble.  I went with a basic black, office-appropriate Ralph Lauren dress, Coach pointy toes, and kept my jewelry at a minimum with some black diamond studs and a watch.  I also went lighter on my eyes because the lip is so bold, but I think for night time, a smoky eye might work.  Maybe.  

 

Twinning obviously.  

Ok, face breakdown:

Mac studio sculpt concealer, Mac blush (sorry, can’t remember which one), Mac blush “Blunt” for contour AND as my shadow for my crease (I use my makeup all over.  Just because it says blush doesn’t mean it’s for your cheeks alone.), eyelids, inner corner and highlight from “naked 2” palette, brows are a rimmel pencil that I swear by in “hazel,” eyeliner is stila stay all day in black, mascara is too faced “better than sex” plus a pair of drugstore falsies (Demiwispies) oh and a little black shadow from the same pallette in my bottom lash line .  

And of course, Radish from Bite Beauty on my lips.  I will say, I prepped my lips like I always do, with a base of concealer, followed by a nude liner to define the edges and fill in, then a dusting of translucent to set.  Topped with the lipstick, I only reapplied one time after lunch and it didn’t budge. Not even during a rigorous sweat sesh at the gym.  As a matter of fact, I had to scrub that ish off at the end of the night.  So I give this stick an A+++!!  

Y’all try this and let me see your inner “Jayne” alter ego!

Put a Lil’ Spring in Your Step (and wardrobe…and face….)

The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

Is anyone else ready for spring??  

As much as I love snow and winter and warm nights bundled up in front of the fireplace, I’m more than ready for some fresh air and sunshine and, more importantly, some fresh new looks in the wardrobe and makeup department.  Starting with the tips of my fingers, I’ve brightened up my nail game with the new OPI New Orleans collection. Currently I’m rocking “She’s a Bad Muffeletta,” and last time I got “Got Myself in a Jam-balaya.”  Both are perfect pinks on different ends of the spectrum.

I’ve also lightened up my makeup, going lighter under my eyes and brighter on my lips.   

 
“Amplified” by MAC is the perfect almost matte lip.  It stays all day without being too dry.

  
I’m a coral girl through and through.  I LOVE this shade, from the more orange version (above) to the more pink end of the spectrum, it’s such a complimentary color on everyone.  And looks even better with a tan, which I desperately need.  (Lips above are a blend of MAC’s ” Morange” and “Saigon Summer.”). 

I found these amazing Ann Taylor pants at a consignment store brand new, with the tags still attached for $10.  Yet again, with a tan, they would look infinitely better.  (Have I mentioned this is the palest I’ve ever been?)

   

MAC “Viva Glam Nicki” matches this blouse perrrrrfectly.  Highliter on the cheeks for some glow and you’ve got a look that’s totally fresh.

Finally, we celebrated Easter this past weekend at the river. Or as I like to call it, “Annual Big Hat Day.”  You’ll never catch me without MY Easter bonnet on Sunday!  

  

  
This dress looks silver or white but it was in fact pale pink and black.  (Judging by this pic, the love of coral is hereditary).

  
I felt like Julia Roberts in “pretty woman” in this get-up.  It seems wrong to feel like a whore on Easter.  

I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and lightening up your own lives.  Summer is right around the corner!  What are your favorite looks for spring?

Life Changes and Yummy Grub

The Appalachian Barbie5 Comments

Over the past month and a half I have been trying to get acclimated to a new schedule and a totally new lifestyle.  That’s right folks, the Appalachian Barbie has hung up her bar towel and joined the forces in the 9-5 grind.  I love it.  Do I love the pay cut I took doing this?  No way!  But I never believed the old saying “You can’t put a price on happiness” until I was forced out of my comfort zone  and had to do it.  My life within the service industry became like living in an abusive relationship.  The good shifts seemed REALLY good, but that was only because they were far outweighed by the crappy ones and, like most abusive relationships, I didn’t realize just how miserable I was until I was finally out.  I am by no means knocking jobs within the service industry.  It is KILLER money, there are great people who do it, the hours are flexible and your job is never boring.  But for me personally I couldn’t take it anymore.  I could no longer work at a job where I had to be “on” the entire time.  In my defense, I have a natural resting bitch face, and it is 10x worse when I am actually in a bad mood. I am a person who cannot hide their emotions, and if one more person said to me “WHY DONT YOU SMILE?  YOUD BE A REAL PURTY GIRL IF YOU SMILED MORE,” when all I was doing was pouring a beer and thinking, I was going to pull my hair out.  Realistically people don’t just walk around smiling for no reason. They would look crazy! Anyway, I digress, it was a case of right place right time, and now I have my own cute little office and no one bothers me and, as of right now, not one person has asked me to smile more.  And that alone is enough to make me smile more 🙂

Along with this new job comes a totally different lifestyle.  Tending bar meant going IN to work at 9p and getting home at 4a.  I would sleep until noon then have all day to run errands, gym and cook.  Even in my last job where we closed at 10p, I wouldn’t get home til midnight and most days didn’t have to be back until 4p. These days I wake up at 5:45a, get ready, take dogs out, cook breakfast and STILL am 5 mins late for my 8a call time.  I finally have weekends off and I have been filling them by joining as many charitable causes as time will allow. The entire month of May is filled with galas and benefits and spending my free time doing things that are making a difference makes me feel good.  I’ve also had to re-learn how to interact with people.  When dealing with inebriated people or people who are out to have a good time in general, you’re allowed to be a little more edgy with your conversation topics.  Not so much when you walk into an office full of women.  “Hey bitches what’s crappenin?” Is, for some reason, not an appropriate way to greet your co-workers.  

Out of all the changes, trying to get my health and fitness on track is proving to be the most difficult.  Although my schedule is the same every day, trying to get to the gym by 5:30, home by 7:30, food on the table by 8:30 and bed at 10 kind of sucks.  I hate going to bed that soon after eating.  There is no chill time.  And worst of all, I am going from almost 15 years working jobs where I was on my feet, constantly running around for 8-12 hours at a time, to now spending all day sitting behind a desk.  My body physically aches and I am gaining weight.  I have gained back 10lbs since this time last year and am thoroughly disgusted with myself. But I will triumph over these obstacles.  thankfully I still eat healthy, whole foods.  I shudder to think where I would be right now if I let myself fall back into old habits.  I still don’t eat fast food.  I don’t eat pork or red meat, and consume less than 1 1/2 cups of dairy each week.  My problem has been sweets and potatoes.  Every night for a week Mitch and I were unwinding with a brownie and a glass (or 2) of wine.  That adds up, no matter how good the rest of your diet is.  So basically, I need to get off my ass and watch my carbs.  So here are some meals I’ve been especially pleased with as of late.  Theyre not only healthy and low in calories, but also quick and easy to make! Enjoy!  

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

  

Hearty Savory Breakfast Bowl

I eat this probably 3-4 days a week. It is so delish, and you can change the meat out to bacon or ham if you’re so inclined.  

1/4 C steel cut oats

1C water

1C baby spinach

1/3C liquid egg whites

1 whole egg

1.5oz ground turkey breakfast sausage

Salt and pepper

Texas Pete hot sauce (optional)

Combine the oats and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until done, around 10 mins.  While that is cooking , put baby spinach in a skillet coated with nonstick.  When spinach begins to wilt, add egg whites and scramble.  Put scrambled eggs and spinach in bowl.  In same pan, crack egg and fry to over easy.  Add it to bowl.  In same pan, cook breakfast sausage, crumbling.  When meat is cooked through and no longer pink, add to bowl.  Top with cooked oats.  Shake on salt and pepper to taste, hot sauce and stir well, breaking yolk from over easy egg and combing everything throughout.  

Calories 320

Fat 9 grams

Carbs 29.5 grams

Protein 28 grams

  

Good, Old Fashioned, Low Country Boil

Does it get any better than this?  If you can boil water, you can make this dish.  It’s stupid tasty, feeds a crowd, and is fun to eat with your hands!

3lbs small red potatoes

1 pk frozen corn on the cob, or 6 mini-ears

2-3lbs frozen raw shrimp, deveined,shell and tail-on, thawed

14oz smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/2″ rounds

4T old bay seasoning

2 lemons cut in half

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil.  Add old bay and squeezed lemons. CAREFULLY add your potatoes *note: If potatoes are large, cut them to a smaller uniform size.  You want them to be small enough to cook quickly and at the same rate of time.* After potatoes begin to soften, around 10 mins, add corn and sausage. Bring water back to a boil.  When all is cooked through, add dethawed shrimp last.  Cook for around 5 minutes, until shrimp is pink and no longer translucent.  Drain liquid and serve on newspaper or a large platter.  

   
 
Kathie’s Hawaiian YumYum Chicken

I literally came up with this on a whim, using ingredients I had in the fridge.  It was amazing and totally cured my craving for pineapples. Serve with brown rice and a little teriyaki sauce.

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 medium onion, sliced

1lb of asparagus, cut into 2″ pieces

1/2 of a whole pineapple, cored and cut into chunks

1 1/2lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks

Jerk seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste

Coconut oil or olive oil

Add all ingredients to a large bowl or bag, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings.  Shake to coat evenly.  Distribute to a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 30 mins on 375 degrees.  

Producing a Caviar Wedding on a Codfish Budget

The Appalachian Barbie1 Comment

  
Since we are now 2 1/2 months post- wedding, I feel my PTSD has leveled out enough to discuss my personal wedding experience- my do’s and dont’s, where to spend your money and what to pass on to maximize your budget and how I managed to pull off a wedding that looked far more expensive than it really was.

For starters, my DO’S AND DONT’S:

-DO start early.   The more big stuff you get planned early on, the less you have to stress when it gets close to the actual day.  But 

-DON’T be surprised when all those carefully laid plans fall completely apart.  I had my venue, my food, my dress, the cake,  the invitations, the music and the alcohol all secured by March (my wedding wasn’t until October 17).  In April my photographers bailed.  In August, my venue was sold, the name changed, the owners changed and they fired my wedding planner.  Just remember to try and breathe and learn how to work under pressure.

– DO utilize your connections.  Since I have worked in the downtown service industry for over a decade, I’ve made a lot of valuable connections involved in the wedding industry.  Remember that guy you used to go to college with that DJ’s now?  Hit him up on Facebook and see if he can get you in or at least refer you to someone he knows.  Try to book your wedding at a cool new spot that no one has discovered yet.  The more in demand a location is, the more expensive it will be. Or have it at someone’s fabulous house.  

-But DON’T compromise what you really want to save a buck.  Over and over I was given great deals by people I had connections with, but it seemed, in some cases, due to them cutting me a deal, I was also not given top priority or treated like less of a paying customer than other people who paid full price. So DON’T be afraid to speak up if you feel you’re being treated unfairly.  

-DO make sure you get AND KEEP receipts and contracts for ev.ery.thing.  Seriously, down to the most minute detail.  Until the wedding is done and you have received all your photos, do not toss any type of binding material.  If someone doesn’t deliver as promised, you want to have your proof because “he said, she said” wouldn’t win a court case.  Also, I would HIGHLY suggest getting contracts from EVEYONE, NO MATTER YOUR RELATIONSHIP with them.  I had booked a friend I’ve literally known since I was a child and his band to perform during my cocktail hour and less than 2 weeks before, they cancelled.  People can be very disappointing so be prepared for that.

-DON’T get caught up in the dumb little things.  The little details can certainly make or break a wedding atmosphere, but things like seating arrangements and someone forgetting their boutineer won’t even be noticed by guests.  What they will remember-lot’s of good food and drinks, great music and fun parting gifts.

-DO make it personal.  One of the most spectacular parts of our wedding was when we read the letters aloud to each other that we had written.  Everyone kept commenting on how much they loved that part.  So DON’T be afraid to put your personal touches on everything. 

I certainly would recommend making a brainstorming chart to determine exactly what your dream wedding looks like and keeping a very clear vision of that throughout.  I knew from the beginning I wanted classic black and white, something elegant, timeless, that I could look back on 30 years from now and it would still be as gorgeous as the day I had it.  So I would say to forgo the trendy stuff, maybe just a few trendy accents here and there, but something that will still look beautiful hanging on your wall when you’re 60.  Decide on the colors, the overall feel, do you want indoor/outdoor, what are the pros and cons, what type of music for each part of the wedding?  Do you want a wedding party?  Kids or no?   There are so many factors to a successful wedding, I highly suggest getting “The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner & Organizer.” It breaks down your entire wedding from start to finish amd I probably would have forgotten a lot were it not for that.  You can also download their app which has a handy checklist countdown to your wedding day.  Other than that, Godspeed.  There is so much to remember over 10 months of wedding planing that I’m certain I’m forgetting most of it. Below I’m posting photos so if you see something you have questions about, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Oh, one more thing–

Just call the whole thing off and go to the courthouse.  ðŸ™‚

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
    
    
    
    
 

Let’s Rant, Shall We?

The Appalachian Barbie2 Comments

So in the interest of trying to be a decent human being, I try to keep my social media light.  I want the energy I put out into the universe to be as happy and positive as possible, in the event that it ever makes it’s way back to me.  But even I have limitations to my tolerance and today just happens to be one of those days.  So I deeply and truly apologize for the amount of steam i am about to let off and if you don’t read any farther, I don’t blame you.

For those of you still with me, I just want to vent about human kind in general these days.  This post has basically been born out of my absolute disgust with facebook over the past few months.  What a gross place it has become.  I somehow have accumulated 800+ friends over the past 10 years, and of those 800, it seems that facebook has somehow filtered it down to the same 30 people, of which probably 10 are people I actually have contact with in real life.   I read the most hateful, ignorant, unfounded crap online day in and day out, and it makes me lose all my faith in humanity as a whole.  So for everyone who spends all their time on facebook, arguing with people you don’t know, about things that don’t matter, when you’ve never once been asked your opinion, you just wake up every day and offer it like you’re god and your opinion and lifestyle is the ONLY way, here’s a newsflash–

You.  Are.  Not.  Special.

Sometime in the past 2 generations, we started raising people to feel that they are “unique” and “desesrving” and “special.”  Not that these are bad things necessarily, but somewhere along the line we ended up with a world full of fat whiny crybabies who have never been told no.  America as a whole has turned into a population of overmedicated, understimulated tech zombies with no common sense and no motivation.  As a manager of a small staff of college age kids, I can tell you that I deal firsthand with these people daily.  I have to supervise people that are graduating from university in 2 weeks time, but still ask me how to plug in a vacuum cleaner.  I have people with no prior experience and who are failing within their current position who are crying because they didn’t start out as a bartender working weekend shifts and it’s all because their entire lives they have just been given things.  “Oh, you’re on a basketball team?  Well here’s a trophy for showing up for practice twice a week  You get one exactly like the kid who went home and practiced every day, and scored all the points for us, BECAUSE YOU’RE SPECIAL TOO.”  That’s not real life.  In real life you have to work for things.  

And it’s not just the college kids.  It’s grown ass people who are so bored with their own lives that they have nothing bettter to do than argue their personal beliefs until they’re blue in the face online and it never makes a bit of difference!  The lack of tact and empathy I see towards other people is disgusting.   Who told you that your religion is the truth??  Because a book told you?  Fine.  If taht is what you believe then that is just great.  But you should be willing to understand and be respectful if someone else believes otherwise for their own reasons!  Not one of us knows for sure what happens when you take your last breath, but I can tell you one thing for certain.  No matter the religion, a running theme seems to connect them all and that is to JUST BE A GOOD PERSON! You can feel the difference between right and wrong to your very core.  Things that make you feel good- helping people, being productive, being nice.  Things that make you feel bad– being a jerk, being mean to people, bad hygeine.  So maybe people should pay more attention to their inner compass instead of worrying so much about being right or wrong.  

And speaking of bad hygeine, can we please discuss how it is somehow ok now to be frumpy and put forth no effort into your appearance?  This is just a personal pet peeve, but there is no pride taken in how people present themself anymore.  Wash your damn hair, put on some deodorant and take the time to slap on a little face.  Guys– enough with the long disgusting beards.  Literally everyone can grow one.  At this point, it’s not a sign of your manliness, it’s a sign of your laziness.   If I can still smell what you drank last night in there, you should trim it WAY down.  

Oh, and don’t even get me started on politics.   Here’s my idea for the right to vote:  It shouldnt be a right at all.  A person should have to pass a test containing knowledge of the existing political system, World and American History, Current events, and an IQ test, all black and white answers and if you possess enough general knowledge in these areas and have a moderately average IQ, then you can be allowed to cast your vote.  Otherwise, you should be banned from even talking about it BECAUSE YOU ARE UNQUALIFIED AND YOUR OPINION DOESNT MATTER.

Let’s stop with the presciptions too ok?  Like, every time you get a runny nose, you don’t need to run to the doctor for a z pack.  The human body is an amazing feat of science.  If you fuel it correctly you might see that it has the ability to heal itself quite well.  But thats not as easy as chucking back a pill is it?  Oh you’re depressed?  Here’s a zoloft.  but that’s going to constipate you so here’s a pill for that.  But that’s going to dehydrate you so let’s give you something for that too.  Now  youre on 3 pills for depression when all you really had to do was evaluate your life, get to the source of the problem and eliminate it.  A change of atmosphere along with a good diet and exercise can do more for you than an antidepressant ever will.  “My back hurts!”  Wahhhhh….go to a chiropractor.  Do some yoga.  Or just go get a loratab prescription.  Whatever.  The sad truth is, everyone is so damn lazy now, you want a magic pill that will fix things without you ever having to lift a finger and make the changes yourself.  How fulfilling.  

In conclusion, I don’t mean to sound like I have such a negative outlook.  But we should all realize that as individuals, we are nothing.  Not one of us could survive alone.  As a baby you depended on the kindness of others to keep your ass alive and nothing has changed since.  So why not throw a little kindess to others in return?  Realize you’re not god, you’re no one special and in reality your opinion means less than nothing.  Work hard, aim high, raise your standards and grow a set!  Learn how to do something useful, like fix a toilet as opposed to how to jailbreak an iphone.  A man who can change a tire will forever be manly regardless of the length of his beard.  Upgrade your role models from Kardashians to people with actual talent and morals and souls.  

Enough already.  Have a nice night.  This grumpy gal is ready for bed.  

Cut Out the Crap!

The Appalachian Barbie4 Comments

Hey guys!  Hope you’re all staying cozy and warm during this nasty winter storm.  I was just sitting here enjoying a warm bowl of oats and watching the snow fall and got to thinking about the American diet and the struggle for the average person to get fit in a world so heavily influenced by “fast” food and “convenient” boxed and frozen dinners.  One of the biggest challenges in the journey to a healthy lifestyle is learning how to eat correctly.  Re-teaching your mind -and body- to not just consume, but also enjoy, whole nutritious meals can seem like a daunting task.  Well I’m not going to sugar coat it–

YOU.  HAVE.  TO CUT.  THE CRAP.

I mean that literally and figuratively.

I don’t want to sound mean in the following paragraphs.  But it’s time to get real and stop making excuses.  I hate excuses.  Everyone has one and all it is is another version of lazy.  I’m sorry to tell you but we’re all busy.  We’re all tired.  We all have outside circumstances that could influence our schedules.  But the answer is to MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY.  Human nature is to make time for the things that are important.  I can guarantee that you make time in your busy schedule to watch your favorite tv show, or get your nails done, or go to the bar for a drink after a stressful day.  So these are the things that are important to you.  It’s time to make yourself and your health your most important priority, because at the end of the day, why would you put that other stuff first??  That tv show, or your nail appointment, or that cocktail have never done anything for you and in the grand scheme of things what is it going to matter?  The things you are fueling your body with are going to have much more of an influence on your life in the long run than missing an episode of Real Housewives.

Along with getting real, it’s time to starting eating real.  No good can come from living on a diet filled with processed, preservative rich, mystery crap that comes from a drive-thru window or a box in the microwave.  It’s disgusting.  For god’s sake, pick up a box of hamburger helper and try to decode the nutrition information.  If you can’t pronounce it, don’t flippin eat it.  I am not trying to toot my own horn or be obnoxious, but one of the things I am most proud of is conquering the addiction to fast food. I’ve probably eaten fast food 4 times in the past 2 years and I felt disgusting each and every time. Anything that is sold so cheaply and to such a mass quantity of people can’t be good.  Not even subway! Their lettuce comes in a vacuum sealed bag, filled with preservatives so it can survive the distribution process without turning brown.  You’re ingesting that.  Lean Cuisines, Weight Watchers Meals….even most “protein bars” are full of awful crap that the human body should not be trying to break down!  It’s high time to stop eating for convenience and start eating for your health.

With all that being said, there is good news!  You don’t have to spend all day every day planning meals and thinking about workouts.  (Although for some of us, that sounds like a good time.)  With a little bit of scheduling, a healthy, nutritious diet can be just as convenient as hitting a drive thru on your lunch break.  The biggest step you can take to getting healthier is setting a schedule and sticking to it.  Scheduling out time to meal plan, a day to hit the store for the week, and time to prep your meals will soon become second nature if you just stick to it for a month.  This type of lifestyle will also be hugely beneficial to your budget.  I allow myself $75/wk for groceries and I only go to the store once a week.  That means that I better get what I need and if I run out, it’s tough titty said the kitty.  Make do with other stuff until the next trip to the store.  When you think about it, $75 is less than 3 average trips to a restaurant.

So here is a sample of how I schedule my diet planning:

-On Monday evening, I discuss with Mitch what he wants to eat for the upcoming week.  (The only meals we actually cook every day are breakfast and dinner.  The rest of our meals are already prepped.)

-On Tuesday afternoon we go to the grocery store with our list.  This process usually takes an hour from start to finish.  Always on the list-skinless boneless chicken breast, tuna, spinach, brown rice/quinoa, almond milk, steel cut oats, egg whites, fruit…..

-Tuesday evening or Wednesday, we put 6 lbs of chicken in the crock pot to cook.  You can do this before you go to work, or before you go to run errands. ( This is where I get annoyed with people who say they have no time to meal prep.  Really??  You don’t have time to open a pack of chicken and put it in a slow cooker with some  water?  )  I also cook up my rice/quinoa for the week.

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Prepping things this way makes meals as easy as grabbing a handful of shredded chicken and weighing it to your specifications.  Or grabbing a 2/3C measuring cup and scooping out your grains.  Throw those in a tupperware together with a big handful of spinach.  When it’s time to eat, throw on a splash of teriyaki and microwave for a minute and a half.  Done.  There is lunch.

It also is helpful to get in the habit of eating basically the same thing every day except for dinner.  I know it sounds boring, but once your body gets used to it, it starts to crave these meals.

Weaning your body off of these processed, sugar and preservative filled crap foods is going to physically be a challenge as well.  Just like a heroin addict, your body is going to detox off sugar.  I promise.  You will feel like crap.  You’re going to feel off.  Maybe get headaches.  Maybe even sick.  this is your body withdrawing from the unnatural junk it’s been used to.  But don’t despair.  It only lasts a few days.  And then your body is going to start rejecting the bad stuff.  These days, if I eat things I’m not supposed to, my body physically rejects it.  I can’t eat red meat more than 3 times a month.  Dairy makes me violently ill.  If I eat pasta I will bloat to the point that my pants don’t fit.  I am completely, physically miserable.

This doesn’t mean you have to eat boring, bland brown rice and chicken every day.  It just means educating yourself on healthy substitutions!  For example–

Say you heat up a packet of microwave quaker oats every morning.  INSTEAD, scoop out 1/4C of steel cut organic oats into a small pot with 1C of water.  Once it starts to boil, it only takes around 10 mins to cook.  In that time you can be cooking a healthy egg scramble, making your coffee or even blowdrying your hair.  Add a spoonful of vanilla greek yogurt, 1 packet of stevia and 1/4C of fresh blueberries for berries and cream flavored.  Or a dash of cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup for maple brown sugar flavored.

OR

If it’s burgers you crave–prep a 1lb pack of 93% lean ground turkey into 4 4oz patties.  I like to mix up my meat with a few dashes of low sodium Dale’s and a tablespoon of burger seasoning (seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder).  Throw them on the grill or skillet with some nonstick and serve them on a toasted whole wheat english muffin or high fiber bread loaded with greens and tomatoes

French fries- don’t buy a bag of frozen crap.  Slice a potato, toss in olive oil, sea salt, pepper.  bake for 20 mins on 425 degrees.  finish off under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that crisp outside layer.

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The goal for changing the way you eat is to eliminate all the unneeded fillers and crap and stick to minimal wholesome ingredients.  When eating, less is more.  Give it a shot.  I promise you’ll feel better and look better!

Is Cleansing/Fasting Just a Trendy Way to Starve?

The Appalachian Barbie2 Comments

Hey everyone!  I hope y’all had a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful 65 degree February weather today.  I had a wonderful day with my best friends brunching and perusing around a bridal convention.  This was my first experience at one of these shindigs, and, to put it lightly, WHOA that was a lot of estrogen in one room!  However, I got a lot of great ideas, made some great contacts, and most importantly, gorged myself on delicious samples. Everything from appetizers to entrees to cakes, we tried it.  To say I was miserable on the way home would be an understatement-I had to unbutton my pants.  So tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity to start that mini-cleanse I’ve been debating on for awhile.  Cleanses and fasts are hotly debated topics in the health world.  A lot of people would say that depriving yourself of food in any manner is not healthy.  On the other hand, you have a lot of people who say fasting is a time tested cure-all for most of the body’s ailments.  So after extensive research, the following are MY opinions on the subject and MY diet.  I am not recommending you follow this advice as no two people are the same and you may have to consult with a professional.  So with that out of the way, here we go.

Let’s start with researching cleanses and fasts throughout history.  In recent years, many celebrities have come forward with their use of cleanses, more specifically, the Master Cleanse, or Lemonade diet.  The term Master Cleanse is practically synonymous with Beyonce for me, due to her famously using it to drop a drastic amount of weight for “Dream Girls.”  However, the Master Cleanse has been around since the 1940s, invented by Stanley Burroughs and published in the mid 1970s in a book under the same title.  Basically, it’s a juice fast where you live on warm lemonade, made with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days, then over the course of 3 days you re-introduce veggies and fruits and soups to your diet.  Mr.Burroughs recommends basically a vegan diet by frowning upon basically any meats or dairy products in a person’s day-to-day diet.  There have been plenty of other fasting diets over the course of the past century.  Slim Fast, grapefruit diet, juicing… the list goes on.  However, let’s go back further in history.  In every great religion there is documented use of fasting for spiritual purposes.  In the New Testament, within the books of Luke and Acts, fasting is often mentioned in relation to prayer or to clear the mind before making important decisions.  Likewise within Buddhism, the Buddha did not experience the great awakening until after fasting and meditation.  Muslims are most notoriously documented for their use of fasting during Ramadan, a month-long event where they refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset.  I could go on for days listing each religion and their use of fasting but that would get boring and we need to move on.  So even FURTHER back in history, if you want to consider the diet of ancient man, they naturally practiced fasting because, well, they had no choice.  Hunters and gatherers had seasons of plenty and times where there was no food to be had.  Their bodies had to acclimate to storing all the food they could and efficiently distributing all their energy when food sources were scarce.

So, there is your history lesson for the day.  With all that being said, I have drawn my own conclusions on fasting.  First, I find short term fasting to be a safe and effective practice.  Performed in no more than 3-10 day increments, I find that cleansing and fasting can be a terrific way to become more in tune with your own body, shed nasty toxins that are weighing you down, and strengthen your own mind and will-power.  Long-term fasting to me seems stupid and wasteful.  Ancient man did not willingly go hungry for weeks at a time, nor should I.  That statement leads me to my second conclusion: I don’t believe in a full-blown, liquids-only, starvation fest.  Instead, I like to maintain small daily liquid cleanses in addition to a supremely clean diet to aid in a healthy body and weight loss.  For example, beginning tomorrow, I will start my morning with a Master Cleanse lemonade (8oz of warm water with 2T of pure lemon juice, 1T of pure maple syrup and a dash of cayenne pepper) within 10 mins of being up.  I have noticed that this practice helps me with waste elimination, something I struggle with due to my crippling IBS, which may be TMI but to be honest this is a horrible ailment that myself and millions of other people suffer with and deserves someone talking about it because it sucks.  Anyway, I’ll follow that with a very clean breakfast, a post-workout protein shake with added veggies and fruits, lunch of fish and rice or quinoa, then replace my 2nd snack with another Master Cleanse lemonade.  Dinner will be chicken with veggies.  At night prior to bed, a cup of organic senna tea (a natural herbal laxative).  I also will drink a bit of warm water with sea salt to also move those toxins out at some point during the day. The goal is for me to get my body as clean as possible, to alleviate any nasty crud I’ve picked up from working in a scummy bar, and to get rid of all the crap food I’ve eaten and re-set my internal system.  This type of cleansing seems much more manageable than a full-blown liquid fast.  For me personally, I workout far too much and work in a very physical job where I can’t function on ZERO calories.  Ideally I would like to incorporate yoga into my morning routine during this time. I am really bad about stretching and yoga can really help your body stretch and push bad things out and give you more of a sense of control over your own mind. However, I say that I would like to start doing yoga in the mornings like, once a week, so we will see how that goes.

I will update post-cleanse with an update.  If any of you have any tips or fasts you have performed yourself, let me know!  We can discuss!  Til then have a blessed day.

 

Happy New Year!

The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

I’ve been MIA since OCTOBER and that is absolutely unacceptable.  Typical me to start something and slack off.  This is a good way for me to tackle one of my NY resolutions — to stick to things I start.  To be fair, the holidays came and went so quickly it all feels like a blur.  To recap:

In late October we had family photos made
In late October we had family photos made

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There was a lot of self reflection and comparisons made as to who I am now and how far I've come
There was a lot of self reflection and comparisons made as to who I am now and how far I’ve come

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Next came Halloween weekend! My favorite holiday!
Next came Halloween weekend! My favorite holiday!
Mitch was Stone Cold Steve Austin haha!
Mitch was Stone Cold Steve Austin haha!
Medusa!
Medusa!

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I went to the gym in fancy pants
I went to the gym in fancy pants
Next came Thanksgiving
Next came Thanksgiving
Then we got a tree and decorated for Christmas
Then we got a tree and decorated for Christmas

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In mid-December we had our company Christmas party
In mid-December we had our company Christmas party
My dad had his 64th birthday
My dad had his 64th birthday
We had a party at my cousin's home for my Mother's side of the family
We had a party at my cousin’s home for my Mother’s side of the family
AND THEN IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 21st!
AND THEN IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 21st!
I got awesome gifts
I got awesome gifts

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Then it was finally Christmas Eve
Then it was finally Christmas Eve

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Which was when I received the best gift of all....
Which was when I received the best gift of all….
Mitch asked me to marry him!
Mitch asked me to marry him!
We celebrated with a delicious Christmas dinner on the 25th
We celebrated with a delicious Christmas dinner on the 25th
Gas got super cheap!
Gas got super cheap!
And a few nights ago, Ashton and I celebrated our annual NYE photo. (top left 2012, bottom left 2013, right 2014)
And a few nights ago, Ashton and I celebrated our annual NYE photo. (top left 2012, bottom left 2013, right 2014)

2014 has been my best year to date.  As a person I have grown tremendously, and the people around me are a solid group of positive people who only enhance my quality of life.  I hope to get back on the wagon with my blogging and am setting a goal of 2x/wkly.  I hope to interact with you all soon and I hope you stay with me for this crazy year to come of work, the whirlwind of planning a wedding, weightloss, makeup, fashion, rants and raves, and of course food!

 

Chakra Balancing and Aura Repair….Just Goin’ In for a Tune-up

The Appalachian Barbie3 Comments

So this week I did something a little different.

I’ve been feeling really down in the dumps lately and can’t seem to pull out of it.  I am a firm believer in the power of positive thinking and usually when I get in these funks I can just take a moment to count all my blessings and pull right on out. 
But over the past month or two I’ve just felt like I’m poisoned inside my head and no matter what I do I can’t shake this negative energy.  I have been dealing with what I can only guess is anxiety, as in, there is a constant weight on my chest that makes me feel like something bad is going to happen or something is wrong.  I also have felt extremely lonely.  I attribute this to busy, conflicting schedules with Mitch and my friends.  I exist within a strange paradox in my life–in my job, I live the life and hours of the bar, which means my typical work-week is Friday through Tuesday, 9pm-4am.  However, my morals and extracurriculars no longer reflect that schedule and has become quite a bit more boring and traditional.  So the people I now share common interest with tend to live in a Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm world.  Because of that and Mitch’s new school schedule, I spend most of my days alone, only having personal interaction with people when I go into work and they are under the influence.  Sometimes it gets a little depressing. 

So with all that being said, I’ve just been down lately.  I am firmly against prescription medications like anti-depressants and mood elevators, and refuse to go that route.  (no offense to those who do take these, this is just my opinion and personal choice.)  On a whim and also as a sort of last resort, I paid a visit to a local shop downtown that sells a lot of holistic items and also is home to it’s own ‘spiritual center’ where they conduct everything from tarot readings to yoga classes.  On this particular day, they had a healer in the shop who was skilled in aura repair and balancing chakras. 

Well…..why not.  I decided to give it a whirl, even if I’m not a firm believer in all this stuff. 

I will stop here and kind of explain my religious and spiritual beliefs.  I usually do not speak about this sort of thing because I feel like your spiritual habits should be something personal for you and no one should be able to tell you you’re right or wrong.  But in the interest of this blog making sense, I suppose I should just briefly fill you in on my line of thinking.

I am not a religious person, so much as I am spiritual.  I believe there is a greater power out there, that there is a meaning to all this, this life, but I do not know what it is so I will not judge anyone on what THEY believe the meaning is.  What I DO know, is that energy is tangible.  You can use a device to measure the wavelength of my heartbeat, thus measuring my ENERGY.  So for me, if that energy gets imbalanced or tainted from being around more bad energy than good, then that’s probably gonna throw me out of whack.  And this is precisely why I decided to let a middle aged bald man in capri pants, covered in wiccan tattoos, conduct a chakra balance and aura repair on me.

(If you are unfamiliar with the term ‘chakra’ please familiarize yourself with the 7 basic chakras here . )

The reverend, ordained by the Church of Divine Light, was a very nice man, who spent no less than 45 minutes explaining his techniques to me, from the tools he was going to use, (everything from chimes and bells to oils and rocks and music.) to the placement of his hands so I could be as comfortable as possible.  Considering that I’m no idiot, being in a closed room with an unfamiliar man who is attempting to put me in a meditative trance and perhaps touch my chakras, you can go ahead and guess that during this session I never fully let my guard down, as I was ready at a moments notice to issue a swift kick to the family jewels if he tried any funny business.  After a lengthy introduction, I laid down on my back on a massage table.  He then placed various precious gems, crystals and minerals around and on my body and turned on some soothing music.  He then walked around my body with a bell and chanting a mantra while counting backward from 10, trying to guide me into a meditative state.  After I was relaxed (somewhat) he then went into his own head, placing his hands on or several inches above various areas of my body. 

Ok, I don’t wanna sound like a crazy person.  But either this guy really has something going on as far as transferring energy, OR he just has a medical condition that makes his hands boiling hot.  Because even at 6″ away from my body, I could feel the heat from his hands, like he was holding a space heater over me or something!

This went on for about 35 minutes before he slowly asked me to come back to the world of the living.  For homework, he recommended I get a small bundle of sage and start smudging all the negative energy off of me every time I leave work.  I left the building a skeptic, but only $25 poorer so I wasn’t too upset. 

Cut to yesterday morning when I woke up.  The first thing I noticed is that I was SORE. I have been at a stand-still in the gym for like 2 months and no matter what I do I can’t get sore.  Before I went to my chakra balancing session, I had done the same glute workout I’ve done for the past 2 months so it was nothing new.  But when I got out of bed I could hardly walk to the bathroom I was so sore.  Also, my honey and I actually had some intimate times early that morning, which I could count on one hand the number of times that has happened.  And overall I was just in a gee-golly terrific mood. 

Now maybe this is all mental.  Maybe the soreness is just a matter of coincidence.  Or maybe there’s something to this energy thing.  All I know is, I feel lighter, more positive.  Work wasn’t an act of torture last night.  So I’m gonna go back.  Maybe take advantage of some yoga classes at my gym.  I don’t see any harm in taking an hour of relaxation and reflection for myself each week.  And if there is some positive benefits to this aura repair and chakra balancing, then all the better.

On that note, I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend. And get out and try something new!  You never know, it might just change your life.