In Search Of. . . A Good DIY: Tissue Paper Flowers

In Search Of. . . A Good DIY: Tissue Paper Flowers

All right, so after I finished Jane Eyre, I promised myself I would take a brain break from reading and work on writing. 400 words a day or something ridiculous like that.

To kick off my thing writing extravaganza... I will give you a how-to. In this case, how to make tissue paper flowers. It's not overly difficult thankfully which is probably why I can actually do this, but they really make a present pop, like this one.

  

First, you have to get all your junk together.

You will need:

• ·         Tissue Paper
• ·         A ruler (I used measuring tape and a triangle because I have no ruler and can't cut strait lines.)
• ·         Scissors
• ·         A stick of some kind (I have my mom's old panda chopstick.)
• ·         Super glue
• ·         Either ribbon or a pipe cleaner. (Basically something to wrap around the center)

  

All right so take the tissue paper and measure out ten inch squares for a large flower. If you're making a poppy, like I am you will need six squares of paper. As far as colors, you can get actually flower colors, or use the paper that matches whatever you're decorating like I did.

 Once you've got your square organize them how you want the flower to fold. The top layer will fold into the center and the each layer after that. Here you can see I put the decorative part for the center.

Ok, so then you will need to accordion fold the paper. For the poppy you do bigger folds. If you’re doing a smaller flower like a dahlia, do a smaller fold. 

 Once you’ve got your paper folded, take your ribbon/pipe cleaner and tie it around the center, but not tightly. Just enough to hold it together.

 You need to cut the edges now. Again flower depends on shape. Poppies have round edges so I used the ribbon bobbin to make my lines neater. I suck at free handing.

Now pull the string a little tighter if you want, but not too tight or you’ll have a big hole in the center of your flower. Then take one end and spread the accordion out so that it makes a fan shape.

Pull the sheets apart towards the center very carefully—and I mean carefully because this stuff rips like—well tissue paper. After, do the other side until you have a flower shape. You can fluff all you like. I also glued the last sheets together at the edge to make it stay better.

And your flower is done. 

For the stick, I used a chop stick so the flower would stand on its own. To decorate it I took a sheet of paper cut a long strip, folded it in half, and piñata cut the edges. I wrapped it around the stick, gluing it in place at both ends.

 After you’re done decorating your stick find a crevice in the bottom of your flower and glue it there.

And finito! All done. 


Here are my dahlia's and the main reason you shouldn't tie your ribbon/pipe cleaner too tight. You'll have to put random stuff in the middle, but it will still look good though.

<b><a href="http://www.rustandsunshine.com/2012/05/tissue-paper-flowers.html/">Original Tutorial Here as well </a></b>

As Always, 

In Search Of. . . Observations: Once Upon A Time Romance

In Search Of. . . Observations: Once Upon A Time romance.

 

The other day a guy told me it seemed like I lived in "Once Upon A Time", but he wasn't Prince Charming and I wasn't Cinderella. (Or the princess of my choice because Cinderella gets to my nerves.)

 

And that made me think.

 

Why can't I be?

 

Now, before you all think I'm a hopeless romantic, let me correct you. I'm not. I know full well those characters have predetermined plot points and developments in the show written by excellent writers. What I see though is something I want to emulate.

 

When I see Snow White and Prince Charming, they always encourage each other to do the right thing. It may not be the best thing, but they always try to do what they would consider good.

 

They're selfless too. When one is down and out, the other will give anything to get him back up. Seriously, how many times do they go to Rumplestiltskin to make deals and give sometimes something they treasured for the others safety?

During the curse, the worst torment was they couldn't be together, but still Snow White brings him flowers every day, not knowing who he is.

Why shouldn't a couple be like that?

I think they should.

 

I wouldn't want to date someone who would encourage me to lie, or do anything negative or wrong. I would want someone to encourage me in God. For those of you who don't have a personal relationship with God, someone to encourage you to do the right thing.

Snow White and Charming aren't the only ones who have relationship qualities I would want.

Even Regina, who loved Daniel enough to run away from luxury to be with him, has love qualities I would want.

 

Yes, that didn't work out, but that's more of a plot point that the writer's added in. My point though is that she would run away with someone she loved. That love meant more to her than all of her wealth.

Or how about Belle and Rumpelstiltskin? They never give up on each other. Even when their bad--because each has had his turn--they don't give up on their love. Bae aside, Belle means more to Rumple than any other person. Also, her kiss is the only one that can break the curse. When he kissed Cora, he stayed the Dark One, but not when he kissed Belle.

 

These are just a few examples of true love in the story, and there are flipside examples of fake love in the story too, but I don't want those. I just want to try to emulate the good qualities.

 

Who wouldn't?

 

I mean, to me these all represent qualities of love that I would want. And so, why wouldn't I want to be in a Once Upon A Time love story? If it means always encouraging in the right, being uncomfortable, but together; and never giving up.

So yeah, maybe it's a little far-fetched and maybe my ideas are a little. . . old-fashioned, but that's all right. If people think that they'd rather live in a confused New Girl episode then let them. I'd rather live in Once Upon A Time, and have a straight forward lasting love like the characters in Once Upon A Time.

 

As Always,

In Search of . . . Written Words: Book update

In Search of. . . Written Words
Time for a book update. I hadn't imagined reading this fast, but I have no life.

1. Harry potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling. Pretty much the movie exactly. Although, I did have to read the entire series once I started. Stupid inability to finish things.

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling. Nothing like the movie really. They changed several elements, but it's my favorite book and movie. Also, Rowling does a really good job of retelling events that happened in previous books with in the book you're reading.

3. "Little Match Girl", Hans Christian Andersen. Most of us know the story of the little girl trying to sell matches on Christmas night.

4. "Rapunzel", Brothers Grimm. If you want a detailed story of it, go here.

5. "The Raven", Edgar Allen Poe. This is my favorite poem. I love Poe's use of cadence and rhythm.

6. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare. Tragedy of pre-teens in love, who do stupid things
because they are only 13 and 18.

7. A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf. More stream of conscious, and it makes me want to cry. I had no earthly clue what was going on in this stupid essay.


As Always,

In Search Of. . . Observations: Convictions

In Search Of. . .Observations: Convictions.

So anyone who knows me well, knows I don't feel guilt very often, occasionally I feel shame. I guess that's a horrible thing, but it's the truth. I actually felt guilty about something recently, and I mean actual guilt, which was new to me.

If any of you have been following along, I'm doing the Rory Gilmore reading challenge. It's been fun so far, but I took a detour recently to read a book series. After my fourth night of staying up late to finish the book, the guilt hit me.

I spend a boat load of time, valuable time, reading junk. I don't just read, either. I gorge myself on it until I'm stuffed to the brim. And then I go back and read some more. It's like being the fat person at a buffet.

Believe it or not, it's not what I'm doing that makes me feel guilty.

It's what I'm not doing.

In all my reading, I never read my Bible, and for once I feel guilty about it. I make all this time, and I mean I make it--don't sleep to make time--to read all this crap, but rarely my Bible

This isn't a trite, "I-heard-a-message-on-daily-devotions" type of guilt either. This is the personal realization type of guilt.
It's kind of like a bee stinger under the skin. You feel it deeply. What's more, I want to take the bee stinger out, not just get accustomed to the dull throb.

To say, I've read this or that won't mean anything in the end, even if I write the most beautiful, articulate articles about the books. My Bible on the other hand is the written word of God; it will mean something. It has the power to change. Unlike books that simply influence my ideology or connect with some nebulous emotion of mine, the Bible can really change my core in a way that nothing else can. While I may not regret reading other books--there's nothing wrong with that--I do regret not reading my Bible first.

For once, I truly want to read my Bible because I need too; not because I'm supposed to or I'm floundering in life. I'm fairly steady and I actually want to read my Bible. Now, I have to address the daunting task of where to start.

I know that this is vague and probably sounds like jibber-jabber, but it's honesty that I felt I should share. I spend so much time reading junk and ignoring things that really matter.

I need to change that.

As Always,

In Search Of Written Words

In Search of Written Words. . . Writing Prompt, alternate grey scale world that only find color when you find your soul mate.

It was grey scale—all of it.

Everything his black eyes touched, monotonous tones of grey, black, and white. It had been most of his life; except that one brief moment when suddenly the colors poured in, over-saturated, blinding and resilient.

They said it would happen. If you found your soul mate, and as long as you saw them—

He caught a glimpse of her as she trotted down the street; his eye following the spaced that filled with color as she passed in a blue and red plaid suit coat that cinched around her narrow waist and then flared out over her nave blue pencil skirt.

Her cinnamon colored hair, done in victory rolls, seemed to glitter in the sun under her crimson hat. Her skin reminded him of freshly poured milk. Per he’d never seen milk, but his mind seemed to think that was the color. Her chili colored lips pursed in concentration.

She must have felt him.

He was staring so hard, how could she not have felt his eyes following her?

She stopped, turning slowly on her heal to see him. She held a gloved hand up, her lips pulling into a little smile. Her chocolate eyes brightened.

He felt his hand go up in the tiniest wave. Was she seeing him too? What did he look like to her?

She put one red pump into the street, making her way towards him. His heart quickened as he followed her lead putting one foot out there. It wasn't a wide street and no one was coming. Ten more paces and he’d have her.

He’d never want to leave her—never.

He stretched out her hand to grab hers.

A streak of canary yellow ripped her out of his grasp. A scream, and then another. Breaks squealed as they grinded the small car to a stop. People shouted in horror, but he didn’t hear them. He stood, unable to move; his hand still stretched out, gripping the air, expecting to clasp around a navy blue gloved hand.

Finally, he pulled himself away to look at the scene. Shouldering his way through the crowd, he saw her, lying on the ground. A bloody dribble slowly descended from her mouth. Her milk white legs splayed at awkward angles.

Her black frame eye lashes stared at him. He watched as her navy blue coat suddenly turned a dull brown. Sucking a breath, he dropped to the ground next to her, clutching her hand. He watched as her flaming red shoes became a light grey. Her skin turned to a dull white—like grey scale milk. And finally, the chili color drained from her lips. They were a bland dark grey.

It was all grey scale—everything his eyes touched.






As Always,

In Search Of. . . Fitness Week 4

In Search Of. .  .

Weight: 140 Still… it just won’t go away

Work out: Brazilian Butt Lift

Week 4 Measurements

B: 41.5

W: 31

S: 38

H: 38.5

R: 40.

T: 22

C: 13

A: 10

Here’s a little bit of info on weight loss.

Also, if you want leaner muscles, use less weights and do more reps. Actually, if you don’t’ want to get to exhausted working out you don’t have to use weights. You’re body just needs to do the motions. Weights just help you work the muscles harder.

Another little tip that works for me. When you do squats, you’re supposed to put your weight on your heels and sit all the way down. I lift my toes to force myself to put my weight on my heels.

I can see the differences in my body, so I know I’m losing something. Maybe it’s just my mind. Oh, well. I guess I’ll keep plugging along.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Written Words: Not your typical Disney story

In Search Of. . . Written Words

"And they live happily ever after."

It's a typical ending to the romanticized fairy tales; especially the Disney sanitized fairy tales we gorge ourselves on.

Before Disney got a hold of them though, some of the fairy tales were ridiculously dark. Not to mention the skewed idea of love, but I will save that rant for another post. For now, I just want to compare/contrast a fairy tale and the Disney version.

For the Reading Challenge, I had to read, or rather re-read, three different fairy tales: "Rapunzel", "Snow White and Rose Red", and "The Little Match Girl". Since Disney, to my knowledge, has not done "Snow White and Rose Red" or the "Little Match Girl", I'll work with "Rapunzel" and Disney's Tangled.

All right, so Tangled. It's a perfect example of a modern Disney movie.

It has beautiful scenery. (I read somewhere that the designers wanted every scene to be picture perfect, and they achieved it.) It has an adorable story line, with a loveable, finally 18 year-old, plucky heroine and her foil anti-hero, who does turn out to be a good guy in the end, a sly villain, and humorous sidekicks.

Yep, typical Disney.

Returning to an original version by the Brothers Grim, we cancel all of that out. And, just so you know, Grimm sanitized their version too. The Italian version isn’t so . . . sweet.

So first major difference. Rapunzel isn’t a princess by birth. She just has a selfish mother who would rather put her family in danger then do without. Her prego mom sees some rampion, or Rapunzel plant, in a witch’s garden, and refuses to live basically, unless her husband gets her the plant.

Not exactly like the loving mother we see in the movie. I would suppose to make a clear villain, Disney had to make her mother a victim of a baby snatching rather than Rapunzel's father bartering her away for his and his wife's life.

So, that's really how Mother Gothel got the baby. It does take the creepiness out of a greedy, baby snatching woman. She was actually probably a better mother than Rapunzel's own mother would have been.

Mother Gothel raises Rapunzel like in the movie, but she only puts Rapunzel in the tower when she notices her daughter hits puberty. Oh, and just as a side note, the only magical thing about Rapunzel's hair is it's length. It doesn't heal.

So we fast forward a few years and Rapunzel's matured, but stuck in a tower. She's bored, lonely, and quite frankly, ready to get out of the tower. Enter a nameless handsome prince, not Flynn Ryder and his comic smolder or his thieving ways. He climbs up into the castle pretending to be Mother Gothel, and immediately asks Rapunzel to marry him. Rapunzel, never having seen a man freaks out, but in a Bella-esque move, reacts to his kind words and immediately agrees.

Personally, I'm all for the frying pan idea.

So that takes out the whole lantern thing, which is a sad element to loose since it adds so beautifully to the cinematography. It's also a lot creepier that she would just agree to marriage to an utter stranger, but it was 1889. Go figure.

Rapunzel opens her big mouth and tells the witch that she's met a Prince. Furious, the witch cuts off her hair, and hides her away in the desert, which eliminates the need for Flynn Ryder to allow himself to die to save Rapunzel. The Prince comes to get Rapunzel but instead finds the witch. Avoiding the witch's fury, he falls out the window and has his eyes put out, and then wanders around for years.

Somehow he finds Rapunzel, and like in the movie, her tears heal him, but just his eyes. Then they skip off to their happily ever after.

Or maybe there's a sequel where Mother Gothel, who doesn't die, comes back to exact revenge.

So that's a short comparison/contrast of The Brothers Grimm "Rapunzel" and Disney's Tangled.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Fitness Week 3

In Search Of. . . Fitness
Week 3

Weight 140 lbs.
Program: Brazilian Butt Lift

Week 3 Measurements
Bust: 40.5 inches
Waist: 31 inches
Stomach: 40 inches
Hips: 41.5 inches
Rear: 40.5 inches
Thighs: 21.5 inches
Calves: 13 inches
Arms: 10 inches

So, I’m going to take a minute to be honest with you guys. I spent most of this week seriously discouraged.

I've been working out, and I seem to be getting bigger. Of course, I know I have to factor in the fact that I've developed muscle under the fat and that’s why my measurements won’t go down, but still.

I see a difference in my size, but I guess I have it stuck in my head that those numbers mean something to other people.
I guess I should really start dieting now, if I want the fat to come off. Working out can only do so much. I do try to watch what I eat, in the sense that I eat smaller portions and I don’t worry about “Cheat days.” I decided a while ago, that I was just going to eat the way I wanted, the way that suited my life.

Anyway, I won’t stop working out, but at the same time I feel like it’s pointless. Sorry, nothing cheery here today.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Written Words

In Search Of. . . Written Words

So, here's another partial update of six, because eleven just seems like a lot to read at once.

1. Julius Cesar, Shakespeare. High school read. And the only thing I remember is "Et Tu Brute?"

2. Macbeth, Shakespeare. Another high school read. I read all the Lady Macbeth parts, which was fun. . . not.

3. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka. This is a morbid little novella and it's really weird, but that's Kafka for you. (Expect a little essay on this later, maybe).

4. Mrs. Dalloway, Virgina Woolf. The entire stories written in stream of conscious, not for the eye, but the ear. Make sure to read this aloud, because half of it doesn't make sense. Actually, the entire book is really sort weird. Beautiful imagery though and faintly Poe-like. The book gives a good look into the emptiness of the early 20's after the war, and the mind of Virgina Woolf, since it's kind of biographical on her own pains with mental health.

5. The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde. Another deep "Gothic Novel." This really explores the debauchery of man. I mean what would you do if you had eternal youth, but could see all the follies you committed on a painting?

6. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. No reading list is complete with out this this title. It's a book of manners, made to show how manners are more important than money. Or at least they were back then.


More to come, of course.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Written Words

In Search Of. . . Written Words

As some of you may have noticed, I've taken up the "Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge"

You may ask, "Why?" To which I will reply, "Because I have no life."

Not really. Well kind of, but that's beside the point. I've taken up the challenge because it will keep me from obsessively reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. (Honestly, I read like twelve in the course of three weeks, and they aren't short books, either.)

Besides that, it's such a broad spectrum of books. The list includes nearly everything, from classic to modern literature; fiction to non-fiction; short stories, novellas, and novels. Which I think, as my teachers used to say, will broaden my horizons.

So far, I've already read 21 books from the list. Now I have 378 more to go.

I'll give you a brief idea of the first 11 of them.

1. 1984, George Orwell. Everyone should read this book. Orwell understood the Totalitarian regime and explains it clearly through this story. It is one of the few books that has stayed with me.

2. Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll. It's almost exactly like the Disney cartoon, just in black and white, and a few more scenes.

3. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath. It's actually her autobiography, but she didn't think it was of any literary worth, so she made it into a work of fiction. That was Plath though.

4. Devil in the White City: Murder, Madness, and Magic at the Fair that Change America, Eric Larson. Great book for non-fiction lovers, and fiction lovers. All the research is primary, and it gives so much information about the first World’s Fair and a notorious serial killer.

5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson. This is a novella. You can read it in a few hours. People say it's about the repression of the Victorian Era, but I think it's about man's struggle with himself.

6. Frankenstein, Marry Shelly. Is not a scary story; it just isn't. And the monster can talk, and Frankenstein’s really just a selfish jerk face. Not a horrible book though. It’s all about pushing boundaries and knowing our limits.

7. Gone With the Wind, Margret Mitchell. I never did like Scarlet, but this is one of the most accurate representations of the Civil War era.

8. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Another personal story turned fiction. There is no real reason to love this story, but I do. The color imagery is amazing

9. Great Expectation, Charles Dickens. If you like superfluity, this is the book for you.

10. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. I never really could figure what this was about. Editions have a lot to do with. Maybe I'll re-read it one day. It describes exploration into Africa, slavery, and something else. Wasn't my favorite read.

11. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott. Jo didn't make any sense to me, but I guess that's because she's a girl. We don't make sense. I read this in high school for a literary analysis, so that might be coloring my opinion.

Those are the first 11 books, and maybe I'll do the next eleven or something like that.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Fitness Week 2

In Search of. . . . Fitness Week 2 Measurements

Weight: 1 stupid 40 lbs.

Week 2 Measurements
Bust: 41 inches (Bigger? Go figure.)
Waist: 31 inches
Stomach: 38.5 inches
Hips: 38.5 inches
Rear: 40.5 inches
Thighs: 22 inches
Calves: 13 inches
Arms: 10.5 inches

So only half an inch in some parts, but it means I’m half an inch smaller in most parts, right? So, I will take that.

This week I’m going to talk about working out and life, and how they go together, or rather how they don’t.

Life has a lot of things we must accomplish, the feeding, the bathing, the working, and the house cleaning. Of course there are our vegetation hours when we become large stalks of broccoli. Getting a schedule together to accomplish everything you need to in one day is hard, especially when you want to get a good work out.

When you work out, you give up time you could spend watching T.V. (Although, I’d work out with DVD on the lap top and watch Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives. No clue why.) It is possible to kill two birds with one stone. Mostly like though, there are going to be days when life and working out aren't on speaking terms.

So yeah, accept right now that there will be days that you will miss your work out. Accept it!

For example though, I had to take a whirlwind trip for my late brother birthday and my nephew’s birthday as well few weekends ago. I left Friday morning and got back Sunday morning; I just didn't have the time between all the driving. It threw me off, and I missed four days in a row.  

On the fifth day, I checked my calendar and realized that the previous four day were missing the fluorescent yellow “WKOT” I put on there to keep track of myself. Irritated, decided it was time to work out again.

And there are also days where you just don’t want to work out. Don’t feel badly about those. These must also be accepted.

Just keep mind that when you've missed days, it’s one day out of 7, 30 to 31, and 365. You just can’t let it keep you down. Get back in those workout clothes and workout.

As always, 

In Search Of. . . Observations

In Search Of. . .Observations: Verbal Clutter and Syntax

Most of us talk more like Sylvester Cat, Tweety Bird, and Foghorn Leghorn, than we care to admit.

Think about it. We fill our speech with verbal clutter, self-interruptions, and half thoughts. We forget what we're saying, or our brains are trying to put the next word in place so it supplies an automated answer. We can't avoid it. Of course some are more prone to it than others. Those others being voice coaches and people like Bill Clinton, who was trained to take a breath instead of saying "um."

If you slow down and listen to yourself, you'll find that you've crowded your speech with an amazing amount of verbal clutter. You'll find like little phrases like "you know," interjected at the end of every other thought. Or "yeah" on all the others. Personally, "you know" gets on my nerves more than all the other ones. No real reason why, but it does. I even told someone once I didn't know what he meant. Despite that though, I am even guilty of using it too, you know.

It's a cultural thing too. Certain phrases belong to certain cultures or regions. Like I've found, French people really do say Oh la la la la, when they're upset, like Leslie Caron does in Gigi. Like if someone says "fixin'" as in "I'm fixin' to go to the store," you can assume that they live or lived in the south. Or if "wicked" is a good thing, they might be from the Boston area. This leads into catch phrases. You know that saying that is unique to one person you know.

I've known several people with catch phrases. I knew a girl who said "good gravy." She is the only person who says that phrase. It didn't catch on for me. Or a roommate of mine said "huzzah." For a while, I said it too, even after she dropped the phrase. Until her boyfriend reminded me that she said it first. I dropped it completely as a matter of originality. It happens like that a lot though. The more time you spend with someone, the more you'll use their words.

Oddly enough, there's nothing we can do about verbal clutter And "you know" aside, there is nothing I would want to do about it. Verbal clutter, catch phrases, and overall syntax is what makes unique. It has the singular ability to separate from each other and group us together. It's what allows you tell one person from another, but also tell where a person is from and who they spend time with.

As Always,

In Search Of. . . Fitness Week 1

In Search Of. . . Fitness
Week 1

Weight 139 lbs.
Program: Brazilian Butt Lift

Week 1 Measurements
Bust: 40 inches
Waist: 32 inches
Stomach: 38.5 inches
Hips: 39 inches
Rear: 40.5 inches
Thighs: 22.5 inches
Calves: 12 inches
Arms: 10 inches


I'm going to let you in on a life-changing secret about working out. I mean this is the secret that will rock your world.







*Pause for dramatic affect*







If you apply yourself to a workout routine, mostly like it will work.

*Le gasp*

Who would have guessed?

But seriously, almost any program or machine will work if you use it.

For example, I got my workout routine off an infomercial. Believe it or not, Leandro Carvalho's Brazilian Butt Lift does the job.

When I first saw it on the TV, I thought it was a crock, but I still wanted to try it. That's the point of the infomercial. According to the advertising story, Carvalho originally designed it for supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio, a Brazilian babe and a Victoria's Secret model.

Who doesn't want to try a work out designed for a Victoria's Secret model? Not me that's for sure.

The only problem was I don't like to try things sight-unseen, to the point I don't even like to buy clothes online because I can't try them on, and this cost $60, which is a lot of money for something I may, or may not like. Luckily for me, a friend had bought the system already, but because of back problems had returned it. She kept the "free gift" disc, which I borrowed.

For a while, I worked out every day alternating between the two work outs on the disc. And guess what. I got results, some pretty amazing ones too. Unfortunately, life got in the way of my work out, and so I went to square -1 and am starting from scratch, again.

Well, I've got a wedding I'm a bridesmaid in, an international trip, and in general want to look like a hottie, so I decided to buy my own a few months ago on the three month payment plan.

The set I got comes with six routines on three different discs. It includes "booty bands" to help you work out your butt, and a chart that helps you organize the work outs to get the butt shape you want.

Even though it's called the "Brazilian Butt Lift," Carvalho works everything out with his six different routines. There's a body sculpt, a tummy tuck, cardio, and of course two work outs for your bum-bum.

Another plus is that you can do this work out at home. I don't like the gym because I'm a a self-conscious ninny. Also, I'm not quite sure of how to work out there. So many machine which ones do I do and how many reps? This eliminates all of that. I don't have to let anyone watch me, I can fail around like a dying animal to my heart's content. Also, I have organization to my work out.

So, all in all, this is a pretty good system.

(Just so we're clear, Brazilian Butt Lift isn't giving me any money to advertise. I'm simply sharing my experience, but you can go here if you want to get the work out.)

So, that's proof that if you stick to any routine you will lose weight. It's just a matter of finding what you like, and what works for you.

At this point, I've lost an inch over all on my entire body. I've only lost a pound, but an inch of body fat is something. So, I'll just keep going.

As always

In Search Of. . . Fitness

In Search Of. . . Fitness

85 % of women have body-image issues. On a smaller scale, of the 20 women you know 17 of them hate at least one thing about their body. That’s pretty standard. Despite what polls show, I think women have always been dissatisfied with themselves. That’s the nature of the beast.

We all don’t like something about ourselves, but the question is what do we do about it?

Not a whole devil of a lot.

Most of us are content to hate the reflection in the mirror and say, “I’ll start working out tomorrow.” (Personally, tomorrow is one of my favorite excuses.) But a million tomorrows come and go, and none of us ever really make a change. I’m guilty of that.

Lately, I look more like an apple with toothpicks stuck in me. Stupid genetics making me gain weight in the middle. Once upon a time I was fit. I had cut muscles and felt amazing, emotionally. Elle Woods’s bit about endorphins and not killing had some truth to it.

 Now, I’m fed up with waiting for tomorrow and missing the days when my muscles had those attractive cut lines. It was time to get off my duff and get fit. I figured I’d share my adventure with you. If I can inspire one person to at least consider getting fit, I won’t feel like such a failure.

To put everything in proportion, I’m 5’4” and 140lbs.

Starting Measurements:

Bust: 40.5 inches
Waist: 33 inches
Stomach: 39 inches
Hips: 40 inches
Rear: 41 inches
Thighs: 22 inches
Calves: 13 inches
Arms: 10 inches

Now before you all role your eyes and say I’m one of those girls. I’m not. I don’t have a dysmorphic view of my body; I just want to be the best I can.  

Welcome To In Search Of. . .

Hello and welcome to In Search Of. . .

You might wonder what I'm in search of. If you do, the answer would be a lot of things. I'm searching for God, health, travel--life in general.

This blog won't be about one specific thing. Actually, I am pretty sure there will be a variety of topics to satisfy my distracted brain. I can tell you though, there will be some old faithfuls, like fitness, writing, and the occasional spiritually-minded thought.

I intended to collect my research and findings here for your entertainment, so enjoy my little blog.