Let The Shopping Olympics Begin….

There is one day a year that women train for, men fear and children are better left not knowing what happens…. Black Friday. After that blessed holiday of family and friends gathering to stuff their faces for hours comes the most physically demanding shopping experience of your life. It has evolved over the years. You no longer have to wait all night outside in the freezing cold till the time came for the stampede of animalistic people dashing in for the best deal and new must have item. You now can walk around all night inside the warm stores plotting your attack with the wonderful maps they provide. Don’t let the new leisurely beginning fool you. You still will have to wait in lines for door busters, seize your items without letting them be snatched from your arms or cart and then the check outs are the 7th level of hades. This day truly divides the elite tactical shoppers from all others. I have seen blood, tears and flat out screaming from my many years of this event. I have been punched, smashed, shoved and assaulted all in the name of unbelievable savings and that year’s toy or electronic. I continue to come back again and again no matter the experience. Some might say these epic day attendees are gluttons for punishment, but when our shopping is completed and the green is saved we would disagree. I suggest train all year round. Pump that iron to build those blocker muscles. Do your cardio for the mad dashing and short sprinting it demands on your body. Finally always have a game plan. Going out on Black Friday morning unprepared and unsure of what one wants compares to sky diving the first time with no training or direction. Chances are you will pull the right string, but you could not. You could get tangled in your wires or on the landing break your legs. With that in mind I wish you all good luck! I anticipate many great savings and life long memories!!!

To Work Out Or Not To Work Out, That Is The Question.....

We are all rushing and racing and running in circles. We are moving so fast and have so much scheduled in our daily planners sometimes we forget what our purpose is. Between our hecticness who has time really for themselves or the small things that matter. That’s where the question to work out or not to work out comes into play. Working out is a wonderful way to release endorphins, perk up your energy and maintain a healthy life, but do we really have time for it. I know many girls who say I have no time so I just don’t eat or very little this will keep me skinny, but really this only makes them skinny fat. What is skinny fat you ask? These are the girls that are thin, but it is all loose, none shapely and flabby. Does that sound attractive just to say you can fit into a certain pair of pants or see a specific number on a scale “I think not”? Remember muscle weighs more then fat! Then there are the ladies that work out for hour’s everyday turning their bodies into He-man look a likes. Of course there are pageants and fitness comps that do request a certain look, but these girls are maintaining this year round. We may not have all the time to put in two a day work outs or even more then an hour a day, but working out is very important. There are so many health benefits and self esteem reasons to working out. Now if you are eating junk and man portions of food the results will vary so keep that in mind. I vote to make time and work out. Whether it is in a gym, following a work out video or something active outside, get yourself up and moving. Make it a priority because you deserve it! Keep that in your head and find things you enjoy and it will no longer feel mundane or be dreaded. Good Luck!!!

Beauty Sleep....

Is beauty sleep a myth? We all know the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, frozen in their beauty and youth while in deep slumber. Nowadays we are lucky to get around 6 hours of sleep. Between school, work, friends, dating, gym and about 100 other activities or functions we cram in a week what person has time to really sleep. I’m constantly wishing there was 26 hours in the day just so I could have two more hours for everything and sleep. I absolutely love sleep and really need to work on rekindling that affair. I have many friends who are just like me and those of us that adore sleep are also the ones that are told we look much younger then we are. For me I feel I’m most beautiful the mornings I wake up with a clean face and well rested. So is there some truth to beauty sleep that keeps us youthful and stunning? I did a little research to back up my affection and to motivate me to be a much better girlfriend to sleep.

Early in the night time sleep cycle, people typically have a surge in growth hormones. During this period of deep sleep there is a release of growth hormones that help repair and rebuild body tissues like muscle and bone. Many of the body’s cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins, which are the building blocks needed for cell growth and repairs damage from factors like stress and ultraviolet rays.

Activity in parts of the brain are drastically reduce during sleep that control emotions, decision-making processes, and social interactions, suggesting that quality sleep may help people maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while you are awake.

Some cosmetic products are susceptible to sunlight and you consequently get more out of them if you use them before bed. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E will stay active on your skin longer if you apply them at night. Also with going to sleep with a clean face this is allowing your skin to breath and repair. With all of us wanting breaks in life why not be fair and give your face one too.

What happens when you don’t get proper sleep? Lack of and poor quality sleep negatively affects the body by increasing body fat percentage and the risk of chronic diseases "yickes!".

After just reading a handful of the perks of being well rested and few of the very undesirable down sides of being to busy for sleep, I am officially scheduling my sleep in better. With so many positives why not take an extra hour out of our ridiculously overbooked days to rest and reap the free benefits of “beauty sleep”.

Brains VS. Bronze......

A large rippling brain muscle compared to a bulging sculpted body. Both come with fantastic perks. One will probably one day be a CEO or hold a sophisticated high paying job. The other will be a protector and an athletic man running around without a shirt wanting you to be in awe of all his hard work. The question is which is better, I believe neither. Yes it’s nice to know that one day your husband will be pulling in six figures or when others husbands are getting bellies yours will continue looking like Hercules, but is there someone between these two. He may be making six figures and providing the rich and indulgent life, but he is a workaholic and spends all his time studying/working or with his secretary. He may be the statue of a perfect physique, but between his supplement induced mood swings and your body never the picture of his fitness perfection ideas he keeps a wondering eye making life not at all that glamorous. A well rounded man of intelligence, health, spirituality and a good heart is my ideal man. I adore the thought of one who is or has been self motivated enough to accomplish a degree maybe even a few. Something is incredibly attractive about a healthy active male that never puts a woman down because of her unique body. A spiritual bond with a man who strives to keep the same standards and passion for the same belief can bring an extraordinary amount of peace and harmony to any relationship. Nothing can ever top a man with a genuine good heart who radiates honor and integrity and has a love of service for others. I have dated both these extreme. One’s whose brain rivals some of the great minds of our time and the others efforts were in pumping up a sculpted body for women’s desires. All though spectacular in each their single category both of these two fell beyond short in any other category. I appreciated tasting them like the samples at Baskin-Robins 31 flavors but after the experience/after taste I realized neither one really is better then the other or for me. The true champion is the incredible man who is a perfect blend and does it with style. I look forward to being his other half.

Through Thick Or Thin….

Waistlines will fluctuate, jeans will be filled out or need to be tailored and faces will be round or sunken. No matter our ethnicity or size we are all trying to feel and look exceptional. We take the newest diet pills and follow the popular craze diets to fit society’s norm of what is attractive. All we want is through our thick, thin or anything between to be loved and feel stunning. We desire what we once looked like at 13 or 17. When did this become our standard of beauty? We wanted so badly to grow up and become adults, but to have our bodies staying in these pre pubescent stages. We need to start loving ourselves no matter the number on the scale or on the back of the pants. We should be taking care of our health with exercise and proper eating so we can live a long adventures life. Not one that when we look back all we see is yo-yo dieting and claims of what ages we weighed our best. Life is a beautiful journey and we need to dance our way through it, appreciating the road maps left on our faces with wrinkles and the scars that mark our bodies. Embrace your thick, thin and everything between bodies, loving every curve or lack there of through this beautiful passage we call life.

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes…….

Shoes are one of those constant things in a woman’s life. No matter how much your weight changes, how many times you cheat on your diet or whoever the new love of your life is you can always slip right into your beloved shoes. They come in all different shapes and sizes to fit everyone’s need or style. With some having skyscraper heels, others decorative laces, ones with fur and even ones stunningly bedazzled. We keep the ones that last the test of time no matter the wear/tear, while discarding the others that were a phase or too painful to walk more then 10 feet in. Shoes are much like relationships; they come in a wide variety. With only the wearer of the shoes knowing how they really fit and make them feel while standing in them. I’m confident all of us at sometime or another has had those relationships like bright red sky high heels that all your girlfriends go gaga with envy for, but only you know truth behind the glitz and glam is pain and how they hurt you every time you slip into them. Then there are those almost seeming allusive glass slipper relationships. They fit like a glove and you could wear them at all times of the day feeling like a princess. I have experienced many shoes through out my life. With each pair I have changed it up a bit, till one day hopefully I find that perfect fit. I have had the ones that left me bleeding and callus and the others that every time I put them on they feel like apart of me and I couldn’t imagine looking in my closet and not seeing them. Just like unhealthy relationships we try mending our broken heels or making them work even though they cause us blisters, we keep them around and continue slipping into them. I’m a victim of a pair or two that I don’t wear for awhile that will catch my eye making me wonder why it has been so long since my last stroll in them. Then I glide them on and the bruising/blisters starts up again with me asking myself “why do I keep returning and not throwing them out”. No mole skin or gel insert in the world will make them fit or function any better, sometimes it’s just time to say goodbye. With age I have found the key to great shoe/relationship shopping is trying them on by wearing them around the store before making the commitment to take them home and everything that comes with that attachment. In that short amount of time you will obtain quite a good idea of how functional the rest of your relationship will be. Just like we test drive cars before we make that final purchase, we need to remember to walk a store mile in our new shoes to try out that new pair we got our eye on.

Does Size Matter….

I am a spa loving girl! One could even go as far to say a "spa snob". I have been to a variety of different spas in and out of this state. With each new adventure there are some things I consider very significant and always look for before giving my gold stars rating. They are cleanliness of the facility, how inviting is the atmosphere, pricing and how the person giving me my services makes me feel. I have been disheartened many times by the different spas in my area, they have been either very run down, the service givers are awkward/rude or they are really over priced. For the everyday woman we just want to relax from our crazy life’s and have some affordable pampering.

I have 3 very important women in my life for my pampering R&R. They are my wax Guru, hair extraordinaire stylist and nail artist. They don’t only keep me fresh and lovely, but also sane. So for those services that one may need every month or so, I go to my top 3 small business woman.

Wax Guru- Jessica is amazing at body waxing. She is beyond reasonably priced and does by far the best job of any one I have gone to since I was 18. She does it out of her house which is always clean and comfortable.

Hair Extraordinaire Stylist- Angie is top notch and a perfectionist. She is spectacular with colors, cuts and extensions. She works in a small individual room salon but does everything herself. She is very friendly and therapeutic to talk with.

Nail Artist- Heidi hands down best nail lady I have every known or been to. She is incredibly talented and easy on the wallet. I love to get my signature gel nails done by her at her home. She has or will make just about any color you want. I love that she is ok with it being quiet because lets be honest sometimes your just burnt out and need a little silent pampering time.

They may not work in big/fancy salons or have tons of people doing half the work for them, but they do phenomenal jobs. I feel more comfortable and enjoy my experience with them then I have in most salons. One really great plus I love is that I can talk or text each of them personally, because now a days ones schedule really can be mayhem.

He said, She said, What I really said….

Drama seems to be all around us these days. It is all over our TV with people getting fame from it, while standing in lines it screams at us from the cover of magazines, the flimsy friends that as quickly as they come in to our lives leave it burning bridges behind them or just the usual unavoidable drama of life.

I recently experienced a large dose of drama with multiple players involved. After going through a very unique break up the “he said, she said” drama began. There were two kinds of people in my life. There were the ones that were sincerely there for me and wanted to help me through this always undesirable process. Then there were the ones that love to be in the know, using drama as power and to bond with others. At first it was hard to tell who was who with my eyes blinded with tears, I needed support and comfort and was receiving it from multiple people. As weeks and months went on I soon began to see which shoulders I had cried on were sharing personal words I shared and spreading them with fantastic twists. So began the game of “that’s not what I said”. One of the largest drama blow outs ended with relationships being cut off, both sides deleting ones from Facebook and ones that once felt like family no longer acknowledging each others presence. Things were completely twisted and taken out of context. I apologized to those that I had hurt for my participation but soon found that my words and the situation had been so warped that the mending was too exhausting and trust had been lost. Having no relationship would be better then trying to run around straightening out the mangled mess like a mixed up rubiks cube.

Just like weed seeds my words were altered and changed tossed into the wind, landing all over. Some people quickly killed them knowing the destruction and ugliness they would bring, others glared and murmured about the fact that they had been released at all and others let the weeds take over killing everything around them and continuing to spread their ugliness.

The lesson learned is in life there will always be the “he said, she said, what I really said” drama. Just like growing up and playing the telephone game people continue to play this with any juicy information their ears can pick up. They disguise themselves as fluffy cute animals, but you can't make friends with a squirrel. Squirrels are just rats in cuter outfits. In the end what matters is that if you and the ones that mean the most know the truth, people can keep throwing their seeds of lies.

Cupcake they say you are no good for me, but I would have to disagree…..

Cupcakes are delicious and perfectly portioned treats from heaven. Preparing for a fitness comp and a pageant is very grueling, not to mention the diet is pretty bland and can be even harder when you are a chocoholic! I recently found in Provo The Coco Bean Cupcake Café. They have a great selection of 40 delicious flavors. They even select their cocoa and vanilla beans from different regions around the world. By developing all of their recipes themselves, they ensure the highest quality of each cupcake. Yes I know the saying a moment on the lips is forever on the hips, but every now and then enjoying life’s sweet treats and with staying active I believe this saying to be debunked. Not to mention no one wants to be around a grumpy food/chocolate deprived woman.




My favorite would have to be the raspberry chocolate cheesecake and yes they really do look like this!!! What will yours be?

She is as fake as fo fur, minus the perks….

I have met many different kinds of females and furs in my life. Some have been priceless and lasted through all times, others were easy to obtain then quickly lost and then there were the ones that looked too good to be true. Some of the advantages of fo fur are no animals are hurt/killed, they are much better priced and they are easier to mend if anything gets ripped or spilled on it. I have recently done some dejunking not only in my closet but also in my life. I realized that just as much as holding onto clothes from High school that I will never fit again is mentally unhealthy, so is keeping woman in my life that bring me down and use me. Now I’m not saying I cut them out of my life completely more like took a step back and just like a high expensive store visit them from time to time to touch base. One woman I know use to tell me all the time “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. Was I her enemy or was she my enemy, who were these enemies and what tag did I have to read to follow their “care for directions”. Should friendship really be that much work? Like fo fur I’m sure we can all spot the fakes. From far away they look great and the price seems unbeatable but when you get close you start to see where they are falling apart, letting you down and the spots of fo fur that begin to wear down to show it’s true self. I have never been one for being fake and have always been told I’m transparent, never trying to imposture or mimic to fit in or be popular. That is also how I like my friends the cottons, cottons the silks, silks and the denim, denim. Don’t get me wrong I do love my fo fur for it’s cheap price and none harming way, but just like fake girls in the end they fall apart and need to be replaced.

Therapy in a brown box...

As I arrived home yesterday from my morning job with only 30 minutes to spare before rushing out the door to my next job there on my porch was a one foot by one foot brown box. I quickly snatched it up and rushed it to the kitchen. My heart leaped for joy as I read To: Celeste Lojik From: Mimi Boutique. I ordered from this fabulous boutique less then a week ago and my purchases had arrived at a much needed time of retail therapy in a brown box. As I carefully opened up the box I found it was beautifully packaged. Both my purse and clutch were individually wrapped in beautiful plum paper with silver decorative paper thrown as fillers. The best part was on top of it all was a cutely wrapped chap stick and an adorable hand written note which read "Celeste: Thanks for shopping with us! We hope your summer is "extra stylin" with the new pieces :) Wear them in the best of health! Best, Michelle".

I have been so burned out lately between my two jobs, school, dance, preparing for a fitness comp/pageant and trying to have a little social life. This lifted my spirits and I even broke in my new stylin red purse on another bike ride.

This company is top notch with a great variety of accessories that are affordable!!! I will continue to give them my money and probably will only shop there from now on for my purses "Sorry Nordstrom".

http://www.mimiboutique.com/

A need for speed....

On Monday night I went for a much needed ride on a bullet bike. It was a warm summer night, the wind was rushing through my hair and we topped out at 110 MPR. I kept wanting him to go faster and faster but we soon ran out of road. Sheepishly I will admit and if my father ever saw this he would kill me that we were not wearing helmets. We agreed next time we rode we would and see how much faster we could go.

As I reflected back upon that night I couldn't help but think how this need for speed not only happens with me on two wheeled vehicles but also in the dating world. I jump into love and relationships with little to no thought on how safe or healthy the outcome will be. As I have gotten older I have become picker upon who I will travel zero to sixty down the tunnel of love with but have still ignored many warning signs of faulty breaks or equipment and the lack of helmets.

I have came to the conclusion that as much as I have a need for speed traveling at a slower pace really is just as enjoyable as going full throttle. Life is fragile and can be made much shorter by pushing speed limits. As well my heart is breakable and by hauling it down the street of love after enough crashes it will soon look like Frankenstein’s from having to be picked up and pieced back together over and over again.

Here we go.....

After much pushing and shoving from different directions I finally agreed to start a Blog. My initial impressions of Blogging were always married woman, people with children or extremely passionate writers that want to be heard. I am none of these. With much thought of what would or could I Blog about I finally came up with fat, boys and skinny jeans. What a weird combo you might be thinking and why would one choose to write about these. As a 24 year old single woman it made perfect sense to write about the three most common themes in my life. Fat, I’m not saying that I am fat but that working out, being active and what I’m putting into my mouth is something very important for me and most other woman around me in my life. Boys, need I really explain this one. Skinny jeans, is referring to fashion. Fashion and shopping is an Olympic sport to me.

Here is a little about your writer. My parents are a city boy and a country pumpkin. These two came together to form a perfect mixture of rural and urban living making my life growing up the suburb life. Things I have loved since birth are the color pink, shopping, dancing, family, crowns, talking, great white sharks, pictures, sleeping, traveling and adventure. I have always been ambitious and knew one day I would go far. At 7 years old I would tell people my “life plan”, first I would become Miss Highland, next Miss Utah County, then Miss Utah, which would then lead to me becoming Miss America and Universe. Then after all that was said and done I would then become the first lady President in which I would then take over the world. As I stated before very ambitious! At 12 years old I started telling everyone I wanted to be a lawyer for sexual abused children and an international adoption agent. In Jr.High I started writing papers about the date rape drug, sexual abuse and my personal stories of visiting the orphanages in the Ukraine. All of this evolved into when I was 18 and in my first year of college I picked up the college paper and read an article about an agent that rescued children from sex trafficking. After reading his amazing story and diving further into this topic my new life aspiration was to be an advocate against human sex trafficking. This then leads us to me now. I have a Bachelors in Political Science and next spring will be done with my second Bachelors in Psychology. I am diligently working on my undergrad research paper on the lack of awareness and information provided on this subject.

My life has been full of random stories and unfortunate situation. I have been called the poster girl for Murphy’s Law time from time. My dating history has been one of brightly colored splashes on the pages of my life’s journey. Some were great and others have been chalked up to learning experiences.

“It’s sad but it’s true how society says her life is already over. There’s nothing to do and there’s nothing to say till the man of her dreams comes along picks her up and puts her over his shoulder. It seems so unlikely in this day and age.” One of my favorite quotes!

Since this is my first post I don’t want to over do it or bore you with the chronological details of my life, this for now will have to be sufficient for getting to know me.