Category: LIFE-ING

2020 has been such a HUGE year for me! Dare I say this has truly been my best year yet? Cue judgy eye rolls…but it’s the truth! 2020 has been my best year! As I look back on what could’ve been the most difficult year I am filled with pride and am beyond grateful for it all. For me it’s been a year of strength, grit, determination, learning and growth. But if I had to decide which word best describes my year it would be STRENGTH for sure!

Strength is something I’ve never had and it’s definitely not something that comes easy to me. I had to work extremely hard to find it and continue to work just as hard to maintain it. This past year I’ve found the strength to commit to my physical health. I found the strength to open up about my mental health, my past mistakes and share openly just how far I’ve truly come. I found strength in sharing my spirituality and love for Jesus. I found the strength to work on me, all of me for the first time ever.

I found strength in sharing my journey with others. I found strength in the most amazing community of like-minded men and women whom have all become my second family. I found strength in letting go of my past and moving forward with a confidence unlike any I’ve ever experienced before. I found strength in my marriage and strength in my confidence as a mother. I found strength in letting God take the lead.

Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to make what could’ve been such a debilitating year my best year yet! There is not a single day that goes by that I do not feel immense gratitude for all you given me. You give me strength each and every day. The strength to show up for myself, for my family and for others. My strength comes from You.

I used to be so fixated on everything I ate. And I mean EVERYTHING! “Treats” were “cheats” and if I over indulged I’d be so riddled with guilt and disgust I’d simply throw the food back up. But on this night while decorating Christmas cookies with Hunter I simply popped that cookie in my mouth and felt immense joy in the memories I was creating with my son! It was on the very last bite I realized there was no overthinking that darn cookie. There was no making up excuses with Hunter as to why I couldn’t eat the cookie. There was absolutely NO fixation or thought about that cookie beyond the experience and the memories being made. There was absolutely ZERO guilt. And not even a twinge of need to throw it up.

Mental strength is just as, if not more important than our physical strength. When I think of how far I’ve come I am hands down most proud of the mental strength I’ve gained and the healthier relationship I have with food. Do you need help? Are you struggling to enjoy life’s blessings? Do you want to be able to enjoy that damn cookie without guilt? Let me share with you the Shred Plan and program that changed my life! This lifestyle does not suck! Drop a 🍪 below for more details or DM me your goals today.

You know what the hardest part of posting my transformations online is? It’s the fact that my transformation is reduced to mere looks alone. It says absolutely nothing about all of the work I’ve put in to get where I am at and says zero about the obstacles I have overcome.

Take this transformation for example. I posted this about a month ago and asked y’all to decided based on looks alone which version of me was healthier. I then provided facts about my lifestyle at each point in my life and asked again. Virtually no one thought that the woman on the right was in fact the healthier woman. So either based on looks alone they assumed that the woman on the left was healthier or they didn’t read the full story.

Either way, neither photo tells the entire story. You don’t SEE the starvation, the binging, the purging, the attempts at drinking myself to death. You don’t SEE the tears, the pain, the hurt I caused others and the horrible way I treated myself and my body. You don’t SEE all of the work I put in to get to where I am at. The lessons I’ve learned and the obstacles I’ve overcome are what make me who I am today.

I am a strong ass woman! I’m more confident than ever before and I’m ready to take on the world. I run with a fire in my soul and am determined to help others and lead them to a healthier and happier future. Often times it’s what we don’t see that is truly the most important. Don’t EVER judge a book by its cover. If you or someone you know is struggling with their worth and self image my inbox is always open.

Time to let the cat out of the bag. I’ve been hiding something from y’all and you will never guess what it is! 29 days ago I woke up and decided right then and there that I was going to do the #75hard Mental Toughness Challenge by Andy Frisella. Yup, that’s right! In a year of absolute chaos and poor health I decided to take on the toughest challenge out there to see if I could really make 2020 my healthiest year yet!

For the last 28 days…I have completed 28 workouts at home, 28 walks outdoors even in triple digit heat (now y’all understand my plea for fall weather), I have read over 280 pages of a good old fashioned paperback personal development book, I have drank over 3,584 ounces of water, and for 28 days I have followed a nutrition plan, no cheat meals and ZERO alcohol!

Not every day has been easy. Matter of fact some days I just plain don’t want to do it anymore. I know I have a ways to go. I know the holidays will be difficult. But I am determined to succeed! I kept this between my family and closest friends up to this point because I’m not doing this for all of you. I’m not doing this for fame, notoriety or bragging rights. I’m doing this for me, myself and I!

Y’all, I’ve had the few friends I’ve told, tell me right out the gate that I will fail. There have been days when I myself, have felt like I might fail. But here I am on day 29 still going. Only 47 more days to go and I’m frickin proud as hell of how far I’ve come. I’m excited beyond words for the challenges I’ll face this next month and a half. When I say #noexcuses I mean it!!!

I would like to give the biggest thank you to my family for all the love and support these last 28 days! I appreciate your words of encouragement on the toughest days I’ve faced so far immensely! I could not have made it this far without each and every one of you!

For more details on the #75 Hard Mental Toughness Challenge go to http://www.75hard.com

Based on looks alone, which girl do you think is healthier??? The girl on the left or the girl on the right? I’m giving you full permission to critique and judge. Go ahead and drop your vote in the comments below.

The girl on the left…always ate out or never ate at all and sometimes threw up her food if she felt she ate too much. She drank a minimum of three energy drinks a day and that didn’t include the pot of coffee and the multiple five hour energy shots. She smoked a pack a day, never worked out a day in her life and tried to drink herself to death.

The girl on the right…eats clean and has a far better relationship with food than every before. Her drink obsession of choice is water but she does still enjoy a good cup of coffee or the occasional drink. She hasn’t smoked in over three years and never will again. She moves her body daily but also feeds her mind and soul. She’s determined to live her life for herself and for her family. She still struggles every single day with the bad habits of her past but she no longer lets those habits consume her.

Now I’ll ask you again but with the information I just provided above, which girl do you think is healthier???

When I rescued this pretty puppers twelve years ago she was emaciated, scared of everything under the sun and had been found in a home that was breeding a fighting pitbulls.

Although quite particular and not a fan of new and unfamiliar faces, with time and patience she comes to love everyone most dear us. Her special bond with Hunter is pure magic. She would do anything to protect him. She is Justin’s little shadow following him everywhere he goes. She is my not so little cuddle bug always trying to sneak up onto the couch or bed, forever thinking she and all her 80lbs can pass as a lap dog.

She’s has grown leaps and bounds and has overcome so many fears and obstacles. She has been the one constant in my life and has helped me through some of the most dark and difficult times. I don’t know where I would be without her. Quite frankly I don’t even know if I would still be here if it weren’t for her. Being able to come home to her each and every day gave me purpose at a time when I was so so lost. The day i rescued her I thought I saved her life. But in reality this little miss has saved mine!

Check out her birthday slideshow here…Happy 12th Birthday Athena.

Do you ever walk past a mirror and not recognize the person in that reflection???

I’ve experienced both the positive and the negative of this, and let me tell you…the hard work, the journey, the transformation that takes place is worth it ALL a thousand times over!

You see, I used to HATE my reflection. I didn’t recognize the depressed, anxiety ridden, over thinker, over drinker, over eating, over weight women staring back at me. Then take this photo as an example of the polar opposite…Do I really look this smokin hot IRL??? I doubted this reflection until I decided to grab the camera and snap a photo…

Is this how far I have truly come??? Wow! I mean like WOWZA!!! Here I am taking a whole body selfie in front of a full length mirror with a smile that made my cheeks hurt! All because I know exactly who I am now!!! No longer depressed 24/7, still facing bouts of anxiety and continuing to learn and grow every day, but with confidence through the roof all without the hangover! Hello new me!!! You ARE FRICKIN’ GORGEOUS!!!

You ready to say hello to the new you? You ready to make perhaps the scariest but most rewarding decision of your life? Let’s do this!!! Drop a 📸 in the comments below and let’s do this!

Can you relate??? I’ve been stuck in a rut lately. I’ve hit a plateau recently and it’s been such a mind f*ck! It seems like such an impossible thing to push through.

Sometimes you need to look at how far you’ve come to remind yourself that you are capable of anything. I am capable of anything, including pushing past this plateau. I have abs coming in for the first time in my life for crying out loud! I should be celebrating my accomplishments and not dwelling on being stuck. But I’m human and damnit it’s hard!

Are you at a plateau? Do you feel stuck? I’ve got you! I have to tools to push through plateaus and help you get unstuck. So what do you say? You ready to link arms and push through obstacles together? Drop a 🤝 in the comments below or email me!

Normally I clean the house from top to bottom on Fridays. But if you watched my Instagram stories yesterday I got a little distracted…ok ok I got BIG TIME distracted and ended up playing with a new ring light all day. So today as I finish up the cleaning I realized I did all the chores I enjoy most yesterday so I’m left with all the chores I hate the most for today. And I’ll be honest, playing with that new ring light again sounds much more appealing.

What chore(s) do you hate most??? For me it’s cleaning toilets. FUN FACT…this actually was my favorite chore since childhood. Then I had a boy. The old saying, “if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.” Doesn’t seem to apply to the rest of the toilet. Sometimes I wonder what on earth he’s aiming at to get his “tinkles” all over the place! I also hate moping the floors. I put that one off the longest. I hate tile flooring! I hate having to scrub the grout. And I hate that it’s so hard to tell wether or not it’s clean. And wouldn’t ya know almost every house in the state of Arizona has an abundant amount of tile flooring so there is no escaping it. Lucky me! NOT!!!

Anyhoo…be sure to check out my IG stories throughout the day…I’ll be posting a little game for y’all as I further procrastinate on cleaning. And if you don’t already follow me on IG be sure and do so! You’re missing out on all the fun over there @modernwifeandmom.

I had someone the other day tell me that absolutely refused to hear my story because they “do NOT support MLMs”. Say what???

I truly don’t get it. Many people scoff at MLMs yet turn around and host online parties for Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Usborne and the like. They’ll support HUGE corporations like Target, Amazon, Walmart but aren’t willing to support the little guy??? Why?

I don’t think there is anything wrong with any of the companies I’ve mentioned! Especially those that are MLMs! As a matter of fact I applaud those who are a part of such amazing opportunities! I support other fellow #momtreprenuers every opportunity I get.

Why? Because MLMs don’t suck! They help countless others like me who might not have the business experience or money to invest in any other type of business actually start a successful business of their own with little to no start up cost.

The freedom and opportunity Beachbody has given me is life changing. For the first time in my entire marriage I was able to take my husband out for a date night! That’s HUGE to me! That’s HUGE for us! I’ve been able to gift Hunter with games and books and materials for his homeschooling. I wake up every single day excited about what I do! Excited to change lives and pay it forward.

I’m looking for other go-getters, momtreprenuers, dadtreprenuers and bad ass boss babes who want to hustle along side me. I’m looking for people who are teachable and willing to work hard to find their own freedom and purpose. If this sounds like you drop a 👍🏼 below. If you know someone who might benefit from this opportunity be sure to tag them. And as always simply check out the link in my bio for more info.

“Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence and skill.”