The Glam Series-FACE routine

I cannot pretend to be any sort of makeup/beauty expert.  At all.  I have an incredibly simple routine that takes me all of 5 minutes in the morning, and I am totally cool with that.  I pay a little more attention to skin care, but I still don't spend much time on it.  Even though I'm not expert, I thought this was a fun idea that Jordan is hosting and wanted to participate, so here we go!  Today we are talking about all things related to the FACE.

Like I said, I prefer to spend more time (and money) on skin care than on makeup.  I swear by 3 different lines, SkinCeuticals, Rhonda Allison, and Eminence Organic.

I have several products from each line, but my favorites are: 

1. SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic- first layer in the morning after cleansing.
2. SkinCeuticals Retexturing Activator- 2nd layer in the morning, and I use this again at night after cleansing. 
3. Rhonda Allison Drop of Essence Hydration Drops- Honestly the most moisturizing thing I've ever felt, sooo luxurious.
4. Rhonda Allsion Growth Factor Gel- moisturize and protect.
5.Eminence Stone Crop Whip Moisturizer- It smells like heaven.  It is sort of thick, so I prefer to put this on at night to really hydrate my skin.

As for makeup, I usually don't wear foundation, just a finishing powder over my moisturizer.  If I'm going out at night or want more coverage, I wear Mary Kay, which sort of makes me feel like an old lady, but I really like the product.  These are the only 2 things I buy from Mary Kay, and although I do like them, I rarely wear them:

6. Foundation Primer- this would be great under ANY foundation, it really gives your skin a smooth surface.
7. TimeWise Foundation - I find it to be much less "cakey" than other foundations have been.

My other makeup go-to is BareMinerals.  I love their powder because its soooo light, you can't feel it at all.  They also have tons of options for bronzers, blushes, and highlighters.  These are my daily choicesL

8. BareMinerals Mineral Veil- it goes right over my moisturizer OR foundation, easy peasy.
9. Rose Radiance All Over Face Color- a little goes a long way with this, it seriously lasts forever. 

Join in the fun and share your best beauty tips in The Glam Series! Next week is all about EYES.

A Very Special Birthday!

Yesterday was quite an exciting day at our house!  The "baby" of the family, our puppy, turned 2!!  

Shay, our golden retriever, has been with us since he was 8 weeks old and we couldn't possibly imagine life without him.  Here are some pictures of him as a puppy…he was the cutest!

He hid under these stairs the first afternoon we had him.  I can't believe he ever fit there!

 He was so tiny!

 Already a runner at a young age!

 Sometimes I wish I could still pick him up like this!

He was the same size as Orlando!

 As seen in the first picture, we gave him a cupcake to celebrate.  We did the same thing last year, so I guess this is the tradition.

Happy Birthday, Shay!! We couldn't have possibly gotten a better dog.  You are the best dog, friend, protector, and comforter we could imagine!  That on top of being so smart and funny, you are now declared World's Best Dog!

Weekend in Fargo

Yes, in the dead of winter, we decided to spend the weekend in the only place possibly colder than Minneapolis- Fargo, ND.  Ugh.  

Mark's best friend lives in Fargo, and it was his 30th birthday, so I suppose it was well worth it.  We drove up on Saturday and hung out with him and his wife for the afternoon.  That night, a few more friends showed up, including Mark's other best friend and his wife from Fergus Falls.  They always have so much fun together, so I never mind braving the cold for him to get to be with his buddies.

We spent the night getting dinner and hanging out at a bar/grill/golf simulator in Fargo.  It was actually pretty cool.  This is how we Northerners keep our golf games sharp during the winter!

We brought Shay with us, which was really fun because our friends have a boxer, and the two of the played NON-STOP.

We somehow got them in a picture together after a few tries. 

After the golfing, another couple actually brought their boxer over too, so both of them kind of ganged up on Shay.  He didn't complain though, he was having the best night ever!

We stayed up way later than I normally make it, and unfortunately, also had to get up way earlier than normal.  There ended up being a bad blizzard all the was from Fargo to St. Cloud that we had to drive in, so we left while it was still dark.  It was kind of scary driving home, but we did have several people along the way who would have been happy to let us stay the night if needed.  We did make it home just fine, but were pretty exhausted!

Now, onto yet another -20 day/week!

California Vacation Days 3-4

Happy Monday!  Or at least I hope its a happy Monday, it's always hard to tell how the day will go, especially on a Monday morning!  I'm bringing the 2nd half of my mini-vacation to you today in recap form, so hopefully the beach pictures help with the whole "happy" thing.

Monday morning started out beeeaaauuutiful.  This big aircraft carrier was out in the ocean in front of the condo when I woke up, and the sunrise was really pretty, the picture  really doesn't do it justice.

After watching the ship for awhile, my mom and I decided to drive into San Diego to get some fresh squeezed juice from a juice bar near downtown.  This was so yummy!  Mine was a bunch of citrus fruit and cayenne pepper.  We also got these "detox" elixir shots.  They were…interesting.  But good. 

We saw my aunt for lunch that day and did a little shopping in the afternoon before we came back to the condo to relax and watch the Sunset.  It was a good one!

The next morning we went for a walk and saw a TON of dolphins swimming really close to shore.  I wish I had better pictures, but they are really hard to capture!

Also happening on the beach that morning was some Navy SEAL training.  They are really hard to see in the picture, but there are at least 50 men swimming in the water along these boats, they appeared to be tethered together in pairs.  I love watching them train, its so interesting!

That afternoon, we headed to Fashion Valley, which is a really nice mall in San Diego.  We did some MORE shopping (so many new clothes, ahh!) and indulged in some Pinkberry for lunch!

We just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and watching the sunset.  We had dinner at a good seafood restaurant and then called it a night.

I got home the next day, really late at night.  I was supposed to get back in the middle of the day, but I had truly one of the worst traveling experiences of my life.  It was like Delta was playing a cruel joke on everything.  It was NOT cool, and my bag did not make it home, which totally freaked me out because all of my new clothes were in there!  Thankfully, the bag made it home abut 24 hours later…sheesh.

California Vacation Days 1-2

Well, here I am back in the frozen tundra.  While Minnesota has been experiencing extreme coldness, Southern California has been "unseasonably warm" according to their local news.  The weather was in the 80s! In January!  I did not see one cloud the entire time.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon and basically just relaxed at the condo for the rest of the day.  We did go out to eat at my favorite restaurant of all time, Miguel's, where I had some amazing flautas.  

On Sunday morning, I was lucky enough to be able to attend my cousin's baby's baptism.  I didn't plan my trip specifically for this weekend, it was just a coincidence, and a very happy one!  I was able to see a lot of family, meet the new baby, and say goodbye to my other cousin who is leaving San Diego for San Francisco next month (before Mark and I go back to SD, boo.)

Right after the baptism, I was SO lucky to be able to meet one of my best friends for lunch.  Allison lives in Twentynine Palms on the Marine Corps base (her husband is a total badass Marine Corps Officer, he is currently serving in Afghanistan on his 2nd deployment.)  We went to college together, but met while studying abroad in Chile and Nicaragua.  I only get to see her every couple of years, but I am hoping they are stationed in San Diego next, which will increase our visits for sure!  

Anyway, we met in Temecula, which was only an hour drive for me.  It was a really cute little town and I'd totally go back there for wine tasting at the many vineyards in the area.

That evening, my mom and I walked next door to the Hotel Del Coronado, did some shopping and sat at the bar for awhile.  We walked back to the condo while the sun was setting and just had dinner at the condo while watching TV and relaxing. 

A Lifelong Love Affair

I think I've probably mentioned before that Coronado, CA holds a special place in my heart, but I don't think I've ever really explained it.  I am headed there tomorrow, so I though I'd take a little trip down memory lane.

My mom grew up on Coronado Island (and then moved to MN, yikes!)  But anyway, it isn't really an island, for those of you know don't know, its a peninsula off of San Diego.  It's whats on the other side of that huge Bay Bridge you see in San Diego. My parents have had a condo there since before I was born, so I grew up going there at least twice a year and sometimes spent the whole summer.  Its became a real second home to me, and actually WAS my home in 2009 when I lived in it while I did an internship at a hospital in San Diego.

Here are a few shots of me as a kid on the beach in Coronado.

The view from the condo is what I love most.  No matter how many times I look at it, I still think its the most beautiful view in the world. 

 I love hanging out and shopping at the Hotel Del, which is right next to the condo.

I love that the Navy SEALs train on the island, and I especially love watching them do their drills.  

I love that Mark visited me in Coronado after we had only been dating 2 months.

I love that my girlfriends all came out to the condo for a bachelorette party.

I love SO much about this island and I know it like the back of my hand.  Now that my mom spends the winters out there, I always have a trip planned each winter.  This year I am lucky enough to go twice though!  I'll be visiting my mom for a long weekend, and then Mark and I are going together in February.  I can't wait!!

Dr. DangerOZ- a rant.

I admit that I used to like Dr. Oz.  I even had the DVR set to record him everyday.  But I noticed a trend a few years ago that he was talking more and more about weight-loss, and especially all of the new "fad diets" out there.  It bothered me, but not so much that I thought he was dangerous, I just though he'd gotten kind of monotonous.  Now that I work exclusively with eating disorders, I have a completely different viewpoint on him.  Granted, I am in a highly sensitive role here and the name "Dr. Oz" is basically the naughtiest of naughty words amongst any of my co-workers, especially the 7 registered dietitians I share my office space with.  However, all I had to do was peruse the Dr. Oz website for 5 minutes, and this is what I  found, all directly copied from his episode list.  

Eat Your Way Thin

Dr. Oz's Rapid Weight-Loss Plan 

21-Day Plan to Drop Two Dress Sizes

Melt Your Fat Fast

The Yacon Syrup Project

Eat Yourself Skinny!

Kitchen Rules to Lose Weight and Reverse Disease

Fast Diet Tricks That Work

The Dopamine Diet

7-Day Swimsuit Cleanse

Joe Cross’ 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse

21-Day Summer Slimdown Plan

Jumpstart to Skinny

The New HCG Diet

Is Today’s Wheat Making You Gain Weight?

The Biggest Loser Kid Plan

Garcinia Cambogia (HCA): Is This Right for You?

Dr. Oz's Ultimate Diet

Qsymia: Weight-Loss Miracle in a Bottle?

Oz-Approved 7-Day Crash Diet

Do I even have to explain whats wrong with this?  I understand that his show is not geared towards people with eating disorders, but with at least 10 million Americans suffering from eating disorders, you'd think he'd be a little more careful about what he puts out there.  10 million is probably a low estimate, there are probably millions more who don't realize they have an eating disorder.  In my experience, a lot of people work really hard to lose weight or maintain a weight that would actually put them in the underweight category, which is every bit as dangerous as being overweight.  But a lot of people don't think they are underweight because they don't look super skinny (I used to be one of them for many years), they just don't realize that optimal weight is highly personal and based on childhood growth charts- not by social expectations. 

I'm not saying Dr. Oz is evil or that he's triggering people with eating disorders on purpose, but the fact is that he is triggering them.  He's even triggering people without eating disorders to develop one!  This might sound like a stretch to those of you on the outside, but I have seen it time and time and time again.  I have personally treated MANY people who say their eating disorder started when they decided to try a new diet they saw on Dr. Oz, or on a show similar to his.  His promises are addicting!  Try this new miracle drug, eliminate this food, eat more of this, do this cleanse…etc.  It's hard to not get caught up in it, especially if you have poor body image to begin with.

Obviously, Dr. Oz is not the only one to blame.  All you have to do is turn on the tv for 10 minutes, browse the magazines at the check-out aisle at Target, or listen to a group of women's conversation over lunch, and you will be exposed to the constant obsession American's have with weight loss.  I used to be Guilty with a capital G of ALL of this.  Thankfully, I am much more aware now of what I say and think about this topic.  I am also much more picky and critical of what types of influences I expose myself to.   I know I have some strong/harsh opinions here (I absolutely HATE the gluten-free trend…unless you have celiac disease or a real not based on weight loss intolerance) but my opinions truly do come from the damage I've seen these trends have on so many lives.  Read this article for more.

I really don't have an Aha! moment for you here, I just had to get this off my chest.  I just hope that people learn to watch Dr. Oz and similar shows about weight loss with a skeptical mind. It makes me so sad to see new patients come in because of this weightloss overload in the media.  Just be smart people.  As it turns out, there is no miracle here.  

Hot and Cold

It's official.  Minnesota is literally too cool for school.  The temperature here has been absolutely freezing, so cold that all public schools were closed yesterday and most of them are closed today.  A lot of businesses have also been closed to prevent anyone from needing to go outside in the dangerously cold weather.  Of course, my job would never think of closing, healthcare doesn't ever get that option.  I had to work this past weekend though, which means I get a couple days off this week…praise the Lord!  To warm myself up in my poorly insulated house, I've been looking at pictures of warmer times and places.  I've also been keeping the oven on, which led to baking brownies, and then eating the brownies to build my fat stores to insulate my body…or at least that's how I justified it.  But that's neither here nor there.  What I'd like to share with you today are my memories of some of the hottest times and places I can remember in my life.  Ok, lets start.

An obvious choice, the equator in Ecuador.  Jeans were not the obvious clothing choice though.

They day I got badly sunburned on our honeymoon in Mexico

Building an orphanage in Belize.  In July.

Hiking in Chile

Sightseeing in Guatemala

Cruising the river in Thailand

Sunbathing in Jamaica

A volcano in Nicaragua

And despite all the Latin American travel, the hottest I ever remember being was running the Chicago marathon in 95 degrees. I smelled awesome afterward.

I have a couple other good ones, but I can't find the pictures.  Like the trip I took to Israel and Jordan in July!  Of course, we have lots of hot days in MN too, but they seem so far away at this point.  I hope everyone was able to warm up for a moment there.  Just don't go outside.  Actually, don't even look outside.  

Lone Survivor Movie Review

I'm not really one to write movie reviews, but I just had to say something about this.  Mark and I saw Lone Survivor on Saturday and I really loved it.  I wasn't sure how I would feel for a number of reasons:

1. I am currently reading it.  I picked this book up while I was in California, and I haven't been able to put it down.  Sidenote-  I am sort of a fanatic about military history books, pretty much all I read.

2. Sometimes I still think of Mark Wahlberg as Marky Mark…ok, most of the time.

3.  Hollywood usually makes the war look terrible, as does the media.  Its not that I'm so much in favor of being at war, but I am in favor of celebrating the amazing things our military does.  I was worried about how this would make the military look.

However, I was so happy with how this movie was made.  Mostly, I was happy that such an incredible story (and a relatively unknown story to civilians) is finally getting the attentions and respect it deserves.  I am interested to finish the book and see how accurate all of the parts of movie were, but so far, they did a great job.  The only thing that I felt I needed to explain to Mark (who isn't reading the book) was that a lot more went into the decision the SEALs made to let the boys go free than was mentioned in the movie.  Marcus Luttrell does an excellent job explaining the rules of engagement and why those rules prevented the men from making any decision other than the one they did.

The ending gave me chills, seeing how the tribal and man and village saved Luttrell.  At the very end, they pay tribute to all of the men who lost their lives in this operation, and I think everyone in the theater was crying.

A few highlights:

1. The cast was fantastic.  I was especially pleased to see that Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights (Taylor Kitsch) was one of the main characters.  It took me awhile to recognize him, but ahhhh he is still so attractive, and he's apparently spent some major time at the gym.  He's a highly under-utilized actor in my opinion.

2.  Alexander Ludwig finally made another big screen appearance.  He was great.  Even if he didn't have a ton of screen time, he really did make you love his character.  The version of the Ballad of the Frogman he recited was awesome.

3.  It's always fun to see actual footage of the SEALs training, especially since I've been watching them train in Coronado for my whole life.  It was cool to see the building my family's condo is in be in the background of lots of the footage and photos.

4.  The tribute at the end was really special.  I have no idea how any of the family members of the real people would ever be able to watch this, but it was really well done.

So yeah, two thumbs up.  For sure.  I definitely recommend the movie and encourage you to read the book also, both are well worth it!