Who Likes The Lion King??

more specifically, this funny character from the movie....

RAFIKI

wait. what? shoot that's my little sister Hana...haha. yep this is the look i did today. normally i don't do these character looks on anyone besides myself, but i thought i would give it a try on another face! what do you guys think?

Remember to look over the left side bar ( <==) and click that Like button if you liked Rafiki! :) i' m up to 31 Likes and so i got my own username! woo woo! facebook.com/CourtneyLittleCosmetics !! 

Have a WONDERFUL day everyone. 

Monkey hugs and LOVES - Court

Some things i did today...well, technically yesterday...

Same difference! haha it's still Tuesday in my brain.

Anyway...a few things from TODAY:

1) Made a facebook page for all of my past and upcoming makeup adventures! can you say P-U-M-P-E-D?! now, if you're reading this....go LIKE 'Courtney Little Cosmetics' - i need 16 more likes before i can have my own username. so.... here is the pretty little link :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Courtney-Little-Cosmetics/190884767642015 - ACTUALLY...there should be a Like button over on the sidebar of this blog....hopefully that works!

<==== over there! 

2) Did NOT work out. i missed my yoga workout last week, so i was going to play catch up and do both plyometrics and yoga today. and....yep - didn't do either of them. whataslackeriam.

3) Put all of my laundry away....YAY!! it makes me so happy that i can do all of my laundry in one night (usually) woot woot. 

4) Girls night! probably one of my favorite times of the week! i just go over to my friend's place...we hang out, talk, watch Netflix...tonight we started watching Ally McBeal...LOVIN it so far! :)

5) Blogging.....right now. haha. i also love to blog. :D check out my other (P90X!) blog at: http://www.p90xlovers.blogspot.com

And...there is my day in a nutshell. hope you all have/are having a wonderful day! thanks for reading :)

LOVES - Court

Guess what?....

You're right - MORE makeup! I'm in love love love with doing makeup!! 

I was just going to experiment with some glitter lips tonight, but you know me....i had to do something with the eyes as well! so here's what happened.....

just the eyessss - this picture is growing on me a little...didn't really like it at first

the eyes are really much darker than in this picture - crazy flash.

                                

AND THEN....

 

LIPS!!

THENNNN.......

GLITTER lips! i know i look scary in this picture...but i had a lot of fun with this look, though!!...ha

and even scarier in this one.......!

this is really how dark the eyes are...but i hate this picture....haha

ANYWAY, just wanted to share :) 

LOTS more makeup to come soon! follow this blog OR twitter (cLITTLE89) or subscribe to my YouTube channel (courtneylittleCHOREO) to stay updated on all of the fun!! thanks so much everyone!!

LOVES - Court

My first ever makeup tutorial!

Hey everyone - i am SO excited today. why? because i uploaded my first makeup tutorial to YouTube today! 

And the winner is...Jack Skellington! from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton characters are some of my FAVORITE looks to do! i'm looking forward to doing the corpse bride again too! 

I wasn't really planning on recording this look, but hey...my phone was sitting right there and i thought 'well......why not?!' haha and here we are! 

Here are some of the pictures taken from yesterday: PHOTO CREDIT TO SAMANTHA LITTLE PHOTOGRAPHY! PLEASE check her out on facebook. and here is the link to her blog:http://samanthalittlephotography.wordpress.com/

I scared myself a little bit in some of these pictures....haha. but i had a lot of fun with the look :) i hope you enjoy it too...here is the video! pass it along and let me know what you think! and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE if you like what you see...because there is much more to come!! :)

 ALSOOO - follow me on twitter (and i'll return the favor)!! search: cLITTLE89 - thank ya much!

LOVES - Court

Tucson. and CHRISTINA PERRI!!

Vacation City 2: Tucson, AZ.

Why did we come to Tucson for a day? well, the main reason was to see Christina Perri in concert!!! ohh yes. in case you don't know her for some reason, her "big hit" is called Jar of  Hearts and it's been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, Season 7. 

SHE WAS AMAZING. as i expected. and she's just a cute, funny, awesome person too. and i love how she says 'rad' about things. haha. her opening act was honeyhoney. i'd never heard of them before, but they were good! the lead singer's voice is amazing too. here they are!...

and here is Christina!

I want to go to another one of her concerts!!! maybe i'll have to look into that...

What else we did in Tucson:

1. went to in n out again

2. pool (not much of a tanning day tho - the clouds came. it rained for a bit. but it still felt nice out

3. showered/got ready for the concert

4. went to BJ's after the concert. yummy food. 

5. uploaded the few pics and videos i have from the concert. 

....and now here i am blogging....READY for you SAN DIEGO!!!!!

LOVES - Court

Las Vegas! dancing, eating, and...more eating.

City 1 of vacation: Las Vegas! i was right - i was not in the right mood for all of that dancing. but i loved all of the choreography i saw/learned. my favorites: Brian Friedman, Wade Robson, and Tessandra Chavez. these were like THE hardest dances i have ever learned. ever! i'll have to go back and re-learn them in my mind later. haha. Shauna Noland was also there. she is so amazing.

Food: diet - out the window during this vacation. have i worked out? no. am i seeing the effects of my slacking? yes. am i ready to get back on the crazy train when i get home? YES. time to bring it BACK again people!

Some things i have eaten so far:

-BBQ chicken wrap, peanut butter smoothie, fries, chocolate volcano (Rainforest Cafe)

-Hamburgers and fries (In N Out)

-OH. like a bite of a belgian waffle with WAY TOO much strawberry pie filling and whipped cream on it. literally - 2 bites. couldn't handle it anymore. (Virgin River hotel)

-Red velvet and Reese's (chocolate) cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberry (Sugar Factory)

-Blueberry and chocolate muffins, waffle, scrambled eggs (hotel breakfast)

-Teriyaki burger and a couple criscut fries (Carl's Jr)

....that's not even all....i just went nuts! (one reason i don't like vacation......fast food.)

here it is.....the chocolate volcano. 

ANYWAY....here is a picture from The PULSE! Brian Friedman :D 

I was so tired most of the time in Vegas, but now i am feeling alright! and i am ready for the Christina Perri concert here in Tucson! yayyyyyyy

Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon wherever you are and whatever you're doing! i hope you are having an awesome summer! concert tomorrow - watch for some picssss!

OHH - PS - follow me on twitter!!!! cLITTLE89.

LOVES - Court

Vacation! finally...

It is SO nice to have a vacation right now... ahhh...

So here we are in Las Vegas for a few days. we are dancing at The Pulse convention here...honestly....i'm not even too excited for it. haha....maybe once it starts i'll get into it more. but i just wanna lay out and swimmm right now...

I am excited to see Tyce Dioro, Wade Robson, Brian Friedman and Dave Scott, though (maybe Mia Michaels...??)....just not in the mood for lots of dancing...on the plus side, i'm attending as a teacher - so i can wander around through all the different classes and not just be stuck with one group all of the time. so that'll be nice. 

Watch for posts throughout the next week and a half for more vacation fun!

LOVES - Court

Independence Day Weekend - Final day!

I love traditions....especially Fourth of July ones. 

Every year, we go up to Inkom (again, if you're not from Idaho, you won't know. ha) for the parade. then we eat and hang out with family (MORE BBQ! haha. good thing i love hamburgers). then we just hang out until the fireworks!! (or sleep.)

BAHAHAHA

What did i do to kill the time? came up with a bunch of makeup tutorial ideas. so excited! got LOTS of characters/looks planned! and a list of makeup that i need before i can do any of them. haha. hopefully it'l be soon. 

I spent most of the afternoon/evening wearing one contact. the other was driving me CRAZY. i dunno what was wrong with it. took it out and put it in some solution. my eye was getting so teary that i had to take all the makeup off of that eye. ughh! finally, before the fireworks i put the contact back in. it was good for about a half hour, then started actin up again!! i didn't notice it much during the fireworks thank goodness (the allergies may have blocked it out. haha).

The fireworks WERE AMAZING! we were so close. i love love love the firework show we have here. and i swear just about EVERYONE who lives in this city goes up there. SO MANY cars and people everywhere!! 

Here's a little look at the show! enjoy :)

Then we started on the journey home. i think it probably took about...20 minutes i think. and it's normally like an 8 minute drive. so it wasn't TOO bad. it definitely could have been much worse. 

When we got home we did our own little firework show and some sparklers :) 

It was a great weekend (minus the allergies and such). can't believe we're already more than halfway through 2011! it's insane to me....

Time to work out! haha. hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend, and are ready to get back into the grind! don't lose sight of all of the things you've been working toward! (even if you had a few days of diet failure over the holiday weekend. i know i sure did. more than a few.)  have a WONDERFUL DAY!

LOVES - Court

Independence Day Weekend - Part TWO

This was a fun day :) first off, church. always good. second, i decided i wanted to get back into doing some character/costume makeup! WOO HOO

Plan A: Black Swan (and white swan). all we have right now as far as white face makeup goes is a tube of that cheap face paint from like walmart or something. so i decided i might as well try it. CRAP. never ever use that stuff. well, i mean, don't expect to paint your whole face and have it turn out beautiful and smooth. so i got a layer on - it all dried. and......crack. crack. crack. so i took it all off. scratched the whole idea until i could get some white cream. 

SO.....plan B: a leopard! i was like eh....maybe this will be kinda cool...just took a darker foundation and covered my whole face. then just got a picture for reference and went at it! it ended up being pretty darn cool. i loved it! here are some of the pictures! 

All photo credit for the above photos goes to Samantha Little Photography. she's basically amazing, so check her out on FACEBOOK! (facebook.com/SamanthaLittlePhotography) 

Sometimes people probably wonder why do such a labor intensive makeup look when you just have to take it off after....and i say to that...because it's fun! and maybe, just maybe, others will enjoy looking at your work when you're finished. maybe they wanted to do a look similar and now they can kinda see how! or, maybe you aren't going to take it off. and you have a party to go to after. haha :) i'm going to start doing some tutorials and i am SO EXCITED!

So after getting that all off, we went to my grandmas for our annual firework show. there were a couple fireworks that were pretty cool. one was called 'little bull' i believe. it had crackly 'baby' fireworks, and then they got bigger. EVERYONE backed up about as far as they could. hahaha it was pretty funny. 

The finale firework was the coolest, but it wasn't very long. it was called snow something....at the end it shot up a pretty decent firework into the sky, scaring the neighbor's dogs. haha. i decided next year, we're getting illegals. haha (everyone was doing them this year it seemed!!)

Then we went inside and watched Hope Floats. waited for midnight. then went to walmart to get shirts for the Fourth. all-in-all, a good night. 

DAY 3 - coming up soon. LOVES - Court

Happy Independence Day Weekend....DAY 1.

Hope you all had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend! mine was pretty eventful...

To kick it off, we went to a family get together/BBQ in Rockland on Saturday (if you're not from Idaho, you probably won't know what the heck that is...haha). there was a little girl there, and darn it i don't remember her name right now....OH wait! it's Brooklyn...i think. haha anyways she was pretty hilarious. here she is with Kiana. haha. she got the blanket out to lay down and possibly take a nap....and...yep. this picture just says it all... 

There was also this jello there....(red jello. to be exact)...just in a glass pan. on the snack table. we were all standing around it...Brooklyn comes up and just starts poking at the jello. i'm like 'oh don't touch it!' and she gives me this look like who the heck do you think you are? as she proceeds to keep poking and playing in it. i REALLY wish i had a picture of this next part...darn.....

So Samantha says 'are you gonna eat some?' (or something along those lines...) - and what does Brooklyn do? scoops out a HANDFUL of that red jello and starts eating it. with her hand. hahaha. then.....we all walked away. we were not responsible haha. great times....

day 2 coming....in about 10 minutes. haha. LOVES - Court

well hey stranger!

well hey, it's only been like a MONTH! hope everyone is doing well, kicking butt, and taking names over the summer so far! 

so really i typed this up yesterday...but blogger went down as i was typing.....THANK GOODNESS for copy/paste! whew....

i'd like to say that a lot has gone on while i've been slacking on my blog, but....sorry, it's pretty much been the same around here.

 a few things that HAVE happened, though: 

1) job searching (found a job. didn't like job. left job. decided to stop searching and just have fun for some of the summer. woo! ha)

 2) ate way too many cake balls

 3) i turned 22! (not that exciting) 

4) my best friend got married!! (that. IS exciting)

5) started a workout regimen again! (I LOVE P90X) 

6) So You Think You Can Dance started! (and i actually love most of the contestants this season haha yay!)

....OH. and it is FINALLY summer outside!! yayy

mm....and for those of you watching SYTYCD right now...........Melanie and Marko...they make me so happy :) they have KILLED it every week so far! ah.....big sigh....

 OH bahaha NIGEL!! whew it's a great night so far! haha! 

ok folks, back to life...haha. 

i just want to say again how awesome P90X and Tony Horton are. they are.....amazing. intense. crazy. LIFE-CHANGING. and oh so lovable :) tony is such a crazy guy....he make s me laugh so much...haha. and he will indeed change your life (well, help you change your life) if you let him in your home and heart. P90X...it's just a part of life now. 

i have a challenge for all of you who read this: TRY it. for one week. i guarantee you will be sore. very sore. A LOT. and feel like you want to give up. A LOT. BUT, i will also tell you this: it is SO so worth it. do one week. and you will want to keep going. you will see results if you keep at it. 

that being said, DON'T forget your diet. i know no one is perfect. but you can make simple changes that will make a difference. take out a few of your snacks during the day. replace your soda with a few glasses of water. don't eat dessert every day (but, come on, dessert is so yummy!...so, give yourself a small break once in a while. treat yourself. but not every day.)

THINK ABOUT IT. i bet someone you know has a copy of the DVDs you can borrow. ASK. you won't regret it! 

LOVES - Court

and......we're back.

PHEW. i was scared for a while there. jeez - it has been a whole week since my last post! and it's not because i've been working out so hard lemme tell ya that......

I dunno what it was, but i was SO LAZY. slacker. and then, i wonder 'why the heck do we ever slack off doing a workout program?' because it SUCKS sooo bad when you stop slacking. my advice: if you're feeling lazy, just do your work out. JUST DO IT. or you will be sorry later. boy was i today. 

I won't go into detail, but in total, i am now like 3 workouts behind. BUT, i am still going to finish on my original 'finish date'. i am so determined to. what does that mean? double workouts some days. which, i mean, isn't too bad this week since i'm not totally swamped with life. and it helps that a couple days are relief and rest. 

ALSO, i am not perfect. NOT even close!! we all have our dieting flaws...this past week....whew. two words: cake. balls. 

It all started with girls night last week. we decided to try to make cake balls (and they were a huge success, obviously). i will post this in my recipe post as well, even tho it's not a healthy one. anyway, so after that night, i became a little obsessed with these YUMMY things. i went to walmart and bought FOUR cake mixes, the chocolate, and what i needed to make the frosting. in the next two days, i made 2 batches. (i excuse myself one day since it was for my sister's birthday...haha). 

SO. long story short, i ate way more than i should have. and i'm not saying like 'oh i ate two! oh no!' like, i ate several. every day. for about the past 5 days. mhmm. and boy, they are seriously so good. BUT TODAY - i ate...4. then i said 'NO MORE!' i did my workout. then, the craving was gone. like, i opened the fridge, saw the pan, and had absolutely no desire eat any. 

Moral of the story: don't skip so many dang workouts!! i have 14 workouts left of The Asylum, and i will KICK my butt. those dang cake balls totally set back any results that i was seeing....i was frustrated with myself! but hey, what is being mad going to do? it sure as heck ISN'T going to take back the calories and cake balls that's for sure. 

So, i'm back everyone :) and so happy to be. i am ready to bring it for the last half of this craziness. 

If you've been having a hard time lately, I FEEL YA! the only thing you can do is start anew today, or tomorrow...if it's already nighttime. change your mindset. focus. and see your goals becoming accomplished. like the old beachbody 'Sweat' and 'Sculpt' videos used to say, "you're closer than you think". see yourself crossing the finish line. WHO's with me?? :) 

LOVES - Court

Utah, friends, and cake.

Yes, i just said CAKE. haha. 

On Monday, my friends (and sister) and i went to Salt Lake City for....SHOPPING! i needed to get my bridesmaid dress for my best friend's WEDDING! it's now in less than one month! i can't believe it. SO so happy for her :D and...mission accomplished. found my dress. one thing that bothers me about almost ALL dresses these days. SO SHORT. it's either floor-length or a long shirt. BUT i finally found one.

 I should have taken a picture of it......it's a cute, black, strapless, fitted dress (above the knee - still short, but better). it is taffeta i believe. and it has some fan-looking pieces on it on one side. it is WAY cute. and i also ordered my shoes today! so excited!! here are the shoes atleast...love em!

After shopping, we went to The Mayan to eat dinner! i had some little steak tacos...but i only had a few bites. the steak was very good, but there was some sauce on them that i didn't particularly like. but i LOVED the chips. they were for some reason amazing to me (the salsa was not very good - at all, though). i probably could've eaten the whole bowl myself....good thing there were 4 of us! haha. we also got a chocolate eruption cake, which i did taste. had a few bites with the vanilla ice cream (and, of course, it was really tasty). so that was my splurge for the day. 

GOOD times with GREAT friends. i was so tired, but i had such a good time. i wish we could do it more often. 

OHH ya. SO we have now completed day....11 of The Asylum (we should be on day 13, but we are now a day -i guess technically 2- behind) but i will be back on track tomorrow hitting 2 days (good thing one is relief). so i will be doing strength and then relief. ooo that will be a nice combo for the day actually. i should do relief every day... ahhhh....

Normally i format my posts with bold and italics and big font....but i'm just so tired right now! haha so the blog will just have to be boring for today. 

Have an AMAZING day everyone! thanks for reading :)

LOVES - Court

Oh Sunday....

.....How you make me feel lazy. haha. well, i was just really tired today. 

Well folks, today is the first day that i let myself miss my workout. i planned on eating lunch, watching the DVD, and then doing the workout (which was Game Day - about 60 minutes). but as i was watching it, i decided i really should take a nap because i would not have made it through the workout. the workout consisted of literally EVERY sport out there! ok maybe not...but there was running, basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball, surfing, football, and i think there was another one too.

So - i took a nap. i thought 'oh i will nap, eat, wait an hour and then do the workout'. the nap felt great. but i woke up feeling...more 'bleh' than i did before the nap! i didn't feel very good, didn't feel like eating or anything. that's when i decided that it would be more beneficial for me to not do the workout. 

Note - it is BETTER FOR YOU if you know you haven't eaten enough (have enough energy) or that well, or just plain aren't feeling well, to LET YOURSELF miss that day's workout. if you do the workout without enough fuel in your body, it won't end up being very productive for you. 

Pay very close attention to how you feel. listen to your body. there is a difference between just being sore/tired and not having the energy to complete a workout, especially when you are doing a high-intensity workout, such as Insanity, P90X or the Asylum. DO NOT OVERWORK yourself, and if you need to miss a day, miss it. or complete a stretch/relief routine instead. you will end up feeling much better. trust me, i have found out the hard way...learn from my mistakes :)

Here's to another GREAT week! bring it. 

LOVES - Court

Sigh of RELIEF

Today. it was just a really great day overall. 

What did i do?...

1) Slept in (which i do normally, but for some reason, sleeping in on a saturday just ALWAYS feels good

2) Did some BAKING! i haven't done a lot since i've been eating healthy, but i had an excuse today! bake sale for our dance performance! i made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and then just a fun fruit pizza :) one of my favorites to make. (and no, i didn't eat any of either of them. BUT i do have a healthier whole wheat fruit pizza recipe that i absolutely LOVE!! AGH, i need to do my recipe post sometime soon!)

3) Dance performance (for The Company - check us out on Facebook!) we had a mini show, previewing all of our dances for our main show coming up in June. it turned out really well! AND....the fruit pizza was a hit! it was all gone when i went and got my pan back :)

4) Dinner with the family. i love going to dinner with my family. my sisters are crazy. and i love it. we went to Applebees. i ordered the Chipotle Lime Chicken just with a glass of water (i go for the 'under 559 calories' or the weight watchers points meals...this one was a weight watchers meal) of course, i always look for the healthier routes when i go out to eat. it was really good tho! spicy, but very tasty. 

5) Walmart with my sister. it's like a daily ritual basically. this time she only needed hair dye, so it was one of the quicker trips (we are usually very SLOW shoppers and get distracted really easily - plus we usually go around 2am....it was only 10:30 tonight. haha)

6) HOME! finally. time to pop in that Relief DVD that i've been waiting all week for! and let me tell ya, it was seriously 20 minutes of heaven....Shaun said "See, i can be nice" haha...made me laugh. tomorrow i have a new workout that i haven't done yet....it's called Game Day. ya....i'm a little frightened by the title....haha, but hey, i have been able to make it through all of these other workouts, i have faith i will get through this one too!!! 

And now, it's time for bed. i am SO exhausted. but it has been a great day, a great week. when i get to work out, i feel like i'm in such a better mood all day (even if my body is dead...) 

And tomorrow is sunday. i love love love sundays........it is just a relaxing day to me. makes me feel... rejuvenated. ready for another week. KEEP WORKIN everyone! stay strong and remember why you're in it. 

LOVES - Court 

Guess what TOMORROW is!?!

If you said RELIEF DAY, then you are most definitely correct!! i am so excited to finally do relief. i cannot even say...

I BARELY made it through Vertical Plyo today. it was rough. my legs were so much more sore this week than they were last week. and....i will admit i even skipped two of the moves.  partially it was because of time, but man i was just so low on energy today. BUT I MADE IT THROUGH! i have discovered (again) that it is really time to get on a BETTER sleep schedule!

I have been saying that for so long....but it really is time. i struggle with this one so much. BUT - i am so much more productive and energetic when i go to bed earlier and get up earlier...AND, did you know that you can get SO much more done when you get up early??? i mean, who'd have thought right?? (obviously not me.......hahaha)

Well folks, we are now NINE days into it! it's gone by kinda quick! keep on keepin on everyone! YOU. CAN. DO. IT. never doubt yourself or your abilities and strength. 

LOVES - Court

Are your legs dead yet?

Because oh boy, MINE ARE. today was Back to Core, which only relatively uses your legs...well ok, you use your legs. just not as much as normal. i can honestly say that my legs have NEVER been worked this hard before. 

AND....don't ask me why, but i decided to do a bunch of squats for one of my dance classes today.............ya. i don't quite know what i was thinkin either...?

I have been wondering all night HOW am i gonna make it through VERTICAL PLYO for day 9?? cus i seriously have my doubts. i know it'll be a rough one, but i WILL do my best and i will PUSH THROUGH. no excuses. as Shaun says, "There are no excuses in the Asylum." 

What are my motivating factors for these crazy 30 days?

--WELL, first off, it's almost swimsuit season...and i have not been in the best shape the past 6 months...(in Idaho summer comes late and stays for about....2/3 months...why do i live here again?)

--Second, i am trying to get in the best shape of my life. and i am willing to work my butt off to get it!

--Third, Shaun. he carries me through each day. i love his advice and tips. he is one of the best motivators. if he tells you to keep pushin and get faster, you just can't help but do just that. he is amazing. 

--Lastly, there is a Ben n Jerry's fro-yo waiting for me at the finish line. (it is my one weakness and i have vowed to stay away from it for these 30 days. successful so far!) it is gonna be such a great reward...

It's really really important to figure out your 'WHY?' what is motivating you? what carries you through each workout. through the blood sweat and tears? what are working towards? what are your rewards (also very important)? 

It's very beneficial to discover these things right from the beginning. it will really help you stay on track....i know it does for me! especially these days, when my legs feel like they couldn't possibly jump anymore. you just gotta think about the future and the good things that are coming from this goal. KEEP PUSHIN EVERYONE!! and remember, i'm always here for ya!!!

LOVES - Court

Day 7.

Yep, that would be one week! crazy! my internet was down last night, so we get to do this post today :)

Nothing feels better than crossing off my workout for the day (well...except maybe actually being finished with the workout...haha)

Aw, the X's make me so happy! 

Okay, so day 7 was strength. which i love love love. weights are my absolute favorite. the cardio dumbbell rotations are SICK! i only stopped i think once or twice total this time, though. i used my 8 lb weights for just about everything. the only thing i used 5s for (i think) were the last set of back rows...oh wait, no i used them for all the ab chest presses too. but i think for next time i will be ready to use the 8s! 

It was an interesting workout today, though. Hana (my little 9-year old sister) had a friend over....

so. i start my workout. and about 10-15 minutes into it, they come downstairs "can you help us make macaroni and cheese?" (during the second or third round of the cardio dumbbell rotations). so i finish, go up and get their water going, tell em to let me know when it's boiling.

then, i go back downstairs, continue the workout. another 15 minutes later, "it's boiling!" and up i go. put their noodles in, set the timer, tell them to stir it and i will come back when i hear the buzzer go off. 

BACK to the workout for another 10 minutes. beep beep beep beep beep beep. "Court!" and up i run, finish their mac n cheese, get it in their bowls, and head back down for the last 7 minutes of my workout. haha. 

OH BOY. longest 45-minute workout of my life! ah well, i was happy to help them not burn the house down. and it was kinda fun/entertaining. just mixin it up a little...

Today's workout is Back to Core, and i really enjoyed this one last week. another low impact day :) love it.

Hope everyone is out there kicking butt and changing lives! (even if it is simply your own. that's the most important thing). hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

LOVES - Court

Speed & Agility: Round 2

Hey all you fitness lovers/bloggers :) 

Today was the second go-around for Speed & Agility. and i will say one thing about it. it DOES NOT get any easier folks! as a matter of fact, i believe it was harder this time (but...maybe that's because i worked harder...stupid ankle is still feelin' a little tweaked too. bleh)

BUT once again, i was able to push through and reach the end of another workout! tomorrow brings us DAY 7!! and it is strength. yayyyyyyyyy for weights! my favorite.

What i noticed from today, when you think your muscles are totally fried and you can't possibly get another rep in.....YOU CAN!!! seriously. i found myself resting quite a bit, but then i just had to get my mind right and get back in. trust me, even if you're not doing the Asylum, YOU can get one more rep. one more jump. one more minute. PUSH. YOU CAN DO IT. believe in yourself. i believe in you :)

LOVES - Court

T.G.I.R.

RESTday!!!! finally here! and...it's only been 4 days (well 5 if you count the fit test day....i guess i do)

I'm here blogging in my bathroom (waiting for my laundry to get done...haha) with my bella goose. here's why the laundry ISN'T finished at this point: 

yep. sleeping in my dried laundry (ACTUALLY, they're not even clean....since i forgot to put detergent in the washer for this load.....GO ME) but i mean, still had to wait for her to get out to re-wash them. she was too cute to kick out. haha 

Ah rest day...just in time...my whole body is sore, but my quads are KILLIN me today! a whole 6 days of the Asylum probably would've done my ENTIRE body in. i'm really just thankful i can still walk and dance fairly well today :) haha

Even though it was rest day, i was gonna try and do the Relief DVD. didn't quite make it to that today, though. i've got it on my calendar this weekend and i am excited for it!

Once again, TGIRestday.....

Always always REMEMBER THIS: a rest/relief day is KEY (sometimes this is a hard one for me to remember myself). don't get too excited and overzealous once you get into working out every day and start doing like 5 workouts in one day (i mean....not that i would know...ahem).....especially if you are just starting out! maybe down the road when your body has changed and is adapting. but for now....YOUR BODY NEEDS a day to rest and re-energize for the upcoming week! and don't forget to fill your body with energizing fuel as well!

AND....

 just because it's a rest day doesn't mean you forget all diet guidelines. splurge once in a while, but not just because it's rest day. and DON'T do that every rest day! i will try and get some yummy recipes posted in the next few days! mmmm

off i go to finish my laundry and get some zzzzz's. back into speed & agility round 2 for day 6!! hope everyone has/had/is having an amazing day!! 

LOVES - court

....vertical. plyo. death.

death...as in death of legs. 

here i am right after the workout. you really cannot even see how much sweat is on my face. a little disappointing. haha. but don't worry, i was SOO drenched. 

oh and by the way...that is a very sarcastic thumbs up. i felt like collapsing to the floor at this moment (it helps that they all clap and cheer at the end of a workout, gives me a LITTLE boost)

BUT HEYYYY.....i MADE IT!!! woo hoo! this is by far the hardest workout up to this point (this would be day 4!!) all of the workouts have been intense in their own ways, BUT this one...literally. insane. when Shaun s DYING...........ya......it does prove that he's at least human, though (i suppose...haha)

I would say that it's ALL about the legs...i mean it is plyo, jumping, vertical, rotating...BUT. it is TOTAL BODY. you work with resistance bands (both on arms AND legs...WHILE jumping and pushup-ing). you're jumping, lunging, using the agility ladder, working on your balance, doing pushups...whew. this one pushes your body to it's final breaking point, several times. my legs are so so exhausted right now, and even a little jello-y, 7 hours later.

But once again, Shaun pulls you through, dying right there with you, pushing with you. and once you finally get to the end you hear "15 seconds till the Hell is OVER" and those lateral jumps over your ladder are KILLING your legs, you do just a few more, and then he says just what you wanna hear: "TIME". and collapse. well...at least that's how my ending went. haha. 

I know i keep saying this, but it feels SO GOOD once you finish! no matter how hard it was or how fatigued my muscles felt throughout, that final 'time' at the end just makes me feel pretty darned accomplished. 

KEEP PUSHIN' THROUGH EVERYONE. no matter what you're doing...just get out there and do SOMETHING. take a walk at the park, walk your dog, mow your lawn, hit the gym, or (if you're crazy enough) take on Insanity, P90X, or  the Asylum. 

make a choice. make a change. make a commitment. stick to it. you will not regret it. i promise you. 

until tomorrow......LOVES - Court

GLITTER! what i love and HOW TO DIY

Lately, i am in LOVE with doing glitter nails!

VERY cheap and SO cute!! 

The top picture was just a test nail...all we had at home was the big glitter. if it didn't get so thick, i would actually use the big glitter because it has kind of a disco ball effect that i really like.  

The second, third, and fourth pictures are all of the same color/nails. The actual glitter color was just a violet/purple, which i thought was very pretty. but with a clear coat over the top, it totally turned fuchsia/pink!? and although that was a pretty color too, i was really disappointed because i LOVED the original purple. (FYI, the purple has been the only color to come off in the clear polish...which i thought was weird...)

The fifth picture has 3 different glitter colors mixed together. (royal blue, a lighter/brighter blue, and silver). the last picture is my current color, which is just a regular kelly-type green (LOVE this one too)

SO....what do you need and how can you get glittery fabulous nails??

All you'll need is....

• Glitter (make sure it is a fine glitter, and that it has a shaker top option; the glitter i use is just from Walmart "Glitter Caddy"; it contains 6 different colors and was about $5)
• Clear nail polish/top coat (i have Sally Hansen "Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear" Color 100 - Invisible - about $3 from Walmart)
• Small paintbrush (any cheap one from Walmart or any craft store) so you can brush away any excess glitter
• A paper plate and paper towels/napkins (glitter gets REALLY messy!)

AND here's how you do it: (sorry some of these pictures are a little blurry, my camera wouldn't focus for ANYTHING!)

Step 1: Make sure your nails are free of any other nail polish and that they are dry

  Step 2/3: One or two nails at a time, paint on one coat of your clear polish. then, shake on your glitter. make sure to get the entire nail covered with both the polish and glitter. (but don't worry if you get it a little outside of the normal nail, you'll be able to scratch off that excess after they dry)

Step 4: Once you have one layer done on both hands (clear polish and glitter), repeat Step 2/3, adding one more layer of polish and glitter. before you do this, you need to make sure the first clear coat is completely dry!

The Final Step: Just put one more layer of clear polish over your second layer, let it dry COMPLETELY, and you've got yourself some GLITTERY nails! 

And there ya have it! CHEAP, SIMPLE, FUN, CUTE nails! have fun and don't get too messy with the glitter :)

LOVES - Court

The asylum. day 3!

Day 3: a sweaty success! the workout was Back to Core, and i LOVED it! not so much a cardio day, but still a MAJOR sweat day. i kind of love the days that i don't have to wear shoes for my workout :). 

The only jumping was in the warm-up, with several different types of jumping jacks (which i really enjoyed) to warm up your shoulders, back, core, and calves. the main workout was made up of moves with a resistance band and yoga mat, or simply just squeezing and engaging your muscles on your own. 

SUCH a back burner! my favorite move...this is a tough one today. but......i really love the hip-ups. there are so many different variations that you do! and they are KILLER. absolutely awesome. LEAST favorite? hm...ya know, today i really don't think i had one that i didn't like. YAY! haha

As always, Shaun is AMAZINGly motivating throughout the whole workout. that's one of the major inspiration factors that gets me to push play each day (so far). hm...a quote from today...oh. simply, during the warm-up: "act like my hand is right here in your back and you're tryin to squeeze off my fingers"

We're onto Vertical Plyo for day 4, and i am a little scared! gotta push through whatever comes, though!

Remember...YOU CAN DO IT! 

your MIND is SO much stronger than your body wants you to believe. dig deep, push through. you can achieve all that you believe. i'm here with ya!! (i didn't mean for that to rhyme...cheesy. haha) 

LOVES - Court 

Blogger mishaps, asylum, and SUNSHINE

Alright, i am a whole day behind in my workout posts! blogger was down basically ALL day yesterday and this morning. and once i was able to get on, i found that my latest post had been deleted and my old layout was back! needless to say, i was not a happy camper. a few hours later...the post is back, BUT my layout is still the same. so i did my best to remember what i changed and got it back to normal again. took a few tries to get it right, but i think it's pretty close now :)

Today was such a crazy/good day. woke up (BEFORE my alarm - way before - which never happens). had my meal 1 (i will post more about the meal plan soon). sprayed myself crazy with sunscreen. got the jungle of a lawn mowed! OH and it was so beautiful and sunshine-y today!!! FINALLY! then i had a snack. colored my hair (just a touch up). had meal 2. showered. did my workout. meal 3. went to dance. meal 4. another snack. grocery shopping for 'courtney foods' with my little sister (oh boy that's always an adventure...). annndd, meal 5. and now here i am blogging away happily...although i should be going to sleep.......eh, soon enough. 

OK - so, i have now completed the Asylum fit test, speed & agility, and strength! WHEW. toughest workouts i have ever done in my life, but it feels SO dang good once you finish that last move and go into the cooldown/stretch! 

First - speed & agility: this was ROUGH. i tweaked my ankle at dance earlier that night, but i was so determined to not miss my first day!! so i did it anyway...the majority of it wasn't too bad. ANYWAYS...the agility ladder. i absolutely love it. BUT. boy did it get stepped on and thrown around (literally) last night! 

My favorite move by far is the agility bear crawl. it is the most awkward looking move ever. but i really really enjoy it. maybe someday i'll post a video of me actually working out......hm. we'll see! i may look like a fool, but hey, everyone's gotta look like a fool at some point...right? right. 

Least favorite move (well...maybe not least favorite...just the one i have a seriously hard time with) - IN & OUT AB PROGRESSIONS. holy crap. sooo much harder than it looks. alright there is another one......i can't remember the exact name...you basically go straight from plank (push-up) position to jumping up into a squat, feet replacing hands. ya...that was probably a hilarious sight...BUT. it will get better! 

After that, i was the most sweaty that i have ever been. (remember that phrase for just a few minutes)

Second! STRENGTH: how would i describe this workout....? hm...i would call it insanity times 100. THEN add weights to the subject. mhmm. you got that right. just about every move was a struggle, but i LOVE weights! so i was in it to freakin win it! it is really a lot more about your mindset than what you're actually doing with your body. i used mostly 8-lb. weights (i had to use 5's for just a couple). all in all....i seriously loved this workout from start to the grunting sweating finish line. 

Ok, so remember when i said i hadn't ever sweat so much before? this workout BLEW that out of the water completely. i was dripping halfway into the warm-up all the way through my recovery drink after the workout. can i just say, though, that i LOVE the feeling of a 'tear' of sweat running down my nose. (this was a TAD excessive, though. several running down my nose and sides of my face. beads all over my forehead. GAH but i LOVE it!!

In closing for the night, i LOVE love love the motivation that Shaun brings to his workouts. he gets into your mind and just pushes that thought of failure away! (for me anyway, and well obviously he can't make me think anything...haha) OH on a random note, last night i had a dream that i met Shaun and was just hangin out and talking. hahaha. maybe one day!! 

Woah that got a LITTLE long.....off to watch my workout for tomorrow and get some sleeeeeeeeeeep! 

Have an amazing night, morning, afternoon, or whatever time of day you're at! Happy insanity everyone :)

Court