Just Joined YouTube!

I am slowly starting to enter the full world of social networking. I just created a twitter AND YouTube account! Go me! I have my very first video up talking about a few of my favorite makeup products I use on a daily basis! Still not very good at keeping my blog, but I am working on it! Check it out!

YouTube: Tiffanybax323

Need Casual Summer Outfit Ideas?

These are just a few ideas I found along the web. Notice the similarities between them? No, of course not, because I try my best to make each outfit different. Who wants to wear the same thing everyday?

Mint and sherbet orange are perfect for summer. Doesn't this remind you of ice cream?! 

Imagine being on a boat on the lake late in the evening. This is probably the outfit I would wear. It's casual and cool. Keep in mind it get's chilly even on the summer evenings!

This outfit is perfect for a brunch with the girls outside a beachfront diner. Yes, you're thinking beach! 

Coral is definitely in for spring/summer. The sleeves on this shirt give this outfit the right amount of "skin". You know the rule, either you're showing your arms or your legs but both is too much with these cutoff shorts AND heels!

Don't you just love ruffles!?

Again, MINT! I cannot get enough of mint and pairing these mint shorts with this sheer white shirt is perfect together! 

Cannot have summer without summer DRESSES! 

Maxi, Maxi, MAXI! Yes, Yes, YES!! Love Maxi's. Chevron is certainly in as well! This is gorgeous! 

Do you have any summer outfit ideas?! 

Summer in Germany.

Seriously can't get enough of this church. It's absolutely beautiful. My last post was of it in the snow and now the summer. My blogging skills are lacking!

Wilhelmstrasse festival this past weekend! I'm really starting to LOVE Germany! Guess it takes some getting used to...

This and the next few will just be random buildings.. Hopefully the owners of these apartments don't see this ;) 

Beautiful, 16:30 at night.. It stays light out until 22:00 this time of year. 

Little bit of Germany

Last week was completely beautiful. It was 55 and sunny! That's considered warm. Where I come from, 75 is warm and it doesn't snow... Ever. Maybe once every 20 years (no joke). Since I've been living in Germany (for 6 months now) it's been very cold, and snowing every week since December. Except last week, gosh it spoiled me and gave me spring fever! But, now were back to snow (ugh!). This past weekend it was nice enough to go downtown without freezing our butts off. We learned that the Easter Market had started up and were really excited to see what all was available. I definitely enjoyed myself as did the hubby and kiddo. I managed to snap a few photos. I am absolutely in love with the market church. Its so beautiful and amazing! the other building is a casino.. Yea, I didn't know either. All in all, it was a pretty good day... Until it started to snow again.... Now it's slush and ugly outside... Come back sun, I miss you!

in front of the market church.. snow.. again

market church

more church

in front of the opera house

opera house. The singers were practicing. Extraordinary.

casino. 

Tumblr Workouts and Healthy Eating

I am terrible with blogs. However, I have been making progress. I have two now. This one and my Tumblr. I found it easier to upload workout links and healthy eating links and I can do it straight from my phone (which is another plus). I will still post workouts and healthy eating here too for the fact that not everyone likes swapping to different blogs just to catch up on something and there are more people on blogger. =)

Not to mention that I can link my tumblr to pinterest and target a different audience. =)

So, if you're curious or have a lot of time on your hands, please jump on over by clicking here.

Brush cleaning!

Number one rule of makeup: CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES! This cannot be stressed enough! Brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria and other germs that cause breakouts and other skin problems.

 Below are some photos I took while cleaning mine just to show how dirty they get! I recommend doing this a couple times a week.

 Step one: Dish detergent and olive oil. To clean and to keep the bristles soft. Squeeze a quarter size amount of detergent and a dime size amount of oil onto a plate. You can use any brand of detergent and oil.

Before the cleansing of the brushes

Step two: Pablo Picaso the plate with the brush until satisfied and rinse with warm water. Repeat if necessary. 

This brush went through 3 cleanings like this.

After. So fresh and so clean clean! 

Banana Oatmeal and Green Smoothie

I love smoothies. When I say love, it's an understatement. I am infatuated with smoothies in a non-weird kinda way. I always drink a banana oatmeal smoothie before a workout for energy and a green smoothie for lunch. Here are the ingredients.

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie:

1 banana
1/2 cup dry oats
3 tbsp BP2 or any other nut butter
I usually fill the rest with cold water or almond milk. Either is fine.

Blend until smooth.

Green Smoothie:

1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 stalk chopped celery
1 chopped apple (without core of course)
1/2 to 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 packet stevia

Blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Stickin with it

This diet has been extremely hard for me to stick too. Like everything, I get bored with something and move on, which will explain why this blog is so all over. I have so many things I enjoy that  I do not know what I want my blog to be about; i.e fashion, shopping, hair and makeup, diet, family, food ect.  However, with this diet, I have seen results, so it makes me want to stay with it. I am not totally where I want to be yet but I am getting there. I have been following the beautiful Taralynn over at Undressed Skeleton and using some of her recipes. She is so encouraging and motivational, can't help but love her!

The picture I have inserted is a before and now photo. From the time I started this diet (last February) to this day. Keep in mind, I have went off and on this diet numerous times. I fall off the bandwagon quite often, gain some weight back, get depressed, and start again. Binge eating/ emotional eating doesn't help at all.  It's a never ending cycle of sadness. I know it may not seem like much, but to met, it's a whole other person.

My diet on a daily basis consists of:

 Breakfast- Oat revolution oatmeal and half of cup fresh fruit or bowl of special K cereal with half    cup of fruit. Usually 3 (or more depending on my morning) cups of coffee.

Snacks- fresh fruit or veggies and/or fruit and cottage cheese. Sometimes I go for a fruit smoothie or a   banana/oatmeal smoothie (usually following a workout) with 2 tbsp of PB2, a healthier peanut butter. Sometimes I like to eat non-fat greek yogurt and add a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder with a packet of stevia just to fulfill that chocolate craving.

Lunch- garden salad with boiled egg or turkey wrap

Dinner- 4-6oz protein with lots of fresh steamed veggies. Sometimes I reach for the Boca Vegan Burger patties. To me, a strong loving carnivore, these taste better than hamburgers. Keep in mind the buns you choose make a difference too. I use Rudis Organic Whole Wheat  hamburger buns. 22 grams of whole grains per bun!

Of course any of this can be changed up.  This is what I try to stick with but like I said before, routine can get boring. There are many options and many healthy foods that actually taste good out there.  The only thing I would recommend is looking at the ingredients on everything you purchase or put into your body. I TRY not to put anything in my body with ingredients I cannot pronounce.

I hope this helps you if you're on a weight loss journey. I know how hard it is but there are many people cheering you on! Keep up the hard work and you CAN reach your goal!  Feel free to give advice or what you find easier to stay on track, or leave any good recipes for me to try so I can try to stay on track too!

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I haven't written in a while. I have had nothing to write about honestly. I have been so busy keeping up house, making dinner, and going to the gym. I have been trying to eat better and cleaner lately. A lot of fruits and veggies. However, my love of sweets and food get the best of me sometimes. I fell off the bandwagon three times. It all seems to be around dinner. Over stepping my portions with BBQ, cookies, pasta, and ICE CREAM! AHH! I can't help it. I am sure you can relate if you have dieted or are dieting. It's hard to go weeks eating nothing but healthy stuff and then your husband makes you go into the "junk cabinet" for a whole bag of oreos that he can eat and not gain a pound...

this is me when he eats cookies in front of me

 .......different story for a different day.

Anywho, I have been searching far and wide......on pinterest.... for workouts, clean eating, healthy drinks yada yada yada. Also, numerous "motivational" fitness blogs. A.K.A: super skinny, hott bitches with holy moly bodies and fake tatas. I am envious! Even of the tatas. One day I will have tatas... *off track again* The thing that seems to be working the best is cardio. Straight up, high intensity, kick ass cardio. I love to sweat (when I am working out of course). I feel so alive and just. plain. good. when I work out so hard I sweat bullets. It's like I accomplished something. I have shed 2 1/2 pounds in a week by hard kick ass cardio and eating right... then I go and ruin it within 3 days. I hate that about my body. I can lose 2 1/2 lbs in two weeks and go ONE day and overeat at ONE meal and the next day BAM, gained one lb back. Now, to most of you, one lb may not seem like much, but if you knew how hard I worked to lose those 2 lbs only to gain it half of it back in the matter of 20 minutes... you'd understand. Well, now that I am thinking about it, I am going to go workout again. Story of my life.

Tchusse!

Friday Funday!

The hubby and I had a great workout at the gym this afternoon. I always feel great after a really good, sweaty, feel-the-burn workout. When sweat pours from my forhead, I know I am doing well. Ahh, love those workouts. Anyway, my workouts right now mainly consist of major cardio with a few sets targeting a specific area added in at the end. Yesterday, JB trained me on biceps. Today, I feel it. So I did cardio alone. I wear a Bally Fitness sweat band around my waist and I can say one thing. I believe in it! I get drenched with that thing! It's amazing.

Whoo! Sweaty! 

 I haven't had a rest day since Christmas. I put on a few lbs rather quickly over the holidays. It always seems to work that way. Eat right, workout, maintain my weight, but Heaven forbid I go one day without working out, it's like I can SEE it the next day. All over. It's depressing really. Maybe, hopefully, it's all in  my head. Off topic again. Back to my point. I haven't had a rest day in a while, so I can physically feel when my body is getting run down. Rest days are good. Take them.

For some reason, I have been craving hamburgers lately. Since hamburger meat isn't all that healthy, I decided to make a grilled chicken sandwich instead. I bought a box of the Weight Watchers chicken patties from the commissary to test out. The patties are only 140 calories each so I figured, hey, why not. I threw them babies on the grill and in about 10 minutes they were looking and smelling great! I bought organic wheat buns and sweet potato fries to go with it. I must say, it was a very good meal for a Friday night.

yumm! Hooray for healthy foods! (love pickles)

Hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for reading! Stay healthy!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

I am a big believer in the Crock Pot. It's a life saver when you have very little time. This recipe I have found on Pinterest and used a few times. It's always a big hit with the family.

These are the Ingredients you will need. The type of barbeque sauce you use is completely up to you.

2.5 lbs boneless pork loin roast trimmed of all the fat
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2tsp Hickory liquid smoke (this smells AMAZING!)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup barbeque sauce

Directions: Place pork in crock pot and season with salt, vinegar, garlic powder, and liquid smoke.

Cover and set to HIGH 6 hours .Remove pork and transfer onto a large dish. Reserve 3/4 cup of the liquid and set aside.

Shred the pork with two forks and put it back into the crock pot along with the 3/4 reserved liquid and BBQ sauce.

Cook on high for one more hour.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year from Germany!

Guten Tag! Happy New year! We rang in the new year drinking coffee. We just can't party with the rest of them anymore! It was a good time spent with good friends and that's just how we wanted it. Today will be filled with cooking and working off all the food I had yesterday! I hope you all have a wonderful new year filled with love and happiness!

Tchusse!