5 Ways to Exercise + The Scent of Magnolia & Rose {review}

 

So, we all know the importance of exercise in our lives, right? Of course we do. In this day and age, it's almost impossible not to know.

 

But, just knowing doesn't burn calories or build stamina! You have to get up and move - and sometimes, it can be hard to find ways to work exercise into your daily schedule. So that's what we're going to look at today: 5 ways to get your heart pumping, and blood flowing - in a way that's practical for even the utmost beginner athlete.

 

I know many of you ladies live in the suburbs, or in the city - you might live in places where it may not be very safe to go running by yourself or just take a stroll down the block alone. Maybe where you live do don't have a big yard, and doing laps around the perimeter isn't very appealing to you.

 

The question plagues you every day when you look at yourself in the mirror, or see somebody else working out. What can you do?

 

Have no fear, the ideas are here! Hopefully these tips will benefit both the city girl and country maiden alike.

 

 

1. Get pinning! If you haven't checked out the myriads of exercise pins on Pinterest, you should. I have found lots of great ideas for short work-outs I can do in the privacy of my own bedroom- you don't hardly need any space at all, which is awesome! Want to tone those abs? Or what about your arms, legs? When I was recovering from a running injury, I found out some great quad work-outs which helped to strengthen my knees even when I wasn't running.

 

2. Help out the family!  If you are still living at home with your siblings and parents, then most likely there are chores to accomplish. Even if you have a small yard, you could make an extra effort to help keep it clean and orderly. Mow the grass during the summer, (and don't use the riding kind, either! Where's the exercise in THAT?) rake leaves in the fall, and if you live in an area where it's cold enough, shovel snow in wintertime. Yard work, at my house, is a great way for us kids to honor our parents, especially my dad, who appreciates a tidy living place! Even vacuuming the living room can burn calories, if you want it to.

 

3. Get involved! If you live in a community with lots of neighbors nearby

, than take a walk with some of your family members or friends/church members and see if you can serve by helping with other peoples' yard work. Knock on doors, ask if there's anything they need help with! Maybe you know somebody who has an old wreck for a house and they could use some assistance renovating it. Recently, my family helped a local lady fix up a house she owned. Not only were we blessing her and showing the love of Christ, but it wasn't that shabby of a work-out!

 

4. LIFT! So, you don't need a full weight set and all the hardware to lift weights. You can find old weights at yard sales, or even be creative and find other things to lift without spending a dime. Weight-lifting is excellent for building muscle and retaining it. Not to mention, when you lift weights, the calories will continue to burn long after you've finished a lifting session, as the muscles recover. Isn't that awesome? You can start by lifting smaller weights - 5 pound dumbbells for example - and gradually build up as you feel ready. Just be careful not to overdo it. Go slow!

 

5. Dance! Zumba classes or ballet shoes are not required! You can simply turn on some of your favorite tunes, and get those limbs moving! I have learned different routines by watching YouTube videos and also, my aunt's shown me a few Zumba moves, which helps. But this isn't necessary for you to have fun and get into it. I usually do it in my bedroom where I don't have to worry about anyone seeing me, haha. This is more for modesty reasons, as I think that dancing can be a potential stumbling block to the opposite gender, and I have 5 other male people in my house. Plus, well, my routines aren't exactly anywhere near professional or polished, to put it mildly. *snickers*

 

 So, there you go! I will hopefully be doing more posts on fitness and exercise in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled, and tell me what you think so far!

 

Now, to the other half of today's post.

 

So you worked out. You got a shower, and combined with the endorphins running through your brain, you feel ah-mazing. Now, what would top this bliss off to perfection?

 

A splash or two, of this.

 

 

Perfume from Passion Moon Potions!

 

Sooo you've already seen me do one review post here on natural, homemade perfumes.

Well, this isn't just another natural, homemade perfume!

 

I was told by somebody that my reviews are mainly just a bunch of raves - me "oohing and ahhing" over stuff people send me.

Well, to the person who told me that, you are right - it may look like that, from a first glance.

BUT. I'll remind y'all that every review I do is an honest one - I don't take honesty lightly. If I say I'm being honest, you can count on me to be honest. 100%.

I promise you that none of my reviews flatter in vain or against my opinion. If I don't like something, I'll tell you guys! It just so happens that most of the things I've been sent to review, I liked a lot - hence the apparent "oohing and ahhing". (Just wanted to clear that up.)

 

 

 

I was sent a rose petals perfume and a white gardenia one.

Both scents are delightful - honestly. I kid you not when I say they are my favorite perfumes right now. Especially the rose petals one. (I have always adored the scent of roses - they're one of my favorite flowers, as are gardenias.)

 

 

I have been wearing this one everyyyywhere. It's potent, and that's how I like my perfume. The gardenia perfume is also just as strong in scent.

Both perfumes are oily in consistency, which I like because it's easier to massage it into your skin, and it seems to remain there well...it's not a light type of perfume for body misting.

 

I have already begun considering purchasing another rose petals perfume from this business when this current one is finished. Wait. Scratch the "considering" part. I'm certain that if I buy perfume, this will be the next one I get.

 

Hence, we have the bottom line: YOU MUST GET THIS.  Well, at least try it. If you love flower-scented perfumes, I guarantee you'll enjoy these two. There are also a variety of other lovely scents available in the shop....go check it out now!

 

Many thanks to Passion Moon Potions for providing these excellent products!

 

 

Note: I was provided these items from Passion Moon Potions in exchange for my honest review. All opinions remain mine and mine alone.

 

Lip Plumping - Yay or Nay?

(photo credit of Liptiful)

 

Hello ladies!

This is Leah Kathryn.  You're probably wondering what happened to Bethany, right?

Well, unfortunately, she's been sick... (Get better soon, amiga!) so I'm covering for her today.

 

A thing that has been becoming increasingly popular lately is lip plumping.

Some women get it done through injections and harmful chemicals. Others, use more "natural" items  like the Liptiful tool, which doesn't require injection or chemical - it's simply a PVC like piece which creates suction on your mouth, intended to firm up your lip/mouth area.

 

Watch a video of how the Liptiful tool works here.

 

Liptiful sent me two of their plumpers a few weeks ago to review.



I was sent the "Pearly", pictured above, (photo taken from Liptiful Etsy shop) and a larger one.

The whole concept of using a plastic piece to create suction which in turn firms the mouth-area muscles is definitely rather intriguing.  The individual pieces themselves are decorated really cute, too.

However, after some discussion on these items, with my dear Mom, I've been led to question further the entire premise of 'lip plumping.'
What exactly is the point?

We live in a society which tells us that big, poufy, "plump" lips are enviable and "sexy". Models and celebrities are seen flaunting huge lips - Many whose original form and size has been altered by surgical, artificial means - implants, or injections.

Is this the image of health and true beauty?
 

 


(Sorry if these pictures disturb you - I just wanted to show the reality of what is being displayed today as attractive!)

If you already have naturally full lips, I'm not saying you should somehow find a way to change that and make them un-full. That would be ridiculous!  What I'm saying is, I believe lip plumping is something that's done because girls and women aren't satisfied with how their lips already look.(Do I catch a hint of ungratefulness?)

Obviously, true modesty and beauty revolves around being content with what God has already given you.

Now, some argue that lip plumping/exercise is no different than working out the rest of your body. But think about this for a moment. When you weight lift or go for a run, you're building muscle and keeping your body strong and fit; thus able to work and operate at the most optimal capability.

What does lip plumping achieve that's comparable to over-all body health? Does lip plumping burn calories, make you more physically capable of serving others, or help build discipline and good lifestyle habits?
Be honest with yourself, even though this may sound like a drastic question - do you think lip plumping points other people to God?

Do you think a Proverbs 31 woman would plump her lips?

Speaking of such, Bethany actually did a post on lips , some time ago, which has relevance to this topic.
As she stated therein, we can use our lips to ensnare and tempt, if we wish. We can use our lips to bring attention to ourselves, and very easily.

But is that true beauty?

Personally, whenever I hear "lip plumping", I just think that it's really nothing more than another attempt to be sexy. (And we all know that sexy girls aren't modest girls!)

So, overall, I'll have to give this product a thumbs-down. 
Girls, you were made beautiful - yes, even your lips - from the very beginning! And you don't need lip plumping to show this.

 In Christ,

 

 Note: I was provided this item from Liptiful in exchange for my honest review. All opinions stated are mine and mine alone.

Woman to Woman

In case we have any male readers, I'd like to just say that this is a women-only blog post.  So if you're a guy, move along please, nothing to see here. :)

Yesterday morning, I woke up to what should have been a perfect day.  The weather was gorgeous and we started a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores.  My brother and his wife arrived to announce an expected new addition to their little nest, empty for far too long.  My beautiful new head coverings arrived in the mail and I wrote this post relaxing on the couch with the sun streaming through the windows and a cup of wild orange tea.  Yes, a wonderful day.  Except for one thing.  Several things that I did not or did do that ruin my day until 3:00 in the afternoon.

What, you might ask, happened?

About a year after I got my period, I started having regular menstrual cramps....every month.  Awful cramps that sent me to bed moaning and groaning for several hours.  My family thought I was just being dramatic (I did have a reputation for being a bit of a drama queen) and getting used to being a woman.  They used to say, "What will you do when you have a baby?  It's WAY worse!"  One woman I know had the same problem and after marrying and having children, she told me that it's really not worse.  That in fact, labor was easier.

Anyway, over the past 10 years I have tried everything.  I know what works and what doesn't.  I'm a walking cramp doctor.  I've also discovered that I am not the only one.  So when I finally found something that works for me, I started sharing more openly about it.  This however, is the first time publishing my solution in public and I think it's long overdue.

After trying everything, I discovered Young Living essential oils and started using Lavender, Clary Sage and Ylang Ylang which helped immensely.  I had several ladies talk about using an oil blend called Progessence Plus to balance hormones, but I didn't actually try it until last summer.  I started using 4 drops a day and extra once a month.  By this time, my cramps had lessened somewhat and I had learned to manage them a little better by dropping everything, using oils and going to bed.  I didn't notice a difference with the Pro.+ at first but after 4-5 months I realized that I wasn't having any trouble at all during my monthly cycles.  This has continued since then so long as I kept using the oil....

Which I haven't.  I'm not always diligent in using the Progessence and this past month I hardly used any at all.  Add to that, I did a lot of walking and some squats the day before starting this month.  Very bad idea.

Someone told me not too long ago that her cramps were like contractions.  That, dear sisters, is exactly what happened to me.  I don't think I've been in that much pain since years past when I didn't know anything to use for it.  Everything that usually helps almost right away, did little or nothing.  While my sister-in-law was announcing her baby, I was huddled in my bed feeling like I was having one.

All that to say, I have been reminded of how awful it is to have to deal with this and I won't be skipping my Pro+ for anything!  How silly of me, to know of and have in my possession these wonderful healing oils given by YHWH and not use them!  Also how silly of me to know and have and not share with others.

Progessence Plus is a blend of natural progesterone and essential oils like frankincense, cedar, rosewood, peppermint, clove and others.  One bottle lasts me about 3-4 months if I use it diligently.  Unlike a lot of progesterone supplements, it does not have to be rotated.  You just use it every day and your body will absorb what you need, when you need it and the oils included in it have more uses than just hormone balance so instead of negative side effects like Acetaminaphen, regular Tylenol, Advil, etc. it can actually have positive side effects. :)  It is not only for cramps, it balances your hormones whatever the problem (mood swings, infertility, irregular cycles, etc.) and I believe every woman should be using this wonderful blend! :)