Day in the Life of One Woman

Ok guys so over the weekend some of my girlfriends and I had an amazing Sunday in the city! We checked out the Chicago Jazz Festival, went to Ohio St. Beach, hit Ghiradelli's for a sundae, and took a stroll through the Magnificent Mile before jumping on the Orange Line train and heading home.  We had a blast hanging out together and catching up on old times....I just wanted to share with you all the beautiful photos  and videos I took of this city. I know this post is a bit short, so to balance out the lack of info in this blog post I'll leave with something to ponder..... The really happy man is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. – Anonymous Take some detours and make some memories my friends!!

Okay guys so I had the honor and privilege of interviewing Luis Angel Class about his amazing book Manifesting the Keys: How I Changed My Paradigm .  This book spoke to me on many levels because I too have found myself in terrible situations or circumstances that I felt I needed to change, and let's face it changes not always easy. Sometimes it's a scary thing to go through and other times it's exhilarating.  In this book Luis discusses his background, the changes he had to make, and he gives some pretty good tips on how to make those changes.  So I'm going to leave the interview that I did with him posted on this blog and I strongly urge you to pick up your copy of this book so that you can make those changes that you need in your life!! Hope you all find value in this interview....love you all!!

Okay guys so it appears that it is time for a progress report on how my health and fitness journey is going so far. I am pleased to report that I've noticed a change in my body shape I do not weigh myself because I don't want to get hung up on a number but from here on out I will start measuring myself.  I see changes and I would like to document them in a more accurate and organized fashion. The changes I'm seeing in my body are really getting me fired up and motivated to keep pushing forward.  I am so curious to see just how much of a transformation my body can actually make. I'm nowhere near where I want to be but I know that I'm on the right path to getting there. I would rather focus on my small celebrations, such as inches lost, then on negative thoughts or self talk. Aside from watching what I eat and exercising as much as I can and let's be honest it's not as often as I want it to be I also am using a couple of different regimen. 1. Weighted...

Ok guys so I thought I'd switch things up again and show you all how I do a really cute braided bun on my daughter's hair. Many of us Mom's get sick and tired of ponytail after ponytail, or maybe you're just looking for a quick and elegant updo for a wedding or prom. What ever your reason for wanting to switch things up this look is super cute and easy!! Take a look at this video and I'll show you how I created it. Some of the items you will need are: Bun Maker Rat tail Comb Elastics Bobby Pins Thank you all so much for checking out this post and as usual feel free to leave and questions, comments, or suggestions in the section below!! In the near future I will be posting a progress report on my health and wellness journey as well as another book review!!

Ok guys, so I have read an amazing book called Breaking Your Limits: How to Create the Reality You Desire . It was written by a very good friend of mine named Sandra Crespo. I really enjoyed reading this book, she gives so much insight into her transformation in this entrepreneurial online business paradigm. As a full-time traveling family Sandra and her husband have had to think outside the box when it comes to creating revenue and income for their family.  In this book she shares how it took her several years and so much effort to make that mindshift.  Her chapters on self love and gratitude really blew my mind and I'm so happy that I get to share this interview with you guys!! Thanks for watching!!!

Okay guys I know I missed a post last weekend, but we were revamping our home and decluttering all over!!  I highly recommend a good decluttering, it not only clears your home but your mind as well.  I would love to post about that and share some of the pics from our household adventures, but today I want to talk about burning calories. I did some research on the web and found this video: https://yurielkaim.com/walking-for-weight-loss/ This man's name is Yuri and he comes up with a very scientific and mathematical formula to burning calories. W=F*D In essence this video breaks down how energy is burned through work, which is equal to force times distance.  I provided the link so that you can view this video it's about 10 minutes long and he describes in better detail all of the scientific and  mathematical aspects to this concept.   Basically he discusses burning more calories in a shorter amount of time by enhancing weight and distance ...

The path to success is never straight, there are several twists & turns, set backs, and obstacles. Motivation can only get you so far, but self discipline can take you anywhere.  Self discipline is not wanting or feeling like taking action but doing it anyways. Motivation can be found through speeches, videos, well versed songs, poems or any form of media for that matter.  Self discipline is something that is learned over a long period of time.  Your brain creates neurological pathways when you choose to do something.  Those pathways must be strengthened in order to become a habit.  Unfortunately bad habits are formed the same way....by strengthening the pathway through choosing a lack of action. What we are trying to do is wipe out the bad habits by rewiring our brains , it takes massive action and self discipline so here are some tips I have found to help me and some of you as well. 1. Write down how you feel before your action.  For example, ...

Ok guys I know we all have dreams, goals, and/or aspirations that we are all trying to achieve or accomplish.  What holds you back? For me I know with confidence that it is my procrastination that holds me back from so many goals (including organization). What can break you from that procrastination stronghold?? The answer to that my friends is quite simple......ACTION!! What isn't so simple is the act of action on a procrastinated spirit.  (Hope that makes sense.) I am a procrastinator in rehab.....I'm working on myself and that is one of the worst habits I have. Some of the tricks I use to break that mindset is to focus on the reward of completing a task.  For example I get super lazy when I come home from work and cleaning my house is the last thing that I want to do, but I know it must be done.  To keep myself from procrastinating I envision my home clean and organized, this motivates me to get the job done.  I also procrastinate with this ...

Ok so let's talk diet.... We all know that we must eat healthier and for some of us it is a daunting and difficult process.  You suddenly realize that your favorite snacks are now off limits!!  Or having to completely eliminate certain foods, drinks, or food habits....... I felt that fear before, the familiar scary feeling that comes with telling myself "NO!' to soda,  ice cream, cookies, cakes, chips, and so many others.  What I have learned is that it is ok to ease into a change in your eating habits. SnapChat name:  joannamdv I started out by drinking my veggies in my Greens Smoothies, adding fruits, water and ice in the blender and viola all of my fruit and veggie servings are all taken care of.  Of course I still needed to learn better eating habits, so I began adding healthy supplements to my usual foods.  A good example of this is adding flaxseed or chia seeds to foods that I prepare, such as adding flaxseed to my pancakes.  I h...

Hey guys!! Today I want to discuss the topic of will power because I feel like I'm faltering in mine!!  In all honesty diet and exercise is super difficult for me to stick to.  I have 4 kids and cookies are always right around the corner!!  Focusing on my goals becomes daunting with temptation so close at hand.  What keeps me motivated to keep going is celebrating the small victories!! Everyday I set small goals, for example I tell myself   Today I'm going to drink a gallon of water, watch my junk food intake, go to the gym, and eat more veggies.   When I can check off one task I acknowledge myself for the completion I count that as a win!! I take into consideration that sometimes I lose focus and give into my junk food addictions.  When that happens I try not to beat myself up and I try to stop myself from continuing.  For example, if I get home from work and my family is eating something that I know will wreck my diet and I give in I will ...

Hey guys!! Last week I discussed how important drinking water is for your body, keeping yourself hydrated while working out is essential to your muscles weightlifting capabilities.  This week I want to discuss nutrition, because your diet is generally 75% of weight loss!!  I found these two pics on Pintrest that pretty much sum up all of the foods that I have been eating.  I have definitely increased my fruit and veggie intake !! ← These foods are packed with different vitamins and minerals, and many of these ingredients are in my smoothie mix!! The rule of thumb I have been following is to eat more veggies and less processed foods.  If it comes in a can, but I can make it myself than I choose to make it myself.  For example canned veggies are practically extinct in my household.  I prefer to eat fresh veggies over canned, the same goes for pastas and other boxed or canned dinners.  I still eat some canned soups, but not as often. I have ...

Hey world!! Today I want to get into detail about the beginning of my lifestyle transformation.....drinking more water!! I took supplements and did see results at first, but the bad diet and unhealthy nutritional decisions I was making only made my body plateau.  The supplements made it difficult to gain weight, but my bad diet didn't allow me to lose weight, so I basically stayed the same. The supplements that I prefer call for you to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, so I began to comply with that suggestion because I felt like it would amplify my results....and it did!!  This is a huge deal for me because at my worst I was 229 lbs, drank a case of Pepsi within 2 days and absolutely never drank water. It took some getting use to, and there were plenty of slip ups, I would drink one Pepsi and that was it!!  I like to refer to Pepsi as my liquid crack because I get so hooked and it is so difficult for me to quit.  I eventually got over that obstacle bu...

Ok guys so I haven't posted an article in quite sometime, since the first of the month to be exact....but I am so excited to let you guys know what I've been up to. A day in my life consists of so many different factions, from being a mother of four to having a daughter with Dystonia. I have a passion for fashion, a love for makeup, and an affinity for psychology.  However lately I have been indulging in a health and fitness craze and focusing a lot of my attention to the transformation of my body. I started with supplements and I am slowly (emphasis on slowly) changing my eating habits.  This triggered a chain reaction that spilled over into my children's lives.  Now we look forward to eating a little cleaner adding more veggies, and cutting back on sweets and dairy.  This was not easy.....by no means but it was necessary.  My children were on a path to diabetes and obesity and that was unacceptable. Visible change takes time and I'm committed to that cau...

Hello World!! Once again I'm delving into the world of ACTION....this has been my main focal point for my past few blog entries because I have been guilty of wanting to accomplish goals, making plans and strategies and putting forth absolutely ZERO effort into said goals. For those of you that know me, you know that I am huge into the working of the brain and mind/body connection.  Aside from my daughter's neurological disorder I also loved studying Biological Psychology, which integrates the neurological and psychological aspects of the BRAIN. A psychologist from 1949 Donald Hebb discovered that if we correlate our beliefs, feelings, goals, senses, and actions repeatedly and synergistically our brain will rewire that neurological pulse and fuse together to create habits and even muscle memory.  Basically our neurons fire an electric pulse when we feel, think, see or do something and if we put all of those together at the same time it creates a new neurological pathway t...