Naked blogging: It Works

I've been debating for a long time whether to share this information, because I didn't want to admit that I had doubts about the products I've been using and selling, but I've come to the realization that a LOT of people have doubts about the products I've been selling, and sharing my story can only help.  This is hard to admit and even harder to put into writing, but I truly hope that sharing my doubts and worries can help someone out there to overcome their own.

I've been using It Works! products for a couple of months now.  I start my day with Thermofit (a natural metabolism booster) and Greens (to detoxify, alkalize and balance the body in addition to providing 8 servings of fruits and vegetables), take Fat Fighters (which bond with fat and carbs you consume to flush them out of your system) as needed if I cheat on my healthy eating or eat something to which I am allergic (my allergies aren't bad enough to prevent me from eating the things I like, but I have found that the Fat Fighters help flush the icky stuff out of my system before it gives me too much trouble) and end my day with New You (so many benefits I won't list them all here, but I will say it helps me sleep better!) and It's Vital (a multivitamin).  I felt a lot better, had more energy and less affects from my allergies but just didn't really feel like I was getting anywhere weight or inches loss wise, and I have to admit, I was getting pretty discouraged.  My wedding dress was tight and uncomfortable, my clothes weren't fitting any better and I didn't feel like I looked any better.  In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I had just about given up.  Between the I'm-too-busy-to-make-dinner-so-let's-just-go-out-to-eat and the I'm-too-stressed-out-to-curb-my-emotional-eating I just knew I was gaining weight.  Thankfully, my dress had a corset back, so I knew if I packed on a couple pounds I would be more uncomfortable, but still able to wear the dress.  I wrapped four times (a complete treatment) in the week and a half leading up to the wedding and still didn't feel like I was seeing any results but I just couldn't worry about it at that point.  Miss Thing, overhearing BBS and I talking about my frustration and anxiety over how the dress would fit, told me she thought I looked like I'd lost weight, but I just wasn't seeing it.  I felt awful about myself.  And then the big day arrived.  I don't think anyone else knew, but I was on pins and needles all day long.  Not because I was nervous about marrying Man, but because I was worried my dress wouldn't fit!  I hadn't had it on in about two weeks and I was just sure I was going to end up busting a seam and getting married in my sweats!  As I stepped into my dress, I worried that I wouldn't be able to get it up over my huge hips.  But it easily pulled up.  As I held the dress up I fretted that Mom wouldn't be able to snap the modesty panel in place.  But, despite her having to dig out her reading glasses to see the tiny closure, it clipped easily into place.  Then, as Mom laced the corset back, I agonized over whether she would have enough lacing to close up the whole back.  But there was lacing to spare and the dress fit better than ever.

All my worrying was for nothing.  I should have trusted my body instead of my mirror.  Despite eating junk, not getting enough sleep and running around like a crazy woman, I felt and still do feel) better than I have in years.  Looking at the pictures, I see now that I look better than I have in years.  I think we all have these images of ourselves in our minds, where we will never look as good to ourselves as we do to other people.  When Miss Thing mentioned that she thought I looked like I'd lost weight, we discussed that sometimes other people see the weight loss or body changes before you do because they don't see you every day, but I really think a lot of it has to do with how you look at yourself, too.  When I looked in the mirror I saw the crazy, stressed out nearing-bridezilla woman that I was at the time.  Now, looking at pictures, I'm able to see the happy, healthy, in love woman that I am.  And I am so thankful for my It Works! products that helped me survive that crazy time and will continue to help me become the most healthy version of me I can be!

You'd think 3 weeks would be enough time to recover from having the girls for 3 weeks.

It's not.

And in two short days we'll have them again.  I miss them like crazy and can't wait to have their smiling faces and laughing voices filling the house again, but I also can't believe how these last three weeks flew by so quickly.  I'm still not back to myself after the weeks of our little one waking me in the middle of the night to help her potty, fighting with our oldest over makeup, clothes (did I ever mention that she has the immodesty of a toddler.  10-year-old body hanging out all over the place is NOT okay with me!) and anything else she could challenge me on and Wolfey and our middle child breaking my heart but I'm getting there.  I have high hopes that I will be back to blogging daily here shortly, but in the mean time I'm taking my New You to help me sleep better and my greens for energy and just plugging away!

I have some really awesome family

Two of my cousins came out to the house yesterday to work on our AC unit, which has been peeing all over our basement floor.  Correction: my cousin's husband and my other cousin's boyfriend came out.  They're not even technically family, but they still do these awesome things.  Turns out the drain line was damaged so they repaired it and updated it so Man and I can do maintenance on it ourselves.

Another cousin (who is also, legally, not a cousin, but is my aunt's ex-husband's son and chooses to stick around our family, because that's just how great we are!) is coming out next week to work on some plumbing issues we have and install our new dishwasher.

BBS has been busting her hump preparing things for my bridal showers.  Yes, showers.  As in, plural.  And BBS is taking the lead on both of them.  She has recruited an aunt or two from each side of the family and they've been working like mad women to ensure I have not one (my wedding), not two (my shower) but three (my second shower) special days.

BBS and hubby threw a 4th of July party yesterday and not only invited Man and I (who were the only ones there who were kidless, since our girls are with their mom) but waited dinner on us (since I had to work) and then raved about the strawberry pretzel salad Man made in which the jello refused to set up, so it was more like strawberry pretzel mush.  We had a great time and although the kids struggled with waiting until dark to set off the fireworks, we still got to see some of the prettiest ones!

For the past several weeks, Man has dealt with a grumpy, sleep deprived, over-worked-and-under-paid, confused and weepy Karen and taken it all in stride.

I've really been struggling lately with trying to find a balance between work, home, wedding planning and starting my It Works! business, but with such an awesome family, I know it will all work out.  I am so lucky to love so many amazing people!

It really does Work!

I kept seeing these facebook posts from people who put Defining Gel on sunburns and bug bites and had near-instant relief, but I thought they were crazy.  How can a product designed to firm and smooth your skin take the sting out of a sunburn or the itch out of a bug bite?  And then I tried it.  Amazing!  I was already completely sold using this product on my chest and upper arms (I can't have saggy arms showing in my wedding dress!) and seeing great results but now I'm a total believer in its many awesome uses!  I've had a huge bug bite for the past several days that seemed to be getting worse instead of better and finally broke down and used the Defining Gel last night.  Within 15 minutes I didn't itch any more and this morning, while the bite isn't any smaller, I could barely feel it.  Even though it didn't itch, I put more gel on after my shower and I haven't scratched once today!  I'm in love!

Progress

I had my first skinny massage last night and had the best night's sleep I've had in ages.  I don't know if it was the "skinny" or the "massage" but either way I'll be doing that again!  I feel so rested and clear.  Between the detoxifying greens and the amazing sleep last night, I'm feeling way more with-it than I have in a long time.  This is going to be the easiest way to get healthy and fit I've ever tried!

Apparently it's all Man's fault.

Yesterday Man called to tell me he received confirmation that he'll be starting his new job on Monday; we decided to go out to our favorite local restaurant to celebrate.  We were both so excited that when I arrived home from work we both changed and immediately walked back out the door.  When we got home, we opened the front door to let the dogs out and took them for a walk without even going in the house.  On our walk, we stopped by the post office to get our mail and my It Works! kit was there, so we went straight home for me to dig in to my goodies.  Once again, I was so excited I didn't pay any attention to anything else, but spent a while going through things while Man fed the dogs their dinner, then we each showered and headed to bed.  Several times during the night Wolfey woke us up whining.  This is really out of character for him, but I was so exhausted I just yelled at him to go back to bed.  Finally, around 4am I woke up and took him outside and things settled down for a while, but he was back at it at 6:00.  When I finally got up around 7:30 (I overslept from having my sleep interrupted so many times), I found 2 poopy accidents in the bathroom.  Poor baby was trying to tell me he had icky tummy but I was too wrapped up in my own stuff to understand what he needed.  I woke Man to help me get ready for work and of course he was grumpy that Wolfey had pottied in the house, but I reminded him that Wolfey tried to let us know but he couldn't let himself out to go.  Thankfully Man got up and helped and he reports that Wolfey has been better all day, but I felt so horribly guilty.  It really makes you think twice when a seemingly uneventful decision puts into motion so many other events.  If Man hadn't called to tell me about his job I wouldn't have suggested we celebrate.  If we hadn't gone to celebrate, I would have unpacked my bag as soon as I got home from work.  If I had unpacked my bag, the dogs wouldn't have gotten my lunch leftovers (including a pretty good sized brownie). If the dogs hadn't gotten my brownie Wolfey wouldn't have ended up sick.  The secondary chain of events is if  we hadn't gone for the walk we wouldn't have gotten my It Works! stuff.  If we hadn't gotten that package I would have paid more attention when we got home and seen the brownie packaging in the living room.  If I'd seen the packaging I would have anticipated some icky tummies.  If I had known to be on the lookout I would have gotten up the first time Wolfey woke me and not only would everyone have gotten a better night's sleep, but I wouldn't have had such a mess to clean up this morning.  I guess the moral of the story is, never celebrate Man's accomplishments.  I'm so glad to have figured that out.  He's going to be so happy!  Maybe we should celebrate...

Now I've done it

All my favorite bloggers (fosterhood, the bloggess, etc.) are on twitter.  I've resisted, because (despite my incessant blogging) I find most social media to be a huge time suck, but at the same time, I've also kind of wanted to see what it's all about.  More out of morbid curiosity than actually wanting to be involved or follow anyone.  But with my new business venture and more opportunities coming down the road (don't worry, I'll keep you posted!) I'm seeing it more as a necessity to connect with my customers rather than a waste of time.  So I'm trying it.  Come check me out!

Naked blogging: It Works! edition

My weight has always been a struggle for me.  Growing up with a sister who was a stick because she took after our mom's side of the family while I was "curvy" (which is just a nice way of saying I've always been a big girl) because I took after our dad's side of the family was always tough, but I really need to stop using that as an excuse to be overweight.  Now is the time and It Works! is the tool.  Check out the rest of the story on my It Works! website.

Lots of rambling, but it's worth it. Just wait for me to get to the point!

Last night Man and I were driving home from a jam packed day together.  We did some housework in the morning, then went to my cousin's house for Man to get a massage (don't worry, he's not just having random people rub him, my cousin is a licensed massage therapist) and for me to sign up to be an It Works! distributor.  By the way, if you haven't heard about this crazy wrap thing, you definitely need to check it out!  I'll post info and links to my website soon!  Anyway, from there we went to visit my grandpa in the nursing home.  I know I haven't given an update in a while, but it's because not much has changed.  He's doing better than he was when he was in the hospital but still not great.  He looks a lot better but is still weak and isn't all there mentally.  They're saying he may not ever recover further than he has, but we're holding out hope.  Okay, where was I?  Oh, yeah... so then we ran some errands and went to dinner.  It wasn't the most exciting day, but it was productive and enjoyable and it was really great to spend the entire day together.  So on the way home, we were talking and laughing and just generally enjoying ourselves.  I got to thinking how sad it is that no one else gets to see the hilarity that is our intimate relationship.  Man brings out a side of me I've never known before and I absolutely love it!  I can truly let go and be fun, silly and spontaneous with him in a way I can't with anyone else.  Even Bestie, who I've known since college, or BBS, who (obviously) I've known my entire life can't get me to relax the way Man can.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I truly hope that everyone has a Man in their life, because I know that I am so lucky to love this Man!

It Works!

I just joined an It Works! team! I can't wait to start wrapping and changing people's lives! More info to come soon!