Three years and counting...

November 14, 2008 is the day Ben and I started dating.  Having met only 2 weeks before, and emailing and talking on the phone every day, Ben came back down to see me in Calgary on the 14th, and we made it official. 

Now I know that some people mock those of us who still count our dating anniversary even after we're married, and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the way I see it, Marriage was a new chapter, but our dating anniversary is when we started the book.  It's important to us to remember where it all started.

Truth be told, 3 years doesn't seem long enough.  I actually went back through and re-counted to make sure I didn't miss a year in there somewhere.  Thinking back, 3 years doesn't seem so long ago, and yet, I can't remember my life before Ben was in it.  We have experienced so much in the time we have been together, I feel as though we have made such a life together, that surely we must be looking at at least 5-7 years already - but nope!  Just 3.

In the last 3 years we were long distance, went on trips to canmore, I moved cities, got engaged, bought a condo, painted and decorated the condo, bought a car, took a trip to Mexico, got married, had a Fort Sask reception, had a Calgary reception, got more wedding pictures done, played softball, launched a business, celebrated our first year married, lost weight, gained weight, lost weight again, sold our condo, bought a house, painted the house, had parties and BBQ's, met friends, lost friends and somehow ended up only 3 years in!!  WOW.  We sure know how to pack in 3 years! 

During that whole whirlwind romance, I have never been happier.  It didn't seem frenzied or rushed - everything seemed like the perfect timing for us.  We laugh daily, we tease each other, and play games together, we work out together, we run errands, do chores, we say "I Love you" every day- several times a day, and we really communicate.  I really don't worry about us, about our future - we seem to keep coming out on top, and I'm just enjoying the ride.  Ben is my best friend, I tell him every thing, and we never run out of things to say - which is really something considering we both live, AND work together, so we are not apart at all in a full 24 hour day.

This last weekend, the Thieson Clan had a belated Thanksgiving gathering at Ben's aunt's house, and even though I see these people just a handful of times in a year, they are my family, and I love each and every one of them - I don't feel like I'm new there, I feel like I belong like everyone else.  People are excited to see me, and I am them, and everyone is greeted with a warm welcoming hug.  We were talking about the previous Christmas and Easter gatherings this weekend, and I could have sworn I had been at more of them, it just seems to be another clue that our 3 years together has been as full as it's been short. 

I count my blessings every single day, for Ben, for his family, for my life here in Edmonton, and for my loved one's back in Calgary too.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and I don't regret a thing about the last 3 years, and look forward to many more with my husband and best friend, Ben, by my side! 

I love you, Today, Tomorrow, Forever.  You're all I want, you're all I need - you're Everything. <3

Long Beautiful Hair...

I have curly hair.  Very curly hair.  I was born with straight hair, and for many years, the older I got the curlier it was.  For example:

This is toddler Heather.  I think I was maybe 2 here - and my hair is fairly straight.  It flips out at the ears and around the base of my neck, but for the most part - it was straight. 

Fast forward a little to Junior high: 

This is Grade 7 Heather - so about 11 years old, my hair is still relativly straight, with a little bit of wave.  But still no curls. 


Fast forward 1 more year, and here comes the curl:

This is my Grade 8 Yearbook picture.  As you can see my hair did a lot of curling between grade 7 and grade 8. 

By my first year of University I was full on "Shirley Temple":

And since then, I have been known as a Curly Haired girl:

 My hair was awesome... in Calgary (and Mexico).  I could step out of the shower, put some mousse in, and let it dry, and it would be glossy and full and gorgeous!  ... And then I moved to Edmonton.  I don't know if it's the air, the water, the elevation, or something else entirely - but my hair just has not been the same.  For the first year I was here, I wore my hair up almost every day due to the frizz I could not smooth.  

Even in the photo Ben and I took the day we got engaged, you can see how fuzzy and "not-so-curly" my hair is: 

So I have spent the last 2 years in Edmonton, considering getting my hair straighened.  It's not that I don't love my curls - I do, or at least I did - but I no longer have the curls I used to have.  Every time I wear my hair curly I get a halo of frizz around it, and half the hair dosen't curl properly.  I think I've driven Ben crazy with my quest to find the perfect routine or the perfect product to achieve what a drug store mousse did so easily in Calgary, and because of that, the thought of having wash and go hair again was so very appealing - which would mean getting my hair chemically straightened. 

Now for those of you who know me, know I really don't like putting chemicals in my hair.  I use all natural Henna to dye my hair, and try to avoid heat styling as much as possible to keep my hair healthy and silky soft - so the thought of putting harsh chemicals in my hair to permanently manipulate the natural hair follicle really freaked me out - which is why I kept putting it off. 

And then I discovered the Keratin Protein Treatment.  This is not a straightener - it's a smoother.  It relaxes some curl, but it doesn't straighten it.  It just works to reduce 95% of frizz.  Also - it's made up of natural products, and instead of stripping the hair with chemicals, it actually coats the hair with a silk protein to smooth it and create a frizz free look.  

The best part?  It lasts 4-6 Months!!  I was sold!  ... but in researching it - I discovered it costs $300-$500 for ONE treatment!  ...eeeep!  So I started saving my pennies to be able to afford it - I was hoping before winter.  See the problem with winter, is when I wear sweaters, my hair sits on my shoulders and ends up getting matted up - and by the end of my work day, I have dread locks all around the base of my neck - the whole bottom layer of my hair is matted together.  It's hot.  I hate it.  So I was hoping that I could get the treatment done before sweater season so I didn't have to deal with another winter of trying to pull my hair apart at the end of the day (or wearing my hair up every single day...again).  

And then Groupon saved the day!! Last month I had delivered to my inbox the answer to my dilema - a salon was offering the Chi-Enviro Keratin Treatment for $149, rather than the usual $380.  I bought it without any delay and booked my apointment.  

While I was waiting for my apointment, I got Ben to take some pictures of my hair naturally curly: 

And on Wednesday Oct 26th, I got the treatment.  And this morning was the first time I was able to wash my hair (you have the wait a couple days for the bonding to take effect) so this morning I styled my hair normally, and then got Ben to take pictures once it had dried - I'm thrilled!

My hair is still soft, and it still has some curl, but it's more of a beachy wave!  As well it's so much smoother, I don't have my typical frizz halo either!  I can't wait to see how well it dries with a blow dryer as well - I think it might just cut my styling time in half!!  Especially since this was how it used to look when I blow dried it....

For those of you interested, I'll be sure to include a follow up with another blow drying pic! 

Blame it on Gawain

My friends and I have come up with many an "inside joke" term to describe specific emotions.  For example, when you are playing a game, and just played a "game ender" rather than a "Bitches!" or "Bam!" to express an "in your face" move we say "Braziiiiil!!!" those of you who have watched Fast Five (of the Fast and the Furious fame) will get that.  It's from that famous scene where the Rock tries to arrest Vin, and he gets all up in Rock's face and pretty much says "you have no authority here".  Braziiiiiil has fast become one of our favorite "I'm Awesome" lines. 

On the other end of the Spectrum, is "Gawain".  Gawain is used in game play (which sounds super RPG - but what I mean is board game nights) when you make a less than awesome move that costs you the game (or at least throws you back in last place).  Gawain came from one of Erik's board games called "Shadows over Camelot"  where you all play knights of the round table.

At the beginning of the game, you get to pick who your character is, and Erik often picks Gawain (which I think is a horrible name... sorry for those of you Gawains reading this).  Now I don't just say Gawain, when I say the name it's more like Gaaaa-Wain (like you are saying the name of the bumbling idiot - once again sorry for the Gawains of the world... your name really sucks).

The name got an even worse stigma when we played the "advanced" version of Shadows over Camelot, where one of you is a traitor, and secretly works to sabotage the rest of you so you don't achieve your goals.  Gawain was the traitor once, and Erik was playing him.  And I just ended up running with it... 

"What kind of name is Gawain?!?  It sounds like the name of a traitor!"
"Hmmmm - that sounds like something Gawain would do!"
"Oh Gawain.... you've let us down again" 
" Oh, look at that - Gawain wants to seperate from the rest of the group - I bet he just needs time to cry about his stupid name..."

Okay that last one didn't happen, but I sure was thinking it!

Gawain became such an inside joke, that even when we are playing different games, "Oh Gawain" is heard throughout the night every time something goes wrong, or someone makes a poor choice. 

One day when I was driving home from work in one of our lovely monsoon summer afternoons, "Blame it on the Rain" by Milly Vanilly came on the radio, and I immediately thought of "Blame it on Gawain" as a theme song for game nights! 

I told Erik a couple nights later, and he laughed pretty hard, and just like that, another inside joke was born! 

Last friday we had a game night, and I explained to Erik, that when he makes good choices, it's Erik - but when he makes silly choices (like giving up 5 health points in order to acquire more victory points, and thus gets killed on the very next turn because he didn't have enough health to take the attack) I call that Gawain making his choices.  So every now and then after a move is made, someone will say "Oh Gawain" letting the person know that was probably not the best choice.

A couple days after our game night, Erik posted this on my wall:

Oh Gawain... :) (that was fun last night!)

I laughed at it, and then mentioned it to Ben and said "I'm going to write the whole song..."  he assumed I would forget my quest - but in true stubborn Heather fashion, that only spurred me on more, so today, with Milly Vanilly playing in the background, I wrote out the Gawain Lyics to "Blame it on Gawain" .  It actually only took me about 5 minutes... the thing about this song is, there isn't a whole lot of rhyming.  So rather than come up with a word that fits with the previous line, Milly Vanilly just changes the key to make it sounds like a new line.  (which makes it really really easy for me to re-write the lyrics)

Enjoy (it's best if you hit play on the video above, and sing my lyrics over top to get the true feel of the song):

You said you had a plan now
You choose all your cards
You sacrificed your health points
…to satisfy your pride

Now you wish you didn’t do that
And you feel like such a fool
You went and lost the game
And you don’t know what went wrong
Gotta blame it on something…
Gotta blame it on something…

BLAME IT ON GAWAIN
It was all his fault now
BLAME IT ON THE CARDS
That were not dealt right
Whatever you do
Don’t put the blame on you…
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH

You can Blame it on Gawain

Should have challenged someone else now
Should have taken less risk
No, you couldn’t do that
You had to prove you were strong
If you’d had a different plan then
You would still be in the game with us

You want another try
But we just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something…
Gotta blame it on something…

BLAME IT ON GAWAIN
It was all his fault now
BLAME IT ON THE CARDS
That were not dealt right
Whatever you do
Don’t put the blame on you…
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH

I’m gonna Blame it on Gawain
BECAUSE GAWAIN DON’T MIND!

And Gawain don’t care
You gotta blame it on something!

BLAME IT ON GAWAIN
It’s all his fault now
BLAME IT ON THE CARDS
That were not dealt right
Whatever you do
Don’t put the blame on you…
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH

You can blame it on Gawain
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH (You can Blame it on Gawain, Blame it on Gawain, Blame it on Gawain- Baby)
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH (Blame it on the cards – that were not dealt right!)
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH (Blame it, Blame it, Blame it on Gawain)
Whatever you do
Don’t put the blame on you…
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH

Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something

(Fade out last verse)
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN
It’s all his fault now
BLAME IT ON THE CARDS
That were not dealt right
Whatever you do
Don’t put the blame on you…
BLAME IT ON GAWAIN – YEAH YEAH


I made Erik's day, and mine too actually.  Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of myself, and I can't wait for the next game night!  (Erik wants to make the music video!!)

So yeah.... THIS IS BRAZIIIIIL!!! 

Free Art

A friend of mine shared a link the other day to a page called UPG Artists.  They were giving this shirt away for Free +S&H to show appreciation for the arts.  And I kind of like it.

Every Photographer, Makeup Artist, Artist, Hairstylist etc has had to go through at least one awkward conversation where someone has requested something for nothing, and it's even worse when it's a friend.

I must say, for the most part, I have been one of the lucky ones - at least these days.  When I was first starting out all of my friends would request that I do their hair and makeup to go out - which meant I often ended up running out the door with my hair in a pony tail, and just a quick coat of eye liner and mascara, since I spent most of the "getting ready" time on my friends.  And I didn't mind so much then, I do love what I do - it was just a little frustrating when I never had time for myself.  But these days, it's not like that anymore.

Maybe it's the fact that it's not just me being good at makeup any more - but that I'm a certified makeup artist, have a business licence, a registered trade name, a business account, and company bank cards, the requests for free makeup have have stopped for the most part.  Now and then there is a favour asked - which is totally fine, I've asked favours too, but for the most part, my friends all respect that what I do is a learned skill, it's taken schooling, and practice, and a multitude of products to get me where I am now, and my friends respect that I'm a pro - and pro's charge.  And my friends pay if they want to hire me.

Ashton is probably the best example of this.  Ashton is one of my best friends, and in the Spring of 2013 I will be standing beside her at her wedding, but even though we are so close, Ashton has never asked for me to work for free - and I really appreciate that.  Over the years I have done her hair and makeup for weddings, Christmas parties, Halloween costumes, and just going out to look a little extra special, and she pays me every time, unless I ask her if I can do it.  I do do that now and then - I love doing makeup, and sometimes I just feel like playing a little bit, trying out a new color, - and Ashton is always more than willing to let me use her as my canvas.  She even payed me for makeup lessons so she could absorb some of my skill and learn a few tricks.

I really appreciate that Ashton respects that what I do is a profession, and one that requires professional skill, and that she would never undervalue my talent by asking me to do it for free.  And it's not just Ashton, I have had several friends ask me how much I charge for makeup lessons - rather than just asking if I would show them a technique, and I'm so thankful that I have friends that respect my work like that.

Last year I placed an add on Kijiji just to try to get a little more exposure from other sources - which is when I discovered the "Kijiji Brides".  I received lots of inquires, and then once I told them my prices, I got questioning, haggling, and arguing.  I'm not denying that weddings are expensive - I've been through one, I know, but if you want professional services, you have to pay professional prices.  Nothing is more insulting than a Kijiji Bride telling you that you are too expensive, and having them ask you to lower your price.  

You inquired with me because you want a professional, you looked at my work, and you liked it - you want professional service, professional products, and a professional job for your big day - but you don't want to pay me what a professional is worth?  No thank you, you can have your sister do your makeup instead.


Have you ever tried to haggle the price at a restaurant?  Ever argued with a sales clerk about a retail price on a dress?  Asked for a discount on groceries?  Probably not.  Everyday consumers are faced with price tags, and the decision typically comes down to "can I afford it or not?".  If you don't have the budget for it, you move on - but when it comes to the art, or service world, people suddenly think there is wiggle room in the price.


I am running a business like any other - I have bills to pay too.  Just going through the registration fees, and business licence fees cost me $500+, and that doesn't include my accounting software, my website domain fees, my marketing, the furniture for my studio and all of my products and supplies - it adds up.  There is a reason I charge for my services - I am a professional, and this is a business. 

So once again thank you, my dear friends, for respecting me, and not under valuing the work that I do.  It really means the world to me!

Stage Makeup

I have been so very lucky to get to do something that I love, and have people pay me for it - I believe this is what is called a "Dream Job".  But there is a little part of my Dream Job, that I wish came up a little more often, and that's Stage Makeup. 

For those of you who do not know - I started in makeup in the Theatre program at U of C, where I got to turn my face into a Chinese Opera Mask, or become an old woman, give myself a beard, pour face molds and build latex prosthetics!  I loved it!  Stage Makeup, or Special FX were my favorite thing!!  My Prof used to hand out a different famous painting to each of us, an then ask us to duplicate it on our faces, which involved brush techniques, mixing proper colors and a steady hand.  I love a challenge, especially a makeup challenge, and I was thrilled when he would hand out these pictures!  You haven't lived until you've made your face into this:

Francis Bacon - My prof's favorite artist, and my challenge

One night my room mate had my car, and I was bored waiting for her to come home from work - so I started playing, and before I knew it - I had done this:

***In trying to find pictures for this Blog Post, I went to the U of C photographer's website, and actually found 20 year old Heather from one of the shows I worked on!  Look at how Cute I am!!***

In University there was a calling for stage makeup artist - each theatre production needed makeup artists to do anything from just helping the actors with basic stage makeup, to creating a complex character makeup look, so my talents were in high demand in University.  The play that was the most fun to work on, was an adaptation of Medea.  The Graduate student who was assigned to direct this show was known for her abstract shows, so they gave her the stuffiest old greek play they could - and she ran with it.  She did a slight re-write on the play, gave all her characters unique ridiculous costumes (one guy had a helmet with corn broom mohawk that stuck on with velcro):

and built a spectacle stage complete with large metal box center stage that held Medea:

and added in a dance and drum beats.  It was by far my favorite show in University, and I was so thrilled I got to work on it. 


One of my jobs in the show as running crew, was to help braid Andrews shoulder length hair each night, into 15-20 braids all over his head, as well as slick down Dereks Very curly hair so that when he removed his over sized top hat, his hair would not budge, as well as helping Dan make a hand print across his face, and other fun jobs:

 Now - does this look like a Greek tragedy?!?

Another show that was a blast for me to work on was The Last Sorcerer, where I got to transform a 19 year old into an old man!

Here's a closer look:

Man.  Looking through all these photo's, I really miss Stage Makeup.  There's not much call for it in Boudoir Shoots, and Weddings these days - but luckily, Halloween is coming up!!  And if there is any time where I can really stretch my Stage Makeup Muscle, it's Halloween!!   And Luckily, Ben likes to take advantage of the skill too, and always strives for unique makeup heavy costumes.  Last year, he was a broken statue:

And this year, we are doing a couple's costume - Ben will be the big man himself:

And I will be going as his partner in crime (and puns):

I'm so excited!! It's been a year since I got out my Stage Makeup kit, and I'm itching to play!!

Word of Mouth

I love it.

Last night I was shopping with friends, and was in one store where I happened to mention one of the Boudoir Marathons that I have worked on - the sales girl over heard, and asked me about them, stating that she was looking to do something different for her boyfriends birthday and was contemplating doing one of theses shoots.  She asked me some questions, and asked me for my card!  I don't know if she will ever follow up, but if she does, then the system works!  Good old Word of Mouth!

At our last Boudoir Marathon, we had both the Hairdresser, and the best friend of one of the girls from the first Boudoir Marathon!!  They had both mentioned how much Miss. S had been raving about the shoot, and the whole experience so much, that as soon as Melissa and I had announced a second marathon they were the first to sign up!  I love that - referals are the ultimate in compliments!!  It's one thing for someone to tell you they like your work, it's completely another to rave to all of their friends and family resulting in more people signing up!!  It gives me the warm fuzzies :)

And truth be told, word of mouth is so very important in my line of work.  Say you are getting married.  And you have never been married before - so where do you start in your planning?  You talk to your other married friends of course!  "Oh - where did you end up getting your dress?"  "Who did you use for your pictures?"  "who did your catering?"  And of course "Did you have your makeup done for your wedding?  Who did it?"  which is the best advertising I could ask for.

I currently have a wedding booked for next summer - the Bride is the sister of the Bride I did last winter!  Word of mouth, I tell ya - it's fantastic!!


And it works in lots of things - personally before I do anything I do research.  I read reviews, watch YouTube videos, and I talk to my circle of friends and see what they thought.  These days it's very easy to be a savy consumer - all the information you could ever want on a product or service is right there at your finger tips, it's up to you to look for it (and honestly, why wouldn't you?  A few minutes of googling can tell you exactly what you should look for, and what you should stay away from - saving you time and money in the future!).

That being said, when I stand behind a product or person, I rave about them.  I send them testimonials they can put on their website, I tell my friends, I make sure that word of mouth works in their favor too. 

So here is a small list of some of my favorite people and places!


Netbride

I found my wedding dress in a store in Edmonton, and then looked for it cheaper online - in store it was $650, online I got it for $383.  My bridesmaid dresses were $200 in store, and $89 through Net Bride.  I have told every bride, bridesmaid and graduate I have come across about this website!!  It's family run, and everyone I dealt with there was so friendly and nice!  They send you their price for your dress make and model number within 24 hours and even have a "live chat" feature so you can talk directly with their staff if you have questions about shipping, sizing or anything else you may want to know!  Shipping was also very quick, and my dresses arrived 2 months prior to the set arrival date!!


A&D Photography

Abigail and Dave are some of my favorite people.  Dave is actually one of my very good friends from my days back in Calgary, affectionately known as "One of my Boys".  He is an awesome photographer, and an amazingly fun person to boot.  He met Abby through a mutual friend and fell in love.  Lucky for them, Abby is also an amazing photographer, and a kick ass person, so A&D photography was born.  When Ben and I got married, I was concerned about my resort photographer, because I didn't have a choice - I just had to go with the photographer employed by the resort, so I messaged Dave.  We decided to book a "post wedding shoot" in Canmore a couple months after the wedding, and spent the weekend with Abby and Dave taking beautiful photo's in the mountains, sipping yummy drinks, and splashing around on water slides - it was an awesome weekend, and I can't say enough about how great Dave and Abby are to work with!  They had us laughing constantly!! They are both so down to earth, and so crazy in love with each other, that they know exactly which looks, and gestures they are looking for to capture the best photos.  They are some of the best photographers Calgary has to offer.  And if you don't believe me - the photo's speak for themselves:

Candy and Cream Boudoir

Okay, so you must have seen this one coming...  My partner in crime, Melissa Raimondi - Boudoir Photographer extraordinaire!  Now I don't want this to come off as a promo for me because my own company (SmudgeMakeup... shameless plug) works along side Candy and Cream for their Boudoir Marathons, so don't think of this as that - I just want to talk about Melissa as a photographer.  I just can't say enough about how Pretty her work is!!  Her shots capture so much beauty and elegance, and she brings out the very best in the ladies that are captured in front of her camera.  Melissa is bubbly, and friendly, and when she tells you she's "so excited to meet you!!!" you can tell she's being honest!  Melissa is so much fun, she's laid back, and always smiling, and makes every girl who visits her studio completely at ease!  At the last marathon, I was in my makeup station working on the next girl, and I over heard behind the curtain during the shoot "I can't believe I'm so comfortable around you - I'm standing here in a thong and I don't even feel weird about it!"  But enough about Melissa herself (because I could go on for hours), you HAVE to see her work!!:

Raimondi Photography

And just to throw this in here, Melissa does more than Boudoir, check out a couple of her baby and wedding shots too:

Carla's Waxing
"little house off whyte"

Unfortunately I don't have a website for this one (or the exact address), it was word of mouth for me, and I want to share it with you.  Carla works out of a little house converted salon just off Whyte Ave by Bonnie Doon.  Her prices are awesome ($26 for a full Brazilian wax), and she's fast (about 5 minutes for a full wax job).  As a friend that I referred to her said upon getting her wax "Wow - you are like the waxing ninja!!"  She does a good job, does it fast, and does it for cheap!!  She once told me she does about 20-30 waxes a day and has been doing it for 20+ years... now that's experience!  Call her to book an appointment!  780.497.2566


Lash Affair

I met Courtney through Melissa, and I'm so very glad I did.  Courtney is an eye lash extension technician (do you call them technicians?), and I can honestly say, as a makeup artist, Courtney does the best work in eye lash extensions that I have ever seen.  I have worked on several of her girls, and the lashes are full, and properly applied in such a way to get the most natural looks (staggering the different lengths to get the most natural effect).  Courtney has a full studio in her basement, but will be opening up a commercial location in Spring 2012, and offers several choices of lashes, as well as Lash Dip coming soon!  Plus she's super nice, and very easy to get along with!!


Sigma Beauty Brushes

As a Makeup artist, I am always on the search for good quality brushes to get the best effect, and I found them in Sigma Brushes.  Sigma has MAC quality makeup brushes, but Drug Store prices - which works for me!!  I did a comparison once of Sigma's complete brush roll set, and the equivalent brushes at Mac - Sigma was $79, Mac was $397.50!!!  Now that's a deal I can get behind!!  And I am telling you as a professional Makeup artist - these brushes are awesome.


My Pink Vanity

As someone who likes to change up their hair a lot, I was on the search for hair extensions that I could clip in to get a different look, and take out at the end of the night, and after reading a lot of reviews, and watching a lot of YouTube videos, I settled on My Pink Vanity.  Lush Locks are some of the best quality hair extensions I have found, and their service is fantastic.  The owner, Amy, not only responds to your questions right away, she also sends little gifts with your order and comes up with contests to give away curing irons, hair clips, earrings, hair products, lots of things!!


Okay.... I could really go on and on, but I think that is enough for now!! So if you find a product or service, and you like their style - tell a friend, tell lots of friends, share the wealth of information and spread the love!!

The Gauntlet

My friend Erik has been talking about the Gauntlet for a while, in fact, he even made a Blog Post about it.  So I have decided, in looking for a challange, I'm going to run the Gauntlet with Erik tonight :) 

The Gaunlet is comprised of Balletone, followed immediately by Pump & Groove and Dance Quickie + Abs, equalling 3 straight hours of having a two tiny bubbly girls kick your ass.

I hear they delight in the prospect of making you throw up...

Let me present to you - the Gauntlet:

Balletone is a fusion-style conditioning program, designed specifically for the non-dancer, blending training techniques drawn from dance, Pilates and fitness. Balletone offers a fun, invigorating workout to develop core strength, muscular endurance, dynamic balance and flexibility without the use of equipment or props. Referred to as "...fitness for the millennium", Balletone keeps you moving, motivated and mentally focused with a body blasting workout that leaves no muscle untouched.

Pump & Groove takes your workout to the MAX! Intervals of strength and toning exercises and high energy, easy to follow dance cardio segments will work your entire body! Each class will includes a variety of Urban and World dance styles to the latest chart topping tracks sure to keep you pumping and grooving through the whole class!

Dance Quickie! Each week we will try a different genre ranging from Latin, Jazz, Hip Hop, Country, Disco, African, Bollywood and much, much, more!  This 45 minute program will get you moving and grooving to the music, for a fast and effective, low impact workout suitable for all ages and fitness levels.  In the hour long version of this class, we increase the intensity of the dance section and include 15 minutes of abdominal and core strengthening and toning.




Although I've been running a couple times a week, I feel as though I need a good "kick my ass" workout to really get my butt in gear about losing some weight - and from what my friends have told me, these classes are the way to do it.  I do a lot of Cardio.  I love dancing, and can go for hours without even feeling slightly fatigued, which is why I need to up my intensity if I want to get the workout my body craves.  And while other's would be dreading such an intense workout, I'm really excited for it! 

Truth be told, I'm one of those weird people who LOVE when I wake up to sore muscles.  I love flexing my arms to feel the quick throb of pain in response - it makes me feel like I've done something.  Like I've put in the work, and my muscles are growing and changing as a result. 

I've never been a treadmill person... in fact I hate the treadmill.  I love walking outside, or running stairs, or doing a HIIT DVD, but I hate the monotonous routine of walking in one place.  I find I spend the whole time counting down until I reach my 10 minutes and can get off.  I always preferred the workout classes at the gym for my cardio, and I have an awesome collection of workout DVD's that get me moving and sweating more than a treadmill ever could. 

She kicks my ass... and I love it!

I'm actually going to get back into lifting weights too - Ben and I did a weight program every morning for 3 months, I felt stronger and leaner, but unfortunately I ate the extra calories my new muscles burned, so I didn't see the weight loss, but I've learned from my mistakes, and I think I can see some really awesome results this time around.

It also helps when your spouse is also like minded in health and fitness - it's less of a struggle when you have a perma workout buddy!  Even Camping a couple weeks ago, Ben and I went for a run together.  It's so awesome to make this life change together with your life partner (which totally makes him sound like my lesbian lover... but you get what I'm trying to say).

Tonight however, Ben didn't want to run the Gauntlet with Erik and I, but he will be doing his own running as he's training for the 5K Spartan Sprint on Saturday in Calgary, which is a little too advanced for my fitness level just yet - but one day I hope to run it along side with him.  But until then, I will run the Gauntlet along side my good friend Erik :)