Little Things Make Big Things Happen

Hellllooo my beautiful and wonder friends!

 I am really sorry for the lack of blog posts.... I have been sort of in a funk recently, I haven't really been myself. Have you ever just ended up at a rut in your life? Yes? Well, that's where I am right now! It stinks, but I'll make it out soon (hopefully) :) I have typed a few (four to be exact) posts but I just never had the motivation to finish them, or I didn't like the way that they sounded so I just forgot about them. B U T I am making a goal of posting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week! Please help keep me accountable

Since this is a lifestyle type blog, I feel as if I should share things that go on in my life. Big or small. Good or bad. As I am making strides in life, I want to be able to share these things with you! What I am about to share with you, to me, is a  M A J O R  step in my life. But to you, it may be a simple thing. It may seem to be over the top, or petty that I am writing about this "small" step but I am pretty excited about it!!

If you do not already know, I have P.O.T.S. and/or Dysautonmia. If you are unfamiliar with it or my story, you can google these terms or click here to read my post about some of my story. Anyways, I have been told by my doctor that I right now (last semester) I shouldn't worry about exercise because my normal day-to-day routine is enough. Especially when I was in school, she said that walking 20 mins to class was more than enough for what my body could handle. And also working at the daycare really wears me out!! So as you can probably guess, I listened to the doctor and didn't worry about exercise or anything like that. 

On Tuesday, my friends, Kimmie and Angel, begged me to go to the gym with them. I was quick and without hesitation said "No, it's okay guys I've never been to the gym and I'm not really suppose to exercise." But they were fast to say "Steph it's fine you can do what you can and just watch." After lots of begging and pleading ;) I gave in.

So at 11 pm, I, Stephanie Metaxas, was off to the gym for the first time. (I can see your mouth dropping right now) I was SO incredibly nervous, I did not want to get sick, I did not want to pass out, I did not want to regret this all because of peer pressure. 

<----- for your enjoyment

We headed straight to the leg work outs (?) and of course I was first to go. I started out on the lightest weight possible on every machine. I did not give up AND I did not get tired!!!!!!! I kept up with the girls and did everything that they did. I am so proud of myself!!! For a girl who can barely walk up a flight of stairs, I worked out at the gym for over an hour. Of course I occasionally was out of breath but I did not really have to stop. So I went again, tonight, for my second time and boy did I kick it up a notch ;) I added about 10-15 pounds on most of the machines AND I bench pressed (?) Aka ANGEL held the bar (yes just the bar with no weights) as I lay under it. My arms are weak guys. But the picture to the left was a weight that was 20 lbs and that was easy as pie. I guess from the kids at work.

Yes, I probably am WAY to excited about this but I m slowing showing others, and more importantly myself, that I am making progress. 2-3 years ago, I would have not been able to do a lot of these things, but if I push myself and give myself more credit I could do more things than I think!

And for more enjoyment for you, embarrassing pictures....

(and yes, last night I had to go in my chacos. I know probably not the best idea but hey I left with all 20 toes so no worries)

- Steph 

Snow In Memphis?!

I just LOVE the snow. LOVE LOVE LOVE. It is probably the only time that I am not a complete sissy when it comes to the cold. In Memphis, we have had quite a bit of snow days in the past month. It was pretty shocking to most of us, because all winter has been like 40-50 degrees (just a guesstimate) Unfortunately, all of the snow (ice) days that we have had, I was sick. The first week I had the stomach bug then not even a week later I had strep. So I was not able to go out in the ice. But I am thankful that I was sick on the snow/ice days because I actually didn't have to call in sick at work once!!! Total God thing. In the winter time, I am always getting sick from my little friends that I just love oh-so much. I told mom that I am just a walking germ, I felt bad because after the stomach bug I thought I was fine so I went and babysat and saw lots of my friends then I ended up having strep I was so worried I was going to get people sick again. But I didn't :)

So I was extra excited for the snow today, 

1. Because it was actual snow!

2. I got to go out

My family and I got all layered up to get ready to go out sledding. Except Anna, mom was saying she was confused about what weather it was. It was so funny, she was dressed in pj pants, sweatshirt, and then a rain coat. Mom kept telling her she was going to freeze. I remember when I use to want to dress more to impress than for the cold (not saying Anna was but it just reminded me of that) As you can maybe see from the pics, I had my thick snowman coat as my friends liked to call it, my snow gloves, rain boots, and like 2 pairs of pants. We met up with our family best friends that are now our neighbors, and some of Anna's friends and family then we were off to the big hill that the whole neighborhood was sledding down.

I'm not sure how long we were out there, but it was so much fun! Everyone was sharing all of their sleds since we had a big group and one sled. Also, my sister and her friends tried to use plastic box tops but those didn't work. It was quite funny watching them try to use them. We all had our fair share of face plants! :) I am very very proud of myself, I lasted a long time out there running around and up and down the hill. I got out of breath after running up the hill, but with everything that I was doing I didn't get tired or weak, and thats a MAJOR achievement for me. If you know me really well, you know I can't do much physical activity without getting tired, weak, and out of breath. :( But hey, I can tell things are slowly getting better! Side note: a few weeks ago at work, my class had a little dance party, and I danced for over an hour laughing and swinging and dancing with the kids and I didn't get tired at all!!! I was SO proud of myself. Just thought I should share that ;)

After we got to the point to where our bums were numb and we couldn't feel our fingers and toes, we went in to eat some pizza, drink hot chocolate, and play some games. Ian and Peyton came over to hang out with us and we played Apples to Apples! It was a pretty intense game. Since there were 5 players, a player needed 7 cards to win. We got to the point where all 5 players had 6 cards!! Anna ended up winning :( but it was fun!!

I had so much fun today with all of my family and neighbors, and thankfully work is closed tomorrow so I can sleep in and recuperate after all that fun :) I hope ya'll had a great snow day! Stay safe and warm!!

Steph

Coconut oil

Why have I never heard of or used coconut oil? This stuff is awesome... Ok it sounds amazing, I am still in the process of figuring out how to use this stuff. I just recently heard about how this stuff is really good for your hair, nails, skin and a bunch of other cool things.

Earlier this week, I went on a search for coconut oil and it didn't take me very long (thanks to my friend, Lauren) I got this jar from Target in the cooking section (the aisle with the oils) and it was around $5-$6. To me, this was a steal. After buying some oil, I started to do some research on different uses for coconut oil. The uses are never ending, coconut oil can do ANYTHING. So last night, I decided to try it for my hair. Coconut oil can be great for conditioner, taming your frizz, and helping you hair to grow long and healthy. Coconut oil's state of matter depends on the temperature of the environment it is in. (I sound all sciency don't I... don't be fooled though) If it is cold, the oil will be a solid. If it is warm, it will be liquidy. I guess my house was cold because it was solid! But no worries, it takes very little heat for it to turn into a liquid. Here are the steps I took in using this as a hair mask.

Step 1:

Get some of the oil in your hands. It took awhile for me to figure out how to scoop it out and to melt it. Try and get a big glob and hold in in your palms and rub in around until it is warm and a liquid. I would suggest wearing some old clothes or a towel around your neck and shoulders, learn from my mistake ;) it gets very very messy and greasy 

Step 2:

Start massaging the oil into your roots and at the crown of your head. Slowly start moving down to the ends of your hair, making sure that you get every part of your hair. It sounds very gross and greasy... and I am here to tell you that, you are exactly right. It is gross and greasy. But hey a good part is that it doesn't have a smell! :) just some encouraging words for ya

Step 3:

Get all of your nasty greasy hair up on top of your head, I put mine up in a bun! Leave it in for a few hours or even over night. I left mine in over night, in a head towl (turbie twist)

I also used this as a makeup remover/moisturizer for my face. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It took off all of my makeup quite fast but my face was left feeling greasy. (but let's keep in mind, I am not a huge face washer. I have never had an oily face by any means. I have had a few pimples in my life but no acne or anything like that so I have never really washed my face so i'm not a pro at washing the face wash or coconut oil off my face so maybe that's why I was left feeling greasy) I am planning on trying this again a few more times to see if my opinion changes! I also plan on trying it as a deoderant, help my cuticles, dry skin, and a few others. If you have any more ways that you use coconut oil, let me know! Also, if you try any of the methods tag me on instagram, facebook, or twitter because I want to see!! 

Steph