Meagan Rigney

The Korean beauty routine I’m obsessed with

Sometimes you end up going down a rabbit hole on the internet and you don’t regret it for an instant. You see, it all started when I read Sydney’s post about her k-beauty routine, and MAN, I was intrigued. I read her post and loved what I saw, and FELT her excitement, and I knew I wanted that for myself.

My skin has been changing over the last couple of years, and I’ve been struggling to figure it out. I do have some products I adore, but still, it hasn’t been enough. I have melasma on my forehead, some breakouts along my chin that tend to linger and scar, and just a uneveness that I don’t like. (And let’s not mention that frightening look into the magnification mirror in the hotel in Vegas…) I mean, I can cover it all up with makeup and it is fine, but I want to get away from that! With my gym routine I want to be more barefaced, you know? I almost always wear mascara and eyeliner, because I just plain like it, but I’d also like to ditch the concealer and throw on some moisturizer and be fine the other 90% of the time.

Cue (Korean) k-beauty. The rabbit hole I went into started with Sydney’s post, and then went into sokoglam’s blog that has so much information on it that I almost died from happiness. I loveeeeeeee researching things and reading reviews, so reading all these blog posts and then finding all the products on Amazon and cross referencing reviews was amazing. You can also get a lot of these products from either Target or Sokoglam.com, but I love me some Amazon Prime, so that is where I got a lot of my new stuff. Let’s get into the details of what I bought and why:

  1. The beginning steps involve a double cleanse. The first is with an oil based cleanser and the second is a water based one. I already have a gallon jug of Purity Made Simple, so I bought Banila Co Clean It Zero to start with. You start with the oil based cleanser and finish off with the water based one and your face will love you.
  2. Next you need a toner to balance the ph balance of your skin. I have always hated toners as they felt like the burned and added nothing, but apparently k-beauty toners are not harsh and really are an integral part of your routine. I bought Etude House Moistfull Collagen Toner because it had great reviews and I saw this brand mentioned a lot in the blogs I read.
  3. About twice a week you are supposed to exfoliate (after the double cleanse step!) I bought Neogen Bio Peel Gauze Peeling Wine because it was recommended by Sydney and had great reviews. It smells like grape juice and I really dig that;)
  4. An Essense is something that comes highly recommend in the k-beauty routine and I had never heard about it. I almost decided to skip it as it seemed weird, but the products are relatively inexpensive and I wanted to really dive in here! Must. Do. Everything. One-hundred. Percent. I bought the Cosrx Advanced Snail Mucin Power Essence because it had great reviews, snail mucin is apparently a miracle product for aging skin, and it had a great price. I’ll just not think about what it is made from and apply this stuff liberally!
  5. This next part gets wild because you add in serums and boosters and it seems like a lot, I am game, though! I took the advice of Lauren from The Skinny Confidential and ordered Instanatural vitamin C serum and Instanatural Rose hip oil. I also ordered the Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator to add into my night routine (duh!), because it is really highly reviewed for aging skin.
  6. An eye cream is something I have seen the importance of for a while now. I bought Cosrx Honey Ceramide Eye Cream because it came highly reviewed and you’ll notice I stick with some brands as they seemed perfect for my really dry skin. I also REALLY love Rodan and Fields eye cream .
  7. It may seem crazy to add a moisturizer on top of this, but again, I am game to see how this will all help me and let me live a mostly makeupless life. I use the Rose hip oil in the daytime under my sunscreen, and at night I ordered the Laniege Water Sleeping Mask. 
  8. Lastly (!), in the day you need an spf cream, and at night you need an overnight cream. I currently use a Rodan + Fields duo that I have been pleased with. I do plan to experiment a bit when those run out and have looked at the Missha All Around Safe Block Sun Milk for day coverage, and for night, I’ve heard great things about the the Laneige Renewal Water Sleeping Mask (mentioned above.)

*A note, you also are supposed to use a sheet mask a couple of times a week, I haven’t jumped in there, yet. Give me time, though, I’m sure I’ll go nuts there, too;)

The whole thing apparently takes 10 minutes twice a day, which I can make happen. A tip I heard once that I love! At night, instead of waiting till 11pm to wash your face, try doing it while your kids are taking a bath, or when they take 15 agonizing minutes to brush their teeth and get ready for bed (longest minutes ever are before bedtime…) That way you are all cleansed and ready and can enjoy the rest of the night.

Also! I am just about a week into this routine and wanted to share, so if you are in we can do it together! I’ve heard the first week or two comes with breakouts and such as your skin purges all the gunk it is hiding. So don’t be scared. We can do hard things. I WILL say my skin has never felt more moisturized and it looks dewy and prettier than typical.

Finally (I swear!), if you are in a hurry, the most essential steps are the double wash, toner, moisturizer, and spf. The rest is a bonus. This is what I do before the gym Monday-Friday. Then I come home and do the rest of the stuff.

Progress reports to come!

How to lose five pounds before summer

“How can I lose five pounds before summer?”

This was a comment I got on an instagram post of mine last week that I KNEW deserved a blog post of its own, because it is something I feel really passionately about.

You see, since I started Kayla Itsines Bikini Beachbody Guide eight months ago (which is so much more than the title eludes to), I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned that the number on the scale has nothing to do with who I am, yet it used to define everything. I would weigh myself daily, and what the number said that day told me how I could feel about myself and what I could (or could not) eat. I obsessed over “goal weights.” My personal goal weight was twofold, there was the elusive college weight where I was sickly thin from little money for food and too much stress, and there was my pre-baby weight. The first weight would never happen again, but that pre baby weight was a number I could shoot for. I mean, if I could get to that weight it would mean I had won, right?

Wrong.

I’ve reached that weight periodically in the nine years since I had my first baby. I was thin, yet unhealthy. “Skinny/fat”, if you will. Where you do all the cardio and eat next to nothing of real substance, yet feel proud because you have had two kids and reached that pre baby goal weight.

Fast forward to now. I eat more than I ever have in my life, because I eat to fuel myself. I count my macros and make sure I am getting the protein, carbs, and fat I need to sustain myself and my goals. I work out about 5 days a week and I am currently working on adding muscle. My scale is broken, so I weigh myself at the gym about once a month to make sure my macros are working the way they should be, and I take progress photos to see how I am doing physically. My weight is NOT that magical pre baby number, it’s actually about 8-10 pounds over that. Yet I have never felt better. I am stronger than ever and feel better about myself, inside, than I ever have.

This is what I think about when someone asks me “how to lose five pounds” before summer. You see, it is never about those five pounds. It is always about the preconceived notion about this weight you think you need to be to be happy. It’s about knowing that you need to eat better and work out consistently to feel better on the inside, and that is how you will love the way to look on the outside, no matter what you weigh. Doing this year round is how you get where you need to be no matter what time of year it is. You have to make health and wellness a priority all the time, no matter what, and that is what will bring you happiness inside and not have you panic every year for “bathing suit season.”

So that’s it. To lose five pounds before summer you need to forget about those five pounds. Put your scale in a hard to reach place. Donate the “someday” clothes (those were my size 2 work pants that I knew would never fit again…) Take 90 days (to start, this is a FOR LIFE kinda thing…) to consistently hit the gym, doing weight training and some cardio (how to get started HERE), and don’t give excuses that it is too hard or you don’t have time. MAKE TIME. Go at 4am or 10pm, do it in a gym or at home with canned soup for weights. Make modifications. KEEP GOING. You will be sore and tired, but push on. Take the time to find foods that fuel you in the right ways. Eat more lean meats, unprocessed carbs, vegetables, drink less wine, and make better choices. It’s hard, but just say no. Have one cheat meal a week and get back into it. BE CONSISTENT. Use My Fitness Pal to log your food, or write it down in a journal. You can do all of this. Trust me, the more you do it, the easier it will get. You’ll see results and it will fire you up to keep going. The results take time, but don’t quit. Soon those five pounds may or may not fall off, but you won’t care. You may even gain weight with new muscle growth, but you STILL won’t care. You will do this for you and those that are meant to support you will cheer you on.

JUST DON’T STOP. Motivation is a fickle thing. I am NOT always motivated to work out and eat well. I do it anyway.

Don’t let anything be an excuse to be unhappy with yourself. You can bring your kids to the gym daycare, or work out when they napping, or work out with them strapped to your body. They make it harder, sure, but they aren’t a good enough excuse. I’ve seen many people work 60-70+ hours a week and still work out consistently. I have friends with 4+ kids that still find the time. You can do it. While my body is different from it was before I had kids, it isn’t worse. Things change and shift, stretch marks and cellulite happen (I have tons of both!) Children will crawl on your back while you plank and your cat will walk right where you are doing burpees. People will bring cake into work and it will look DAMN GOOD. Practice saying no to unhealthy choices and yes to being the best you can be.

Trust, me, it is EVERYTHING to be happy with yourself deep inside your soul. Forget those five pounds and remember that life is about making healthy choices 80% of the time. Make yourself a priority and you’ll never, ever regret it.

How to be a positive person

I am naturally a positive person, it is something that people comment on often and it got me thinking about the HOW’S and WHY’s of being positive. My life is not always amazing and full of happiness, and crappy things happen often, yet I am happy almost all of the time. There are a lot of factors that go into that, such as a supportive husband that makes me laugh, two kids that make my life special, and great friends and family.

Yet, I’ve been happier with less. I was happy when we made  1/3 of the money we make now, and when I lived far away from family when my husband was away, or when I worked crappy jobs in one of the 5 places we’ve moved in the past 14 years. I truly believe being positive is a learned trait that you have to work at constantly. I’ve thrown myself a pity party here and there, but most often I get up, dust myself off, and figure out how to make things better. Here’s how I do that.

  1. When things are going really bad, like if my daughter is throwing up in the Detroit airport into a magazine bag during a 3 hour layover, and then my husband and son get sick on the plane, and they lose our luggage and my kids are laying like dead animals on the ground while I report our bags (which took two days to get back to us…), I always think, “is this the worst that can happen?” In that instance, that happened to be the worst airport trip of my life. I then go, “okay, THIS is now the benchmark for bad airport experiences”, so now when things go wrong in the future I can say that at least it wasn’t as bad as “that other time.” It’s a mind trick that enables you to be grateful for what you have, because it could always be worse. That benchmark often gets lowered, but most often I find myself in instances where it still could get worse, and I’m grateful it is not.
  2. Another thing I like to do is just accept the way things are and look for ways we can make them better. We are moving in a couple of months, from a place and a school and a town that we all adore. I COULD boo hoo this and make my kids sad about leaving and crying, or looking at the huge undertaking of buying a new house and changing schools/doctors/dentists/etc., as a bad thing. But I can’t do that. You see, we have to move and have zero choice. So then it is up to me to set the tone for how we view this move. I like to open it up as an adventure to the kids. We will travel to a new area and learn new things. We search things to do on the ride down and in the new town. I show them videos of their new school and house and tell them all the cool things they can look forward to. We discuss a little bit about how we will miss where we live now, but I always include the fact that we have an adventure awaiting us. My idea is that they will grow up always looking for that silver lining. To say, “we are sad to leave here, but so excited to do this instead.” There is always a silver lining in life if you look hard enough, and I work hard to make sure my kids see that.
  3. The last thing I do to be positive on a daily basis is to just be grateful for what I have. I’m grateful that I have two children that make a mess and drive me nuts, because I would be lost without them. I am grateful for my husband because he provides for us so well, and always supports my dreams. I’m grateful for being able to buy the food we need and the clothes we want and be safe and warm and happy in our home. I’m grateful for a strong and healthy body that does everything I ask of it. I’ve seen horrible things happen those around me and I see them pick themselves up and carry on. The loss of children, parents, homes, jobs. Things can always be so much worse, and having the perspective of being grateful is important. One of the smallest ways I do this is when I make a mistake, like last week I dropped my vacuum when I was walking downstairs and the canister opened up and spewed a weeks worth of dirt and grossness all over the carpeted stairs. It took me a bit to figure it out (after walking away and letting it sit for a good while), but once I cleaned it up I thought, “well at least now the stairs are really clean.” Sometimes you just have to search deep to find the positive.

That’s it! Most of these are simple, really, but they are the little ways I stay positive in a world that constantly seems to send me curveballs. There is ALWAYS a bright side to something, and it may take a long time to figure out what that is, but if you have a little faith in life that things will happen the way they are supposed to, and a little gratefullness for what you do have, you will be happier, I promise.

What is your definition of a magnificent life?

I was huffing it out on the stairmaster today doing a HIIT workout and listening to a podcast when THIS question was asked at the end of it…(love me some Gary Vee!)

“What is your definition of a magnificent life?”

You guys, it nearly stopped me in my (disgustingly sweaty) tracks. It takes everything that you are doing now, and everything you WANT to say about your life, and puts it all in perspective. I pondered that for a bit and immediately knew that this question deserved some thought and a blog post. Writing here has always been therapy of sorts for me, and if something I write rings a bell with one reader I feel like this is all worth it. Helping YOU and being someone who contributes meaning to YOU is everything to me, both here and on social media.

On to the question! Here is what MY definition of a magnificent life would be.

  1. I’ve said this a million times, but one of my biggest goals was to become a mom. If I died today I would be thrilled to know that I have them and their birth was everything to me (though dying terrifies me as well, because I’m afraid they’d never know how much I love them…but that’s another post for another day.) Now that I am a mom and have been for nine years, my goal is to raise them to be happy and content and to live their best life. I don’t care the details of what they end up doing, I really don’t. They could be ANYTHING, as long as it is something that makes them happy and makes them feel like they are doing what they are meant to do. My happiness is linked to theirs. If they weren’t happy, I wouldn’t be either, it is as simple as that. So my job now is to support them and make sure they have good self esteem and to give them what they need emotionally to succeed in life.
  2. I’ve never been one that has had a set career path in mind. I change my mind often and my dreams change as I age. I DO know that I like owning my own time, and creating a career that is flexible and works for me. I’m still working on that, because I think it takes time to come up with what works and what doesn’t. Some career paths are good for a short period of time, but aren’t meant to be forever. I think jobs and opportunities exist to teach us something. I taught school and loved that, but don’t love it full-time. I love supporting children and helping them be happy, but I can’t do that full-time as an educator. I’m happiest surrounded by kids and just loving all over them. Perhaps that means I become a foster parent someday? Maybe I substitute teach and set my own hours and be there in that capacity? Or maybe I stay home and be there for my kids only and support their friends when I can? What it boils down to is that I want to be a positive influence for young kids in some way.
  3. Another work thought, I want a job that I am passionate to do every single day. I know this involves working for myself on my own terms. It just does. Right now my passion is fitness and style and writing and leading/supporting women, so continuing to grow my brand via social media and my blog is important to me, as it connecting with those that inspire me. I love that right now it is completely possible to live a life where writing  a blog and posting on Insta stories can make you money. In forty years I want to be successful in my own terms, and that involves creating a career (or careers) that enable me to stay home and have that freedom, but still contribute to our bottom line. I want to help people, in some way, and be a role model. I want to leave a legacy that says I did this on my own terms, in my own way, and I was successful at it.
  4. I want to continue to be married to my best friend and live in a way that shows we have made it work, through the good times and the bad, till the end. I really love that being with him makes me a better person, he has taught me so much about myself that I believe comes from the fact that we have grown up together and experienced so much. I want to be buried side my side with him and just know that the life we built has been the most blessed life, no matter that happens.
  5. Lastly, I want to say that I had TIME to live a great life. TIME to vacation to all the places I wanted to go, TIME to go to every one of my kids’ soccer games, TIME to go to the gym as much as I want, TIME to rest when I want and work when I want, TIME to hustle and build my brand, and TIME to develop myself into the person I need to be to accomplish the other things on this list. Time is everything, and having the gift of time is all I need.

Tell me, what do YOUR definition of a magnificent life?

Personal development book you need to read in 2017

I need to preface this by saying, I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. I really, really, really love reading these types of books and always look for ways to better myself. One always needs to look for ways to improve oneself, am I right? I feel like I go in phases. Sometimes I read nothing but deliciously mindless romance novels, sometimes I visit the library and go through all the autobiography’s, and then other times I get on a kick of reading self-help novels. I’ve read a bunch of the latter lately and wanted to share my takeaway from each. I like to read personal development books that work in all aspects of my life, from parenting, to creating the best personal closet you can, to business strategies, so my favorite books encompass those. Let’s go!

  1. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK: This book is a no holds barred way of saying, you do YOU and screw everyone else. You have a responsibility to very few people in the world (for me it is mainly my kids and husband), and outside of that I have to really watch what I bring into my world. One thing I’ve found as I’ve entered my mid to late thirties is that my life has boiled down to things that mean something to me. I don’t say yes to many things that I hate, and when I do I regret it. My life now is made up of all the little choices I have made in the past, that has since given me the freedom to make better choices for the futire, does that make sense? You also have to be brave enough to stand up for yourself and say no to the things and people who drag you down. If you don’t mind prolific swearing (I liked it), and need a kick in the a%$, buy this book!
  2. You are a Badass: Another no apologies book! I LOVED it. It spoke to me so much and I highlighted nearly 90% of it. It is brutally honest, but who doesn’t really need that? I loved everything she had to say, especially the talk about letting go of childhood stuff and just moving on. I will keep this book in my collection forever.
  3. #AskGaryVee: I have one things to say…if you are building a brand or business in this day and age, no matter what age you are, you need to read this book. I love Gary Vee. He knows his stuff when it comes to social media and the new age of business and advertising. I listen to his podcast every single time I do my steady state cardio at the gym and I always hear something that impacts me and makes me THINK. The world is changing, how we do things in business has changed, and if you want to keep up you need to read this.
  4. The Curated Closet: I saw this book on a blog I love and immediately ordered it. I even wrote a blog post outlining how I used what I learned while reading this book, I loved it that much. It basically teaches you exactly HOW to find your personal style, and HOW to build your closet around your style, as well as HOW to escape bad purchases and going around and around the trend cycle you see everywhere. I filled pages and pages in a notebook of notes from this book and determined my style is NOTHING of what I thought it was.
  5. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: This book is older than the rest on this list, and I resisted buying it for a while. I always have considered myself a neat person, but after reading this I found I was more organized rather than truly neat. I had a lot of stuff I was holding on to for no reason, and I purged probably 50% of my home after reading this. I’ve found that I end up having “things” that I have kept out of habit, or because I felt bad about spending money on and not liking, so I kept. This book is about having things in your home that bring you joy, and ruthlessly editing the rest.

That’s it! I wholly recommend any of all of these! Tell me, have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Eat better, not less

I found a pin with the exact quote from this post title on Pinterest and it immediately resonated with me! I’ve tried to be really candid about this health journey I have been on, and eating well and MORE is part of what has made this so life changing for me.

You see, I used to excel at eating a lot less than I do now. I’d feel better in my own skin if I ate like a bird and weighed a certain magical number (which doesn’t really exist, but I still strived for it. ) I typically skipped breakfast and ate something tiny for lunch, and then overcompensated and ate a huge dinner. If I ate no snacks and was in “control” of what I ate, I was happy. If I didn’t, I would punish myself with cardio and promises that I would be better. And yes, I was thin doing this. It “worked” for me. My baby weight from my two kids was mostly gone and I could wear a bikini on the beach and be okay. My benchmark for inner happiness was a “good” weight on the scale and supreme self-control. Needless to say, needing to weigh a certain number and rely on eating less than I need was not a recipe for happiness.

I am the type of person that has really good self control and willpower. It can be good and bad, as unchecked, it can turn on me a bit and make me live in a way that is not sustainable. Enter Beachbody Guide in my life. I’ve written about my gym program and the eating plan I follow, but I wanted to go deeper today. You see, my BIGGEST takeaway from it has been my inner transformation.

I work out to be strong and healthy and my personal best, not to punish myself for what I ate.

I eat to fuel my body, not to obsess over calories and weight.

I weigh myself very rarely, and focus instead on how I feel.

I look at food as what it can do for me and my body, and not as an enemy against my self-control.

I treat my body and my health like I want my kids to treat theirs.

So where does ‘eat better, not less’ come in this? Like I mentioned, I always counted calories like a maniac, and judged myself based on my weight. I used to eat about 500 calories LESS per day than I do now, and I weigh basically the same. I want to repeat, I don’t really weigh any different from what I did 6 months ago.

Left: start of BBG/Right: 24 weeks of BBG

I think it is easier to see this with a photo. I take these photos every four weeks or so for myself, because it helps me see my progress as I go through this program and it solidifies the fact that eating more and better really does mean everything. My weight did not change by much between these photos, maybe a pound or two at most depending on when I weigh myself. Again, I have no idea my exact weight. This is probably the first time in my entire life that I have not defined myself by my weight!

It. Is. So. Freeing.

Food for me now is fuel, rather than the enemy. I look at my food diary app and see that I need more carbs, or protein, and eat that way. I eat so much more than I ever did when I was trying to micromanage and undernourish myself! I eat to give myself energy and help me achieve my fitness goals, and I have never been happier. The key is to eat more foods that are BETTER, based on your activity level and goals. My current goals involve building muscle, so I eat a little more of certain foods than when I am trying to lean out a bit (my spring/summer routine.)

I think the moral of this story is, for me, that it has taken me years of weird fad diets, reading health blogs, and just plain getting older and (hopefully) wiser to figure out what I need to feel good inside. I need to feel good in my skin and that comes from challenging workouts and great food that fills me up and gives me energy.

Tell me, is it challenging for you to find a balance between eating healthy and feeling good about yourself from the inside out? Let’s discuss!

A day in the life!

It’s funny, as a stay at home mama who blogs and runs a shampoo business and has some serious fitness goals, my days can be pretty busy. Yet with my kids in school five days a week I often get the question, “What do you DO all day?” Some say it with longing (I hear you mamas of young babies, it gets better, I promise!), or just plain curiosity. And I get it. I have a lot of free time in the day to do what I want to do. I have to be self motivated to get it done, and sometimes it seems sort of, say, decadent, to have the time to do what I want? I’ll say this, it IS nice! I had two babies at home full-time for seven years, often alone while my husband was working, and having the luxury of time to myself just never gets old. It is really wonderful to be able to meet friends for coffee or lunch during the week, or to go to the movies on a Tuesday afternoon. That being said, I am working hard to create an income for myself so that I can continue to be home for my kids, and to add to our budget. We are a military family that moves often and having the ability to work from home is everything to me. I like being able to “move” my job with me, so creating days where I get my work done and hit my goals is important. So let’s get to it!

A day in the life, weekday edition:

7am-9am: My kids and I get up and I get them fed (I kind of work backwards, we have really nice homemade breakfasts during the week and cereal on the weekends!) We eat together and we have Mumford and Sons Pandora playing and it is really relaxing and nice.

After breakfast I direct them to get their backpacks and snacks and homework packed, and help them get ready for school. They do most of this on their own, but I have to remind them 2,365 to brush their teeth and remember to bring shoes to school. Also, brushing our hair daily seems to trigger an emotional breakdown, so that’s fun.

9-10:30am– Once I drop my kids off I typically go home again before heading to the gym, because it is too busy for me right after drop off (#gymproblems.) I take this time to read and comment on blogs, go through Instagram and like and comment on pictures that I am active on (building a brand on social media involves A LOT of tedious work that takes little steps each day), and I update my blog Facebook via posts, as well as adding live content on Insta stories. I also check in on my shampoo empire and update my VIP page and start following up with people I sample.

10:30am-12pm: This is the time I am at the gym, doing my BBG workouts (more HERE.) Sometimes I am there about 45 minutes, sometimes a little over an hour and  half, but I often get stuck chatting with my gym friends, so that is fun. I try to update my Insta or Snapchat stories when I can…anyone that follows me there (@meaganrigney), can attest for the shaky legs walking down stairs and sweaty chats;)

12pm-4pmpm: The stuff I do during this time varies depending on the tasks I set for myself in my planner (see post HERE!) I shower (obviously;), eat lunch, and then get down to business. I clean my house, prep dinner, follow-up with my shampoo team and customers, take photos for Instagram, continue to organically grow my Instagram by authentically commenting and searching for new accounts to follow, answer social media questions and messages, write blog posts, create daily commentary on my brand social media accounts, etc. It is really a lot of little things that add up to time-consuming activities.

I also squeeze in a nap if I can, because I LOVE naps and it recharges me to dominate the rest of my day. OR I read, either on my Kindle or a self-help book that I am obsessed with at the moment (post to come!)

4:15-8pm: Once I pick my kids up I try to put my phone and work aside if I can and just be with them. I cook dinner and we eat at the table together if my husband is home, or if he is not we have a”carpet picnic” and eat dinner in the living room while watching cooking shows together. After dinner the kids do their homework and shower and we always watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy together (they love it, ha!) I am usually hanging with them or reading while they have their daily reading time. Right now we are house hunting for our move, so my husband and I look at houses online and plan that stuff while the kids play or watch a show downstairs.

8:00-9:30pm: After the kids go to bed I do a bit more work on my phone. My Monat business is more constant (meaning this soert of never ends and comes in spurts of time that I do 5 minutes at a time during the day), I chat on my phone with my current team members and people who are interested in joining or buying. I also post on Instagram five nights a week at 9pm (the time analytics says my followers are the most active), so prepping for posts and continuing to comment is key. My husband watches his shows he tapes while I work next to him! I try to get my work done by 9:30, because I like to shut down my phone digitally decompress (ha, #firstworldproblems, am I right?)

9:30-bedtime (typically 11:30 or 12): This is the time I read! I am an avid reader and find time in almost every single day to read. I read primarily on my Kindle, currently, and like to get in bed  around 9:30 or 10.  Sometimes my husband and I watch a show together at this time, but I read way more than I watch tv, so he is watching something while we snuggle together. I’m a huge advocate for going to bed at the same time, or at least being together as much as possible, even if I am reading or working on my phone and he is doing something else. We watch the news and the weather together at 11pm, and often watch Food Network shows or HGTV together before falling asleep.

That’s it! My day is like most others, it has a lot of little tasks that add up to a whole day of activity. I may work from home and my “work” may seem different from some, but I love that I control how I spend my time and hours, and that I can bring in a significant income with Monat and my blog/brand.

Thanks for reading, I heart you all!

3 things not to say to a military wife who is transferring

I got the idea for this post while I was blow drying my hair today and it got me fired up to write! I’ve mentioned on here numerous times that my husband is in the military and we move often (typically anywhere from 3-5 years.) This summer we are transferring again after 4 years and each time I tend to get the same responses from (well-meaning) friends and family that often gets a little…annoying? I figured I could clear things up and get a little tongue in cheek on here. We JUST found out where we are moving (Mobile, Alabama!), and I find the responses I get during transfer season are often the most interesting. Let’s do this!

  1. Upon hearing what is on “dream sheet” (a list you submit 6 months before you move that gives a bunch of choices where you’d LIKE to move)…I hear, “oh, don’t put (insert this location) on the list, I’ve heard from my best friend’s, boyfriends’ cousin (etc) that it is terrible.”  Here’s the deal: putting together the “list” takes months of debates, figuring out that would be best for your husband’s career, and finding what place has the job he needs, as well as the opening there. Once that list is submitted there is NO GOING BACK. Once that sucker goes in you just hope for the best, and hopefully you haven’t put something on there that you would be upset to go to. However, hearing from people after the fact that something on this list is “bad” or that you should not have it there DOES NOT HELP. Also, once you put in this list you often get a call saying none of them will fit, and “would you consider…” Most military folks get a choice, but often you are steered towards a location or job. Again, there is not a lot of choice.
  2. Once we have finally heard about the place we are moving (6 months after you submit the list and about 2-5 months before you move), you have to tell people. Here’s the kicker. Don’t ever act disappointed when your military friend or family member tells you where they are moving, even if you are. I want to say this again: we don’t have a choice where we are moving. Hearing that you would have “rather we moved to Hawaii versus Savannah” is hurtful. Most likely there is some sort of trepidation about the move, or we ourselves aren’t the happiest about the new location. BUT, we have to move to this new place no matter what. So positivity helps! Please don’t tell me horror stories about how bad you have heard the area is, or how you are afraid we are going to be killed in a hurricane down there, or that we will die of heat in the South. We know all of these things. We’ve spent time researching every possible place where we could move, cross referenced housing and schools, doctors and hairdressers. And once they tell us we are going, that is it, no matter how much you might like to tell us not to.
  3. Lastly, once you hear about where we are going, please never complain about how hard it will be to get to. Or act pissed off because the new place I am moving isn’t “easy” for you. I get it is annoying to take 2 planes or to fly somewhere farther and have to get a car, or that it is more expensive. Or telling me you wished we had been assigned a more “convenient location”  to fly into. This stinks. It all comes down to this, we are living far away from everyone we know, and have been for a while. We move to a place where, if we are lucky, we know 1-2 people already living there (maybe.) We have to move across the country, buy or rent homes in locations we have never seen, learn a whole new area and find new schools, doctors, dentists, hair dressers, learn new grocery stores, and basically restart our whole lives all over again. On repeat. I could wish for things to be easier or more convenient myself, but I never have that choice. I have to take what is given to me and run with it.

That’s it! I mean, I COULD write a book about all this stuff, I swear;) I choose to be as positive as I can about moving and living this life. I choose to see it as an adventure, a blessing for my kids, husband and I, and a chance to see things I might never have if we didn’t have to relocate so often. I have yet to move somewhere where I haven’t made great friends, or haven’t been happy. I take a lot of comfort in that fact. Here’s to a new adventure!

How I use my daily planner to run my life

Erin Condren life planner; Lara Casey Make It Happen Goal Planner (for pre-order only; You Are a Badass book (LOVE!)

I’ve had a couple of frineds ask me about how I use my planners to set goals and intentions for my months/days, so here we go! Can I start by saying I LOVE writing down goals and making lists? I am a pen and paper type of gal. I hate using my iPhone calendar and plan everything in these two planners. If it is not written down , it is just not happening.

I have two planners that I use daily. The first is my Erin Condren Life Planner. This is a thick, substantial planner. You can pick out your design and have it monogrammed, and I splurged on the rose gold coils (which is obnoxious, but whatever!) This planner has the typical month view, where I write down important dates and appointments, and then it is broken down by the week. I have the vertical pages, and as you see above on the right, each day has three separate boxes. I use each box specifically so I can organize the different aspects of my life. I break it down to Branding (blog, social media channels, etc.), Monat (follow ups, bus op’s, training, etc.), and the last box is for my personal life (which workout I am doing, grocery shopping, and other tasks I need for my personal life.) Every Sunday I spend time writing in the plans I DO have already for the week, in their rightful place. I know I’m working out 5 days, so I write that in. I know I grocery shop on Tuesday’s, so I write that in, I know I post on my Instagram account Sunday-Thursday nights, so I write that in. I post for my Monat business on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s, so I schedule that in, as well as any ideas I have that would be a useful thing to post. I like having a rough plan for almost everything, and scheduling when I will do things helps me manage my time. I am pretty intentional with my days, and I almost always know what I am doing for each of these aspects of my life the Sunday before. I then add things as they come up during the week, or shift things around if I don’t get to them.

The second planner I have is my Lara Casey one year intentional goal planner (which is sold out, but you can pre-order the 6 month planner and have it ship in May.) This planner is more for intentional goals, rather than dates and times and fitting it in. Each month, towards the end, I look to the next month and start planning my goals for that month. You start by writing down what is on your calendar, important things you have to do, and things you are excited for. Then you do a brain stream of things that are important to you for the coming month (for me it is working out, putting my phone down more around my kids, connecting more meaningfully on social media, etc.) You then pick a theme of what is the most important and work around that. The key is to sort your goals into, 1) things you want to make progress on (make that a monthly goal), 2) things you want to tend to a little at a time (make that a weekly goal), 3) and things you want to make a habit (make that a daily goal.)

For instance, a monthly goal for me in February is to purge some of our photos and our laundry room shelves, continue to curate my closet, plan my daughter’s 9th (!) birthday, and reach out to my Monat team about their business. My weekly goals involve working out Monday-Friday, posting on Instagram 5 days a week, writing at least 1 blog post/week, and to create video content on SnapChat (@becauseofjackie) and Instagram (@meaganrigney.) My daily goals involve drinking more water, reading more for personal development (and listenting to business podcasts), posting on my blog Facebook, logging my macros in My Fitness Pal, and organically growing my Instagram though commenting and likes. You then put a check mark next to these goals when they happen. It really just keeps things really intentional, and I like that they shift from month to month. February is busy for me with my Monat conference in Houston, my daughter’s birthday, and my mom visiting, so I know having crazy huge goals isn’t possible. I keep them small and attainable, and I have a big picture goal that if I break down, tells me what I should be doing each day that works towards that. I am working on growing my brand on social media with my fitness and style content, so most of my day is geared towards that. I also have a shampoo business that I work daily on, so doing activities each day that bring me closer to my shampoo goals are key.

This planner also has a spot where you write down what you are grateful for each month. You add that in, as well as progress you’ve made on bigger goals, favorite memories, as well as lessons you learned. It’s great for introspection and really shows what is working and what is not.

That’s about it! I probably spend about an hour a week between these two planners. I check them both each day and always try to be as intentional as I can with my time. I have some pretty big goals, so making sure each day is geared towards reaching those goals in any way possible is important. I’m also pretty brutal about not adding stuff in that I don’t need. Spending time with my children and husband is key for me, so writing in days and hours where I am all theirs (no phones/social media/etc.), is key for me. I always have a bigger picture in my head, so my days are planned around that bigger picture.

Tell me, do you use a planner to intentionally plan your day?

How to get started with BBG (Beachbody Guide!)

It’s no secret that I have been obsessed with Kayla Itsines Beach Body Guide (BBG) since I started last August. I have seen crazy results and honestly? I feel like I have grown more on the inside than I show on the outside. Obviously seeing ab definition and being able to do a ton of push ups is awesome, but I really can’t say enough about this program and how it changes your mindset. (Here are 3 things I’ve learned!) Let’s start with how exactly you can begin and what you need to know.

  1. I bought the first round e-book HERE and it gives you 12 weeks of workouts, with 4 weeks of pre-training if you are starting from scratch. I have since bought the second 12 week e-book and I love those books. You download them on your computer and each day I went to the gym I wrote down the 8 exercises I needed to do on a slip of paper and did that. You can begin these rounds over and over again (I’m on the third round), and because they always change from week to week, you won’t get bored. They don’t get easier, either! I am doing the first round  over again now and even though I did it when I first began, I can do the exercises faster, meaning I do more each workout. I also add more weights to challenge myself and I still die EVERY SINGLE TIME. This round I am trying out the sweat app, which is the exact same as the e-book, except it is preloaded on my phone and it times the workouts for me. I DO like the app, a lot. I have it for a trial price and I like how it pushes me to rest less and I can have everything I need on my phone. That being said, the workouts are the same as they are in the ebooks, and it isn’t that hard to write the workouts down and time yourself.
  2. When you begin week one, make sure you warm up really well ( I do 10 minutes on the treadmill, typically), and then gather the equipment you need. In the beginning you mostly use body weight exercises. These look deceptively easy, but it will be HARD. The equipment I have seen so far includes hand weights, jump rope, medicine ball, a bench to step up on or do ab work on, a barbel for squats, a bosu ball, and a kettlebell. I think you can multi-task a lot of this stuff and modify it for home. I work out at the gym and just like having all the equipment around me, though I do switch things up if I need to. You will also need something to time yourself with is you aren’t using the app. I just used my iphone or my watch.
  3. Each resistance day is built up of 4 exercises that you do as many as you can for 7 minutes, then you stop for 30 seconds and do a second set of 4 exercises as many times as you can in 7 minutes. You then repeat them both for 7 minutes each until the 28 minutes are up. The first time you do this you will probably only be able to do the circuit (4 exercises) just once in that 7 minutes. That is okay! You will get faster and more efficient as you get stronger.
  4. These workouts are built to be challenging. You focus on 3 resistance days and you will burn out your legs, arms, and abs on these days. I almost always have trouble walking down the stairs after leg day, or raising my arms to blow dry my hair after arm day. If you are not sore, you probably aren’t challenging yourself! That being said, in the beginning you will see jump squats or simple sit ups and they will look easy, but repeated over and over and they are a killer! Just do the best you can. Modify when you burn yourself out. I always try to do the full version of the workout until I can do no more, then I dial it back until I can finish. For instance, if you need to do 15 push ups, do as many as you can on your feet (even if it is one!), then modify on your knees. I promise you, each week you will build up to more of the full version until that is all you can do. I like to make sure I do each rep in an exercise to the best of my ability. It is better to do less and get each one right, then to rush and not do them properly.
  5. The other days of BBG focus on cardio. You do two kinds: low impact steady state (LISS) and high intensity interval training (HIIT.) In the beginning you only do LISS, and I typically do the 40 minutes doing an incline walk on the treadmill (going 3.5 mph at a 6-8% incline.) I listen to podcasts while I do this and the time passes by quickly. Another LISS I do is  the stair climber. I switch things up by walking up for 5 minutes, walking sideways to the right for 5 minutes, walking sideways to the left for 5 minutes, skipping a step for 5 minutes, then repeating this until the 40 minutes is done. The program calls for 3 LISS days, but in the beginning I pretty much did just the resistance days and sometimes did a short LISS after, but it isn’t recommended to do them both on the same day (you will be too tired!) HIIT isn’t recommended till later on in the program. Right now I tack it onto LISS days and either do interval sprints, or I do various exercises (burpees, tuck jumps, jump squats, ect. for 30 seconds on and then 30 seconds of rest for 15 minutes.)
  6. My current workout routine looks like this: Monday (Leg day), Tuesday (LISS and HIIT), Wednesday (Arms and Abs); Thursday (LISS and HIIT), and Friday (Full Body.) I constantly tweak this, though, based on how my body is feeling! I am probably going to replace a cardio day with a resistance day based on my current goals, but right now this is working for me. For beginners: don’t worry about doing all of this! Like I mentioned, in the beginning I only did the resistance days, and I slowly added in the cardio stuff. Do the best you can and build up to more when you can.

That’s it! Please feel free to comment below if you have any questions! I love helping people get started with this program because I have seen so much growth for myself, not just on the outside, but on the inside.

*I recently went live on my Facebook page to explain in detail how I eat (I count my macros!), and exactly what that entails. Btw, are you following me over there? I post daily and we have the best community of folks commenting and supporting each other! I post there a lot more than I do here, so there is that, too;)

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