Im BACK! In a BIG way!

Our three girls with Tarzan our beloved Mastiff
we lost this summer to old age :(

 Well hello there! Its been quite some time since my last blog post and must I say I really missed the regular routine of getting my thoughts out in more detail! I LOVE my Instagram account don't get me wrong. If I post my raw honest thoughts its there! Besides if we were truthful most of the followers on IG aren't looking to read a whole long "diary entry". So to catch you up to speed I am still competing and am in fact in the heat of my contest prep now. Its the last summer I have my youngest daughter at home and my husband is working on promoting at work and advancing his education. Along with all of that we also lost one of our family dogs and I am also working on finishing up my final exam and earn my CPT through ISSA. So needless to say it has been an extremely busy and crazy summer!

Doing my annual cleaning LOL

 So how on earth am I staying on track with exercising and nutrition?! Well thanks to my amazing coaches and their unique training and nutrition plans I am able to manage! Over the last few years of working with them I have gained some major knowledge that helped me stay on track even when I was in my off season! That for a fitness competitor is one of the hardest things to overcome! We either jump back in to prep mode to survive and just be told what to do or we through it all out the window completely and forget how we ever managed to stay healthy and curb cravings before we competed! So now I am very excited to share with all of you that my coaches have created 2 at home DVD programs for women and men looking to tighten, tone and shape their bodies while also learning to let your nutrition work to your advantage! In these programs they include meal plans with vegan options, a daily workout schedule ebooks and MORE!!

These were my first transformation photos about a 5/6 month
difference the before picture (pink panties) I weighed 105lb
after picture (blue bikini) I weighed 110lbs!
Just a reminder that the scale doesnt mean a lot!
I had started trading fat for muscle and wrote my OMGluteness plan
the way I went about this transformation! 

  I love and back these products and even used the first to help me through my off season!! I also offer my own personal 3 month OMGluteness eating and exercise guide for FREE if you purchase the program through my link! All you have to do is email me at wowfitness13@gmail.com with proof of purchase! :)

  I think as a mom my favorite part about these programs are that they doable at home or in the gym! For my busy schedule with three kids at all different stages it is a great option to have in my "get fit tool box" along with a few dumb bells, resistance bands and kettle bells you can get in some killer workouts without a pricey gym membership!

  So here goes! My link is IngridRomero.com/#fearless I will also be sharing discount codes that are offered as the company shares them! You can get that information more readily from my Instagram account @fear_less_fitness there you will also be able to follow my daily life workouts and mommy struggles! You know we all have them! :) The release date for this program is tomorrow July 15th get ready and GET THOSE PROGRAMS!!

  I hope this information did not overwhelm you or offend you! That is not at all what I am trying to do! It is simply my passion to share my story with women and men alike and especially mothers!! I want to give hope to anyone out there who might be looking to regain or maintain their health while raising a family and caring for a home and a husband! THIS is a great way to do that!!

This is my current transformation picture and most realistic before  I begin to cut more fat for my show
as you can see my glutes are MUCH higher more toned and I have diminished the appearance of my cellulite DRASTICALLY!!!
This has all been with the help of my coaches programs and nutritional guidance!
The black suit does ride up a little higher at the top that is because
my glutes at the top are super full! I have "built a shelf! LOL
The suit would not stay put when I tried to roll it over!!

Comparing Contest prep to pregnancy "Having our first baby"

   I often compare things in my life as a way to cope or understand so that I can navigate things more effectively! I strongly believe that awareness is the first step to any successful venture! For example alcoholics and drug addicts must first admit that they are in fact alcoholics or drug addicts before they can find help. In any situation you must first identify the problem before it can be fixed. It helps me along my path to also have understanding of what I am going through and be aware of the situations I may be facing in order to come out the other end successfully!

  The more preps I go through the more I am convinced they are almost identical to going through pregnancy!! So for all you ladies who have competed and yet to have kids you will have a much better understanding of pregnancy before you have children! Yay you!! lol So lets compare!

  Lets begin by comparing our first pregnancy with our first competition!! You first find out you are pregnant, or you finally decide on your first show date! Feelings of excitement almost overwhelm you! You begin to think of what the future holds, never have you experienced this, you simply know what you have been told by all your friends who have gone before you! There are then the mixed emotions that begin to set in, fear, self doubt, anxiousness to have everything ready way before its time for "baby"! You tell everyone you know! Some are excited for you, others are jealous and some only have negative things to say!

   Lets move into our "2nd trimester" your body is showing obvious change and signs of the things to come! Its the fun time! You are enjoying the perks of this time! You are really loving the change you see in your body. You continue preparing for "the big day" shopping, getting pampered, dreaming. Everyone is asking all sorts of questions, you welcome them and answer them all with joy in your voice!

   Then, 3rd trimester comes along, you are ready! You are beginning to get anxious, uncomfortable and tired. The questions begin to annoy you! Not that you blame the 10th person to ask you in one day "whats your due date again?" As all the excitement wheres off due to your cranky attitude you are becoming less interested in your "to do list" and you begin the feelings of just wanting the day to be here already!! You think to yourself, "can I really do this? What was I thinking? Is this really happening?"

    Finally!! Here we are!! The BIG DAY!! You are lit up with excitement! All the bad memories seem to have vanished! All you can think about is "that stage" you get ready hours early, the time cant come quick enough! Now, there you are "standing in line" you see the stage in front of you! Adrenaline rushes through you! In the blink of an eye, there you are on the other side "holding your baby" you can hardly remember the details it felt like so much was going on your mind couldn't really grasp what was happening! You are elated it is over and you have made it to the other side! Its official, you are now "a mom" no longer a newbie you now have your own experience to share! As the days follow you begin to reminisce think of the what ifs, could haves, should haves. Your thoughts wander to "what now? Whats next? Will I do this again?" the longer time passes the more you yearn to have that experience again you slowly forget all the bad days and all you can think about is "being on that stage again" having a goal, feeling like you have purpose! Some suffer from "post partum" and that is a whole other blog that I will definitely touch on another day! Some just get right back to life and some are unfazed by it all.

   So there you have it! These are my observations and experiences. If you have ever had a child then you have an little more understanding of what competitors face through the journey of contest prep and if you are a competitor that has never had a child you now have a little more insight into the journey of pregnancy! CONGRATULATIONS! lol

  I have had 3 pregnancies ALL different experiences because each time I had a little more to go off of from the past! I was at different stages in life and I was a different me each time! I have been through prepping for 5 shows now all in my first year of competing so you can say I "had my babies back to back" lol Again, all different experiences as I had past experience and being at different stages of life and who I was each time!

  I will compare "2nd pregnancy/2nd prep" in my next blog! Stay tuned!!

I feel a Fringe coming on...

   Hey there everyone!! Well it has been chilly out side for a few days now and time change is tomorrow so I think we can officially say it is fall! With the change of weather more often then not you will be seeing changes with fashion, hair and make-up all sorts of trends change during this time of year! So I wanted to do a quick run through with you on what you could do to get in the spirit of fall!!

  First off do  quick check of your closet. Do you have at least one maybe two cute coats for those extra cold days? If not try Forever 21 I LOVE that place not only do they have fabulous finds but you cannot beat their prices! I just bought my go to Leather Bomber there for only $24.99!! If you can beat that Id love to hear where! But I am pretty sure you cant. Then maybe do inventory on your accessories, do you have scarves to not only keep you warm but to add flare to your closet? I have recently opened an etsy shop Ladybugsandlillies.etsy.com where you can find some cute fashionable ones and also search all of etsy its a great place to find wonderfully handmade items for great prices!

  Then you need to check your hair! Summer time was fun but I am guessing if you were anything like I was this summer you have a good 4 inches of dry brittle ends that could handle being cut off. Also this time of year with all the wind hair tends to get extra dry so you should be sure to add on a deep treatment with a combination of protein and moisture to your trim appointment. Then of course there is the fun stuff! COLOR!!! What are you going to do to transition into fall hues. Lets be honest you probably have some brighter shades left over from summer now is the time to tone it down warm it up and give your hair a break from all of those damaging highlights.  Don't get me wrong I love my blonde hair but if there is ever a good time to give your hair a break its now when darker shades are more except able. This way your hair gets the break it needs to rebuild and get ready for brighter, lighter tones again in the spring. Shorter cuts are fun this time of year too but if your not ready to "Meet Bob" you can always add a heavy side fringe (bang) and wear a longer layer. I love adding fringe to my clients who are looking for a change but are not willing to sacrifice length. Nothing makes a sophisticated pony tail more beautiful and fancy then a heavy side fringe!

  Last there is make-up. I do not know a lot about make-up other then what i learned in beauty school and the pages of Vogue. What I do know is that come fall I see a lot more or should I say less, shadow's and more of the eyeliner looks and they have so many possibilities for colors now days! My favorite place for make-up is MAC I like to go there because i find its like forever 21 not price wise of course but MAC makes sure to be constantly evolving and staying up on and selling the hot trends of the season. I have very tiny lips so I am not suitable for the red lips but my spin on that is wearing a dark pink gloss. The lack of heavy lip colors helps to not show of my small lips in fact the gloss reflects light which creates a more full look and with the darker pink shade and a cat tail eyeliner i am still pulling of the fall/winter look with ease. It has not been easy for me this year I was really enjoying the extra length of my hair and I really miss my highlights! But I am more then willing to except these changes if it means i get to curl up cozy in my sweats snug while I sip hot cocoa and snack on popcorn while cuddling my girls! I mean really seems to me I am getting the good end of the deal. Don't you think?

 What are you doing to transition in to fall? I'd wanna hear! Inspire me!!

                                                     LT

Inspiration in the world around you...

  First off can I just say "Baby its cold outside" :D aww finally. I love Fall for many reasons but I think one of the bigger reasons is the fact that it allows you to add on more accessory then you could throughout the rest of the year! I mean the possibilities are endless I have a collection of coats just screaming at me!! Poor little fella's, being that they have to put up with So Cal whether they probably suffer from Cabin fever, lol :) Ok so now that I am waaay off subject let me get to the point of the blog. Inspiration, where is it, how do you use it, and why we should appreciate it.

 To start there is inspiration over flowing in the world around us today. Or maybe its just the community that I live in? No, its everywhere, you just need to know where to look. Nature, is inspiring to me for one because well its God's art. Tree's for example that sprout from the ground are small masterpieces each one with a unique look growing in all directions and changing colors through out the year. Flowers, how amazing all the varieties of color. I mean if you really think about it, nature, is where most all great ideas started, which is what inspiration is, something that inspire's you with an idea, right. Well that's what it is for me. I get overwhelmed at times when looking around at all the creative things in this world, people, places, things, you can find it in a photo, or maybe, like me, you would be inspired by the way a friend wore their hair one day :). Its everywhere!! I get inspiration most of the time through other creative souls. There is something about when I watch someone else create that just gives me chills! I am amazed at what I see!! To think that it all started with a simple basic idea and then morphed itself into a painting or a picture maybe even a piece of clothing. What my friends do with nothing absolutely AMAZES me!

 So you know where to look now how to use it. I try to stick to my true self as much as possible. There are many times that I will see something and say "Well I can do that, or make that, I wont pay for it I will create it myself" but really that would be just a copy and then I am no longer creating. The idea is to allow something you see to get your wheels turning. Thinking to yourself "I really like that how can I make it my own?" How can I recreate this in "my own words". Yes there are times when copies are good and useful but when you are looking to create an original be sure to let your own personality shine! I love the idea that you can take, lets just say four people for the sake of the example, and stick them in separate rooms giving them all the same box of paint the same canvas and the same paint brushes. You will NEVER get two of the same thing! Is that not amazing? Truth is you could even say, with all the same tools in hand, go paint me a bowl of fruit (just an example ;) not one of them will have the same bowl of fruit as another. Even still its like the game of telephone, you know, where the line starts with one word you pass it along and it morphs until at the very end you get something that is usually nothing like what you started with! That is how inspiration works one person paints something takes it to their friend and says recreate this for me. Yes it might have similar features but in the end that person has added there own spice to it, and so on!

  I think inspiration is an amazing tool to utilize as an artist. I very much appreciate the differences between my art and the art of my friends. Whether it be hair, paint, yarn, the list as always goes on ;) no two minds think alike the beauty of that concept is that we are surrounded by a world of diversity always changing always evolving into new things. Nothing stays the same and in those moments of change there is growth. I LOVE to "collaborate" with fellow artists it is in those moments when great things happen!! We need to all learn to appreciate the differences between us we are all masterpieces created by THE Creator Himself! I don't know about you but I don't want to paint the same thing over and over. Embrace inspiration and allow it to get those rusty wheels in that precious little head of your's to start turning! Yes it might hurt at first, in fact you might even see a little smoke coming out of your ears but practice makes perfect and the more you use it the more easily it will come to you. I love you all, you ALL inspire me in ways you may never know! Thank you!

                                                                            With Love,

                                                                                  LT

A Monster of a do...

  Aww Halloween... pretty sure its my favorite holiday! No, not because I love pretending to be something I am not! Truth be told if I had the chance Id be on Broadway dancing, singing, acting, and hairstyling/make-up artisting ( yes I am aware that is not a real word, thank you spell check) my little heart out! I am so thankful I was able to carry out just one of those dreams! Dress up and fun is what I do best! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So when I have the ability and freedom to do it with the world around me and not be stared at like a freak since I am NOT on Broadway I relish in the opportunity! This is why if you know me personally then you know I am usually wearing lots of make-up clip in extensions if I can and maybe a false eyelash or two ;) I LOVE to get dressed up. Then I sit here and wonder why my girls love clothes shoes and make up so much :D. Well this Halloween my whole family took part! For our churches trunk n treat we took our unusually large truck and dressed it up as a "Monster" truck (no worries he was a nice monster) it looked like Frankinstein I dressed up as "Bride" of Frankinstein my husband was a Werewolf and our three little ones were the "offspring" we had such a great time and received a bunch of compliments!! Then of course there was the hair!! Who doesn't know about the Bride of Frankinstein's SKY high hair!!? I was so excited with the outcome of my version that I wanted to share how I did it!

 So here goes... what you will need to start is, a set of 1inch mixed with 1/2 inch rollers (using two different sizes helps to create a more natural texture), then you will need a spray bottle filled with water to dampen your hair as you add each roller, a few clips to control the hair you are not working with at the moment and last a comb to section.

 The products you will need are as follows... A bottle of Strong Hold Hairspray I used Sebastian shaper plus and Bb Holding spray (this spray is equivalent to an old fashion Lacquer) a bottle of baby powder, and last but not least a bottle of temporary spray on Hair color ( I used a Black for my lightning bolt since I am blonde but feel free to chose whatever color your heart desires).

 Step one... Set Hair in Rollers alternating sizes this is going to give you the texture you need to create height. As you place each roller spritz each section lightly with you water bottle being careful to not soak your hair, if you do drying will take forever and really you do not need a lot to get the curl to set if you start with dry hair.

 Step Two... test a curl to make sure your hair is dry. If it is take down your set.

 Step Three... Starting at your fringe area (Bang's) taking one inch thick sections only as wide as your comb start to "back-comb" or "tease" your hair (another word for this I would consider a "bad" word would be "rat" :/ ) working your way from the front all the way to your back hairline until your entire head of hair is back combed.

 Step four... flip your head upside down and spray lightly with Hairspray then take your bottle of baby powder and sprinkle all over!! (This makes quite the mess so be sure to do it somewhere you don't mind all the powder) This not only creates the powdery white finish regardless of your hair color but also adds an unmatchable amount of texture!! Hairspray can't even hold what baby powder can!!

 Step Five... THIS IS THE FUN PART... Bring your head back to normal position and at the base of your hairline start a loose french roll making sure to ad a bobby pin every couple of inches to hold... work you french twist at an angle 45 degree ish allowing it to act as a "shelf" for the rest of your hair up top! Spray and placing curls as you see fit. working your roll all the way out to the lengths of your hair until you have no more hair to twist. I had fun allowing the texture to be free so I had a few things flying around here and there. I think it just added to the authenticity of the look. :) At the end of it all I spritz the whole look with the Bb holding spray and using the back end of my comb created a finger waved effect throughout the front to finish.

  I had such a great time recreating this classic look and would love to see what you all were for this years festivities. How did you tie in the hair to your costume? Lemme SEE!! Good luck trying this at home!! Have fun! <3

                        
                                                                          LT


 

Proper and Professional....

  There are a lot of terms thrown around in my industry some good some not so good and some well they are whatever. I'd like to share a few with you in hopes that your hair "lingo" can grow even by one proper term. :) Now do not take offense to anything I say! I am not saying that the words I use are better. Okay well maybe I am a little but I do not look down on someone who happens to use the words I do not like to use myself. I was trained by a Stylist who worked around Actors /Actresses big name people,so he had to step it up just a bit. No I did not assist him with these clients they were not his clients he worked at 2 salons part of the week he worked at the salon that I assisted him at the other part of the week he worked at "On Set" in Santa Monica. This salon did everything just as regular salons do but they specialize in extension and wig work for big movies. Two specific clients (yes Im going to be a name dropper because I think this was so cool!) were Drew Barrymore and Hugh Jackman!! Both got extension work done for movies they would be in at the time. So any way when I first started working for him I had booked a client for a "weave" when it came time for him to look ahead on the books he saw this and came to me... being the smart a#@ that he always liked to be he asked me "why did you book me a weave!!?? I do not do "weaves" I responded with what I do not know but at that moment I kind of realized there are "slang" terms and there are proper terms in our industry and really if I am trying to be as professional as possible I should be using as professional terms as I can... so here goes...

"Slang"                                     "Professional"

Weave                                       Highlights
Roots                                         regrowth
Roots                                         Base
Tint                                            Color
Cosmetologist                            Hairstylist ( I actually prefer just Stylist (; )
Chunks                                      Panels
Bangs                                        Fringe

 Its funny that last one even clients I've had for a long time still give me a crooked face look when I ask "So what do you want to do with your "fringe" today?" :) Love you guys! Im sure there are more but these are the ones I remember if you have any I'd love to hear!! :D As always thank you thank you!! For reading and remember I am not hating I love you all!! Just sharing!!

                                                    <3 LT
              

All Grown Up Dress Up...

  Well its been a month since Cindy's wedding so this blog is a little late but hey, when are my blogs ever on time? :) I had prepped for the wedding over a month before it happened. Making sure to get in contact with each girl about her ideas on what she was going for, try to get an idea of their hair types, refresh colors that needed refreshing.

It was the week before the wedding and like always my nerves were getting to me a little bit but that feeling was over powered by the excitement of the whole trip all together! I had booked an assistant because the amount of girls I'd be styling and made sure I was clear of all my expectations of her for the day of. My week prior was filled with last minute details putting together all the pictures the girls had sent me in a file to take with for visual reference, lining up a "schedule" ( looking back this is funny because weddings never run on a real schedule (;  ) packing my bags, making a list and checking it twice!

  It was wedding eve and I had plans to go to bed early so I was nice and refreshed but my husband had scheduled a stair climb in LA so instead I didn't get home till nearly 11pm and true to form I had to check my bags a third time because this is who I am! I also over pack in case you were wandering Hee Hee.

 Here it was Cindy's BIG DAY!! I didn't wake up right when the alarm went off but when I did get up oh man was I awake! Packed the car and I was off to grab my girl and head into San Diego. I stopped at Starbucks and grabbed us our get it going juice of course :) I was so proud of Devon my assistant she looked so cute and professional! I had a "mini" dress code for her and let me tell you she hit it!! There was no traffic since we had made sure to leave before it would hit. We actually made it to SD a bit early so I made another pit stop at the local grocery store for bananas and granola bars. I've been in this business long enough to know there are no breaks so make sure you have things that are good healthy snacks you can eat quick (like the time it takes a girl to check her hair in the mirror kind of quick) Plus I wanted to make sure Devon did not pass out on me hahahaha. Off to our first stop we went my lovely client Kristen's house! She was so sweet all ready for me bright and early! We had to brighten her color up before we set her with rollers and Cindy (the bride) had plans to sleep in so in order to not disturb her we went ahead and met Kristen at her house then carpooled to the hotel where our beautiful Bride was staying. You guys let me not bore you with the CRAZY details of the day!! What I can say is that every wedding I have ever done is a juggling show lots of energy laughs tears smiles and hugs!!! It always always makes me happy at the end to see all the beautiful ladies with smiling faces!! Its why I do what I do!! This is how it works you get to the hotel you set up and you GO GO GO GO until every girl is gorgeous! One might be setting while another is getting styled or dressed or with the make up artist. Oh which reminds me I have done a lot of weddings and most I have done with make up artist that I know but on occasion I get a wedding like this where I do not know the make up artist. I was a bit nervous about that, our industry can be real catty. OMG!! This girl was so cute!! All dress up and so sweet!! She talked with me, even asked if I was available for her to refer! So sweet!! I cannot say it enough! Which is how this whole wedding went!! That is rare!!! I can count on one FINGER the amount of wedding's where the entire experience was fun, low stress, and it was this one!! I walked away that day simply AMAZED!! I was so blessed to have met such amazing inspiring sweet women! They were all such good friends and they welcomed us all as though we were the same! I didn't feel like I was there to "service" them I felt like I was brought in to be  part of!! Even my client Kristen who had referred me to the wedding... she was Maid of Honor... people, she was on top of it!! We had a whole table covered in anything you could need or want all thanks to Kristen. Candy, Gum, breakfast muffins, fruit!! It was awesome!!

   So at the end of the day they were all off to the wedding we packed up and Devon said something like "Wow that was crazy!" :) (It was her first experience) and I respond with something like "yeah, but fun!" I have never ever in my 10 + years of Styling experienced something so beautiful! HONESTLY!! This is not to say I have not had great experiences at other wedding but really NO ONE was stressed everyone was smiles and it was just amazing! I guess Im actually having trouble finding all the words lol it was that good! A BIG BIG Thank you to Kristen for thinking of me and referring me to Cindy, a HUGE Thank you to Cindy for trusting me and allowing me to be part of her wonderful day and thank you to all the other girls who trusted me without even meeting me before hand!! It was an experience I will never forget and one I'd only be lucky to have again!!

                                                     With Love,

                                                            LT