Hello, my friends! How was your week? I hope you’re doing well! And welcome to the first blog post for the month of April. We have officially entered the second quarter of 2021.

I feel like I have a lot of things to share today. First of all, my mom is here! She got here last night and is here for the next week or so to hang out with us, and of course, spend Easter. We haven’t had a holiday together in a while, so we’re excited about that. We’ll probably have a nice meal, do an Easter egg hunt and all of that good stuff.

Other than that, this week, I did two fairly significant things. Number one: I got my eyebrows microbladed, which means I haven’t been able to sweat for the last few days while they heal (more on that below). Number two: Yesterday, I got my first shot of the COVID vaccine. In North Carolina, they opened it up to fitness professionals, and I was able to grab an appointment. I have my second shot at the end of the month. 

Also, Dave’s cousin, Nicole, and her new puppy, Berkeley, stayed with us a couple nights earlier this week too — which marked our first house guest at the new house and was super nice. Brady had preschool only two days this week, and he’ll be on spring break next week, which is perfectly timed with my mom’s visit.

Speaking of Brady, we take his picture in front of the house before he goes to school each morning, and his poses kill me. I don’t even have to ask him to take a picture, he heads there on his own (which is the only time I can get him to be in pictures easily, otherwise, he makes it difficult) …

Okay, let’s get into those faves …

Current faves

Beauty

I got my brows microbladed!

*This isn’t for everyone, but I wanted to do it. So no judgment, please. 🙂 

Earlier this week, I got my eyebrows microbladed and shaded. Microblading is a semi-permanent way to improve your brows by getting pigment deposited into the skin to shape and fill your brows.

During the nearly three-hour appointment, my licensed brow artist drew on my brows with a pencil to get the shape right, picked the right shade for the pigment, applied numbing cream, then began the process. First, she used the microblade to make tiny hair-like lines. Then, she used a tattoo machine to shade in the rest of the brow. And that filled out my brow. By the way, this isn’t permanent. It’s a superficial semi-permanent treatment that will last about a year or so, and it’s not as deep as a regular tattoo. 

Why did I get it done? Because my natural brows are fairly light and thin, and I’ve been shading and penciling them in for years. I totally over-plucked back in the day, and I think that caused some permanent brow thinness. Anyone else? Big brows are in, and I like that look — so that’s the goal of microblading. I had microblading done a couple years ago, but it didn’t last very long for me at all, and I think that’s because I didn’t follow the after-care instructions as closely as I should have. 

The big thing with a procedure like this really is the pre-care and after-care. For pre-care, I wasn’t supposed to use any harsh face products, take blood thinners (like Advil) or fish oil, or drink alcohol 24 hours prior to the procedure to ensure my face was ready (you also can’t be pregnant or nursing). Then, after the procedure, it’s even more strict. You can’t sweat, be in the direct sun, apply makeup or touch the area for anywhere from 7 to 10 days. Of course, the no sweating rule is super hard for me to follow. But I did a good job this week on it. I went for slow daily walks (wearing this big floppy hat), I foam rolled, I did yoga and some super-light Pilates, and I also took the week off from teaching my virtual classes.

This is a picture of me right after the procedure, with no makeup on … 

Because everyone’s skin is different and heals differently, your brows always require a “touch-up” appointment after your initial microblading appointment. That means, I have to do the whole thing again in a few weeks to finalize the results. From then on, I can go back once a year for a touch-up. Crossing my fingers they last, and they look nice. Right now, I’m still a little dark, red and scabby, but I should be looking better in a couple days. 

Here’s the truth: Even though your brows are supposed to be numb from the numbing cream, I still found the procedure fairly uncomfortable — and she had to reapply the cream three times to help me get through. I don’t think of myself as someone who is sensitive to pain, but apparently I am. Oh well!

Want to know something else that’s cool? I found my brow artist via referral from a local Facebook group, and she’s a fellow Beautycounter consultant, which made me even more confident she was using safer ingredients for my procedure. I’m really pleased with the result so far, and look forward to seeing how they do after my touch-up as well. 

(Here’s my hat, which I picked up on sale earlier this week.)

Also, as a note, if this is something you are considering, I would highly recommend doing your research on who you choose to do your brows. Ask a lot of questions and look at his/her portfolio of work before booking. It can be expensive, and I had to wait almost eight weeks to make an appointment with my artist, because her schedule was so full.

Education

Taking a “Human Design” workshop

A couple of weeks ago, I got invited to a virtual workshop on “Human Design” that I won via an incentive from one of my Beautycounter leaders. I wasn’t able to attend the workshop live, but I finally got around to watching it this week, and it was so interesting, hosted by business coach, Erin Claire Jones.

The topic of human design could be a standalone post, and I’m just learning it, so we’ll keep this description brief. But basically, based on the exact time/date/location you were born, you have a certain energetic field that creates your “human design.” And this field can mean you are one of five types of people, with billions of specifications. The five types of people are Generators, Manifesting Generators, Manifestors, Projectors and Reflectors. Once you know your type, you can understand better how you are designed to think — that’s your human design — and this can help you understand how others think too.

While I know it sounds crazy, once I learned my type, which is Generator, I actually felt totally validated for how I think and operate. Generators make up the majority of people (about 70 percent, I believe), and Generators have a lot of energy, we are a life force, and we are builders. And we are supposed to wait for what we attract in life and respond to it — rather than going out there and trying to make new things on our own. We like to use up all our energy each day working on things that fill us up, and if we don’t use up our energy, we feel disappointed. And that describes me to a tee. 

You can also look at your human design in how you make decisions, based on numbers and colors. That’s going to be way too in-depth for this, but here’s what my chart looks like …

 

I won’t go into too much detail right now, but I am really intrigued with this idea, and I even listened to a podcast on the topic after completing this workshop. Because if you understand your design, you can work with it, rather than against it. And you can do the same when you understand the design of those who are in your life.

If you want to know more, you can find out your human design type, by heading here and submitting your information for your free bodygraph. I may write more about this soon, if I go any further down the rabbit hole and want to report back. But overall, it was an interesting thing to learn this week. 

Workouts

Weekly workouts 

Because I like to share how I’m moving, here are last week’s workouts …

• Monday: 45-minute full-body weights via Peloton, 3 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 10-minute upper-body weights, 30-minute cycle via Peloton, 11 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Friday: 40-minute Les Mills Training Strength via Les Mills On Demand, 3 p.m.
• Saturday: 30-minute cycle, 10-minute light arm weights via Peloton, 10 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week of workouts was a full one, and I successfully picked up weights four times, even though two of those sessions were short. I feel okay about my workouts right now, so all is good there. And of course, the current week has been much slower with light no-sweat movement.

Discounts 

A Lady Goes West recommended favorite products

I only share what I use and love in my own life, and here are some of the brands I swear by. And when you use my discount codes and links, you support me, so thanks for that …

• Fit Revolution. Get a 14-day trial and 33 percent off your first month of this amazing workout platform (where you can take my classes on demand) with the code ASHLEYPITT3PC1.
• Carbon38. The coolest activewear around. Get 15 percent off your first two orders of $100 or more using the code ASHLEYPITT. 
• G2G protein bars. I love these tasty and minimal-ingredient protein bars. You can get 15 percent off your order on the G2G Bar site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Organifi superfood supplements. I’m all about the Organifi Complete Plant-Based protein powder. You can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Four Sigmatic. These superfood coffees and teas are so good — I especially love the Cacao Chill and Lion’s Mane Latte. Get 15 percent off your order with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Beautycounter. The best safe skincare and makeup. Send me a message, and I’ll share a 20 percent off code for your very first order.
• Les Mills On Demand streaming workouts. My favorite fitness brand. You can do a whole month of workouts during a free 30-day trial by using my special referral link here.
• Les Mills Coach program. You can get 15 percent off a 4-, 8- or 12-week guided coaching and accountability program with the code ASHLEY15.

Best reads

A few things from around the web 

• Muscles and metabolism podcast. I’ve been listening to the “Be Well By Kelly” podcast lately, and this was a good older episode about the importance of eating enough protein and doing resistance training. Lots of helpful information for women, especially.
• Tough mommas. My friend and fellow blogger, Erin, was recently profiled in “The Daily Mail” for sharing her scar from an emergency C-section. I love that Erin is normalizing this side of motherhood and all the unglamorous raw parts that women have to deal with. Props to her and all the other strong mommas out there.

Here’s the quote of the week from the Calm app …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives 

• Beauty. Because it’s clean and it works … “Must-have Beautycounter products and how to get started with Beautycounter.”

• Spending. This is a fun one from last year worth revisiting … “Splurge vs. save: How I spend money.”

Thank you for reading the blog today. I hope you have a great day and weekend. Stay hydrated and stay in motion! 🙂

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What are you up to this weekend?

Do you know your human-design type?