I feel like I just had a stroke of genius. I have a surplus of garden cherry tomatoes and needed to do something with them fast. It occurred to me to pop them in my air fryer like I do everything else!

Sadly, my chest puffing over my great idea didn’t last too long. After I made these delectable little bites, I googled and found that some other smart cooks had already thought of this.

So, alas, I’m not doing anything totally revolutionary here, but maybe here is the first time you have heard of doing this. That’s enough for me!

Here’s what I did:

Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Line your fryer basket with foil. This is of course optional, but highly recommended. Tomatoes pop and they are messy.

Toss tomatoes in a bowl with all other ingredients.

Pour into lines fryer basket.

Set fryer at 400 for ten minutes. You will hear some popping! That is normal.

When timer goes off, your Roasted Tomatoes should be done! If you desire more roasting, add an extra few minutes.

Enjoy! I served some over spaghetti with portobello mushrooms and topped with pine nuts! Yum!!

Someone commented the other day that I’ve “upped my selfie game… big time!” Ok, I admit this made me beam! Mostly because it came from my 21 year old niece who is way cooler than me. I wanted to give you the story behind why the look of most of the photos I post of myself have changed their look recently!

I stumbled across an IG star named Sorelle Amore and she has a course called Advanced Selfie University. The course goes through how she sets up really cool selfies using her DSLR all over the world in her travels. After buying the course, I just realized that it’s so crazy that I take everyone else’s photos and never my own! Why do I always let someone else tell MY story through photographs? Better yet, why do I post crappy cell phone selfies that make me cringe? That’s not who I am. I’m creative and I want my social media page to really reflect my personality. Setting up my own self portraits is super challenging and fun. I’ve especially loved making the mundane – stuff like laundry and day to day mom life- interesting through photos. I think people like to see behind the curtain.

Just a few examples – check out my Instagram @moderndayfox to see some more!

Beans

1 small diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 cup dried beans (pinto, navy, northern – can be a combo)

4 cups water or broth (or a combo)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS

Remove lid from pot. Press Saute button.

When pot is hot, add one diced onion and minced garlic. Saute until translucent.

Add one tsp smoked paprika and saute for another minute.

Turn pot off.

Add two cup dried beans and 4 cups water or broth and salt. Stir and replace lid.

Set pot to manual high pressure for 55 minutes. Allow natural pressure release after timer goes off.

BBQ Sauce (make while beans are cooking)

1/2 cup water

1 can tomato paste

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp worchestshire

1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp coconut aminos

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1 Tbsp molasses

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

DIRECTIONS

Stir well in small mixing bowl. Then, pour into small sauce pan on stove. Heat over low heat. Once it is warmed through, add 1/4 cup coconut sugar. Continue to cook over low heat until completely dissolved. Taste and add more sugar, if desired. Brown sugar works well too!

After the pressure is completely released from the Instant Pot, remove lid and stir. Your beans should be fully cooked, but sometimes they can be finicky depending on the age of the beans (or the lunar phase of the moon 🙂 ). If your beans are still too firm, cook another ten minutes in the Instant Pot. I found 55 minutes with a natural release to be the correct amount of cooking time fairly consistently during my experiments with this recipe.

If beans are cooked to your liking, add more salt, if desired. I added another teaspoon of salt for my salt preference. Stir in barbecue sauce. I also added one Tbsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce for a little heat! Beans will continue thicken as they sit. Serve, and enjoy!

Here’s a video tutorial to show you how it’s done!

xo Jaime

Hello, friends! First, some deep thoughts from the weekend I want to share:

I was at a conference for my full time job in technology sales over the weekend, and we had a speaker for our Women in Technology group. She said the best advice she ever got was, “Don’t let your comfort zone become a dangerous anchor.”

Isn’t that so true? When you find still waters, it’s easy to just safely float there for the duration. The problem is you never go anywhere – not back, not forward, you just stay in the same spot forever. And while that may sound appealing to some, it is not sustainable. Aside from inevitable boredom alone, there are bound to be storms that come through. Sometimes it is dangerous not to move from the storm’s path.

If you are incapable of moving because you’re anchored to the status quo, that potentially leads to drowning. Be brave. Make yourself uncomfortable. Don’t give up on your passions even if they aren’t what’s paying your bills right now. Have hard conversations. Be the change. Pull up your anchor and sail somewhere new! THAT is how you grow.

Ok, now let’s get to this soup. Maybe it was just because I spent the weekend in blazing hot Florida, but it got all kinds of chilly in Tennessee yesterday. I know that due to our crazy weather pattern here I will be back to wearing tank tops and shorts by the weekend, but it was actually kind of nice to have a day that almost resembled Fall. We don’t get many of those! The crisp air immediately made me crave soup. Well, that, and I still haven’t gone to the grocery store since my return, so I had to get creative with dinner. I decided to experiment with making Minestrone in my Instant Pot, and it was a SUCCESS. My kids even liked it, although they would never openly admit that. They took more than two bites, so I’m calling it a win!

When you review this recipe, I’m anticipating one question on repeat. Why did you not cook the pasta on high pressure? Yes, I know that I can cook pasta in the Instant Pot, but I wanted to be very careful about making sure I kept a nice texture on all the various ingredients in this soup. I did not add the zucchini in the high pressure cycle either because I wanted to maintain the firmness. One thing about the Instant Pot – your vegetables and pasta can turn to mush in a heart beat. It’s better to spend a few extra minutes boiling the pasta and zucchini than have a bowl of mush, right?? If you decide to try cooking your pasta during the high pressure cycle, I recommend adding all six cups of water or broth at the beginning, and doing 4 minutes high pressure instead of five. I’d love to know how it turns out! Or, just follow the recipe as written and you can be sure you will have nice, firm ingredients and that all-day simmered taste.

Note: There is something going on with my recipe plug-in for WordPress, so my apologies for the different format on this recipe!

MODERN DAY FOX INSTANT POT MINESTRONE (VEGAN)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 diced onion

2 carrots, coined

3 diced celery stalks

1 tsp salt, plus more later if desired

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 tsp Basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Pinch crushed red pepper (optional)

1 28 oz can crushed tomato

6 cups water or broth

2 cups dry pasta (bowtie, rigatoni, penne)

1 diced zucchini, medium

1 can kidney beans, drained

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

I/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 cups chopped kale, stems removed

Instructions:

1. Set pot to saute and heat olive oil.
2. Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes until onions start to turn translucent.
3. Add salt, rosemary, oregano, basil, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper. Saute for one more minute. Keep stirring so your seasonings do not burn.
4. Turn pot off.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, 4 cups water or broth, and stir.
6. Replace lid on instant pot and set pot to 5 minutes high pressure. Be sure to turn the knob to Sealing so your pot comes to pressure.
7. When the timer goes off, use a quick release for the steam.
8. When the knob drops, remove lid and turn pot off.
9. Add the other two cups of water. Stir in dry pasta, zucchini, and kidney beans.
10. Set the pot to Saute and allow contents to boil and cook pasta thoroughly.
11. When pasta is finished cooking, turn pot off.
12. Add lemon juice, vinegar and kale. Kale will soften into the soup in a few minutes.
13. Do a taste-test and add additional salt, if desired. I like my soups to have a saltier flavor so I added two additional teaspoons. I also used water instead of broth so I needed to make up for the salt that would have been in the broth.
14. Serve, and enjoy!!

Results time! The patriotic Walmart bikini strikes again 🙂

I just finished coaching and participating in the brand new LIIFT/HIIT program released by my fitness company. With only four workouts a week ranging between 30-40 minutes, this program fit perfectly into my busy summer. The flexibility of being able to move workouts around each week made it so much easier not to miss. There are times in my life when I need a stricter routine, but not in the middle of summer and then back to school. I also absolutely loved lifting weights and was using 20lb dumbbells for the majority of the exercises by the final weeks of the program.

My personal goal with this program was to maintain my weight and build muscle. As you can see in the pics, there is not a huge difference and I’m totally ok with that! Everyone has different goals when they start a fitness program and mine was to get through the rest of the summer without gaining weight. I did it! I did lose a good inch in my mid-section so my side pose result is the one I am most pumped about!

I have successfully maintained a 13 lb weight loss since the beginning of this year by committing to my at-home workout programs, drinking my superfood shake, and following simple principles laid out in the nutrition programs. I have had a tough year and these programs have saved me. That’s not being dramatic – that’s being honest! My challengers and my trainers have shown up for me every time I’ve pressed play. I love always having something to work towards and a community with whom to share it .

If you are intrigued by a program that combines weight training and bursts of high intensity exercises and gives you results in only four workouts a week, we need to talk! I will be kicking off my round of challenge groups on Sept 17th!! I want to help you change your life for the healthier!!!

Fill out this form and I’ll contact you!

Check out this progress photo from when I committed to my first program until now!

I am slowly piecing together what will be my next studio album, doing some songwriting but also reviewing songs by other writers that I love. Tonight a dear friend sent me a sampling of her songs and there was one on particular that hit me right between the eyes. It is called “Concrete Shoes.” This song struck me because it so clearly defines how I feel right now. It talks about trying to get over loss, but feeling weighed down by a broken heart and concrete shoes.

When you lose people you love, I think it’s an accurate comparison to say it feels like you are walking around in “concrete shoes.” Even the simplest tasks just feel so heavy and hard. For me, every workout is a struggle right now. I have to talk myself into it because I know it is so important for my continued health. Every meal prep feels like I’m wading through my kitchen in slow motion, but I do it because I’ll have even more stress if I don’t. Getting motivated to work feels like climbing a mountain with no rope and harness, but I do it because people are counting on me. I desperately want to kick off these heavy shoes. They feel so unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but they seem to be the only pair that fit right now. It’s unrealistic to think that I could just slide right back into my proverbial flip flops so soon after losing two people that I love.

One of my favorite artists, Peter Gabriel, said he was intrigued by how people could use music as an “emotional toolkit.” There is comfort in hearing someone else put the feelings you can’t voice into words. In fact, I’ve been trying to listen to the saddest music I can find these days. Sounds crazy, right? It’s not. It’s a release. Just like my friend’s song put into words my current emotional state, other songs are helping me let the tears flow a bit. It’s hard keeping it together all the time!

If you are struggling with loss- and I know so many of you who have messaged me are indeed struggling too- I encourage you to turn to music to help you make some sense of what you are feeling. Just keep listening and listening until you have that ah-ha moment where it seems the artist is writing lyrics straight out of your heart. Feeling understood is difficult, especially after loss. Let the music slowly chip away at your own “concrete shoes.”

“I have nothing left to lose

Except this broken heart and these concrete shoes.” (Steff Mahan)

XO Jaime

As most of you who follow me know, I lost two best friends back to back this year. I feel like a broken record telling people over and over again, but it’s almost like I have to keep talking about it to even believe it really happened. It seems everyday a tag with one of them comes up in my Facebook memories to which I have a love/hate reaction. I love remembering, but it stings having to “remember.” It’s just plain unfair, you know?

In May of 2017, my friend, Chad Trout, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Cancer and was told it had metastasized in his blood. Very quickly, his condition became grave. Chemo treatments brought back his quality of life and extended his time here by a year. Over the last year of his life, Chad had some real moments of growth and strength. He shared his epiphanies publicly and so many were touched as a result. I wanted to share this post with my readers that Chad post just months before he passed away:

“Vanderbilt is holding me tonight & possibly tomorrow too!

So, after nearly 4 days in the hospital, I’ve learned a lot more about my health and situation. As most of my friends & family know, I have been fighting stage 4 pancreatic & liver cancer for 10 months. Against all odds, I kept getting better and making huge progress. In that time, I’ve been enlightened, found new identity, appreciated my existence, had the opportunity to make things right, and mend fallen fences. My marriage has gotten even stronger. I’ve searched for and discovered answers, been celebrated and saw the face of time. But, more importantly, I discovered the meaning of faith! Those are the good things that cancer has brought into my life.

The truth is – it’s been there the whole time. Being in crisis mode just forced me to make changes and become aware of those things a lot faster. Cause, the only other option is to lay down and give up. Only, I am not one to give up! Even in my darkest hours, I’ve kept the music and my dreams alive. Cause, without that there would be no hope. It’s such a privilege to share my talents and stories with others!

On the darker side of things, I have felt hopeless, scared, angry….. lost! Like, I’m fighting a never ending battle. Right now, I am in a hospital fighting a life threatening cancer, a blood infection, jaundice, chronic pain, exhaustion, needles, IVs, surgeries, procedure after procedure, chemo, oils– just to have or buy little more time. It seems bad news is always around the corner…. my dreams, my future, my life seems to all be slipping away from me, slowly. That shore seems impossible to swim too!

I’ve just painted two pictures and two versions of my life. Which of these scenarios do you like best? Which scenario, would you choose? Because, in reality they both are happening. My point is that we all have a choice in life to choose our own happiness. Despite it all, I am a happy man. I am a blessed man! I FACE my issues instead of running away. So, tonight I ask you look at yourself before bed and FACE yourself ( Find what’s working, Acknowledge it, Celebrate & Enjoy = F.A.C.E.) Look at whatever challenges or hurt you might carry around and let it GO! Set it free. It’s just to damn heavy to lug around.”

— Chad Trout

How’s that for perspective? A man staring down the end of his life at 41 years old can look at a situation holistically. If he can, you can. What things in your life are you focusing on the most? Whatever those things are will be the direction you keep heading. Granted, there are things out of your control. Chad’s illness was far out of his control. As I mentioned before, he passed away just two months after posting this. But, he fought to the end. His attitude and perseverance changed people – many of whom he didn’t even personally know! Had he conceded to his diagnosis, he would have missed the most powerful year of his life. He traveled, he loved, he hugged, he spoke, he sang, he cried, he fought. His attitude was hopeful until the day he passed. In fact, the day before he died, he was mumbling “fight the cancer, fight the cancer” in a drug induced sleep.

Maybe you are in the same situation as Chad where you have a terminal illness. My heart aches for you, and I hope Chad’s example will encourage you to make the very most of the time you are given. For those of you who are in the midst of hard times, I implore you to heed Chad’s advice above and find a way to acknowledge the positive things in your life that coexist with your struggles. Find gratitude in the simple fact that you have you opened your eyes to another day. Be grateful that you have food in the fridge, good friends, your health, or a car that runs. There is always something to for which to be thankful, so start there even if it seems so minute. What you focus on becomes your reality. Are your thoughts in support of who you truly want to be and the life you want to live? Perhaps shifting your perspective on your struggles may help improve your mindset and, in turn, your reality. Even in the midst of watching him pass before my eyes, Chad taught me to F.A.C.E. hardship head on and find the beauty in the moment. Let us all learn from his example.

We are back to school already in middle Tennessee. The first day was August 2nd! Growing up in Maryland, that is a mind bender for me. We always got out mid to late June and sometimes went back after Labor Day. August feels like it should be another month of summer fun, but that’s not the way we roll down here. Hard to believe, but I have a second grader and I am beginning to understand that overly recited phrase, “Don’t blink.” Time truly does move so fast.

With the start of school comes the start of soccer practices, gymnastics, homework, and schedule overload. Meal planning is truly the only thing that gets me through. I have to start leaning on quick, healthy meals to stay on track with nutrition and keep my sanity. Our tendency when things get hectic is to reach for the processed foods like jarred Ragu. When we do that, we are unknowingly reaching for spoonfuls of sugar and sodium too. Making wholesome food for your family doesn’t have to be hard. In the weeks to come, I’ll share recipes that are working for our family for both dinners and those pesky school lunches.

Deep breath, moms and dad. We can do this.

Here is a recipe for a fast and easy marinara sauce that you can have Instant Pot to table in 35 minutes. You can double or triple this recipe and freeze the sauce to use on a busy school night. Planning ahead eliminates some of the stress in the middle of two soccer practices and an hour of homework, trust me.

Serve over pasta (bonus points if you choose a whole wheat kind), zoodles, or try it over an eggplant or chicken parmesan. I served it here over Aldi USA Eggplant Cutlets which are breaded and frozen. I air-fried them for ten minutes at 400 degrees and they are oh-so-good and quick!

Check out this video to see a tutorial on how to whip up this sauce!

And, don’t forget – my monthly nutrition and fitness challenges are enrolling NOW! Fill out THIS form and I’ll contact you with more info!

I’m no expert on the subject, but my kids’ diet has been heavy on my mind lately. It’s an area where I have been slacking. Why? You know why. It’s HARD! Kids are picky and it’s easier just to reach for stuff you know they will like. That doesn’t make you a bad parent, by the way. But, we gotta keep trying to incorporate healthy foods into their diets. If we don’t, who will? Not them, that’s for sure.

Now, let’s get to these Sneaky Pizza Roll Ups. Why are they “sneaky?” Their mom (aka me) blended spinach into the marinara, that’s why! Now, let me tell you something about blending spinach into stuff. It makes the color of the food look… well, not very appetizing. This is not a concern wrapped up in the pizza rolls, but it might be when you set it out as a dipping sauce. Your two year old might not care, but your seven year might gag. If that’s the case, only make about half the sauce in the recipe, and just serve regular marinara as the dipping sauce.

Here’s what you need:

1 cup of marinara

1 cup of spinach

1 cup of cheese

1 refrigerated pizza crust (bonus healthy points if you can find a whole wheat kind)

2 TBSP Oregano

Here’s how you assemble or you might just want to skip right to the video because these directions write out about as clear as mud:

Blend the marinara and spinach in your high powered blender. Remember, if you don’t think the kids will eat an off-color dipping sauce, just blend a half cup of each and reserve another half cup of marinara for dipping.  Preheat your oven to whatever time your pizza crust directions state. (Mine said 400.) Roll out your pizza crust and pull out the sides to thin it out a bit. Spread a thin row of blended sauce across the crust. Leaving about 3 inches between, spread another row, and then another row.  Your pizza crust should look like it has stripes on it. Next, spread cheese over your rows of sauce, still leaving the empty spaces in between. Then, sprinkle oregano across the whole crust.  Starting on one side, gently fold over the dough over the row of sauce and then cut in between the rows. Fold the next section of dough over and cut again, and then do it again. You should have 3 or 4 long tubes now. Using a fork, press the sides of the dough together to seal up your “tubes.” Then, cut each “tube” into thirds. Use your fork to seal the ends to each roll-up.  Place each roll-up onto a baking plan. I lined my pan with foil and a little bit of Pam to prevent sticking. Bake until golden brown. My pizza crust said 8 minutes, but it really took closer to 15-16 minutes before they were cooked through.  Allow them to cool thoroughly! They get very hot in the middle and you don’t want your child to burn their tongue. Heat up remaining sauce for dipping, or just serve with regular marinara.

Clearly, when you watch this video, you will see that I am not going to win any culinary presentation contests. And, I’m ok with that. The idea here is “get the food on the table.” Plus, have you ever tried to cook with one hand while filming a video? Yes, I do have a tripod. Yes, I am too lazy to set it up most of the time.

Happy lunching!

xo Jaime

Greetings, friends! It has been a while since I posted on here. I’ve been through quite a struggle these last few months with the back to back passings of my two best male friends. I had to back off from my cooking videos and blog posts for a bit, but I am so glad to be back to this thing place that I love.

I have a super easy how-to for you today that will save you lots of time in the morning. I’m showing you how to make Steel Cut Oats in your Instant Pot! Check out the recipe instructions at the bottom of this post. I also made a video tutorial which gives you a great tip at the end about freezing single servings of the oatmeal. Perfect for busy mornings!

Beyond the oats, I have some other things on my mind and I’d like to begin sharing a bit more openly on this blog. I feel I do a disservice to my followers if I don’t show a little depth to who I am. So, here goes…

Man! The devil is firing on all cylinders this week. He is trying hard to break me down.

I am a strong person, y’all. But, like everyone else, I do have feelings. Those feelings have been bruised several times this week, and at times when I was least prepared. Isn’t that the worst? When you’re flying high, and someone comes along and just steals the wind from your sails? You try your hardest to let your guard down and relax, but it seems the second you do you get sideswiped in a hit and run.

Since I have been through quite a lot lately, I’ve put more thought than usual into the various moments of transgressions over this past week (and, gee, it’s only Wednesday). It is very easy to lose perspective when you’re under duress, and I’m careful to keep a level head so I don’t crash and burn. Here are my takeaways:

👉🏻People don’t always mean what they say. Give grace even when it seems grace isn’t being extended.

👉🏻People sometimes say thing out of turn because they are mad about something else. Try to think beyond only your own thoughts and feelings to uncover the reason behind their action. What are THEY going through?

👉🏻Sometimes the way you interpret someone’s words or actions are based on how you are feeling internally about completely unrelated situations. Example: I feel insecure already because of XYZ that happened in the past, so I am adding a bunch of unintended meaning to someone’s innocent remarks.

👉🏻Some people just plain value their own feelings more than yours. This is one of those hard facts of life. It is your responsibility to release them from your circle. (Remember my bless and release post?)

👉🏻And, finally, people only have as much power over you as you allow them.

My heart is tender right now. A few layers of my thick skin have peeled away. I’m cleaning up some messes that were left behind from some very unfortunate things that happened recently. Maybe you can relate. So, I’ll tell you what I’m telling myself:

Rule #1: Wounds heal.

I’m entitled to my feelings and they are based solely on my own experience. When they are hurt, I can recognize and honor those feelings without wallowing in them forever. In fact, the faster I validate my own feelings, the faster I can help my wounds heal. As my wounds heal, sometimes the bandaid will slip off and other people may unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) cause me more injury. When that happens, it is my job to say “wow, that hurt,” cry if I need to, clean up my wound and put my bandaid back on. No one will do this for me. Also, sometimes other people need to have my bandaid pointed out to them, and that’s ok if it protects me from further injury. Finally, when it feels like I don’t have the answer, go back to rule #1.

Wounds heal.

Xo
Jaime

Photo of Dale Hollow Lake by my husband, FotoJo. Not exactly sure why I picked this one, but it seems to portray my feelings right now.

Listen, folks. I’m not really a skin care girl. Years of sun exposure have made my chest look like this:

I’m 41 years old and I’m doing fairly well as far as wrinkles and decent looking skin goes. This is especially true considering that when I do use face wash it comes from Dollar General or a bar of soap. Honestly, it’s just not something I put much thought or effort into everyday. But, I started to become a little bothered over the last couple years that my chest area was making me look older than 41! All those years of outdoor swim team and lifeguarding, beach vacations, running outside, and just being in the sun from day to day without enough sunblock are responsible for my now visible signs of skin aging, including bumps and discoloration. I also started developing those deep wrinkles – I call them “eye crinkles” – between my eyebrows. Too many years of making the “are you stupid” face at people, I guess! (Just ask my husband. He hates that face.) Bottom line — I couldn’t hide from years of abusing my skin any longer. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to try out a HALO Laser Treatment and a Botox injection at the Skin and Allery Center in Middle Tennessee. If there was a way to make myself look a little younger, I was ready and willing to give it a shot.

I met with Jeana at the Skin and Allergy Center in Murfreesboro for my initial consultation. The office was clean and bright, and I was greeted warmly by the staff and Jeana. She took me back to a private room to look over and discuss my skin issues and various treatment options. During our consultation, one of the lead doctors, Dr. Robb, came in and also looked at my skin and offered his recommendation. Both Jeana and Dr. Robb felt that I would benefit greatly by having a HALO treatment on my neck and chest, and roughly 15 units of Botox to take care of those “crinkles.”

Jeana explained the benefits of Halo are that you can custom tailor the strength of the laser, the coverage, and the density depending on your needs. She also said I would see results in 1-2 treatments as opposed to 3-5 traditional resurfacing treatments. She assured me that the treatment would not cause much pain other than a little discomfort similar to light needle pricks and a little heat. She said after the treatment my skin would become very red and hot like I had a sunburn from being on the beach too long. This would only last a few hours and the pain could be alleviated with a cold water spray and frozen washcloth. The days following the treatment my skin would be red and blotchy, but I would eventually start peeling. After that, new, refreshed skin would start to appear! I felt very assured by Jeana’s thorough consultation so I decided to set an appointment for the HALO treatment.

My treatment took place in the Spring Hill Skin and Allergy Center location and my laser nurse was named Sara. Like Jeana, Sara was very warm and welcoming and made me feel comfortable right away. Sara explained everything that the treatment would entail and then applied numbing cream to my chest and neck. She also took Visia photos to show the true aging of my skin. If you truly want to be freaked out, I recommend you do these photos. Check this out:

The photo above shows the pigmentation of my skin and the darker areas are where it’s the most heavily pigmented. That makes me want to go running to the nearer bottle of sunscreen! My “TruSkin age” ended up being 44, so I wasn’t TOO far from my actual age. Those photos struck a nerve though, for sure.

After the photos, I had to let the numbing cream take effect for another 40 minutes. During this time I of course managed to get it on my forehead and the side of my mouth and couldn’t feel half my face. Never a dull moment! Sara then took me to the treatment room and gave me big, silly protective glasses before she began the treatment. It didn’t really hurt at all other than just feeling a little heat. In fact, the crackling sound of the laser was more unsettling than the actual application. After the HALO treatment was completed, Sara gave me three shots of Botox (15 units) in the deep lines between my eyebrows. She also gave me a ton of samples for Epionce products including a great tinted sunscreen as well as a water spray to help relieve the burning from the treatment. And, burn it did! My chest and neck was on fire on the way home! I sprayed nearly the whole can of water on my chest and neck. Like Jeana had warned me, it was very similar to having a bad sunburn but only lasted a couple hours.

The next day my chest and neck were quite a sight. Look here:

All of those red dots on my skin are called MENDs, or Microscopic Epithelial Necrotic Debris. This is a normal response to the HALO treatment and means that the laser is moving deep sun damage to the surface. I was advised to moisturize several times a day and eventually my skin would start peeling. It took several days, but this did happen and my skin looked a little better each day. I went back for a follow-up visit with Jeana about two and half weeks later, and she decided to do one more Broadband Light treatment on my skin just to help tone down the pigmentation that still remained. By the time a month past my initial treatment rolled around, my skin was glowing and beautiful. Here are the results:

I am amazed at the glow. I still have freckles, but my skin is much brighter and healthier looking. It also got rid of nearly all the bumps that covered the center of my chest and the half circle around my outer neck (outside the shadow of my chin). Sara said that I will continue to see the tightening effects with the collagen remodeling over the next several month. Full collagen remodeling can take 3-6 months to peak and can stretch to even a year after treatment.  It’s great to hear that I will just continue seeing more glow to my skin as time goes on!

And, how about that botox?

I’m totally pleased with the botox injections! I didn’t think 15 units was going to be enough, but Sara did a wonderful job injecting and the amount of units used still allowed some movement in that area. It’s a very natural effect and I love it! I had a photo shoot about a week and a half after the injection and I didn’t have to have my face retouched in the photos at all. That was something to smile about!

Besides the HALO and Botox, I also fell in love with the Epionce products, especially that tinted moisturizer! Take a look at this before and after (done while my chest was still healing) where I only used the moisturizer and a little powder:

I made a video of the experience with an intro from Sara:

If you are interested in rejuvenating your skin, Sara and Jeana at the Skin and Allergy Center are just a phone call away! If you are interested in trying the Halo laser treatment or you wish to learn a little more about the process, schedule your initial consultation with the team at the Skin & Allergy Center in Tennessee. You can also follow them on Instagram: Jeana @jeanaelhart and Sara @lasernursesara You have my recommendation that you are in good hands with this team and it will be an investment well worth it!

xo Jaime