A new Tone It Up 8 week challenge is upon me and I am excited to dive all in the next 2 months. I have some reasonable goals set and I love that Tone It Up provides me with a strong support system, a nutritious meal plan, and attainable workouts.

In past challenges I have found that it is mid afternoon that is my biggest struggle with eating right. I tend to crash and start to crave sugar to keep me awake and attentive at work. This seeps into me going to workout after work and I often end up adding coffee or an energy drink on top of that sugar I already consumed, which actually leaves me feeling worse.

In order to sustain energy throughout the 8 week challenge, and in my afternoons, I follow these three tips:

1.) Hydrate yourself! A lot of times our body starts to doze off because it is dehydrated. If you are craving something sweet, add lemon to your water, or grab a flavored seltzer water, such as La Croix.

2.) Grab a snack that is healthy and fuels your body. A snack that is delicious, filling, and high in protein, is perfect for the mid afternoon slump. I recommend Go Macro Macro Bars which are vegan, organic, and most importantly to me - gluten free!

3.) Get your vitamin on! Be sure you are consuming enough vitamin B, iron, and vitamin D to be sustaining energy, staying awake, and keeping the pounds off.

No words I can write will express the strength and grace of blogger Mabel Stevens. She is a beautiful woman who I do not believe I have done justice on in this blog post. Her story is powerful, raw, and a true testimony of the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ.


At age 5, Stevens moved from West Africa to the United States, due to fear of a civil war. Her parents had already experienced this, which moved them from Liberia to Cote D'voire. Coming to the U.S. with very little, Stevens was often the victim of bullying by her peers, being called burnt and a roach. This took a toll on her self esteem, leading Stevens to becoming depressed and suicidal. she questioned why God would make her this way and decided life was not worth living. Stevens wrote suicide notes in secret. By the grace of God, that night her Mom forced her to come to church with her.

Stevens made the decision that if Christ could die for her, she could live for Him. Although she began living for Christ, Stevens still experienced the internal damage of what bullies were saying to her. One morning as she was loathing herself in the mirror, God let her know he was sick of it. He told her, "I did not make any mistakes on you Mabel. Who told you being dark skinned was an insult?" The way she looked at herself following that was that her skin tone wasn't an insult, but a fact. She began to see herself the way God created her to be.

Over the years, Stevens began healing her heart with the help of God. She often would hear the Holy Spirit saying beautiful, but breaking it up into Be You Too Full. "It took sometime but eventually it registered to me God was telling me to be me to the fullest extent of whom He has called me to be," said Stevens.

Hearing this, Stevens felt God had called her to create her blog to share her story. She argued with God, but obeyed. Writing her testimony has helped heal her.

"I'm thankful that through Christ I overcame this issue in my life and what better way to show my thankfulness than to live for Him. I want to show Christ to others that they can overcome difficult trials in their life. My goal is to be that person I wish I had growing up as a young girl."

One of her favorite posts she has written is "The Lost Get Found." In it she illustrates the story of how she lost herself to find herself, giving up her life to chase after God. She shares personal anecdotes of her leaving her parents to start Bible school and creating a personal relationship with God. Her most recent series, "A Worshiper's Diary" shares daily devotionals which include personal poems, scripture references, and worship music.

Outside of blogging, Stevens enjoys writing poetry, singing, and dancing. To learn more about her, visit her blog Be-You-Ti-Ful or find her on YouTube and Facebook.

I am obsessed with blush pink right now. I am trying to add it into any possible outfit, including my jeans and my nail color. In the psychology behind colors, blush pink is a nurturing color with gentle, loving energy. It is a color that promotes hope and good health. This mood board incorporates the use of the color in fashion and beauty.

If I could have a hair stylist on call everyday, that would be great. But it's never going to happen. However, these five hair hacks have helped me to get my mane contained on the days it's not in a messy top knot.

1. Dry shampoo. All day e'ryday. (This one's my favorite!) Dry shampoo saves you when you don't have time to wash your hair or don't want to wash it every day. It absorbs the excess oil in the hair, making it last an extra 1-3 days without a wash.

2. Change the way you use bobby pins. Before using, spray them with hairspray, so that they get tacky and can hold the grip of your hair better. Afterwards, put them in wavy side down. This way they will not slide throughout the day.

3. Tame fly aways with a toothbrush. Spray it with hairspray and comb them down. They won't go anywhere after. But please just don't use that toothbrush for anything but that from that day forward. 😧

4. Lather, rinse, and actually repeat. A lot of times when when we wash and rinse hair, it's not enough to strip the grime and dirt out. By doing it a second time, it assures the perfect cleanliness. It also allows your hair to be able to go longer without washes. (At least in my experience.)

5. For perfect beach waves, but not much time, braid your hair, then run a straightener over it. It will leave you with lovely, loose waves.

Easter is next week and I have been spending a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest to find fun ways to decorate. This wreath, created by Love the Tompkins of Home Talk, struck my eye and would be simple to make.

• 4 orange tulip bushes (could be fresh, but I recommend getting fake flowers from a craft store!)
• green burlap ribbon
• "greens" (also could be fresh, but I recommend getting from a craft store)
• wire

Amal Clooney is expecting twins! While I never expected George Clooney to finally settle down with a woman, let alone with a family, she is K I L L I N G the baby mama game. She is still working, traveling, and looking as beautiful as ever. This outfit of hers is polished and perfect for spring. With the links below it can be created with a mix of designer and department store for under $160.

Each month I receive a box of love and encouragement on my front porch. This month's Loved and Blessed Box focused on bearing fruit. This is appropriate after a recent series at church about pruning ourselves as His branches.



This awesome box from Loved and Blessed included a mini poster, a reminder sticker, a scripture card, a stationery set (the pens have the fruits of the spirit on them!), and an encouragement kit. I plan on sharing the encouragement kit with a young lady in my small group at church who is new in her faith.

FTC Disclosure: Kick Back With Cate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program is designed to allow a means for sites to earn advertising fees by sharing links to Amazon. This provides the blogger with a source of income at no additional cost to the reader.

Recently I was asked if I could have ice cream with any president, who would it be? This lead me to think about which celebrities I would want to have dinner with

1.) Michelle Money - I have loved her since The Bachelor, loved her even more in Reality Steve podcasts, and loved her most in my Money Method course. I would love to sit down and get to know her in real life.
2.) James Lafferty - I would love to see if he's as perfect in real life as he is in One Tree Hill as Nathan Scott.
3.) Peyton Manning - I see him as the greatest football player of my generation and of course a Bronco's Super Bowl quarterback, so I would love to share a drink and meal with him and hear his stories of his time in the league.
4.) Reese Witherspoon - She is my favorite actress and I feel like we would be real life besties.
5.) Lauren Graham - After years of watching her play Lorelei Gilmore and recently listening to her newest book, I feel like she would have me peeing my pants at the dinner table.

Which celebrity would you want to have dinner with?