Archive for August, 2009
I was super excited when I was chosen by KettleWorx to review an amazing product ~ the Six-Week Body Transformation along with a five-pound KettleBell. Heather, my contact person, was so nice, friendly, and helpful. My package arrived quickly. And when I saw the KettleBell, I thought to myself, “Can a small five-pound weight really make a big difference?” As many of you know, I’m struggling with weight issues right now and desperately need to lose pounds.
Well, when I first took the KettleBell out of the box, I lifted it up and down just a few times ~ and wow, I really felt it in my arm muscles! Each KettleWorx session provides a whole-body workout that incorporates cardio, core, and resistance training ~ all in one 20-minute workout! I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t have a whole lot of time. So anything that works fast is a good thing in my book! Each of the three basic DVDs comes with six workouts ~ one for each week for six weeks. You can choose a set day of the week for a particular DVD. For example, maybe you’ll chose Mondays as “cardio day” and pop in that DVD. There are supplemental workouts, too. KettleWorx recommends one day between workouts for “recovery” ~ during which your muscles actually gain most of their added strength and tone.
Along with the DVDs and KettleBell, I received a paper that explains everything and also includes a 10 percent off coupon toward my next KettleBell or any purchase at KettleWorx.com. That’s pretty cool. To review, I have to say that although I’m out of shape and have a long way to go, the KettleBell made my muscles feel good. And it was easy, which is a big plus with me! My husband is also excited about using it. The kids have even been picking it up!
OK … so you know how you can display your current Netflix movies at home, the books that you’re reading with Shelfari, etc. in your blog sidebar? I would *love* to have some sort of custom software (well, probably a WordPress plugin is more accurate) that would do the same thing for bath and body products. I have a sidebar section that says, “In My Bath,” and I manually insert text indicating what bath and body product I’m enjoying in the tub at the moment. But how cool would it be to have a website where I could type in what I’m using and it would find a picture of the item and a link that would automatically show up in my sidebar? It could look really cool, too … maybe the graphic could be a shower caddy organizer or the corner ledge of a bathtub. LOL! :) Any WordPress people out there? Are you reading? :)
A month or so ago, we had the idea to turn Lucas’s bedroom into a playroom for the kids. So, we put his bed into our bonus room. It feels kind of strange having a bed in there, but it’s also kind of neat in a way. Anyway, the kids *loved* the playroom idea. Problem is, when we want to use the bonus room after the kids have gone to sleep, we can’t really turn up the lights because we don’t want to wake them up. I don’t think that this idea is working. So, we’re going to move the bed back into Lucas’s room. (Don’t know that I can do it by myself ~ I’d need some industrial hand wheels or something!) Oh well … you never know about an idea until you try it. It was worth a shot. Luke’s room *desperately* needs to be cleaned ~ but that will have to wait, as I have a *ton* of freelancing to do today!
My husband has this fantasy of buying an RV and touring the country. And it seems like my husband isn’t the only one! I’ve heard about other guys who also have this dream. Is it a guy thing? Would you be interested in touring the good ol’ USA in the comfort of an RV? My sister-in-law and her husband just bought a camper, in fact, and *love* it. I don’t know what I think. There would be a lot to consider ~ how to drive that huge thing, rv towing … and can you stand up inside the vehicle while you’re, say, on the interstate and make a sandwich? Or do you have to stay seat belted? I can’t help but think of the movie “The Long, Long Trailer.” LOL! :) Anyway, I don’t know if we’ll end up buying an RV in our “golden years” or not, but my husband seems to want one *very* badly!
Jeff’s parents have one of those pond pumps at their home that keeps the water in their pond moving constantly. I think that my grandparents’ lake could use one of those, maybe. Anyway, speaking along those lines (water!), we took the kids to a community pool and splash pad yesterday. They loved it! Some of the water features looked like pond pumps. The kids, of course, enjoyed putting their feet on top of them and spraying water everywhere. I think that we could create a splash pad in our own backyard! We could have concrete poured and set up the whole thing with a bunch of water features. Sure, it might be a little expensive, but it would be so much fun for the summers!
I feel so badly that our cat, Little Beast, is now living in our basement. We have all of her things down there, though ~ litter box, food and water dishes, cat toys, mats, etc. For one thing, Jeff and Lucas are allergic to her ~ and I think that I am, too, if I pet her and then touch my face/eyes. Second, she has been making “mistakes” in our upstairs hallway (and on the carpet in our bedrooms). It STINKS, and I can’t wait to get our carpeting cleaned. She’s 11 years old now, and I don’t know if she’s just getting older or is too lazy to go down to the basement to her litter box. Also, she keeps getting matted fur in certain spots on her back, and we have no idea where it’s coming from. We keep brushing it out, giving her baths, etc., but it keeps coming back. (We don’t give her any pet supplements ~ hmm, should ask the vet about that.) Speaking of the vet, I need to take her in for a checkup ~ but how would I take a cat in a pet carrier and two young children? Sounds like a good candidate for “America’s Funniest Videos” to me, LOL! :) I think that I need a week off just to get everything done.
I’m so excited to purchase Meredith’s preschool supplies! (Thank goodness she doesn’t need equestrian apparel ~ that would probably be a bit expensive, LOL!) Thanks to my friend Shannon in PA, I found an adorable polka-dotted backpack for her from Hanna Andersson. On sale for $25. I think that we paid $10 for Luke’s, so it’s not *too* much more. We found a pink Indianapolis Colts backpack at Wal-Mart when we were visiting my parents, but it was *way* too big for her. And I know that this one will be very sturdy and last a long time.
School supplies rock. Oh my, I looked forward to that every year. New notebooks, pens, crayons … maybe I can treat myself to a little something when I buy Meri’s things! LOL! :)
Do you think that consuming only one Brownie Batter Blizzard from Dairy Queen for lunch qualifies as weight loss supplements? Yeah, probably not. :)
I’m in the mood to write today. Not sure what about ~ I guess that I’m just feeling a bit chatty. What have you been up to today? I dropped Lucas off at his “summer camp” this morning (last day), then Meredith and I went to a place called Bagel Tyme (it should be spelled “Thyme” ~ wouldn’t that be neater?). They have delicious decaf hazelnut coffee and bagels with homemade scallion cream cheese. (Doesn’t “scallion” sound better than “green onion”?) Anyway, we went home and then did some random stuff. I put in a few loads of laundry, straightened up a little around the house, checked e-mail, put some new things up on Etsy … then picked him up and stopped by DQ for a treat. We played MarioKart Wii when we got home, and I also worked on knitting Luke’s winter hat.
This evening, we’re heading to Delmar, NY, for a bowling alley party for our friend Nate, who turns six today. Should be fun. I don’t know if we’ll stay and bowl with the kids or go grab a bite to eat. I guess it’s Luke’s first party where the parents can just drop off the kids. Weird. But I remember parties like that when I was a kid.
Sorry for the stream of consciousness! LOL! :)
When we were planning our wedding, I remember trying to pick out tuxedo vests and thinking, “Man, there are so many decisions involved with a wedding!” (There are even more when you build your own home!) Anyway, our wedding colors were royal blue and silver. Our bridesmaids wore royal blue gowns and carried Nantucket baskets (woven by my mom) with blue-and-white flowers inside. (Not easy to find blue flowers ~ thank goodness for blue delphinium!) Blue is my very favorite color, in case you didn’t know. :) I definitely wanted my husband-to-be to wear tails … I’ve always thought those were so sexy, elegant, and classy. Some friends of ours, when they got married, had the guys wear pink tuxedo vests … and I guess they didn’t really mind that much! I think that guys look great in pink! :) What do you think? I’m a sucker for guys in pink ties. :)
If Harrison Ford released his own exercise DVD, I’d totally buy it in a heartbeat. Maybe he could call it “Solo Slim.” (Get it? “Star Wars” reference? Anyway …)
I thought about calling my doctor today and setting up an appointment so that I can get off this anti-anxiety medication and start taking something else that will hopefully not make me gain weight. Stepped on the scale this morning … 207. It’s ridiculous!!! This is crazy and can’t go on any longer. (In case you’re wondering, I’m 5′6″ tall.) This morning for breakfast, I was really good and had a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios with milk and a cup of white tea with mint (no sugar in the tea, either). But by 11:30 a.m., I was starving … and I do mean starving. Had Wendy’s … ugh, so many calories. I scarfed everything down because I was so hungry. I think that dinner tonight will be the leftover bacon-kale-corn soup that I fixed last night and some multigrain bread.
OK, </weightlossvent>
