No resolutions, just photographic reminders

I refuse to make resolutions. I think of them as a way to write down all of the awesome you want to plan, but will inevitably fail at completing. Instead, I will post photos of things that remind me (and hopefully you) of where I am and where I plan to be going over then ext few months of a hopefully ENTIRELY different year. (Cause for f*** sake, I can't handle another one like this.) So, here it goes. *Note: many of these are on the web or found on KellyOlexa.com, so there's where the photo credit lies for them.*

Now, instead of making "New Year Resolutions" make yourself a promise. Promise you'll run that extra 3 blocks every week until you hit that next mile, or you'll do those extra reps every few days so you can hit that pull up goal by a certain date or that you'll substitute at least 3 nights each week before you opt for dessert and you'll choose the healthier of your options for it. No matter your promise or your goal, make it attainable, but make it modifiable as well. This way when you reach it, you can always make it a little bigger or stretch it a little further to be ever evolving and ever improving.

                                            

           

 

Awkward barely covers it...

So, as I explained a couple of days ago, a friend and I decided to take our first exotic fitness class. To say that I felt awkward doesn't even begin to describe it. The instructor for the class, Sarah was very sweet and welcoming and did her best to ease my anxiety, though it didn't work very well. Not for lack of trying, she was very supportive, but I'm very uncomfortable in class settings to begin with, let alone that the studio is meant for exotic dance classes which I'm even more uncomfortable around. I really wanted to ask where the bar was, because a few shots would have made this whole experience a bit less awkward for me.
Impulse Pole Dance and Exotic Fitness Studio is in Northeast St. Petersburg and the studio itself is very nice. The floor is super clean and there is a small area right inside where Brandi sells the wares (and wear) for House Of Cherry where you can purchase a myriad of super sexy and super cute clothing, bags, lingerie and possibly deadly shoes.
My friend and I sat down and filled out the release form and giggled like idiots when it came to the injury release, seeming as how she gets hurt quite often and I'm not the most graceful when it comes to doing the fake sexy thing.
The class itself was pretty cool with only 2 other ladies joining us along with the instructor. We were taking a class called "Booty Basics" or Booty Bounce. When reading the description I was kind of expecting it to be a little similar to club dancing with a few naughtier moves thrown in. I was not, however expecting to be told that I needed to jiggle the parts that I try REALLY hard not to let jiggle. This was the first fight to hide the hysterical laughter that wanted to explode from me like an 11 year old boy. (There were plenty of other times in the hour long class, lemme tell ya)
I asked Sarah via Twitter what the recommended attire was for the class and was told to wear comfy workout clothing. This was PERFECT for me, since almost everything I own and wear daily is such a style. Unfortunately (for this class, anyway) said comfy workout clothing is mostly made of at least some form of compression from my waist down. (Hey, I know I have jiggly bits and I try to minimize or avoid altogether any said jiggling, ESPECIALLY while working out.) NOTE: Compression style workout wear is not meant to allow your "booty" to "Bounce" (or play it's role of Santa in the "bowl full of jelly" scenario, as was instructed in this class) since it's purpose is to control said bouncing to allow for more running or working out comfortably.
We started off pretty slow, which for me was ok, Amy wore regular non-compression style capri workout pants, so she was a bit more able to attempt the bouncing, but we attended the class with 2 other ladies that were wearing the short booty shorts that tie on the sides. BTW, these are SUPER cute and if I could, I would buy some for sleeping or lying in the sun. ANYWAY....
Sarah's music selection was awesome. It was of course booty music, but the first few songs were old school music that Amy and I used to roller skate to in middle school. BUT then came the first eye popping instruction. Over the blaring music Sarah tells us "MAKE IT BOUNCE, GIRLS!". Oy Vey! So, I waited for a beat or 2 and stared in amazement observed the example and started to giggle again. This is NOT something I do on purpose, it happens anytime I feel nervous or stressed. (funerals, weddings, birth, you know, the least inappropriate times. Though this time was appropriate) There's a song that says "make that @$$ vibrate" and that's what Sarah did. At this point, I was about to fall over. #1, I was giggling, #2, I do everything I can to avoid vibration (we'll leave the grown up stories to another post) and #3, my left hip flexor has been so tight for the last week, I could barely step properly. Though she has us bent over a la Betty Paige, I still couldn't take it. There's no way my pants would allow me to even try it without looking like an electrocuted squirrel. (This is where Charlotte would draw a squirrel being electrocuted, but it would be cute) But I did and it didn't work out, plus it felt like someone lit my hip on fire with an acetylene torch.
Then we eventually progressed to the "on all 4's" stage. Oy! This was 2x the embarrassment, but much easier. We had to make circles with our hips (Think yoga cat and cow) while arching our backs. Then we added in pushups with it. Kinda felt like this, but not as cute:

We then proceeded to "shake it" again which was another giggle fit for me along with pain in the hip flexor. (I may need to find something to stretch that out better) Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not super prude, but when Sarah turned to give us an example of how it should look, the only think I could do was squeak and look away. I wasn't really expecting to meet someone for the first time and get acquainted with their no-no bits within an hour. lol
This behavioral reaction continued throughout the class and left me with a somewhat drunk/lethargic feeling. It was awkward and liberating and fun as hell all at once. I know that doesn't seem like a combination most would put together, but I've never claimed to be accepted as part of "most".
Over all, this class and the people at Impulse were all AMAZING. I didn't feel like it was a very hard workout, except for the pain of the flexor and the severe explosion of fiery pain in my quads, but I felt it the next day when I sat still for more than a few minutes. HOT DAMN!
Out of 5 stars, I give Sarah and her booty shaking ability an "OH MY GOD, people can do that?" and the class gets a 5, the studio gets a hardcore 5 and the offering of gear and shoes at the front door most DEFINITELY get a 5.
I know it seems like I'm cutting this review/post short and I am. I started it 4 days ago and now that I'm back to it, I have no idea what to say. lol But, if you're in the area, you should definitely go see Sarak and the rest of the crew there for a new fitness experience. It's an amazing place with wonderful welcoming staff and awesome music. (If I do say so my non-girly self)

A first for me. AWKWARD!

So, in 1 hour I will be taking my first ever stripper style class with a friend of mine at Impulse and I am expecting to laugh at myself so hard that I leave looking like I've peed myself a la this photo of Fergie from the Black Eyed Pease circa 2009.
.

Here is a synopsis of the class we're taking from the company's web site:

"Booty Basics (Level- ALL)
Learn booty basic techniques and work on toning exercises to help your booty be the best it can be! Stretching will also be used in this class to increase hip and inner thigh flexibility, which is crucial to great booty work."      Can you say it with me? OH MAH GAH! Holy crap, I don't know if I'm ready for this!

Should be interesting. I'm taking a friend who has NO rhythm and is scared to even walk into the place, as I've been informed that the props for the class are tiny bells tied to little ribbons hung from paper clips. I have to admit, this scares even me.
I just hope I don't get hurt and end up having to explain to my father why I'm in the hospital bed next to him this evening.
Well, I'm off to drop my minion underlings children off with my evil overlord mother and hit the 7-11 for a Rockstar Zero and a gallon of water so I can make it through the whole class and not die of dehydration.
Look for an update between tomorrow and Monday, I hope to have a few photo taking opportunities, but not sure.
I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas and is enjoying the Solstice!
Happy and Safe Holidays!

Hydrating your largest organ: More important than you'd think.

"Your epidermis is showing." I used to hate when other kids would say that to me. Now I say it to my kids and they laugh at me. Not that being laughed at is anything new for me.

We all know that our skin is our largest organ and we know it needs to be properly cared for or it gets angry. I read all of these magazine articles and other reviews by people that are suggesting these outrageously priced beauty products and think "Jeez, your lotion is the same price as I pay for a nice dinner out with my family." Who has that kind of money in this economy without embarrassing themselves in front of the nation? I sure as hell don't. So, I figured that maybe there are a few of you out there (even though only 1 person really reads any of my nonsensical ramblings opinionated and honest postings) that may be in the same boat and wanting some information from a normal every day down to earth, broke a s joke stay at home mom and full time college student. Well, if you're in that category, or just like laughing at me like my kids do, then feel free to read on. If you aren't, you may wanna skip over to another, much more talented fit blog and read away at the enlightening studies and struggles of others much more glamorous than I.
You may like Charlotte of The Great Fitness Experiment who tries every new fitness redonkulousness to hit the news wire, has heart warming tales of her trials as a mother, raw and heart wrenching honesty of her struggles with years of skewed body image and eating disorders and her amazingly hysterical and comfortingly similar sense of humor. Oh, and she wrote a book about it all. Or maybe you're a bit ornery today and you're in an "eff that noise" kind of mood. If that's the case, might I suggest some you time reading the amazing Crabby McSlacker who also has a Life Coaching business, but doesn't allow that much positive in the way of her execution of cranky views of all of the back and forth double speak of the studies that come out about health and fitness and foods that may or may not kill you with some alien amoeba from Someplanetwedontknowyetland. Or, if you're looking for a inspiration from a Jewish Misfit that is super crazy fitness driven, but oh so amazing in her Yoda looking Nike shoes, hop on over to meet Carla who is Unapologetically Herself and raising her awesome tornado to be the same and stay fit and mindful while they do it.  And lastly, if you're in need of some inspiration from a woman who finds the HOTTEST steamy delicious half naked man pictures you will EVER find on a not adult site, go see Kelly and read her Mantastic Mondays posts. I love all of these ladies and it's not all about the women at all times. There are some good tips and reads in there for all of the men, too. And you never know, you may find a cool giveaway or an interesting bit of info you didn't know before. (And remember that Fitfluential Ambassador thing I told you about? Yeah, I think they're all on that list and Kelly is the leader of that cult fitness pack). I hope to one day finally be one of the cool kids and get into that group of people. ;)

And now for the info I mentioned on affordable crap to stop the winter dry crackling or angry redness of the skin some people may have wanted to read about.
First, again, I'm going to say that every one of these obnoxious and droning opinions are my own, all of the items have been purchased by me, none were provided for me by the companies and I'm not getting paid (or threatened) to say any of this, it's just an honest opinion of some stuff I've found that works for me. The only exception that applies is when I receive something from a survey company and I'm allowed to spread the word. I will be sure to explain those when I come to those instances.
Also, if you have allergies or sensitive skin, please make sure that the products you buy are safe for you and I do not recommend applying or using any of these products on irritated or abraded (scratched or scraped) skin. Also know that NONE of these products are intended for use other than what is printed on their labels and are for external use only, so while the body scrub is made of sugar and smells absolutely amazing, you SHOULD NOT EAT IT, cause ya know, it's not food.

First up, I would like to start with the least expensive, but know that NONE of the products I buy are more that $8. Anything more is a waste to me, unless there's a coupon or it's on clearance.
This is the Skintimate Shave Lotion in the Revitalizing line with some exfoliating pearl stuff in it. I admit to buying the wrong one, but the link takes you to my preferred type. This is a LOTION, not a gel that foams, so it's not thick, but I really like that it's super moisturizing. Walmart, Target and Publix all sell some variation of it and it's a little more expensive than the shave gel they make, but I like this better. It runs around $2.50, but there are always coupons for about $1 in the Sunday papers. I give this overall a 4 star rating. would be 5, but they don't have a strawberry scent and I'm addicted to strawberry. They have a variety of infused vitamins and such and different scents, but I like the least scent possible, since my scrub smells so good. (which I'll get to a little further down the road.)

Next we have the Dove Deodorant Ultimate Go Fresh in the Burst Scent. I love this because it's a refreshing citrus scent without being too powerful. It does the heavier b.o. blocking for days you need it, but will need to be reapplied after you workout, before you stop at the store on your way home from a hard core crossfit class. It's not the clinical strength and if you smell like me (a cross between a construction worker and a garbage man) post workout, you'll wanna pack this in your gym bag or invest in the more expensive heavy duty one. This will run you about $2.75 for the larger as pictured, but it lasts a long time and you can usually find the gift packs that have 2 of these and a body wash or lotion in them. 4 stars since I do have to reapply quite a lot from my man stink.

Nivea Bodywash is super moisturizing and comes in a variety of scents and levels of moisture, but they don't make my favorite apricot (that actually smells like a fresh sliced nectarine) scent anymore. You can find it on Amazon.com, but if you wanna just grab it while you're at the store, the Orang Blossom is a very close 2nd. I have a condition called Keratosis where my skin doesn't create enough keratin on it's own and I end up with red spots and bumps on my arms if I don't exfoliate and moisturize enough. It's not painful, just itchy and looks a bit funny at times. This bodywash starts the moisture process and earns 4.5 stars from me. (the apricot totally earned the full 5) It will run you about $3-$4 depending on where you buy it and if you have coupons. (I FREAKING LOVE COUPONS!)

Johnson's Aloe and E Baby Lotion usually runs about $4, but it's THE BEST lotion I've found for my skin. I hate the greasy and sticky lotions and need something with little to no scent. I also need it to be safe for sensitive skin as well as super nourishing for my disorder. Johnson's does it. This is a solid 5 stars and you can usually find it pretty cheap and there are quite a few coupons out there for baby stuff. You can also sign up for the mom programs through Johnson's and Publix and get coupons sent to you in the mail. LOVE!!!

This Body Scrub is FREAKING AMAZING! And at just under $5 at Walmart, you can't go wrong. It smells delicious and the scent that remains on your skin is minimal, but still there. It exfoliates wonderfully and lasts quite a while as long as you don't get too much water in the container. I use it on my face and my whole body and my skin is SO SOFT when I'm done. Definitely a full on 5 stars. And if you don't like the brazil nut smell, they have a coconut lime that's very citrus like and isn't too heavy on the coconut. This is the one that smells Nom-worthy, but do not eat it. it's not supposed to be consumed regardless of the sugar content.

Now, that's 5 products that will cost you less than $20 if you are a bargain shopper. They are totally worth it and you don't have to worry about breaking the bank on beauty stuff that the magazines are spouting their praises about.
So, do you have any products that you're totally in love with that cost less than $10? If so, please tell me about it, I'm always up for trying new stuff.

Training, fitness and weight loss assistant? Personal review of a FitBit

Well, I don't have anything to give away, just a LOT of opinions about a LOT of things. But, for time, space and brain power saving I'll try my damnedest to remain focused on just the fitness items here, more specifically the Fit Bit fitness assistant/pedometer/superstalker tracker/all around awesome fitness assistance tool.
I would like to begin by saying that this is not an item I received for free (not THAT lucky and certainly not AT ALL popular) and I am in no way being paid by anyone to share my awesome opinions on this or any other item I post an opinion/review about, unless otherwise stated in the post regarding said item/company/service provider.
Next, it all started when I found an awesome fitness blog called Cranky Fitness. This is an entertaining and informative blog that I instantly fell in love with. Crabby is hilarious and down to Earth and I find kinship in those willing to complain and rant about the newest and most ridiculous information to be found about fitness, health and anything else.

In the box! (sorry that the photo is dark)

A week or 2 after my awesome stumble upon this gem of a site, there was a giveaway posted for a Fit Bit activity and fitness tracker. I was curious, so I decided to read away. (Here's the giveaway post that has expired and it's been won, but she's got good info there.) Now, I put that all to the side on a list of stuff to look into buying during my newly found love of getting in shape (yes, I know that round is a shape, just not one I was sporting well, as you've seen) and kept perusing other sites, blogs and equipment.
Flash forward to September and I see another mention of it somewhere, though for the life of me I can't remember where now. Anyway, I took a gander at Amazon.com and read up on the info and reviews and got REALLY interested. So, I ordered one on September 15th, paid for expedited shipping and got super excited. UPS arrived at my door less than 24 hours later as I was online reading about this amazing itty bitty thing and found out that I could have been instantly gratified if I would have taken a breath and read that you can get them at Best Buy. (insert smacking noise and a face palm here) ANYWAY, I rushed to the door and barely contained my desire to tackle and hug the UPS delivery driver to death excitement and thanked the driver as graciously as my palpitations would allow.
After screeching at a decibel only canines and aliens are able to hear, I opened the slightly crushed box to reveal angels singing and blinding heavenly lights my little fitbit. At first I was a little disappointed as the box was the size of a shoe box, but inside was another box about 4" on all sides and about 3" deep. It was clear and I could see this tiny fitbit thing staring up at me. (well, not really staring, since it doesn't have eyes.
I resisted the urge to use a claw or ball peen hammer to open it and carefully searched for and removed the tape holding it closed and inventoried all it contained.
I was a little disappointed in not finding much, but I would soon replace that with love and adoration.

This is the back of the box that contained
the wonder that is my FitBit.

These were the items inside the box. Yes, That is IT. 

Now, don't mistake the simplicity for cheap. It was a bit pricey at $99 plus the $14 overnight shipping, but once you find out all of it's wonder and glory, you may see that it is well worth it.

 This is a photo of everything other than the actual FitBit pedometer. You get a soft spandex type velcro closure wrist doo dad, the USB charging/data port (but it is wireless data transfer ready, too), and a belt clip holster thingamabob. The holster thing is used to clip the fitbit to your thicker belts or bras or whatever you're clipping it to. Otherwise, it's easy to set on a sports bra, workout pants with a thinner waistband, workout shirt, etc. I've never even used my belt clip and couldn't even tell you where it is at the moment.

Closer photo of the contents sans pedometer with the wrist bandy sleevy thinger velcro'd closed. This is definitely adjustable and machine washable, supposedly. I would recommend placing it in a lingerie bag if you're putting it in the machine, otherwise just wash it in your shower and allow it to air dry. Please also note that I believe it does stretch a bit over time, but can't be sure how much. Sorry, but I'm in the process of shrinking, so no % or ratio is available. (and math is my mortal enemy, so it wouldn't happen anyway)

This is how thin this thing is. It's made of a hard plastic material and I use mine almost every day. (I've forgotten it about 6 or 7 days total since I received it)

This is the front of it. The little button is the thingy you push to see how many steps you've taken, how far you've gone with said steps, how many calories you've burned and a cute little progress flower that grows and shrinks throughout your day based on your activity. These are shown in the accent color of the fitbit on mine. (aqua) I'm not sure if they show up purple on the purple version of the Ultra.

Now, you should know that mine is the basic version, beta, numero uno, first generation from what I can tell. Now they off the FitBit Ultra that also tracks your stairs, which is pretty cool for some. It came out about 13 days after I got mine. Such is the story of my life.
When you register on the fitbit.com site (Which is FREE, thankfully) you get to build up your profile and discover the world of fitbit in a new way. This little doo dad doesn't just track your activity and progress, it also tracks your sleep and how efficient it is each night. (as long as you remember to set it and wear it in the handy dandy wrist bandy) You have the option of setting weight and activity goals, logging your food and water and also to log various activities and their time frames.
The site also gives you bar graphs to show your progress over a period of time. Days, weeks, and months are able to be compared and you can enter your mood and any notes as well. You also have the ability to add friends that are fitbit users and see what your ranking is among them all.
I LOVE my fitbit and found out shortly after using it that you can link your fitbit account to another free fitness site called Earnd It that rewards you with points for certain levels of activity that you can redeem for gift cards and prizes to a number of places online. They also do various challenges that are free and some that have an entry fee that give you the opportunity to challenge yourself and others. These all have various rewards from gift cards of your choice to fruit snacks to discount codes just for participating.

Overall, this is a splurge, but one well worth the $ and you can even choose your color. They have that nifty aqua you see in my photos and then you also can choose a mauve color which is kind of a mix between pink and purple. Considering all of the benefits for almost anyone (that can keep track of it and remember to use it right) this is well worth the $100 investment. It's not GPS or heart rate monitor enabled, but the site has so many pluses to out rank those. If you're diabetic, there are places to log your glucose levels. Watching your BP? Cool, there's a log for you to track that, too. Plus it can also give you an overall summary of your all time steps, distance and activity score and with the Ultra you get overall stairs you've climbed too. It's pretty effin nifty and set up is so easy my father could do it. (Love him more than anything, but he's not the best at dealing with technology) It takes all of maybe 4 minutes for the fitbit to get set up with time zone and to open a free account. Your data dock is your charger and has to be connected via USB port on your computer to charge it for a while before the first use, but after that it charges pretty quick and holds up to 10 days of data and a charge. (I've only pushed it to 6 and had no problems at all) PLUS as long as your data pluggy importer stuff is hooked up to your computer and it's powered up and online, when you stand still within 15 feet of it for more than a few seconds, your data is auto synced to your account online, so no time wasting for it to upload info and loose out on those extra 20 steps. (I'm quite competitive with myself and when others are in the competition I can not be held responsible for my verbal assaults.)

So, you're (all 0 of you) probably wondering what my actual ratings are... Well, fine, here you go:
Ease of use: 5/5
Durability: 5/5 (so far, less than 3 months in)
Benefits: 4/5 (ability to sync with a heart rate monitor or a gps would bring this to a 5 definitely)
Website: 5/5 (For mathematical value, personally, I'd go with a 7 or so)
Motivational factor: For me, 4/5 (see competitive statement)

Overall awesomeness score: 4.6/5 (again, HR monitor or GPS compatibility)

Worth your hard earned $100? More so than that expensive dinner out with too many sugary drinks, for sure. NOT worth skimping on good for you snacks or gas for that trip to the park with your kids from having to pull from gas money to get it. (nothing really is)

So, lemme know if you have one, want one, had one or think this review totally sucks the big cojones. If you have a similar fit assistant, tell me about it and gimme your opinion. I love trying new stuff, even if it's a bit complicated. (within reason, not full on body suits to measure hair growth or some such alien nonsense.)

And last, what is your plan for staying fit or getting more fit over the next week? Screw the holidays, you still have 4 more weeks, next week is only 1 or 2 days away, depending on your location.