Valentine's Day Gifts

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. If you are getting anxious and nervous because you haven't got that special person a gift yet here are some solutions from Justine Santaniello lifestyle expert. She was featured on WGN's Midday News. My favorite was the Body Shop gift box. Here's the link to the clip http://www.wgntv.com/news/middaynews/stylefiles/wgntv-midday-fix-justine-santaniello-valentines-day-gifts-under-25-dollars,0,2087458.story. You can follow Justine on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/jnsantaniello

X-TrainFit Circuit Burnout

I was really excited when I saw the name of this DVD. Circuit Burnout sounds like something that would be really challenging and possibly kill me. It's described as " a body sculpting routine that provides a full-body workout using a combination of cardio and toning to get maximum results." And it's 80 minutes! Yes! That's for me! I start the workout and it starts with a warm up. What I do like about this workout system compared to Supreme 90 is that they don't use the same warm up for each DVD. Also, the people working out with Stephanie look like ordinary people not models. Basically, this workout is very basic. It has squats, planks, thrusts, lunges etc. The same things you can find in any other workout and she has you doing the same things over and over again. I would find myself self saying 'What, we're doing this again?' With no variation in the movements. If you are a beginner and haven't really done as many workout DVDs as I have then you would find this one challenging. I do like some things about X-Train Fit. Compared to Supreme 90 the packaging is excellent. My Supreme 90 packaging started falling apart very soon after getting it. Stephanie Oram provides you with a training guide that shows what muscles each exercise targets. The best foods to eat. How to measure yourself and calculate your BMI. Also, charts to list what you did, how many reps and what weight you used. Everything was thought out very thoroughly. I just wish this workout was more challenging.

X-TrainFit Cardio Review

This week I started a workout program called X-TrainFit. My hubby got it for me for Christmas. I was really excited to start it. It's a 12 week program with 8 DVDs. Similar to P90X and Supreme 90. The first video is Cardio. This video is 53 minutes. It consists of 4 workout sets and you do 2 to 3 exercises for 60 seconds, then 45 seconds and then 30 seconds. In between the sets you do one exercise for 60 seconds. It starts out with a brief warm up. The workout is led by the creator Stephanie Oram. She is accompanied by 3 other people. For the most part I liked this DVD, but it didn't really challenge me like my other workout videos. I guess Jillian Michaels, Tony Horton and Bob Harper among others have created such challenging videos that it's really hard to top them. I would say if you are a beginner or maybe an intermediate you will find it challenging. I found myself looking for another workout DVD to do, because I wasn't challenged enough.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Moisture Cream Review

I remember seeing this moisturizing cream in my mom's bathroom cabinet and asking her what she thought of it. She had nothing but good things to say about it except for the price of 75 dollars. I knew I could not afford that so I just decided I didn't need it. Imagine my delight when she bought it for me for my birthday! My birthday is in October and I've been using it every day and night since then. The results are that my skin is softer. brighter and more even. It's not greasy and has a very mild scent of citrus. Like I said I've been using it day and night for the past 3 months and I'm just running out of it now. So, I guess that is a good bargain for the price. It's available at department stores and online at http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/index.tmpl

Nishiki Sushi Bar

Haven't been blogging for a while. We moved to Vancouver and that has taken up a lot of my time. I would like to tell you about a restaurant here that my husband and I love to go to when we want sushi. It's called Nishiki Sushi Bar. It's located at 49th and Victoria. We have been there a few times and the sushi is awesome. My favorite is the salmon tempura roll. They also have a delicious bubble tea with seasonal fruits. There slogan is 'Get it fresh. Get it tasty' and that is exactly what you get. So if you live in Vancouver or plan on visiting make sure to check them out! Business hours are Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-10:00am Friday-Saturday 11:30am-11:00pm. Go online at QQSushi.com Call 604-323-0002 for dine-in, take-out, delivery and catering.

Marina Games Take-Out

Thanksgiving evening after all the eating was done and we all had watched way too much football. We decided to put on some Christmas music and have some quality family time. I suggested we play Take-Out.

I read the instructions and it seemed simple enough. First you roll all the red dice. Then you roll the 2 white dice. You have to roll a number with the white dice that you see on any of the red dice. Let's say you roll a 3 and a 6 that equals 9. So you look for 9 on the red dice. If you find it you take that red dice out. Or, if you see a red dice with no number on it you can use that one for any number. You roll the white dice until you don't have any of the numbers on the red dice. If you have any red dice left you add them together and then add that number to 50. Everyone starts out with 50 points. So, that means if you have a 10, 6 and 3 left over that's 19. Add that to 50 and you have 69 as your score. The first person to reach 150 is out.

My kids who are 7 and 4 enjoyed this game a lot. They've asked to play it every night since then. I had a lot of fun playing it too. My dad who is 68 played several games with us as well. So, it's a wonderful fun family game for all ages. It's a fun way to teach math to your children. My youngest loves to add the numbers together. I highly recommend this game!
http://www.marinagames.com/takeout/takeout.html

Fall Favorites 2011

Well, I haven't been posting much. I've been busy with the kids and moving to this new house. Now we are planning another move and I've been stressed out. But I do have some favorite things I would like to share with you at this time.

Last year my favorite thing to wear on my head was a newsboy hat. This year it's a fedora. I found a really cute one at target. http://www.target.com/p/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Paper-Woven-Fedora-Olive/-/A-13408527#?lnk=sc_qi_detailimage

As I've told you before Fall is my favorite time of year. I love for my house to smell good, because we no longer have the windows open to get fresh air inside. I really like Airwick's Apple & Shimmering Spice Scented Oil. Mixture of apples and spices makes the house smell like there's an apple pie baking all the time. http://www.airwick.us/

I'm always looking for ways to lose weight. I have found a protein shake that comes in many different flavors and is delish. It's called Fit Frappe and it's made by Big Train. I received a free sample from them a couple of months ago. I replace one meal a day with the Fit Frappe. My favorite is the vanilla. You know how sometimes vanilla tastes bland. This vanilla is really bold in flavor. I like to mix it with fruit juice. My favorite way to mix it is with another one of my Fall faves So Delicious Coconut Milk. http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/ They make other drinks mixes as well. Check them out! http://www.bigtrain.com/

I love coffee and a new favorite creamer by Coffee Mate is their White Chocolate Caramel Latte. So delicious you can taste each flavor and they go so well together. http://www.coffee-mate.com/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

When I'm not making my own coffee at home I sometimes go to Caribou Coffee. They have a Vanilla White Chocolate Mocha that is to die for. I had it with skim milk and non-fat whipped cream and you would never know you were drinking a low fat coffee. http://www.cariboucoffee.com/