Deal Alert!

Wow, Just Dance 3 for the Wii is now only $9.99 at Amazon. This is a great price - I think I paid $40 when it first came out.

Shiva Sale!

Just wanted to share Acacia's sale on 3 of Shiva Rea's DVDs. Unfortunately they are not including her best (in my opinion); Yoga Shakti or Yoga Trance Dance. Shiva is one of the best, if not the best, in yoga; authentic, beautiful, graceful, and I just love her flows. I had Radiant Heart but got rid of it since I didn't do it often. I still have Fluid Power, which is stunningly gorgeous but a bit beyond my level in spots. I never tried Surf Yoga Soul since I don't surf and the preview just didn't appeal to me.

Anyway $5 for Shiva Rea DVDs is a great deal!

Hot, hot, hot!

I am so done with the heat & humidity. Can't wait for cooler temps!

My husband and I have been walking for a few miles (1 1/2 - 2.2 miles) weather permitting every morning before the sun & heat of the day. I am truly enjoying not only my husband's company, but the birds, gorgeous morning sky, and fresh air. Plus I like seeing the muskrats, ducks & geese and their babies swimming around the water retention pond we pass. We originally set a goal of walking to our favorite park by the end of Summer, but it is 3 miles one way with some large hills and a stretch of no sidewalks or place to really walk, so I'm not sure if it is really doable within the hour we walk in the morning. We'll see. I like getting up and out before the rest of the world does.

Achoo!

Every March or April my allergies kick in and I get a major sinus infection, or the start of one. This year since the weather has been so strange & mild, I did not get one and allergies have been minimal. That is until last Friday when I started feeling off and wound up sick the entire weekend and am still battling a sinus infection. My preferred method of treatment is natural medicine, so I am taking it easy with lots of sleep, qi gong, water, oregano pills, garlic pills, active 15+ manuka honey, green tea, neti pot, reiki, vitamins, and healthy foods. I've been doing Qi Gong for Stress daily and will continue to take it easy until all traces of infection vanish.

I tried another recipe I found on Pinterest;

Pasta with Broccoli & Chickpeas

I doubled the amount of pasta & EVOO, used a red onion & parmesan and added Penzey's Shallot Pepper. Turned out well and is good cold or hot.

TGIF!

Yesterday I did not get a workout in since my husband took the day off so we could have a date day. We spent the day shopping, went out to eat, and checked out a new (to us) park.

Today I started doing Tonique Sculpt Dynamics Arms, but decided to save it for another day, since I have fun weekend plans and whenever I do hardcore arm work that burns (and yes this seemed like killer arm work) it can not only give me DOMS the next day, but migraines and shoulder pain. I know I will be doing alot of walking & photography and want to be pain-free for the weekend.

So instead I did Barefoot Cardio.

*** A few deals I spotted in recent magazines...

*$10 off Zumba Exhilarate on US orders; use codeEXHI-LANL-ZYSU-BM60

*Get Jillian Michaels' cookbook Master Your Metabolism FREE, pay only $4.95 S&H...go to cookbook offer.

Also, I highly recommend Pinterest for recipes, workouts, and all kind of fun stuff! You can check out my boards and follow me HERE. I have three food boards; one for general Vegetarian foods, Veg Burgers, and naughty Sweets.

I recently tried several recipes I happened upon there. Click on the links to go to the original recipes/websites. The first was Taco Pasta.

I doubled the recipe and to make it Vegetarian, I used Fantastic Foods Taco Meat substitute for beef. It was yummy, though probably not all that healthy.

The next was Asian Noodle Salad.

This one I adapted by using only red cabbage and red peppers, and omitting the bean sprouts and sesame oil. I thought this one tasted amazing when just made. Leftover, I did not care for it since the noodles absorbed the oil and it just didn't taste fresh.

Next was the Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich.

This one I simplified by using only smashed chickpeas and avocado on whole grain bread with baby spinach. I could not believe how much this tasted like tuna salad.

Abs on Fire

Today I did Gilad's Lord of the Abs - Abs on Fire DVD.

This was a 45 minute workout consisting of punching, twisting, knee lifts, and kicking on a gorgeous Hawaiian beach at sunset. I liked the techno music, however, it was not loud enough for me and I would have liked to see a music louder/no instruction option. First you start with the right side and add moves to build a sequence then do the same for the other side, then alternate on both sides. Since I pick up choreography so easily and like a mental challenge, this is not a workout I could do often without being bored; but I can see putting it in a rotation once in awhile. I would say this is a beginner to intermediate low impact workout. I think this workout should have been called Arms on Fire, since my arms are burning from all the punching! :)

You can view a preview of this workout here.

Back to it

Last week I started working out again. I have kept the weight off that I lost, but haven't lost anymore, so I am getting back to working out 5-6 days a week. With the warmer weather we've been more active and outdoors as much as possible - going to the gardens, park, zoo, lake, outdoor markets and such trying to get in lots of walking.

Mary from Total Fitness DVDs had an overstock sale a few weeks ago, so I picked up a few new workouts to help motivate me to get re-started at home.

I had my eye on Richard Simmon's Sweatin' to the Oldies 5, since I own and like the previous 4. Plus during the sale I snagged this for only $4 and change. I tried this one out right away. I know many find Richard to be over the top and cheesy - and he is - but I find his workouts more like dancing & so fun it doesn't feel like working out, and they tend to have good vocal music. The complete song list for this one is: 1. Soul Man 2. I Want You Back 3. Ain't Too Proud To Beg 4. Think 5. Downtown 6. Where The Boys Are 7. Hit The Road Jack 8. These Boots Are Made For Walking 9. Heard It Through The Grapevine 10. What The World Needs Now

It is chaptered by song, so you can skip to the song you want to do or do any of them over again by pressing next or back.

Another newbie I tried was Petra Kolber's Liquid Grooves.

This one is less of a workout and more as she says, a celebration of movement. She combines qi gong/tai chi, yoga, and dance moves to new age type music. This one is really my cup of tea since I love workouts that make me feel good/reduce stress, are low impact/can do barefoot, and I can do them in my PJs. I have her earlier workouts Breathe and Breathe 2 that are similar. This one is chaptered with segments being Awakening (warm up), Sequence 1, Sequence 2, and Moving Meditation. I loved that the moving meditation had no instruction what so ever.

This morning I did...

This was another newbie. I have most of The Firm's sets - I think all but The Wave, and many of their other workouts. While effective, most I do not like simply for the Stepford Wife instructors, generic music, and sterile backgrounds. (But I love the Transfirmer box, Fanny Lifter, and a few of their earlier workouts) I had hope for this one upon viewing the online preview - I really enjoy dance workouts. Unfortunately this one had me bored out of my mind by the end of the first Club Dance segment. I really disliked the generic music and the TIFTing (taking it from the top). This was not a dance workout really, more aerobics with marching, side lunges, knee lifts, etc. I can't see myself keeping this one. I took it out and instead put in Zumba Fitness Live to dance, sweat, and have fun.

I also tried another newbie, Crunch Bikini Body.

Well, I only did the abs section, which I liked. Part of it was standing cardio moves (knee lifts, punches & twists, etc) and then on to the floor for crunches, bicycles, leg lifts, etc. Quick and to the point.

*In case anyone is interested, Gilad's Lord of the Abs series is on sale with FREE S&H for only 3 more days. Enter code LOTA15 for an additional $15 off!! That is 5 new DVDs for a total of $54.75. I will be trying these titles and reviewing them soon. Several look really good.