Music Monday January 19 on Wednesday January 21, 2015

Now this song is sure to get you in a good mood if you are having a bad day! I am going to put this song in my walking music rotation!

And does Bruno Mars look like Michael Jackson in this video or what? Yes, I know he used to impersonate him, but come on! I don’t even think he is trying! LOL

And I love how Mark Ronson shows up hear and there. And my favorite part of the video is the long haired guy at the end “Say What?” He cracks me up!

And my favorite words are at the bridge….. Dance, Jump On It, If Your Sexy Then Flaunt It, If Your Freaky, Then Own It, Don’t Brag About It, Just Show Me!

So hope this video brightens your day! And I hope my schedule allows me to post these videos on Monday like I am supposed to!

Striiv Touch Equals Motivation

So on New Years Day, I posted how I was going to become more active. You can read that here. Well, I am happy to report that I am sticking to it thus far! I have been taking our dog for walks nightly, as long as it isn’t pouring. I have also gone to Disney four times since Christmas, which ALWAYS equals a lot of walking. And let’s not forget I am walking a 5K in April!

I have a hard time keeping motivated, as I am sure many people do. In order to help me stay motivated, I got myself a Striiv Touch band. It is a lot like the Fitbit, which my hubby uses, but it has a couple of features that I really like that the Fitbit does not. The first feature is a game. Yes an actual game that you play on your smart phone. It is called My Land. I have to admit that it is not the most exciting game, but in order to level up, you need to walk to get energy. And you need energy to grow things and to level up your plants, etc.

You need to grow plants and build buildings in your world and you can get all sorts of mythical creatures to live there. Right now I have a lemur, and ostrich (neither of which are mythical, lol) a fairy, a dragon, and a few half men half horse creatures. I have only been using the band since Sunday, and Sunday was not a very big walking day. At least not after I got the band. I am competitive enough to want to do well in the game. LOL

The other really cool thing that Striiv does is it will donate water to places where clean water is hard to come by! In the app, you can hit the Walkathon button and all your steps go towards a water donation. I have not tried it yet because I am saving it for when I know I am going to walk a long time. So the next time I go to Disney, I plan on getting a LOT of water donated. So cool!

Those are just two features that I have not found in another pedometer type band. There are plenty of other great features too. For one, you can set up your own goals for steps or distance, and calories to burn. Mine came with the preset of 10,000 steps, but during the week, that isn’t happening for me. I work a desk job with little opportunity to walk far. So, I have my goal set for 3000 steps. My hope is that once I improve my stamina, I will be able to walk longer in the evenings. Right now I walk at least a mile in the evening.

Striiv Touch also tracks your sleep. This has been an interesting feature for me because I know I do not sleep very well. I can see from the data that I am very restless for a lot of the night. I hope that when I walk longer, it will make me more tired and I will sleep better. Only time will tell. But, it is interesting to see when you are in deep sleep and when you move around. The only thing I have an issue with as far as the sleep mode goes is that you have to place the band into sleep mode and take it off that mode in the morning. It would be so nice if it would be intuitive and switch modes by itself. I know the next Fitbit is supposed to have this feature.

With the Srtiiv app you can add friends like many other fitness apps. It allows you to chat and even keeps track of who is walking the most and reached their goals. All in all, I am really happy with all the features.

I definitely recommend the Striiv line of fitness bands. I am very happy with mine, and I can’t wait to walk at Disney and reap all my energy in my game and donate water! LOL But, I will say this. Whatever you do, go out and move. It doesn’t really matter what fitness band you get, or if you even get one! Just get out and walk. Breathe some fresh air, move your muscles. I feel quite a bit more energetic already and  I haven’t been walking regularly for very long.

Hope you are having a fantastic day!  Stop by again soon!

Music Monday January 12, 2015

Last week, I chose Tove Lo’s Habits. It reminded me of when I was going through a bad break up. This week, I thought I would post a video of the next stage, which is anger! LOL

I chose La Roux’s Bullet Proof. I heard this song yesterday when hubby and I were having lunch This is definitely a song for the angry stage. It has a catchy beat for sure. The video reminds me of the 80’s. It looks to me like what everyone in the 80’s thought we would look like in the future! Don’t you agree?

I guess she is a one hit wonder. I haven’t heard of her before and I haven’t anything from her since. I think this song is like 5 years old now. But, there is nothing wrong with that. I would rather have that then to never make it, if I were in the music biz.

Not sure if break up and recovery will be my theme for the next couple of Music Monday’s, but it just seemed like they went hand in hand.

Hope you are having a great Monday where ever you are. It is raining cats and dogs here in Orlando.

See ya next time!

Skin Care is Important! Part 1

As my mother would say, I am not a spring chicken anymore. The older we get, the more important skin care becomes. The number one rule of skin care is moisturize and sun protection! It really is the foundation of healthy skin.

When I was planning my wedding, I went to a bridal expo and was invited to a bridal pampering session. Moisturizing was the theme of the day. As you get older it becomes more apparent. Your skin changes and it takes more work to have your skin looking fresh and youthful. It was during this time that I really paid attention to the experts about skin care.

With all that being said, you really need to be choosey about your moisturizer. And ladies (and gentlemen) you are never too young to start taking care of your skin. The sooner you start, the better your skin will be as you get older. You also need to find the right moisturizer for your skin. It makes a difference if you have dry, oily or combination skin. And, I am sad to say, it also depends on your age.

You know I am one to save money on anything I can, but I must tell you that this is one product that you do not want to skimp on. I am over 40, so I need added age fighting ingredients. I was so excited when I was chosen to try InstaNatural Youth Express Vitamin C Moisturizer! It has everything I was looking for! It uses many age fighting ingredients and antioxidants, which I love. It contains Vitamin C of course, as well as Niacinimide, Hyaluronic Acid, Peptide Complex and MSM. You can get it on Amazon here.  And, a little of this moisturizer goes a long way so it will last you a long time.

But of course you want to know how it works, don’t you? The lotion is very rich and smooth. You only need the size of a pea to cover your face. You can always put on more, but you cannot put extra back. The first time I used it, I definitely used to much, but I also put it on my hands so I was actually able to really get a sense of how well it works. And the product is long lasting. Even through washing my hands a couple of times, my hands still felt soft and hydrated.

After about a week, I found that my fine lines were less noticeable. I am really excited about using it for a while. I just wish it included sun protection.

 

I was also given a bottle of Vitamin C Serum. This is like the super booster to the moisturizer! It contains argon oil, which has become popular of late. Experts are raving at the results of using the oil regularly. If you want to find out more about argon oil, I read this article. Many people feel like it is such a great product that they are using it without moisturizing. There are other oils in this serum as well, which also have restorative benefits. They are Sea Buckthorn oil and Rosehip oil. It also includes many of the same anti aging ingredients that are in the moisturizer. You can get it here. It is selling for $ 16.75, but worth every penny in my opinion. And just like the moisturizer, a little goes a long way.

I started using this product just around my eyes at first because that it what I thought the product was for. I have since found out that you can use it on your entire face. I cannot wait to see the results of that! I have seen a difference around my eyes already. The skin tone is evening out and my lines are fading. I cannot wait to see what it does all over!

The serum has a pleasant scent. I believe it is the pomegranate, which I love.

I use both products after I cleanse and tone my face. I have really seen a difference since using these products.

I have received these products for free to test, but all opinions are my own. You can check out these and other products from this company at their website: http://instanatural.com

 

Of course, you want to make sure you get the most of your products, so here are some tips for applying moisturizer. There tips also work for the serum!

1. Wear sunscreen every day. Try using a moisturizer that has SPF, that way you don’t have to add an extra step to your morning routine.
2. Never sleep with your makeup on. Washing your face at night will prevent any dirt and impurities from seeping into your skin and causing breakouts.
3. To lock-in extra moisture, apply your moisturizer when your skin is still slightly damp.
4. Clean your makeup brushes. Not only does old makeup start to build up on the bristles, but dust particles will stick to them as well. Be sure to wash your brushes at least once a week using any hair shampoo you have handy. You will notice quite the difference in makeup application and the clearness of your skin. Especially with sensitive skin, also make sure to use synthetic brushes (such as Tweezerman brush iQ).
5. Drink no less than 8 glasses of water a day. Hydration is important on both the inside and out. Use our Hydrating mask twice a week to infuse moisture to the skin. The Spirulina Extract in this face mask provides a reservoir of water which it releases into the skin when needed.

If you want to know how to add hydrating foods to your diet, you can check out my post about that here.

Do you have additional tips for applying moisturizer? I would love it if you shared!

 

 

 

I Am Officiating A Wedding!

Love is in the air! Yup! I am officiating a wedding! And not just any wedding. It is the wedding of our very good friends, John and Alex! I am a notary, and in Florida, notaries have the authority to perform wedding ceremonies. I think many other states allow notaries the same authority.

But anyway, Florida became the 36th state to allow same sex marriages! Today was the first day that gay and lesbian couples were allowed to sign for licenses. In Florida there is a 3 day waiting period, but if you take a class, you can get married that same day. Who knew? Not me.

But John and Alex are waiting until Friday to have their ceremony along with two other couples and asked me to officiate! So excited for them!

We have known John and Alex for a few years now. We met at Universal Studios while we were waiting to see Cindy Lauper. We friended each other on Facebook and FourSquare and met up a few times and the rest is history! We have gone on cruises together, spent holidays together, you name it. They are the kindest, most generous friends and we are so happy that we can call them friends!

This will be the second marriage ceremony I will have performed, but the most important one to me. I researched lots of ceremonies and showed the happy couple what I found. They liked the same ceremony that I did, which is super cool! I am going to keep it hush-hush until after the big day.

They plan on having a larger more formal ceremony in the near future but wanted to take their vows now as they have waited a long time for this right. I hope they ask me to marry them during that ceremony as well.

My husband plans to take pictures and I will share them with you  this weekend! Super excited and happy for them!

 

Music Monday January 5, 2015 (A Day Late)

This post is late because I had to take my step daughter to a Rainbow Girls function about an hour away and I didn’t get home until late. Sorry!

So I chose “Habits” by Tove Lo for this episode. I like the funky beat and I am a sucker for melancholy songs. The video reminds me of when I was going through my divorce. Things got really bad, and you can read about some of it here. Anyway, I am sure most of us have gone through a bad break up at some point in our lives, and many of us have dealt with it by drinking or numbing ourselves in some way.

I do like the way the video was shot. It adds an odd perspective to all that going on in this video. I did not go to quite the extremes that this video depicts, but I could see how someone would.

I am not sure where this song ranked in the year end count down, but I would imagine it was in the top 20.

Here you go! Enjoy!

 

One Way To Save at Disney and More!

If you have gone to Disney World , or any theme park for that matter, you know that you can spend a lot of money quickly. We have annual passes, which saves us a lot of money on entrance fees and parking, but it is easy to spend $100 for a day on food and drinks alone. If you follow me, you will know we are on a budget, so I try to save EVERYWHERE I can. I found this great app called ShopKick. I downloaded it to save meney during my regular shopping trips. By accident, I found that just about every purchase at Disney gives me kicks! ShopKick gives you kicks (or points) for walking in stores, scanning products, and purchasing items you would buy anyway. You can trade those kicks  in for gift cards. Pretty cool concept, in my opinion! You can download it here!

When you load the app, you then connect your credit and debit cards to your account so that purchases at participating stores are given kicks. BIG NOTE! If you use a debit card, you must use it as a credit transaction or it does not count towards purchases. I found this out the hard way.

Some stores give you kicks just for walking in. If you open the stores list on the app, it let’s you know which stores give you kicks for walk ins. In my area, Target and WalMart almost always give you kicks. Just have the app open when you walk in and your app will say hello and let you know how many kicks you got.

Another way to get kicks is by scanning products. Just go to the store list, click the store you are at and it will give you a list of products to scan and the amount of kicks you will get for the scan. Just hit the scan icon of the product and the app lets you take a picture with your phone. Really easy.  Honestly, I am not sure why they do this, but it gives me points, so I do it. LOL. I can tell other people scan products too because many of the scan items already have the barcode facing out. Pretty funny really.

The above picture is a sample of some of the stores and scan kicks you could get. Keep in mind that the picture shows high value scans from the holidays. These are not typical. But I say, if you are going there anyway, it is just a bonus, so it doesn’t matter to me how many kicks they are giving. During the holidays, the walk in points were 100 for many stores. Now they are at about 30 depending on the store.

Another perk of the ShopKick app is that they let you know about sales and deals going on at partner stores. I assume these are advertised deals, but I like the fact that you can go to the app, open the store you want to see and see all their top deals in one place.

So my post is about saving at Disney. We went to a Disney Park twice over the holidays. I did not tally up every penny we spent, but I know that we spent about $ 150 between the two days. As I said, all purchases gave me some points. I received a total of 930 kicks during our two visits. In my research, it looks like you get $2 for every 500 kicks, so I have earned almost $ 4 for my two visits. Sure, it may not seem like a lot, but  you would be spending this money anyway. Why not get something back for it? And the more you spend, the more kicks you get, so I feel a little less guilty when I spend money there. We got kicks for drinks, food and merchandise, which I think is pretty cool. One more word of caution. You must wait 30 days for purchase kicks to become available for redemption. But I am a patient women and looking forward to getting my gift cards! I am saving my kicks for a higher value gift card to Macy’s. So excited!

Even if you don’t go to Disney, this app will help you save. If you are a shopaholic, you will rack up the kicks really fast.

Download the app today here and start earning some gift cards! Happy shopping!

 

 

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,900 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Happy New Year 2015!

The new year is finally here! I am happy for it too! My daughter is visiting from California today! I haven’t seen her since October. Unfortunately, at that time she was here for the funeral of her paternal grandmother. This is a much happier visit. And tomorrow is her birthday too! I think this is a great start to the new year!

I have to say that I am glad to see 2014 go. 2014 had some good times, but there were a lot of rough times for me too. The job I had in the beginning of 2014 was great! I loved it! Unfortunately, the company was sold. The new owners had no clue what they were doing and by May, I was out of a job. In the coming months, I took on a few different jobs just to get by. This included working at a call center, which wasn’t my thing, and bartending at a local moose lodge. I am not much of a drinker, and honestly, being around drunk people is not what I would call a good time. But, these jobs got me and my family through.

We also moved to a smaller and cheaper place to live. There isn’t even close to enough storage room. I think we got rid of 75% of the things we had accumulated over the years. Not entirely a bad thing, but it sure makes me think twice now when I see something I want to buy.

I don’t really have any resolutions per se. I have been on a journey to save money for a while and plan to continue that. I am hoping to get better at that and learn to save even more.  I also want to lose weight. The holidays never make that easy, so it only makes sense for me to really start in the new year. We got Annual Passes to Disney World in the hopes of being more active. Of course, there is fun to be had as well.

Speaking of being active, hubby and I are doing a 5K in April. I plan on walking it, but even walking takes some training. My goal is to take my dog on long walks several times a week. I know she will appreciate that. And of course, walk a lot when we go to Disney. I hope that both of these activities build up my stamina and help me to lose weight.

Eating healthier is another part of my losing weight goal. I am thinking of going back to the Slim Fast diet. It worked for me, but I am going to do a little more research before I make my decision.

I got a sewing machine for Christmas, so I want to make quilts again! I miss doing that. Quilts are so beautiful and I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I complete one. Here are pictures of some that I have made.

Are you making resolutions? Or do you feel like me, that it is just another way to set yourself up for failure? The posts I have been reading seem to show that more and more people are not into the whole resolution thing. But if you are, I wish you the best of luck!

2015 is shiny and new and I am hoping for a much better year. I am starting out with a job that I like and hope it stays that way. It is a bigger company that has been in the family for many years. I don’t think it will be sold. We have Disney passes to relieve stress and get more exercise, and I am constantly working on saving money.  So check, check and check!

I am looking forward to see what this year brings! I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year!