3.10.10: If I were a cat...

Canvas People has a free 8X10 special going! You only pay shipping! My sister linked to this on her blog, so I decided to copy her :) (you can vote for her pic here, she cant decide which one to get) This is the pic I ordered, from our hot air balloon birthday surprise last year.


Here is a goofy pic of me showing my hair cut. TOO short but it grows fast so Im not really worried about it. It resembles a helmet when its all down so for now, 1/2 up 1/2 down will have to work...

And some cards I made a while back. The inside of the 1st one is stamped "Happy Birdday" cute...

Today's Workout:

-Denise Austin 3 Week Bootcamp (all 3 workouts)

-Denise Austin HTS Pilates (hip segment)

*total w/o time 60 min + stretch


Today's Review: Denise Austin: 3-Week Boot Camp
Denise Austin, 2009 **** (4 of 5 stars)

This dvd has two 20ish minute workouts and a bonus 7 minute ab workout. Denise works out with 4 young female background exercisers in an open room with hardwood floors and gray pillars on a purple background.

The first workout "Cardio & Strength Intervals" Is just that-short cardio intervals interspersed with short toning intervals. During the cardio work she does level one (easiest), level 2, then level 3 (most challenging) progressively so you can choose which level is right for you and stick with it to make your workout more or less challenging. The cardio includes: cross country skiing, mock jumproping, high knees, etc. The strength work is fairly straight forward and includes lat rows, a bicep - side lift combo, pushups, sip & twist combo, planks w/ twist, etc. She only uses 1 set of dumbbells but I used multiple depending on which move I was doing. The bicep-side lift move was not ideal because I can use a much heavier weight for biceps than the side raise. She does keep the feet moving during the strength work so you can keep your heartrate up a bit. The workout is 18 minutes plus a 2 minute cooldown. I would rate this portion as low intermediate done as is.

The second workout is "Athletic Training" and features kettlebell inspired moves like a one arm swing into a high pull, windmill, swing. She does some moves that are not necessarily kettlebell inspired (I dont use kettlebells so Im not sure) pliets, a kick series holding a dumbbell, a 1-legged deadlift series, spider pushups, V sit ab work, a kayak type core move, lower back spinal work, etc. You hold onto your dumbell or kettlebell for the majority of the workout. The body of the workout is 20 minutes with a 2 minute cooldown. While this portion has no cardio only moves-it definately kept my heartrate up. I used varying sets of dumbbells on this one too. I would rate this portion as high intermediate and again, its easy to modify up or down.

"Ab Fat Blaster" is the bonus 7 minute ab workout. She uses dumbbells for some of the moves and its not your usual ab routine. She does a turkish getup variation and some plank work. I enjoyed this section and would rate it a solid intermediate.

Denise is Denise-I dont expect an advanced workout from her. Nor do I expect stellar cueing from her, but surprisingly her cueing was very good in the workout.

Today's 'Recipe': Chocolate Toffee Coffee

Target brand has a TON of deliciously flavored coffees (coconut macaroon, smores, chocolate fudge, etc). So I got the chocolate fudge, use a bit of this Coffee Mate Belgian Chocolate Toffee creamer, and some of this English Toffee flavored SweetLeaf (liquid stevia drops) and YUM! Chocolate toffee coffee...

Today's Tip: 5 "bad" foods you should be eating #3 (link)

Chocolate: The bad rep: Chocolate has lots of fat, lots of sugar—and it tastes amazing, so it must be bad for you.

The good news: Dark chocolate contains flavanols, antioxidants that seem to have a blood-thinning effect, which can benefit cardiovascular health. And, recently, researchers in Switzerland reported that eating dark chocolate (1.4 ounces of it) every day for two weeks reduced stress hormones, including cortisol, in highly stressed people. But be sure to account for the calories (1.4 ounces delivers 235)—or you may be stressed to see extra pounds creeping on. (Discover delicious chocolate recipes here.)

Today's LOL: This is the cat version of me. When someone says "have a nice day" I say (usually under my breath to Jay) "Dont tell me what to do"

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