May, 2009 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives May 2009

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Feeling the burn from EA Sports Active

Posted on May 31, 2009 3:45 pm by TheAngelForever

Last night JL and I finally took the plunge. My breathing was good enough from the new medicine, so we broke out the EA Sports Active for our Nintendo Wii. Both of us were quite intrigued since we have not heard a bad review for it yet. Before we left for Disney World we pre-ordered it and were surprised to find it had arrived at our house before the scheduled release date.

I was the one that "plugged" in, while JL worked out along side me. The workout for beginners was about 25 minutes long. It encorporated walking, running, toning along with the dreaded lunges and squats. What I really liked was that the "trainer" was personable and did not loop the same phrases like the WiiFit does. That looping of compliments and motivational phrases drove me bonkers with the WiiFit and quickly made me stop using it. The leg pouch fit nicely around my thigh and really seemed to register my movements with the Wii.

Half way through the work out I really was feeling my muscles burning. Of course, leave it to JL to mention that I also had sweat pouring down my back and face. Lovely, but I knew I was really getting a good workout. During the time it registered that I burned 153 calories and kept track on my journal for the goals. All I had to do was follow the easy instructions before each exercise and figure our where to wear/hold the WiiMote and nunchuk.

JL and I were so impressed that we went out to get another EA Sports Active accessory kit. This way we can both workout together while keeping track of things on the Wii. Of course, when we went out I was still feeling the burn. Walking and especially climbing strairs is tough today. The muscles in my upper thighs are feeling the pain today. Of course, I love this since I know it is a good type of burn from using the muscles and working them out. I would often feel this when I use the third mile of Leslie Sansone’s 5 Day Slim Down mile three that concentrated on legs with squats and lunges.

Another neat feature with the program is you can participate in the 30 day challenge. The first challenge just ended and a lot of the people did amazing. One participant included Alison Sweeney, the host of The Biggest Loser. She used the program to get back into shape after having her second child. Starting tomorrow there is a new June challenge. JL and I may try this since it looks like a great option. Of course, I still plan on wearing my pedometer and power walking with Leslie Sansone.

Happy exercing all!

Categories:
exercise jl me moments Product review

Grilling Goodness – Take 16

Posted on May 30, 2009 9:19 am by TheAngelForever

1. If you had 10 hours at home alone, what would you do? – What is time alone? I do not understand . . . seriously! IF I ever had that much time alone I would probably sleep some, knit, and work out. Basically do things that are hard to do with all three boys around.

2. Do you have a fond memory of your dad? – Yes, it has been especially fun watching my father as a grandfather. He is much more relaxed and really plays with the kids. He was great when I was growing up, but more stressed with work and everything.

3. Do you prefer the pool or the beach? – Pool all the way. Not into dealing with sand or that many hours in the sun with dirty water.

4. What’s the furthest you’ve driven for one day of fun? – One day? Hmmm. . . for one night I have traveled 4-5 hours for a hockey game. Of course, this was before being married and having kids.

5. Solid, clear solid, clear gel or aerosol? Deodorant of choice, that is. – Since they no longer make my clear semi-solid –> I am forced to go with clear gel that is unscented.

6. Do you tan or burn/peel? – Thanks to putting a ton of sun lotion on I try not to let my extremely light red headed skin burn.

7. What’s your favorite pasta-based meal? – Veggie lasagna with lots of vegetables in it. You know, so little pasta is actually involved.

8. Do you wax or pluck your eyebrows? – Just had my eyes waxed after a long hiatus (having kids with me all the time makes it tough). Please note I will never have them threaded again – OUCH!

Head over to Golden Goodness to play along!

Categories:
Grilling Goodness me moments web fun

Vacation splurges

Posted on May 29, 2009 8:01 am by TheAngelForever

Admit it, when you go on vacation you often splurge. Whether you splurge on things you do, items you buy, or food you eat. When we recently went to Disney World I was definitely guilty of this. We opted to do the Disney Dining Plan (DDP). This meant that we paid a set price for each day and were given a snack credit (could be soda, ice cream, pretzel, pastry or countless other items), counter service meal credit (entree, drink and dessert), and table service meal credit (beverage that could be soda/smoothie/milk shake, entree and of course dessert) for each day.

We managed to use most of our snack credits for breakfast and only had to pay for gratuities on the table service meal. Let me tell you, it is nice not to think about the price of food while away. Of course, as nice as it is not to think about the money aspect, the calories is a different story. You know that desserts twice a day and eating at buffets can be a dangerous thing. I fully admit that I ate what I wanted, not like a piggy, and did not worry. I wanted to fully enjoy our first major vacation in over six years and part of that at Disney is the dining.

May I present you with one of my favorite goodies from the trip. I actually had this as breakfast one morning (learned that from my father thanks):

That amazing looking item above is the Tie Dye Cheesecake at the Pop Century Resort in Walt Disney World. If you would like a closer look where you can see the red velvet cake layer on the bottom of the colorful cheesecake here it is:

Luckily all of the walking and sweating in the 90+ degree heat allowed me the pleasure of losing weight even while eating these delicious items. Most people are not so lucky when they go to Disney, so I know I was.

My question for this week:

When you go on a big vacation do you splurge on something? If you do what types of items are we talking about?

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #50

Categories:
Aloha Friday Disney food glorious food looking back me moments vacation yummy

Taking care of Mommy – lesson learned

Posted on May 28, 2009 8:21 am by TheAngelForever

Since NHL was born, almost six years ago, taking care of myself when I am sick has taken a back burner. As a mother, you have to move on and do things through sickness. Basically I often ignore things until they get SO bad. Needless to say I am at the doctor immediately when the boys are sick and need anything.

Prior to going to Disney World I was feeling amazing. I had lost almost thirty pounds, was exercising up a storm thanks to Leslie Sansone (and my pedometer), plus I was inspired by others on the same journey. When we arrived at Disney World I was the only one that barely complained about my legs/feet bothering me from all of the walking. My mother noted that the "walking and kicking" with Leslie Sansone had paid off.

During our forth dinner at Disney World we ate at The Wave in the Contemporary Resort. We had a delicious meal. Since we were on the dining plan we were able to order a tasty treat for the end. I selected the crunchy trio that included Baklava.

I thought nothing of it. After a few minutes I noticed that my throat was itching some. In addition to this, I was having a difficult time swallowing. It was raining out after the meal so we decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom and get a bus back to Pop Century.

After the boys were in bed I was still having a really tough time getting air in. I had my rescue inhaler with me and decided to give it a try. By this point I was starting to put the pieces together. I recalled during Passover when I told JL that my throat was itching after I had some charoset (apple mixture with honey and walnuts). Do you see where I am going with this?

I hardly use my rescue inhaler and was not used to the new propellant ones. I took my two puffs and then realized I had made a horrible mistake. In taking the medication, I had burned my throat. *sigh* I did not think to use my spacer that was packed and just took it. Lesson learned the hard way. The rest of the vacation I was winded easily, was coughing thanks to my throat trying to get better from the Albuterol burn, and had no energy at night.

When we came back from Disney I knew that I had to talk to our doctor about my walnut allergy concern. When I took JSL in for his 2 year check up last week I spoke with the doctor. At that point I told her that I had a physical appointment made with her (have not done that in way too long either). When she heard what happened her reply was "What pharmacy do you go to?" She was already on her little techy machine writing a prescription for an EpiPen into the pharmacy. She told me that I should obviously avoid walnuts now and must always have my EpiPen on me (something I still have to do as it is sitting on the dining room table).

This appointment was less than a week after my attack episode. She told me that the cough and everything should go away and give it time. Flash forward to this week. I still had no energy, was winded talking/walking across the room and obviously was not working out with Leslie Sansone. I felt depressed about what had happened since I had come so far. Blogging has been pushed to the side because when I typically blog at night I was fast asleep.

I called the doctor’s office to see what I should be doing. Since we were home I was still using my rescue inhaler daily and explained how I felt. They said they would call me back the next morning since the doctor had already left for the day. Yesterday morning they called back. Much to my surprise, the doctor did not request to see me. She called in a prescription for an inhaler to help my lungs rebound. The nurse said that I should feel a difference soon. Last night I started the medicine and it was the first evening that I have not needed my rescue inhaler (of course I had already used it a few hours earlier).

Tuesday I did a two mile Leslie Sansone and it felt great, although I was nervous about having an asthma attack. Now I’m hoping that by the weekend I will get back into the swing of things and be up to it. Feeling as though you are gasping for air and have a brick on your chest when breathing is not something I ever want to experience again.

Lesson learned – DO NOT ignore your body. I learned the hard way and was very lucky. Now I will be watching for walnuts as I walk and kick my way through life.