Welcome to the POPSUGAR Must Have Box Giveaway

Welcome to the POPSUGAR Must Have Box Giveaway

Hosted by: Femme Fitale Fit Club and The Frugal Exerciser

Co-hosted by: Simple Nails and Beauty, The Long and Winding Road to Wellness: Cassi's Journey, The Fit Empress, Chasing My Halo, and Confessions of A Mother Runner

The holiday season has officially begun and while you are out there shopping for amazing presents for your loved ones, don’t forget about yourself. You deserve a treat. We present to you the POPSUGAR Must Have Box which is one of the most luxurious and elegant subscription boxes around. This box is a monthly subscription box filled with items curated by the POPSUGAR editors in the areas of Beauty, Fashion, Home, Food and Fitness. The subscription is $39.95 per month but includes items valued over $100 – how awesome is that? To order your very own click HERE and use promo code CHEER to receive $5 off. 1 very lucky winner will receive a 3-month subscription of the POPSUGAR Must Have Box, ARV $120. Check out this sneak peek video of the November 2014 POPSUGAR Must Have Box to see the goodies that come inside: http://youtu.be/2jwAtOPbweY

Open to all US State residents, 18 years or older. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to an email sent from Diatta@femmefitalefitclub(dot)com (consider adding this address to your contacts so it doesn't go to spam!). This giveaway ends @ 11:59 pm EST on December 19^th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway *Participants in this giveaway are not responsible for prize shipment nor were they compensated for this post. Hosts are responsible for prize redemption. Winner will receive a 3-month POPSUGAR Must Have Box subscription and will have 48 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is selected. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet. If you have any questions, or want to participate in our next giveaway, please contact Diatta@FemmeFitaleFitClub(dot)com.

Beast Mode, Turkeys, & Teens - Oh, My!

Last night I weighed in down 2.4 lbs!  That leaves 1.8 lbs until we evaluate whether or not I should change my goal weight of 130 lbs.  Whether we make any changes at that point or not I'm considering using whatever I weigh on January 6th as reaching goal.  Will see how I progress in Beast Mode before I make anything official since I won't be done with Body Beast until February.

Week of Workouts

Friday was Build: Legs again.

Saturday was Build: Back/Bis.  I have never been able to do a pull-up or chin-up.  This adds some complication to the workout.  My doorway is too big for a pull-up/chin-up bar.  There's also no door so I couldn't do a resistance band with a door attachment.  So I used my Slim in 6 resistance band and wrapped it around my feet.  I held my feet up against the side of the couch.  This kind of worked but would like to try something different this Saturday.  Any suggestions?

I played around with a few different poses to see if there are any changes from week to week.  This is what I came up with.  I asked Austin if there were other poses I should do.  He said how would he know and I replied that he's a boy! LOL  No response after that.  Should I add any others for week 2?

Sunday was back to Build: Chest/Tris.  I'm guessing it's because I did this the day after Back/Bis but this workout was more difficult this time around.

Monday I woke up with a double sinus and tension headache so I didn't complete a workout.  The sinus headache went away (and returns) but the tension one just doesn't want to let up.

Back to the grind on Tuesday with Cardio & Abs.

This morning was Build: Shoulders.

Thanksgiving & Austin's Birthday

I picked up the 13 lb or so turkey Monday night.  We'll have mashed potatoes and gravy.  Benny will have his asparagus and red cabbage (can't stand the smell of the stuff).  Not sure what veggies I'll do for myself.  I never plan, fix or buy a dessert but I kind of want one.  What's on your menu?

Austin will turn 13 Friday and I have everything to make our version of a Pokeball cake.  Keep an eye out on Instagram for pictures!

Linking up with

Big Slice Apples Review & Giveaway

I absolutely love apples!  I try to eat one a day but plain old apples can get boring.  When I saw this opportunity for the Big Slice Apples on Tomoson I jumped on the opportunity!  Who could pass up such a variety of flavors for apples?

Grandma Hoerner's originally released only a few flavors of Big Slice Apples pouches in a handful of Target stores in January 2014.  Within a few months they expanded to nearly all Target stores in the country!  That tells you how much people are liking Big Slice Apples.

Big Slice Apples are sliced, kettle cooked apples mixed with a variety of sauces to make up the flavors.

• No high fructose corn syrup
• Made with domestic apples
• Non-GMO (for most flavors)
• Naturally gluten free
• Mostly under 100 calories
• Naturally fat free

The flavors are broken up into three categories - pure, fit, and luxe.  The pure line is blended with fruits and spices.  The fit line promotes energy, power, balance, and beauty.  The luxe line are rich, indulgent flavors.  You can add any flavor to yogurt, oatmeal, or just eat them plain.  I ate most in oatmeal for my breakfast since it's been so cold.

Five of the eight flavors received I liked - Natural; Cinnamon French Toast (which is weird because I don't like French toast); Raspberry, Hibiscus, & Green Coffee Extract (no mocha flavor to turn me off); Banana, Mango, & Hemp Seed (I was afraid might cause an allergic reaction since I'm allergic to the hemp plant); and Pineapple, Passion Fruit, & Fiber.  I figure it's pretty good to like 62.5% of the flavors!

The flavors I didn't really like were Cherry Vanilla, Boysenberry Chocolate (for one the seeds kept getting stuck in my teeth), and Blueberry Pomegranate.

The remaining eight flavors are

• Orange Ginger
• Apricot
• Lemon Berry
• Chai (would like to try)
• Peach Green Tea & Aloe
• Peach Bellini
• Cinnamon Candy (would like to try)
• Caramel (would like to try)

Big Slice Apples are available exclusively at your local Target store.  Check out the product locator to find the closest location that carries these delicious treats.

For every Big Slice Apples pouch purchased a portion of the proceeds are used towards their charity Sparkle.  Funds are used to help women and girls in need around the world.  Sparkle is partnered with several nonprofit ministries to achieve their mission.  Visit Sparkle's website to learn more.

Entry-Form

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Entering Beast Mode

Background Image Courtesy of mapichai | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I found this background removing tool at https://www.bonanza.com/background_burner .... While it's not perfect it does a heck of a lot better than me trying to hold my hand steady and trace around a picture of me with the mouse!

I weighed in last night up .4 lbs.  Not really surprised with this little gain because of the soreness from being in Beast Mode.

Week of Workouts

Thursday I couldn't decide what to do so I ended up with Rockin' Body Party Express.

Friday I designed my own workout from Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2.  I did the squats then upper body standing and floor routines.



The original Body Beast Lean Schedule (with my color coding for times) from the auto scheduler in WOWY.

Saturday I rested up to prepare to begin Body Beast on Sunday.  First up was Build: Chest/Tris.  The decline pushups seemed easier than regular ones...I guess because I didn't have to worry about my legs.  I sure could feel this workout in my shoulders!



The modifications I made to fit my availability

Monday I was still feeling tenderness in my shoulders so I was glad that it was Build: Legs day.  One of the exercises is seated calf raises.  Umm...I felt nothing with them.  Do I have to have super heavy weights sitting on my legs to feel like I did anything?  What's up with that Sagi?

Yesterday I still felt tenderness in my shoulders but could feel it going away.  I felt kinda pooped doing Beast: Cardio & Abs.  I was more into it this workout than I was last Sunday.

This morning was Build: Shoulders.  Dumbbell shrugs are another one where I felt nothing...even with 11 lbs.  I struggle so much with lifting focusing on the shoulder muscles that I pretty much stuck with the 3 lb dumbbells for most of the workout.

So for the first three weeks Thursdays will be my rest day.  The following five weeks I switched it to Sunday but it could also be Saturday, depending on how I feel.  You can take a look here to view the schedules in Google Docs.

Linking up with

Lifting Queen?

I weighed in last night down 1.4 lbs, making up all but .8 lbs of the gain from the past two weeks!

Week of Workouts

Wednesday's Olympic lifting resulted in Olympic pain and stiffness in my upper thigh/hip joints so I took a rest day Thursday instead of Sunday.

Friday I did the second workout from Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes to Fitness Lift in Full Throttle - Powersculpting.  My legs still hurt so I did this one slower than I normally would've.

Saturday's yoga DVD was super long - over an hour and a half.  The intro to Mark Blanchard's Progressive Power Yoga said something about 3 sections so I expected it to be broken up.  I don't know where the other sections were...

Sunday I tried out the Body Beast Cardio workout.  Apparently I was still in slo mo because I had low burn for a cardio workout.

Sunday was also our 6th anniversary.  I had gone to Dollar General with Austin after the library Saturday but they had a sucky anniversary card selection so I had to buy stuff to make my own card.  Benny didn't snooze long enough Saturday so I had to wait until Sunday morning to make the card.  This is what I came up with.

And my 6 roses with card from Benny...the other half of the dozen are in the front room where I workout.

Monday I did Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes to Fitness Split Sessions Workout One - Upper Body.  I managed to use the 8 lb weights almost the whole workout but I did get lightheaded for some reason towards the end.

Tuesday I did three of Zuzka Light's videos on YouTube.  They're all short so you have to combine them to make a worthwhile workout.  I didn't like the combinations the YouTube app offered me on our Blu-ray.  Too disorganized of a workout for me to do this regularly.

This morning I did Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes to Fitness Split Sessions Workout Two - Lower Body.  My HRM crapped out on me halfway through and stopped reading my heartbeat.  So I don't know how accurate the total from the two readings is accurate for this workout.

What's Next?

I am starting Body Beast next week.  I copied the schedule and re-arranged it to something that should work for me.  You can see the original and my schedules here following the Lean plan.  For any ladies who have done Body Beast, do you have any tips?

Linking up with

LG OLED Curved TVs Now at Best Buy

Before spotting this I never knew curved TVs existed!  The screens at the theater are curved so why hasn't this concept flowed down to consumer TVs?

The LG OLED TV is not only curved but it's super thin - under 1/4" thick at it's thinnest point (.21").   That's about the same thickness as two of my sweaters put together!  The picture quality is spectacular with a wide range of color thanks to Infinite Contrast.  This makes the viewing more natural and lifelike.  LG's exclusive 4 Color Pixel technology brings bright, vibrant, deep, and rich colors.

Some things in life defy all explanation and must be experienced to be believed such as your first kiss,  your child's first steps, finding money you didn't know you had, or the feeling you get when your idea actually works.  Such is the case with LG's latest display technology that makes the OLED TV a dream holiday wishlist item.

Because curved TVs aren't mainstream yet the price is a little steep for the consumers like me.  Best Buy’s everyday price is $3499.99. Learn more or purchase here: LG  55EC9300 SKU# 7846019 – OLED TV.

Do you love twitter parties? Best Buy is hosting an LG OLED Twitter Party on Thursday December 4th at 7PM CST. Feel free to join this party for a chance to receive Best Buy gift cards and other great prizes. Tweet #HintingSeason with your top gifts that you want this Holiday from Best Buy.

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Mastering My Goals and Dreams

I weighed in last night up another pound.  Last week was more because of TOM but I believe this week's gain is because I'm not burning as many calories doing NROLFW as I've done with previous workouts.  So, even though I had another 5 lifting workouts on the schedule I've opted to discontinue NROLFW, at least until I can get heavier dumbbells.

Boy, did we freeze on Halloween!  It kept alternating between rain, freezing rain, and snow.  We walked about 1.5 hours in that mess and my feet were frozen long before we got home.  Austin got a pretty good haul of candy despite the weather.

Posing after Yoga Saturday Morning

Week of Workouts

Friday and Monday were NROLFW Stage 1 Workout A.  Both days I did 75 squats, pushups, & rows, 60 reverse crunches, and 48 lunges

Saturday I did BeFit's Yoga Transformation Strength and Energy workout.

Tuesday I completed David Carradine's Shaolin Cardio Kickboxing workout.  It wasn't as intense as I'm used to with kickboxing but it was still therapeutic!

This morning instead of NROLFW I did Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes to Fitness Lift in Full Throttle Workout One - Olympic Lifting.  OMG I don't know how many squats I did but had to squat with just about every move!  This was definitely more my style than NROLFW.  In the shower I thought for sure my legs would be jello!

Staying on Track for the Holidays

This was the topic at the Weight Watchers meeting last night.  We had to come up with the What (our goal to accomplish by the end of the year), as well as the Where, When, How, and Who can help us achieve this goal.

Last year between November 5th and January 2nd I lost over 9 lbs.  The win I want to have this holiday season is to reach my goal weight (whatever actual number that ends up being) by the end of the year (January 6th weigh in).  If I can lose about the same this year as I did last year I will be in that goal window (130s)!

The places that will be the most important to me this season are the Weight Watchers meetings, this blog, online resources, my own home, and my family's homes we'll be visiting.  Since I won't know when we'll be heading to Ohio until after Thanksgiving I don't know how many days could be considered risky.  As of now we have no plans to attend any other holiday parties.

To help me achieve my holiday win I must make a decision on what program I will be doing.  This may be what I end up going with...

Building an Exceptional Life

I'm glad I held off on posting the second part of the first step of building an exceptional life since it sort of ties in to the Weight Watchers meeting topic - fine-tuning your goals.  A general direction (i.e. helping others to improve their overall health and wellness) isn't the end game.  The vision is there but I need to break it down into smaller goals with clearly defined milestones to measure my progress and keep me on track.  This is where I often struggle.

My Goals & Dreams

I had just written out my goals in September during Mindy Wender's 21 Days to Thrive.  If there were no limitations I would....

• Travel the world.
• Pay off all my bills, having just a little debut to maintain good credit.
• Buy a new blue Ford Fusion.
• Build my dream home and live there.
• Be financially fit.
• Finance Austin's education.
• Have restorative sleep.
• Be healthy fit (not buff, skinny, etc.)
• Host a monthly get-together with friends.
• Volunteer regularly.
• Hold monthly fit clubs.
• Have a social life.
• Have something special we do as a family every month.
• Find a church again and attend weekly.
• Obtain group personal training and wellness coaching certifications.
• Bring Benny's mother here and have her and my mom nearby so we can keep an eye on them.

The Devil's in the Details

What does success look like? How will things change moment to moment?  What emotions would I be feeling living my dreams?  What do I smell, see, hear, feel, & taste?  These are all the things I must think about with these goals.  I need to also make a new vision board with these detailed goals.  For those who already have vision boards do you prefer a physical or online one?

Linking up with