Saturday, January 10, 2009

My Favorite Things: Under Armour


UnderArmour
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic
I've messed around with product reviews before and I guess I could probably put this under that. But really I thought I'd just periodically take photos of things that I really enjoy.

This idea came about while I was jazzercising this morning. I was noticing how MUCH I LOVE this Under Armour sportshirt I bought. I picked it up at Marshall's the other day for $10 and I wish I'd bought more. It's light, breathes well, and looks good.

The UA shoes I've had for a couple of months now. Jazz instructor Kelly had them first and I tried hers on. She bought sports insoles for hers and says it's the combination of insoles and shoes that makes them so enjoyable. I have to agree with her. I tried the shoes for a few classes without the insoles and found they really did not provide enough cushioning for the pounding they get in Jazz. It was tough for me to give up my beloved Rykas. I've worn them for years and years (many pair...not the same ones), but it was time for a change. Now I'm anxious to start thinking about my "summer pair" of UA shoes...a lighter color, of course...to go with the crop pants.

The third item in the photo is my beloved right-hand weight. I'm not using 6 pounders right now, preferring my 7s and really needing 8s, but I always have these old 6s riding around in the car for emergencies...in case of muscle strain I can just bump down a pound or two. Or clop a hijacker upside the head, I guess. Anyway, the protective cover started coming off this weight and not the other, so I always think of it has my right-hand one. I can't even use it on my left, much as I've tried. You can see it in this photo, but there are couple of spots in the center bar where the cover has come off right in the shape of my middle finger and thumb. Those two sweaty fingers rest right on the cold iron there. I've got a hairband wrapped around my right-hand 7. Yes, even in Jazzercise we all have our little idiosyncrasies. Well, maybe not all of us. But then, not all of us have the nickname CJL...Certified Jazzercise Lunatic.

Do you have a favorite sportswear item or piece of equipment?

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The Wii and Me

So. I told you I got a Wii Fit for Christmas. Didn't I? (too lazy to look back) Anyway, it's my friend Cassie's. She and her husband got tired of it telling them they were obese. Cassie does a great imitation of the Wii voices. She has us all in stitches every time.

The first day I used it was Christmas Day. I was brave. I set it up in the cabin we were staying in and did it in front of the family. I weighed in, got my BMI, and the first balance test.

Which? In my defense? I didn't quite understand how to play.

It said my Wii Fit Age was 63.

hmmmmmm.....

Mensa Boy, in true MB form, tried to reassure me. "Don't worry. You're in great shape! You just didn't know what you were doing!" Uh huh. Thanks.

So I went on to the balance game. "You are unbalanced," it pronounced. Yuh. Tell me something I DON'T know! After being hit by several pair of cleats in the soccer heading game (Why do we actually say "OW!" when we can't feel it?), I gave up and collected my little footprint stamp.

Nate tried it and his Wii age was 18. That's also his real age, of course. {{Suck up...}}

Taylor came in at 24. 10 years over his regular age. MB didn't do the game and neither did Nate's gf Erin.

So we get home and the next day I try it in my bedroom. It weighs me 8.8 lbs less than the day before. It pronounces that, while it is pleased with my success, it's concerned that I may be losing too much weight too quickly. I do a couple more balance games, earning somewhat permanent dents on my foreheads from the cleats but discovering that I'm a darned good tightrope walker, and earn "Yoga Master" status in 2 of the 5 yoga poses I do. I'm feeling pretty good.

Then? Things start to fall apart.

If you don't do the Wii Fit, you can go on there and log your activity that you have done elsewhere. I knew this, but did not know that you could not backdate. You have to log on EACH DAY and tell it what you are doing. So Saturday, when I nearly killed myself doing a Jazzercise class and then went straight to the wall-climbing place with MB? NO CREDIT! Sunday, before I learned about this horrible deficiency with backdating, my shoulders and arms hurt too much from belaying to even lift the remote for the Wii, I did nothing.

Monday? Jazzercise. I came home from class and decided to log on and tell it all my achievements. While I was still sweaty from the 5:45 a.m. class, the Wii chided me for taking time off. Something about Mom being too busy to work out lately. SHEESH!

Also by this time MB had figured out that we needed to put these auxiliary feet on the bottom of the board to make it weigh right. Yippee. Now I weighed back what I was on the first day. The Wii Fit said it was concerned about my quick weight gain. It listed something like a dozen reasons why I might have gained this weight...too many snacks, not enough exercise, poor diet...none of them were "because I put the right frikkin' feet on the bottom of this frikkin' board!"

I clicked "I don't know."

Now it wanted to TALK about what the possible causes might be. Yikes.

But all in all the Wii Fit is kind of fun. Now I just make sure I go up there and log on once each day ("Hey! MB! Don't go to bed yet! I haven't logged onto the Wii") and I'm sure I'll get into some sort of routine. Today I did 5 yoga poses and 2 balance games. My Wii Fit age is 47 now, which is a year younger than I am, so that's good.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

It's Over....

Winter Break. Officially over when I hit the hay in just a few minutes. Nate left for Erskine a little bit ago. He has J term, which is just one, intense class for the month of January. I hope he does better. He did not do well at all first semester.

Even Taylor is a bit owl-y today.

I had a restful and fun but not real exciting break. It was good to be around home and I did do some closet organizing and fridge cleaning. The bills still have to be done and I haven't tidied last year's financial records yet. I guess I'll have to do that next weekend.

I'm completely tied up in a book now, "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. It's amazing that I've never read any of his stuff. It's riveting. I did stop long enough to watch the movie "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington. Very creepy seeing Denzel play a bad guy. Very creepy.