Love their choice of colors

Health issues aside, I do enjoy the taste but if you’re familiar with the taste of coconut water, this isn’t it. RockStar Coconut Water actually has only 10% coconut juice in it, that’s 24ml, roughly 5 teaspoons of coconut juice per can. Sure it tastes like coconut but that unnatural, overly sweet, artificial coconut flavor. Needless to say this is on the really sweet side, even for my sweet tooth. I really think they could tone down the sweetness factor quite a bit and have an even better tasting product with fewer calories to boot.

For an energy drink this is pretty awesome tasting though. There’s no sign of that distinct energy drink flavor. You know the one that we all try to ignore as we guzzle down our well needed liquid energy boost. I also need to point out, I love that RockStar Coconut Water is non-carbonated, so we can guzzle it down if we want and we don’t have to worry about the damaging effects unnecessary carbonation has on our bones, bonus!

RockStar Coconut Water isn’t a healthy choice and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as an alternative to sports drink or better yet water. It seems grossly misleading to make any claims that the small amount of coconut juice found in RockStar’s Coconut Water Energy Drink will give you any of the known benefits of coconut juice. There are better healthy alternatives for that all around but RockStar Coconut Water is an energy drink not a health drink.

All in all RockStar Coconut Water makes a tasty treat when you’re looking for energy to keep you moving.

Would I buy RockStar Coconut Water Energy Drink again?
Already have, and probably will again sometime.

Would I recommend RockStar Coconut Water Energy Drink to anyone else?
Yeah, if I knew they like the sweet coconut taste and I would warn them about it.


TIP: If you’re looking for the health benefits of coconut water and want some actual coconut water, check out your local Asian market. They usually always carry some and it will cost you a fraction of the price you will pay for one of those trendy coconut water products popping up all over these days.


TRIVIA
What’s the difference between coconut water and coconut juice?
Nothing, it just depends on who you’re talking to. Coconut water/juice is the clear liquid inside young coconuts.

What’s the difference between coconut water and coconut milk?
Well if you read the first trivia then you know what coconut water is. Coconut milk is indeed quite different. In short, coconut milk is the liquid drained from coconut meat (the yummy white stuff inside a coconut that we eat) .
Coconut water tastes very different from coconut milk in that it isn’t as sweet and coconut milk aslo has a thicker creamier consistency.

You’ll quickly notice how much better you feel and how your energy levels increase. Others will notice how much better you look and wonder what’s your secret. Don’t be surprised if someone tell you, you look so fresh and glowingly healthy, it happened to my husband on his first day of drinking green smoothies.

How I Prepare Super Healthy Green Smoothies

I am still rather new to preparing Green Smoothies and have no formal training, nor am I following anyone’s recipe. I have done some research on my own to see what I feel are healthy, accessible and affordable choices of ingredients. The cost isn’t really a huge issue but I don’t want to spend a fortune on importing expensive ingredients or anything like that. A great way to cut cost is to shop your local Farmers Market, the produce is fresher, it will cost you less and you are supporting local farmers.

Always rinse off your produce before adding to the blender.

INGREDIENTS;
- Leafy Green Vegetables (especially Kale and Spinach)
- Variety of Seasonal Vegetables
- Small amount of fruits
- Hemp Protein (optional)
- Flax Oil (optional)
- cold filtered water
- ice or frozen fruit

I posted links to health information on all the fruits and veggies I listed (all the ones that had an info page)

I start off with a base of leafy greens; Kale and Spinach are a must but Mixed Greens, Chard and other leafy deep greens are also good choices though I don’t find them as tasty. I don’t recommend Iceberg Lettuce as it’s mostly just water and doesn’t contain the nutrition your will need to fuel your body.
I fill the blender about a third to half way with leafy greens.

Next I basically add whatever vegetables are in season, or whatever I can get my hands on. Usually two to four pieces of Broccoli, two to four Brussels Sprouts, about a quarter cup of Red Cabbage (green will do fine but red is tastier in my opinion), a stick of Celery, some Cucumber about half a cup, handful of baby Carrots, a small sweet pepper or piece of bell pepper, small handful of Sweet Peas, small handful of String Beans, one or two Radishes depending on their size.
The more variety you add the less of each you put in or your blender will soon overflow.

Next comes fruit. I like to add about half a cup of Cranberries, half to a whole Granny Smith (Green) Apple, half a Banana, half to a whole Orange (I don’t peel the Orange as the white flesh is the healthiest part. I simply use a vegetable peeler to remove the orange zest from the outside. The zest is very strong, it can upset your stomach and make your tongue feel strange so you want to avoid eating it.)

Now fill the pitcher about half way with cold filtered water. I find that adding water just to the top of the leafy greens is usually enough.

If you are physically active you’re going to want to add some protein for added energy. I use Hemp Protein as it is a complete protein that comes from a plan rather than an animal and it is easily absorbed into the body. I usually add two to four table spoons of Hemp Protein.

The body also needs some fat and I use Flax oil (you can use flaxseed but the oil is best), it has no taste, it is rich in all the Omega Fatty Acids we need and more easily absorbed than from fish oil(that doesn’t have all the omegas plus it usually has a fishy taste and smell). I add about a tablespoon or two of Flax Oil.

Then I would add ice so the mixture doesn’t heat up from being blended at high speeds but rather than just adding more water I like to use three or four frozen Strawberries instead (other frozen fruit will also work). The strawberries work just as good as ice and add a nice taste to the mix.

Blend till smooth, slowly at first till everything is chopped up them on high for about a minute till smooth and creamy.

My blender of choice for daily blending is the Vita Mix. There are other high end option but my research lead me to this one. It’s the one I use and the one I recommend.
You can go with a lower end blender but you won’t get the same power or results as you would with a higher end blender. Also if you plan to blend daily or multiple times per day, a lower end blender won’t last you very long and you will soon end up paying just as much as a higher end blender from haring to replace your lower end blenders so often.

TIPS
- Don’t over fill your blender or it will be harder to properly blend everything together into a smooth liquid.
- Don’t be afraid to add more water if you find it’s too thick. But the more water you add the less veggies you’re drinking per cup.
- Organic produce is always better
- play around with it till you find it palatable but don’t start off with too many fruits. Work them into your recipe a little at a time so you don’t end up with too much sugar in your smoothie.
- If you are cutting out all processed foods from your diet you may want to add a pinch of salt to your smoothie as the body does need some sodium for proper cell function but don’t overdo it, very little salt is all it needs.
- If you feel intimidated why not check out the many recipe books on green smoothies. Just be careful what one you choose, some are more into making tasty green smoothies rather than healthy green smoothies. Look at the ingredients to see if they are adding anything unhealthy (like sugar) just for flavor and use common sense you should be fine.
- Careful not to use too much protein if your trying to lose weight as it can bulk you up if your not active enough. Look at the recommended serving size and take into consideration if your getting protein from anywhere else in your diet. It is also good to know how much protein you should be getting in a day, based on your gender, age, height, weight and activity level.
- don’t forget to drink plenty of water besides your green smoothie

$$COST$$
Another great benefit of Green Smoothies is the cost, about $3.00 per 2 cup serving. (cost depends on the cost of ingredients and can vary)
Rough Breakdown
- Fruits and vegetables, about $2.00 per 2 cups of green smoothie
- Protein about $0.37 per 4tbsp serving
- Flax Oil about $0.34 per tbsp.

A WORD ON HEMP PROTEIN
This is a fairly new product to hit the market and probably isn’t as popular as it should be because of the false taboo associated with HEMP. Hemp is NOT a drug and will not get you high, EVER. It is an awesome renewable resource that has infinite uses, such as a natural, complete, plant based protein.
I use Nutiva Hemp Protein, although there many are different hemp proteins available. Another one I would recommend is Manitoba Harvest Organic Hemp Protein. Basically you want to try and get an organic hemp protein that has been cold milled to preserve nutrition. Then take a look at the serving size versus price as well as how much protein you are actually getting in each serving.


Complete nutrition is not as easy as I initially thought. It wasn’t until my husband and I decided to get healthier that we realized just how truly complicated it can be. It’s some something you don’t just want to guess at and it’s very individual depending on the person; weight, size, activity level, medical condition and even gender can greatly affect what someone needs to eat in order to be healthy. What I have posted is merely a guideline of ideas to consider. You should always do your own research and speak with a “health representative” about your unique situation.

You don’t have to have a lot of green smoothie to get the benefits. You also don’t have to replace a meal with green smoothies although this is a great way to help you lose weight. Simply adding a glass of green smoothie to your “diet” once a day will yield amazing results to you and others around you will notice. It’s a great way to get your fruits and vegetables in. Especially if you don’t eat many vegetables or fruits because you’re going to absorb more nutrition from those you get in your green smoothie.

Green Smoothies are the substance of life. Have fun with yours and I hope you will find a recipe that works for you.

Share your green smoothie experience and recipes with us!


>>> Always consult a doctor before starting ANY weight loss plan, diet or workout.

My husband and I are on Day three of what I call the “7 Day Veggie Cleanse Challenge”. It’s a super low calorie “diet” where we eat nothing but raw fruits and veggies for 7 days. We have Green Smoothies as our three meals and all the fruits and vegetables we want to snack on in between (keeping our fruit intake at a minimum since they are packed with sugar). We hope to naturally cleanse our bodies of most of the harmful chemicals and toxins we’ve been eating up till now.

** Two of my meals are Herbalife Meal Replacement Shakes instead of green smoothies because I find they keep me satisfied for longer and curb my craving better. I plan to stay on them for two meals a day till I lose all my excess weight.

What’s a Green Smoothies?

Green Smoothies are are just that, green. That’s because Green Smoothies are made up mainly of raw vegetables and some raw fruit to taste. There is no right or wrong way to make a green smoothie, you can blend together any veggies and fruits you like, some people prefer more fruit than others but you always want to keep your smoothie mostly vegetables and try to stick to plenty of deep green veggies that have the most nutrition.

We always use as many different vegetables as we can find but we keep it mostly spinach and Kale. Kale is so underrated. In my opinion, Kale is the ultimate super food.

There are plenty of Green Smoothie recipe books out there but we found that the majority focused more on making tasty shakes rather than the healthier ones. So we decided to do some research into making our own Super Healthy Green Smoothies. This doesn’t mean that the recipe books aren’t useful or good, if they are what you prefer then go for it. Any green smoothie is healthier than none… well usually. Just use common sense. If they start adding sugar, sweeteners or anything else that seems to add unnecessary calories to your smoothie, skip those steps. Using Green Smoothie recipe books is a good way to give you ideas but if you want to make them healthier you can always add more vegetables and cut back on the fruit, so long as you don’t mind the taste.


Find out more about our Super Healthy Green Smoothies HERE (sorry link coming as soon as I finish writing the post)


Back To The 7 Day Veggie Cleanse Challenge

DAY 1
Honestly it hasn’t been too bad, the first day was really rough. I was so hungry and the vegetables and fruits weren’t cutting it for me. I tried to ignore this and was succeeding somewhat until my husband came home from work that evening and started to tease me about getting a burger, sushi or anything else I love and was craving. Needless to say I got angry with him, I didn’t blow up or anything but I needed a little time to cool down and get my cravings under control. What really saved me that day was snacking on green apple (Granny Smith) slices with my Kickin’ Fruits and Veggies Seasoning. It was soooo good and gave my taste buds that kick of flavor I was craving without breaking my challenge.

DAY 2
Day two was much easier, I had my two Herbalife Meal Replacement Shakes and snacked on raw veggies throughout the day. I had another kickin’ Granny Smith and even forgot to have my Green Smoothie shake for my third meal. I just wasn’t hungry so it slipped my mind till the next morning when I woke up hungry and realized I forgot to eat my “supper” last night. I did really well that day drinking a total nine glasses of water, still short of my goal but awesome all the same. The side effect being that I had to keep going to the bathroom but that’s how the water helps to cleanse our bodies.

DAY 3
Today was interesting, I woke up after only sleeping around five hours. I was alert, restless and hungry. U tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t so I got up and had my Herbalife Meal Replacement Shake. I was out and about running a few errands today and forgot to pack a snack but I wasn’t gone so long that it was an issue. Still next time I will bring some carrots or some other hearty vegetable as a backup just in case I get cravings while I’m out. I got home took care of some chores and “work” then it was time for me to have my second Herbalife Shake. Unfortunately about an hour after that my short nights sleep caught up with me and I took a nap for a few hours. I woke up feeling much better. I am late on having my last meal or any snacks and unable to get water since my mother-in-law decided to take over the kitchen and has been cooking since late afternoon. It’s not that I can’t go in to make a Green Smoothie or get some veggie snacks or water but I just rather not. I don’t want to be tempted by all the food she has been cooking, the smell alone is enough to make my mouth water. So my husband and I are waiting it out, hopefully she will close up shop soon and head to bed since it’s getting really late, it’s after ten at night.

I’ve been running on shear determination for a while now. I can’t let myself down, I can’t fail.

Once we can, I plan on making us some Green Smoothie and since I barely drank anything today I plan on downing plenty of cold refreshing water. I know I am thirsty and probably a at least a little dehydrated. I feel it too, I felt so much better yesterday when I had plenty of water. It’s amazing the difference water makes, so be smart and don’t skip out on your water.

So far we haven’t broken down, YAY us. Though I do feel guilty for having a few sticks of gum to freshen my breath while I was out earlier today. It’s a habit of mine and I was chewing the gum before I realized “wait I’m not supposed to have this”. Technically it isn’t eating but I did take in some unnecessary chemicals and I would have preferred I hadn’t. I’m not too bent out of shape about it, it doesn’t mean I failed my cleanse and I will be more careful from now on.

Ciao Everyone and remember to stay inspired!

>>> Always consult a doctor before starting ANY weight loss plan, diet or workout.

          Hi everyone and welcome to the first installment of Fitness Friday, a new “series” I’ll be posting every Friday.

This is when I plan on updating you on my weight loss progress because Fridays are when I weight in and although I am not yet comfortable posting my weight online, I will be posting how much weight I lose from week to week.
I’ll keep you up to date on what my current goal(s) are and when I reach them. I’ll also be sharing confessions, tips, tricks and interesting information relating to fitness and working out.

I weighed myself today and although I haven’t been adhering to any diet or workout, I have lost 10lbs since about three weeks ago. Now that I have started taking my weight loss seriously I hope to see even better results.

Those ten pounds might not seem like much but I managed to lose that weight mostly by not eating out as often. Note that I said “as often”, meaning I was still eating out. I was only working out about two to three times per week. It really doesn’t take much to start seeing results but the more “sacrifices” you make and the harder you work at it, the faster you will see those results.

Time to Get Serious

This installment of Fitness Friday is a little lacking since I am just starting off on my fitness craze and I don’t really have much to report.

My husband and I are on day 2 of what I have been calling “The 7 Day Veggie Cleanse”. We have been eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables, mostly in smoothie form and I have been having my Herbalife Meal Replacement shakes twice a day, because I’m weak and they really help me control how much I eat. This “diet”(healthy eating) should help us to cleanse our bodies of all the chemicals and waste that we have been putting into it, in the form of barely edible “food”. This is also a nice way to kick-start our weight loss.

Along with that I started back up on my Chalean workout videos. I really recommend these, they work. If you push yourself when you workout and work really hard your going to see results fast. Remember it’s a workout, it’s not supposed to be easy. It’s always hard to start working out when your not used to being physically active, day one is the worst and the hardest but remember it’s all worth it and in no time your going to be looking forward to your daily workouts.

Find your inspiration, get hot, get sweaty and get fit!

With that being said I’m off to do my workout… … …
I decided to wait till after my Chalean workout to post this installment of Fitness Friday. I wont sugar coat it. it was really hard and my muscles are burning and shaking but I feel amazing. I did the maximum reps for each exercise and really pushed myself outside my comfort zone.

Although I could use heavier weights for some exercise I have to make due till I get my new heavier weights. To compensate, I focus on the muscle groups I want to workout and flex them, making my weights seem even heavier than they are. I hope to get some new weights next week and yeah, I’m excited!

No excuses, it’s now or never!! Let’s get in shape together, the healthy way, for life.
High Five to everyone who did their workout today!!

Oh and I almost forgot to mention I am about to take my dreaded before picture so I can share it with you when this weight loss journey is behind me.

Why not take a before and after weight loss picture of your own. I would love to post them with a short explanation on how you did it.

Do you workout or are you just starting to workout? What’s your painful pleasure? How do you stay fit?

While at a local Mexican grocery I found a product called “tajin Seasoning”. It’s really good on just about everything but be warned it’s packed with salt. Since I am not a fan of salt and I don’t like processed foods I decided to try and imitate the taste at home, using fresh, natural ingredients.

Even Better Than tajin

Time to rev up our fruits and vegetables the natural healthy and super tasty way!!


Kickin’ Fruits and Veggies (this can’t be any easier)

Ingredients;
Ground Cayenne Pepper
1-2 Limes (lemons will also work)
All the fruit and/or vegetables you want to eat

Cut your fruit and/or veggies into slices
Cut the lime(s) in half and squeeze generous amount over the fruit and/or Veggies
Sprinkle with Ground Cayenne Pepper to taste
Enjoy

TIP
If you can go with fresh rather than store bought, your taste buds will thank you.

We are lucky that we grow Cayenne Peppers in the summer so we can make our own fresh ground cayenne. It’s so much better than store bought.
We also have a lime and a lemon tree. So when the urge hits us we can pick fresh citrus.

Suggested Use
Like I said just about anything. I have yet to find a fruit or veggie that isn’t tasty paired up with this duo of flavor. I really love this on Granny Smith apples, celery and oranges. It’s a great and healthy substitute for salad dressing. Great with vegetable drinks and apparently even mixed in Michelada beer (I’ll have to try this one when I get a chance).

I don’t use this all the time, since I really love the taste of fresh fruits and veggies but sometimes I just want a little kick to my snack and this is an easy and healthy way to do just that.

Experiment and let me know what delicious combinations you come up with.

          I hate, hate, hate new years resolutions with a passion. They just seem like such a gimmick and a guarantee your going to fail, or at least they hold that reputation. Yet here I am writing about mine. To be honest these are things that I have been working on trying to incorporate into my life for some time now. Can you tell I’m not the most disciplined person. I decided that with the new year should come a new found enthusiasm to succeed at these resolutions or what I prefer to call them “life goals”.

I don’t want these to simply be something I do for the next year, I want them to become a part of my life.

Drum roll please…

My 2012 Life Goals

# 1 Drink More Water

I vow to drink at least the minimum amount of water for my body weight per day to properly cleans and hydrate myself.

          My husband is ALWAYS on my case about not drinking enough water. It’s not only that I don’t drink much water but I just don’t drink much of anything and water certainly comes last. Water is so vitally important to our bodies, two thirds of our body is water making it the main “ingredient” of the human body. It’s not only vital to our health but to our life.


A FEW QUICK BENEFITS OF DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
- removes toxins from the body (absorbed through; our skin, breathing, eating etc)
- clearer, healthier, younger looking skin
- less likely to get a headache and supports a healthy immune system
- your body wont feel as sore, tired or rundown
- helps you lose weight (this in itself should be reason enough)
This next one was a shocker but makes sense
- reduces the risk of getting cancer (we can all use a boost to our defenses)

How I Plan To Drink My Water Each Day
Well from now on it will be my primary source of liquids. Anytime I want to drink something, be it because I’m thirsty or sitting down to a meal it’s going to be water.
I have cut out all store purchased drinks that are mostly corn syrup, chemicals, and harmful dyes. This includes all soda, or any other drink sold in stores, even the ones that claim to be “juice”.
(I will still allow myself to drink tea in moderation, one or two cups per day, no sugar, milk or anything else added and the tea I drink does not go towards the total amount of water I need. Tea or anything else is not water and doesn’t count)
Other than that I am just going to drink my water and keep track of how much I’m drinking, so I can reach my goal each day.

TIPS
- Invest in a good filter. Even if you think your water is clean and safe to drink, you can benifit from filtering out anything that has been added to it.
- Don’t drink bottled water (for various reasons) and don’t store water in plastic containers. The water, especially if it is filtered will leach chemicals from the plastic that you will put into your body when you drink the water. It also ads a gross taste to your water that you will notice once you stop using plastic, you really wont want to go back.
- The colder the better. I don’t really like water (though I’m getting more used to it) but I do love cold water, really cold water. I often make what my husband refers to as “Glacier Water”.
I just put some ice in my Vita Mix blender add water to cover the ice then blend smooth. This makes the most refreshing glass of water you can get at home.
- Have a glass (8oz) of water before each meal, before you eat anything. You will eat less and get in an easy 24oz of water (even more if you eat more than three times per day)
- Keep in mind that the body does crave water, although it is often misinterpreted as a food craving. So next time your craving, have a glass of water and wait it out to see if that’s what your body wanted before scoffing down something your going to regret later.

To figure out your minimum amount of water per day for your body weight is simple.
You want to weight yourself, divide that number by two and that is the amount of ounces (oz) of water you should be drinking each day. Don’t let the big number scare you into thinking your going to drown with all that water. If you think about it 8oz make one cup of water. So if the number of oz of water you have to drink each day intimidates you then convert it to cups per day, now that doesn’t seem so bad.

body weight / 2 = # of ounces of water you need to drink each day
(divide the number of oz per day by 8 = cups per day)


#2 Eat Healthy
I vow to eat healthy whole foods such as fruits and vegetable and cut out harmful processed foods.

          This is something my husband and I have been doing on and off all last year but we both agree it’s time we stop teetering on the edge and make the change for good. Basically we want to go on a green smoothie healthy eating plan till we get down to our appropriate weight. Eating green vegetable smoothies we make fresh at home using a variety of vegetables, hemp protein and flax oil. We will allow ourselves to snack on all the veggies we can eat and some fruit in between meals and have green smoothies three to six times per day.
Since I “work” from home I want to start eating a small meal(smoothie) every 4 hours with veggie snacks in between. This is going to take some discipline on my part but it is the optimal way to intake food energy to keep your body working at it’s peek, especially for those who are physically active.

Eating healthy is so important yet overlooked by so many, and its no wonder why. When you look at North American towns that seem littered with restaurants and 24hr fast food places, serving greasy barely edible (yet tasty) food, with gigantic proportions that leave you feeling stuffed and bloated. Then you have billboards, commercials and ads just about everywhere that promote unhealthy food designed to lure you into indulging. Your not even safe at the grocery store. I used to think that staying clear of the aisles and focus on the outer walls of the grocery store was a safe way to shop for food but they have caught on that we do this and started to pile tempting, high fructose, corn syrup, chemically packed food right next to our veggies.

There is one store in particular that is extremely bad for this and because of this I have stopped shopping there. When you enter this store you must travel through the produce section to get to the rest of the food. I think this is actually a pretty good idea, it promotes you to purchase some healthy fruits and veggies but what disgusts me is that slightly down the path you are forced to walk through, is where they put all the packaged cakes, donuts and other sweet goodies. So they deliberately force you to walk through this section to get to any other part of the store. Even if you just wanted to grab some veggies you still have to go through that area to get to the checkout. It’s evil tactics like this that have American obesity so out of control. Yes we are all to blame for not simply saying no, but for someone like myself who likes food and sweets, this can be a challenge. Food, especially sugar, like corn syrup (that seems to be in all processed foods) is highly addictive and it sickens me that we are all prayed upon by a system that cares only about making more money any way they can.

A FEW QUICK BENEFITS OF EATING HEALTHY WHOLE FOODS
- They are healthy for you and what your body needs (packed with natural fiber, vitamins and minerals)
- makes your body and mind stronger
- makes you less likely to get sick / stronger immune system
- the easiest, healthiest way to lose weight is by eating whole foods
- much cheaper than processed manufactured foods
here is one you might not think about when considering what to eat
- you will drastically cut back on the amount of garbage you toss out, especially if you purchase your produce from Farmer’s Markets. If you think about it whole fruits and veggies generally don’t come packaged like processed foods that are often packed multiple times (in a bag that is in a box that is wrapped in plastic… so much waste)

HOW DO I PLAN TO EAT HEALTHIER?
Find out more about My Green Smoothie’s and what else I eat here “COMING SOON (writing post now)”

TIPS
- Don’t let yourself get hungry, have healthy snack to munch on and keep your energy levels up so you are less likely to break down and indulge in some very bad craving
- Drink plenty of water, it will help you to feel full
- Don’t temp yourself. Don’t keep any unhealthy food around the house, if you have it there it’s because you plan on eating it. So cleanse your kitchen and get rid of the bad stuff.
- Always remember why you want to do this. Keep a “personal mission statement” with you to remind you why your doing this and to inspire you to stay strong when those powerful cravings come on.
- Stay active. Your less likely to find the time to crave garbage food when your busy. If you feel yourself breaking down, get up and get yourself out of that situation. Have a glass of water and go for a walk around the block.
- Remember the cravings for garbage foods will pass and you will soon be craving the nutritious food your body needs. Best part of this is you can indulge in all the vegetables and some fruit.


#3 Be Physically Active

I vow to make time to be physically active for at least 20 minutes everyday.

Working out is something I have been getting into for the past few months but I haven’t been as consistent as I should be. I spend most of my day “working” in front of my home computer and in turn get very little to no physical activity, unless I go out of my way and make the time to workout. This is part of the reason I have put on so much weight over the past few years. I definitely want to become a stronger healthier person. I hate this soft, weak, pathetic body. I feel so trapped and pulled down by it.

A FEW QUICK BENEFITS OF BEING PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
- it will make you healthier and your body stronger
- it will give you energy
- it will boost your metabolism
- it’s fun and can be a great way to socialize, try new things or see new places
- can be a great way to have some “ME” time
- you’ll look better, stand taller and be more confident
- you will be more self sufficient and able to take care of yourself
- it makes you happy. the body likes to be active and when you workout you release Endorphins that do just that
Here’s an interesting little fact
- working out increases your libido (naturally without chemicals or gimmicks)

TIPS
- Your more likely to do something that is fun and stress free. Think of it as your reward for the days hard work. Try a few things till you find whats right for you (I hate working out at a gym so I do workouts at home that are just as effective)
- start off slow, work your way into it, your not going to be as good as someone who is in shape and has been working out all their lives (don’t compare yourself to others). But make sure to always push yourself as hard as you can and you’ll get in better shape.
- stay hydrated, it will be much easier to workout and for your body to recover after
- Get a pair of comfortable trainers (sneakers) that fir you properly and give you the type of support your foot needs and the support you will need for the activity you plan on doing
- keep it simple but effective. you don’t have to spend lots of money or have lots of fancy equipment to workout. Get your heart rate up however and wherever you can. Sit ups, push ups and squats are really effective and you don’t need to spend any money to do them, they can also be done anywhere. Going for a brisk walk will get your heart rate up and blood pumping.
- think positive and encourage yourself to keep going


#4 Achieve My Optimum Weight
I vow to work at it until I reach my optimum weight for my height and continue to maintain that weight throughout my life.

I have been over weight all my life. I went through the usual ups and downs all my like but I am at my all time biggest right and I hate it. I hate how I look, I hate how I feel and I hate how weak my body is. The weight has caused problems for me in every aspect of my life. When I first moved to California I was at my healthiest weight ever and I don’t know how I could have ever allowed myself to get this way but it happened and now I have to get back in shape. I don’t only want to get back down to the weight I was when I arrived I want to go all the way and reach my optimal weight which is anywhere form about 115lbs to 145lbs. I’m aiming for somewhere in between, so about 130lbs. I have a long way to go but I will get there and I’ll do it the healthy way. By working out and eating healthy food.

How I Plan To Reach My Optimal Weight and Maintain It
All the previous life goals I listed will help me achieve this one, so I’m already on my way. But I want to rev things up a little and that’s why I’m starting to do the Chaleen workout videos again. Last time I did them for a very short time and my husband quickly started to notice results. Like any exercise, it’s only as effective as you want it to be. You really have to push beyond your comfort zone and make it count. I will also be walking for an hour a day on my elliptical trainer, pushing myself till I can jog for the full hour. I have started eating two Herbalife meal replacement shakes per day instead of meals. I am also drinking their “herbal tea concentrate” for an energy boost. So far I am really satisfied with the products and will be reviewing them in about a month. I am putting myself out there and by publicly posting every step of my weight loss journey. I hope this will encourage me to succeed. My husband who is also overweight is going to be going through his own weight loss journey with me, so we can be pillars of support for one and other.
I’m staying positive and contentiously tell myself I CAN do this. I know it’s going to take time, hard work, determination and discipline. This is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and I’m up for the challenge, even excited about it. I can’t wait to see the results.

A FEW QUICK BENEFITS OF MAINTAINING YOUR OPTIMAL WEIGHT
- being over weight puts a huge strain on your entire body, especially your heart and this becomes more dangerous the older you get
- drastically reduces your chances of getting diabetes
- reduces your risk of getting certain types of cancer, especially for women
- you’ll have more energy
- look and feel better with more self esteem
- you wont be limited by your weight. you will be free to do what you want and wear what you want.
- your will be stronger, more flexible and more agile
- you will be healthier and feel healthier

TIPS
- set small, reasonable goals for yourself
- praise yourself each step of the way. every workout, every healthy meal, every sacrifice is a huge deal so remind yourself often how well your doing
- remember why your doing this and stay motivated. Keep a personal mission statement to remind yourself why
- don’t give up if you mess up or miss a day. Just get right back on track and keep at it
- do it the healthy way and you’ll develop good living habits that will stay with you through life and keep you fit and healthy
- have fun


#5 Have a Better Outlook On Life

I vow to not become a bitter old woman, by focusing more on the good, rather than the bad in life.

I’ve noticed that although I am happy I have become rather cynical and I don’t like it. So I have to change before it’s too late, heaven forbid I become an cranky, bitter old woman. There is far too much for me to be happy about and I have noticed that I do feel much better when I have a positive outlook. I’m not sure why I am like this now but it could stem from the fact that I have been betrayed by many that I have put my trust into, that I feel that society is superficial, conceited, arrogant, artificial, money motivated, and for the most part heartless. It’s left me feeling rather detached. I have also noticed that with the more weight I have gained the more bitter I seem to become. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part I am very happy, I smile and laugh with my husband all the time, I love to make him laugh with my silly ways. It’s when I get out in the world around other that I tend to feel it, something dark and rotten growing inside of me, poke at me, irritating and annoying me to the point where I often can’t stand how some people act. I refuse to accept that this is simply associated with the fact that I am getting older and more detached with the current trends of the world. I have always been a kind. happy, outgoing person and I want to keep being that way.

How I Will Become Less Cynical
The only thing I can really think of is to have a more positive outlook on the world. To be more tolerant and forgiving of others. I’ll try to remind myself of what matters and what doesn’t and to well, not sweat the small stuff. There is still good in the world and the bad is there to help us see the good, or at least I’ll try to tell myself that. I’m just going to have to keep reminding myself to stop any time I catch myself being cynical.

A FEW QUICK BENEFITS TO STOP BEING CYNICAL
- lower stress levels
- over all happier person
- less wrinkles (from not frowning)
- less annoying and more sociable, your friends will want to spend more time with you

TIPS
This is kind of a tough one to think of any tips
- be aware of your behavior
- try to smile more, it’s hard to by angry or bitter when your smiling
- focus on what and who makes you happy and ignore/forget about the rest (don’t wast your life being miserable)

#6 To Write More Often

I vow to give myself time to write something, anything everyday in 2012.

I love to write and it’s something my husband is ALWAYS encouraging me to do more often. I love how much he enjoys reading what I write (or listening to me read it for him). I get so much pleasure from writing and sharing it with other. Yet I rarely give myself time to write, so I really want to work on that.

Not only writing but I want to give myself time to do creative things, time for me, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, reading etc… I have a strong creative spirit that needs to be allowed some freedom from time to time. I also notice how much better I feel when I allow myself time to write and be creative.

I want to try very hard to write a post on here everyday till the end of the year and to find time to work on my art so that I can also share it with all of you.

For me 2012 is all about growing as a person and opening up to the world. I hope you will join me in reaching for the stars or at the very least our Life Goals.

Do you have any “life goals” for 2012, if so what are they?

My husband and I headed to our local Macy’s so that I could browse through their cosmetics department for the perfect little indulgence to spend my gift card on. My husband with his infinite patience waited and waited some more for me to finish shopping. Having found the perfect gift, both practical and fun, I gathered my husband and we headed to the register to make my purchase. The sales representative rungs up the order and gave us our total; it was more than the gift card would cover but this wasn’t an issue since I was happy with my selection. My husband hands her the gift card and to our surprise she informs us that there is a zero balance on the card. Confused yet prepared, we present her with the purchase receipt for the gift card (my aunt had kindly included it). So the sales rep decides to call in her manager.

He takes one discriminating look at us and without even fully hearing out the sales rep’s explanation, he immediately tells her there is nothing they can do, the balance is zero. Take note that he wasn’t even professional enough to address my husband nor myself. Apparently we weren’t worthy enough of his time or acknowledgment. Thankfully the concerned sales representative spoke up and forced him to hear her out. See the thing was that this gift card was clearly not used, it was in mint condition and as she mentioned to him one very important detail, she had to remove the security sticker from the back before attempting to use it plus we did have the purchase receipt. Reluctantly; and I say this with confidence as it was obvious the manager was reluctant to help us but he did, sort of.

He decides to pass the problem on to a higher up, his manager from what I assume. As no one was really paying much attention to us, other than the sales rep, let alone introducing themselves to us. Again I felt as though I was not worth their time, nor did Macy’s value my business. After speaking with the sales rep this second manager left and was gone for at least ten minutes and I am being very generous by saying ten minutes as I am sure it was closer to double that time.

During this lengthy wait we were simply given a short explanation from the sales rep that he (the second manager) was looking into it, he was going to call and see when the gift card was used. Now not that waiting around this long was embarrassing enough or uncomfortable enough but the entire time, various sales reps came up the one trying to assist us and kept asking her what was going on. They were doing this right in front of us, I felt as though we became a sort of a side show attraction, the days gossip to be passed around the store. Then on top of that to make us feel even more like we were an unwelcome inconvenience to them; each time another sales rep approaches ours to hear the gossip, we also got to hear how because she is stuck helping us with this gift card issue she couldn’t take her break. I desperately wanted to tell them “I’m so sorry to inconvenience you, when all I wanted to do was use a clearly shawty gift card I was given for Christmas to make a purchase from your store. I am sorry to bother you while you are at work being payed to assist me…” but I held my tongue, it’s not in my nature to be so rude. Even though in reality this was not my fault and they should have been concerned about the inconvenience my husband and I were forced to endure but after all she was the only one who seemed to be genuinely trying to help us.

Time continued to tick away and I had long since regretted ever coming into Macy’s, this wasn’t my idea of fun but I knew the card was unused and I simply wanted to have everything resolved so I could make my purchase and put this whole ordeal behind me.

Finally after a long humiliating wait the manager returns with a paper in hand and after hearing out the sales rep’s side of things one last time he tells us that he was in contact with the fraud department and the gift card was spent. Then he proceeds to say that the interesting thing is that it was purchased at a local Macy’s in December (but not the Macy’s at the mall we were at) and that the gift card was spent in New York at store number 002 in early February. Then he goes on to tell us that it is one of their biggest stores, why I don’t know.

Well considering that I live in California and have not left the state during that time, that the security sticker was still on the card and we had a receipt of purchase for the gift card, one would think that finally I would get to make my purchase and move on with our day but no.

The manager rambles on about something or other that he has to contact someone and find out more information and so on before the issue can be resolved. Then he tells us that the people he needs to speak with are on lunch (at 3pm on a Sunday), so he well have to call us back once he sorts things out on his end and we will have to come back to the store where he will issue us another gift card to replace the one in question.

So it’s not getting resolved today? Nope!

The entire time he is telling us this he seems agitated and is trying to walk away from us. Again I feel extremely disrespected. He barely gets our name and number when he informs us he will be in touch, probably later that day but at the latest by Tuesday and walks off.

I reluctantly gave him the benefit of the doubt but as it is now Thursday and we have not heard from him I am left feeling insulted and outraged at the disrespect I have endured from Macy’s and their staff. At the very least someone should have called us by now to inform us of any progress, to apologize for the inconvenience and assure us the issue is being taken care of. This issue should have been immediately resolved in store that day and if there were other details they had to take care of on their end then they should have done so on their time not ours but alas we are still left waiting in the dark.

I will be contacting them tomorrow, though I am doubtful anything will come of it, I will most certainly update you on the events that follow.

The bottom line is that I now feel that Macy’s gift cards are a scam. Don’t bother wasting your money on them. Macy’s gift cards are clearly not secure and if anything was to happen to the balance on one don’t expect to get it resolved in a timely, professional manner or at all and don’t expect to see that money again!!

Do yourself a favor, do your friends a favor and don’t purchase a Macy’s gift card and especially don’t gift one unless you want to leave your friends and family disappointed holding a worthless piece of red plastic.

But I think this Barbie fails to connect the two worlds. She’s doesn’t seem all that technical or all that pretty, she’s just too plain. Her accessories aren’t the slightest bit technically advanced. I’m sure if you could chat with any Barbie Doll she could confirm that she has her very own little pink netbook at the dream mansion and uses it every day to shop for her latest trend setting fashions and her cell phone, well, that never leaves her side. Who knows when Ken might call. She could also confirm that she always obeys the law and uses her hands free device when talking to her friends while cruising down Fashonista Drive in her hot pink convertible.

Is this what will become of Computer Engineer (Blogger) Barbie…

What do you think of Computer Engineer Barbie?

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I recently and completely by accident discovered the British group One Night Only, and I fell in love. Though i listen to their entire self titled album frequently I just can;t help but keep going back for my daily dose or two or three of the song “Say You Don’t Want It”. I just can’t seem to get enough of it. I was hooked the moment I watched the video. It’s one of the cutest videos I have seen. Romantic yet tragic at the same time and what girl doesn’t love a romantic tragedy. If you haven’t seen it check it out and let me know what you thought. and yes that is Emma Watson co-staring in the video

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On another note I’m sporting some sexy light grey nails. Who would have thought grey nail polish but I really like it. I’ve worn metalics before such as silver and gun metal but never a light flat grey color. It’s a really nice shade for winter, I can’t give you the color because it’s my own creation – created using Sally Hansen – Naturel White and OPI – Black Onyx. I mixed the black with the white till I got the shade of grey I wanted. Topped it all off with a nice high gloss top coat from Sally Hansen – Mega Shine(I picked it up at Walmart for around $5).

I was about to paint my nails black but just my luck my only black polish was too thick, so I decided to mix some of it with one of the two whites I had on hand. I’m glad I did cause I now have a great new color in my nail box.

Do any of you dare to experiment with your nail polish? If so, what are some hit combination you have discovered and what were the disasters?