Treating myself with bath bombs!!

Hey guys! How has your February been now that the month is almost over? I definitely cannot complain about mine! February is a pretty cool month for me regardless because I happen to be born in February! Any February 9th babies out there?! Special shoutout to you! Even bigger shoutout to the ones born in 1988 - I was born at 2:29PM - am I older?! :D 

I’m pretty sure mentioned before that I have some issues taking rest days. This is because I’m so afraid of falling off the bandwagon and because of the guilt that I experience on days off or on days where I might indulge a little more than usual. Since I know that’s not healthy at all, I’ve been coming up with ways to treat myself! This month I’ve been making sure to stop telling myself no so much, and I’ve also been giving myself LOTS of love by means of bubble baths!! I love love love bubble baths. Growing up, my parents only had a shower stall in the bathroom that we had access too (we rented the second floor with the beautiful claw toed tub out until I was in 8th grade) so my bubble baths were limited to Grandma Doris’s house and a large storage container that I used as a tub until I got too big for it and old enough to just take showers anyway. Maybe that’s why I prefer bubble baths now as an adult? While a bubble bath is nice in general, I like to go the extra mile! So I’ve been trying my hand at making bath bombs! I’ve finally found a recipe that works pretty for me and I’m so excited to share!

Bath Bomb Recipe!

The ingredients you will need are baking soda, cornstarch, epsom salts, citric acid, oil, essential or fragrance oil, soap or food coloring, a teeny bit of water, and a mold. I used a medium size Easter egg. You can usually find the citric acid in the canning section of the supermarket. It was a bit difficult for me to find, but I found mine right away at Meijer! I got scented oil for soap and soap coloring at my local craft store but food coloring would be all right, and on the last couple I made, I’ve been out of scented oil for soap, and I’ve used lavender scented baby oil. 

Dry ingredients list
1/2 baking soda
1/4 cornstarch

1/4 citric acid
1/4 epsom salt

First you take your dry ingredients. You need 1/2 cup of baking soda, and then 1/4 cup of cornstarch, epsom salts, and citric acid. I use a whisk to mix them together and make sure all my dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed. 

Second you mix together your wet ingredients, and this is where things get a bit tricky depending on your location, you level of humidity, and so on. Here’s what worked best for me. Take 3 teaspoons of oil first. I used castor oil but any oil would be all right. Olive oil, coconut oil, baby oil, you get the idea. The first recipe I found on Youtube called for a tablespoon of essential or scented oil. My first two batches of bath bombs, I followed it to a T. It works all right, but the scent was VERY strong. That’s okay, but I also had problems with the wet ingredients reacting with the dry ingredients when I mixed them and expanding a little bit and taking a long time to dry. Because of this, I added in one to two teaspoons of scented oil to my castor oil. Next I added several drops of my soap (or food) coloring. I added quite a but because I like the color to be fairly dark and vibrant. I don’t have an exact teaspoon amount, but I put anywhere from 20-30 drops in. I mix my wet ingredients and then SLOWLY mix it to my dry ingredients. I’ve actually learned that the wet oils don’t exactly start the fizzing in the dry ingredients, but I still use my whisk and mix the wet and the dry ingredients very, very quickly to try and avoid any reaction.


Once it’s all mixed up, you will have a consistency of slightly wet sand. You can press it together in your hand but for me, the bath bomb still crumbles when you try and it in your mold (I used a plastic easter egg) or at least it does for me. In this second youtube video I found, these girls added in the wet oil ingredients and the dry ingredients and then added the water last. This has worked great for me! I use 1-2 tablespoons of water and either mix it in VERY slowly, whisking as I mix in the water to avoid reaction, or I use a spray bottle, still whisking quickly as I mix the water. Once finished, this gives me the same consistency of wet sand, but instead of slightly wet, it’s slightly wetter if that makes sense. I took this video to give you an idea of what the consistency looks like for me!

A video posted by Julie (@z0mgaah) on Feb 26, 2016 at 11:07pm PST

You can stop here and bottle up the mixture as a fizzy bath salt, or you can continue making bombs. Pack the mixture into both sides the mold tightly to where it is overflowing and them press together. Carefully take off one side of your egg/mold and then the other. If your bomb crumbles, you might need more water. One thing I’ve been doing is that after taking out my bomb out of my egg, I will press it between my hands to make sure it really is packed in. As you can see in my images, the bombs look slightly lumpy and more round than an oblong egg shape, but I just like making sure they’re completely packed together. This recipe makes two to two and a half medium sized bath bombs. After packing them together, I set them on a paper cupcake holder to dry out at least overnight, sometimes up to 48 hours. Then I drop them in the bath tub and thoroughly enjoy the fizzy goodness! The epsom salt helps my sore and achy muscles, the fragrance makes the whole bathroom smell amazing, and the oil helps my dry skin.

It’s an awesome way to treat yourself after a long week of hardcore workouts! I love soaking in the tub and using these along with my favorite bubble bath! What a way to relax… dim the lights, play some music, and just relax. Ahhhh!

Interested to see how they work? Here is one I used the other night. Same recipe I shared, just used a different soap coloring!

A video posted by Julie (@z0mgaah) on Feb 28, 2016 at 10:14am PST

I like to think of working out as a way to better myself and in the long run, I hope it’ll be a great treat, but it’s obviously not like a bubble bath! What’s you favorite way to treat yourself? 

Happy 2016!!

Hey guys! Happy 2016! Did you have a good Christmas? Was Santa good? How about those New Years Resolutions?

I had a great Christmas! I ended up getting a Fitbit Charge HR, which I adore so far! I’m still learning all the cool things that I can do with it and will write a more detailed review soon. So far I really love it, which makes all the worrying I did wondering if the Fitbit was worth it totally a waste of time! I need to stop worrying so much. So much energy spent getting all nervous over things I have no control over! 

My New Years Resolution is to continue on this journey of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, worry less about things I should not worry about, and just try to enjoy my life. I actually went to our local Chinese joint to get some food and I thought it was quite fitting. I don’t actively talk about this, but sometimes, I just really struggle with all this healthy lifestyle stuff. Sometimes I am far too strict with myself; not giving myself time off to let my muscles heal, telling myself no to a treat. I’ve recently been doing much better about that, but it still is very hard sometimes. I constantly am reminded by friends (and I remind myself) that I will not lose over three years of hard work if I take a night out and eat at a restaurant, or have a slice of cake, or whatever I indulge in. Constant indulgences might be an issue, but every once in a while? It’s okay! So I thought, you know, why not start the year off with a nice treat to myself? Gotta live! Live more, worry less! So far, it’s all right. So in addition to worrying less, I’ve also decided that in the year 2016, I want to be on the move, and I want to get in 1000 miles this year. When I run, I generally run just slightly over four miles. I think 1000 is a good number, if I were to run four miles for 366 days (Leap Year!) that would be 1464 miles in a year. I know that there are going to be days where I don’t feel like running, whether I’m sick or injured or whatever, and that gives me 464 miles to play around with. ;) I actually need to get better at taking a day off - it’s that whole worrying thing again. It’ll all come with time. 

I’ve been doing Killer Body again but only the Upper Body workout although I might add in the dreaded core workout, and start doing the lower body also. I missed doing it. Using five pound weights feel like nothing now! Great feeling when I think back to how heavy they felt in the beginning. I’m not sure if Shred It With Weights helped build me up or what. Despite it all, I feel like that’s a non-scale victory! I can definitely notice a difference in how heavy I can go! Gotta invest in some heavier weights now! Even with doing Killer Body, I’m still looking for something more, and I think I may even be ready to branch away from Jillian and look into other at-home DVD’s. I’d like to be able to get to where I can lift heavier and really start building up some noticeable muscle this year. 

I have lots of dreams this year and my hope is to be able to accomplish them all! I’m grateful that I’m at a place where I feel like I can accomplish the dreams and goals I set for the year. I don’t see myself falling off the bandwagon. Even a few weeks ago when I fell slightly off the bandwagon for a few days after the illness that never was, I was still able to get back on it (thanks again, fictional guy). With that said, think of those who might not have the support or determination you or I do. I’ve come across many memes, jokes, and articles in fitness-inspired groups and just online in general making fun of the people who have fitness and health related goals as their resolutions. I’ve seen so many articles about the “New Year Gym Rush” and how they wonder how long the new people will last. Why are we saying this? Why are so many people so sure that someone new can’t do what we did? We all began somewhere! I began in August 2012, rather than January 1 on some random year, but I started at the bottom. We all start from the bottom. Yes, many people resolve to make changes at the beginning of the year. Sure, some people don’t stick with it. Some people do, but why are we discouraging others? Lets build one another up and not make another feel as tall as a blade of grass. I became a fan of PrayFit on Facebook, and I saw this, I thought I would end my post by sharing it here! Happy New Year! 

“I said it last year, but I can't help but already notice – from Twitter to chain emails – the avid exercisers mocking the new faces at the gym (or those they will soon see.) And they all have the same, general theme: “Oh those resolutions. I wonder how long they will last…”Aren’t we glad God doesn’t say the same about us? “Oh, here’s Jimmy again. Same sin, same confession, I wonder how long this commitment will last.”Guys, if it helps, think of the new face at the gym or on the road, or in the pool, like a visitor at a crowded church on Christmas day. Acknowledge them, welcome them and tell them you’ll see them next time. They may not be familiar with the gym's layout, but they'll know where to find grace. You never know, your words of encouragement might be what saves their lives. Remember, it takes courage for them to show up. Now, it’s your turn. -JP #‎PrayFit(It also takes courage NOT to show up. Join us at prayfit.org from January 1-10 for our retreat; from the gym, from the road, from movement, from activity. But it doesn't mean we won't be "training.”)”

A Treadmill Story

Hey guys! Did you all have a great Christmas? Get any cool presents? I got a Fitbit Charge HR and I love it. I'll blog about it soon once I learn all the niftiness of it. For now, I'm going to tell you a story. The story of the fitness gadget that stole my heart before the fitbit did a few days ago.

Are you ready to hear the story of my treadmill? Gosh, how nerdy am I? Haha. 

So, a few months ago, I broke down and bought a treadmill. My family had a really old one that we bought at a yard sale for $50 when I was 14. I’d guess the previous owners had already had it for four or five years, so when it started shorting out and dying after 20 or 30 minutes of running on it, I had mixed feelings. Bummed, of course, because on nights I didn’t feel like playing DDR, the treadmill was a great alternative and sometimes just what I needed to get a break from DDR. But then again, this treadmill seemed to last forever and I had bought it for next to nothing. It definitely had a good life with us and I’d imagine it did well for the people who had it previously! I couldn’t complain about the treadmill itself, but but the cost to buy a new one knowing that I would use it a lot was a bit unnerving. There are sooooo many out there, I research to the death, I’m wishy washy and a bit indecisive and, I’ll admit it, very frugal. If I’m buying something, I want to be sure I’m making the right decision. With that said, I’m the only person in my home that exercises regularly and eats healthily and frankly, the treadmill was my decision and mine alone. I had input and opinions about where and what to buy, but in the end, it was all me. And since I’m the only person who exercises, it was hard to get my family on board to go to different places and test out different treadmills. I drove to a second hand sports store one time but mostly the only other option I had were to look online and read different reviews. I also asked questions in a workout group I’m apart of on Facebook what treadmills, if any, that they have bought to get more opinions. 

In the end, I had it narrowed down to two treadmills. One from Walmart (which would have been bought on Walmart.com and unable to actually test out) with several positive reviews. It was a Weslo Cadence G5.9. The treadmill that was bought at the yard sale was also a Welso and it lasted a long time. It was reasonable (under $300) also, which made it an ideal purchase. The other one was a Proform Crosswalk 415 from Sears, which I actually got to test out at our local Sears when we made a random trip to the mall. I had no intentions of testing out the treadmills but happened to walk past and it seemed to be fate! The sales guy at Sears (shout out to Timothy at the Tri-County Mall in Cincinnati - you were beyond awesome and helpful!) was great and he was really helpful by letting me know how long the sale would last with the treadmill (it was on sale for just over $400) and also printed out something that I could take to another Sears which was a bit closer and buy it there for that price guaranteed. After coming home and researching it I was in a bit of a dilemma. The Proform was a bit more expensive, and whereas the Weslo had over 1000 reviews and a lot of information online, it seemed as if the Proform was hiding. There were less than 50 reviews on the Sears website, there was a video on YouTube that only had a few hundred views, and it was as if the Proform was virtually unknown. Phew. It might not seem like much, but I agonized over this for days! It seemed like the Welso was the way to go, I mean I had all the reviews I needed, ample youtube videos, it was cheaper by $100, my only option was to order online and that would help me earn Swagbucks* through Shop and Earn, and even some of the ladies from the group I mentioned previously had a Welso, although a few actually said they had a Proform and liked it. The Welso had a manual incline vs. the automatic incline on the Proform and that was a con, but still not sure what to do. But in the end? I bought the Proform from Sears. And seriously, I could NOT be happier with it! I sure I would have been happy with either Treadmill, but the cool thing about the Proform is that I got to try it out, I got to hear it run at the store. The sales guy at Sears was beyond nice. If something goes wrong with it, someone from Sears can come and fix it. I think I made the right decision.

I paid for the treadmill completely with money I earned via Swagbucks, which makes it extra awesome. If you’re not familiar with Swagbucks, here is a quick rundown: you earn “Swagbucks” for little tasks you do throughout their site and on their phone/tablet apps. One swagbuck (or SB) equals one cent. You can  one cent or 1SB by voting in a daily poll. You can take, say, a 10 minute survey and earn around 50SB’s (sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. The higher paying surveys are usually a little longer). You can install the Swagbucks TV app on android and iOS and watch videos on your tablet or phone and earn at minimum as of this writing for the US 36SB’s a day. The other day I requested a brochure on a vacation to Alaska through their discover section and I got 68SB’s. I ordered something for my dog a few weeks ago at Petsmart and activated Shop and Earn via Swagbucks and picked it up in the store later that day, and I got 360SB’s ($3.60)! With very minimal effort (it usually takes me about an hour a day give or take a few minutes) I can usually made anywhere from $1-3 a day or 100-300 Swagbucks. Sometimes I make more, and sometimes I make less. But at the end of the month, I usually make anywhere from 3000-5000SB’s, or $30-50 a month. It’s not a lot by any means, but it definitely adds up! You can trade the Swagbucks in for several different gift cards to places such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Ebay, Foot Locker, Bass Pro Shops, Kohls, a Visa Check Card, and so much more. I usually trade mine in for a Paypal gift card, which can be moved over to my bank account. That’s how I paid for my treadmill! While researching and trying to decide what was right for me, I was Swaggin’ away earning money to help pay for it, which definitely helped with my frugality! I definitely recommend Swagbucks if you’re looking for a quick and fairly easy way to earn a little bit of extra money. Sometimes I take the money and buy work out clothes, shoes, or groceries or even pay bills with it! I have linked Swagbucks with my referral (which is ArrowDancer - get it?! :D) and would love if you signed up to sign up with my referral. It’s not necessary, but I would much appreciate it!

So there it is, the story of my treadmill. All the research, the wishy washy thinking, the major Swag I had, and more was totally worth it. I actually haven’t played DDR once since getting my treadmill. I miss it quite a bit actually, but my workout playlist consists of DDR songs and I will watch DDR videos WHILE running on the treadmill. Oh man. DDR nerd for life!! 

Jillian Michaels' Shred It With Weights - Level 2.

Wow! It’s been a while. Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? Get any good deals Black Friday shopping? How’s Christmas shopping going? On the subject of shopping, I got tired of doing Level 1 of Shred It With Weights on Youtube, so I went Amazon shopping for myself and bought the DVD so I could move on to Level 2. I thought that would take a few minutes to talk about it! 

Like every Jillian workout, she has two girls doing the advanced and the modified versions. Basheerah and Maddie are back again, doing advanced and modified respectively. In this workout, Maddie used a dumbbell like Level 1 and Basheerah used a kettlebell. I used my 10lb kettlebell for this workout. Like always, it starts with a quick warmup that includes figure eights, hip thrusts, deep squat into a lunge and a couple more moves that I’m forgetting. You move right on to your first circuit. Be afraid. 

Circuit 1 has you doing awful, horrible split jumps (basically a backwards lunge while pressing up your kettlebell or dumbbell, and yes, I hate this move), halo while balancing on one foot, and Rock n’ Roll like Ripped In 30 and Killer Body. I’m going to be honest with you guys - Rock n’ Roll’s have always been really tough for me. Some of it was the limited space I have in my bedroom when I work out. One time I almost busted my head and face coming up from a Rock n’ Roll and while I even made a joke about it when I mentioned it, it was quite terrifying! That was always on my mind when it came to doing that move. I would always modify it, and a lot of times anyway I couldn’t go from the sitting on the floor with my knees up to a standing position (like a deep squat). I would cross my ankles or use my hands to help me up. I moved all my Jillian workout stuff downstairs to our living room, so I have much more room now to swing the kettlebell. I also have less chance of busting my head. So I looked on different websites such as Reddit and on Youtube and researched how to master the the Rock n’ Roll/Deck Squat/whatever you want to call it. I’m not 100% perfect, but I can now do this without crossing my legs or using my hands! It is an AWESOME feeling!! Anyway, that aside, you repeat this circuit on the other side and then finish out this one with star jumps while holding the kettlebell. Have fun, those star jumps are tough! ;)

Circuit 2 coming up! She has you doing Plank Rows. I’m not sure why this is so difficult for me, but I cannot do this with the kettlebell. It’s not because my kettlebell is too heavy, but I think it’s because it sits so high and I feel like there isn’t must to row with how high the handle comes up when I’m in plank! I used the dumbbell for this. Then she has you do something she calls swing throughs, where you do a regular kettle bell swing and then swing it through your legs, looking between them. Next is “plyo swings” where you start out taking steps forward and backward with the kettlebell and then jump forward and backwards. Repeat, and then finish the circuit with deep squats while holding the kettlebell.

Circuit three has you doing what Jillian calls Rotating Heroes, where you swing the kettlebell and rotate to the left (or the right when you do it again). You swing the kettlebell over your head and let it hang over your head for a few minutes. Then she has you do inverted pushups while holding the kettlebell horns (or handle). After that, she has you do what she calls punch swings, where you swing the kettlebell with one arm and punch it out. You repeat on both side and then finish this circuit with Russian Swings. After that, cool it down.

All right. I really want to trust Jillian. I really do. I love her DVD’s and they have changed my body in ways I never thought possible. But there are some moves on Level 2 of Shred It With Weights that just do not seem safe to me. I mentioned that I looked on Reddit and Youtube to try and learn how to do the rock n’ roll squat. During that research I also found a lot of people claiming that Jillian’s form with the kettlebell is wrong. I also read claims that her moves on Level 2 was unsafe. I have to admit that as I was doing some of the moves, I was a little concerned of the safety. With that said, I am a beginner to kettlebells; I’m a beginner to all of this. I have never been to a gym and lifted weights inside a gym, I have never been told if my form is correct (I sure hope it is! I think it is.) and pretty much what I’ve learned, I’ve learned by watching and researching and then more watching and researching, and mimicking the moves. So when it comes to circuit 2 and Jillian says it’s time for Swing Throughs, I just do a regular kettle bell swing. For Plyo Swings, I do swings again, but I will step into them more often than I will jump. I actually found a video tonight of a man doing a plyo hop with a kettlebell where he doesn’t swing his arms. I might give that a go. For rotating heroes, I swing and rotate, but I don’t go over my head. I’m trying to research and find a good way to add that into my workout. For pushups on the kettlebell horns, I just toss the kettlebell away and do regular pushups. For punch swings, I just do a one-armed swing. I’ve still done this every night for close to three weeks now. I really like Level 1, and it’s not that I don’t like Level 2. I’m still doing the work, but switching it up a bit. 

So now that I’ve reviewed the whole DVD, here’s what I suggest: Level 1 is on Youtube and it’s great. And Level 2 is a lot of fun, and I like it, when I feel like I’ve got alternatives to the moves and am doing it safer. Personally, I still would have bought the DVD for Level 1, but you could probably do just as well without Level 2. I actually feel like Level 1 is tougher with all the modifying I’m doing to level 2 to make it feel safer to me. 

So there it is: my review on Level 2 of Shred It With Weights by Jillian Michaels. Don’t shoot me, guys! 

My favorite kitchen gadgets

I know that the majority of my posts in this blog are about my workout, but nutrition is very important as well. Sometimes it’s not always easy to keep my nutrition on track but I have a few kitchen gadgets that make it much easier! So this blog post is dedicated to my favorite kitchen gadgets! If I mention a brand name, I’m just mentioning it for the heck of it. I’m not getting paid, I’m just sharing my opinion! ^_^

My food scale is super helpful. I bought a digital food scale (I believe mine is Hamilton Beach) at Kitchen Collections at the Cincinnati Premium Outlet in Monroe, Ohio. It was a bit cheaper than any other digital food scale I had seen at Target, Walmart, Kroger and other places. I think I paid around $15 for it. Total steal! And it’s so helpful because it gives me the exact weight of whatever it is I’m weighing up to 11 pounds. I totally recommend having a scale, whether it’s digital or not. I had bought two non-digital scales previously and neither one lasted a very long time. The first one was because I dropped it and the second one, I think it got messed up from having things at on top of it. I’ve had the digital one for about a month and I love it!

Another kitchen gadget that I love isn’t really a gadget, it’s a kitchen necessity. Measuring cups. They’re great and yes, a total necessity in the kitchen. I measure out everything to make sure that I’m not getting too much or cheating myself. ;). When I eyeball, I tend to give myself way too much or way too less and measuring cups just make things easier.

I love using blender and a mini food chopper. My blender isn’t anything special, it’s just your average blender but I can make so much with it. Smoothies, milkshakes, protein drinks. The same with my mini-chopper. I didn’t spend an arm and a leg, it’s just your average little chopper but it works great. I love chopping up chicken to make chicken salad. I want to chop up some cauliflower and try to make the cauliflower pizza crust sometime but I might need a slightly bigger one (or will have to do it several times!). Both are really helpful.

Another favorite of mine is my pineapple slicer. I got a pineapple slicer earlier this summer and that this is great. I got a really simple and cheap one from Walmart that I was really nervous about breaking but it works great! I have cut up a pineapple without the slicer one time. I never forgot. It was HARD. I’lll be the first to admit that dicing and slicing are NOT my strong points; it takes me probably a full five minutes to dice up a tomato for a salad, so that might be part of my difficulties with slicing pineapple but the slicer still is AMAZING. Plus it’s really fun to take the skin part of the pine apple and drink out of it. ;)

And last night not least, my all time favorite kitchen gadget is my julienne slicer/peeler. I’ve mentioned this thing before when I posted about my zucchini noodles but mentioning it again because IT IS AMAZING. I can take a zucchini or a summer squash and make some yummy noodles out of the vegetables and it’s just great. I’m definitely a pasta girl, but the zucchini and squash noodles are amazing alternatives and most of the time once I get a little bit of cheese and some spaghetti sauce on it, I don’t even notice (that much) that I’m not eating real pasta. And you can used the julienne for so much more, too.

So there ya go. My favorite kitchen gadgets (or kitchen necessities in the case of measuring cups). I truly believe that these things have really helped make a major difference in my journey. Really simple things, like making sure I have the right measurements or weight, having a tool to have food alternatives, a pineapple slicer to make life easier (and more fun, I mean, come on, doesn’t drinking out of a pineapple sound fun).

Do you have a favorite kitchen gadget?

Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown - Level 1

The other day I decided to take a break from the treadmill and Shred It With Weights since my knee and quad have been a bit sore. I went back and forth on what workout to do and decided to give Yoga Meltdown another try. I don’t own the DVD (I do own Yoga Inferno) but Level 1 is on Youtube. 

I still feel like a total n00b when it comes to yoga. I’ve never taken a class and I’m still not 100% confident that I have the poses down correctly, but with that said, I was definitely more confident this time around than I was the last time I did it. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m more flexible than I was the last time or stronger or because I’ve done Yoga Inferno, which from what I understand is like yoga on uppers. :P

Like all Jillian DVD’s, this one has a girl doing advanced moves and another doing modified versions. It starts with a quick warm up that includes chair pose, stretches to warm up your hips, and chaturanga pushups. After the warmup is the first circuit, where you go in and out of poses (“rep it out” as Jillian calls it) and then you do a power pose where you hold the pose for 15 seconds. Circuit one has you popping in and out of crescent pose, doing knee thrusts/donkey kick in downward dog, and then chaturanga pushups. You repeat on the opposite side. After you repeat on the opposite side, she has you do two sun salutations and then you’re ready for circuit two.

Circuit two has you popping in and out of warrior 2, going in and out of camel, and then side planks, where you hold each pose at the end for 15 seconds. You repeat it again on the opposite side. Afterwards, two more sun salutations and then you move on to circuit three. 

In circuit three you’re popping in and out of warrior 3, and then you’re in an ab hold on your elbows doing dolphin (I still love to hate dolphin! Reminded me of Killer Body core workout), and then in and out of locust pose. Repeat on the opposite side, and end it with two sun salutations. And then you’re ready for a cooldown. 

I’ll be honest: Yoga Meltdown is not my favorite. As gross as it sounds, I love getting hot and sweaty after a workout, I love feeling like my heart is about to pop out of my chest. I don’t get that with Yoga Meltdown. It does feel a bit too easy for me. BUT I did feel very relaxed and stretched out! But I will say that the next day, I noticed that my body felt a bit sore. What?! I don’t get that very often anymore, so that opened my eyes that maybe I’m using muscles I haven’t used in a while. So while there was no part of the workout I felt like I was going to die, I wasn’t gargling my heart (a favorite Jillian quote of mine, hahah!), the next day, I still felt it some. I think I might actually do this one a little more often, maybe once every couple of weeks. 

Non-candy Trick or Treat ideas!

All the best ideas come to me in the shower. 

Halloween is just a few days away! One of my favorites because for a few weeks at least, I can get away with dressing up like Sailor Moon, Mary Poppins, dress like a cowgirl… ;) Maybe not that crazy but I can be a bit more creative. And of course, in addition to costumes, there are also things like trick or treat and all that fun Halloween candy! I was thinking (while in the shower, of course!) about how growing up, I’d always get a LOT of candy, and how sometimes a lot of it would end up in the trash just because we got sooo much. I was also thinking about how Halloween opens the door to the holiday season. After Halloween comes Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the things that come with that special time of year: family, happiness, cheer, and a whole lot of food. Christmas cookies, all those Thanksgiving pies. Couple that with a lot of Halloween candy, wow. That’s a lot in three months! Then, of course, I got to thinking about this thing that’s been going around Facebook, reminding people to be kind during trick or treat, with reminders that some children may look disappointed because your bowl has something they’re allergic too, or one child might grab more because they’re hungry or reach in and search because of a sensory thing. It got the wheels turning in my head that there are valid reasons why it would be cool to think of something other than candy that can be given out at Trick or Treat. 

1. A clay charm. I’m very artsy, if you don’t know. When I was 9 years old, I asked for a pottery wheel for Christmas. I got it! ;) I’ve always been very into sculpting and clay and one of my favorite things to do is to make fun little charms out of polymer clay. it’s pretty simple to sculpt out some little ghosties that are in the top left of the collage. It's white polymer clay rolled out  and flattened and then cut out with a small cookie cutter. If you don’t feel like buying polymer clay, you can make your own clay. 

2. While on the subject of clay; you can just give a little bit of clay! You can buy polymer clay at your local craft stores, or you can make a big batch out of simple ingredients you probably already have! I used to make the water, flour, and salt version and keep it made up when I was babysitting full time. A small amount is still enough for a lot of fun for kids and a fun alternative to candy! Put an eighth or a fourth of a cup in a small baggie. The issue with this is that parents might be a bit afraid of it because it’s a bit messy. There are a lot of clay recipes at this link!

3. Another thing I thought of, mostly because I love scrapbooking, is to make little bookmarks. Halloween themed, of course! Cut out ghosts, witches, frankensteins, and so on with cardstock and paste them on another piece of cardstock that’s the size of a bookmark. On the other side, you can write an encouraging message. “You are worth it!” “You can do anything!” “You are a treasure!” Sometimes kids need to be reminded of their worth. You never know, maybe a child will flip it over and it'll give them a much needed smile or a sense of hope! You can take clear contact paper to protect the bookmark further. 

Sure, they’re not quite as fun as a candy bar. But I’m sure there will be others! And it’s not as boring as something like a rock. (Poor Charlie Brown!)

Can you think of any trick or treat alternatives besides candy? 

Thanks for reading!