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!

Finished the 30 Day Shred - here's my review!

Woo hoo! I completed Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred!! I got to say, I’m pretty proud of myself! This is not the first time I’ve started the Shred, but the first time I’ve started it and completed it in full. The first time I did it, I went through Level 1 and was halfway through Level 2 and contemplating moving to Level 3 when I got sick and I fell off the 30DS bandwagon. I used to do all my exercising together - one hour of cardio followed by the 30DS - right before bedtime and I was always SUPER tired, so when I think about it, I can totally see why it was pretty easy for me to drop the 30DS. This time I really wanted to finish it and I made it my goal to finish. I started on January 11th. I didn’t finish it completely in 30 days, but I’d say around 35-40 days because I took a day off here and there to give myself a break. Instead of doing the Shred right after my cardio before bedtime and being so tired, I started my day with it so I had no excuses to half-ass it.

So, in case you don’t know much about the 30 Day Shred, let me give you some background information on it. The 30 Day Shred is a Jillian Michaels workout. It comes with three levels and all levels are approximately 25 minutes long from warm up to cool down. Each level gets progressively more challenging. Jillian suggest that you start at Level 1 and work yourself up Level 2 and then Level 3. These workouts contain Jillian’s 3-2-1 system, where you do three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs and you do the 3-2-1 circuit three times after a warmup and before a cool down. Behind Jillian are Anita and Natalie. Anita does modified exercises for beginners.

I can remember when I started Level 1, I was so sore the next day! I actually took day 3 off because I was so sore. By day 6 or 7, I remember smiling when Jillian said, “if you’re on day 5, 6, 7, I’m sure you’re seeing a huge difference in your endurance!” because I was noticing huge changes! Level 1 was pretty basic but tough. The strength training you do throughout the circuits are pushups, squat and press, side lunge with lateral raises, chest flys, static lunges with bicep curls, and dumbbells rows in a squat position. Cardio is jumping jacks, jumprope, butt kicks, and punches/shadowboxing. Abs is a basic crunch, reverse crunch, bicycle crunches, and oblique crunches. I still to this day hate lunges!

Level 2 is my least favorite, to be honest. Mostly because it has so many plank moves! Ack! I did start enjoying plank a little more once I got a good pair of grippy gloves that kept my hands from slipping. I didn’t have a decent pair of shoes while doing the Shred so I did it barefoot most of the time, and I think that is another reason why I found the planking so difficult. I did the modified most of the time, except for the plank jacks. I find pros and cons to doing this barefoot, but more pros for me since my shoes are a full size too big. (New shoes should arrive tomorrow, woo hoo!!) This one is definitely a lot harder than level 1. And my least favorite. Phew. I loved when it was over for the day! The strength moves for level two are walking pushups, dumbbell rows in a squat position, military press and a leg extension, V raise and a chair squat, pendulum lunges and hammer curls, and  static lunge and rows. Cardio was plank jacks, plank thrusts, double jumprope, oblique twists, skaters and high knees. Abs were plank twists, and a few others that I can’t remember right off. I LOVED the skater and the oblique twist cardio though. But that was about it. This one was tough! Phew. I think I actually did this one for 13 days because I didn’t feel ready to move on. In fact, I moved on to Level 3 worried I might have to hop back to level two to continue building up…

But Level 3 was my favorite!! To be honest, I almost felt like in a way it was too easy?! But still tough. It was like doing Level 1 all over again, but only more fun. This one doesn’t have as much plank as level 2 did, and you don’t use the weights as often as you did in the first two levels. The exercises have a lot of jump and plyometric training. The strength moves were traveling pushups, a plank move where you start on your elbows and then go up to your hands and then back down, a superman stretch, deep squat with a dumbbell clean, jumping lunges, and plank rows with leg raises. Cardio is rockstar jump, jump squat (loved these!), jumping jacks, butt kicks, and punches (all with dumbbells), mountain climbers and plie squats. Abs is sit ups, pike crunches, scissor crunches, and side plank raise. Since I’m used to doing a lot of jumping with DDR, this one was a lot of fun for me because it had lots of jumping. I never was able to get the jumping lunges down though. I hate lunges and never feel like I have the proper form (although I’ve been told I do so who knows!) but I think this is where not having good shoes was a total hindrance.

All in all, I really did enjoy the 30 Day Shred and totally recommend it. The music that is played in the background is a little annoying and after a few days and you have the exercises down, I ended up turning off the background and would watch the TV screen but play my own music and that helped it go on a lot! With my own music, even Level 2 got to be tolerable! I didn’t think to take measurements before, but I did take pictures. I think I see some definite changes!! I know I’m a bit pessimistic as it is, but I use the word “think” because somedays I do truly see the changes, and some days I don’t. But when I do notice the changes, I see it in my arms, which is exciting, since my arms are definitely one of the places I feel most self conscious about. (I’ll blog on that later.) Looking at pictures from the back, I can tell that I’m starting to look less “cupcakey/muffin toppish/love handles” (I currently cannot remember the correct term I want to use here)!

Because of all this, I totally recommend it! Here’s something cool: like I said, I bought new shoes and they should arrive here tomorrow. I also bought Jillian’s Ripped In 30 dvd a few days ago and I planned to start it the day I got my new shoes. Even though I finished the Shred a few days ago, I’ve been continuing to do Level 3 in the mornings because I enjoy it so much, but wanted to mix it up a bit so yesterday I did Level 2, and today I did Level 1 again today. Level 2 still was challenging, but not like it used to be! And level one I didn’t modify at all! And to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole workout, remember how I had to take a break the first few days because it was so hard. I used to think it’d never end, but today it ended too fast. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read!! If you're interested in buying the DVD, here's a link to it on Amazon. 

Find your passion and make it happen!

While checking Facebook, a Facebook post from former The Biggest Loser (TBL) contestant Shay Sorrells popped up in my feed about Jillian Michaels leaving the show for the third time. I used to be ridiculously addicted to TBL and I admit that I still watch it when it airs, but it is far from my favorite show nowadays. Where I used to find it very motivating, now I find it completely the opposite. And where I used to feel like it was a show that advocated good health, I now feel completely the opposite, especially with the previous season that aired. It did get me curious on how some of my favorite former TBL contestants were doing. I decided to look them up on Facebook. I found Abby Rike and then sisters Hannah Curlee, and Olivia Ward. I was just scrolling down to find some pictures or other sorts of inspiration when I found a post that Olivia had written. Since it seemed a little out of place (no picture, just a bit of text) I stopped and decided to read it. I am so glad I did! Here's what it said:

"If you think Bootcamps are bad...then don't do them. If you think spinning is bad....then don't do it. If you think Crossfit is bad...then don't do it. If you feel the need to tear other people down for THEIR choices in fitness because it WORKS for them...please dear Lord DON'T DO IT!! Everyone is different and every practice is different that is why one might work for you and the other won't. There are risks in any type of intense physical activity choose what is best for you...because the most dangerous is eating cheetos on the couch and doing nothing. Rant over."

After last nights blog was kind of depressing and very ranty, and my posts are sporadic at most, (although I do hope to get better at posting!) when I read that, felt like I had to speak about it. Mostly because I didn't want to leave my previously whiny blog pays to be the first thing that people see if they happen to come across this page.  Also, because I really could relate to it. If you're just reading this blog for the first time and this is the first post you're reading, hi! My weight loss is mostly in thanks to a video game called Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR. Sounds crazy, huh, a video game for working out! Not on the Wii, not on the Kinect (although they do have DDR games for Wii) but on the good ol' PS2, a system that is waaay old! Now that we've touched base on that, let me get to while I could relate to this.

I've had people say some pretty nasty things about my playing DDR. As started in a previous blog post, one person's opinion of my playing DDR eventually lead me to quitting. And then after a year or so, I realized that it was ridiculous to quit the one thing that I not only enjoyed, but worked for me. While unconventional, DDR works for me! Who or what gives someone the right to belittle what works for you? Do you look silly when doing something that works for you? So what. It works for you. Do it proudly. Is DDR a video game? Yes. But I dance proudly because it works for me. If you think DDR is bad, then by all means, play the game. If you think dancing around your bedroom is bad, then don't. If you think the treadmill is ridiculous, then don't buy one and avoid them. With that said, don't knock on what works for me. First off, because your words will just bounce off. They will not register in my brain, and you'd be wasting your breath. Secondly, because another thing I learned is the best person to listen to is myself - and you know what I say? GET UP AND DANCE!

Find what works for you, and do it. Who cares what kind of physical activity you engage in if it works for you? Find your passion and make it happen! In the end, you and your good health (and awesome body) will have the last laugh. :)

Motivation

I'm lucky. I've read other blogs, seem peoples comments on various places, and so many people say that staying motivated is very hard for them. I'm grateful that there are no motivation issues for me for the most part. Some days I am really frustrated with working out and I just want it to be over, but that is few and far between.

I think some of that is because I work out mostly by doing something fun (playing Dance Dance Revolution, which I will go into more details soon) but also, some of it is because I have a goal to work for, and I like to think and hope I am goal oriented. The fact that I have kept up this lifestyle, and do some kind of physical activity almost every night makes me think that yeah, I've got to at least be a little goal oriented, right?

Maybe I should explain what helps keep me motivated. Keep in mind that it might be seen as mean, or childish, or petty. In 2011, I was in a very nasty fight with a girl I once considered a very close friend, perhaps a best friend. Being friends with this person was tough from the beginning. We met when we were middle school aged, but we didn't form a close bond until a couple years later. I burned a lot of bridges to be friends with her. She has a different personality, I guess you could say, and one that not many people seem to like, or understand. I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but in school, I was known as the "nice girl" and if you give me time, I can find good in anyone, including this particular person. I was the person who would smile at everyone, who gave anyone a chance, or didn't matter what kind of person they were. I would give everyone a chance, and unless given a valid reason, I don't dislike anyone. However, when it came to this person, a lot of people didn't understand, and because of that, bridges were burned. As I look back, I can't believe that I chose that kind of friend either. I guess in a way, you could say she did not respect my feelings, ideals, morals or dreams at all. I don't want to go into details, because that's not what this particular blog post is about. Growing up, I didn't realize that she really wasn't a good friend, or the right kind of friend for me. The incidents that happened in 2011 just gave me light to the side that so many other people had been warning me about for years.

This girl said something to me one day, in the middle of our fight, that lasted an entire summer: "Julie, if you want to feel better about yourself, you should travel, or go to school, or do something else that makes you feel better to yourself besides DDR." - that's not the direct quote, but that's mostly the gist of it. Do something that makes you feel better about yourself than play DDR, which is a video game, but it's video game that has proven to work for me to lose weight.

I was really upset. Devastated. I stopped playing DDR because I felt pathetic. Even to this day, when I see someone and they're so shocked at how much weight I've lost, I can feel my face turn red. "Oh, I lost it playing a video game..." I shouldn't feel ashamed. Why should I feel ashamed? It's cheaper than a gym membership! It's a whole lot of fun! I've always loved it! I recently found that message again, and reading it just made me realize that this girl just never understood. Seriously. If you truly loved someone, and was excited that they were succeeding, why would you tell them to stop doing that?

From 2011 until August 2012, I just felt really pathetic. I mean, I felt like I didn't have any friends. I do have friends, but at the moment I don't drive, and my best friend, Aubrey, lives far beyond walking distance. I felt really alone. I had a lot of time to sit and think, and think, and think about the argument between me and the other girl, and then I realized that is what she wanted. She wanted me to relive her calling me pathetic, fat, loser, etc. And I also realized that my anger was justified, but I could do something healthier with it.

So I started playing DDR again. I channeled that anger, and I turned it into passion. I decided then and there that I wanted to be thinner than the girl I dislike the most. Maybe I was a pathetic fat loser. I can't argue and say that I wasn't fat. But that was going to change. I wanted to get to that size. She can't call me fat, unless she calls herself fat too! So that was my goal. That was my motivation, and I think I've reached that. I don't know, but occasionally I see her around, and I think so, and I feel proud. I can't call her up and ask her her weight, or her pants size! And, I did it all on my own. Hard work. Not only DDR. I walk my puppy a lot. I watch what I eat. I've realized that I enjoy running! I have a treadmill, exercise bike, and an elliptical machine at home, and I have a 3 mile floodwall near. Lots of sidewalk and two legs.

Sure, it's childish, but it's kept me going. I've kept that inside for a long time, just because it is silly, I know. But it's my motivation, and it is what started everything. And I've got to say, I know I'm not the only one who has motivation like that. I was watching Dr. Oz, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on, discussing the soda ban. This was a few months ago. Dr. Oz and Mayor Bloomberg discussed how he had went to the federal government to try and make things like potato chips, snack food, and soda ineligible to be bought with a food stamp card. Dr. Oz made note that Mayor Bloomberg's time as mayor was coming to an end, and he wanted to know if he (Bloomberg) thought that health was going to be his main legacy. Mayor Bloomberg said, “I’ll tell you ways to think about this: think about the person you don’t like most in the world. Do you want to be at their funeral or do you want them to be at yours? If that doesn’t get you to take care of yourself, I don’t know what does.”

On top of that, I do enjoy working out. I enjoy physical activity. I've become passionate about it, and it's something that I just love to do. I'm on my way to being healthier than I was when I was a child, and I love that. I'm old enough to do things with my life and young enough to enjoy it. 

Enjoying my workouts, knowing that I'm making my life better, and of course using past anger as fuel is what keeps me motivated. Now I'm not saying that I don't think about that person every day, I don't. I did in the beginning, and occasionally I do, but I also replay years of being teased as a child in my head too occasionally, on days where I am really struggling, and it gives me what I need. If someone tells me that I can't, I want to look them in the eye and say, "Watch me!"