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January 23, 2008
My Fruit Roll-Ups
***Contest give-away!!! Keep READING for one of three chances to win!"
February 14, 2008.
Mark that date on your calendar, because that is the date that I officially become a "cool mom." Every single holiday, my daughter brings home these special treats from kids in her class. For Christmas, we do nothing; they send home bags and bags of candies and treats. For Valentine’s Day, we did simple Valentine cards; they send home ornate Valentine’s complete with bags and bags of treats. This year, I’ve got the answer, and it’s not even time-consuming or bank-breaking. It’s just plain awesome.
What kid doesn’t love a fruit roll-up right? I mean, they are the freak of nature fruit snack that every kid loves (as do parents because they’re not messy). Now you can customize fruit roll-ups to make them say anything you want them to say. Wait, I know what you’re thinking and yes, they do have Valentine’s themed fruit roll-ups.
Here’s how you get them. Go here and start having some fun. You can design your very own fruit roll-ups. You can use pictures, choose your font and even choose the color of the writing and pictures on the roll-up. My daughter’s design features little cupids, hearts that say "be mine" and "Love, Big I." She is thrilled that she’s giving these out and together we just saved a ton of time writing out Valentine’s and putting together gift bags.
The customized fruit roll-ups come in packages of 30 and cost $29.99 (plus tax, where applicable). There’s also a nominal shipping fee. BUT WAIT!
Three lucky readers will be able to get a box of 30 customizable roll-ups for FREE! Here’s what you need to do. Simply post in the comments below the sweetest Valentine’s message you’ve either sent or received (or, you know, just send me a super sweet Valentine’s message). Three of the sweetest entries will be chosen and you’ll be given a promotional code to get your own box of customizable fruit roll-ups (complete with free shipping)!
You have exactly one week to post your sweet message. Winner will be notified by Friday, February 1st so that you can get your code and place your order in time for Valentine’s Day.
For making the life of a busy Mom a whole lot easier, and for finally getting me a coveted spot amongst the "cool moms," BBM gives "My Fruit Roll-Ups":
January 23, 2008
Room-a-Day Giveaway
It is with great hesitation that I bring you this post. I’ll tell you why. If I tell you about how to register for the "Room-a-Day Giveaway," then my chances of winning go down. My chances going down is a very bad thing.
My kitchen has bright pink counter-tops. No, I don’t kid. My cabinets have pink knobs to match. There’s also the pink pinstriped wallpaper and oh yes, the floor. My tile floor is as old as my house and has faded to a nice off-white to put it nicely.
Did I mention my bedroom has sponge painting and raspberry colored carpet? Yes it does; and yes, the previous owner loved her pink. It’s not my mistake! I just inherited it (Ok, well actually bought and swore I’d change later, but four years later. . .you get the idea).
These are just two of the reasons that I have been feverishly entering the contest day after day after day. I’ll tell you how to as well. Just know that if you win, you owe me or something.
Kimberly-Clark sponsors this "Room-a-Day Giveaway" each year to reward deserving Moms and to give them a chance to "relax, restore and renew." (I can’t even begin to tell you how much those three R’s would be present in this house if I could only eliminate some pink. . . but enough about me).
Sixteen very lucky winners will be awarded between the dates of January 28th-February 15th. The winners will be announced on The View. Winners receive $25,000 to renovate any room in their house. The final contestant will be announced on March 21st on the "Room-a-Day Giveaway" website. You can enter daily and increase your odds of winning here. Don’t forget to check out the dancing diapers and paper towels while you’re there.
Kimberly-Clark has brands such as Kleenex®, Scott®, Huggies®, Pull-ups®, Depend® and Kotex®.
Kimberly-Clark’s trusted brands offer solutions to clean, organize and beautify every room of your home, making life happier, healthier and more fulfilling.
They also help to eliminate excess "pink" from homes, at least that’s what I’m hoping for anyway.
If I win this contest, I’m totally giving it a black belt. That’s right, a black belt.
January 18, 2008
Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System
Those of you who follow the MMA showcase that is the UFC will be well aware of the name Matt Hughes. For those not in the know, he’s a 9-time Welterweight World Champion in the aforementioned organisation. He didn’t get there through luck, and it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen him that he’s a strong, fit and very motivated individual. It’s for these very reasons that I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to review his new Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System.
The Ultimate Fitness System is available as a five-part video download from iAmplify.com, with each video focusing on a different aspect of the training. These break down as being Core, Impact, Intensity, Power and an extra fifth video, Mental Edge which features an interview with Matt and an insight into his own training, background and mental preparation. As the names of the sections suggest, each video puts specific focus on an workout area, which is really useful as it means you can create your own routine and schedule and work it in around whatever other training you might already do. For me, this happens to be my own Martial Arts training, and training in a kick/punch system I was pleased to see some good speed and endurance drills based around sparring movements.
Each training video lasts for around an hour, and is well produced and presented. There are three people demonstrating at any one time, with input from Matt waiting in the wings as and when required. Each member of the team does essentially the same exercises, but at a varying level of intensity or difficulty. It’s a really nice touch and means that you don’t have to attempt to keep up with someone seemingly super-human, and at the opposite end of the scale there’s no need to limit your workout by matching what someone of a lower level of strength or fitness is doing. They also act as good goals for anyone wanting to push themselves, as you can start off following the lowest intensity, and as you get fitter and stronger move up to the next level.
It’s advertised as a complete fitness system, and for once it’s actually true. Everything you’d expect to be there is present such as cardio work, strength and endurance work, fast-twitch muscle building and flexibility, but it’s good to see the other important facets of a good training session, namely warm-ups and stretching. Both are sometimes breezed over with little attention in other video instructionals, but these videos provide a good realistic amount of both. Anyone who’s ever had a muscle pull or tear can probably vouch for the importance of stretching and getting warm. Whenever ‘props’ are required – such as a jump rope or hand weights – it’s clearly stated on the screen, and a nice touch is the inclusion of alternatives should they not be available (no hand weights? how about cans of soup?).
Despite all the good things I’ve already said, there’s still one thing which separates the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System from its competition, and that’s the format in which it’s presented. Instead of DVDs, the videos are downloaded directly from the iAmplify site. Each is around 100MB in size, and they’re in MPEG-4 (.mp4) format. What that means to you and me is that they can easily be downloaded to a personal media player (iPod Video for example) and taken with you. Do you ever find that at home it’s really tricky to find the time to claim the living room for yourself for an hour to work out? Or maybe you have kids and find it literally impossible to clear enough toys from the room to get the space for it? Pop the videos onto your media player (or laptop) and head out somewhere else. It might only be as far as the garden, or maybe a gym or local hall, but you can take your workout with you.
I consider myself moderately fit for my age and weight, training 3 or 4 times a week in martial arts will do that for you, and I have to say that having tried these out I can vouch for just how much of a workout you get. They certainly aren’t "walk in the park" easy, and could take someone with a low level of fitness a few weeks to build up to get through the full hour without stopping, but if you’re already reasonably active or have good perseverance this can really add to your fitness and strength. It’s professionally presented, well organised and enjoyable.
You can purchase and download the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System directly from the site, and by way of a special offer we’ve teamed up with iAmplify to get a special discount for BBM Review readers! Simply click the following link.
Learn More about PlyoMix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes
As far as workout video systems go, this has to rank among the best. The very unfit may struggle at first, but as a supplement to existing training or incorporating all of the parts as a standalone routine it’s very good at what it does. Just be prepared to work hard! TSDAdam awards the Matt Hughes Ultimate Fitness System…
Ikigai108’s Review
While watching the UFC, have you ever had that brief moment where you contemplate how you would stack up against a fighter like Matt Hughes? I think it’s pretty common. Next time that little voice pops into your head, remind yourself of this – Matt Hughes is one of the most physically fit athletes in the world and is, essentially, a destroyer of men.
I realized that pretty quickly while watching the Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System, presented by iAmplify. This system is designed to be a full body workout, ideal for anyone wanting to get in shape (but especially for those training in the martial arts). This series is presented as downloadable videos from iAmplify and comes in five main categories: power, core, intensity, impact, and mental edge. I’d like to break down my impression of each section, then give an overall review of the system.
POWER
The Power video is very similar to some existing workout tapes you might have seen. It involves a stepbox, jumprope, and a few other trademark devices of the workout industry. The Matt Hughes team takes you through a good warmup routine and then runs through a series of cardio intensive drills. However, unlike normal step programs, activities like pushups are thrown in from time to time to work on strength as well as endurance. Matt Hughes acts as the coach, helping keep each team member motivated.
CORE
The Core video is pretty darn wicked. This focuses on core strength around the abdomen/pelvic area (or hara, as the japanese martial arts like to call it). There are a wide variety of crunches and leg lifting exercises that make you feel the burn very quickly. One exercise called alternate straight leg pedaling kills me. The Hughes team faired much better than I did. If you need an ab work – this is the place to be.
INTENSITY
Intensity has a definite fighter’s slant. This workout uses resistance training and heavy bag striking (on the ground). I personally enjoyed this one due to it’s easy translation into fighting but also because the workouts were not dull in any way. One sign of a good system is keeping participants interested, and I think Intensity is a success in that realm.
IMPACT
Impact is where weight lifting and bench work comes into play. It’s not heavy weight lifting; instead, they use light-moderate weight and incorporate it into their workout. The Hughes team uses free hand weights, 5-15 pounds or so, and lead you through a series of squats and bench exercises. Impact offers a balanced combination of weight training and cardio, so people not looking to do 200 pound bench presses can still enjoy and participate.
MENTAL EDGE
This is a nice addition in the form of an interview with Matt Hughes. Anyone purchasing the videos will enjoy it, but MMA fans will especially appreciate it. The interview takes place in front of a pond on the farm where Matt grew up. He talks about his childhood and how his rural lifestyle instilled in him an excellent work ethic that has really helped bring success in professional fighting. He also talks about how he implements his workout program and some other useful pointers for preparing for a fight.
OVERALL
The exercises presented on this video are very good. This is a workout program designed to fit beginner, intermediate, and advanced users. That being said, there are a few things I’d like to comment on. First and foremost, the Matt Hughes team does 95% of the working out, with only small demonstrations by Matt himself. I would have enjoyed seeing Matt demonstrate what a real UFC fighter looks like going through the workout. I think most martial artists would agree that watching an expert can be as helpful as listening to their advice. Matt’s tips as the "coach" were indeed helpful, but not critical. There could have been someone else acting as motivator, or perhaps Matt doing a voice-over with advice as everyone worked out. I felt the biggest thing lacking in Matt Hughes’ system was Matt Hughes.
One other little pet peeve – The main aerobic instructor, Jennifer, made some excessive SSHH-ing noises. SHH, SHH, SHH. I found it a bit distracting. Also, this is not a good breathing habit to get into for martial artists because it indicates breathing from high in the lungs instead of low out of the diaphragm. I know it can’t all be diaphragm breathing when working out, but excessive SHH breathing should be avoided.
On the positive side, excellent tips and suggestions were flashed on the screen throughout the videos. Each video lets you know what to expect and what you will need in a clear and organized fashion.
I enjoyed the Plyomix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes. I think it has some really useful qualities. However, it wasn’t a homerun for me. Therefore, the result for Ikigai108 is…
Learn More about PlyoMix Ultimate Fitness System by Matt Hughes
January 17, 2008
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January 15, 2008
My Journey with the Grandmaster
!Have you ever wondered what it would be like to train in Okinawa under one of the Grandmasters? Do you desire to understand the martial arts more deeply? Are you looking for a martial arts book that takes you on a fantastic journey? Look no further.
"My Journey with the Grandmaster" by Kyoshi Major William Hayes USMC (Ret.) is one of the most amazing books I have ever had the pleasure to read. Although there is not a single color photograph in the entire book, Kyoshi Hayes paints such a visually stunning picture of his journey in the martial arts, and of what life was like as a young Marine stationed in Okinawa learning under Shimabukuro Eizo, a Grandmaster of Okinawan Shorin-ryu Karate-do, that a reader can truly escape to Okinawa while indulging in this engrossing book.
"As I recall, the beach was almost overwhelming in its natural beauty. The sand was course but clean, the water, crystal clear close to the shoreline-deepening to a pure green and then deep blue as you looked out to sea. Over my shoulders I looked up to see some of the huge chunks of coral which had been pushed up from the ocean floor to help form the coastline. Thatches of lush greenery sprung from the seemingly hostile rocks and small sandcrabs scrambled about like tiny commuters on their way to and from work."
Vivid descriptions of the landscape, the people, the cuisine, the politics, the racial unrest during the Vietnam war in the military and of his intense training in Shorin-ryu provide the reader with a wealth of information to soak in and digest.
With the writing and the unique perspective he provides in this book, Kyoshi Hayes is able to transport you to Okinawa. Whether your style is Shorin-Ryu or something else entirely, there is something to be learned from this book. Through his retelling of some of his training stories, one can glean so much information that it makes you think about your martial arts training in a way you never have before.
"At that point in your training you are no longer in a position where a "block" is necessary. You also start to understand that the "blocking" motions can now have totally different purposes. Some of the motions may become strikes to selected points on the body or can be used to manipulate the joints-painfully-especially when the timing of the movements is changed along with the angle. These techniques when combined with the real purpose of stances expand your arsenal and the scope of the art itself."
Although it’s a book that can be easily read cover to cover in a matter of days, I found myself slowly reading it chapter by chapter to fully think about the knowledge Kyoshi Hayes was imparting through his writing. I also wanted to make it last longer since it is such an enjoyable and insightful book to read.
His insight regarding traditional karate is authoritative, and with good reason. The evolution of Kyoshi Hayes as a martial artist is apparent in every aspect of this book.
"Okinawan karate was never developed for the purpose of winning tournaments, it was formulated as a means of killing those who deserve to die and as a means of protecting the lives of those who deserve to live. Pretty basic stuff. To be sure, many of the world’s well-known karate tournament champions are students of Okinawan Karate styles but the systems put together on a tiny island of Okinawa were developed so that the practitioner would survive in real combat situations first and foremost. There were no trophies or rules in the early days of real encounters on Okinawa and such encounters required the ultimate in both efficiency and effectiveness."
Kyoshi Hayes is about to have the 6th edition of his book printed and it will be available to purchase directly through the author. For more information about the book or to purchase it directly, send an email to oldstudent1 at cox dot net. The book is available for purchase for $23 (Virginia residents add 4.5% sales tax). You can even request that the author signs the book for you, making it a treasured purchase for years to come.
My only critique of the book is that it wasn’t longer. This is the first book in a long time that I just didn’t want to end. If you’re a martial artist and you haven’t yet read this book, there’s really only one question to ask yourself: Why not?
"My Journey with the Grandmaster" is the "Grandmaster" of martial arts books, and you don’t want to miss it! For the way the book manages to transport you to the beaches and dojo of Okinawa, for the knowledge it imparts unto its readers, and for the way that it completely makes you rethink about every part of your training, BBM gives "My Journey with the Grandmaster" an unprecedented (and highest honor in the martial arts and on this site) red belt:
All excerpts from the book are printed with the authors permission.
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