Review: Sportline Cardio 660

Having a heart problem sucks.


Having a love of running and having a heart problem also sucks.


These two do interfere with one another occasionally, but not as much as you would think.


I'm always on my toes about my heart when I do any sort of exercising simply because it's not something you want to mess around with.


How do I deal with this, you ask.


Lemme tell you.


I wear a monitor.


More specifically I wear the Sportline CARDIO 660 Monitor.


From the press release: 

"The Sportline Cardio 660 Monitor s simple to program and use, while still giving you all the necessary, ECG accurate data you asked for. The CARDIO 660 provides continuous heart rate monitoring and has a fat burn zone indicator, exercise memory and 50 lap timer. This coded monitor provides continuous, ECG accurate heart rate data whether you run, spin, bike, cross train, or perform any other cardio-centric activity."

See, here's a photo of me wearing it.

You wear the black  strap around your chest and it "talks" to the watch you wear on your wrist.  The wrist watch provides the time, as well as works as a timer for your runs and keeps you in the know about what your heart rate is (Oh, and it also counts calories which I adore).

The strap around your chest is not at all uncomfortable either. I forgot I was even wearing it during my run and actually forgot to take it off after a run once (oopps!) 

The one thing I wasn't too crazy about the monitor is that it does so much. So much that there is an inch thick manual that comes with the watch and allows you to program in your weight, height, date of birth, etc.

And I have to admit, I loathe reading instruction manuals. I skim the basics and get what I need out of it.

But overall, I adore this monitor. It has brought me a lot of peace of mind and help me keep track of my fitness goals.

The Sportline CARDIO 660 monitor retails for $69.99 and can be found at retail stores and online. 

I received a product sample for this review. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.

The Sportline Cardio 660 ($69.99) is available at retail accounts including REI and Big 5.

American Idol and Ritz Giveaway!

Every year after American Idol, the last ten hit the road to perform and the AMERICAN IDOL LIVE 2012 tour is gearing up to come to Orlando on August 2, 2012!

I've partnered with CHIPS AHOY and RITZ to giveaway TWO tickets to this awesome concert.

Performers include winner Phillip Phillips along with  Jessica Sanchez,  Joshua Ledet, Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Heejun Han, Hollie Cavanagh and DeAndre Brackensick.

CHIPS AHOY and RITZ are also running a contest to giveaway a unique side-stage experience, to get more details on that prize head on over to nabiscospotlight.com and enter to win.

To win the two tickets I have, along with some yummy treats from CHIPS AHOY and RITZ, all I need you to is tell me which American Idol (past and present) is your favorite.

Mine is Carrie Underwood.

Also, CHIPS AHOY and Ritz have come up some "show-stopping" recipes for you to try out for summer. You can check out the recipes here: 

• http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/island-black-bean-hummus-118802.aspx
• http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chewy-chips-smore-63228.aspx

So enter to win and GOOD LUCK!

I was given two tickets to giveaway for this post. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information. 

Disney: Secret of the Wings Trailer

My girls are going to love that a new Disney Fairies movie is coming out. On October 23rd, 2012 you will be able to see it for yourself. Until then, here's a peek!

Brave: a review

Whenever a new Disney movie comes out, it's a big deal in our house.

My girls are crazy about Disney and so am I.

So when the date for Brave to come out got closer, my big girl got really excited.

We attended a special media preview of Brave on Monday and made it a special Mommy/Daughter date, just for the two of us. Roo was so antsy about it that she asked me every day for two weeks if it was time.

Now, Roo is only five and I'm not sure what she expected from Brave... probably a Rapunzel type movie with lots of fun, singing and dancing.

While Brave has this, it's got more... lots more. Including scary bears.

Not exactly Roo's thing.

The imagery in the movie is beautiful, stunning even, and the music is breath-taking... and despite the wonderful story line, Roo was not happy. She left the movie sad and scared... she just couldn't get past the sad part to see the happy ending and the bears were too scary for her to handle.

And I won't lie, the movie is sad... and you will cry (I bawled) but don't worry, you'll laugh too!

It's just not a good idea to take little kids to the movie, unless they are really Brave.

For me, as an adult, I thought it was a great movie. The story line was amazing and the importance of the mother/daughter relationship was dead on. Disney scored with this. It's not a movie about a princess needing a prince, it's a princess movie about needing to be who she is!

But seriously, it's a PG movie and it's something to consider as a guiding parent.



I attended a special media preview for this review. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more info!

Growing Up Too Fast.

This week Roo is in horse camp.

Horse camp that is right outside my front door, mind you, but still at horse camp.

And you know what, it feels like she is a million miles away.

Yesterday I checked on her three times and watched her ride. Today I've held back and just checked on her at lunch time (you know, to see if she had enough food and was drinking enough water).

She was cleaning stalls with one of the big girls and was more interested in doing that then humoring her ole' mama with hugs (she apparently wasn't missing me as much as I was missing her).

After I made her drink some water, I walked with her back to the front barn and asked if she needed anything.

And she blew me off.

She grabbed her lunchbox and went to sit with the big kids, telling me that she loves me over her shoulder... and she walked away.

I wanted to cry.

When the hell did she grow up?

When the hell did she stop needing me?

I sniffled back my tears and grabbed Turtle's hand and together we walked away, leaving Roo to be a big girl all by herself.

Without me.

Words can't even describe how this tears me apart and how proud it make it makes me.

I've accomplished a big step here, I've raised a big girl that can do things on her own and doesn't need me. She's accomplished a huge step here, she doesn't need Mom to hold her hand anymore.

And while I will cry over it for a moment, those happiness tears will outweigh the sad ones.

Disney: The Brave Summer Games

I'm taking my oldest to see the new Disney movie, Brave this monday.

She is so stinking excited.

I wanted to make sure you were excited too.

Here's the latest trailer for Brave.

Still On Hold.

I'm still alive.

I promise you.

Summer vacation has begun which means I have two crazy babes chasing me around the house all. day. long.

Seriously.

I can't even breathe without one of them needing something.

Ah, but that's life.

I'm also in the middle of working on my thesis project and that sucks everything creative out of me.

Forgive me?

I've got some great reviews and some fun local stuff to report on soon. So stay tuned.

Giveaway: Huggies New Hawaiian Little Movers

Huggies has taken diapers to a whole new level of cuteness lately.

In the past, they have done camp diapers, and santa diapers (ADORABLE!), and now they have Hawaiian diapers!

I have to confess, I love these limited edition diapers for their colorful appearance with palm trees and my favorite kind of flowers (plumerias, the flower of Hawaii).

The wonderful people at Huggies recently sent me some tropical themed Hawaiian Little Movers and I didn't even want to put pants on my daughter because they are so stinkin' cute!

Not only are they cute, they come with Leak Lock which keeps the mess on the inside of the diaper. Turtle has been wearing the Hawaiian Little Movers for a week and we haven't had a single problem (even at night when we tend to have leaks). Little Movers are shaped for fit and flexibility which is also important since Turtle DOES NOT stop moving... ever.

I've got a great summer prize pack from Huggies to share with one of you. Included in the prize pack is a package of Little Movers Hawaiian print diapers and a package of wipes in a cute beach tote.

Want to win?

All I want you to do is tell me how your Little Mover will be spending the summer.

Easy peasy!

This contest is open to US residents only and will be open until June 19th.






Î received a prize pack from Huggies and one to giveaway for this review. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information. 

Claritin & Madagascar 3 Preview Party

Please see edited notes at bottom of post.

My kids are huge fans of the Madagascar series.

So when they heard a third installment of the series was due out this month, they went bananas.

As a part of the Claritin Mom Crew, I was lucky enough to prep for the June 6, 2012 release of Madagascar 3 with a Madagascar party! 

We received a copy of Madagascar (the Original) and Madagascar 2 to share with our friends.

I set up a small gathering of friends, complete with popcorn, Claritin samples (because allergies are still going crazy here in Florida), and penguin gummies.

We watched the movies, played some silly games and ate way too much popcorn. 

All of the kids had a blast and so did the Moms because the Madagascar movies are funny and heartwarming.

Now all the kids are geared up for Madagascar 3 and are currently still singing the Marty Polka Dot, Afro, Circus song. 

NOTES:
It's come to light that certain advocate groups have filed a complaint with the FTC regarding the use of cartoon characters in the packaging of Claritin. Since I am a part of the Claritin Mom Crew and this blog post was targeted by the New York Times as an example of moms using the Madagascar themed Claritin to peddle medicine to children, I felt like I needed to add a note to this post and tell you my thoughts about this. Yes, I am a part of the Claritin Mom Crew. Yes, I held a MOVIE VIEWING party with my friends courtesy of the Claritin Mom Crew. Yes, I gave my friends (wise, responsible mothers) samples of Claritin because they already give it to their allergy-suffering children. Yes, I am a mom responsible for purchasing all types of medicine that my children take. But no, I am not (or will I ever) be swayed to purchase a certain type of medicine because there are cartoon characters on the packaging. If as a parent, I am swayed by my child's screaming to buy a certain medicine and I cave, I need my head examined. It is my responsibility to my child (and to myself) to be a responsible parent and buy the type of medicine that will make my child's suffering alleviated, not to purchase certain medicines because I want to please her because it has a cartoon character on it. Therefore, this movie viewing party I held, sponsored by Claritin, was in no way harmful to children and there were no peddling of medicine because of characters on the box. If you have any question, please feel free to contact me.

I received a party pack from the Claritin Mom Crew. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.