Tag Archives: Aerobics

10 Tips to Get You Moving…and Smiling More

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I’ve been pretty candid lately about the fact that I’m having trouble motivating myself in the exercise department – but there are plenty of ways to move more that don’t involve wheezing like a stuck balloon…especially if you’re just starting out.

 

When I get ready to start a workout regimen, a mental battle always ensues between the ridiculous expectations heaped on me by the fitness industry and my desire to make my new goals realistic.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not motivated by muscle-bound personal trainers screaming at me in their infomercials.  Don’t get me started on those pictures of perfectly oiled fitness models pretending to bust their asses that litter everyone’s Pinterest boards.  That’s not what getting in shape looks like – at least not for someone like me who’s trying to get from 381 pounds to 155 pounds.  Believe me, I don’t glisten when I work out…and I don’t relate to anyone who does.

After purchasing (and failing at) too many “Extreme Shredaholic” workout videos…and watching too many episodes of The Biggest Loser, I got to a point where I believed no workout was good enough if it didn’t involve me flipping a 600 pound tractor tire across the beach while carrying Jillian Michaels on my shoulders.  I’d be all “Wow, I’m only walking a 5K every morning after breakfast…I’m such an eff’in slacker!”

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve just lost your mojo and need to get it back, these 10 tips for moving more will help you get going:

1. When watching tv, walk around the house or climb your stairs during commercial breaks.

Contrary to what the fitness freaks say, watching tv is not the root of all evil.  Maybe I have too much faith in my fellow fatties, but I don’t think there are as many of us laying on the couch with a box of raspberry Zingers and watching court tv as the media would like us to believe.  In fact, from listening to all of you Hot Mess fans out there, it seems to be more like “We had to stop at Sonic on the way to Johnny’s soccer practice and Susie’s track meet before I picked up the dog from the vet, grabbed groceries, helped everyone with homework, complete a craft project from Pinterest, bathed the kids, and passed out in the mudroom.”  So yeah…if you want to watch a little tv, I say go for it.  Make the whole family get up and move with you.  Maybe they’ll go to bed early and give you some “me time” for once!

2.  Keep some resistance bands at work…and use them.

One of my friends recently gave me a resistance band at work and I love it.  I get to be physically active without breaking a sweat.  I eff’in love that!  It’s particularly useful during periods of stress or frustration like, for example, when a certain co-worker walks by.  Or breathes loudly.

For less than $20, you can get a hold of an amazing tool that increases your calorie burn every day.


Set of 5 NEW Premium Latex Power Resistance Bands Tubes Cords w/ free Door Anchor, Storage Bag and Exercise Instructions

3.  Let the dogs out.

This may sound like a no brainer, but if you have a busy schedule the pooch is usually the first one to get bumped to the bottom of the priority list.  I have two very large dogs.  When I take them to the dog park, I walk laps while I keep an eye on them.  When I let them out in the backyard, I go out with them.  There’s no resistance training quite like playing tug of war with a Saint Bernard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Play more music.

Shakespeare called it divine air.  I don’t know about you, but the right song can instantly lighten my feet and send me dancing across the kitchen floor.  I still sing “Call Me Maybe” using a wooden spoon as my microphone while I’m cooking dinner.  Don’t judge.  I don’t care what I look like.  I’m fairly certain I can’t really move like Jagger…but that’s between me and the dogs.  No one else has seen it.

5.  Park at the far end of the row and walk.

Yeah, I’ve always hated the whole “Park on the other side of the parking lot and walk to the store thing.”  When I read that in magazine articles, I just roll my eyes and think “Oh, kiss my ass!”  I live in Texas.  Parking at the end of a row can give you a good sweat in the summer.  Parking at the other end of the parking lot and walking…well, picture a plus sized puddle of goo gurgling on the asphalt.  Texas summer heat has attitude…and teeth…and a baseball bat.

As much as I hate it, though, I have done it…and walked with purpose into Target with sweat dripping down the backs of my knees.  Honestly, I didn’t even know I could sweat back there until I moved to Texas!

6.  Hourly laps.

Have an office job?  Set a reminder in Outlook to get up from your desk every hour, even if it’s just to walk around your department.  Walk briskly like you’re on a project and in a hurry so no one tries to stop you to chat…or just yell “I have to pee!” and keep moving.

No office job?  Set a reminder on your phone to get up and walk.

7.  More salsa, less chips…and I’m not talking about food.

I have never taken a salsa dance class in my life…and it shows. That being said, there’s nothing like a latin beat to get me shaking my moneymaker all over the house.  Sure, there have been times when Dyson has tried to tackle me with his giant paws but I think it’s just out of concern that I might take out a table lamp with my hips.

This one from “The Ugly Truth” always gets me…

8.  Exercise by example.

Do you have school age children?  If you do, chances are there’s a task or two on their to-do list that they hate.  Homework.  Piano practice.  Chores.  Make a deal with them that benefits you both:  for every time they complete their task on time and without complaint, you’ll drop and give them 20 push-ups…or you’ll make 5 laps on the track at their school during football practice…the possibilities are endless.  Involve them in the process too.  Give them an opportunity to help and support you while you help and support them.  Family cheerleaders are the best kind.

9.  Have more sex.

Stop laughing, I’m serious.  If you’re single, this may not be helpful at all.  No need to tell me how cruel the dating world is when you’re fat and single…you’re preaching to the choir.  But if you’re lucky enough to have a spouse or partner who loves you for you, well…sex is exercise and it’s incredibly good for you in a number of ways.

Sure, it’s hard to feel sexy when you feel like you’re related to the Pillsbury Dough Boy…but that’s not how your sweetie sees you.  Do it the Hot Mess Princess way: with the lights out…and blackout curtains on the windows.  If I’m feeling extra fat, I’m not above blindfolding the Hot Mess Hubby for good measure just in case a speck of light reflects off the mirror in the master bathroom and lands on my ass.

If I thought I could get away with it, I’d make him wear oven mitts so I didn’t have to feel so self-conscious about him touching anything below my neck.  For some reason, he thinks that’s ridiculous…gotta love that man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.  Movie Night = Move It Night

Just because you’re watching a movie with the family doesn’t mean you have to sit like a slug for 90 minutes.  Make it interesting…especially if it’s a movie you’ve seen before.  For example, the Harry Potter workout plan (10 lunges every time Ron Weasley says “bloody hell”, etc).  If Harry Potter’s not your thing, pick a movie that you love.  Do 10 lunges every time you see Kristen Stewart not smiling in a Twilight movie…that’ll burn some calories.

 

My point is…there are tons of ways we can all move more.  I know good, consistent cardio is going to really help me on my way to my weight loss goal…but making little changes can help too.  We all have to start somewhere.

So how do you move more?  Share your tips and stories here for other Hot Mess readers to see!

Why the Treadmill?

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When it comes to exercise, even those of us who struggle at making it a habit have our favorites.  Some of us enjoy running or walking outside, others go mountain biking.  Some play tennis or take aerobics classes.  For me, it’s walking…and it’s the treadmill.

It wasn’t always this way.  During a stretch in 2009 when I was unemployed, I was struggling with my beloved treadmill.  It was in the guest room collecting dust, facing a blank white wall.  Boring.  Friends and family had all kinds of suggestions for me to try:

• Move a television in the room and watch tv while I walk
• Take a good book and read
• Move the treadmill to the living room so I didn’t feel so isolated
• Vary my exercise routine with some bike riding mixed in

Isn’t it funny how everyone you know is suddenly brimming with advice when you embark on a healthy eating or fitness goal?  It’s amazing how many experts just spring up out of the ground like the critters in that “Whack a Mole” game.  I recently read a quote by my other husband, Robert Downey Jr, that nicely sums up what to do in the face of unsolicited advice:

rdj

Well, I didn’t listen to dear Robert and I tried everyone’s suggestions.  Sort of.  We didn’t have the money for a second television for the guest room.  I tried reading, but I would get so absorbed in the story that I would actually forget to breathe.  When it comes to reading, I discovered that I don’t like to multi-task.

After much agonizing, I had the Hot Mess Hubby drag the treadmill into the living room.  This went against every fiber of my being.  For years, I have dangled a very financially unrealistic goal over my head:  to have a home so tastefully and fabulously decorated that it looks like it came right from the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog.  Obviously, a treadmill is completely out of place in this scenario – unless Pottery Barn comes out with the Rustic Treadclimber 2000 with a realistic tree bark frame, canvas slip covered belt, and whimsical votive candle holders to match.

Nevertheless, I had the hubs drag the treadmill out into the living room and put it in a corner so I could watch tv while I walked.  Hated it in 3 minutes.   That’s when I realized:  I don’t want to have to pay attention to anything else when I’m walking.  I want to zone out while I’m walking.  After only a few days, I knew it had to be moved again.

I was unemployed at the time and my schedule was pretty clear every day – so I decided to try something new.  I would get up at the crack of dawn and go walking on the trail that runs right through my neighborhood.  It’s a good 22 miles or so of paved path that goes right through the woods, linking neighborhoods together and creating quite a beautiful place to run, walk, or bike.  I loved walking outside, in spite of the fact that the Texas summer was fast approaching.  It was so peaceful to be out there with the trees and the birds…and the squirrels.  Beautiful.  There was only one problem…

I am a city girl from southern California.  I was not raised in rural Texas like the Hot Mess Hubby.  Add in my intense fear of anything creepy crawly and we’ve got ourselves a bit of a problem.

As I was walking down the path one day, I approached a foot bridge over a creek when I saw it on the path ahead:  a bug.  Not a mere ladybug or grasshopper, the latter of which would have been enough to send me into a screaming frenzy.  No, nothing like that.  This was a cicada – and it was bigger than my first car.  (Bugs 101:  it’s pronounced si-KAY-duh.  Like Al Qaeda, but for bugs.  Probably not a coincidence either.  I like them both about the same.)

I stood on the path and watched as it crawled down into a hole in the cement, which it probably chewed itself.  It was certainly big enough to chew cement.  I shudder just thinking about it, even now.  I scurried around it very quickly.  Just as I was congratulating myself for being so brave (brave = not peeing my pants), I ran into his older sibling about 300 feet up the path.  It sat in the middle of the trail, fluttering its wings at me as if to say “Bring it, bitch!”  As it took flight, so did I…back up the path towards home.  Screw this!  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fly off in the direction of the dog park…probably on his way to grab a terrier or two for lunch.

I decided to try the path in the other direction.  I walked very quietly by the cicada hole in the cement, lest I wake him from his creepy nap and send him buzzing at me.  Once clear of “danger”, I set off in the other direction and tried to shake off the creepy crawly feeling.

I focused on the big, bright blue, beautiful Texas sky and the gorgeous green grass & woods.  I was instantly glad I’d decided to be “brave”  (retreat and go the other way).  I was determined to make this a good walk.  Two bunnies were eating grass in a clearing in the woods.  Adorable.  A squirrel scampered up a nearby tree.  It was almost as if I was a Disney princess, dancing my way through the woods to a merry tune without a care in the world.

As I approached a bend in the trail, I saw something on the edge of the path ahead.  Another bunny?  A raccoon, perhaps?  What else could possibly be on this trail on this absolutely perfect day?

I could see its head sticking out from a hole under the path ahead.  What was it, though?  I stopped in my tracks.  As if on que, a big, black 3 ½ foot long freaky deaky snake shot out and slithered into the woods.  That sucker was fast.  Not as fast as me.

Even though he didn’t slither in my direction, I screamed bloody murder and RAN back up the path.  I screamed and I ran, I ran and I screamed…until I got back to the trail entrance.  I stood on the sidewalk in my neighborhood, doing that wiggly ninja dance we all do when we walk through a spider web or see something incredibly creepy.  To add insult to mental injury, a cute guy on a bike whizzed by just as I was checking to see if I actually did piss my pants.  (I didn’t.)

I did the walk of shame back to my house.  Actually, it was more like the waddle of shame.  Never run with an extra 200 pounds of weight hanging off your body.  My back, my butt, my knees…everything was suddenly hurting.

I look forward to walking the trail in the fall and winter, when the snakes and the 30 pound cicadas have gone back to hell – or wherever it is they come from.  The trail is beautiful no matter what time of year it is, although it’s unbearable for this California girl in the hot Texas summer.

The trail has taught me to appreciate my treadmill for the non-threatening, bug and snake-free zone that it is.  And my treadmill will help me get down to a weight where I can go bike riding and rollerblading on the trail, which seems like much more fun to me than running away from bugs.  At least I’ll have wheels and I can just zoom by the creepy crawlies when I see them, flipping them the bird as I whizz by their startled asses.

After a lot of eye rolling on his part, Hot Mess Hubby finally agreed to move the treadmill into our bedroom – where it sits happily next to Hemi’s cat tree.  She keeps an eye on my form while I’m sweating like a pig.  Occasionally she reaches up a tiny black paw and swats at me as if to say “Faster, Momma!  You still got four butts chase’in you!”   I don’t have the heart to tell her that her belly looks like she swallowed a large grapefruit.  Chubby.

Most importantly, I can see the treadmill every day.  It’s a huge, honking reminder that I need to get on it.  It’s impossible to ignore and it’s no longer standing in the way of the Pottery Barn fantasy living room that I will never be able to afford.

In other news, it’s 4 days to my showdown with Mr. Scale.  My goal is to hit 349 by the end of the month…which is Saturday.  Hitting 349 has an extra little victory attached to it:  I will officially be closer to 300 pounds than 400 pounds.  Then I’ll be working my way down to the next set of tens:  339 pounds.

I think Mr. Scale is worried.  As I stumbled in the bathroom to brush my teeth this morning, I swear I saw him shudder a little.  He knows.  I’m coming for him and he knows.

In the meantime, here’s hoping we all stay clear of exercise fail!

Shock & Awe…and Jazzercise

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True to my word, I took my first Jazzercise class yesterday.  High five!

Even with all the determination and courage I felt in my last post, I still had to fight off the Evil Fat Girl in my head – and the bitch got louder and louder as payday grew closer.  I had to fight off the primal urge to run to the corner and hide on more than one occasion this past week, but thankfully I remembered my new battle plan:  run full speed at whatever it is that I’m afraid of.  🙂

I beat down a dozen excuses that the Evil Fat Girl came up with and, before I knew it, Friday was here.  I rolled out of bed and signed up online before the Evil Fat Girl could talk me out of it.

Saturday morning came and nervous/anxious Dianne came with it.  I hate being the new kid.  I hide it well, but when I’m the designated noob with any group of people I’m mentally torturing myself with thoughts like “Oh my God, I’m the biggest person in the room”.  Sad, but true.

I sucked it up as best I could and introduced myself to the Jazzercise-y looking woman who was putting up “Jazzercise HERE!” signs outside the building.  She was very happy to see me and showed me around the facility.  I filled out the typical waiver forms while she set things up.  As my class mates filed in and put their gear down, something amazing happened:  they all started coming over and welcoming me.  What?  I…I…holy crap.  Nice people?  What a relief!!

This is where Jazzercise differs from your average aerobics class in an over-priced gym.  I’ve been to many aerobics classes in my day.  I’ve walked in, put my gear down, and busied myself with my cell phone or pretending to look for gum in my purse until the music started.  Never once was I greeted by anyone…including the instructor.  I have received countless sideways glances from perfectly coiffed, bouncy boobed aerobics bimbos who were clearly wondering what the hell I was doing in their aerobics class.  I wish I had a dollar for every one of those I’ve ever gotten.

Not so at Jazzercise.  I was sincerely and enthusiastically welcomed by several of my class mates.  In fact, I never even had time to be fake-busy with my cell phone or that fictitious pack of gum in my purse.

The music started and I turned on my heart rate monitor, silently praying “God, please don’t let me pass out on my first day…or fart loudly during the floor exercises.”  Hey, I’m just saying…when I’m nervous, I’ll trip over a hair on the carpet. Embarrassing things just happen to me.

During the floor exercises, I realized I’d forgotten my hand weights.  I didn’t say anything, I just followed along from my position in the back of the room.  One of my class mates offered to let me borrow her other hand weight.  Again, not something I’ve ever seen at any gym I’ve belonged to.  In fact, some of you will remember my last unpleasant gym experience.  I think my Jazzercise experience has proven to me once and for all that I don’t need to go to a gym to get back in shape.

When class was over, several class mates came to ask me how I liked the class and whether I would be back.  Yes, I assured them…I would be back for every class. Never once did I think I was the biggest person in the room.  It never occurred to me at all.

It was fun and the music was great.  It was just the right blend of dance and aerobics for me – and the icy cold washcloths they passed out halfway through class were sheer Heaven.  Heaven!!

My heart rate monitor showed an average of 164 beats per minute with a high of 184 beats per minute.  That’s quite awesome.  Actually, that’s bordering on ninja awesome.

I don’t know why I’m so shocked when I encounter nice people, but I am.  I’ve lived in Texas for 5 years, you’d think I’d be a little more used to it.  Growing up in California took its toll in some interesting ways, I guess.

I’m so glad I went.  I’m so glad I looked fear in the face and told it to piss off.  This was another important step in teaching myself that dancing again doesn’t mean I’ll ever have to go back to the life I had as a dancer.  Those days are gone for good…and I have the power to build much stronger, more positive memories now.

So…in closing, I’d like to ask what you’re doing for exercise.  Are you doing it…or are you just thinking about it?  Is there something keeping you from it?  My something is fear…fear of going back to the negative, manipulative environment I grew up in as a dancer.  What is it for you?  And what is your plan of attack?

I’m all ears…

 

 

 

 

 

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And now for something new & shiny

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Smart Phones, WiFi, cars that park themselves, robot vacuums.  There are a ton of gadgets out there…and I’m a gadget girl.  The hubby insists I’m part raccoon, having lost track of the number of times I’ve been distracted by something shiny.  I just can’t help myself.  This is why I haven’t been inside an actual shopping mall in 2 years.  I go inside to have a watch battery replaced for ten minutes and, instead, I emerge 6 hours later with a giant bag of gourmet popcorn, $80 worth of earrings, and a fart machine.  I can’t help it.

It was only natural, then, for me to click on the link for a Yahoo! story about “must have gadgets” or some other horse pockey.  I clicked through a few mildly amazing chotchkes before I found one that made me scootch closer to the monitor:  the S2H Replay watch.

It’s sort of ridiculous looking, really.  It looks like something you’d fish out of the $1 bin at Target…right between the flimsy plastic popcorn dishes and the bubble gum scented pencils.  It doesn’t look like much – but the idea behind it is damn cool.

Basically, you strap it on your wrist and it tracks your physical movement.  You earn a reward code every time it tracks 60 minutes of physical activity.  Log into your free account at S2H.com and redeem your reward code for 60 points.  Rack up the points and spend them on rewards…including a Nintendo Wii.  Oh-em-gee!

I was kick-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-the-back-of-your-neck excited when I read about it.  Wow!  What a cool idea!!  And the price?  $20.  Done deal, man!  Done deal!!

Well, I’ve used it for a few days and I’ve got a much less “raccoony” view of the S2H Replay.  A few basic facts:  If the S2H Replay is picking up on physical activity, you see a little happy face on the screen.  Sit on your ass too long and you get a sad face. You can redeem one code per 24 hours.  Each code is worth 60 points.

What do I really think?  Well, there’s no quick and dirty version of that…so here we go:

It’s basically a pedometer that sits on your wrist.  Anyone who’s had a basic pedometer before knows that every time the little jiggly doohicky moves inside it, it counts a step.  You can shake the S2H Replay and hear the jiggly doohicky dancing around.  Therein lies the first problem:  I talk with my hands.  I’m also ambidextrous.

I was at work, explaining to a co-worker the many ways in which I fail to keep any kind of plant alive.  Jiggle jiggle.  I opened my desk drawer and put my scissors away. Jiggle. Reach under my desk, grab my purse, get quarters for a can ‘o liquid crack (aka Diet Dr Pepper).  Jiggle.  I tried it on both wrists, as I’m ambidextrous but thought perhaps one side would register slightly less movement.  Not really.  The kicker was when I was in the car driving home and I got a happy face for turning the wheel.  I pulled over in the parking lot to take a picture:

The S2H Replay watch isn’t going to work for me, as I need something that will motivate me to move more…and I just can’t respect myself for getting activity points for yank’in down my pants and having an afternoon pee.  Yes.  Yes, I did get points for that.  Apparently I yank my drawers down with such vigor that the S2H Replay gave me a happy face.  Hey, I had to go!

Understand, however, that the cute little happy face goes right back to sad when you’re not really working hard.  In every situation I described above, I instantly got a sad face when I was done with whatever I was doing.  Those acts alone aren’t really racking up much activity when you think about the big picture.

Still, I would imagine that too many people would be tempted to do what the lovely chain smoking & downright gritty grocery checker suggested when she asked me what it was today.  After I explained the idea behind the S2H Replay, she made a noise that sounded like she inhaled her entire pack o’ Marlboro Lights and smirked “Hell, honey, I’d just lay on the couch watch’in Judge Judy and shake the damn thing for an hour.  Cool!”

And we wonder why we’re such a fat country.  Sigh.

Well, I’m part of the fat of this fat country…and I would never do that.  I just couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I did.  Okay, I admit that I might be tempted under the right circumstances.  If I could redeem my S2H points for a Dooney & Burke Croco Janine bag in fuschia, I might just be tempted to strap that sucker on Kirby’s collar and plunk my 3.5 asses down on a bench at the dog park while she ran around sniff’in butts for an hour.  I know I’d think about it…but I wouldn’t do it.

The S2H Replay watch has its place, though.  A lot of kids are addicted to video games and crap tv nowadays.  Any parent who wants to redirect their children to play outside and “go blow the stink off”, as my Mom used to say, will probably find this to be a very useful tool.  Kids can earn cool stuff for increasing their physical activity…they’ll just have to be watched to make sure they don’t all hole up at little Jimmy’s house down the street to play video games while the S2H is tied to the hamster wheel.

The second problem?  The rubber wrist band irritates my skin and I start getting itchy around 4 o’clock every day.  It’s just not for me.

The third problem lies in their reward system.  Not really even a problem…maybe just something akin to the feeling I had when my big brother told me there was no Santa.

Yes, there’s a Nintendo Wii you can get for 15,000 points.  The rest of the prizes don’t seem to be prizes at all…more like coupons.  When I redeemed my first code and got 60 points, I went looking at rewards to see what I could get.  First thing I see:  $5 at Kmart.  I thought to myself “Wow, really?  That’s actually not bad…$5 at Kmart for a day’s worth of activity?  I could save those up…”  Then I read further on.  $5 off a purchase of $50 or more at Kmart.  Oh.  So basically it’s a 10% off coupon. Mmmkay.  I think I have one of those in my big, chunky Entertainment 2011 coupon book…and I didn’t have to shake my money maker while doing the dishes to get it.

There are spa coupons and other rewards that are similar.  There are some free things, but most of the rewards are coupon-ish.  I started to feel profoundly ripped off and then I realized…no company is going to pay you for working out, stupid! What’s in it for them?  Nothing, really.  It just doesn’t make any sense when you think about it. Just like Santa:  A fat sweaty guy breaks into your house and no one calls the cops?  Puh-LEEZ! Reality check!

So what if it’s mostly coupons and discounted items.  I’m still in.  I love a good deal. I’m quite certain I’ll find something that gives me a shiny high.  They’re still working with retailers to get more rewards in and I’m excitedly watching to see what else becomes available.  I have faith.

I’m amazed at the creativity behind such a great idea and I have to give ’em props for thinking outside the box.  This company has some real, serious potential and I’m not throwing in the towel yet.  In fact, I contacted them about their corporate wellness program to see if I can get my company on board.  Well, I tried…but the form wouldn’t go through no matter how many times I clicked SUBMIT. At least I didn’t get points for clicking, I guess.

Clearly there’s room for improvement, but they’re a young company.  I will try again.

I also have to give them props about the excellent customer service and quick response time they give their customers.  As I was reading product reviews on Amazon.com, I noticed how attentive they were in responding to customers who complained about issues of any kind.  In fact, I emailed them with a question about whether the large S2H Replay would fit around my ginormous wrist and they were very quick to reply.  They obviously care about their product and their customers and want to be successful.  They get major respect for that.

But the good people at S2H have something even better than the S2H Reply coming soon:  the S2H Step.  A pedometer that gives you a reward code for every 10,000 steps.  Yes!  Now we’re talk’in.  This is a grown up toy I can really get behind.

Even though the S2H Replay isn’t something I’ll choose to keep using, I will absolutely plunk down more of my hard earned cashola for an S2H Step.  I’m very excited about the Step.  Children and families will probably love the S2H Replay much more than I did.  The S2H Replay puts a powerful tool in parents’ hands as far as getting those kids away from Facebook and the XBox and back outside where they belong.

So kudos to the folks at S2H for thinking on their feet and coming up with a seriously cool product.  In fact, I’d like to talk to them about an idea I got last night as the hubby sat in his “sniper chair” (the ottoman) in front of the Playstation (the devil).  As I contemplated dumping ice down the butt crack so amply displayed for my viewing pleasure, I found myself wishing for an S2H Wedding Band.  Think about it:  husbands earn points for helping around the house.  Perhaps the motion sensor could give extra points if it detects more intense scrubbing…or even for putting the damn toilet seat down.

Shiny!

If you want to check the Replay out for yourself, click here for more info:

S2H Replay Sport Band