Disney On Ice

Thursday night we surprised the wilds by taking them to Disney On Ice. At first Nathan thought we were at a Lightning game since it was at the Forum. After explaining why we were there, the boys started asking for Mickey. John got us popcorn and some refreshments. It was time for the show to begin. I put Logan on my lap so he could see.

Logan was totally mesmerized by the show. He didn't take his eyes off the rink. The first act was the Little Mermaid. That was by far my favorite of the night. I loved all the fish and Ursala was so creepy looking. At one point they turned on black lights and all the costumes lit up. It was very cool. They even used fireworks. The boys loved it.

After that the boys started to lose interest. John got them cotton candy at intermission. That wired Logan. He did not sit still for the rest of the show. I really enjoyed all of the acts. They were a little heavy on the princesses and I feel more geared toward girls. My boys are so young that it really didn't matter. However, Nathan did ask me why there were so many princesses.

All in all it was a good show. It's a long time for a 2 year old to sit still. Logan did pretty well even after he was wired. It was a fun family night out.

Disclaimer: I was give complimentary tickets in exchange for my review. However, all opinions are mine.

Health & Fitness Friday (17)

My week in fitness went pretty well. I got in some exercise everyday. I'm still plugging away at P90X. However, I figured out that I was doing the wrong version. So I've adjusted and hopefully it's smooth sailing from now on. My eating was ok. It's tough when I have events to attend. I have to eat everything right? It wouldn't be a fair review if I didn't :)

I want to recap the Great Mother's Day Race. I touched on it Monday. It was a beautiful morning. It started out foggy but cleared up before we took off. I had picked up our packets the day before so there was no need to get there super early. We grabbed our chips and started warming up. Everything was easy peasy.

The course was a nice and fairly flat course. I felt wonderful for the first mile. I even clocked an 8:39 mile! That's super fast for me. The next mile was a whole minute slower. That's ok. I wasn't going for a PR. It had been a couple weeks since I ran. I was just enjoying the sites and the run with the family. I know John wanted to go faster but stayed with me.

The last mile I walked a bit. Not a lot but I let my brain get in the way. I ended up finishing 30:36. That put me at 13 out of 55 for my age group. I feel great about that time. Like I'm mentioned before I am happy with anything around 30 minutes. It was a great run for me. No pains, no cramps, just smooth sailing. I really need to work on speed though. I'd love to start running a sub 30 every 5k.

Job well done to all directors of this race. We had a great time. Everything was well organized. Thanks for inviting us out!

Disclaimer: I was given two complimentary race entries in exchange for helping to promote this race. However, all opinions are my own.

Dishcrawl - International

Tuesday night I went on a Dishcrawl. I explained Dishcrawl here. It was at International Mall. I had no idea what to expect. I was in for a real treat. Tracy is the ambassador here in Tampa. She emailed all of us the starting restaurant. She keeps the restaurants a surprise. At 6:45 we all gathered at Pelagia Trattoria. Wow! We were set up outside. The weather could have been more perfect. It was very fancy.

The food was amazing! We sampled the Squid Ink Linguini, Grilled Pear & Watercress Salad, and the Cavatelli. It was all absolutely delicious. I especially loved the Cavatelli. It was so rich and creamy. I could have eaten only that all night and been completely content. We got to meet the Executive Chef. The whole experience was wonderful.

Our next stop was The Capital Grille. We were greeted with their signature drink the Stoli Doli. It went down super smooth. The pineapple infused vodka was a huge hit. We sampled the Miniature Tenderloin Sandwich and the Lobster Mac & Cheese. The Mac & Cheese was divine. It had a wonderful crunchy topping that gave it a nice bite. The restaurant itself is very pretty. I'd love to bring John here for dinner.

Our third stop of the night was TooJay's. We had their classic sandwich, a potato pancake, and a cheese blintzes. I ate every single bit of it. All of it was amazing. The potato pancake was cooked nice and crispy just how I like it. I have never had a blintze before. It was so yummy. I can't believe I've never eaten at this deli before.

And for our final stop. My personal favorite of the night, Le Macaron. I'm a sweets person. Boy did they deliver! We each picked out two macarons and had gelato to go with it. They melted my heart when they brought out the cappuccino. I chose the passion fruit dark chocolate and the Colombian coffee. Words cannot even describe the taste. Out of this world!

I have to say a big Thanks to Tracy and all of the host restaurants. Everyone did an outstanding job. It was a truly unique experience. I hope you get a chance to do a Dishcrawl for yourself. You will not be disappointed. I was one happy and stuffed Dishcrawler by the end of the night :)

Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary ticket in exchange for my review. However, all opinions are my own.

InnovAsian Cuisine

Recently I had to the pleasure of working with the folks of InnovAsian Cuisine. They contacted me with the awesome idea of sending a food truck to my house. Unfortunately that didn't work out. They graciously sent me several coupons so that I could still try out their meals. InnovAsian Cuisine has been so easy to work with.

We tried the food on Saturday night. We had the General Tso's Chicken Breast and the Beef and Broccoli. Both dishes were very easy to make. I had dinner ready in just a matter of minutes. These meals are very convenient. I think these be would especially convenient if there is a night you need to whip up something quick. The portions are a little small but they are meant to be cooked in conjunction with each other.

The meals were tasty. The broccoli was nice and crispy. It had a very fresh feeling even though it had been frozen. The chicken also had a nice bite to it. I was very pleased with the quality of the food. They definitely did not sacrifice taste for convenience. You get the best of both worlds. The wilds even liked it.

I passed along some of the meals and coupons to friends. Everyone only had good things to say. Being a busy family finding a product that is quick and easy is a must for us. I definitely recommend InnovAsian Cuisine. It's nice when take in can be just as easy as take out. You can find InnovAsian Cuisine at Walmart and Publix.

For more info visit them on the web. You can find them on Facebook here and twitter here.

Disclaimer: I was provided free meal coupons in exchange for my review. However, all opinions are my own.

MESTRENGTH

I recently had the opportunity to try out the latest and greatest product to hit the fitness scene. In preparations for P90X I was looking for recovery drinks. I have never been a fan of recovery drinks. Let me tell you why. I hate drinking my calories. What's the point of doing so much work to just put those calories back into your body? I've always just drank water. But I know how much you burn while doing  P90X and recovery drinks are highly recommended.

While browsing around on twitter I came across MESTRENGTH. They describe their product as A clean, efficient fuel for Hydration, Strength, and Endurance. Ok sounds great. What's the catch? I kept reading. No carbs. No sugars. And wait for it....NO CALORIES!!! It contains 5 electrolytes. This is exactly what I was looking for. When compared to some of the other names in recovery nothing else holds a candle to MESTRENGTH.

They graciously offered to send me some samples to try. I love it! It tastes great. My favorite flavor is the strawberry kiwi. It's a little tart which I love. I'm not a big fan of sugary sweet drinks. It's not too strong, not too weak. It's just right. I can drink it and not feel guilty about my recovery. It comes in five different flavors so there's something for everyone's taste buds.

If you are looking for a recovery drink I highly recommend MESTRENGTH. Visit them on the web for more info. You can find them on Facebook here and twitter here. They were awesome to work with. Feel free to contact them with any questions you have.

I have a discount code for you! They are currently offering 10% off. You can get an extra 5% off using code N7XSP5B3. That's a total of 15% off!

I was provided free samples to review. However, all opinions are mine.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to do a beauty product segment live on the local news. It was on Good Day Tampa Bay. It was so much fun! I was contacted by a PR company out of the blue. They told me they found my blog, loved what they saw, and asked if I was interested. Yes! I was definitely interested! Here's my clip:



I was so nervous! I have never done anything like this. When I was in middle school many many moons ago I hosted a weekly show on a local county TV station. However, it was taped. Walking into the TV station I had no idea what to expect. John is the TV star of this household. The guard got me all checked in and sent me to the Green Room. How official right?!

I waited in the Green Room for about 20 minutes before the producer came in. He was super nice and told me I had a few minutes to get ready before he'd bring me into the studio. The process of live TV is crazy. Very fast paced. You don't practice anything. I didn't even get a chance to meet the host. She sat down literally 30 seconds before we were live.

I got the products arranged and they were counting down from 20. I thought everyone in the room could hear how fast and hard my heart was beating. Once we got started I completely forgot the cameras were even there. I knew what I wanted to say and it flowed naturally. The host did mess up my last name but that's how they had it spelled for her. Not sure what happened there. The 3-4 minutes flew by in a flash.

It was a great experience. I really hope the PR company liked what they saw. I'd love to give it another try now that I know what to expect. In exchange for my time I got to keep all the products. I'll do a review post on the products soon. They sent me some really fun stuff.

Have you ever done live TV? How do you think I did?

Weekend Recap

We had a very busy but wonderful weekend. Friday night John had a race at Picnic Island. It was a cool little beach area that we've never been to before. It's always fun to cheer him on. I like being the spectator sometimes and not running every race. A few friends were also running. I hung out with one of the wives. The wilds had fun playing on the playground.

Saturday morning John took the boys to All Pro Dads. It was nice to have a quiet morning to myself. I went to Fit2Run and finally got new running shoes. Not sure if I like them yet. I'm going to run in them a couple more times and then make my decision. The boys had a blast. I got home a little after one. We just hung out and ran some errands. We met a new neighbor. I'm so glad the boys now have someone they can play with on our street.

Sunday morning we got up to do the Great Mother's Day Race. It was so much fun. I felt great the whole race. My time was pretty good. I hadn't ran in a couple of weeks and I did much better than I expected. We met up with Jessica, she's a fellow Tampa Bay Mom Blogger. And later I spotted Jenny. She's also a TBMB blogger. The TBMB were representing at this race.

I lounged around for the rest of the day. It was perfect. The boys got me really cute cards. I thought my shoes were my gift. But John always spoils me. They also ordered me a personalized Reds jersey. I can't wait for it to get here. John and the wilds cooked me dinner. It was such a wonderful day and just what I needed.

What did you do this weekend?