FUN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Amidst school work for the kids and work commitments, making a common schedule to spend some quality time together as a family can be tricky. This becomes particularly difficult when at the end of the week everyone is worn out and all they want is to stay indoors and watch some TV or spend time on their phone.

It is then becomes more important to deliberately go out of your way to find ways to spendtime together as a family. That’s how you strengthen your family bonds and grow closer. The best way is to go outside and enjoy some sunshine and fresh air together as a family. Everyone will be grateful at the end of the day.

Take a short road trip

A family road trip is the best way to get outdoors as a family and do exciting things together. Plan a short road trip so that the kids don’t get too tired and burned out midway which will put a damper on the whole trip.

Have everyone suggest destinations they would like to visit and settle on one or two that works within your schedule and plans and drive there.

That shouldn’t limit you though. You can still spruce up the family RV using tips from Black Smoke Media News and take the trip of a lifetime especially during the long vacations.

Traveling is a great way to expose your kids to beautiful sceneries and nature and inculcate in them the love of traveling.

Hiking

 A family that stays together exercises together. Hiking is a fantastic activity for getting fit together as a family and also breathing some much needed fresh air. Find some comfortable clothing and shoes with good grips to avoid slips and falls which could cause nasty injuries and you are good to go hiking as a family.

You can spice things up by having family picnic at the end of it all sitting on green grass with birds chirping all around you. You can go hiking at locations that have interesting natural attractions to further make the experience more memorable.

The terrain and steepness should however not be too harsh as to be unfriendly to kids.

Fishing

Fishing is a classic family outdoor activity. You will to invest in some quality gear and drive up to the nearest pond, river or lake.

Since some rivers and lakes are prone to freezing during the cold winter months, you should find out if fishing is still possible beforehand so you don’t get disappointed when you get there. Otherwise you can restrict to the warm summer months.

Take safety cautions when you go fishing with the kids to avoid accidental drowning.

Take part in charity

What better way to teach your kids the importance of giving without expecting anything back than volunteering for charity. The charity activity you choose to involve the whole family in should be age-appropriate for the young ones.

You can volunteer to clean up your streets or visit an orphanage or any other charity of your choice.  

Fitness is like a Relationship #PostItMessageBoard #FitnessQuotes

I agree with the saying "Fitness is like a relationship, you can't cheat and expect it to work", it is so true.  Sometimes, I asked myself why bother to workout because  despite of consistent workout, I see very small progress and the answer to that lies on me cheating (with food).  I used to not care much about sweets but when I  ventured into this fitness thing, I am craving sweets all the time and it's a temptation I can't resist  when those sweets are just in our kitchen. 

Anyway, I got this Post-it Bulletin/Dry Erase Board from Shoplet to review.  This Post-it Memo Board creates the ultimate communication center.  I decided to   put it in our home gym  to  write some inspiring quotes and to post some  workout photos.  I love the design of this  message board because it is a combination of  long-lasting adhesive surface on one side and a  superior dry-erase board on the other side.  You can write a  quick message or post a document without pins, tacks, or tape.

It has everything that you need for installation including the marker clips, dry erase markers and its holder.  I have never used this kind of fastener but it thought it's pretty neat.   It took me a minute to figure out how it works but it eventually registered in my small brain so it's all good lol.

I am however disappointed that  the  dry erase board part  of this message board has a dent.  I guess, it got damaged on the mail.  I would suggest that Shoplet should  pack this with bubble wrap to avoid damage during the transit.  It is soft so it  would  be easily get dented during the mail transit.

I love that one half  has adhesive and  marble pattern is  beautiful.  I posted some of the workout  clippings I got from  fitness magazines.  On the other side, I wrote some inspiring  quotes for fitness.  

"The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow."  Another  quote that I like and can relate too.  When I first started working out, I could barely run a mile with  running out of breath but now I can continuously run without  breathing like I am going to die lol.  The key is to  set a realistic goal when working out.  You can start small like  walk 2 minutes then run 3 minutes or even less than that.  Eventually as you  go along with your journey, you will find out that it gets easier and you get stronger.

"Slow PROGRESS is better than NO progress."  As I mentioned  above, I get very  slow progress with my goals but it's okay.  As long as you keep your head and mindset on achieving your goal, you will eventually get to it.  You just need to find your fire, your inner strength and your motivation.  My motivation  is seeing my kids grow up and be there for them when they need me, I won't be able to do that if I am weak or sick or dead.  So staying  healthy and  striving to get fit is what keeps me going.  Good things take time so just  keep going.

"You're only one workout away from a good mood."   I used to not workout because I always get migraine almost everyday.  I thought, workout will just make my migraine worse but I was dead wrong.  Now that I am active, my migraine is becoming less and less.  I noticed that I only  have it when I am getting my period so that's a WIN for me.  I also used to be  short fused and get cranky so easily but now I find that my patience is lengthen and that I am in good mood all the time.

"Focus on health not on weight."  I used to be obsessed with checking my weight to see if I am losing any  as I exercise but now I don't even check anymore.  I am more concern of  getting stronger and healthier.  This is one thing that  discourages us when trying to lose weight but remember that  when you don't lose  weight, you are gaining something.. strength.  So just keep exercising.  

Remember this saying " There is no shortcut.  It takes time to create a BETTER, STRONGER version of yourself."

Here's a short video of my warm up before my 4-mile run.

I didn’t #run 🏃🏻‍♀️ last week, I wanted to change my workout a little bit so I used the Bowflex Max Trainer 2. 15-minutes on that machine is no joke, I feel like I’m going to pass out every time I get done with the Fat Burn program, whew. Anyway, glad to be able to run again today. 4-miles today with 601 #CaloriesBurned . #cardio #sweatingitout💦💓👊 #homeGym #fitnessmotivation

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Apr 24, 2018 at 10:39am PDT

Shoplet have everything that you need for your business and home including Office supplies, Cleaning supplies,   Medical supplies, and  Office Furniture.  Thank you once again Shoplet and Post It.!

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the product/s mentioned  to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

Transitioning my Skin Routine from Winter to Spring and some Home Office Workouts

Survived Monday, yas! Tomorrow is another day, hopefully I would be more motivated to #workout early😊. #MondayMotivation💪

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Mar 26, 2018 at 5:13pm PDT

It's been 3 weeks since I started taking Omega-7 Complete sea buckthorn oil blend and I love  what it does to my body.  These softgels  have bioactive nutrients and is high in antioxidants.  It also helps to have a healthy skin which is a plus because as you know, when the season change, the need of your skin also changes.  This is also great for immune support, urinary and cervical health, and also great for gastrointestinal, heart, liver, and your cholesterol.  The other products that I am also using from SeabuckWonders are  the exfoliating facial cleanser and the facial cream.  Unlike other  facial cleanser and cream that I've tried, these two doesn't give me  pimples or irritation.  I have a very sensitive skin  that's why I don't really use make up because it makes me itchy.  So I am glad to find products that  works for my skin type.  

I have been a huge fan of SeabuckWonders products especially their skin and hair lines. I am starting my Omega-7 Complete oil blend dietary supplement today. It’s an ultimate plant-based omega source that is made with the finest, certified organic, supercritical extract Himalayan Sea Buckthorn oil which is great for cell membrane nurturing and widely used for skin, gastrointestinal, heart, liver, cholesterol, urinary, cervical health and immune support.

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Feb 25, 2018 at 8:29am PST

I have made some changes  with my fitness plan this year.  Last year, I was working out but did not really have a   specific  plan that I could follow so the result  is not that great.  This year, I am following the fitness program at sparkpeople.com.  There is a big support system there too who are  trying to live a healthy lifestyle or trying  to change ways to make life  a lot healthier.  

This year, I am focusing more on the problem that I have identified like BIG GUT, BIG thighs with cellulite, and toning the glutes.  Identifying the problem and focusing on your work to address it is important.  

• Since my pregnancies, my lower abdomen have never  shrunk so it is always big.  So I have  exercises that I do to address it, they are  hard and sometimes I just want to say "forget it" but no one is going to do it for me but myself so it has to be done.
• Growing up, my thighs are huge but I never really had cellulite in them until recently so part of my solution is  getting rid of my office chair.  I work standing now and I also do   some exercises for it.
• I always tell my husband that the bump in my lower abs should be in my glutes  so it would  make it look a little better.  The bumps in my body  are  showing in wrong places lol.  So I am also doing some  glute toning exercise.

One thing that I like about  working from home is the flexibility of doing things.  When I am doing  the  hopping threads, I usually  let the pages  load for  a couple of minutes and I do these  home office workouts.  Another great advantage of working from home is that, you can be in your jammies or  in your athleisure outfit and you can do your job without anyone staring at you or saying anything about  your outfit of the day.

So far, March is almost  over again and my weight is still the same.  I do however  noticed some changes in my body, my glutes is a little toned but the big gut is still there so this will take forever I am guessing.  I am also getting defined muscles in my arms which is kind of exciting.  Lifting weights have never been  my thing but I am enjoying it lately.  

Haven’t lose my big GUT yet but I’m gaining a little bit of muscle so I am happy with this little bit of progress. I’m not sure if I will be able to ever lose my mummy tummy but if I’ll be stronger and have a big gut, so be it🤣. I can only get what I put work on so I can’t complain. #workoutmotivation #fitnessmotivation #fitnessgoals💪 #tryingToBeFit #sweatingitout💦💓👊 #homeGym #stayingactive🏃 #caloriesBurned410 #miles2.5 #squats #weightLifting #dumbbellworkout

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Mar 2, 2018 at 8:28am PST

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the complimentary product/s mentioned  for testing purposes and to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

Our #HomeGym

Before I proceed to my main topic, I would like to acknowledge my husband's birthday first.  We celebrated it today by going to  a bowling alley and have a fun family  competition.  He is the best bowler of  all of us though so he won!  This  guy right here is the most selfless man I know, he always put the  need and welfare of others first before his own so he deserve a pat in the back.  Happy birthday Dahlin!

Anyway, this year, he  is so determined to really get in shape.  So for Christmas, I told him that I will be getting him a Bowflex Max Trainer.  This is a real hard core machine  if you really want to get fit.  We are still getting the hang of it, I can only do 3 minutes  and I am pooped already on this one.  Hubby can now do 15 minutes on the program that he is using.  It has different   programs that you can use.  My goal is to be able to make it to ten minutes  without catching my breath.

This Bowflex Max Trainer two  can really trim you down if you  are consistent in  working on your goals.  It's one of the great additions to our  home gym.  We decided to really equipped our  home gym this year  so that we can workout and  hopefully achieve  our  fitness goals.  The programs includes max 14 Minute Interval, Power Interval, Calorie Goal, Steady Pace, Fat Burn, Calorie Burn, Stairs, Manual, and Fitness Test.  I tried the calorie burn, I lasted 1.5 minutes lol.  The heart monitor has integrated contact grips and it also includes a  chest strap.  It also came with a free  mat as part of their Christmas deal.

I got this Post-It Dry Erase Board from Shoplet  and I thought it would  be a great addition to the gym.  I stuck it on the wall behind the Max Trainer and wrote  this quote that John F. Kennedy said about Physical Fitness.  I just wish that my handwriting is  pretty lol.  Anyway, this Dry Erase Board is pretty  handy to have, you can use it  in your office or in any space where you want to write  something like schedules or  reminders.  You can even use this  on  your desk .   It is designed to stick to a variety of painted drywall and steel surfaces, glass, finished wood, and existing whiteboards or chalkboards. It is very easy to install and it doesn't require tools.  I just  just unrolled, peeled and stuck it on the wall and voila, it's done. Its even great for replacing old dry erase surfaces.  To find out more about this product and other products that 3M  has,  just visit the link.

not my photo

This came with a Dry Erase Cleaning  cloth  to easily clean it t.

I am looking for a  cabinet where I can put all the small stuff but I haven't found the one that I like yet so I  temporarily  use this  wine rack that we had in our kitchen and  put it down in the gym.  

I got this canvas picture from Lowe's for $3, it has a small scratch that you can barely notice that's why it was on the clearance.  I thought it was pretty then I added an inspiring quote  on top of the image.  It is always my   dream to  go on the beach  and wear a two piece but I haven't done  that since my pregnancies lol.  So this will serve as my inspiration to keep going  with my  fitness goals.

We have yoga mats that we use  for some of our  exercises.  I seldom do yoga but having yoga mats  around comes in handy when I had to lay down to do  ab exercises.  

 Aurorae and Empower Fitness are  two companies that I love getting  our fitness gears.  Their products are  high quality.  The towels are always used during the workouts and after we are done.  I miss having a  bathroom in the basement though.  At our former house, hubby and I built an additional bathroom down there and it was  great to have.  Hopefully, we could build one too in this new home.

 We are  slowly completing our set of dumb bells, right now we have 1, 5, and ten pounds.  That would be our next  project.  Maybe I can get it for our anniversary, hmnn, now that would be great!

 We have  ab roller, disk, medicine ball, weighted gloves, ankle weight, lots of jump ropes for us and the kids.

 I don't know if you guys still have this kind of radio casette but when we bought our first home, the owner left that for us and when we moved, we brought it with us.  It's a great music resource when working out.  

This stationary bike is great for lower and upper body workout.  I actually use it after my run in the treadmill because it has a built in fan that I use for air.  A former neighbor gave this to us when we were still living at Park Avenue.  

 I bought this clock for $20 at an online garage sale group.  The clock stopped working after  a week but I thought to leave it on the wall, it's a pretty piece and we can use the mirror in it.

 Back when we  were stilkl at our former house, my husband  wishes to have a weight rack but we  have never really  got to buying one so I told him that we can get it for his birthday, and that's what we got for him, he was very happy about it.  He used to lift weights when he was still in the Navy and he was so fit and muscular.  When he retired, he got busy with the new job and being a Dad so working out becomes less and less.  He tried gym membership but that   did not panned out so I thought maybe if we have a complete gym, we can encourage each other and be consistent in working towards our goals.

 I also love that we have this weight rack and bench now because I am starting to  appreciate weight lifting.  I am amateur to this  thing so all I can handle is the bar lol.  Hopefully I will get stronger and lift more weights rather than just the small iron plates in a bar.  For a starter, I am okay with it.  

We have a Bowflex Extreme set as well but it wouldn't fit in this part of the basement where we set the gym.  We might just get rid of it  since we will be working on the other half of the basement and it won't fit there  when we lay the tiles on the floor.  Hubby said, it would be okay to get rid of it now that we have the weight station.  We will see, maybe I can  trade it for another treadmill so that when hubby and I want to walk or run side by side, we can.

 Shoplet have everything that you need for your business and home including office supplies, cleaning supplies,  and many others such as medical supplies and office furniture .   Thank you once again Shoplet and  3M!

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the products mentioned  in exchange of my honest  opinion which may differ from yours. 

NINJA WARRIOR COURSE at Flight Trampoline Park

We used to watch American Ninja Warrior  show and the kids   are inspired by it so when we went to a trampoline place  called Flight in Pittsburgh, the Ninja Warrior Course is the first thing they tried.  They used to say that they want to compete in it  someday.  Flight's one-of-a-kind obstacle course have some  fun but challenging activities.  The kids got to experience firsthand similar challenges that they see on TV.

Even though its 35.5 miles  from our  location, we brought the children to this place so they can have fun during my son's birthday.  Our daughter have been to this place with her friends once but our son was never been yet till his birthday.  He has been wanting  us to  bring him here so he was super delighted when we finally  brought him here.  

 I am so glad that both of our children are really close in age because they  are so close and love to do things together.  It's funny to think that  now that we have a bigger house and  both of them have their own bedroom but  once in a while, they still love to sleep in one room. 

 My uber goofy  little lady always  giving me that funny look when I try to take  a photo.

 Winter is a challenging season when you have kids like mine who are very active  during summer time.  Finding  activities for them to do is a challenge that's why even if the  distances of the  places they want to go is  far from our place, we always try to accommodate their request just so they could have fun and release their energy.

 The course was  hard at first but our kids  did it so many times until they  got good at it.

 They couldn't do one of the obstacle course because they are  too short for it but those they  can reach, they loved  doing it.

 They learned that the obstacles they thought were easy to do is actually hard.  I am glad that  they still got a good laugh whenever they  fell.

 My son es  funny, every year, he would always say "This is the best birthday  ever!"  No matter how simple we celebrate their birthdays, they think it is the best.  I think the togetherness of the family is what matters most to them which is I am very happy about.

 Even though the location of Flight is  quite a long drive for us, it was worth it.  At the end of the day, they came out from the  place all smiles.

 We probably want to go back there again.  I would like to  jump in the trampoline myself lol. Below is one of our favorite American Ninja Warrior.