Bringing Sexy Back!

I have decided that I need to do something about my slovenly appearance. Yes, I know how to clean up really well and when I am go out to functions I make sure that I look correct. However, when I am running my daily errands around town I look less than stellar. As a matter of fact, I am embarrassed that I am out in public "looking a hot mess." So, I am spending more time doing things that make me feel good both on the inside and out. As you know I participate in the EA SPORTS Active 30 Day Challenge and that really has given me a kick start to improving my physical appearance and health. However, I am not stopping there. I have been wearing make-up more often - not every day but most days to help enhance my natural glow. And I have been doing some interesting things to "bring the sexy" back. That shoe is a hint. No, I am not walking around in five inch stilettos, I am pretty sure that I am unable to manage that but for two weeks I have taken a PoleLaTeaz class that worked on bringing the inner stripper out of me. Yes, you read that right, the inner stripper.

I am sure that you are familiar with exotic dance classes even if you have not attended one. Carmen Elecktra has one on demand with cable, I have reviewed a DVD, and classes are popping up all of the place. I view erotic dancing as something that you can do for your partner but more importantly as something that you can do for yourself. Being sexy is a state of mind that is not contingent on your size or shape and I think taking one of these classes certainly helps get you on the road to the inner sex kitten. I used to belly dance and that art form is less about seduction and more about being in touch with your femininity. As a matter of fact in many cultures women learn to dance as young girls and it is a bonding experience. Of course, exotic dancing has comes from clubs that are all about enticing men but when doing it for yourself it is truly liberating. Not to mention extremely challenging! When I took the classes I looked at it as a dance form and my body did too.

I attended a class with my Mom's group and we had a great time taking a chair dance class. I have to admit when the instructors appeared scantily clad I was taken aback for a moment but as the dancing began all of my initial discomfort left and it was all about the dancing. We started by watching a demonstration and moved on stretching and some sexy floor work. After that we learned a few moves that we can do with the chair and finally we learned a bit of choreography. Coincidentally I was invited to celebrate my bloggy friend Lorraine's birthday and the launch of the Blogrollers at the same venue but this time we took a pole dancing class.


The pole dancing class was similar except we learned how to do the fireman on the pole. For some reason I was a little fearful of swinging on the pole but once I tried it a couple of times I became more comfortable. I have to say in my opinion I did much better with the chair dancing class but I think that is to be expected - it was my first time ever dancing on a pole!

Overall I have to rate the experience in both classes as a ten. I approached the classes as dance classes and had no inhibitions about being sexy at all. I was dancing for myself and in the process loved me exactly as I am at this moment while maintaining the knowledge that I am working on becoming an even better me. If you have a class in your area or have cable on demand I suggest you try it. It really is fun and a great workout (and watch out, according to the women in my Mom's group the last time a class was organized several of the women got pregnant)!

For more Wordful Wednesday visit Angie's 7 Clown Circus.

A Chocolate Good Time

Mekhi and I had a wonderful time this weekend while enjoying our first vacation alone. Our whirlwind visit to the Capital City was fun and exciting. In the days leading up to the trip I reminded Mekhi that were going to fly in an airplane and each time he looked at me with comprehension and a bit of excitement. The day of our trip he woke up bright and early, ready to begin our adventure. From our house to the airport he remained bright-eyed. Upon boarding the plane he was still filled with excitement but he is his mother's child and the drone of the airplane effected him like a sedative, he was asleep before we took flight. When we arrived in Washington, DC we were whisked to our luxurious hotel and soon set out to Georgetown for lunch. It was hot as Hades but my boy took it in stride. I think it was easier riding in a comfy car seat stroller than it was pushing said contraption. Anyhow, after a nice stop at Johnny Rockets -- it was just too hot for me to continue my walk in pursuit of the perfect lunch- we briefly wandered Rock Creek Park and made our way back to the hotel to freshen up a bit. And now I shall seque into the purpose of our mini-vacation.

We were invited by Hershey's to check out the set of Night at The Museum and by "set" I am referring to The Smithsonian. The entire title of the film is Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. We were treated to a VIP tour of the museum after dark led by the curators of the Air and Space Museum. If you have traveled to the Smithsonian you know that it is quite popular and jam-packed on a normal day. Ten bloggers (Liz from Mom-101, Audrey from Mom Generations, Linda from Sundry Mornings, Colleen from Classy Mommy, Vicki from The Mummy Chronicles, Ali from Blissfully Domestic, Melissa from Suburban Bliss, Stephanie from And Twins Make Five and Trisha fom Mom Dot) and our children had the entire museum to ourselves. Although Mekhi was one of the youngest kids he loved seeing the airplanes and became quite attached to the photographer's camera. Perhaps I have a future pilot or photographer on my hands - maybe both! After the tour there was a viewing of the first movie back at the hotel and a smorgasbord of Hershey's treats(um, chocolate treats-Kisses,Reeses, almond joy, I'd continue but that would be torture, I did not indulge). Mekhi and I made it through the first half of the tour but returned to the hotel and let the older kids enjoy the rest of the night.

I was really impressed by everything about the trip and felt so honored to take part in this once in a lifetime experience. As if this was not enough, Hershey's held a Grand Prize drawing and two of the bloggers in attendance will be attending the Premiere of Night At The Museum at the Smithsonian and walk the red carpet. Please, don't hate me but I am one of the winners. My mother says that I need to play the lottery because I am so lucky - perhaps she is right!

Although we didn't actually spend a night at the museum, 5 lucky people and their families will be able to have the opportunity to attend the first ever sleepover at The Smithsonian. The contest runs from now until October 31, 2009. All you have to do is look inside specially marked candy bars to reveal a message printed inside - if it says "Congratulations! You found the keys to the museum!" you win the stated prize. The Grand Prize is a trip to Washington, DC for four, two nights accommodations, $500 in spending money, a VIP tour of the museum after dark and the option to sleep over in one of two galleries that the movie was filmed in. For more information visit Hershey's Night At The Museum website by clicking Here and you can also enter once daily in the "Unleash the Loot" sweepstakes to win the grand prize of $50,000 or one of 10 first prizes of $1,000 Visa Gift Card.

A Gift For You From Suze Orman

This morning I had the distinct pleasure of participating on a conference call for Mom Bloggers with one of my favorite people, financial expert, Suze Orman.  I distinctly remember the first time I was introduced to Suze.  One day during the first two months of my marriage I was watching PBS and her special Young, Fabulous and Broke came on. I was mesmerized, simply mesmerized. In plain language she was explaining what I (and many of us) needed to do to get my money straight. 

After hearing her story and advice I immediately purchased the book. There were big plans in my future and although I was not quite Young, I was Fabulous and certainly broke. She provided straighforward no holds barred info that I could use to get on the right track so that my husband and I could purchase our home. Although much of the information  was familiar to me, I really enjoyed have a book I could reference whenever I needed assistance. The bonus was a code to access her website and tips, I was in heaven. I learned from other young people that were trying to be financially savvy and recieved advice that ultimately helped with the purchase of my first home. 

At the time we did not have cable so I did not know about her show but she is a force of nature. 

Her signature yell "Are You Kidding Me" has been heard on tv, radio and Oprah. Today's conference call did not disappoint. We had a full hour of Suze and she answered questions both on the call and from twitter. I asked Suze a question that was posed by  a friend from twitter;

"Financial Experts always recommend having an 6-8 month emergency fund, how do you do that in hard economic times when you are living paycheck to paycheck? "

Suze answered that women are strong, stronger than we know until crisis occurs. If (when) a financial crisis occurs we would cut costs: cable, eating out, gifts would all go out the window. Suze suggested acting "as if" before crisis strikes so that we can have these savings. She also suggested joining the Save Yourself website with Ameritrade. If you open an account and save $100 a month for 12 months you will be given $100. That sounds like a good deal to me and will start the road to savings. 

Suze is all about empowering women, especially mothers.  She stressed that if we don't take care of ourselves financially we are no good for anyone else. She dropped so many pearls of wisdom and I tried to tweet them, listen and absorb it all and found it difficult to keep up.  If you want to read all about it visit Twitter Search and search for #suze. Since there were so many of us on the call you are sure to read everything. 

Finally, the gift I spoke about. Suze is giving everyone on the call and all of our readers a $2500 gift - free access to her Will & Trust Kit.  Here is the info:

For a limited time of you can get your own FREE “Will & Trust Kit."  Just go tosuzeorman.com and click the "Will & Trust Kit" link in the blue bar on the left-hand side of the home page. Click the orange "Gift Code" button and enter "Moms Rule" into the gift code field. Click the green "Submit" button and follow the instructions to redeem your free copy of the Will & Trust Kit. This gift code will be valid until Midnight EST on Saturday, April 25th. 

Suze is being very generous and I am certainly going to get my copy! And I have to give a shout out to Avon (I feel like a teenager, lol) for hosting this event. It was amazing. Oh, and one last thing - if you are on twitter, Suze answers questions -personally! Follow @suzeormanshow and ask away. 

Being Green Can Be Affordable

Yesterday Jennae and I had a wonderful time on our Blog Talk Radio Show Green and Gorgeous. Before the show we were both quite nervous but once we started talking we just couldn't stop! If you did not have a chance to tune in you can listen to the show here:



Our show will air every Wednesday at 8:30pm but if that conflicts with your schedule you can tune in at your leisure after the show has aired.

On the show we discussed how far green living has come and how affordable it can be to start living green. Today I want to give you another tip that can help you if you are on the journey to greener living.

Personally, I use "green" cleaners as much as possible. My favorite is the Seventh Generation brand followed by GreenWorks. I have now taken this a step further and when ecstatic when I was contacted to try out the Scotch Brite Greener Clean line.

I really like that they are using recycled and natural materials to make the scouring pads, sponges and wipe clothes. They also use biodegradable soap in the sponges that are filled with soap. This is a great touch. Although I am still using paper towels for some things (I am working on that) the wipe clothes are certainly a good reusable alternative to paper towels. Although I did not try the cloths I will be purchasing some when I take my next shopping trip. I know the Earth will thank me and Jennae will certainly be happy too! The entire Greener Clean Line is pretty affordable with prices ranging from $2.36 to about $6.00. These prices are pretty comparable to what I usually pay and I will also be on the lookout for coupons. I think that taking little steps like this one will help me do my part to protect the Earth in the long run. It is so easy to make a big difference and I hope that you start thinking about ways to make small changes too.

Celebrate Earth Day!

Tomorrow is Earth Day and I want to highlight some activities that you can do with your child to celebrate.

Disney is releasing the film Earth and for every ticket purchased this week a tree will be planted. I applaud Disney's reforestation efforts and from what I hear about the film it is one that I will not miss! My son loves animals and this is a perfect film for us to enjoy together.

Photo credit: Disney Films

I believe that the earlier we teach our children about green living the better. By exposing Mekhi to this an early age it will become second nature. Although he is not two yet, I believe it is never too young to begin teaching children about becoming 'green." I have mentioned on numerous occasions how much I enjoy Noggin network. They highlight the importance of recycling and conservation of energy not only during Earth month but year round. My son already knows that we turn off the lights when we leave a room and always insists on doing it himself.

For Earth Day, Noggin has not let us down. Our favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba, Pinky Dinky Doo and Toot and Puddle will all be environmentally themed. Nickelodean will be airing green themed new episodes of Wow! Wow! Wubzy and The Wonder Pets. At 9:00pm E.S.T, these stations will encourage kids to do a 60 second power down by turning off all the lights to signify a commitment to the environment. Mekhi will be asleep by then but it is a great idea for older children and kids in other time zones.

Although I have not seen it, I will certainly be purchasing Sesame Street's "Being Green" a DVD that teaches children about being eco-friendly. The DVD stars Paul Rudd as Mr. Earth and Elmo turns green! My son is a big fan of Elmo so this will be sure to be a hit in our home.

If your child's school celebrates "Earth Day Everyday" then you must enter Walmart's contest to win a $20,000 grant for your school to continue it's efforts to be eco-friendly.
Parents, teachers or administrators may submit a 200 word essay to win. Hurry! This contest deadline is May 1st.

Of course there are other activities that you can do with your child. An easy task that children can have fun doing is separating the recycling. Teach your child the appropriate bin to place the items in and make it a game. My girlfriend just mentioned to me that her four year old admonished her for not recycling. He is learning about recycling at school and wants to implement the practice at home.

For other activities be sure to check out the Botanical Garden or other echo friendly venues in your area. In Atlanta, The Botanical Garden is half price all day. Mekhi and I attended last year and had a ball in the Children's Garden playing and attending a show.

I hope that my suggestions have inspired you to think about ways to celebrate Earth Day with your child tomorrow.

***Be sure to Enter my Earth Month Giveaway by Clicking Here. $130.00 in prizes are up for grabs!

My New Baby!

Your eyes are not deceiving you, I am having a baby - my new Blog Talk Radio Show,

Green and Gorgeous.

I am co-hosting this show with my friend and fellow Eleven Mom Jennae Peterson of Green Your Decor. Green & Gorgeous is your resource for all things eco-friendly and lovely, from fashion to cleaning tips, eco-parenting advice, how to care for your hair naturally, green activism and more. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we're here to spark change - first in ourselves, then in the world. The Green and Gorgeous show will be launched on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd at 8:30 p.m. EST. Feel free to listen in live, or if you’ll be busy at that time, you can always listen later. If you’d like to call in with questions during the show, the call-in number is (347) 884-8049. Jennae and I would love your support every Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST.

I am so excited about this new endeavor! I am diligently working on sparking change within myself and my household. It is certainly a process but I know that by taking baby steps I can be successful and want to help you navigate your journey to a greener life as well. I hope that you can join us on Wednesday for our first show!

If you have not already done so please enter my Earth Month Giveaway, there are $130 in prizes up for grabs including a Green Machine Bissell Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner and a Brita Water Filter.

Free Spa Day and a Giveaway!

As mothers we sometimes put ourselves on the bottom of the totem pole in the hierarchy of our family. It is natural to want to ensure our children, spouse/significant other have their needs met. However, remember the times before the child(ren) and husband? We took time to nurture ourselves and I for one think that even as a parent, wive/partner we can still take care of ourselves. A few moments here or there make a tremendous difference. A little make-up, exercise and down time reading a book or favorite magazine are low cost ways to invest in ourselves and our inner beauty.

Since I spend a substantial amount of time online I use my blog reading/websurfing as part of my me time. I don't get to do it as much as I would like but when I do I am glad to know a site like the one Dasani Water has put together exists. This site celebrates our inner beauty and has fashion, stype and beauty tips. There is also a blog written by celebrity mom Chilli of TLC.

Dasani is invested in helping moms find our inner beauty and will be having a free spa day on Friday, April 25th in New York. Here is the info:

Come refresh yourself and join host Chilli,
from TLC, for this ultimate day of beauty and
style at the fabulous Townhouse Spa.
Make-up and styling provided by Soft-Sheen Carson
and L’Oréal Paris.

Friday, April 24, 2009
10 am – 8 pm
39 W 56th Street, New York
RSVP at 212.245.8108
Maximum of 2 free services per person.
Appointment times are limited and based on availability.
Free services while supplies last.

If you are not a New Yorker don't worry! Dasani has something for you two. I have 3 really cute cosmetic cases to giveaway. Take the time to have your own personal day of beauty at home and have a really nice case to stash your make-up! All you have to do is leave a comment. That's it! You have a really good chance of winning!

Good luck and if you are in NY enjoy the Spa Day!

Congratulations to the winners: Tooj, MyS.T.U.F.F and Talibah!

And The Challenge Begins

I begin my EA SPORTS Active 30 Day Challenge tomorrow. I am excited and so glad to have your support. I want to share the professional recap of our trip to Santa Barbara and you can meet all of the Challengers. My first Challenger Diary entry is on the site and you can read that here.

EA SPORTS Active

Also you can check out the Challengers interview on The Chatterbox blog talk radio show!

Click Here to listen!

Earth Month Giveaway!

April is Earth Month and I have to say that I am very happy that the celebration of the place we call home has gone from one day to an entire month. I think that there is still a ton of education that needs to be done to encourage people to take small steps to make this Earth a better place. If you are thinking that it is too difficult or expense to incorporate "green" living into your life I have a few ways that you can do so simply and economically.

My first suggestion is to stop using plastic bags. Did you know each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide? The use of plastic bags has negative effects on the environment, every year marine animals die from consuming plastic and since plastic is not biodegradable they break down into smaller toxic parts that contaminate soil and roadways. You can read more about the cost of plastic bags on the environment on Reusablebags.com.

To stop contributing to this pollution you can simply start bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store, department store or any other place where you are likely to receive items in a plastic bag when purchased. You can go for basic green bags that most stores actually carry for about $1.00, I have some from Publix and Walmart. But look around your home, you likely have tote bags that you can use for your purchases.

To ensure that I don't leave my bags at home I leave them on the doorknob to my garage and then take them to the car when I am doing shopping. I also leave a couple in the car just in case I have to pick something up and forget to take the bags from home.

Another tip that you can easily incorporate into your life is to use a water filter instead of buying bottled water. You can use a Brita or similar product to filter your water. This will cut down on the plastic bottle waste in the environment. If you sign a pledge to reduce your use of bottled water with Filter For Good you will recieve a $5.00 off coupon for Brita products.

By taking these two easy steps you can cut down on the plastic waste that you contribute to our environment. Thanks to Walmart, all of the ElevenMoms are having a giveaway that will further assist you in your journey to live a greener lifestyle.

The winner will recieve:

One Brita Digital Water Filter valued at :$34.98
One Bissell Little Green Carpet and Upholstry Cleaner : $74.88
Greenworks Cleaners, White Cloud Recycled Toilet paper and Tide Coldwater Detergent

This prize package has an approxate retail value of $130.00

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me which of these products you look forward to using most AND how your family is working on being green. Please answer both parts of the question in your response.

For Extra Entries -LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH METHOD OF ENTRY

2. Subscribe for email updates (if you are already a subscriber leave a comment too). You must confirm your subscription! Please respond to the email that you receive.

Enter your email address:

3. If you prefer to subscribe by RSS please leave a comment and let me know that you have subscribed (if you are already a subscriber leave a comment too)

4. Twitter the giveaway. Please leave the tweet url in your comment (click on the time of your tweet and this will pop-up). To make it easy you can use this text:

Enter Earth Day Giveaway on @Cutiebootycakes Blog http://tinyurl.com/chmn92 Pls R/T

5. Stumble, Digg or Kirtsy this post - please leave your id in your comment.

6. Add Cutie Booty Cakes to your blogroll or post the button on your sidebar (if you have already done this leave a comment too).

7. Blog and link back to this giveaway.

Good Luck!

This giveaway is open until 11:59 PM on Saturday, April 30, 2009. The winner will be chosen by random. Winner will be notified by email (please be sure to include your email address if it is not in your profile) and have 48 hours to respond. Otherwise, an alternate winner will be chosen.

In Honor of Maddie

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Spring Cleaning

Spring is a time of renewal. The beautiful flowers, fresh air (well warm air, here in Atlanta the air has so much pollen it makes it difficult for allergy sufferers), and spring cleaning. For me spring cleaning has meant opening up the windows and doors to air out our home after winter. Although this sounds like a simple task, it takes careful planning and coordination. My home is filled with allergy sufferers (myself included) and I have to ensure that the air circulates enough to freshen our home but not too much for fear of sneezing, coughing or asthma attacks. 

Of course spring cleaning should also entail cleaning out the closet and switching out clothes as well as tackling those jobs that have been left undone. In my case - unpacking the boxes that have sat around for the two years that we have lived in our home. Before I am able to tackle the bigger jobs around my home I have to do the basics. For me that means giving my bedroom and sitting area/office a complete cleaning. You see when I get busy and overwhelmed it shows in my personal environment. I have a habit of letting things go awry and when it is really bad I am completely overwhelmed and am unable to tackle it. 

The past few months have been that way for me, I have been trying to keep up with all of my responsibilities and my home has been neglected. I have read time and time again that spending time with family and being happy are more important that an immaculate home and I agree. However, having organization will help me be more productive and feel better.  Today I decided to clean my bedroom which was not an easy task. I can "straighten" all day long but moving things from one place to another does not take care of the problem and inevitably things go back to disarray quickly. No, today I cleaned and removed clutter. I had to question my need to hold on to bills from early 2008 that have already been paid. Which reminds me - I need to go digital with all of my billing to save some trees! 

Anyhow, I took my first stab at spring cleaning today and feel lighter. Next, I have to deal with my office. I keep in mind that once I do the "big" clean it will only take five or ten minutes a day to keep everything in order. Through this all I am being kind to myself, not judging and simply doing. Clearing the way for springtime and the summer will bring clarity not only to my space but my mind. 

Wiiieeeee!!!! EA SPORTS Active

The EA SPORTS Active Challenge begins for me on April 18th. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have a community of supporters behind me. I know that some days I will not want to work out but being accountable both to myself and my fellow Challengers will keep me on track. Here are a few photos of my friends.

In addition to my fellow Challengers, my new Wii motivates me. There is no way I can be a couch potato and have the EA SPORTS Active logo taunting me. This lovely Wii will be put to good use.



I am asking you to help encourage me too. I am committed but can always use a little help from my friends. I will likely post here about the Challenge but certainly will be posting on the EA SPORTS Active website. I am thanking you in advance for your help!

Maddie

My friend Heather lost her sweet baby Maddie last night. My heart breaks for Heather and her husband Mike. Heather's blog The Spohrs Are Multiplying has chronicled her pregnancy, the premature birth and the life of Maddie. As I write this tears stream down my face as I think about the family and this devastating loss. I just want to ask you to please send your thoughts and prayers to the Spohr family. If you are so inclined, they are asking in lieu of flowers to send a donation to the March Of Dimes in the name of Madeline Alice Spohr. You may also send a donation to Mike and Heather to help defray the cost of the service by sending a donation via PayPal to formaddie@hotmomreviews.com.

*ETA - Heather's blog is having a hard time keeping up with the traffic but please keep trying. I have closed comments here, please leave all condolences for Heather and Mike on their blog or on the March Of Dimes donation page. Thank you.

EA SPORTS Active Weekend - Day 2

On Day 2 of the retreat we had one on one time with Health and Fitness Guru Bob Greene, you may be most familiar with him because he is Oprah's trainer. My session went very well, he had some really great advice for me. Once the Challenge begins you will be able to view the interview on the EA SPORTS Active Challenge website. We also met our celebrity mom challenger, Allison Sweeney, of Days of Our Lives and host of The Biggest Loser. I asked her why she was interested in working on weight loss/health and fitness and she said that like many women she has struggled with weight and body image. I loved her candor and transparency.

We ate a great lunch - I know I have been mentioning foodMe and Monica about to get our grub on.

frequently but The Four Seasons really had excellent menus. After lunch it was on to a group sessions with Bob. We covered more health and fitness Donny and Kari Claxton

tips as well as dealing with the emotional side of weight loss. The emotional piece is the one that hit home for me and I that in order to be successful I have to take a holistic approach and address everything both inside and out. We ended the day with working out with EA SPORTSKP, the EA SPORTS Active Community Manager and Challenger

Active. I really am in this thing to make a huge difference in my life and I chose a preset workout that focused on my lower body. This thirty minute workout was killer. I truly felt the burn and refused to stop when we were switching out to a dance workout until I completed the entire thing. I am competitive but mostly compete with myself and I needed to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a challenging workout.

All of our hard work did not go unrewarded. We went to dinner in Santa Barbara - in true style, our stretch Escalade was a fun surprise for all of us. We had dinner at El Paseo restaurant where the guacamole was made table side and the margaritas were ginormous! And no, alcohol is not partof the diet but on the last night there we had to celebrate our hard work and get the last drinks in before the Challenge officially starts!Me and Riley of EA SPORTS Active in the Escalade

The evening did not end there for me, several of us went to a club where we were treated like VIPs. The music and crowd was eclectic but on my last evening in Santa Barbara I danced the night away. In the morning I paid for it, my toes were blistered and my legs were sore but it was all worth it. After a refreshing retreat I am ready to take the Challenge.

The Challengers

EA SPORTS Active Weekend - Day 1

This past weekend in Santa Barbara was amazing. The kickoff to the EA SPORTS Active Challenge truly surpassed my wildest expectations. There is so much to share and I truly am not sure where to start. So, I will start at the very beginning and write several blog posts to tell the whole story.

Obviously, my trip to California had some unexpected delays but upon my arrival at The Four Seasons I knew things were bound to get better.

After quickly freshening up, I joined the rest of the group for dinner which was divine. I was too busy talking and stuffing my face to take photos of the food from that first night but not to worry, food photos are on the way. One of the highlights of the first evening was having a meet-up with my friends Meghan, writer of A Mom Two Boys and Heather of The Spohrs are Multiplying. Fellow challengers Jennifer of the Mom Bloggers Club and Jessica of Jessica Knows joined the party and we spent an evening together that was full of laughs.

L-R(Jessica, Jennifer, Heather, Meghan)

The next morning the Kickoff truly began. We were escorted down to a beautiful dining area on a terrace facing the Pacific Ocean.

These pictures do not give justice to the beauty of the area but it was indeed wonderful. The food was splendid. After breakfast we had a professional make-up application so that we were camera ready for our entry interviews. (make-up by LunaBella Make-Up Art -thanks Christin and Ashley!)

During our individual 20 minute interviews we discussed our goals and expectations for the Challenge. Following my interview I had a wonderful pampering session and received a manicure. Next was lunch, sushi and all sorts of other foods were on the menu. After lunch while the other Challengers had interviews or spa sessions I spent time relaxing by the pool.Thank you Lands End for this fabulous bathing suit!

Next it was time to get active! This trip was about EA SPORTS Active after all. We all tried out the Day 1 workout on our personal stations and were filmed while doing it. I am honestly not looking forward to seeing the footage of my sweaty self L-R(Jennifer, Donny, Lauren, Julie)

but I am on a mission and actually choose the medium level workout. I am proud of myself because not only did I meet my estimated caloric burn, I exceeded it. I love the interactive aspect of the game - your movements are monitored and you are given correction when you are not completing a move correctly. I am certain that by combining good diet and nutrition I will see results during the Challenge!

We ended the evening with a fine dining experience at The Lighthouse restaurant. Champagne flowed as did the wonderful conversation.

L-r (Me, Monica, Keri, Lauren, Jennifer, Jessica)

This was the perfect ending to a fabulous day.