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I'm always looking for motivating new songs for my iPod cardio playlist.  As LilSis just mentioned, I also get tired of my tunes really quickly.  I get some songs from old CDs, but most come from iTunes.  The only problem with discovering new songs on iTunes is that you get to listen to such a short snippet of the song, who knows if you're going to like the whole song?  You can pay for a song and then not like it at all.

Here's a solution to that problem…Grooveshark!  Voila!  At Grooveshark, you can listen to songs in their entirety, and even make your own playlists to come back to and listen to time after time.  How is Grooveshark different from iTunes?  You don't download songs and you can't put them on your MP3 player.  You just listen to them online.  You also don't have to pay for using Grooveshark.  If you don't like dealing with ads on the site, you can pay $30/yr for a VIP account, but they don't bother me.

You can search Grooveshark by artist, or by keywords that can be found in a song name or album name.  You can also look at the songs that are most popular with other users at the moment to get some idea of what's hot.

I like to listen to songs on Grooveshark, and then download them on iTunes for my iPod if I like them enough.  It's the perfect marriage of technology!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

When LilSis mentioned Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred video, I was immediately intrigued. I've seen The Biggest Loser a couple of times, so I knew that Jillian was a hard-core trainer. Who wants Jillian to get them shredded? Me! Who wants to see results in 30 days (or 30 workouts)? Me! Who wants to see a change in their body as summer approaches? Me me me!

I have an “all or nothing” personality, so when I decide I want to start a new eating plan, workout or whatever, I want to do it NOW! So I marched myself up to SuperTarget and got the video on sale for $13. If you're more patient than me, Amazon has 30 Day Shred for $8.99. This video is the #2 biggest seller out of all their Movies and TV category! There are 3 workouts on the DVD, all at around 25 minutes each. Level 1 is the easiest so you start there, and then move up to Level 2 and then Level 3 as your fitness level improves.

I started the DVD right away, and I just finished my fifth workout at Level 1. When I did the workout the first time, I thought it was kind of short and wanted a little longer workout. The next day though, I realized the 25 minutes was plenty long enough. My entire body was sore…I mean: arms, back, pecs, legs, butt, abs…the whole kitten caboodle (however you spell that). I was surprised to be that sore since I do cardio and weights at the gym 5 times a week, and walk outdoors whenever the weather allows. Obviously, this workout hit my muscles in a new way which is a great thing!

This is not a fluffy little dancy DVD! Oh no no no! It's push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, tae bo punches, jumping rope, lunges, zercher squats …you get the idea. It's stuff that a trainer would have you doing in a gym if you paid him or her $180 an hour. All you need is a mat and a set of hand weights. I love the way Jillian combines small muscle movements, like bicep curls, with large muscle movements, like lunges. Jillian is encouraging and motivational, and gives clear instructions about the correct form.

So the million dollar question is, do I see results? Heck, yeah! Woo hoo! After my third or fourth workout, I caught a view of my arm in the mirror and was surprised to see some new definition there! I'm not kidding. My lower “quadrant” feels tighter, thanks to the squats and lunges, and my core feel stronger. I'm going to stay with this workout, and see where it'll take me. I can't believe I'm seeing results of this magnitude already. It's truly amazing. Because of this positive outcome, I'm already trying to persuade my friends to try a similar workout and they all seem up for it, especially my friend that said he's willing to try it because it gives him an excuse to have a look for some of the best men's workout shorts on the market. Well, if that persuades him to take part, then so be it. When it comes to myself though, I can't wait to continue with this workout journey. If I can, I'd like to do 5 more workouts at Level 1, and then move up to Level 2 for 10 workouts, and end with 10 workout at Level 3. That'll be the 30 workout barometer, and I'll report back about my progress…if Jillian hasn't killed me!

If I have one note of caution to add, it's to be very careful if you're like me and have bad knees (too many years of step aerobics!). Be sure to strictly use the proper form in every exercise. The side lunges were hurting my knees, so I've backed off that exercise a little and substituted a move with less knee stress.

Overall? On a sister scale of 1 to 10, I give this video an 8.5 so far! Oh, and LilSis, thanks for the suggestion of this video. And I apologize for this post…I hope you don't feel like I'm rubbing your nose in the fact that you're still in that darn boot and can't exercise for a while! You'll be back to your old working-out self soon, don't worry!

Update: This video is now #1 on Amazon as of May 14th! And Jillian has two other videos in the top 10! I'm tempted to order these two but I'm going to wait until I finish this first 30-workout challenge.

~BigSis

Posted under Fitness

This is such a great story! I wanted to share it with you today in case you didn't hear about it last week.

Press Release Source: The Keep A Breast Foundation On Monday March 29, 2010, 5:12 pm EDT

DANA POINT, CA–(Marketwire – 03/29/10) – Professional surfer and Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) ambassador Jodie Nelson became the first woman to paddle 39.8 grueling miles from the island of Catalina to Dana Point yesterday. She finished in 9 hours, one minute and 21 seconds, all in an effort to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and prevention.

I hope you can take a few minutes to watch this video. It's incredible!

Jodie started her journey at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, March 28, the only person doing a solo paddle as part of the Ohana Ocean Catalina Challenge. On the top of her paddleboard, she had printed names of loved ones close to her who were affected by breast cancer. Her mother is a breast cancer survivor, her aunt is a cancer survivor and one of her dearest friends is currently battling the disease.

“I wanted to go out there and do something big and overwhelming, something I had a good chance of failing at… I see so many people who have battled and who are beating breast cancer, they are tackling something bigger than them. They keep fighting and don't give up. I want to motivate people to keep fighting!”

18 miles into the paddle, Jodie had a close encounter with a 30-foot minke whale, which are fairly rare for the waters but are known to be friendly and docile. She dubbed him Larry and watched as he blew bubbles beneath her, fluked, and showed her his belly. The whale stayed with Jodie for about an hour and a half. “It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life,” she said.

According to Ray Hsieh from the Crow's Nest Boat Center, who was driving Jodie's support boat, “I've been boating and fishing all my life and have never seen anything like what I saw today. It was so strange, I actually called my friends at Sea World to ask them if it was normal, and they said, ‘It's your lucky day! That whale is just playing. Sit back and enjoy the show.' So I did.”

Jodie's campaign to “Paddle With Purpose” is supported by Emergen-C Pink®, which Jodie used during training to help prepare her for the endurance mission.

Jodie's goal is to raise $100,000, and so far she has reached about $8,000. All funds go toward The Keep A Breast Foundation and Boarding for Breast Cancer. To donate, go to http://www.paddlewithpurpose.com

Note: Video and still footage of Jodie's journey, the gray whale and heartfelt welcome by her family and friends is available upon request or by visiting or http://tinyurl.com/yeg48tv.

~LilSis

Posted under Fitness

We hope you've all had a chance to check out the Potato Ho Down by now!  If not, wander over to dlynz.com to see all of the great spud dishes.  We had a ton of fun putting together our Pink Potatotini!

While BigSis and LilSis have been in the same town and same house this week, we've had a chance to work on our blog a little bit, and are working on some enhancements.  Nothing too fancy, since neither of us are techies, just a little tweak here and there.

• You'll notice that you can now subscribe to the comments on a particular post, which is something we really like being able to do.

• We've also changed how we show our book list.  Instead of a list of our favorites, we'll be posting a link to the book we're currently reading (or cooking or baking from) in our left sidebar.  That featured book will change from time to time.

• All of our recipes will soon be on a separate page that you can access from the top Navigation Bar.

We have some other things in the works, so keep your eyeballs peeled for those, and let us know if you like the changes (or not!).

~BigSis

Posted under This & That