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By Aimee, March 9, 2011

Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

When I was asked to write about a time when I tried something new, so many ideas came to mind. There have been many times when I have tried new things, from interesting food while living in Russia, to new recipes for my meat loving husband (having not been a meat eater, let alone meat cooker). To choose just one is really hard, but since I am currently in the middle of one of them, I thought I would write about it. African Dance!

Ever since I can remember I loved to dance. When I was young I took dance classes, but never stuck with just one style until I was a lot older and chose Bellydance. I’ve been doing that since 1994, and love it a lot. I’ve done ballroom, swing, and hoopdance too. All of them are super fun, and so when I heard about African dance I just had to give it a try. Luckily there was a class starting at the local University.

There is nothing quiet like dancing to live drumming, and dancing moves that have likely been around for thousands of years. They are simple, yet challenging. Familiar, but new. And even though it all feels very “right” to move in these ways, it’s very much a stretch of both body and spirit.

Since a lot of the dances come from more meaningful rituals, it has been a way to expand both body and mind. Dancing a full moon celebration rhythm at the full moon, or dancing a healing rhythm to release stress, or even dancing the moves of a warrior, each dance has it’s own unique meaning. This takes it beyond just movement to a deeper connection inside, a connection to something that has likely been passed down through generations (albeit forgotten).

What has been the most fun is to see the small community form in our class. Each week that passes I can see people relaxing and going with the flow and music more and more, and worrying about getting it “just right” less and less. We know each other better now, support each other more, and though we meet just once a week, the community feeling grows more each time. If you ever get the chance to experience African dance in person, take that chance! It’s so much fun (and a pretty awesome workout too)!

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By Aimee, March 8, 2011

When I found out about Bellyfit, I got very excited because it combined all my favorite things; bellydance, African, Bollywood, yoga! I also really loved the inspiration behind the Bellyfit workout:

Bellyfit is the Holistic Fitness experience for women that blends the power and wisdom of ancient cultures, with the research, technology and trends of the modern world. It is designed to connect you to the deep, primal feminine within, while helping you find strength to deal with modern day stress.

The Bellyfit: Earth DVD did not disappoint! The moves are easy to follow, while being challenging too (there are different levels shown, so you can add difficulty). The music is amazing! I love that it was so upbeat, while pulling from the traditional sounds of bellydance music. I would love the soundtrack for bellydance practice!!

The DVD starts with a nice warm up, moves onto a more intense portion where you are really moving and burning calories, then a nice slowing down followed by a great yoga/stretching session on the floor. The entire workout lasts one hour, but is so enjoyable the time passes quickly!

I loved that Alice (the main instructor) does all the moves to the highest level, while her two supporting instructors keep the levels lower. I also really liked that the voice was over the workout, so it is clear and easy to hear. The moves are explained well and then put into small routines to follow, which will help those who aren’t dancers or who aren’t already familiar with the moves. My only complaint is that sometimes during a move change the focus of the camera is not on the body part where the move is changing (showing the gorgeous faces of the girls, instead of the entire body). For me, since I bellydance and do African dance, this wasn’t really an issue, but for those who haven’t done these kinds of moves before it could be a problem at first.

The set was lovely, and I was wishing the entire time that I had a workout area that looked just like the video! I was also wishing for the clothes the whole time too!! And, one thing that I really loved, aside from it being a great workout, is that you could tell the instructors were enjoying it too! In fact, during the credits they show “behind the scenes” shots which made me like all the girls even more. You could see that it was truly a fun experience for all involved. For me, working out needs to not just be effective, but be fun as well!

A huge thank you to Bellyfit for sending me the Bellyfit: Earth DVD to review! I am hooked and can’t wait to see the other dvds as they come out. Watch the trailer below to get a feeling of what the workout looks like:

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By Aimee, March 7, 2011

When you get married you begin to notice just how different men and women really are.

My most current example of differences involves our bed. What I have learned is that most men are perfectly happy with something as long as it works, whereas women tend to want things to not only work, but look good doing it. Oh yes, and be safe.

Our bed frame broke over a year ago. At first it was just one side that detached from the foot board (the bed was a headboard, foot board, and two side rails). The detachment was actually quiet spectacular, involving a loud crash, and loads of laughter.

Figuring we could possibly fix it somehow, Heath propped it up with a stack of books and called it good. Of course it wasn’t too long after that when the other side rail detached, though this time in not so awesome of manner. It just kind of fell off. Enter another stack of books!

Could crash at any moment!

Here’s the thing, the books function. Our bed is held up. But they don’t exactly look good, and I wouldn’t say that they are safe (women requirements, remember?). The books are slippery, and any movement, like leaning against the bed and such, causes the bed to move around a lot. We have had many times where the sideboards have slipped completely off the stack of books. Luckily, never while we were sleeping.

Another fun thing about the book stacks? They stick out, and when you stub your foot on them it feels like you will have lots of little paper cuts (I’ve never actually seen any though).

I was finally beyond fed up with the stacks when once again our bed frame slid completely off of them this past week and I began plotting to get rid of them. The stacks, which apparently are not nearly as “trashy” in someone’s opinion as the metal bed frame we have sitting in the basement, will soon be replaced by a new, awesome bed frame! Hallelujah!

New bed frame! Much better.

I just hope our bed makes it until the new frame arrives. It took another tumble off the books just last night!

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By Aimee, March 5, 2011

My entire life the only kind of macaroon I was aware of was the coconut macaroon, you know, like the cookies from Mothers. Or the kind you make with this recipe:

* 1 (14 ounce) can condensed milk
* 1 egg white, whipped
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
* 1 (14 ounce) package flaked coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with foil; grease and flour foil. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg white, extracts and coconut; mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets; slightly flatten each mound with a spoon.
3. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Immediately remove from baking sheets (macaroons will stick if allowed to cool); cool on wire racks. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Then suddenly all over the place I was seeing cookies claiming to be macaroons, but they weren’t made with coconut and they certainly didn’t look anything like the macaroons I had seen before. At the Grand America they had tons of them, in many colors! See them in the window?

So, after doing a little searching online what I learned was that the new kind I was seeing, the kind that looked like a big soft Oreo, are known as French Macaroons! They are made completely differently, and of course they sound like they would be very tasty as well. I meant to buy some while I was at Grand America for Alt, but never got around to it. I’m very curious to know the difference. Oh yes, and as always, Japan has made something to make macaroons (the French kind) in an utterly cute way:

So, I want to know… when you hear the word macaroon, which type do you think of? Have you had both kinds before? Which is your favorite?