Has It Been Forever?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My kid's summer vacation began May 19th and since that time I have been far too busy keeping them busy to maintain two blogs with any level of dedication so, unfortunately, "Living Fit Mommy" was the one selected to fall dreadfully behind.

However, now that my little ones have settled into their summer routine and I have reconfigured my schedule to accommodate days filled with all things children, I will attempt to get myself back on the "Fit Mommy"track.

That said, this posting is less about the norm of eating right, living well, and maintaining balance than it is about getting my readers up to speed on what's been happening in my world.

The idea to do so was taken from my country cousin, Ally, over at Copacetic in Carolina—whose blog if you haven't visited by now, shame on you, so go now!—and it's called "Currently".

So, here I am...

What I'm reading: It's tough to find time to do more than peruse the holy plethora of magazines I have on my nightstand—Muscle & Fitness Hers, Oxygen, Essence, and Yoga Journal are among the few—but I do try to throw in a novel or two just for fun. Right now I am wading through a book on Abraham Lincoln, with whom I became intrigued after our trip to Washington this past April, but I also have The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on my radar for the very near future.

What I'm watching: Lately, television does nothing for me, so I've been renting DVD's of shows that are now off the air. I have watched "Alias" and re-watched "Felicity" (a show I adored when it aired on the WB more than a decade ago), while also starting "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Entourage", and "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency".

What I'm doing now since my kids are home: I haven't abandoned my workout regimen but I do have to be infinitely more creative to fit it in between shuttling them to karate and gymnastics, respectively, as well as the myriad of activities I plan for them to enrich their minds whilst school is out. That means what is normally a 75-90 minute workout is now 45-60 minutes. It's working out well so far as I get plenty of exercise just running around behind them.

What I'm ready for: Seriously, I'm soooooooo looking forward to getting a new MacBook. I love mine but I am giddy for a shiny new one to type upon. Second to that, an iPhone 5 of course. My tiny, slow, out-of-date 3GS has done all it can do but I refuse to spring for an iPhone 4 with the 5 supposedly right around the collective corner.

What I'm loving: the fact that my other passion—college football—is less than three months from starting anew. As a rabid Georgia Bulldogs and SEC fan, Saturdays seem empty minus some pigskin. less than 90-days and counting before what's wrong is made right.

Well, that's about it. As I said, I will try to get back on track with the blog now that the kiddies and I have a well-established schedule to follow.

Hope y'all are enjoying your summer thus far.

The 6 iPhone Apps This Busy Mom Can't Do Without

I own an iPhone—proudly. I have been on-board with one since 2007, and would not switch to another smartphone if you paid me.

I consider myself an app-addict and often peruse the Apple App Store for new items to that can help me stay organized and focused. At present, I have better than 150 apps on my phone—most of which are there for that "just in case" moment, but some are used almost daily—this list speaks briefly about the latter.

That said, I tend to keep my app choices to those which are offered for free because, in this economy, I don't need my money going to something frivolous or unnecessary. So, if I do shell out any money for an app, trust that I've researched it long enough to consider it worth my while.

So, let's get started:

1. My Fitness Pal (free): Calorie counting has become a way of life for me—despite what the doctors or weight watchers has to say :)—I do so as much to evaluate my sodium and fat intake as I do to make sure I am keeping my eating habits in check. This app offers a huge food database (I have yet to enter an item that wasn't in their listing) and online syncing. It's been an invaluable tool in helping me to maintain my fitness goals.

2. Nike Training Club (free): This is a great way to either diversify a routine you've already established or get you started on your way to one. I use it, at least 2-3 times a week as a supplement to my regimen and I have to say it has been phenomenal.

3. Cozi (ad-supported, free version): I recently have had to start re-organizing my calendar to include varying activities for the different members of my family and Cozi has been a nice tool for giving me that quick glance of what's on the menu for the day. It offers color coded dots for each family member and gives you the option of setting reminders (via email or text) for all the most important tasks of the day. It's the PDA for my famLay—okay, that was cheesy. But, it really is great.

4. All-in-Yoga ($1.99): I love this yoga app for it's simplicity and ease. I'm still a novice so I didn't see a need to spend a ton on a yoga app that I wasn't sure I'd use very much, but I use this one 2 to 3 times a week. It's been a little up and down lately, due to various updates, but I still favor it above most of the others I've seen/used.

5. Facebook (free): Of course, just about everyone updates their Facebook account via a mobile phone these day,s and I am no exception.

6. BlogPress ($2.99): I write two blogs and BlogPress offers me a decent way to keep both updated with fresh content as well as write on the go—something I have done on more than one occasion.

Related articles

• New iPhone adverts: "If you don't have an iPhone, well, you don't have an iPhone" (9to5mac.com)
• iPhone 5 prototype said to show flat metal back (electronista.com)

Jon Bon Jovi Blames iTunes For Music's Demise?...Seriously?

In case you haven't heard by now, according to Jon Bon Jovi, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple and creator of iTunes) is the reason why music is dying. In an interview published by the Sunday Times Magazine, the rocker is quoted as having said the following about Jobs and his iTunes downloading model—which allows patrons to pick and choose the music they want from an artist's album for between $0.99 and $1.29 per track—he's "killing the music business".

Not for nothing, Jon—and, might I add, I was a big Bon Jovi fan back in the day—but music has done a fine job of killing itself without any help from Mr. Jobs or iTunes. As a matter of fact, I would contend that if not for services like iTunes, I might never buy any music at all.

Why?  Well, that's easy, because most of it is overpriced, poorly produced, crap.

Who on earth wants to spend better than $10 on a CD that will have, at best, three to four songs worth listening to? How is that a good return on one's investment?

And, piggybacking on that last thought, here's the quote by Bon Jovi that really got me going:

"Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like [emphasis added], and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it,"

See that right there is the root of the problem. Back then you could count on the quality of an album based on the artist hawking the product. You knew that if you spent your hard earned money on an artist like Pearl Jam, Guns N' Roses (before Axl went crazy), Babyface, TLC, or Coldplay, you were getting quality music. Their reputation and product made them a must-get from the time they released an album.

You can't make that mistake nowadays because most of the acts you hear on the radio won't be around long enough for you to care about their reputation. As a matter of fact, most of them are built only for that one big hit and the rest of what they give you will be fluff or worse.

The good bands, artists, etc. will always have people willing to buy their music because they pay attention to the quality of their work. Can the same be said for artists like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, or P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, or whatever the heck his name is nowadays?

I don't think so.

Thank goodness iTunes gives me options—as a consumer—because that has saved me from both an empty wallet and that feeling of regret. These days it's a lot less about the experience of making a decision "based on the jacket" than it is about making an informed choice about who's worthy of your hard-earned money.

The bottom line is this: if you're making good music, people will buy the album—period.

All this talk of Bon Jovi has me feeling nostalgic. So, just for old times sake, here's one of my personal favorites from his younger days:



Ahhhh, the memories. I forgot just how big a crush I had on Richie Sambora. He was definitely a doll.