What is your family do for fun on Halloween in Utah?

Are you going to have a Zumba party? Do you have good Halloween music for the festivities? What are you going to wear?

Some of the things I’ve heard are a big gathering at a parking lot – a “Trunk or Treat”.

There’s the common “door to door” approach, which many Utah people are great at due to their 18 month or 2 year “door to door” training .

What do you do?

What’s your favorite Halloween Costume?

Do you think any of these costumes below would be Utah County “worthy”?

Would any of these costumes qualify as “Aerobic Apparel“?

The Redneck Halloween!

Make sure to check out the “Cancer Can Be Scary for Kids“ charity album.

A portion of proceeds from the Halloween Album are going to The Children’s Hospital.

After a 2 week trial run, these are my new favorite shoes: the ASICS – Gel-FX 2.

What I LOVE:

• My last pair of workout shoes were also Asics Gels and I’ve been extremely happy with them as well.  It’s always nice to find a reliable brand that you can trust!
• I love how this shoe looks similar to the trendy Nike Shox with a fraction of the price tag and better reviews (check them out at Zappos).
• This is an extremely comfortable shoe.  I walked away from my first class in these feeling light as air: no breaking in, no discomfort in the bridge of my foot, it was like I wasn’t even wearing shoes.
• I must confess, I have nothing negative to say about this shoe!  It will be tough to try another brand of shoe after this–I love ASICS Gel FX 2, and I love that I can get them for a great price, free shipping, and within 2 days of purchase at Zappos.com!

Check these shoes out at Zappos!

ASICS – Gel-FX 2

When I started teaching Zumba recently, I realized a needed a shoe that was especially suited to dancing. Yes, I still needed support, but I also needed mobility–you have to be able to slide, turn, and shake it! After reading reviews and suggestions from other instructors I settled on these Ryka – Studio D crosstrainers.   Here’s my review:

What I LOVED:

• The look of these shoes–they are very cute–lots of compliments!
• The smooth bottoms make these shoes perfect for Zumba turns, slides, and shakes
• On Zappos.com, you can find a variety of colors and styles, and have your purchase within 2 days of your purchase, with free shipping, of course!

What to be aware of:

• The first few classes have left my feet a little numb.  If you’ve got wide feet, like I do, you may find these shoes a bit tight along the bridge of your foot.  If you’ve got narrow feet, I don’t think you’ll have a problem here at all!
• The only other problem I’ve got with these shoes is that the laces are a bit short and tend to come undone in the middle of my class.  Still working on a way to fix this one!

Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  Zappos is one of my favorite online shopping destinations.  They are amazing!  I have recently ordered 3 items from this website:  the Cosabella – Bella Body Contour , Ryka – Studio D crosstrainers, and  ASICS – Gel-FX 2.  Look for upcoming product reviews once I put these products to the test.  But for now, here are my 5 favorite things about Zappos.com:

1.  FAST Shipping:  I received my Bella Body Contour the day after I ordered it online.  The day after!  It’s amazing!  My shoes arrived on my doorstep only 2 days after I purchased them online.  I don’t know how they do it, but Zappos somehow gets you the goods in good time.

2.  FREE Shipping:  With 3 kids ages 4 & under, shopping is no longer a recreational activity.  In fact, it is a necessary evil.  Due to this fact, I have become a frequent online shopper.  My only beef with this virtual shopping experience:  paying more to ship the same stuff that I could walk in and buy at a retail store.  At Zappos, this is a non-issue.  They have FREE SHIPPING on all domestic purchases.

3.  FREE Returns: The other big issue with shopping online is the return process:  most websites require you to pay for return shipping and have a complicated process to follow.  Not at Zappos.  They accept returns for a full year after your purchase and provide a prepaid shipping label that you can easily download from their website.  No worries.

4.  REVIEWS: Especially on shoes, I LOVE reading the product reviews before I buy.  Zappos does a great job of getting their clientele to leave valuable feedback on the products they offer.  I have browsed through hundreds of shoes and feel like I can make a much more educated purchase by reading the reviews on Zappos than I could at most retail shoe stores with sales clerks who generally know very little about the intricacies crosstrainer shoes.

5.  So many CHOICES: Zappos also offers a huge selection when compared to what most retail stores can offer.  Many shoe stores carry only 1 or 2 crosstrainer shoes in their entire inventory, and running shoes do not provide the appropriate support for most aerobic group exercise classes.  On Zappos, you can choose the best fit as well as the style that suits you.

As you can see, I am a huge Zappos fan.  If you haven’t tried this online store, you should.  I promise, you won’t be disappointed–and you may never set foot in a shoe store again!

As I approached my due date and I dug through my boxes, I came across these bunchy, white, shapeless items…were they huge socks? Granny panties? Nope, I’m talking about those floppy monstrosities known as nursing bras. Its actually ironic that they call these lovelies bras at all, since the whole idea behind a bra is to provide support, and these puppies tend to leave you hanging (literally) just when you need them the most.

So I went to Victoria’s Secret, my most trusted source to work wonders on my post-nursing chest, to see if they could help this nursing mom feel like a hot mama, rather than an old grandma.

1. Nursing Plunge Bra $44
This little beauty is a good nursing bra. The cups come down easily, the material is soft and durable, but I have to say, I don’t believe it is far above and beyond the type of bras you can get for half the price. Like most nursing bras, this bra just doesn’t provide the lift you need as those heavy little mamas start to head south. The only thing sexier about this bra than your run-of-the-mill department store brand is that it’s got Victoria’s Secret name on it.

2. Piped Nursing Full-Coverage Bra $47
This is the sexy little number I was hoping for from Victoria’s Secret. With the help of underwiring, this product perks everything up and gives that new cleavage the lift it needs. Unfortunately, the underwiring does pose a problem for nursing moms. The wire can actually interfere with your milk ducts, resulting in a clog, or even an infection. So, my advice…splurge on this one for those special nights out where you want to feel young and sexy, but leave it out of your everyday wardrobe. Beauty can be painful, but risking mastitis is a little excessive, don’t you think?