Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor Review

I got the Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor for my Birthday in April so I guess it's about time I did my review.  There are more features on it then I actually use or know anything about.  I can't help you out by breaking down all the features because honestly, I'm sure I don't know what all of them are but the main take away here is that if I can figure this thing out well enough to calculate my calories during work outs then so can you.

The first Heart Rate Monitor I ever had was a Mio strapless.  I'd heard that the ones with chest straps are more accurate but I was afraid of the strap. I was worried that it would be uncomfortable, bulky and a pain in the butt to put on.  I couldn't even find pictures of what it looked like.  It so turns out that having to hold down a button to test my heart rate every 15 minutes is more of a pain in the butt then any chest strap could ever be.  The strapless totally interrupted my work out.  Sometimes I couldn't get it to read my heart rate at all and other times I would get a very obviously inaccurate reading which would totally ruin my calorie count for the entire work out.  It's inconsistent.  I wore the Polar and the Mio at the same time for a few days to test the difference. The majority of the time that I had the Mio it was grossly over calculating but then for some reason all my settings got erased after I got the Polar and after I re entered them then it started grossly under calculating.   

Chest Strap // HRM calorie burn = 543 // Machine calorie burn = 598

Do not be afraid of the strap.  It's not uncomfortable at all.  I mean, if I was going to sleep I wouldn't want to wear it but I'm going to move and sweat.  It feels the same as the elastic on the bottom of my sports bras and sits just under it.  If I'm wearing a very fitted top and you look real close you might see a small bulge but for the most part it's not very noticeable.  I run my fingers under the faucet while im already wearing the strap and then stick them under the strap to wet it. It's not weird or gross like I thought it would be. The unit that measures my heart rate snaps on and off of the chest strap so I can easily wash the strap.  The directions tell you to put it in the washer about every 5th wear so I rinse it with soap and water after work outs and let it dry out.  The functions on the watch are pretty simple to navigate and the set up was easy.  I can pause it mid work out if I need to.   The  numbers on the watch are big which is helpful for practically blind people like me.  I  can push a button to scroll between heart rate, calories burned and duration very easily as I work out.  It determines your target heart range based on your input and will tell you when you are out of range.  There is some beeping that goes on that I haven't totally figured out yet but I think it has to do with that.  And you will get the beep of doom if your strap becomes disconnected from your body and stops reading.  Trust me, you will know this one when you hear it.  It's only happened a few times.  Without me having to do a thing if I'm working out on a machine at the gym it syncs and my heart rate show up on the machine like magic.  I didn't even know that was a feature. It also wishes you a Happy Birthday with a Birthday cake on your birthday.  How sweet is that? And of course I love it that it comes in Pink.


I knew that machines over calculate calories even when you enter your age and weight and now I know exactly how much.  The average is about 55 calories over what I'm actually burning based on the Polar.  It's nice to have a number that I can rely on to be accurate.  I count the calories that go in and I like to count the ones I burn too.

Guilty Pleasures

Linking up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

Warm Chocolate Molten Lava cake with Ice Cream.

Chocolate for Breakfast.

Eating an entire medium Pizza.  I actually did this on our 2nd date.  Way to impress him right?

Doughnut run at 9 O'clock at night. To my credit my husband is usually the instigator although I happily partake.

Eating Doritos right out of the bag without regard to serving size while sitting on the couch watching TV.  Not that a Dorito's bag has graced our home in a looooong time.  For obvious reasons.

Drinking that extra glass of wine..or two because I want to get tipsy...but not drunk.

5 Splendas in my coffee because I don't want to use "real" sugar and it makes it taste good.  Almost everything causes cancers these days.  I'll take my chances.

Eating a cookie every time a fresh batch comes out of the oven because there are only so many opportunities for that warm gooey freshly baked cookie experience.  Gotta take advantage of it.

Strawberry Twizzlers and Red Vines.  The King size bags.

Leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight in favor of extra cuddles on the couch before bedtime.

Staying in pajamas on the couch and watching TV all day.

Mid afternoon naps just because.

Sitting on the couch watching House Hunters while he slaves away in the kitchen making dinner.  He's just so much better at it then me.  And he likes it.

Skipping my work out.  I always feel guilty later on but in that particular moment that you decide not to put on your gym clothes and get all sweaty it feels great.

Sleeping in past 10am.   The guilt point used to be 12pm but I haven't been able to sleep in that late in years.

Running to Express or The Limited every time they send me a coupon because you just can't beat $15 off $30 minimum purchase.

Buying that shirt in both colors because it's just so darn cute.  Then, suddenly feeling an insatiable urge to buy shoes too.

Saying screw it and letting the house work go undone for another week.

Reality TV full of gossip and scandal.  It's taking every ounce of strength I have NOT to watch Pretty Wicked Wives on Lifetime.

Staring out the window at work thinking about what I wish I was doing instead long enough to forget what I was actually supposed to be doing.

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Shredding and Writing

The home key on my iPhone is not working.  I literally have to turn my phone off and back on again every time I need to navigate to a different area.  No bueno.  I'll be spending my lunch break at the genius bar. 

Last weekend was exactly the kind of weekend I was hoping for. I wasn't going to blog about it because I didn't really DO much of anything but then I thought about it. Maybe I didn't DO anything but it was still a great weekend in my book if not exciting, so why not?  Allow me to bore you with the details.

Saturday morning I woke up and did the 30 Day Shred first thing.  It was my first day of Level 3.  If I don't knock it out of the way in the morning it's not going to happen.  After that I headed straight to my favorite coffee shop for writing, Cosmo's Cafe.  I'm so glad I discovered this little gem.  It's in the downtown part of this cute little town near our house.  The prices are good and the refills are cheap.  There is plenty of seating with outlets for laptop chargers and plenty of room to spread out.  It's just got this really relaxing vibe to it that makes me feel right at home and allows me to focus.  They have these gluten free oat bars that are made by some local bakery that you can't get anywhere else.  I get all disappointed if they run out but they were fully stocked so I bought a giant coffee to go with it and settled down to write.  I was feeling bummed out because I didn't think I got much work done last month.  I started at the very beginning and cleaned house with edits and changes.  When your book is over 60,000 words it takes a loooong time to go through.  It's like reading a book.  Duh, 'cause I'm writing a book.  It turns out that with all that editing I actually added on about 13 more pages so I was still on track.  I finished reading through to the end from where I left on then started writing new pages.  When I hit a wall I left and went home.  That night we made dinner together and watched Side Effects. 

Sunday morning and guess what?  30 Day Shred. I was thinking about going back to Cosmo's because my creative juices were still flowing and I wanted to get more done but I didn't want to leave the house.  Lately, I haven't been able to write at home because I'm to distracted.  I put Pandora on the Classical Music for Studying Station; yes that's exactly what it's called! I sat there at the dining room table with my lap top and got a lot done.  Maybe I can write at home.  I watched a random foreign film on Netflix complete with French subtitles about 17 French high school girls who round up baby daddy's wherever they can find 'em and intentionally get pregnant at the same time.  I said it was random! I took a nap that afternoon because, you know I literally wore myself out doing almost nothing.  There wasn't a whole lot of TV watching going on because my DVR is finally empty.  I'm glad, but still not 100% sure how I feel about that.  I felt lost when I hit List and there was nothing there but at the same time it's nice for TV watching not to feel like a chore.  That night we watched Snitch and ate Carne Asada filled Mexican food from our favorite taco shop.

I didn't leave the house at all Sunday.  I was basically a pajama wearing shut in.  The best part is that I didn't feel guilty at all because I was at least somewhat productive with the exercise and writing.  If we had kids I'm betting almost none of that would have happened.  Which is just one of the reasons that we don't have any.

Productive.  Relaxing.  Pajamas.  Just what I needed.

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Friday Randoms

SUMMER or lack thereof
Well hello there Friday. Nice of you to make an appearance! This week seemed to last forever but it kind of feels like every week is that way right now. Like, the sunnier and warmer it gets outside and the more what I'm doing for summer vacation posts I read the longer the work days seem to get.  And I am having serious issues with focusing.  My attention span is shot.  I'd rather be outside enjoying the longer days then sitting in an air conditioned office.  Not that summer vacation actually exists for me.  Our weather is mostly awesome year round, I don't have kids out of school and I still go to work every day.  The concept of Summer is really nice but nothing much really changes around these parts.  At least not for me.

I found this cute striped maxi at Papaya for $12.99 // Link

SHOPPED OUT
I'm so over shopping right now.  Thank goodness!  I don't know how long it will last but I'm thrilled.  I've been on a shopping frenzy over the last year and I think I have finally beefed up my wardrobe enough to the point where I have options that I really like when I get dressed.   I still haven't even worn a lot of it because I'm weird like that and like to hold onto those I have new clothes to wear moments for as long as possible.  I don't feel driven to be out buying anything and this is a very good thing for my bank account.  I was getting tired of the spending and it was really starting to feel really excessive.  Now I can save more.  BUT, I wanted a maxi dress.  They will be perfect for our Maui trip in December and I knew if I waited they'd be out of season and I'd never find them in stores.  I went on a find a maxi dress mission and found three.  It was exhausting.  It's kind of hard to shop when you are kind of over shopping.  I've never owned a Maxi but I've been seeing everyone else in them.  Fashion bloggers are posting them left and right so they must be cool and they look so comfortable that even though I'm not a "dress" person I wanted one.  Or three.  Wonder how long it will take before I actually wear it or model it on my blog.

THE ELLIPTICAL
I haven't been going to the gym lately.  I've been doing the 30 day shred almost every day at home instead, but on Tuesday I decided to skip out on Jillian for an elliptical session at the gym.  Oddly, I kind of missed it.  Don't ever let anyone tell you that the Elliptical is not a good work out!  Before I started the shred I was doing the elliptical every week for 30-60 minutes.  This has been going on for years and had become routine.  It had almost started to seem easy.  But after a month off I did the elliptical for an hour and it was so HARD! Even at the half way point I was about to die and I was thinking to myself how did I do this every single week?  I about fell off when my hour was up, I burned 570 calories and even after three weeks with Jillian my legs were tired and fatigued for the rest of the night.  Well, I guess that's why they say you are supposed to mix up your exercise routine.  When your body gets used to it then it becomes routine, starts to feel easy and you aren't getting as much benefit out of it.  Yes, Mj you were right! He's been telling me I needed to switch things up for a while now but I wouldn't listen.  I do the elliptical on the interval setting and it's nice to throw in there because it's low impact on my old lady knees.  So maybe it shouldn't be your ONLY work out but it is definitely a good cardio work out.

THE WEEKEND
This weekend we have nothing planned.  Not a single thing.  It seems like the first weekend this has happened in a while and I'm glad.  I don't even have to clean the house.  I'm caught up on my DVR so now I'm like, well what am I going to do?  There will be a lot of sitting on the couch and of course Jillian but I plan on doing at least one productive thing.  I should be able to handle that.

Have a nice weekend!!! 

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Thermostat Wars: Him vs Me

When it gets warmer outside it gets warmer inside and when it gets warmer inside the AC goes on. And when the AC goes on so begins the AC wars. I'm always cold. He's always hot. So you can imagine the kind of battles we have in our household.   When we first moved into our house he thought it was cool to have the thermostat running on low all day long.  I was skeptical (and cold) but I didn't argue.  Some theory about your bill being lower if you just keep it cool so that the system doesn't have to work so hard cooling it down after it gets too warm.  Our electric bill told a different story so we don't do that anymore.  That theory is bunk as far as I'm concerned.

This is what Air Conditioning can do to you

But every year the minute the weather starts warming up his first instinct is to run to the thermostat and crank it down to arctic freeze.  I know it's warmer now, but do we really want our electric bill to double?  He literally wants to freeze me out of  house and home.  I complain and reach for my granny robe even though it's almost Summer and 90 degrees outside.  We take turns turning it up and down on each other.  In my book anything below 74 is ridiculous unless I'm working out and leaving it that low overnight is way too cold AND expensive when a fan can do the job.  Or an open window.  Either way, I often find myself going to bed in a cute nightie and waking up looking like a bag lady as I blindly reach for more clothes to put on throughout the night.  After a year of seasons in our house I figured out in general when it should come on and off and at what temperature.  We aren't always home on weekends so it's set really high or really low depending on the season so it doesn't come on unless we adjust it so it's not running all day in case we forget to turn it off.  He better not mess with my thermostat settings but I can't do anything about him sneaking over there before bed and putting it on whatever he wants to.  

He does the same thing but in reverse when it starts to get cold.  As soon as it starts getting chilly in the house he goes for broke and starts cranking up the heat except this time he's the one complaining about being too cold.   I tell him to put on more clothes.  If you can put on some pants and a robe and not be cold then do that first before costing us money by running over to the thermostat says the bag lady.  I mean, that's what I do.  If I have to be a bag lady then he can be a bag man every now and then.

My dad is the exact same way only 10x worse and he absolutely refuses to listen to reason.  He turns on the heat full blast until the house is a sauna and my mom is always the one who has to turn it off.  What is it with men and their thermostat?  Or is it just that I'm cheap?  Probably a little bit of both.  When I lived alone in my condo I had one of those built in Electric AC Units that sit right below the window.  There were times I'd literally be sitting up in my house sweating because I didn't want to use it.  Mj does not believe in suffering when he doesn't have to so he places comfort over budget every time.  I on the other hand am a glutton for punishment.  If it will save me money I'm willing to suffer a little bit.

The good news is that once we settle into the new climate he tends to back off a little and let my strategically planned thermostat settings do it's thing.  I'm cold, he's hot, I put on more clothes, he has to take some off.  We figure it out.  It's just one more training exercise in compromise.

Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday.

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The 4th, Etc

Sister's

The Fourth was great. My little sister was in town from San Francisco so our whole family was together hanging out at the rent's house.  We relaxed and ate some good old fashioned diet busting holiday food.  You know, the usual hamburgers, hotdogs, baked beans and a whole bunch of other stuff even though my mom claimed she wasn't making that much food.  My dad disappeared for a minute and somehow Mj ended up on grill duty.  It was a lovely day.  Then I went to work the next day and it totally sucked.  We didn't leave until about 9:30pm which means I didn't get home until around 10:15pm which means I didn't get to bed until about 11pm.  Which means that I was not a happy camper on Friday. 

Mj workin' it on the grill

Dad and Big Sis

Little Sis and Mom

My nephew was obsessed with the new train track and the bubbles around his neck

My little sis made the delicious Bruschetta // I can never get enough cheese!

I was so jealous that Mj was sound asleep while  I was trudging off to work.  My body was there but my mind was having an out of body experience. And how did so many bloggers already have their what I did for the 4th of July posts up that morning? How? When? Work was deserted so at least hardly anybody saw me looking like road kill. I did not want to be there and it was awful.  That's what I get for hoarding my vacation days and insisting on coming in until 2pm instead of just taking the whole day off.

Me and my beautiful sisters

Thank goodness I left early to meet up with my sisters.  I had to try really, really hard to pep myself up.  Once we made it to our happy hour spot and I was half way through a glass of wine I was good.  We had a really fun time.  It makes me sad that this will be the last time that the three of us are in the same city for a long time.

Chillin' at the winery

Saturday morning I did my work out. 30 Day Shred. Ugh! I cleaned house. Ugh! Then we went to breakfast and wine tasting. Yeah! Another Groupon date. It was our first time at Bernardo Winery but I'm already planning on going back.  Wineries are so amazingly relaxing and calming.  There is all this beautiful greenery and everyone is walking around with a glass of wine eating cheese, bread and chocolate.  It's the best.  I wish the winery was our backyard and I really want to do a Napa wine tasting vacation so I can be at a winery every single day. We did our tastings then spent a few hours on the blanket enjoying the perfect weather.   I closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze on my face and the sounds of birds and trees blowing in the wind.   Heavenly! I did not want to leave. 

My little sister ended up staying one more night. Her flight got delayed because of the SFO plane crash. I still can't believe that happened. They say the odds of it ever happening to you are slim to none, and yet. It happens. I'm still booking my airfare for Maui but when I hear about things like this I can't help but wonder. 

Can I just live at the Winery?

Going to work on Friday was the death of my 4 day weekend, but I still got my fun in.  Next year it falls on a Friday so we won't have to worry about getting gypped.

I Tried the Advocare Cleanse & This is What Happened

Fad diets and weight loss gimmicks are everywhere.  The Cabbage Soup, Atkins, Paleo, Blood Type, French Woman, HGC, Juicing...and it just goes on and on and on.  Those are just the ones that I remember hearing about at one time or another off the top of my head.  People are obsessed with pills, plans and quick fixes to get what they want yesterday.  I admit to trying some of them.  Not because I'm looking for a miracle but mainly just because I think it's fun to experiment.  I've done low Carb for 3 days and juice fasting for up to 5.  Just because.  And I think it's okay to experiment and try different things as long as you know that when it comes down to it weight loss and being fit and healthy is 70% eating balanced meals and 30% exercising.  We may want to believe otherwise but there really is no way around it.  That's all it is.

 Advocare drink & Pills // Chix Veg Stir Fry // Grilled Chix Salad // Egg Whites // Veg & Fruit snacks // Chix Breast

So when I heard about AdvoCare Herbal Cleanse I was like sure, why not?  It's not so much as a diet plan but diet supplements that are supposed to aid in cleansing. I have a difficult digestive system and I can use all the help I can get. I figured it would be nice to try a cleanse that would actually allow me to eat food and does not require Cayenne Pepper because I already know I can't handle that.  Yuck!  The kit  comes with powdered fiber drink packets and two different packets of herbal cleanse and probiotic supplements.  The schedule tells you what to take when during the 10 day period.  The Fiber drink is thick!!  It's less like a drink and more like the consistency of Apple Sauce.  I learned the hard way that you should not try to drink it with a straw.  It just clogs it up.  I have a stainless steel straw and I literally had to insert a coffee stirrer straw just to unplug the muck.  And you should just drink it right away.  Chug it.  The longer it sits the thicker it gets.  The citrus flavor is pretty good.

A Beachy Saturday

I don't really consider myself a beach person.  It's too crowded.  Parking sucks.  It get's too hot when the sun is beaming down on you.  West Coast water is pretty chilly year round and there is too much sand.  It's everywhere and it gets into everything.  I'm sounding way too much like my Dad with all that complaining so I'll stop there. I know how lucky I am to live here.

What I DO love about the beach is the beautiful ocean.  The constant roar of crashing waves is soothing and it's just a really relaxing place to be.  And all that messy sand actually does kinda feel good between my toes.  Saturday's weather was so perfect that even I couldn't say no to a beach day.  We live so close there is no reason we can't get in at least one during the Summer.

So off we went.  Just the two of us.  When we showed up at around 11am there was plenty of parking and hardly anyone was there.  We have access to Breakers Beach on Coronado Island.  One of the best things about this beach is that it's on base so not everyone can go there.  It doesn't get nearly as crowded as the other beaches.  And it's one of the prettiest ones around.

That giant umbrella really saves the day for me.  I hate sweltering in the sun like a rotisserie chicken.  I can't do it anymore but thanks to the half tent I don't have to.  I'm so glad we bought that thing.  We brought Subway sandwiches and healthy snacks to munch on.  I finally drank that mini Sutter Home wine bottle which I kid you not, has been in my refrigerator for a year just waiting for the perfect outing AND for me not to forget to bring the darn thing.  I could have drank it at home a long time ago but my hoarder side wouldn't let me.  I dipped my lower legs in the water. That was plenty because it was freezing and I'm kinda nervous about what's IN the water. I plowed through 5 magazines that had been piling up and beach naps are so amazing! Mj did some body boarding.  He was still pulling seaweed out of his shorts when we got home.

And because you really can't take too many weekend naps as far as I'm concerned I had another post sun drenched beach nap after we got home.  And I took one on Sunday too.  Later that night we cuddled at home on the couch and watched a movie.    

It was a pretty perfect easy breezy beach day and a great weekend despite those annoying errands I had to do on Sunday.  I really like the beach.  I just wish I could get rid of some of the sand. And make the water warmer. 

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Confessional Friday Time!!

I'm linking up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition again for Confessional Friday.

I confess that I haven't bought a new bra in five years and five years ago I didn't even buy the bras.  Mj did.   He really spoiled me while we first started dating and somehow I ended up with 5 Biofit Bra's in different colors.  And a Tiffany's necklace.  Anyways, when my go to nude bra broke in half in the dryer a few weeks ago it was time for a new one.  I caught the Victoria's Secret semi annual sale and got 2 for $49.50.   Bra shopping is not fun!! No wonder it's been so long.  Plus, they are expensive!!

I confess that I have been totally overwhelmed by my DVR since I got back from vacation two weeks ago.  I can't believe it's come to this.  Watching TV like it's my job.  Maybe I really do watch too much TV.  I've been so busy that it just kept filling up with more and more shows that I didn't have time to watch.  I finally got that day I needed last weekend to just chill at the house and got caught up.  I feel much better now!!

I confess that I got really jumping around excited when I got to deposit a paper check to my bank from my iPhone.  Mj's been doing it for years but I couldn't because I didn't have a USAA Credit card.  Well, I finally got one and I was all kinds of excited.  I took a picture and bam!  It was in my account.  Technology is beautiful.  Well, when it's not pissing me off that is.  Why do I even have a paper check in this day and age of direct deposit you wonder?

I confess that I have been the unwitting recipient of a countless number of class action settlements.  I've moved, I've changed my name but they still find me.  This time it was for $8.32.  Apparently I've been wronged again.  It just came out of the blue so hey, I'll take it.

Cardigan: Victoria's Secret // Top:  The Limited // Capris:  old (can't remember) // Shoes:  DSW (Kelly & Katie)

I confess that I really like my casual Friday outfit today. All that shopping I was doing has paid off and I've been having a lot more fun getting dressed in the morning these days.  I've been making some better choices and I'm finally at the point where I'm not depressed when I look in my closet and annoyed that I have all this stuff but nothing to wear.  I would have never worn pink and green together before and I don't usually accessorize for work.  The fashion bloggers are rubbing off on me.  It's taken me a long time but maybe, just maybe I'm starting to become somewhat fashionable.  And I like it.

I confess that I'm kind of digging these sneaker wedges.  I saw the ladies wearing them all over Europe last year and they looked so cool.  I like to be comfortable AND still look cute  This totally fits my more casual style but I'm afraid to pull the trigger.  Thoughts?

I confess that changing your blog name and design is a pain in the butt!  I had to go around and do all kinds of updating.  I couldn't rest until I had everything the way I wanted it.  But it's totally worth it.  I love my new name. It's short and sweet.  I love my new design.  And I love it that all of my social media handles are now the same and reflect my blog title.  I'm feeling very blogger organized and efficient. By the way, if you have me on your blog roll I don't think it updates to the new blog title.  If you get around to it re add me!

This weekend is a beach weekend if ever there was one.  I live about 30 minutes from the beach but I hardly ever go.  The weather is great here but sometimes it's still a little too chilly at the coast for me.  Well, we are having a heat wave and our weather has been simply amazing so we are going to spend tomorrow with the cool breeze on our face and our toes in the sand.  I will not bake because we are bringing our little half tent. 

Have a great weekend everyone!! 

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New Name New Look

So, as you can see things look a little different around here and I am sooooo excited about it.  I'm not even sure how I got the bug.  When I started this blog as Frugalista Getting Married I was planning our wedding on a budget.  After the wedding dropping Getting was easy enough but after four years I was ready for a change.  All of a sudden I was just really itching for a name change. I thought about it for a while to see if I could actually come up with a new blog title that I'd want to keep forever and ever.  Once I had the name I could not wait to get it changed up.  Like, I needed it done now!! I came up with a different name at first but then suddenly Pink Sunshine just came to me. It's perfect. Pink is my all time favorite color and I can't imagine that ever changing. I love Pink.  It's dainty, feminine and tutu's all wrapped up in a pretty satin bow.  I'm a girly girl.  It fits me.  And being a born and raised So Cal girl who is more likely then not cold even when everyone else isn't will probably never change either.  At least until I hit menopause.  I crave warmth and Sunshine.  I can't guarantee that I am going to live here forever; although I can't see myself living anywhere else but I know I'll always love the Sunshine and hate the rain. So there you have it. Pink Sunshine.

I had a new name and then a blog designer fell into my lap via referral from Jasmine who just had hers done.  It turned out she was available to work on it right away and it all happened faster then I expected it to.

I'm not changing my url thank goodness so it should be pretty seamless.  I'm going to be updating my Bloglovin', Twitter, Facebook, Instagram usernames accordingly.  The only ones who have to actually update anything will be my handful of RSS subscribers and one e mail subscriber so those folks, please update your feeds accordingly as I will be changing that too.  Also, if you currently have one of my buttons on your blogs you will want to switch that up as well.

I was kind of nervous about changing my name because a lot of people find my blog by searching the blog title. What if they can't find me anymore?  Once I decided to change the name I wanted it yesterday so there really was no getting around it.  I had to do it.  And since I'm not the biggest fan of change I'm 99.9 percent sure that this will be the last time it happens.  I figure I better do it now before I blow up in the blog world.  Which I know is about to happen any day now. 


Blog Designed by:

The first time I had a blog make over I wasn't too sure of what I wanted but this time I was more specific in my requests.  Especially since I plan on keeping this design for a looooong time.  My blog designer is Rekita who blogs over at Her & Nicole and her design site is Designed Lovely Studio.  I have to give her a big giant THANK YOU because I was relentless in my e mails about this, that and the other and she was relentless in the way that she responded to me and did everything she could to give me what I wanted.  We e mailed back and forth constantly for days!  We're talking over 60 emails.  All. Day.  Long.  Change is really hard for me, I am a perfectionist, I am a control freak and I am obsessed.  I'm sure she's thrilled to have her life back.  I know I am!  I really appreciate her hard work on this.  There were a few glitches at the end but she figured out how to fix everything and she even made some last minute changes for me.  She never made me feel like I was a pain in the butt even though I probably was.  I know I was!!!  

Frugalista Married is now Pink Sunshine.  Hope you enjoy my new look as much as I do.

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Ruthy over at Discovery Street is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her Birthday and I was really happy that she invited me to be a part of it.  I consider her one of my "old school" blogging buddies because we've both been at this blogging thing and following each other for so long.  She's also throwing a Mad Men themed Birthday party since her house is the perfect backdrop.  I hear good things about that show but I've never watched it.  I already have too many shows in the lineup.  They just bought this amazing Mid Century modern house and it's been so fun watching their renovations come along.  Not so much fun for her living in a reno as you can imagine considering she has a 9 month old baby.  It's a fixer upper and they are making it beautiful so surely it will be worth it in the end and I can't wait to see the finished product.

There is only one day left to enter.  Use the Rafflecopter widget below.  And you can still enter to win a  Customized Cell Phone Case here.

(Update:  I've switched blog titles and social media links mid giveaway.  If you are trying to access Frugalista Married Bloglovin' the updated link is Pink Sunshine Bloglovin').

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8 Tips For a Happy Marriage

Please read this post because I deleted the entire thing and had to start from scratch!!  I was totally demoralized but determined that this post should be written so I dusted myself off and did it all over again.

Mj and I have been together for five years and we have never had an argument.  I can hardly even believe that myself.  We don't always agree but we come from a similar enough starting point that it just works.  We push and pull each other with just the right amount of force so that it never results in a verbal altercation.  Our biggest issue is that he's on the messy side and I'm a neat freak who sometimes nags.  If that's our biggest problem I figure we are doing something right.  We are far from perfect but these are some things that have been working for us.  There really is no magic secret to a happy marriage.  Everybody is different and carries their own personality, baggage and expectations into a relationship making each one unique.  What works for one couple may not work for another.  There is no one size fits all solution but we can still learn a lot from one another.

Pic from Christmas Day last year // No white Christmas around these parts

First of all, it really helps if you are compatible.  This is not really a tip.  I'm just stating the obvious.  They say opposites attract but if you don't agree on anything in life it will be really hard to make a relationship work.  Perhaps not impossible just a lot harder.  And not that you want to be with a carbon copy of yourself but it helps if you share similar values, morals and beliefs.  It will be that much easier to relate to each other, get along and deal with life.

1.  Never forget why you fell in love with each other in the first place. We get annoyed at each other.  Sometimes our partners drive us nuts.  It's going to happen.  But anything that bothers me about Mj is insignificant compared to the many things about him that I love. If there are more things about your partner that you don't love then things that you do love that's a problem.

2.  Respect each other. You don't always have to like your partner but I think it's really important to respect them as a person.  Respect breeds trust, kindness and empathy for one another.  It sets the tone for how you relate to each other which sets the foundation for how you handle problems and disagreements.   

3.  Communication.  Tell him what's wrong.  Men are not mind readers and we can't expect them to be.  If I'm visibly disgruntled and Mj asks me what's wrong if I don't tell him that's it.  He will not ask again and my pouting goes ignored.  This is actually a good thing because it makes me realize how much time I'm wasting stewing alone in my anger.  Lack of communication is so often the root of arguments.  Typical scenario.  She's mad but won't say why.  He get's annoyed because she's stomping around yet won't say what the problem is.  Now they are both annoyed.  Any little thing can set either one of them off and the next thing you know there is a fight.  It's best to avoid that whole charade altogether.  If I'm just in a mood and there is no reason for me to be grumpy I apologize in advance and tell him it's not him it's me.  I just need to be a brat right now and he lets me be.  And if it is him that's bothering me even though it's hard I need tell him.  Being upset about it but keeping it to yourself accomplishes nothing.  The longer you wait the more the situation festers and then it's even worse down the road. 

4.  Think of yourselves as a team.  Don't keep score and don't play the blame game.  Just because he screws up it certainly doesn't give you a pass to do something wrong out of spite.  Our mama's taught us this one.  Two wrongs don't make a right.   It's also very destructive to keep score and then throw the mistake back in each others faces later.  It only builds resentment over time and creates a you vs him type of dynamic which is terrible for a relationship.  Nobody is perfect.  People make mistakes.   We need to learn to forgive each other and move on.   Together.

5.  Pick your battles because you will never win them all nor should you because a relationship is about compromise.  You will never get him to understand or agree to your point of view on everything and vice versa.  Push for what's important and pull back on the rest.  Ideally, he will do the same thing for you and you can meet each other half way on most things.

6.  Be willing to admit when you are wrong.  Nobody likes a know it all who always has to be right and have the last word.  All it does is build resentment over time.   

7.  Never stop dating.  It's good for you to see each other in something other then hang around the house comfy cotton casuals.  Have fun together!!  Going out and doing fun things together reminds you of when you first started dating which makes you feel all lovey dovey inside which can do wonders for helping to keep the romance alive.  

8.  Give each other space.  Mj and I lived in a 400 square foot studio condo for about 6 months and it was really hard.  We were basically living on top of each other and that makes anything that annoys you about your partner multiply by 10 because it's in your face all the time.  At first I missed being able to see him all the time when we moved into our house but having two living spaces not to mention two sinks has been wonderful.  Sometimes you just need moments to yourself to just BE.  Take moments away from each other.  Do things apart.  Have experiences apart from each other so that you can come together and share what you've been up to.  Miss each other a bit even if it's just for a few hours.  It makes you even that much more appreciative of your time together. 

I am no expert.  Half of the advice I give are things that I'm still working on myself.  This is my 2nd marriage.  I have screwed up in the past and don't know everything but I have learned a lot from my mistakes.  There are many times where I don't feel worthy of this wonderful sexy man that I have managed to snag.  But lucky for me I love him, he loves me and we are both willing to put in the effort it takes to make our relationship work.  It's a work in progress but that's okay as long as we're both committed to working on it.

Linking up with Emily from Newlywed Moments.

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My Husband Thinks I'm Fat and Other Confessions

I confess that I have a really bad habit of forgetting to zip up my fly.  When I got out of my car yesterday to meet a few friends for happy hour thinking I looked all cute in my outfit I hear a male voice call out "Your fly is open."  I still don't even know where he was or exactly where that voice came from.  I never did see him but I did zip up my fly.  Oops.  How embarrassing!!

I confess that I've actually been kinda loving this whole eating clean thing.  I was eating like such crap and it feels good to know that at least 90% of what I'm putting into my body is healthy.  What's the other 10% ?  About 10 ounces of coffee in the morning and there was that one glass of wine last night but I have stayed away from candy, baked goods and severely limited my carb intake so as far as I'm concerned that's a win.

I confess that my husband thinks I'm fat.  Well, what am I supposed to think when he says that I need to work on toning exercises?  As a women it's my right to get all indignant about such comments.  I know he doesn't think I'm fat.  I've been doing almost all cardio for the last three years and he just wants me to switch it up.  Muscle building is important too.  And he wants me to be ripped.  Noted.  See next confession.

I confess that I'm kinda proud of how the 30 Day Shred Level 1 has not kicked my butt nearly as much as I was expecting it too.  Maybe I'm not in as bad of shape as my husband thinks I am.  Yes, I was sore but mostly upper body and not even terribly so.  I better not get too confident because it only gets harder and Level 2 will probably be my undoing.

Latest Giveaway Win!!!

I confess that I'm currently part of two giveaways at the same time.  Talk about all or nothing.  One is for a Personalized Cell Phone Case and the other is for a $60 Target Gift Card.  Check them out and enter.  I personally have won 12 giveaways so I am proof that it is possible to win these suckers.  Make that 13.  I just won another one today.

I confess that I'm a little nervous about this new video thing on Instagram.  People in the blog world don't know me in 3D.  It's just different.  I may or may not ever post a video.  We shall see.

Confessional Friday // Linking up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

I confess that I had no idea that there was actual hot water in the hot water heater. We were watching the episode of Breaking Bad where he goes out and buys an expensive tankless water heater. I ask Mj. So what is actually in the tank that you would need that giant container for anyways? He looks at me like I'm crazy and says water. That's where your hot water comes from when you turn it on and that's why you can "run" out of water. Oh. My next question was, well then where does the hot water come from when you have a tankless heater but I didn't want to miss anymore of that episode being schooled on things that I should apparently already know.

I confess that I had no idea where the brakes on a car were. One day we were driving down the highway and I noticed a red metal circle inside the tire of a car next to us and I asked Mj my usual question. What's that? Again, he looks at me like I'm crazy and says their brakes. But they aren't like that on every car are they? I've never noticed a color like that. Suddenly it was like a whole new world opened up to me. I saw breaks in the wheels of every car I looked at. Well, where did you think the brakes were? He asks.  I actually thought they were somewhere under my foot when I pressed the brake.  That general area.  I've been driving a car since I was 16 so maybe I should know that.   For the record I don't know how to change a flat tire either.

Happy Friday all!!! This day could not come fast enough.
 

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iPhone Case Giveaway (And Why I Can Never Get a Tattoo)

I finally got around to posting this.  It's my first self hosted Rafflecopter giveaway.  How exciting!  I don't do these a  whole lot but I really love it when I do because I appreciate every single person who reads this little blog and it's a nice way to say thank you.  The only down side is that not everyone has an iPhone and not everyone can win! 

My new iPhone case illustrates one of the main reasons why I can never get a tattoo. Besides the fact that I'm too chicken. Tiny Prints offers iPhone cases with tons of options to personalize it. I've seen people with personal pics on their cases and thought, how cool. I want to get one. But when I finally had the opportunity to do so I froze. I absolutely could not choose. There are way too many pictures that I love and way too many to choose from that it was virtually impossible to pick.  I mean, what if I changed my mind?  How could I possibly narrow it down to just one?  There were way to many options for something that felt so...permanent.  So in the end I didn't choose one at all. If I can't even pick a picture for my cell phone case you know I can't pick one for my body.  I simply have no clue what I want on my body forever so in the end I just don't do it.  Plus, the whole pain thing. 

But that's okay.  If you are terribly indecisive like myself Tiny Prints has tons of other customization options to choose from.  Sadly, I even had a hard time deciding on that.  I had to email my sister and aske Mj before I could make a final decision.  I really need to work on this.  I love the one I, or should I say we, picked.  It has my favorite color Pink and my initial on the back but I could've picked a design with my full name or anything else I wanted.  It got a kick out of getting the e mail that my case had gone to print.  It's always fun when something is literally made just for you.  It's cute, sleek, slim and my precious phone is protected.  Heaven forbid anything happen to it.  I dropped it last week at PF Chang's and my heart dropped for a minute but it was fine. 

If you want a personalized iPhone case of your own you are in luck because I'm giving one away.  Check out all the iPhone Case options  here at Tiny Prints.  And if you win I really hope you won't agonize over it as ridiculously long as I did.  Just pick one!  They're all great.

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Teeth Whitening, Superman and Father's Day

Every day since we got back from vacation I've really wanted a day of rest where my only responsibility is breathing.  And that is not technically even my responsibility per se as it's an involuntary process.  We got back from DC on Tuesday afternoon and I've been on the go ever since.  The day we got back I went straight to the gym, then to a baseball game, then right back to work for the rest of the week.  It continued with a weekend that turned out to be much busier then I expected.

Looks like some kind of weird science experiment

Lunch at PF Chang's  // Sister and nephew

We had the patio to ourselves

I skipped out of work really early on Friday to spend the day with my mom and sister.  We had a teeth whitening date.  Haven't you heard?  That is THE latest thing to do with your friends.  When I found out that my mom and sister bought a teeth whitening Groupon I had to buy one too.  I actually wasn't all that interested in getting my teeth whitened.  I just didn't want to be left out and thought it would be fun to do together.  The procedure took 30 minutes.  There was a lot of drooling involved, at least for me.  I had about 5 different trays filled with gel to bite down on for 10 minutes at a time while the LED light shines on your mouth. By the 3rd round my lips were feeling numb and spicy.  We got maintenance gel filled pens to take home.  My teeth were already pretty white.  White is basically white so I don't know how noticeable it is but I think my teeth did brighten up a few shades.  Afterwards we had a really nice lunch at PF Chang's.  I'm trying to come off of my juice fast the right way so I stuck with veggies, rice and tofu.  They hung out at my house for a while before heading home.

Goofy Glasses.  It's impossible to look sexy in these things.

Saturday morning Mj felt like going out to breakfast so we got up and did that.  I got egg whites and coffee.  Then, we went to see Man of Steel at Cinepolis.  We had to leave the house by 3:50 to meet our friends for pre movie drinks at 4:30 pm and the movie started at 5:30pm.  When talking about this movie it simply has to be said.  The man is hot.  Central Casting made an excellent decision when they cast Henry Cavill as Super Man.  I didn't understand some of what was going on but it was entertaining and Henry Cavill is really hot.  Did I already say that?  We saw it in 3D so the tickets were $22.50 each!  Oh well.  I ordered a Chicken Caesar salad during the movie and Mj ordered a whole bunch of stuff to recover from having been forced to go into work on a Saturday.  I may or may not have had a few bites of his chocolate molten dessert.

Dani, Mom, Me at IHOP

Me and my Daddy

Sunday morning I was up at 7:30 am to meet my family for an early breakfast with my Dad for Father's Day.  We went to IHOP where I had ...more egg whites!  I made it home around 4pm and went straight for my laptop to download some photos and get some blogging done.  I was working on a guest post for another blogger on Thursday to send out Friday and just putting on the finishing touches when it somehow got deleted from Blogger.  I was totally devastated!  I was so upset.  I didn't think I had the heart to start all over but I got an extension on the deadline and managed to re write it by Sunday night.

In the midst of all of this I still need to buy a new bra since my only good nude one broke and I'm trying to get caught up on my DVR.  What kind of world is this where we catch up on TV watching like it's our job?  I don't know, but I have a ton of shows I need to watch and haven't really had the time to do it.  I also have three movies that I have to return to Blockbuster by mail.  We canceled and if I don't send them back in time they are charging $20 bucks each which is ridiculous.  Figures that all the movies I have left are between 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  I watched one on Saturday and Les Miserables yesterday.  Has anyone seen that movie?  It was so good and so sad that I was bawling.  The acting was amazing and I have always loved the music.  Mj heard me sobbing and came upstairs to see what was wrong with me. I can't wait to see the play live in NYC again.  We haven't actually planned a trip to NYC just yet but when we do that is definitely on the itinerary. 

Today is Day 1 of the Advocare Cleanse and the 30 Day Shred.  We'll see how that goes.  So maybe this weekend I'll get my do nothing but breathe and catch up on DVR day?  Probably not.  Mj is already talking about going to the beach, we need to go grocery shopping and I will need to clean my house.  It's been a delightful 75-80 degrees and sunny since we got back.  I guess it makes perfect sense that I'm out there enjoying it with friends and family even though the homebody in me just wants to chill on the couch.

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