• Snap Fitness score 5
• God Just Dance 3 ( don’t know how many sweat points equal a calorie)
• Body shot that was supposed to be in the last video

Hope you enjoy

Rate, Comment, Sub

Stay Positive

On another front, I had a great meeting yesterday with Natasha from Cakes With Attitude. It ended up being a two and a half hour meeting that felt like an hour. We went over everything, contracts, what we do and why we do it, points for each other, questions, good and bad experiences. It was wonderful. Her excitement for what she does is contagious. And I find that after talking with her I am wanting to jump in with both feet after a long year break from wedding planning. Also, very soon I will have a great announcement about A-Ward Weddings and some exciting new ventures I will be taking on.

We had a fellowship lunch at church on Sunday. It was great to sit down and chat with friends. I realized that I don’t spend enough time with some friends. And that I should start making it a priority, before life takes over and it is too busy. Maybe I will start to have over a friend or couple a week.

I’ve discovered something about myself this week. I AM NOT A CRAFTY PERSON. haha. I like pretty things…that I can buy from the store. Ok, that isn’t entirely true, I don’t mind making things when it works the way it is supposed to, but when it doesn’t that frustrates me like nothing else. I’ve been working on some beautiful crepe paper flowers that I just can’t seem to get to work. I’ve posted a link if you’d like to see what I’ve been working on. If I figure out how to do them well, next week I could post a picture of what I’ve done.

Have an awesome day, evening or week.

Till we meet again,

Amazon’s weekly sales data is in, and it included some definite surprises this time around. The following charts are for the top 10 best-selling titles across all platforms.

North America:

1. Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 (Xbox 360 Kinect)
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360)
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3)
4. Just Dance 3 (Wii)
5. Zumba Fitness (Wii)
6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PS Vita)
7. Kinect Sports (Xbox 360 Kinect)
8. Twisted Metal (PS3)
9. Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure: Boomer (3DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360)
10. Zumba Fitness 2 (Wii)

No Final Fantasy XIII-2? No Darkness II? That’s a bit depressing, especially when half of the Top 10 are low-budget workout games for the Wii. It’s also interesting to see November’s Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012, a Kinect-only title, outselling Modern Warfare 3. Your Shape is an excellent game, and I was supposed to review it last year, but instead I just shamed myself by finding out how desperately out of shape I was.

Japan:

1. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)
2. New Love Plus – Normal Edition (3DS)
3. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
4. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
5. Gravity Daze: Gravitational Dizziness (PS Vita)
6. Monster Hunter 3G (3DS)
7. Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)
8. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
9. Just Dance Wii (Wii)
10. ToHeart2 DX PLUS – Limited Edition (PS3)

Okay, this makes a little more sense. Only one Just Dance title, some Mario, a couple of Final Fantasy titles, Resident Evil, and the excellent-looking Gravity Daze for the PlayStation Vita. We poor Americans will have to wait a few months to take that one for a spin (put that joke in your pocket and save it for later).

Via Videogamesblogger, who also points out that Final Fantasy X still appears on the PlayStation 2 chart, where it has remained for the past decade.

For the quarter, revenue was 652 million euros, or $878.9 million, up 8.8 percent from 600 million euros a year earlier. Ubisoft is the third-largest video game publisher in the U.S., and it has the clout to create and market giant titles such as Just Dance and Assassin’s Creed and get them in front of a lot of gamers.

The company shipped more than 13 million dance titles in the quarter and estimates that it has about 70 percent share of the worldwide market in this segment, which has effectively replaced the guitar game market in the music game genre. Just Dance 3 on the Wii and the Xbox 360 with Kinect led the growth.

Assassin’s Creed revelations shipped 7 million units. Ubisoft reports sell-in numbers, which means the units have shipped to retailers but have not yet been purchased by gamers.

Ubisoft said its online segment saw a 159 percent increase, driven by Settlers Online and Howrse. The company estimated it has 8.6 percent of the console game market in 2011, compared to 8.1 percent in 2010.

Yves Guillemot, chief executive of the Paris-based company, said in a statement that the company has focused on creating brands for both core and casual markets. That has helped it grow market share in consoles and online.

“In fiscal year 2012-2013, we will start to capitalize on the large-scale investments we have undertaken more than three years ago,” he said.

Ubisoft is aiming for a comeback in shooters, led by titles such as Ghost Recon Future Soldier. He said he is also focusing on opportunities related to next-generation consoles.

For the fourth fiscal quarter, Ubisoft expects sales of 150 million euros to 180 million euros. For the full year, the company expects sales of 1.05 billion to 1.08 billion euros and operating income of 45 million to 65 million euros.

In the fourth fiscal quarter, Ubisoft is releasing five games for the PlayStation Vita, including Asphalt: Injection, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Michael Jackson The Experience, and Rayman Origins. Ubisoft also has a dozen titles coming for online markets such as the iPhone, Facebook, Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Network. But the console release schedule is light for the quarter.

Fun Indoor Exercise for All Ages

By:  Patty Peoples

             Winter is here, which means cooler temperatures, increased rainfall, shorter daylight hours and possibly looking for an alternative to your regular outdoor exercise routine.  True, you won’t melt in the rain and thus, can still run, walk, and even cycle in rain with the proper clothing.  However, if you just don’t feel like getting wet, you may want to consider an alternative to exercising in the great outdoors.

            You can move indoors and work out in a gym or you can work out in the comfort of your home using one of two popular technological pieces of equipment- Wii or Xbox.  Both offer programs that involve simulated sports and exercises.  Since I have never used an Xbox, I can only share with you my limited experience with Wii, which Santa dropped off at our house this past Christmas.

For several years, our daughter, Holly, and even some of my Chaffey College students have been talking about Wii and the dancing programs in particular.  After seeing some Wii dance commercials over the holidays, I thought to myself, “That does look like fun.”  And guess what?  It is!

We have only two programs, Just Dance 3 and Wii Sports, which consists of tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing.  Up to four people can play, but you can also play by yourself.  Each player needs their own remote to play.

The dance program lets you select a song from a variety of genres and then each player tries their best to follow the dancer’s (avatars) moves.  This is such a hoot!   I think I’m a fairly good dancer, but after watching a video my husband took of Holly and I while Wii dancing, now I know why I didn’t score better.  I need dance lessons or at least I need to practice dancing with the Wii avatars.  However, regardless of how silly or spastic I looked; I can honestly say I had a lot of fun trying to follow the avatars’ dancing.  Remember, it’s not how good you look dancing, but rather, how good you feel while dancing.  And I felt great and I bet you will also!

Patty dancing to California Girls song/routine on Wii

In the Wii sports, you choose a sport and then play against each other or if you are playing by yourself, you play against one of the program’s avatars.  You also have the option of choosing different degrees of difficulty for each sport.  This enables people of all ages and abilities to have fun playing, regardless of their real life experience with a particular sport.  I enjoyed all the sports for different reasons.  What I liked about baseball was you were either batting or pitching.  Trying to get the timing down to even hit the ball was also challenging and rewarding when I actually hit the ball.  Bowling seemed to simulate real bowling, including the twisting of the wrist.  I enjoyed the volley back in forth in tennis, which was longer than my real tennis playing.  Golf was challenging and fun, especially not having to find the ball.  If you hit a ball in the water, you automatically get another.  And finally, the only sport left is boxing.

I’m not a fan of boxing, but I am a fan of training like a boxer.  Boxers have amazing stamina, full body conditioning and timing.  The Wii boxing was the most physically taxing of all the sports and one of my favorites to play by myself.  All the other sports and the dancing were fun to play as a family.

So if you don’t already have a Wii or an Xbox, you may want to put in on your wish gift list for next year or possibly your next birthday.

HAVE FUN whatever form of exercise  you choose!!

Cardio was = Wii Just Dance 3 Just Sweat Program

Dance of the Day was = “Disco Lies” by Moby

Improvised Acting Video I uploaded to my other blog was = “Tribble Dribble”

Anything to Note =

I had some downtime in between things this evening so saved all my 365 criteria for that period of time….which I don’t recommend. The “to-do-list” of 365 items looks like a mile long when it’s not broken up. Doing it ALL in one go….ummmm….BLOWS!!

I think it dampened the whole process actually – I certainly was not in the mood for that Moby song. And I love that Moby song but dancing to it I suddenly just wasn’t into it at all, and by the time I felt like I didn’t want to dance to it, I had to just go with it so I didn’t have to start a whole new song. Song was too soft too….technical difficulty number one.

I decided on Wii Just Dance 3 for my cardio today. My cousin left NYC and the coffee table was still out of the living room due to the pull-out sofa space so it was perfect for me to dance! I did the Just Sweat program which I never had done before as all I’ve done is challenge people. The Just Sweat measures how much “sweat” you’ve supposedly worked and then after each thousand lets you know what that is equivalent to. So by 1,000 I apparently had crossed Central Park! And by 2,000 I had run some laps at some field…great can’t remember!! Brain….technical difficulty number two haha!

An annoying thing kept happening though with each Wii song I was dancing to – at about a quarter way through my speaker kept cutting out so the volume was severely reduced and it was too far in to stop or do anything. This happened FIVE times! For each song! No idea what the eff was happening with it tonight. It obviously hated me!! Sooooo annoying as part of the fun is the song and I need to hear it to keep beat for the points with the movement accuracy!! Technical difficulty number three!!!

I noticed something odd though today. I don’t breathe much when I do push-ups. I may not breathe at all! I also didn’t breathe much when doing the Wii dance…but maybe that was because I was trying to hear the music!!!! I used to have that problem with skiing and racing…holding my breath really with any physical activity…which is not good. I have to make the audible sound to rememeber…but I guess I still forget….technical difficulty number 4!! haha!!

If you are unfamiliar with the Just Dance series for Wii, it’s an easy to play game in which you (or a group of people,) mimic the movements of a virtual dancer. You are awarded points in the game based on your movements (recorded by the Wii remote.) The Dance moves range from traditional to silly fun (like super hero poses and air kisses.)

Yes, it can be embarrassing to bust out some of these moves, but that only adds to the fun, because everyone you are playing Just Dance 3 with is in the same ridiculous boat.

We pulled out Just Dance 3 for Wii at Christmas time and had an amazing time giggling, cheering, and grooving to the upbeat tunes. We had ages 3 to 74 taking turns and everyone agreed, it was incredibly easy and beyond fun to play. If you are looking for a game to induce smiles, this one is it.

Just Dance 3 for Wii has songs for up to four players, with four-part choreographies that allow everyone a chance to take center stage. As you progress in the game, you can unlock additional dance “mash-ups.”

There’s a range of music to get you in the mood for moving and to satisfy all tastes. My favorites are the 80’s tracks like A-Ha’s “Take On Me” and Sweat Invaders’ “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).” My Rural Boys like more modern features like Cee-Lo’s “Forget You” and songs the recognize from movies like Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Just Dance 3 for Wii is terrific for family play, party play, or individual play. If your goals include improved fitness this year, Just Dance 3 makes for a heck of a fun workout. There’s even a Just Sweat It Out mode with fitness plans and playlists, which will even track your movements and approximated calories burned over a week’s play.

Overall, double thumbs up for this innovative, upbeat, and super-charged game!

Disclosure:  Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

FIFA 12 continues to dominate the UK Gaming Chart, beating Just Dance 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to the top spot.
 
For the fourth week running, EA Sports’ market dominating football sim FIFA 12 has remained atop of the gaming chart, managing to ward off an army of FPS shooters and fitness titles.
 
Both Just Dance 3 and Skyrim climbed two places this week, taking second and third places respectively, while Battlefield 3 was knocked down to fourth spot, staying just above bitter rival Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which landed in fifth.
 
In tight competition with its own sequel Zumba Fitness retained sixth place piping Zumba Fitness 2 which climbed up from twelfth place to seventh. The top 10 was rounded off by Rage, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Need for Speed: On the Run, which took positions eight through to ten.
 
The week also saw 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution crawl back up into the gaming chart, taking position 39 ahead of Just Dance 2, which rounded off the chart at 40.

Article from T3

You also got to love how ‘Robin Sparkles’ gives major props to Canada in this song with her references to ‘Gretzky Hair’, Brian Mulroney, and ‘aboout’. Just so everyone is aware – I have never met another Canadian that says ‘aboout’ and I would probably laugh at them if I had. We do say ‘eh’ all the time though – that stereotype is totally justified.

Speaking of the homeland, this is probably a good opportunity to introduce you to my little spot on the web. Please check out my About page for some more details about what you can expect from ‘Allie in Alberta’.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a longer, ‘actual’ post – but for now I’ll leave you with another fantastic piece of Canadian film (taped in London, Ontario!) – enjoy!

Amazon has released its top-selling digital and physical game titles from 2011. The online retailer has quickly become the quintessential center of great gaming deals, release-day shipping, and exclusive pre-order bonuses (including up to $20 back, in some cases).

There are a few surprises to be found, including Deus Ex: Human Revolution as the top digital download. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the top-grossing video game of all-time, dominated physical sales, but barely made the digital downloads list.

Electronic Arts walked away with 50% of the top 10 digital titles,  while rival Activision only had one (Call of Duty) on either list. This dominance will likely dissipate throughout 2012 as EA restricts digital downloads of its games to the EA Origin service.

Ubisoft’s casual-friendly Just Dance franchise continued to rake in the cash, with the multiplatform Just Dance 3 selling more physical copies almost every other game this year, while Just Dance 2, released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, came in 8th, above Gears of War 3 and FIFA Soccer. Just Dance is an exception to not one, but two rules: It’s a successful entry in the mostly-extinct music rhythm genre, and it’s the only casual title to be included on either list.

Interestingly, and perhaps most telling of all, Nintendo doesn’t have a single product on the lists, despite the number of Wii and DS/3DS units owned outselling any other console worldwide, and the release of several high-profile games last year, including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Mario Land 3D, and Mario Kart 7.

The last thing to note is that most of the physical titles were released during the holiday season (October-December), while digital titles have a more even spread of releases throughout the year.

Physical – all platforms

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
2. Just Dance 3
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
4. Battlefield 3
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Madden NFL 12
7. Portal 2
8. Just Dance 2
9. Gears of War 3
10. FIFA Soccer 12

Digital

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. Battlefield 3
3. The Sims 3
4. Battlefield Bad Company 2
5. Sid Meir’s Civilization V
6. Dead Island
7. Total War: Shogun 2
8. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
9. Crysis 2
10. Dragon Age 2

Did a 2000 calorie workout! Woot! NOW it’s time for coffee

Link: http://www.geekweek.com/2010/12/best-album-of-2010-you-missed.html

We tried a Reuben style pizza tonight.  Sarah and I made it together.  Whole wheat crust, Thousand Island dressing, corned beef slices from the deli, fresh grated Swiss, sauerkraut (don’t tell Allison), and caraway seeds on top.  You know, I just followed the recipe.  Didn’t even know what caraway seeds were!  Then I open them, take a whiff … low and behold – it smelled just like rye bread.  The things I learn on my amateur culinary road.

The chilly weather is blowing into the Metroplex as I type.  It’s beating against the windows.  Sometimes I imagine it’s furious at us for having such a great time as a family.  But, this house and all in it are protected by God himself!  Have a cozy evening yourself; you deserve it!!

Well, I’m coming back anyway. Maybe today doesn’t count as really being back because I’ve got the day iff, so it’s not like I’m fitting writing in with real life, but still, I’m writing – that’s great.

So how am I doing on the ROW80 challenge so far this year? I’m going to create a chart for it, because we all know how I love a chart, and I seem to work better whan I have something to fill in - I guess I’m more accountable. Plus, you know, I get to put a pretty graph on my blog

Writing:

Today, like I said, I’ve been writing. So far (I plan to write more) I’ve done around 1,500 words. As I’m off work I’d like to do more. I’d also like to so some shopping and other stuff, so I’m not 100% certain I can, but I’d like to.

1,500 is by dar the best I’ve done so far this year. On Wednesday I wrote 100 words. That’s shocking, but I’m actually proud of myself for it. I knew I didn’t have time for my goal of 500 – 1000, so usually I would have not bothered, but I figured that some was better than none. 100 may not be that many, but it is definitely better than none!

On Friday night I wrote 200 words. I wanted to write more, obviously, but by the time I’d stopped reading, I was tired. Too tired to write more than that.

Yesterday I wrote 236. Not great, but getting better. The best thing about those 236 words were that again, I didn’t have much free time, definitely not enough for my target, but I had some. I took that some and turned it into writing. Yay!

I hope this is a change. I’m getting back into writing The Man of My Dreams now too. I think I’m past the hard bit that I wasn’t sure about, so hopefully it will be plain sailing for the next 10k or so words. I think editing is going to be a huge job, because I think I should have been where I am now much earlier in the story. I feel like too many things are going to happen and I don’t have enough time to resolved them believabley. I guess it doesn’t help that yesterday I added in a major event. Still, it’s good and hopefully will make it a bit grittier. If ‘grittier’ is a word I can use for this romance. We’ll see.

I’m really looking forward to finishing it so that I can read it. I desperately want to know how it flows, if it works and if it’s believable. I just have to write loads before I can get to that stage. Maybe if I carry on like I’ve done today, set myself a goal – NaNoFiMo (National [??] Novel FINISHING Month) for the rest of January… ROW80 is probably enough really,. I’d like to get back to writing 1,667 words a day, and it’s not like I’ve got much money to go out until payday, so no distractions there or anything. Lets see (no goal changing just yet!).

Reading:

I’m doing really well with reading. I’m more than halfway through When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman. My feelings for it have been a lot like they were for Petit Anglaise – I like it, a lot, but I’m not addicted to it. Having said that though, I keep picking it up. I think it’s reading that I’m really enjoying at the moment, and I’m reading good books, which makes such a difference to the end of last year!

I am reading A LOT. Yesterday we went to the darts world championship (boyfriend works for one of the sponsors, so we get *huh hum* free tickets. Not sure I’d want to go if we didn’t, but it’s a damn good day out!). We had to go all the way out to Farnborough which is about an hour from London. I read there and the way back. Saturday, I spent most of the day in bed reading, and every night last week I came home and read for ages. I’m properly in a reading buzz at the moment. It’s not a bad thing, as long as I can balance it with writing.

Exercise:

Seeing as I wasn’t able to go the gym last week (they haven’t added my corporate membership to their system yet – hopefully tomorrow!), you would have thought I’d be playing on the Wii a lot, wouldn’t you? No. On Saturday I did 30 minutes, today I did 35 both on Just Dance 3, but other than that, nothing. BUT, I have been walking. A lot. Thursday, Friday and yesterday I think I walked more than 4km each day. That’s good.

Eating;

This is up and down. Some days I’m good and stick to the 1400 calories, others not so much. If I’m honest, there’s more when I don’t than I do. Regardless, I’m trying. This week will be better, it will!

How’s your week starting out? How did last week go? I’d love to hear!

But making healthy choices actually does make me feel happier! On Wednesdays my mom and I usually go to Weight Watchers, then “celebrate” by pigging out on Chinese food. (To be fair, my mom eats reasonable portions and counts the points. I become a competitive eater and inhale all my food in three shovelings.) But this Wednesday, we came to my house and made a healthy meal. And it actually made me happier than eating junk! Junk food is good in the moment, but when I start to eat it a lot I feel guilty. Even when I’m not being weight-conscious or healthiness-minded, I just start to feel crummy physically after too much junk food. Healthy food, on the other hand, makes me feel good physically. And feeling good makes me happier for longer. And sometimes I even like the taste of it! Now I’m not saying I’m never going to eat Chinese food again, but when I’m deciding between something healthy and something not healthy I have a new happiness factor to think about. No more what “should” I eat, more like “what food’s going to make me happier right now?” If I’m really craving cashew chicken, than that’s ok. But if I’m not, then making a healthy choice will probably win.

On Thursday I found an accidental workout! MacKenzie got Just Dance 3 from my mom for Christmas, so I chose playing that with her as my happy activity for Day 5. Oh my gosh is it amazing or what?!?! First of all–family fun. I love it. I love when everyone in the room is having fun together. Second, I love watching Shawna dance. Just watching was making me happy. Third, I am sucktastic at this game, and I’m ok with that! I was flailing around like some sort of spastic octopus, and Shawna and MacKenzie were laughing the whole time. But hearing them laugh made me really happy! And I was laughing. It’s funny stuff! But the sneaky thing is, it’s really hard to keep up with the fast paced moves. Way harder than Dance Dance Revolution (which I actually don’t suck at… that much). So I got the endorphin high of a good workout for a long-lasting happiness boost. That one will definitely go on my calendar again! (Oh, I still need to scan that!)

I’m not. Not yet. Sofas are arriving tomorrow and I have my doubts about them fitting through the doors…

If it does fit through the door (which I don’t think it will), will I ever get off it to do any exercise tomorrow? (I don’t think I will). Salesman seemed very confident that standard doors wouldn’t present a problem (I think they will).

I used their state if the art app to see how my new sofa would look in our living room and here is the result…

Hopefully in real life, it won’t completely obliterate my wife.
Nonetheless, a quality result I think you’ll agree.
Perhaps a small amount of photo enhancement?…

Mmmmm… No.
You can’t polish a Thora.
Though like the sofas, I imagine Thora Hird was quite nice in real life too.
Though perhaps not to sit on.
But she would have fit through my doorway.

So following seamlessly on…
…today’s thrilling exercise installment:
15 mins on ‘Just Dance 3′ for the Wii with my 5 year old (NotMuchOfaSitStiller). Grooving to the beats of various genius artists such as: Jessie J, Girls Aloud, Katie Perry and… Err.. whoever ‘sang’ the all-time classic, ‘duck sauce’ (I can’t even be bothered to google it).

I am now a master of booty shaking and if only I was less tight with money and had forked out for video blogging, you’d be able to see the results.

Having been thoroughly whopped on the Wii, I gave NotMuchOfaSitStiller an arm wrestle to restore my position as alpha male in this house. Grrrr…

I’m currently at Swallow’s, admiring her new Kinect. We’ve been playing Just Dance 3 and while it is shockingly good fun, oh my god am I tired.

*********

I’m now at home. Time travel! I slept in till 11.30 today – I know, so much for being more active etc. I’m taking today’s inspiration from a nice set of images I found on Reddit.

It was nice to see Swallow again and start to get used to hanging out ith her again – it feels like ages since our last week at uni!!!

Speaking of uni, I managed to get hold of four of this years textbooks as PDFs so I can carry them about on my iPad, which just blows my mind frankly. Four 700 page textbooks in something so light is just incredible. Gotta love technology!

I think I’ll go to bed now. 9-2 tomorrow at work. I’m going to miss it, I liked working there