Nov 2013: Mugler Addict Subscription Box Review

Just in time for the holiday, I received my second Mugler Addict box.  Honestly I am already bored with the offering, but am locked in for the year.  Still looking to make sure that I did not sign up for automatic membership renewal.

Now content of my box

~Angel & Alien Liqeur de Parfum Creation 2013 in trial sizes.  C broke the Alien container so my left arm is coated in it; sadly I am not a fan of the scent.  We both enjoyed the Angel.

~Alien Eau de Parfum: seeing as I do not often enjoy the alien scent I am contemplating whose stocking I can stuff with this bottle.

~Angel Perfuming Hand Cream: With winter coming, I'd be silly not to use up all the free hand cream I can get.  We were just discussing at work how the current weather leaves us feeling like we can never have enough hand cream.

~Womanity Perfumed Body Cream: If I cannot get enough hand cream, I feel the same about body cream.  Though I am trying to stay away from perfumed ones, I guess it just means I can skip on the perfume/body spray.

~Angel Nail Polish (ANGEL): Nail Polish in a light purple (color name Angel).  Not quite the color of the fall/winter season, but what is style if not mixing things up a little.  Let's carry the pastel color just a little longer.  Will put a picture up with polish as soon as I get a chance!

Recipes I've Tried and Must Share

For C's defense, I made the following "Pumpkin Pie Streusel Bars" from Bakers Royale.  One of my coworker had brought this and I stole a piece for C.  After tasting it, he quickly abandoned the Reese's Peanut Butter Blondie and replaced his defense snack with these.  They were delicious (rating: 9.5/10)!

Notes
- We do not, currently, have a pastry blender so I hand blended it with sporadic handheld blender.  This took awhile and I worry that the cold butter had softened too much.
- For the recipe, I made the following interpretations: 1 1/2 cup of quick cooking oats (which looks like 11/2 cup) and 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- Very oat taste to my finished product, but I did not get the same result from the one my coworker's wife made.  So maybe it is the Quaker's quick cook oats that I used.
- Bought my pecan chopped and did not chop it more finely myself.  No effect on cooking or taste.

P90X - Week 3 (Thoughts and comparison to Insanity)

Week 3 done!  Complete!  Finito!  It would feel like much more of an accomplishment if my brain wasn't constantly thinking I'm almost half-way complete.  Stupid Insanity time frame is still dominating my brain.  So this week I pushed myself in retaliation.  Every workout, I tried one weight higher than last week.  Though I was not able to do that consistently, because in the end my muscles were not ready.

Now the 3rd week, I saw results.  My arms had muscles flexing as I worked out.  My buttocks looks better!  I can actually see the outlines of my muscles on my leg even when I am not working out.  Just walking around, I can see it.  (And yes I have checked myself out at work as I walk.  Blame all the mirrors available at work).  Right now, my back is feeling sore.  My legs are fine though, which is kind of disappointing.  I wanted to feel the burn!  Yup definitely can see myself become a fitness junkie until Sunday rolls around.  According to C's Jawbone Up, we haven't even taken 1K steps.  Sunday Football (Funday), is really just Sunday Lazy-Day.
Comparison to Insanity: Unlike my third week of Insanity where on the scale I noticed no difference.  I am seeing it with P90X.  Now my weight is still about the same.  However my body fat % has dropped dramatically.  Since it is a body fat measurement from a scale, I trust it with a grain of salt.  I doubt that I dropped from around 23% to 19% in just 3 weeks, because I am not seeing that around my waist.  However, I do believe the directional change.  In addition its stayed under 20% for almost a week now.  So its not a one time glitch.  Verdict - I am liking my P90X results more than Insanity.

P90X - Week 2 (Thoughts and comparison to Insanity)

C and I completed week 2, but separately.  He is off in Detroit enjoying the Lions vs. Cowboys game with his boys.  So we had to rely on the honor system to give our all for this workout.  I'll be honest... I did not.  I did not quite half-ass it, but it was not my all.

Crane Pose from Yoga X

My feeling after the second week is that it dragged a little.  The workouts are more familiar so I am on automatic for certain workout sequences.  Plus I did not get the soreness that I had gotten with the first week.  Other than being tired at work because I was getting up much earlier than my body wanted to, I was fine.  In addition, I have developed a frustration with yoga X.  As I have mentioned in week 1, the Yoga X takes over an hour and half.  There are also plenty of moves that most Yoga studios slowly transition you to, but Tony just expects me to do.  Such as the crane.  So I had to show C a video on how to do it as I could not explain it to him myself.  Currently he has succeeded to hold it for a couple seconds.  I have just been able to get one foot off.

Comparison to Insanity: How many have done the frog leap in the Plyometric and felt so sore afterwards?  Well P90X actually keeps their Plyometric easier than Insanity.  There are less impact on your knee in my experience.  So if you have the time then I would recommend P90X over Insanity for those with knee, shin or planter fasciitis concerns.

Review: Panera Bread Mac & Cheese (Target)

While at Target, feeling sick, I caved and bought the Panera's Mac & Cheese.  It seemed like a great idea, because I was in need of comfort food.  Plus, I enjoy the Mac & Cheese at Panera Bread.  Quite delicious!  We've bought some Panera soups from Target and found it similar to what is served in the restaurant.  However, this concoction was liquid goop and mostly unpleasant.
Rating: 4 out of 10 (I didn't buy soup!)

Instruction: Given for microwave and stovetop
I used the microwave option, which is rather vague.  Since microwaves differ, the instruction called for repeated 1 minute cycles until you feel the dish is hot.  Even after my mac & cheese became burning hot, the "cheese" was still liquid.

Taste: While the cheese taste like the one found in the restaurant.  The noodles were not as soft as the one made in the restaurant, but that could be on me.  After all, we are making mac and cheese without first cooking the noodle.  However, the two ingredients did not blend together like in the restaurant.

The product is made by Blount Fine Foods, who also make the Panera Bread soup.  The company seems to make predominantly soups.  Therefore, it is possible the company is still perfecting the method of heating non-soup products through a microwave.

Save your money but do not get this!

P90X - Week 1 (Thoughts and comparison to Insanity)

We finished our first week of P90X in a hotel room.  Now that is dedication!  The Kenpo X was intense and I have never had such difficulty kicking.  C and I have done Kenpo X before, by itself, and the workout was not anywhere near as difficult!  So for those of you doing P90X as a supplement to your normal workout, I suggest you do it as part of the full workout.

So my thought: "OUCH.  I am so sore."  My first two days was filled with waddling at work to get up the stairs.  It was amazing to be so sore, because I felt that I achieved a great accomplishment.  Not just because I got up early to fit in the workout before work.  While I felt Insanity was difficult, the soreness was not as present.  The actual presence of weights and band made it harder, not to push myself in P90X.  While with Insanity I could get away with taking it easy, even when my body could be pushed.

"It takes so long!" P90X is not just a 90 day commitment, compared to the 63 days of Insanity.  The workouts are also longer.  The first half of Insanity workouts consist of around 30 minutes, but P90X workouts require at least an hour commitment.  For Yoga X, the workout takes 1.5 hours.  So if you are doing this before work, then make sure that this is a commitment you can make.

I am very excited to start this and to share the experience with you.

So far the weight loss has been only two pounds, but we have also been better about cooking all our meals.  I do not know if all my weight loss can be attributed to P90X.

October 2013: Ipsy Bag and (vs.) Birchbox

October 16: Ipsy Bag arrived (Tracking email received October 14)
October 11: Birchbox arrived (Tracking email received October 7)

Winner: Birchbox again but by a narrow margin.

So this month's featured "award winners" that the stylist at Birchbox can't stop talking about.  I believe that for most products except the Chapstick.  Definitely felt like a mass marketing campaign.  Ignoring that, we have a full size powder which matches my skin tone!  Plus two other products, so quantity wise there are 2 products fewer.  Quality... its Good!

Ipsy on the other hand is repetitive of old products, but with different colors/designs.  The ipsy bag itself is similar to April's bag, except with words.  I have gotten Buxom before, in a lighter color (July 2012).  But I love the brand so am not complaining about the repeat.  Since I retook the personalization test (only changed 1 answer), the products I am getting is a little more diverse.  I am excited about the Zoya nail polish and the volumizing gel.

Comparison of similar products: Nothing similar between the two products

Now the products in the box & bag...