Monthly Archives: March 2018

ASICS Studio App Review

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ASICS Studio App Review

Now that the Fairy Tale Challenge is behind us, I’ve been having issues with motivation. I don’t want to get on the treadmill.  Not even a little bit.  I had been lifting weights twice a week, pre-Princess weekend, and I don’t want to do that either.  Not doing anything is not a viable option as Raymond has registered us for a 60-mile cycling event in May and I need to be ready.  Plus, I’m certain I’ll have another runDisney event in my future…just have to decide on one.

Enter the ASICS Studio AppASICS Studio App Review

I’m pretty sure it was an ad in my Facebook feed that sent me to the app store to check out ASICS Studio. I knew ASICS owned the Runkeeper app I’ve been using to track my outdoor runs for years, so I figured I might like this new offering.  What I wasn’t expecting was that I’d like it enough to pay the subscription price for access the entire contents.

What does the app offer?

Audio Workout Coaching.  Choose from Strength Training, Treadmill, Fusion (strength + cardio), Outdoor Running, Indoor Cycling, and Elliptical workouts.  Within the Strength Training and Fusion categories, you can choose what (if any) equipment you’d like to use.

What I loveASICS Studio App Review

The trainers are very motivational.  So far, I’ve completed ten workouts:  Seven running, two strength-training and one indoor cycling workout.  I feel the trainers do an outstanding job of helping me stay focused, use good form, and push harder than I would if left to my own devices.  For example – I rarely run on an incline on my treadmill because my outdoor runs are almost always on hilly terrain.  I completed (barely) a 40-minute treadmill workout called “Hill Yes” with Coach Erin and it was brutal!  It made me realize that I can (and should) get an awesome hill run in on my treadmill from time to time.ASICS Studio App Review

If you need a new challenge or motivation to push harder to improve speed or endurance (or both), these workouts may be just the ticket.  As an added bonus, you can tell the app what you’re trying to accomplish (run faster, lose weight, build muscle, etc.) and it will recommend workouts to you, making the ASICS Studio experience more personalized.

What I’d change

While there are currently 26 classes available for treadmill workouts, there are only 8 classes for indoor cycling.  The longest cycling workout is 24 minutes.  I’d like to see more and longer options for indoor cycling. (I do see new classes added all the time.)

There are (today) 61 classes for strength training of all different lengths.  Some use only body weight and some require simple equipment like dumbbells, bench, yoga mat and/or kettle bells.  While I’ve only tried a couple short strength classes after running, I wish the trainers would allow about 5 seconds to change positions between exercises.  I’m no spring chicken, so for example, getting from laying on the ground to standing up and grabbing weights for the next exercise sometimes uses up a chunk of the time I’m supposed to be doing that next exercise.

Final Thoughts

From what I can tell, subscription prices vary depending on the length of time purchased.  I went for the one-year plan which ends up being about $8/month.  This is way less than a gym membership would be and I can exercise anywhere with this app, including when I travel.  Post-workout, those encouraging emails from ASICS Studios are great and help keep me motivated. So far, the app has exceeded my expectations and is not only getting me back on track with my workouts, I’m quickly improving both my running speed and endurance.  Now, if it’ll just stop raining every weekend, I can get those much-needed cycling miles in!

What’s your favorite workout app?

Disney DIY – Minnie Spring Wreath

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Disney DIY - Minnie Spring WreathAs so often happens, creativity struck when I noticed a 50%-off sale at my favorite hobby store.  This time for artificial flowers.  There was a huge selection and I wanted to be frugal, but have a nice finished project.  I’m positive I invested more time shopping for flowers than I did putting the wreath together.  I seriously spent very little money and hardly any time on the entire endeavor.  You know I’m lazy when it comes to stuff like this.  I strive for maximum results from minimum effort (a challenge I can’t resist).  So, if you decide to take on this project, your results could be much better than mine.  As it is, I’m pretty pleased with the payoff my modest time/money investment produced.Disney DIY - Minnie Spring Wreath

Disney DIY – Minnie Spring Wreath

What You’ll Need

  • Three grapevine wreaths (one large, two small)
  • Wire
  • Flowers (put together a bouquet of colors you love)
  • Greenery

I know there’s an official ears-to-head ratio for Mickey and Minnie (ears are 3/5th the size of the head).  The two smaller wreaths I bought were too small to be officially correct to that ratio and I knew this going in.  Two factors were at play: the wreath selection was limited and the end product needed to actually fit on my front door.  To compensate for this problem, I plumped up the ears with the addition of some greenery and was happy with how it turned out.  Do the best with what you’ve got!

So Easy, Anyone Can Do It!

I started by pre-cutting several lengths of wire.  Then I added greenery to the ears and head.  On the ears, I was careful to keep the greenery to the outside, top edges in order to add volume and make them look larger.  I did this before wiring the ears onto the head, which was super easy.  This part took about 10 minutes.  Next, I started wiring flowers onto Minnie’s head.  I started with the biggest clusters of flowers, added the one giant pink flower, then finally filled in with accent sprays and smaller flowers.  Disney DIY - Minnie Spring WreathThat’s it.  Took maybe 30 minutes, max.  You could easily make this fancier with the addition of some ribbon, flowers in hidden Mickey shapes, or maybe even a small bird’s next with eggs in it.  What do you think?  Is this something you’d try?  I did a Christmas version here and a Halloween wreath here.

Have you completed a spring Disney project?  I’d love to see it!

FastPass Strategy – Six Adults Including One Expectant Mother

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After gleefully anticipating and tackling many a FastPass-booking day, I’m feeling anxious about the one ahead!  Typically, we all ride the same rides and none are off the table.  This time’s different and if you’ve got advice, I’d love to hear it.

FastPass Strategy – Six Adults Including One Expectant Mother

This will be our last family vacation before we all change names.  Megan and Grant will become Mom and Dad, Joseph will become Uncle Joe (which always makes me think of Petticoat Junction – holler if you know what I mean!), and Raymond and I will turn into Grandma and Grandpa (or some variation thereof).  This trip is special and I want everyone to have a wonderful, memorable time.  Because Megan’s “in the family way”, she won’t be able to ride her usual favorites, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to miss out, right?  But I don’t want Megan hanging out the whole time waiting alone, either.  Thus the need for a new, special-circumstance FastPass plan.

I found and reviewed this list of rides Disney specifically says expectant mothers should not ride.  Of the ones left, only a few are possibly FastPass-worthy.  Let me know which one’s you’d choose.

Magic Kingdom:  Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, or It’s a Small World.  I feel like I can book FastPasses for us in groups of two or three for the Mountains and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, so Megan won’t wait alone.  The best thing about Magic Kingdom, under these circumstances, is that there are a ton of attractions that won’t need FastPasses at all.

Epcot:  Frozen Ever After one day, Soarin’ another.  If I book more than one FastPass, the others will be for Space Ship Earth and maybe Finding Nemo and Friends.  Typically, Raymond and I don’t ride Test Track or Mission Space, so we can keep Meg company while everyone else does those.  This park’s easy.

Animal Kingdom:  Kilimanjaro Safaris (Disney advises against this one, but we think it’ll be okay) and maybe the Festival of the Lion King.  This park is tough because almost all of our favorites are hard no’s for Megan.  Also challenging is how spread out everything is.  Maybe I can stagger our FastPasses for Flight of Passage (if I can even get any) in a way that would allow us to use Nomad Lounge for a home base and Megan can have a big rest and a snack while we take turns riding.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  Toy Story Midway Mania is probably the only thing Megan can ride that would need a FastPass.  If we rope-drop Rock’n’ Roller Coaster and make our first FastPass of the day for Tower of Terror, Megan would be on her own to shop or relax, but only for a very short time.  I hate to stagger FastPasses here because we’ll only be in this park for one morning.  I’m sure it’ll be back to being a full-day park for us in the future, but right now…no.

This is challenging and I know we’ll have a great time with or without FastPasses, but I want to save at least some queue-waiting time.  If you’ve been to Walt Disney World while expecting or traveled with someone who was, please let me know what you did.  For all the rest of you…speculate!  Any and all suggestions are welcome, I could use your help, please.  Thanks! – Lisa

Disney Dining – Poutine from Epcot’s Refreshment Port

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Walt Disney World has offered guests the tasty Canadian dish, poutine, in various locations for quite some time now.  Recently, it was added to the Refreshment Port in Epcot’s World Showcase, so I sent Joseph on a taste-testing mission.  He was, of course, happy to oblige.  We’ve ordered the delicious Croissant Doughnut from this little snack stand before and this new offering sounded like a great addition.  If you’ve not heard of it before, poutine originated in Quebec in the 1950’s and consists of fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds.Poutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

What makes the Refreshment Port’s poutine unusual is that the traditional brown gravy is replaced with the very popular Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, like the kind served at Le Cellier.  Here’s what Joseph said about it…

Disney Dining – Poutine from Epcot’s Refreshment Port

by Joseph GreenPoutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

It was delicious.  Not too salty, very fresh, the fries were not soggy at all (and I expected them to be, at least a little).  The serving size was generous and this would make excellent use of a snack credit on a Disney Dining Plan.  The poutine is assembled to order, so the temperature is good and hot.  The use of the cheese soup is genius.  In fact, the combination of fries and soup alone would have been perfect.  The cheese curds actually detracted from this version of poutine for me, although I know they’re supposed to be there.  I don’t know if the curds were completely tasteless or just seemed that way because of the soup.  They were also really rubbery – kind of like an overcooked scallop would be.  I was expecting them to be more the consistency of feta cheese.Poutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

For six bucks, this was a good value.  Grab your beer first, so the poutine is hot and fresh when you eat it.  I recommend the Innis & Gunn from the UK Beer Cart.  Pairs well with savory dishes.

I’m really enjoying trying new Disney foods and mom paying for it certainly helps my budget, so if there’s anything you’re interested in hearing about, leave it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.  I even remembered to take all the “required” pictures this time.  Mom’s picky, but I’ll keep her.

Thanks for reading – Joe.