Jimmie's Collage » day to day

Hot Pants Exercise Wear Review

Jimmie — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:40:13 +0000

And now for something completely different….

Exercise Wear by Zaggora

I have to apologize to my dear readers. You see, I don’t like exercising, but of course, I really need to exercise. So I’ve used you. Yes, I admit it.

When I saw the opportunity to review Zaggora Hot Pants, I knew it would push me to go to Zumba class and to the park more often.

Neoprene Fabric

I need lots of motivation to exercise. (Obviously the scale and tightening jeans aren’t enough. Go figure. Literally.) But when you agree to writing a blog review in exchange for a free sample, well, a responsible person writes the review. So I knew that getting a pair of Hot Pants would work to make me exercise — with them on– at least for a couple of weeks.

I hope you’ll forgive me for blogging about exercise wear on this homeschool blog. I know that you are moms, just like me, and along with homeschooling you have to wash dishes, cook meals, and exercise. So I hope that you can find this review somewhat enlightening and applicable to your life. At least you can humor me for the sake of my hips and thighs because that’s exactly where Hot Pants target.

The Hot Pants

Hot Pants fall above the waist and above the knee, so that whole trouble area is covered with the thick, black fabric that is specially designed to help you lose cellulite. I think the fabric is neoprene; it reminds me a lot of a wet suit. It certainly holds in heat (thus the name Hot Pants). The sweating, targeted in the trouble zone of waist, hips, and thighs, is supposed to help you trim down and lose inches.

I wore my Hot Pants to a charity walk/run and to Zumba classes. Because I’m very modest, I wore them under sweat pants (invisible) and under gym shorts (poking out the bottom).

They are comfortable and easy to move in. True to their name, they do cause you to sweat quite a bit. No, I didn’t lose two jeans sizes in two weeks, but that’s probably because of all the pasta and fudge I ate after my exercise sessions. (This post is just full of confessions, isn’t it?)

I didn’t realize until I read the brochure in the package them that the pants are supposed to be hand washed. Something that gets as sweaty as these pants needs an in-depth cleaning. And who has time to hand wash exercise pants? After reading how to care for wet suits, I’ve decided to rinse my Hot Pants after each use and wash them on a gentle cycle without soap every so often.

Sizing Warning

Be sure to check the sizing chart. I ordered a size too large because I must have been looking at the UK sizing charts. As a result, they are too baggy. It seems they should fit snugly, and mine are decidedly loose in certain areas. They also make funny swishing noises when I move. I’m not sure if that’s the way the pants are or if that’s a result of being too large.

Notice Vivid Yellow Package

Package Warning

Be aware that if you buy a pair of Hot Pants, they come to your house in a vivid yellow package that has “HOT PANTS” printed on it in three inch letters.

You need to know this detail in the event that a friend, neighbor, or pastor sees your mail and brings it to your house. Be ready for utter embarrassment when that person asks you about your “HOT PANTS.” And if you happen to have a couple of friends already at your house when said person drops off your package, you might be teased mercilessly about your “HOT PANTS” for the next few weeks.

Yes, it really happened. No matter. It only serves as more motivation to get in the gym and prove to everyone what my Hot Pants are really for.

Disclosure

I received a pair of Zaggora hot pants in exchange for my honest review.

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Snow and Cranberries

Jimmie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:58:16 +0000

Two very special things in one day. One very good day.

1. Snow for a snowman, constructed with Dad. Sprite’s first ever snowman.

2. Cranberries (yes, fresh) for muffins.

I woke up to a silent, snow filled land. I enjoyed the view from the bedroom window until a terrible thought hit me, “Do we have water?”

[Years of life in China have taught me to be very wary of what any change in the weather may do to the utilities. It will take me some time to come to trust the consistency of American luxuries.]

Yes, we still had water. And electricity, heat, telephone, and Internet. In short, it was a “normal” day plus lovely snow.

I have to admit that living in America is pretty wonderful.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouraging words expressed through comments here. Each and every one is very precious to me.

Heading Home

Jimmie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:56:00 +0000

We begin the LONG trip home to China in the wee hours of the morning on July 1. We will arrive very late on July 3. (It’s quite fascinating how we just skip over the entire day of July 2 as we cross the International Date Line.)

I’ve got hundreds of photographs waiting to be uploaded and shared.
I’ve packed our six allowed trunks plus three bags of overage.
Now we’re handling last minute preparations and saying our goodbyes.

This has been the best USA trip we’ve ever had. And that makes it even harder to leave the comforts of America.

But “to whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48).

See you on the other side of the Pacific.

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Best Wool Socks Ever

Jimmie — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:51:18 +0000

I am officially a fan of Redhead Wool Socks. In late 2007, I bought four pairs of them which my husband and I shared for two winters. My favorite pair (a tad smaller than the three other pairs) got so much wear that by early 2010 both the toes and heels had holes.

In doing some online window shopping to prepare for coming back to USA to restock our necessities, I discovered that these socks have a lifetime warranty. I contacted the company and was told I could return the socks (by mail or in person) for a free replacement pair. I admit I was suspicious that it would really be that easy. But when I walked into the Memphis Bass Pro Shop with my holey socks, the greeter immediately knew what to do. He sent me to the returns desk where they told me exactly where to go to get a new pair. It was so easy. No one asked when I bought them or accused me of mistreating my socks. (I did have to fill out a form and show identification, but I know that returns often require that sort of thing.)

These socks are only about $10 per pair, and considering that you can wear them for LIFE, it’s quite a bargain. Besides my free pair, I bought three more pairs. I can’t imagine that I would ever buy any other winter sock again. These socks are really thick and really warm, a necessity for us living in (south) China where most homes and public places have no heat. Of course, we use space heaters in our home, but it is never truly toasty inside. So we wear many layers indoors, including wool socks and suede slippers.

I know, it’s sandal weather, and here I am blogging about wool socks. But a lot of this trip is about stocking up for the next three years in China, so preparing for the future is always in my mind. Tucked away in our six trunks are:

jeans (flannel lined and regular)
unmentionables
socks
spices
loads of homeschool books
cookie sheets & wire racks
fitted sheets (impossible to find in Asia for some reason)
craft materials and science projects/lab equipment
a small sewing machine (thanks to my mom)
merino wool thermal underwear
medicines

And already, our hopes of keeping within our 6 trunk luggage allowance has gone out the window. We are sure to need at least two more pieces to fit in all we need to take back. Anyone got an old trunk or piece of hard luggage you’d like to get rid of?

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A Haircut and Style

Jimmie — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:02:38 +0000

I’ve had my share of really bad haircuts here in China. My last haircut was actually fine, but this hairstyle was CRAZY!

While I was getting ultra flip, Sprite got this sweet braided do.

Here I am with my 28 year old stylist. This guy served three years in the military before becoming a hair stylist. I can’t even imagine him as a soldier.

After the major make-over, they had me take pictures with the webcam on the salon’s computer. They were pretty impressed with this hair style. I laughed at it, but I knew I’d never be able to duplicate it even if I wanted to, so I wasn’t too worried. The stylist told me, “Anytime you want me to style your hair, just come back. If I’m not busy, I’ll do it for free. You can put on some nice clothes and go out shopping. Whatever you look at, everyone else will want to buy because you’re so beautiful.” (Gotta love your stylist when he flatters you!)

By the way, this is me day two of the new haircut. This is “normal” me without the crazy flips everywhere.

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Have a Blessed Thanksgiving

Jimmie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:06:58 +0000

Have a great holiday! I’ll be posting a bit less because of Thanksgiving. Be blessed and thankful! Advertisement Please visit the current sponsors of Jimmie's Collage and take advantage of the special deals they are offering: 1. Heritage History SPECIAL OFFER FOR Jimmie's Collage SUBSCRIBERS through June 30: Use code jimmiescollage for a $19.99 discount [...]

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HOTM Forum

Jimmie — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:09:47 +0000

Heart of the Matter, one of my favorite homeschooling blogs, now has a full – and I mean full– forum. There is something for everyone there regardless of homeschool style, age of children, or your personal interests. Basically, you name it, it’s there – military families, parenting, marriage, Charlotte Mason, homemaking, Bible study, and on and on. Go see. And sign up.

You can get this button here.

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Homeschool with a Sick Student

Jimmie — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:15:06 +0000

We are so blessed. Sprite and I have incredibly good health and are very, very rarely sick. But a few weeks ago Sprite got sick — over 100 degrees fever and taking naps in the daytime sick. Not wanting to eat or get out of bed sick. (She’s fine now, thank you very much.)

During that time I started thinking about another huge benefit of homeschooling — sick days. With regular school, Sprite would’ve been seriously behind after missing four or five days due to illness. But homeschooling allowed us to be flexible, move our schedule back and even keep on learning during the recovery period.

Obviously when she was miserable, we didn’t do school. But on those days when she felt crummy but was bored to lie in bed, we could get quite a bit of school done.

Here are the adaptations we made:

We moved to her bed for school. That way she could lie down and feel relaxed.
We took frequent breaks from academics. This made the school day extend far into the evening. But it kept her from being bored too.
We did lots of reading, finishing three to four weeks of our scheduled read-alouds.
I modified some assignments to be completed orally instead of Sprite’s having to write down the answers. Talking was less strenuous than writing.
But when her throat hurt too badly to talk at all, I just read to her. No narrations required. She simply listened.
She spent more time on the wireless laptop, visiting some civil war sites I bookmarked for her.
She listened to Your Story Hour CDs.

I had some second thoughts about what I was doing. I mean, if she went to public schools, she’d be home all day with no expectation to do any school work. Was I being mean? But then I realized that I was actually helping her to pass the long, boring days and distracting her from her discomfort.

I wasn’t a slave driver. We didn’t accomplish all I had originally planned for that week before her sickness cropped up. There were plenty of undone tasks on the checklist. But we also used our time and Sprite’s energy wisely.

So how about you? What do you do when your children are sick? How do you adapt homeschool?

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The Many Faces of Me — Sprite as Photographer

Jimmie — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:02:01 +0000

Ready to Attack?

Why am I looking up there?

"Put the camera down, Sprite!"

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New (to me) Blogs

Jimmie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:47:17 +0000

I’ve discovered some new favorite blogs! Did you already know about these?

: uber-crafty

: insightful yet practical

: comprehensive

: real

: not afraid to get messy!

: homeschooling with creativity

Because each of these blogs had a button that I could simply copy and paste, it was so easy to blog about them! I think every blog should have a button with HTML code. I have one over there to the right. And I used these directions (basically) to make it.

Miss Julie's Place

Julie just made her own button! Isn’t it great? Go snag it at her blog.

Anyone else have a NEW button to share?

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