America’s Team

When you think of Dallas, what is one of the first things to come to your mind.  I’m guessing that the Dallas Cowboys are at the forefront.  For a long time the Cowboys have been called America’s Team.  The Cowboys fans aren’t just for Dallas, they are from all over America.  They have a long history of greatness. (let’s try to forget about last season though.)  They hail pro football hall of famers like Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and legendary head coach Tom Landry.  High school and college kids throwing the ball down the field long to pull on their blue and white jersey’s some day.

And now a beautiful tribute to the Dallas Cowboys… “America’s Team.”

Remembering Astroworld

AstroWorld, opened it’s doors to over 50,000 customers on June 1st, 1968.  During it’s 37 years in business it grew from 57 acres to 75 acres and also included a water park named WaterWorld. (No relation to the same named flick with Kevin Costner.)  In 1975 AstroWorld became a part of the Six Flags family when Hofheinz family sold it to the cooperation.

AstroWorld is remembered very fondly by so many people all over Houston as well as the United States.  Take a look at this newscast from before the park closed.  A lot of memories…

What better way to remember AstroWorld than through video…

1980’s AstroWorld Commercial

The Texas Cyclone at AstroWorld… gotta love those old wooden roller coasters.

No mistaking that “click click click” noise…

Thanks for the memories!

Go Spurs Go!

San Antonio, Texas is a great place to live and work, not only because there is always an abundance of events, activities and attractions to keep you busy, but currently San Antonio has the best NBA team in the league.  As of today, the Spurs have won 46 games and have only lost 10.  Technically put, they are on fire!!!

The Spurs played some of their best game, earlier this month, against the LA Lakers (39 and 19).  The Spurs won the game by one point; 89 to 88!   Check out this buzzer beater by Antonio McDyess, fitting name for playing in San Antonio, played on February 3, 2011.

*Note: Watch coach Greg Popovich’s reaction after this amazing play.  He rarely smiles, but this time, even Popovich could contain his excitement!*

Transformering Apartment: It’s More Than Meets the Eye

With over 7 million people in Hong Kong this Chinese architect really has a “transforming” idea.

Ingredients

1 344 square foot apartment in Hong Kong

a couple of sliding walls

2 fold down beds

mirror ceiling

1 screening room with hammock

1 inventive architect

Directions

Mix well until 24 different designs emerge.

Modern ways to Exercise

So, I know I wrote a post last month about how to take advantage of your apartment’s gym, but this past Monday night I came to realize that using your Wii or XBox Kinect can provide a better, and sometimes more fun, workout in a small space.

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Wii Fit [Wee-Fit]

The game uses a unique platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board, on which the player stands during exercise. The game features yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. Matsunaga described the game as a “way to help get families exercising together”. Wii Fit has been used for physiotherapy rehabilitation and has been adopted by various health clubs around the world. Additionally, the game has been used in nursing homes to improve posture in the elderly.

Xbox Kinect [Ex- box] [Kin- ekt]

The Kinect is a “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform…  Based around a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, it enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller, through a natural user interface using gestures and spoken commands.  The project is aimed at broadening the Xbox 360’s audience beyond its typical gamer base.

The Wii has been out for quite sometime and I have had many experiences playing games on it.  The Wii Fit is meant for exercising, but there are other Wii games that can give you quite a workout if you chose to put more effort into it.  For example the Michael Jackson the Experience game is ridiculously fun.  Who hasn’t always wanted to learn the dance to “Thriler” or “Smooth Criminal?”   While there are some flaws to the actual game… if you put some work into following the dancers on screen you can work up quite a sweat.  Plus next time you go out to a club and “Billie Jean” comes on, you will be able to bust a move and impressive whoever is around you.  Check out the trailer to see what the game is like.

While the Michael Jackson game is really fun it doesn’t even begin to compare to Dance Central on the Kinect.  Instead of the game just reading your once controller on the Wii the Kinect recognizes your whole body.  I played this game for the first time last Monday and let me tell you right now it was fun!  The dance routines go right along with the songs and the best part you feel like you are really dancing.  I played for about an hour and danced to 3 different songs.  By the end I was huffing and puffing.  It was clearly a great work out.  Plus the harder the dancers are the better work out you are getting.  This game actually has a workout mode that keeps track of the calories that you have burnt during your time playing.  As I write this I can’t wait to get home so I can learn how to dance to Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face.”

Anther great workout game on the Kinect is The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout.  This is a tad less fun than Dance Central but you can definitely feel the burn, as they say, as soon as you start playing exercising.  The cool thing about this game as compared to one of the franchise’s workout DVD’s; is that the Kinetic sensors your body while you are working out and can “see” if you are doing something right or wrong.  For example if you need to lift your leg higher, the screen will show your leg in red… meaning your aren’t doing something right.  Also, the person leading your workout, Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper will say, “Try to lift that leg higher!”  Honestly, I don’t wanna know how this works… it just does and it is cool!  You can mix up your routines from day to day; which is something better than a regular old workout DVD.  It also has 50 healthy recipes and calorie tracking assistance to keep you on track.   Let me tell you, personal trainers are not going to like this game.  People pay thousands of dollars a year for personal trainers to teach them stuff like this.  This game is only $50.

Finally, no treadmill, weightbench or ab roller can beat how compact these new, modern exercise tools are.  You literally need next to no space around your TV to dance and workout.  Exercising is suppose to be fun otherwise you won’t do it.  With great music and these awesome games to guide you, you won’t even realize you are working out… our should I say “working it.”

BTW… the whole time I was playing the Kinetic I couldn’t stop thinking about this scene from Back to the Future 2.  This part is definitely coming true. Young kids in about 4 years will probably react the same way to old video games like “Wild Gunman.”

Remember moveforfree apartment locators when searching for your new home.

FAQ numero uno

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “Now how exactly can I move for free.” I would have… ummm…. well… I would have a lot a money.

It is actually simpler than you might think.

All you have to do is…

1. Find an apartment on moveforfree.com
2. Visit the properties you found on the website and list moveforFREE.com as the referring source
3. Once your lease is signed, schedule your FREE move

Now, you say well that’s all well and good, but I want to know how I can move without paying anything?

In simple terms….

The apartment properties pay us a commission for referring you, the renter, to their property. That commission covers the cost of the move. Thus in turn you get this really wickedly awesome deal where you will move for free!

It really is that easy! Now… what are you waiting for??? Move your mouse on over to moveforFREE.com! We also have a great FAQ page. Check it out if you have any other questions. And as always don’t hesitate to post a question or comment on our Facebook or Twitter. I will get back to ASAP!

(See how happy I was to be using Moveforfree when I moved last year!)

Declutter your home, Organize your life

So you know how this month we have been talking about and sharing ways to accomplish those new year’s resolutions?  Well, January is also National Organization Month.  What better way to perfect your year than by getting rid of the clutter and organizing your life?

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Now I am certainly not the queen of organizing, but I have learned a thing or two through the years.  Imagine the time you could save when you know right where things, are and you won’t have to look all over them.  Sometimes stuff can overwhelm you; make you feel buried.  Here are some sure-fire ways to help you declutter your home and organize your life.

1) Start out small

Do you have anxiety about cleaning and/or organizing?  Than start out with something small like your medicine cabinet.  First go through and throw out any medicine that has expired. (Make sure you dispose of them properly.)  Take everything out, and clean the shelves. (Might as well get some cleaning done while you are at it.)  Then, only put back what you use on a daily or weekly basis.  For example, I keep my contact case, contact solution, deodorant, leave-in conditioner and hair comb in mine.  Then put your cough syrup, Pepto-Bismol, etc in another cabinet that you don’t go through every day.  Try to rearrange the shelves in the cabinet to see if they can accommodate all your daily items.

2) Look for problem areas in your home

Can you never find the shoes you need in the morning?  Are your spices in the kitchen always a big mess? Troubleshoot the problems that you run across the most.  Once you figure those out, you can find a solution.  For your shoes, get a shoe rack or an over-the-door shoe holder.  For your spices, try getting a spice rack or these cool spice holders from Bed Bath and Beyond that you can stick on your fridge.

3) Organize your schedule

Remembering what’s going on in your life can be super frustrating, but keeping track can be easier than you might think.  Figure out what works best for you.  If you are attached to your smartphone, then perhaps a digital calendar might work best for you.  Are you old-school?  Then perhaps a classic planner might be better.  I use a mixture of both.  Since I sit in front of my computer all day for work, I keep a calendar on my computer and sync it to my iPhone.  Plus, at home I have a dry erase calendar on the wall.  Each month I go through and write down everything I know that I have planned.  This is a great tool for families as well.  This way, everyone is on the same page.

4) Keep, Give away or Trash

When you get in a cleaning or decluttering mood, (Hey, some of us get that feeling sometimes.), you can start organizing by separating your stuff into 3 different piles: keep, give away and trash.  Start in your closet.  If you haven’t worn something in the past year, give it away.  If it’s too ragged to be given away, just trash it.  This will leave room in your closet for those new clothes you have been fawning over.  If you are planning on having a garage or yard sale, make a 4th pile for “sell” items.

Happy organizing!

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Your Green Apartment

Some of you may have made a new years’ resolution to be more environmentally friendly or to be more “green.”  Kermit the frog may have said it isn’t easy being green but honestly it really isn’t that hard.  What you put into it is just what you get out of it.

Becky’s “Green Tips”

1) If it’s nice outside… open the windows.  I don’t know about you but I am a fresh air fiend!  It will make your apartment feel great and make you feel rejuvenated.  Plus it will save money and energy because you don’t have turn your AC on.  Don’t forget to close them when you leave!

2) Do you just like the color green and you want to paint one of your rooms green?  If it is a bright green than I would suggest that you just paint one wall green and the other walls I would leave white.  This way it gives the room a flare without over doing it.

3) Instead of turning your thermostat off when you leave for the day just turn it up/ down so the AC/ heat wont come on.  In the summer I usually crank the AC to 80 and in the winter I set the heat to 65.  Turning your AC/ heat on and off actually uses more energy than if you just turn the temperature up/ down.  Please remember if you have pets make sure that it won’t get to hot/ cold in your apartment during the day.

4) Does your apartment offer recycling? Some do as part of what the city provides, others hire private companies and some don’t have any at all.  If you are one of the lucky ones that provides a way for apartment residents to recycle than I would definitely take advantage of that.  It reduces your trash and it is not a huge inconvenience at all.  If you don’t have that option at your property you could always take your recyclables to the nearest drop off location.  Do some research and find out if your property collects recyclables.

I hope you will find your own ways to go green and help protect the planet.

Budgeting in the new year

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Whenever I think of budgets, money, credit cards etc… I think of this ridiculously funny and true sketch from Saturday Night Live with guest host Steve Martin.

The sad thing is, credit card debt happens to a lot of people and yet it is so easily avoidable.  If you don’t have the actual money for something, than don’t buy it.  I’m not a saint in this department.  I have a car payment and a student loan.  I’m even working down a very minor credit card debt, but from these experiences I’ve learned a thing or two about creating a good budget and sticking to it.  Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:

1)  Start out with your monthly income… the exact number (i.e. what you get on your paycheck AFTER taxes).  Then add in any other incomes that you will definitely earn, such as a regular babysitting job or any other side jobs.

2) Once you do that, go through your bills and figure out how much each one of them are for and on what day they are usually due.  If the bill has a fluctuating amount from month to month, like your energy bill, either write down a range from lowest to expected highest, or an average of the two.

3) Once you have all your bills written down, go through your bank statements and look to see what you spend your money on: eating at restaurants, gas for your car, gifts, grocery shopping, clothes, etc… Make a special column for grocery shopping, dinning out, gasoline, entertainment, etc…, and put an estimate of how much money you think you will spend each month on those things.  I’m realistic and always over estimate.  You could even track how many times you fill your gas tank in a month and get a pretty good estimate for that.

4) Make sure you include things that you spend money on every once in a while too.  If you get your car checked once a year for a routine maintenance, then just divide that number by 12 and put that into your monthly budget.

5) Put all of this information into an Excel type spreadsheet.  If your expenses are more than your income, go back and see where you can slim down some of the non-essentials. If you have a pretty good difference between your expenses and your monthly income, make another row for your savings.  It is never a bad idea to start and continue saving money.  Whether it be for an upcoming vacation, or those unplanned expenses, saving is always a good idea.

6) Another thing that has REALLY helped me be more responsible with my money, is when I get paid, I write down in my checkbook register the bills that need to be paid before my next paycheck.  These include rent, cable bill, car payment; everything I know the exact amount of.  For example, say I get paid next Tuesday.  On Tuesday, I will write in my check register the amount of my paycheck and balance the total amount.  Then I will look at my calendar and write in my register all the bills that are due before my next paycheck and balance the final amount.  This way I know EXACTLY home much I truly have in my checking account and will be able to spend/save.  I used to just check my bank account online without keeping track myself.  This resulted in many an overdraft fee.  While checking online can be a good habit, the bank sometimes can be slow and not post things for a couple days.

7) Along with the previous tip, I write down EVERYTHING in my checkbook register that I use my debit card for.  I normally don’t carry cash, so I usually use my debit card.  This way I have little chance of overdrafting my account.  This could result in major fees from the bank.  So far this has worked out really well for me.

8 ) In my opinion, if you don’t have to have a credit card, then I highly suggest that you don’t get one.  I can not express how much credit card debt can ruin your credit.  Those small payments can really add up.

9) My Mom always told me to try not to let my account dip below $100, and  just pretend like that money isn’t there.

10) If you do have credit card debt, stop using that credit card!  It’s going to get harder and harder to pay back if you keep putting money on it.  Also, check your interest rate on the card.  It could be as high as 30%!!!  If you find that your interest is crazy high, see if you can transfer your balance to another card with a lower interest rate through your bank.

Hopefully you found these tips useful.  Remember if you are moving this year, look for ways to save money, like using moveforfree!  You know I had to throw that in somewhere, but seriously, it can save you a TON of money on moving expenses.

Minimum space = Maximum workout

Apartment dwellers are lucky.  A lot of apartments around Texas are offering a free fitness center as a property amenity to their residents.  This means at least a treadmill, an elliptical machine and a set of free weights.  Some luxury properties have a full out gym.  Check out this one at the Domain at CityCentre in Houston.

I’m here to help you on that new year’s resolution, by maximizing your workout while you using your apartment’s fitness center.

Here are some steps that I adapted from Steve Mutziger  the owner of Results Workouts, a Odenton Gym.  Please remember that these are just tips.  Be sure to check with your doctor before starting any exercise routine.

Big moves makes a big difference

When you are using the free weights or just doing lunges and squats, use BIG movements (compound, multi joint).  A lot of muscle is used when doing these exercises.  The more muscle you put into it the more you will get out of it.  Because you are using more of your muscle to do the movements, you are burning more calories.

So, you may ask me, “But Becky, I am trying to burn fat not build muscle.”  Well, listen up then all you naysayers.  You know how you feel super sore after working out for the first time in a long time, well that is because your workout caused some muscle damage.  With continued exercise the muscles work harder to repair themselves.  While your body is doing this it is growing stronger and larger muscles.  Do you know what your body needs to do this?  You guessed it… calories!!  Simply put, more calories burned is more fat burned = less fat on your body.

Super fantastic mini circuit time

So are you super mom/ dad or a social butterfly that hardly ever has time to even think about working out?  Well then this step will be right up your ally.  Mini circuits or supersets are a great way to maximize your workout in a short amount of time.

Supersets are two exercises done back to back with no rest in between.  This is beneficial to you in two ways. 1) With hardly any rest in between exercises, you speed up your metabolism by the cardio- like effect of the workout and 2) you are getting more work done in that short amount of time.  Some great examples of supersets are: jumping jacks, lunges, step-ups and jumping rope. Here is a good resource for more superset exercises, along with some video tutorials.

A mini circuit is like a superset only done with 3 or more exercises in a row without resting in between.  An example of a mini circuit would be 30 seconds of each: jump rope, step ups, front lunges, jumping jacks and squats.  These exercises are great to do in an apartment gym, because it doesn’t require a lot of space and if someone is using the only treadmill than you can still have a great workout.

Interval what?

I think the reason why I have always had bad stigma with gyms is because I can not stand to run on the treadmill for hours.  It is SO boring!  Well my friend… those days are totally over.  Steve suggests something called interval cardio.

Instead of doing 40 minutes of regular paced cardio you can do short bursts of intense cardio like for one minute then do two minutes of easy effort.  As you gain strength, increase the resistance/ speed/ incline to make the movement harder.  A good example of this is wind sprints.  Run for a minute then walk for 2-3 minutes.  The run is your interval.  Do this interval 3 to 6 times for your workout.  Make sure you warm up and cool down properly.  In an apartment fitness center you can always do this on the treadmill or the elliptical machine.

The good thing about interval cardio is 1) it takes less time than a normal cardio workout and 2) instead of burning off the calories during the workout they are burned off a day and a half after your workout.  Since your metabolism is revved up from the workout your body continues to burn calories.

Here’s to you and your new expedited workout!