BloggingDangerously

The Ugly American

So I feel absolutely ridiculous for ranting and raving about the 4th of July last week and not even realizing until Friday that Canada Day was also happening.

Happy Canada Day guys.  Sorry about that.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

We had an AMAZING time.  It was the stuff that memories are made of - bonfires on the beach, s'mores, swimming, boogie boarding, amazing food, etc.

Our weekend was such an embarassment of riches that we even left the beach to go to a pool party that had pony rides!  It really doesn't get any better than that.

But now it's back to reality.

I have a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE meeting today that could make or break this new job I took 7 months ago.  If you have any extra good karma hanging around I would SINCERELY appreciate it if you could send it my way.

Love,

Kit

Happy 4th of July

I say it every year but the 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday.

You get to eat all of your favorite foods - and instead of spending the day in the kitchen cooking them you can slap them on an open fire and eat them standing up.

This is even sweeter now that I've become a parent and the holiday joy I remember from my childhood has been replaced by the chores of adulthood.

You don't have to get dressed up for the 4th of July - in fact you're encouraged to celebrate it half naked.

You don't have to buy anyone presents!  And since it's not a family holiday you're not required to schlep anywhere you don't want to and - even better - you don't have to entertain.

The celebration itself is all pomp and circumstance and patriotism and fun with bonfires and fireworks and 1812 overtures!

And you get to stay up past your bedtime!

So I hope you'll excuse me if I neglect to post on Monday - and maybe even Tuesday! (Hangovers happen)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Bedroom Fireworks! #GIVEAWAY

A while ago I had a giveaway for a $25 gift card to Eden Fantasys but the winner never claimed their prize.

Their loss is your gain!

In honor of the 4th of July - my FAVORITE holiday - I'm hoping to give you some fireworks of your own!

Just leave me a comment telling me what you LOVE about the 4th of July, your favorite memories, etc.  If you're not American then tell me what you think of when you hear "4th of July."

And if you don't leave your email address, please MAKE SURE to check back to see if you're a winner!

Winners will be posted WEDNESDAY morning.

 

Yahoo for a great cause! #CleversForAChange

The following is a post sponsored by Yahoo! Every time someone clicks here to make Yahoo! their homepage, they're showing their support for Girls For A Change. I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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You can help me and Clever Girls raise $10,000 to support Girls For A Change by clicking here to change your homepage to Yahoo!

As an engineer, I was surrounded by men in school and at work.  I took pride in the fact that they saw me as "one of the guys" and didn't realize how much I was missing by not connecting with more women.

As my career progressed I saw how much my male friends prospered from their older, male mentors and wished that I had that type of relationship to turn to when I needed advice.

Girls for a change connects teen girls with adult women coaches to help them realize their full potential.

Click here to change your homepage to Yahoo! and help support young women.

Sexy Sportswear

If you follow me on Twitter you know that I've been working out lately - a lot.  Basically I've been trying to run or elliptical 5 out of every 6 days.  Since the beginning of March I've logged 374 miles and burned over 30,000 calories.

All of this working out has done wonders for my abs and legs but my 34Ds needed some support so I asked the lovely people at CHAMPION USA (on Twitter) for some sportsbra suggestions and they graciously offered to send me some bras to try out.

They sent me four: 1 Medium support, 2 High Support and 1 Maximum support.  Let me say that regardless of how I feel about the bras, I LOVE the way they tell you exactly what type of activity the bras are designed for - the medium support CLEARLY said "Walking" while the others mentioned aerobics, running, basketball, etc.

The first bra they sent me was this one:

It's medium support and I LOVE IT.  It's perfect for coaching soccer and lacrosse or for going for a walk with the kids.  It's even great for the elliptical trainer at the gym.  It is SO comfortable.  The one they sent me was the Ocean Blue/Sport blue color (not the exact one shown) and my daughters OOHED and AHHED over how beautiful it was.  This bra gets FIVE STARS.

The second bra I tried out was this one:

Confession: I have this bra in two other colors and LOVE it.  It's labeled "High Support" and definitely gives me the support I need while running without making me feel like I should be in a bondage film.  I love the racerback style and it comes in 10 colors.  This bra also gets FIVE STARS.

The third bra I tried was this one:

It's labeled "High Support" and it worked fine but it was hard to put on.  The band was too tight to pull comfortably over my chest and I had to do A LOT of adjusting before I was ready to attempt fastening the hooks.  I put this in my "when everything else is dirty pile."  I DO think that it worked fine but I'm going to save my energy for the workout - not waste it getting dressed.

Also, in my 20s I used to take my shirt off while I ran so I prefer a sportsbra that doesn't look too much like a real bra.  I don't take my shirt off in suburbia but still prefer sportsbras that look more like a tanktop than a bra.   This bra gets THREE stars.

The last bra was this one:

It's labeled "Maximum Support" and it definitely is.  The shoulder straps are fully adjustable and the clasp closure in the back gives you the flexibility to make it as tight as you need.  This bra is sized by cup/chest size so you can order your "regular" size and feel pretty comfortable that you're going to get a good fit.  Again, I don't love the clasp closure but understand that for MAX support you need to be able to adjust the band.  This bra gets FIVE STARS!

Thank you to the AWESOME people at CHAMPIONUSA.COM for letting me try these bras.  They have AMAZING sales at their site all the time and I highly recommend that you check them out regularly.

 Update: Their current sale is a buy 2, get 1 free sale on shorts and tops.  I also found a coupon code on Retail me Not for 10% off that worked with the sale - AND if you spend $125 you get free shipping.  So I bought 3 pairs of running shorts (my old ones were becoming x-rated) and 6 shirts totalling $221 for a final price of $131 and free shipping.