A New Week

My world is about to be turned upside-down because our older son is returning home to live indefinitely after being out of the house and pretty much out of our lives for 15 years.  Hopefully, my exercise regime will keep the stress to a minimum.  It will be a challenging transition for the whole family.

Will post my workout later after I give in to my summer addiction of reading the Big Brother feed summaries. It will be very difficult for me to avoid discussing Big Brother events within earshot of our returning son who wants to see just the TV shows without spoilers.  My husband promises to take regular walks with me so I can fill him in.  Maybe his HDL will go up as a result!

Anywho, today being Saturday, I am expecting a new jessicasmithtv video to be available around noon :)

This morning I did the Power Walk on jessicasmithtv to which I had added MUsic.  Even though I had a very low energy day, I enjoyed it and the time flew by.  I did the first half on the bungee and the second half sitting on the stability ball and holding Fitstix.


Then I did the first part of her Ballet Burn to which I had added instrumentals.

Ballet Burn MU Part 1 by POMBarb

Ironically, Jessica uploaded another new Ballet Body to jessicasmithtv a few hours later!

Checkins

8/26 Monday
This morning I did some youtube Zumba on the bungee then the ball warmup from Petra's Streamline Strength while holding a purple Zumba stick then the rest of Nia's MoveIT and some of Tracey Mallett's Renew Cardio. I shed my shoes and worked out barefooted to Nia and Tracey for the first time in a very long time because my PF had calmed down quite a bit.  Feet feel darn good right now :)

8/27 Tuesday
I didn't have any energy and felt achy but worked out anyways after putting cotton balls soaked with Hydrogen peroxide in each ear just in case it was the start of a cold and not allergies.
First I did the Prevention Sugar Solution *Get Moving* Walk with Chris Freytag  and liked it much more than I had expected!  She had some unique moves and the Celtic MUsic I had added was perfect.  Did some on the bungee then some on the floor and finished on the ball.  This dvd is still available through amazon.
Then I did Petra's ball warmup from Streamline Strength to which I had added MUsic. I was able to follow it without cuing since I did it with cuing recently.  It had a sneaky intensity holding a purple Zumba stick.  Some of the 9 minute ball warmup starts at about the 19 second mark in the clip below:

Finished with Tracey Mallet's Renew Sleek & Lean sitting chair routine, doing most of it on the ball and it really worked the abs.

8/28 Weds
This morning I did the PT Fitness Rebounder routine (blog embedded 8/23) then the lower body from Petra's Streamline Fitness, both of which had great added MUsic. Did the first half of PT Rebounder on the bungee and second half on the stability ball. Used bands and a playground ball for Petra. Finished with some of Mallett's Renew Cardio barefooted.  I have a very slight cold today which would have been much worse if I hadn't done the Hydrogen peroxide into the ears thing.  Throat feels much better already.
You can find some nice routines by Petra on
http://www.youtube.com/user/SpryLiving/videos

Chrome Memory Management and Videos

This morning I started with the warmup from Nia's *Move It* class then did Jessica's new band workout to which I had added free MUsic from Amazon.com and finished with some of Donna's Old School Dance Party, using the bungee then the stability ball.  The Nia Move It was a pleasant surprise warming up the feet. The Nia MoveIT and Donna OSDP were previously uploaded to Daily Motion and shared on the blog below.


JS Band CUing by POMBarb

ETA: For those with low Memory, I am trying not to overload the blog with video clips.
I have 3 posts loading at a time for my preferences so I can load the blog on my old pc.
Just a few tips on how to conserve Memory when using Chrome:

If a video doesn't play well, refresh or reload the video!
Try to to do just one demanding task at a time, be it watching a video or burning a dvdr.
Try to have just one tab opened at a time.
Once you are done with a site, open a new tab and delete the previous tab.
If you are watching more than one video on the same site, open the site in a new tab for each video and delete the tabs of the videos you are done viewing.
You can even clear alittle more memory by closing Chrome completely and restarting Chrome.

Clear Browsing data regularly, especially empty your cache before loading a *BIG* video.
Optionally clear your browsing history and/or delete cookies
(Click upper right corner of Chrome menu icon which looks like 3 short horizontal bars and go to tools or more tools)
Alternatively, you can avoid having to clear your cache by using a new *incognito*  window on the Chrome menu or by pressing three keys together: Ctrl + Shift + N

You may even want to restart your pc as well as Clear Browsing data and/or restarting Chrome if the site is very demanding on your resources.  (As I have mentioned when I am burning a dvdr, I dedicate my whole laptop to the process and do nothing else during thre burn.)

If your Chrome browser is sluggish on youtube or crashing, go to your
chrome://plugins/
(copy and paste the above to your url)
on the right of your Plug-ins page, click to show details
Enable the Windows Flash
Disable Chrome's Flash
(Windows Flash plugin seems to use less memory on my old pc)

One other thing to try if none of the above works:
right click the video and go to settings.
click on the bottom left icon that looks like a monitor
uncheck the box for enabling hardware acceleration

Remember, the problem may be your internet provider, internet connection, the video website, even the weather!!

To clear the cache on Firefox:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache

To clear the cache on MSIE
https://kb.wisc.edu/page.php?id=15141

DONNAs on Daily Motion

Yesterday I uploaded Donna Richardson's trilogy to Daily Motion.


original Sweatin in the Spirit by POMBarb
note that the retail dvds with a similar title have Donna wearing pink.


Old School Dance Party by POMBarb


Brazilian by POMBarb


This morning I did the 10 Minute Solution *Dance Off Fat Fast* routines to which I had added great MUsic!  It had great whole body moves with lots of hip swiveling.  The ballet sculpt even had some moves I never did before.

Some Online Finds

First of all, I want to mention a new Nia class clip with Carlos in the background group!
The actual routine starts at 1:42

This Nia youtube channel also has some footage from their Opal dvd.


This morning I did a bunch of routines and one of them was a wonderful upper body routine similar to TA:

Of course, it was even better with MUsic added :)

I also tried a few by PTFitness including their rebounder workout:

New Week and New MUsic

This morning I did some of Amy Dixon's *Give Me 10 More* to which I had added MUsic. Used the bungee for cardio and purple Zumba stix for AWT.  Then I did Perfect in 10 from the Mitch Gaylord Melt It Off series to which I had added MUsic, using the purple Zumba stick instead of a medball.  Finished with some Zumba chair routines from youtube which are uploaded by user Marc Bosmans.
For example:




ETA:
Weds 8/21
This morning I revisited some of Jen Edwards *Sweat More* to which I had added MUsic.  Did the warmup and first cardio interval on the bungee then switched to the stability ball.  Used heavier Zumba stick instead of a dumb bell.  Finished with a stretch from jessicasmithtv.


Of course, I added MUsic to the above and edited the floor stuff out.

ETA:
Thurs 8/22
This morning I started with Tracie Long's Redfining routine to which I had added MUsic.  It was more strength than cardio so I didn't get as much bungee time in as I prefer but it worked well with my purple Zumba stix.. Then I did Nia's One Billion Rising routine while sitting on the ball.
Liked the song so much that I will use it with other videos :)
Then I did some of Janis Saffell's Fierce4Fitness on the bungee before switching to the ball with Fitstix.
Really liked the music and moves:
FIERCE4 FITNESS w Janis Saffell & FF Crew - AC - YouTube

Finished with some of Ryan's Beach routine to which I had added MUsic:
Kettlebell Firm and Fat Burn Workout - YouTube
Really liked this routine with my MUsic!

A New Check-in Week

This morning I discovered such a wonderful routine that I decided to start another daily checkin post.
Note: My previous daily checkin ended on last Thursday's post and has some nice videos:
http://neverendingplateau.blogspot.com/2013/08/man-oh-man.html

This morning I started with T25 Beta Speed, doing the first half on the bungee and second half sitting on the stability ball.  Still really liking T25 and finding Shaun T's tweaking of old moves really creative.
I was wiped out because of its intensity and humidity so did the Kiss Anita Stretch



then a Gold Zumba chair routine then the surprise winner of the morning, a Zumba Gold routine to Proud Mary which may be the perfect spark:



This user also uploaded another version with a larger group I'll do another day.


Wednesday 8/14:
This morning I did most of Kettlebell Kickbox Longetivity to which I had added MUsic.  It worked beautifully on the bungee for the cardio in the first half and 2nd half cardio sitting on a stability ball.  The MUsic I added and the easy to follow but tweaked moves made the time fly.  Finished with some of Nia's Awareness of Elbows while still sitting on the ball.

Thursday 8/15 and Friday 8/16 were mostly walking, walking and more walking.

Saturday 8/17:
First I did the cardio from Amy Dixon's Perfect Body to which I had added MUsic.  Started on the bungee then switched to the stability ball then added Fitstix and finally switched back to the bungee.  Next I did the cardio routine from Ellen's Body for Life to which I had added MUsic, starting on the bungee then switching to the floor with Fitstix.  Finished with the upright portion of the new jessicasmithtv Rise & Shine youtube video.

Sunday 8/18:
This morning I did Amy Dixon's *Give Me 10* to which I had added MUsic and lurved it so much that I am going to add MUsic to her sequel *Give Me 10 More*.  I, especially, liked the variety of moves besides the MUsic I added. I did some of the cardio on the bungee and used my heavier Zumba sticks and a light kettlebell for the AWT. Finished with some Nia's Awareness of Elbows while sitting on a stability ball.

Monday 8/19:
This morning I did a Cindy Whitmarsh routine from Exercise TV to which I had added MUsic then Tracey Mallet's Cardio Fuse Dance to which I had added MUsic.  I did Cindy's cardio on the bungee and her AWT with a heavier Zumba stick.  Switched to the stability ball when I felt like it. Tracey's moves were whole body moves but I did some tweaking to use the core more by moving the hips more.  The more I use my core and move my hips, the less the hips twinge.  Sweated through-out the above.

Revel vs Borgata vs CET

The numbers are in for the AC July 2013 casino revenues.
The Borgata clearly came out on top of all of the other casinos in July.

Next highest winner in increasing revenue was Revel.
Revel believes their best month ever is showing a turnaround in their business.  It is a total joke.  First of all, many people lost money there believing they would get it all back but didn't read the fine print that the losses would be paid back in slot play over the course of 20 weeks, meaning they would have to go there once a week for 20 weeks to get the slot play dollar replacement.  Meanwhile, the Borgata had a much higher July revenue partially because people who read the fine print chose to play there.    Many took their generous Borgata offers over to Revel to receive matching offers, doubling their free play. The Revel match play actually helped The Borg, attracting more July visits to AC!  The Borgata is already offering us more generous slot bonuses in September than ever so should continue to see improved revenues as people go to Revel to get their free slot play for their losses.
An extra plus for me is The Borg finally replaced their music soundtrack!  What a relief to hear some decent music instead of annoying noises when playing.

All AC CET casinos had their revenues go down also losing business to The Borg.  There are several reasons why the AC regulars are switching to The Borg from the AC CET empire.  First CET started charging for Diamond lounges a couple of years ago.  Then they raised the Diamond tier by almost 50% this year.   The Borgata upgrades all Diamonds to Black Label and gives free slot play and entrance to their buffet or Amphora Club with the first upgrade.  Comp dollars accumulate much faster at The Borg so earning the $10 comp entrance fee to their buffet and lounge is much faster. Earning those entrance fees enables staying Black Label, making earning Black Label a better alternative to trying to stay Diamond for moderate regular AC gamblers.  I calculated the same slot play earns a Black Label $10 comp at least 2 times faster at The Borg! Cannot even compare the quality of The Borg buffet and lounge with that of the Diamond lounges.  CET's only advantage is having locations outside of AC, especially Vegas.
However, the new Total Rewards Platinum credit card was a great decision.  It enables free parking and no early check-in fees with a free Platinum upgrade plus an easy way to earn CET comp.  Too bad they also offer a Vegas buffet of buffets freebie and no comparable free buffet in AC.  Speaking of buffets, another stupid thing CET did was remove lunchtime hours from Harrah's buffet, making the free buffet for their regular players less accessible on Mondays and Thursdays.   Meanwhile, the nearby Gold Nugget has made their buffet a great alternative for players from nearby Harrahs with lots of buffet promotions and lower prices.  Removing the Wild West Virgina City buffet has made the Ballys-Caesars connected property less attractive for the AC regulars. Revel has remained without a buffet for lunch and dinner.
For Gold players,  CET now charges an early check in fee in addition to their extra $8 a night in fees for comped rooms.  Ironically, Revel has recently decided to raise their comped room fees by an additional $7.  An AC regular can get a comped room at The Borg for $5 a night so why pay $13 at CET or $12 at Revel??  The Borg renovated their Classic roooms last year, making all of their rooms nicer than most CET rooms.  Never did try the comp stay at Revel last summer because we couldn't access their room reservation system either online or by phone.  Also the AT&T mobile service is limited on their property, making it difficult for my husband and I to communicate.  Both their reservation system and the AT&T reception have not improved since their opening.
We prefer to play and eat wherever we are staying. So we eat better and stay in nicer rooms for less fees at The Borg than CET.  Best of all, we win alot more than we ever did at CET!

Here's some of the numbers:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-08-09/nj-casino-revenues-down-3-dot-6-percent-in-july

ETA:
an article in the Newark Star-Ledger states the Borgata's Executive VP Joe Lupo said the casino profited from displeasure with Revel's slot promotion.

MAN oh MAN and weekly checkin

This morning I warmed up on the bungee to MANba then sat on the stability ball to a routine by German MANuel (WellShaped.TV on youtube) to which I had added Bollywood MUsic.
Manba has some truly good functional moves in it.  Too bad they approached it amateurishly and didn't develop the moves on both sides more.  No problem, I can switch sides on my own:)
I love the simplicity of German Manuel's routines so I can do my own embellishments with them as well.  I sweated and did lots of whole body movements without aggravating any joints and enjoyed the movements and MUsic alot.  MAN oh MAN what a great combo!

Here's some of the Manba done this morning:



ETA:
While checking old recordings from Exercise TV, I came across this nice little Dancer's Abs routine by Lia and decided to share it since such a small file.

ETA:
Friday 8/9
This morning I did some Angie Miller routines to which I had added MUsic, using many toys:
the bungee then stability ball then bands attached to my shoes then Fitstix and finally purple Zumba sticks.

ETA:
Saturday 8/10

JS Kickboxing Reggae by POMBarb
I finally tried the jessicasmithtv Kickbox Circuit to which I had added MUsic and lurved it!!! I preferred the pace of my MUsic to her pace and just tweaked the moves alittle.  Only problem is I loved it alittle too much and pulled a muscle on the right side of my back.  Arnica gel and Tylenol helped but what really removed the pain was realigning the back with the Sacro Wedgy!

ETA:
Sunday 8/11
This morning I did jessicasmithtv stability ball routine to which I had added MUsic and really enjoyed it as an AWT rather than traditional stability ball routine.

Then I did some of T25 Lower (Body) Focus and expect DOMS tomorrow.  Really liked some of the unique moves in it. Also did some of a fun chair and stick routine:

I pooped out at the beginning of the stick routine so plan to do that part tomorrow.


ETA:
Monday 8/12
This morning I started with T25 Beta Core and really liked the first 19 minutes till the burpees, etc. so more like T20 for me or actually T15 for all of the breaks I take LOL
Then I did the pole routine from Fitness Corner and sometimes used the Katami bar instead of a stick.  Finished with sitting on the stability ball doing a DA routine (designed for pregnant women) to which I had added MUsic by Adam Lambert and really enjoyed that combination!

Burning a DVDr Movie with Video Files on WindowsOS

(Note: I think I found a better way to burn dvdrs that play in my new LG DP 132 DVD Player!  Not sure if my new technique will work on a MAC.  For more information, search the blog for LG DP 132)


I have burned every dvdr successfully with Freemake Video Converter (www.freemake.com) since dedicating my resources to burning a dvdr and doing nothing else on my laptop during the burn.  I suggest if burning downloaded files to do it in two steps.  Download and convert the files to MP4 then burn them to dvdr from your hard drive in a separate step after checking that you have the whole file you wanted. 
WARNING:Be sure to choose custom options and uncheck any extra unwanted software offers when downloading and installing the Freemake Video Converter. 
See Freemake-products-and-malwarebytes info


I try to get as many videos onto a single dvdr as possible and still have standard quality. 
After listing the videos I want to burn and clicking the DVD icon at the bottom of the Freemake Video Converter screen, the next screen may look like this, showing the expected quality as Standard and the timer in Gold:

If Freemake predicts lesser quality (red), I remove enough of the videos to get gold quality.

I then close this screen and edit the titles and order of the videos, keeping in mind the text menu will list 5 titles a page. After all editing is done and the project is ready to burn, I save the project on Freemake by clicking *File* in the upper left corner on the first Freemake screen then *Save Project* on the dropdown menu:

Freemake will save one project at a time in its own hidden folder. 
When ready to burn, open Freemake and go to *Load Project* on the File Dropdown Menu.  
If you change the location of the video files on your hard drive before the burn, you will have to reconstruct the project because Freemake will not find the file you moved.

Summary:
Prepare your project
1.Open Freemake Video Converter (gold)
2.Load and edit the order of the video files you want to burn
3.Save the Project using the File Dropdown Menu
You can skip to step 7 if doing the burn immediately

when you actually want to burn the project to dvdr:
(steps 4, 5 and 6 are optional)
4.Restart the laptop 
5. Open Freemake Video Converter
6.Load the Project using the File Dropdown Menu

7.Insert a blank dvdr
8.Click *to DVD*, choose a menu, and Burn
9.Do nothing else on the laptop till the burn is over

If the burn is still unsuccessful, Freemake now has a support page!
Freemake Support
They also have tutorial and videos
http://www.freemake.com/how_to/how_to_burn_dvd_video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=FLtR-dBt2CE

(note: if you cannot find your videos on your hard drive to load on to Freemake, check the file type default in the lower right corner drop down menu in case the default is blocking your file type)

Lately, I have not been restarting my laptop before a burn but I do close all other programs and do not use the laptop for anything else when doing a burn.  Still a good idea to save the project (step 3) just in case something goes wrong,

Ellen Power Walk, Manba, BodyFit360, etc.

Ellen's 10 minute Power Walk from the Weight Watchers® Walk at Home set to which I had added free Reggae MUsic from  Amazon was my warm-up today and it worked beautifully on the bungee!  It became an instant favorite.


Ellen 10 Min Power Walk Reggae by POMBarb


Next I did more of of Jessica Smith's Abs Diet for Women with awesome added MUsic and finished with the rest of Nia's Awareness of Forearm Bones.  I actually liked some of the floor work in the latter.

I wanted to finish up a burned dvdr completely by doing the above this morning.
Now that the dvdr has been completely visited, I am promising myself Manba tomorrow LOL


Monday 8/5
Finally started visiting the Manba dvd this morning and liked it even though it is identical to their videos on youtube with perhaps alittle extra footage.  Then I did my edited version of Michelle Dozois Bodyfit360, removing moves I wouldn't do and adding MUsic.
Really enjoyed it! It was like a frantic Ellen.
So I did Manba and Womanba LOL
Finished with some standing abs while holding a purple Zumba stick instead of a medball.

(BodyFit360 would have been amazing if the modifier truly modified)


Tuesday 8/6
Warmed up on the bungee with Manba then did some of Mallett's Fuse Dance Cardio Lean.  Also did a Recovery routine byt XT (Xtreme Tapout) which I really liked because it used a band for strength and stretching.  Of course, I had added MUsic to it LOL
Finished with sitting on the ball and dancing to Jane Fonda's DooWop to which I had added some of my favorite tunes.  All of the above worked well for me because all of my twinges were just about gone after the workout.

Wednesday 8/7
I did workout this morning but not sure if I can remember what I did!  Warmed up on the bungee to an Ellen Walk to which I had added MUsic then did a circuit workout to which I had added MUsic which had some high knee runs I did on the bungee then some kettlebell routines by Ryan and chiball for seniors routines.  Finished with more Ellen while sitting on the stability ball and holding Fitstix.  I notice my hip only acts up now when I am favoring my right heel. I just have to remind myself to walk evenly from my core with my hips and the pain goes away.

PF much better!

I did alot of walking in AC the past few days and the PF only acted up badly for a few minutes at one dinnertime buffet. Avoiding other people who do not watch where they are walking can really put a strain on my PF. Sometimes I feel like I am invisible the way other people move around me. Otherwise, I was walking pretty normal without feeling anything more than an occasional twinge.  Also I have adapted to the Sacro Wedgy® feeling much less discomfort during and right after its use.  My hip pain has also become just an occasional twinge. Knees, too, are much better.
I still wore shoes for my workout this morning but have been going barefoot more in the house during the day and stand on the rough surface of my glider whenever I pass it..  This morning I warmed up with a Denise Austin Dance Cardio to which I had added MUsic, mostly on the bungee then did Jessica's new strength routine to which I had added MUsic. Then I did some of Tracey Mallett's Cardio Lean Fuse Dance.  Really enjoyed everything.
Darn, I meant to do some Manba but totally forgot!  May do some later if I skip walking outside for sparks because of rain.