Joined: Nalu Kinetic Spa at Turtle Bay

I stole this pic from Turtle Bay’s website but it really does look this amazing in person.



After Ellie was born, my body was out of whack and  my back was killing me. I went to the chiro at least once a week and, after a year, I decided I needed to go to physical therapy.

PT: What do you do for exercise?

Me: Hmmmm…. define exercise. 

He gave me the big speech that I was in my 40s and really needed to do some kind of exercise. Well, it must have been kissmet because a few days later, we got an opportunity to join the spa (gym) at Turtle Bay. (In years past, doing ANYTHING at Turtle Bay has been off-limits. But not long ago, they started offering memberships to the public, how amazing is that?!)

We have the couples membership. It gives us gym equipment access, pool access, discounts on resort restaurants and spa services, and most importantly – class access. (You get 10 classes included per month with your membership – which is the perfect amount.)

I’ve always been intimidated by exercise classes – mostly because I have no experience and I’m severely uncoordinated. But then I learned – nobody is looking! They are all focused on their own workout too much to worry about mine! I also learned that the teacher is what makes a class good (similar to school, I guess). 

The two classes I do (that have my favorite teachers teaching them) are HIIT and Barre  – both of which I have NEVER done before joining. 

The HIIT is a high intensity circuit training class consisting of 9 stations – each of which you spend 60 seconds doing. The stations vary at every class and I won’t lie – sometimes while he is explaining what we will do at a station, I start laughing because it seems like it will be impossible! (But yes, I do get through it.) The entire class is 30 minutes – and researching online told me that doing this type of work out burns the most fat in the shortest amount of time – AND BONUS – will continue to burn fat throughout the day. It is more efficient than running on the treadmill for an hour. 

The Barre class goes to another level for me. Think: classical ballet meets pilates. It is aerobic, uses balance, and relies on flexibility – NONE of which describe me. But it’s fun because it’s challenging. I told Ross I do my best to copy the teacher and THINK I am doing pretty well – until I look in the mirror and realize I’m a clumsy mess.  (By the way, this teacher is the most beautiful person on Earth – I mean, even her voice comes out like a song! It’s like buying clothes from Victoria’s Secret catalog – you have high hopes but it never looks the same ON YOU as it did on the model!)

These classes have changed my life. I look forward to them. They actually make me feel happier – like I’m living a fuller life. I still can’t do a crunch without wincing and forget about asking me to do push ups plank-style, but I am proud to say I know what a TRX is, and I actually like it! (Planning to take that class next month while my mom is staying over.)  

If you live in town, these two classes alone are worth the drive out. Classes without membership are $10 (a steal!) and you can join anytime. Here is more information about the spa: http://www.turtlebayresort.com/Oahu-Spa/Memberships



My happy place.



Currently loving: Shade Sunscreen

I am no amateur sun screener. I coat my kids twice at home then reapply constantly at the beach.  I never use aerosols and always make sure whatever cream I use is a “block” with a good percentage of titanium. I have good reason. Ross has already had a big chunk of his lip cut out with a diagnosis of squamous carcinoma.

In recent years I’ve gone away from basic drugstore brands and use whatever won’t let the kids end up with sunburns. We use a popular, very good brand of block that comes in a stick but my kids tend to rub it off quickly and it stains everything (staining a $100 bikini is not a good thing).  A friend made me a jar of homemade salve, but it just doesn’t stay on longer than 30 minutes with even light water play.  California Baby has been my favorite for a couple years because of its staying power and all natural ingredients, until now. 

I’m currently loving: Shade.  I have to admit, I wasn’t a complete believer in it until we tested it in the harsh Australian sun. Once it’s on, it stays on. It’s lasted through rubbing, swimming, surfing, and I don’t find the need to reapply.  At all.  (In fact, it won’t come off unless we use olive oil to rub it off, so the girls have really well moisturized skin right now.) It comes in beige and white. Once on, the beige doesn’t rub off onto our clothing, but Ross and I feel like the white works better for us. 

I know there was a lot of research put into using ingredients safe enough for our bodies and for the ocean. It is gentle enough for babies yet effective for active kids. 

You can buy it online at https://www.shadesunscreen.com .  You can order a sample for $1.75, but if you are near me, just ask me for some.  It will be a staple in my purse or car at all times.  It’s $28 for a bottle that will last you a long time (which is really cheap considering you are SAVING YOUR CHILD FROM SKIN CANCER).

If you try it and don’t like it I will buy it from you. (You know how I like to stock up on things I really like.) It’s that good.

Disclosure: I received this bottle of sunscreen as a gift from the owner of the company for personal use, NOT for compensation or review. It was completely my idea to write this post because I really do love this sunscreen. 

Tea Tree Obsessed

A few days ago we went to Byron Bay and then drove a little further to Lennox to Lake Ainsworth.

Lake Ainsworth is a big fresh water lake (adjacent to the the ocean) that surrounded by tea trees. The tannins from the tea trees leach into the lake, making the water a reddish murky color with a film of oil on the top. I couldn’t smell anything, but after swimming in the water, my hair felt oh so soft. The girls kept saying how calm they felt – I’m sure soaking in the water had therapeutic benefits. I want to go back.