Merry Christmas to me! I am headed to Cologne and Amsterdam in January as part of BlogTour by Modenus. 

I’m one of 14 international designers (not me) and lifestyle (me) bloggers invited to attend the giant IMM (International Furniture Fair) and Living Kitchen as well as other design destinations in Cologne before moving on to spend a day in Amsterdam for a guided tour of the City’s design hotspots in collaboration with home design magazine Eigen Huis and Interieur.

What? You are wondering how I managed to wangle this amazing invitation when I can’t even tell you the 2013 color of the year (it’s emerald)! Let me put it like this – You love good food, right? And you spend a lot of time in your kitchen? And in your bathroom? And you appreciate good design, whether it’s your sculpted body or a beautiful sculpture, right? How about well-made products that make your life more enjoyable? Exactly!

A few of the items I’ll be checking out on your behalf:

We moved away from Oregon just as my dream kitchen was finished. So I didn’t get to spend much time with MY sink. So for sure I’ll be sidling up to this  BLANCO CERANA™ fireclay, as it’s just like the one I left behind.

This magical espresso machine is by Miele. Need I say more?

I’ve read the research about the health benefits of cooking with steam (think of vitamins, minerals and nutrients). But I didn’t know about these steam ovens until just now. On the wish list!!

 If you read our November Holiday Fitness Gift List, then you already know about the standing towel warmer by Mr. Steam. I figured out pretty quickly that it warms my fitness clothes in the morning too! And I’m sure it would warm up this snuggly robe from The Turkish Towel Company.

These cabinet pulls by Du Verre are shaped like pomegranates. I think it would be so cool to have the drawers match one of my favorite smoothie ingredients! Since they’re manufactured entirely from recycled aluminum, they satisfy my environmental values too!

My compost currently goes into an old milk container. It’s disgusting. Dear BLANCO SOLON™ Compost System, come to Mama.

These are but a fraction of the many amazing items and brands I’ll be checking out during the trip! I’m pretty excited. And I’l be keeping an eye out for the items I think Kymberly would like in her new home. She needs appliances for an entire house! Hmmm, there must be a way to make her into a Shrinky-Dink so she can fit in my luggage and come along….

If you want to know more of our gift suggestions for the season (or any time, really)  listen to our Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas radio interview with Southern Fried Fitness.

And if you want to learn more about Cologne or Amsterdam, GaiamTV has a few videos you might like. FengShui at the Dorint, and Insights: Amsterdam.

Now I’m off to brush up on my basic Dutch skills. Tot ziens!

Photo credits: Miele, BLANCO, The Turkish Towel Company, Modenus, DuVerre, Zachi Evenor (Cologne Cathedral), and Go Orbit (Shrinky Dink poster).

For true beauty, form and function, subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share and subscribe!

‘Tis the season for Thanksgiving, not Thanks-gorging.  Enact Our 7 healthful tips to avoid the holiday feast trap.

Perhaps you’ve spent months being diligent about exercising and eating healthfully. And now the holidays are creeping up faster than a heart rate monitor. How do you stay trimmer than a decorated tree and less stuffed than a turkey come Thanksgiving?

The following suggestions will serve you well from day’s start through end.

1. Drink lots of water and green tea before the feast. You will feel full and less inclined to overeat.

2. Eat your usual breakfast and lunch. Don’t skip a meal thinking you will then be free to make up for lost calories later when the “good stuff” arrives. Inevitably you will be so hungry come THE meal that you will overeat or choose whatever is closest.

3. Mentally sort foods into 3 categories:

• Food I love and will probably have seconds;
• Food I like and will take a little just once;
• Food I don’t need to eat at all.

Planning and paying attention have a definite effect on how much you pile on your plate.

(For more motivation and strategies to keep you on track, click to download our radio episode as a podcast you can listen to while working out – or when avoiding that one weird relative who is coming over Thursday:)

3 Tips to Thrive Through the Holidays

http://www.audioacrobat.com/sa/W2g0916Q

The First Turkey Trot: Real Blunderbusses for the Finish Line!

4. Opt for a salad instead of dinner plate.  You’ll be inclined to eat less.  Most of us are visually triggered, so we stop adding food once our plate looks full, regardless of plate size.

5. Get up from the table when done. Do not sit with food in front of you calling your name á la “Little Shop of Horrors.” And don’t leave food just sitting out. You can end up eating an entire meal’s worth just from picking at the stuff that’s in front of you. Put it away right after the meal (or at least as soon as is politely possible). Your guests will  probably thank you. Ok, maybe thank you.

6. Put your mind over matter. If you’re a person who likes to talk to herself (like Alexandra does), just ask yourself this when you’re filling your plate, “Am I choosing this because I’m hungry or because it tastes good?” We aren’t here to say you “shouldn’t” this or “should” that, but the awareness will help you make a considered decision.

7. Go for a walk. What better way to spend quality time with your favorite rellies or friends than by putting on a jacket and getting outside?

Readers: What tips do you have to share? We’d love to know them, especially with December almost here!

Fill up with fitness solutions and some fun when you subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog. Follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit. Please also follow us on Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Or click on the icons in the right sidebar. We’ll be ever so Thanksgiving grateful!

Photo credits: via Creative Commons:  RBerteig (jumping turkey),  sassyarts (pilgrims walking)

Alexandra: What song defines your workout life? Do you have a theme for exercise that a tune captures?

Kymberly: If you listen to our Fun and Fit radio show  you’ll know that Alexandra tends to bust out in song now and then. And I am using the word “song” loosely and the word “bust” pretty exactly.

Anyhoooo, it got us to thinking, if you were to pick a song that is autobiographical, which one would it be? For example, if you are a procrastinator, you might go with “Wait Until Tomorrow,” by Jimi Hendrix. (We’d also suggest you read our post on moving from procrastination to action.)  If you are a get it done now person who enjoys exercise, your song might be “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday, But Not as Much as Tomorrow,” by Spiral Staircase.

Perhaps Maria from West Side Story is singing your tune when she tells the world “I Feel Pretty.”  Or maybe she just finished a QiDANCE cardio class. If you love weight training, it could be people marvel and say “She’s a Brick House.”

One of our favorite votes came from a man in our Senior Strength Training class who answered this question with “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Once the class stopped laughing we got back on beat and showed the world that 70 year olds “Get Around, Get Around, I Get Around,”  like the Beach Boys.

Kymberly’s Picks

My autobio song depends on what exercise mode I am tackling. On strength training days or when my knee is hurting, I am going with: “Oooh Child, Things Are Going to Get Easier,” by the Five Stairsteps.  On the days I teach, power walk, or take any cardio class, my theme song is from Gladys Knight and the Pips: “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.”  Go me for getting my workout in!  The fact that Gladys was just on Dancing With the Stars and that I want Alexandra and me to be the first twins on the show might be swaying my decision. In the right direction!

Alexandra’s Picks

I didn’t even have to think twice – my song is “Shake Your Groove Thing.”  I like to dance, have fun and love music from the 70s. I can be Peaches. Now I just need a volunteer to be Herb. I could probably find hundreds of songs, depending on which freeway entrance my mind takes, but another song that captures my general life attitude is “Life Is Good” by Junk, especially the intro phrase, “I know I can always win, I can do anything.” Isn’t that a great attitude toward life and health?

My final submission is my response to the foot surgery that’s kept me in a foot bootie for 6 weeks: “Can’t Keep Me Down” by Cypress Hill & Rusko.

Readers: Any songs come to mind that capture your fitness life? Sing it loud in the comments below!

What is real music to our ears? The sound of you subscribing to our YouTube channel and our blog. Follow us on Twitter: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Please also follow us on Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Or click on the icons in the right sidebar.

Listen to Fun and Fit radio episodes that focus on how exercise improves your mind.

Would you like an order of better brain to go with that active body? Enhance your brain waves by taking advantage of our radio waves.

You may already be aware that aerobic activity is the number one contributor to better brain health. But were you aware that you can get more cutting edge insights, practical advice, and how tos to act on this knowledge? Our Fun and Fit radio show, which airs online at WomensRadio.com has several episodes devoted to

• increasing your memory
• improving your cognitive skills
• reducing your possibility of getting dementia
• offering the latest on the impact your movement makes on your mind.

The reality is that everything you do affects your brain health, including involving the senses (such as ‘hearing”) while exercising. As in listen to the following episodes as you work around the house or get on your cardio equipment.

Carrie Ekins

Brains, Drums, Exercise, and a Smarter You

With Carrie Ekins, MA

Boost Your Brain Power Today

Tips From Kymberly and Alexandra

Move Your Body to Move Your Brain

With Dr Michael Luan

Dr. Kathy Gruver

Your Body Hears Every Word You Say

Interview with Dr Kathy Gruver

Create the Body You Want Through Consciousness and Quantum Physics

With Patricia Diorio, MA

Life Enhancing Options to Life Depleting Prescription Drugs

Interview with David Littell

To see what else might jog your noggin, go to our Fun and Fit radio page. Once there, scroll down or hit the “next page” button.

Clickety click on these links. But use your finger, not the point on your head! Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or our blog. Follow us on Twitter: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Please also follow us on Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. You can also find us via the icons to your right —–>

Being fit is about more than just weight and muscles. It’s also about the health and appearance of your eyes, skin and hair.

Kymberly: Our extended family has a great tradition of eye troubles.  From nearsightedness to dry eye syndrome to overactive oil ducts to detached retina threats, we know how hard it can be to look good. Or look bad. Well, technically “see” badly. (If we see bad, someone’s being naughty!)

Add to that what Alexandra put on her “About Us” page relative to our skin: “As a red-headed, freckly, straight-A, flat-chested, glasses-wearing identical twin, I always had an easy time of it, especially in junior high, when all those differences really helped me blend in. Luckily, I had oily teenage skin to keep me from getting too taken with myself.”

Kymberly: Even though we no longer suffer from teen acne, we do still have to keep a close eye on our skin as we sweat daily given our exercise schedule, which can cause itchiness and adult acne.  But we do have great hair! (Thanks dad!)

What does all this have to do with health and the personal care product round-up we have in store in for you? Well, perhaps like many of you, we want to look good, see well, and feel great, especially using products that are natural, and “safe.” So when we are trendspotting health products we make sure to check out skin, hair, vision, and related clean stuff!

Alexandra: Saturday I did a 5K walk with my 15 year old son to raise money to find cures for eye diseases. Why? Because he has retinitis pigmentosa. So he’ll probably never drive, and he can’t see well in the dark. I feel sad, yet also determined to do what I can to help him. Since Omega 3 (DHA) is supposed to help, I am going to try to talk him into taking the capsules that our friends at Hanna’s Herbs sell because I trust them. If any of you have had luck with the capsules or any other eye health natural products, please let me know.

Since we’re also talking about “exterior” care,  I’ll share some products that I’ve tried and believe to be helpful and healthy for your appearance.

Nature’s Gate Pomegranate Sunflower Shampoo I like shampoo that smells good but not sweet, has ingredients I can identify, and hasn’t been tested on fluffy bunnies.

The BackPacket  I hate bugs. I hate sunburn. I’m sure I’d hate skin cancer. Whether Kymberly calls me a strawberry blonde or a redhead, I definitely have fair skin, so I like this combo sunscreen/ insect repellent. No DEET, has aloe vera, and not tested on cute hamsters.

Elmore Oil for Joint and Muscular Pain I have arthritis in my knee, thanks to a soccer injury. I love vanilla. This oil has only 4 ingredients: vanilla, olive oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil. Luckily, the 3 “nice” ingredients balance out the tea tree, ‘cause I can’t stand the smell of it by itself.

Apriori Skin Care  I just started using this after receiving some samples and so far it’s great. Some products make me break out, but not these. I have sensitive skin that’s red in places, freckly, oily nose and dry forehead, so it’s really hard to find stuff that makes my skin look & feel better. If it makes me look the age I feel inside, then it’s a winner for sure!

Of course, what I really think would be best after a 5K (or even a 1.5K) would be a lovely steam, music, color, aromatherapy shower from Mr. Steam!  I don’t actually have one of these, but I know how to dream it, plan it, make it happen…sometimes!

As to the crummy eyes, my kid got it from my side of the family. I would have preferred him to have gotten the red hair. That’s my way of saying, “time for my eye drops.” I like the ones from Boiron because they don’t sting my eyes, even though I wear contacts (Freshlook Colorblends in green to be precise), and are homepathic . Read the ingredients.

Kymberly: I, too use the Boiron homepathic eyedrops as they are preservative-free and cut down on the tearing, stinging eyes I get when I am teaching cardio classes (you know, when sweat runs down my face and into my eyes). Otherwise I look as though I have been sobbing (for joy, of course) after every hard workout.

Then I wash my face with a new skin care system we recently discovered: Kelly Teegarden Organics. To say I have sensitive skin given my activity level and genetics is an understatement. This skin care system not only does its job, but also is chemical free. According to Kelly Teegarden, founder of this product line, the World Health Organization announced that 80% of cancer can be linked to cancer causing chemicals in skin care, oral hygiene, and cosmetic products. When Kelly got cancer she created KTO Organics to remove all toxicity and chemicals from what we put on our bodies. Works for me!

Lastly, you have to get a kick out of a brand new shampoo we discovered at the Natural Products Expo West: Broo Shampoo, made with beer. Apparently women in the 1950’s, including Jackie Kennedy used to lather up  the locks with beer. Now I actually don’t like beer — not the taste, smell, nor empty calories. So I was leery of smelling like a brewery. But Broo Shampoo not only lathers up nicely, keeps my tresses clean and  luscious looking, but also it smells really good! So I Broo my do and smell good too!

For more on being bee-yoo-ti-full, take a listen to these Fun and Fit radio shows, either on our site, http://funandfit.org/fun-fit-radio/ (scroll through ya rascals). Or go to the specific episodes via womensradio.com:

Wake Up to Younger Skin
Be Beautiful Inside and Out
Journey to a Kuwaiti Beauty Salon
Get Back Your Baby Skin

Disclosure: We were paid for one of the links above. We share all these products specifically because we use and like them, and want to be  helpful.