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| Tuesday, September 18, 2007 |
Ryka Shoes |
 A couple days ago on my main blog Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting, I revealed my a confession that had been "weighing" me down. I also wrote about how for the past few months I have been meeting with a personal trainer and have started to really get into shape and have gone down a few clothing sizes. So what does every trying-to-be-athlete need? Good gym shoes of course (or sneakers as they say out here)!
Ryka is a women's shoe company. This means that not only were they founded by women, but they make shoes just for women. In other words it's not a mold for men's shoes that has been tailored.
Parent Bloggers was looking for people to review Ryka shoes and I was just a tad bit excited; actually I was really psyched to do it. I reviewed the the MC2 Run which is pictured at the top of this post. This may sound strange, but one of the things that I like best about the shoe was that it was very deep. Yes, that definitely sounds weird. Let me clarify. Several of the torture routines exercises that my trainer has me do involve getting in the push-up position with all my weight on my toes. My other gyms shoes invariably would fall half-way off. The trainer would tell me not to stop; just work through it. It's definitely odd to be in a gym with your shoes on half way. I never had that problem with these shoes. In terms of comfort, they were very comfortable. I also do a lot of "pounding" when working out. From jumping jacks to "step-ups" with two 15 pound weights, they really did seem to support me. They also look really nice. In fact just yesterday I noticed an elderly gentlemen at the gym squinting at my shoes to try and see who made them.
So what didn't I like? The shoes seemed to run small. Also, they are narrower than traditional gym shoes that I've worn. I do think though that goes back to the fact that they are designed for women. Because my foot is narrower, this worked out well for me.
So what do you do if you would really like to wear these shoes, but you're concerned because you have a wide foot or a foot ailment? Their customer service is great. You can email them at info@RYKA.com and ask them what shoe would work best for you.
In the meantime, I suggest that you click here because they are giving away 50 pairs of shoes and 50 performance tees every day until Oct. 25th. Yes, you did read that right! Not only will 50 people win shoes every day, but 50 pairs of shoes will additionally be donated to the Woman's Sport Foundation. |
posted by Alex Elliot @ 7:45 AM
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| Thursday, September 6, 2007 |
Girlology Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups, and Holding out |
When The Parent Bloggers Network first announced they were looking for reviewers for the book Girlology Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups, and Holding Out by Melissa Holmes, MD and Trish Hutchinson MD ,I didn't think I would be a candidate to review the book because of one fact: I have two boys. However, I was curious about the book. Of course the book title piqued my interest. How could it not? But I wanted to read it for two reasons:
- It takes two to tango. If the book talked about social situations, in particular sexual situations and all their consequences for girls than by default I could apply it to boys
- It looked like the type of book I would have loved to have had growing up
I did feel I learned a lot about teenage boys by implication, and my hunch that I would have loved it as a teenager was spot on. This book is the next level after the birds and bees/period talk. It's written by an ob-gyn and a pediatrician. They run the site www.girlology.com where girls can ask questions and get straightforward answers.
This book focuses on boyfriends, dating and sex. Each chapter in the book starts with a real life scenario. I graduated high school in 1994, but I still found the scenarios pretty realistic. Each scenario is then followed with questions. I particularly appreciated that there was a Quickie Answer written in bold after many of the questions followed by the Full Scoop. That way even if teenagers just skim the book, they still get good, reliable information. There are also Myth Busters throughout the book. Ironically, I had recently heard discussion that some people believe that putting yogurt up your vagina can cure a yeast infection. Put that yogurt away! The answer is no. It can't.!
What other questions illustrate that this is not your run of the mill health book for teenagers? Well, they answer questions that a lot of times probably would be embarrassing for teenager and parent if not both.- Is it OK to shave my hair down there?
- If I keep looking at other girls in the locker room; does that mean I'm gay?
- Is oral sex really sex?
The book begins with an Authors' Note to Parents. Basically the note stresses why knowledge about sex is so critical. They note also says in bold that the decision whether or not toengage in sexual acts is their child's alone which is why the knowledge is so important. This is followed by an Authors' Note to Teens where they stress how important knowledge is and the fact that curiosity about sex and their bodies is normal. In addition to addressing birth control and STDs, this book also talks about how to work through the decision to have sex. It also covers other subjects that I have never seen in a health book like domestic violence and date rape.
So what didn't I like? There were a couple of points where I didn't like the way they presented the information. The first was abortion. They did do a good job of explaining what abortion was, as well as writing about Plan B. However, throughout the book when discussing consequences of sex, they focused on whether or not the teenager was in a position to support a child. Abortion was mentioned and discussed in a much later section, which seemed misplaced to me. I'm sure it was to try and present an unbiased opinion of abortion. However, I feel like for this book to really be straightforward, abortion should have been included in the sex decision making process. For some that might be reason enough not to have sex. While there was mention of how different states have different laws regarding parental notification, there was no discussion of how to find out what laws your state has.
I felt similarly about the date rape section. They didn't say what you should do, in other words go to a doctor, if you think that date rape has occurred. They did mention contacting the police and getting checked out right before that, though on the page before the section on what to do if you wake up with your underwear off and no memory of what had happened.
Overall, I really liked this book. Enough so that I've been recommending it to people. If I had a daughter I would run out and get this book for her. I really wish they had a book like this for boys. |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 10:42 PM
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My Profile
| Name: | Alex Elliot |
| Home: | MA, United States |
| About Me: | Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe. |
| See my complete profile |
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