I CANNOT TELL YOU how excited I am for you to experience the October workout calendar!!! The entire Blogifam worked so hard to make this calendar super special for you.
Why?
Well because each year, I notice a trend in workout video views dropping beginning mid September. People tend to fade off of the whole summer bikini hype and instead focus their energy on parties, food, and holiday gatherings. Then there’s a mad rush that comes again beginning the 1st of EVERY SINGLE new year!
So, the Blogifam wanted to find a way to get you guys EXCITED for your workouts to get you ready for the holiday season. We sat around our round table and brainstormed all the creative ways we could get you pumped. Because we all love dressing up, super heroes, and fitness so much (obvi) – we were like – WHOA what if we combined all of that together and exploded October with the most action packed workouts you’ve ever seen!?
And that’s how the October 2017 Workout Calendar was born…
You will be getting 5 new and free PIIT28 workouts throughout the entire month of October! I’ve created special workouts featuring my favorite super-heroines throughout animated history:
Oct 2: Wonder Woman Workout
Oct 9: Sailor Moon Workout
Oct 16: Super Girl Workout
Oct 23: Street Fighter Workout
Oct 30: Catwoman Workout
OH-EM-GEE. I had soooooooo much fun dressing up as each character. I CANNOT wait for you to see the mini “movie trailers” we made for each workout.
If you need extra motivation, share this calendar with 1 person and ask them to do it with you. Having a buddy is one of the most motivating ways to stay on track. Plus, it would mean the world to me to have your genuine support in sharing the our special community with your friends.
Have you ever noticed that millennials get made fun of a LOT on the internet?? Apparently, everything we do is the worst! Between our selfie obsession and the ridiculous claim that millennials could afford to buy houses if we weren’t spending on avocado toast, we’re really screwing up, apparently!! (Jk, we’re amazing )
Okay, let’s get this out of the way: criticizing the current generation isn’t new. It’s something that above generations have always done. You know, it’s the joke of Grandpa saying, “When I was your age, we had to walk to school in snow and sleet!” So I don’t think millennials are unique in this aspect. And of course, all generations have their cons and pros. But because technology has afforded us so many new avenues of expression, we’re the most connected and visible we’ve ever been.
Which brings up a question that I’ve seen discussed: Do millennials share too much?
The internet only became publicly available in 1991, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t THAT long ago. The ability to find your tribe, to create a community online, is something that older generations weren’t able to experience, at least not during their youth.
We have so many platforms. We have blogs and Instagram and YouTube and Facebook and *insert so many others*. It’s amazing! It’s amazing that we get to have voices and be in control of creating what we WANT to create.
But have we lost the art of privacy?
Sometimes I struggle with finding the right balance. When I announced my engagement to Sam, many of you had no idea I was even romantically involved with anyone! And it’s not that I was “hiding” it, but I did choose to keep some of my personal life more private.
I feel SO connected to all of you. YOU are why I do this. And sharing my life with you is a joy. But I also have to keep things for myself. I have to choose what I’m willing to share and what I need to keep sacred. It’s a tricky line. But I think it’s an individual choice.
Do millennials share too much? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. Who am I to make that call? What works for you, works for YOU. As long as you’re happy and safe, that’s all that matters.
As much as millennials are teased for being self-involved, there are beautiful benefits to “over-sharing”. So many people feel less alone when someone they follow decides to speak out about an issue that affected them. When you are able to look at a public figure (or even just someone online) and see what you’re going through isn’t just a solitary experience, it’s validating and SO healing!
One of the first things we’re taught as kids is how to share. I am proud of millennials for this ability. While I can’t promise I’ll always share everything, I am SO proud to share my life with all of you.
I am proud of this community.
What do you think? Are millennials too comfortable sharing on the internet? How does one find a good balance between privacy and openness? Comment below!
‘Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone’ is Richard Lloyd Parry’s account of the devastation caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of north-east Japan on 11th March 2011 and the 120-foot … Continue reading →
A couple days ago, I was scrolling through Instagram double tapping cute puppies and funny food memes when I came across a quote by the late and brilliant Maya Angelou.
“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive.”
I must have read it 20 different times because wowwww, it hit me right in the chest.
The truth is, forgiveness is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I’ve been burned pretty badly in the past and hurt by people I thought I could trust. I’ve had relationships turn sour in ways that totally broke my heart. And it always, always sucks.
But despite it all, I believe in forgiveness.
Here’s the thing about forgiveness, it’s really hard. It requires serious workkkk. And the process can be SUPER painful. But it’s worth it. Your body and mind will benefit in the long run.
I’m not just being dramatic right now — did you know it’s actually HEALTHY to forgive? Holding onto resentment and anger can cause physical changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and the immune response. Also, the inability to forgive has been linked to higher cortisol levels — a big contributor to stubborn belly fat.
Okay, so right now you might be thinking,easier said than done, Cassey. And you’re totally right. So what IS forgiveness?
Karen Swartz, M.D., director of the Mood Disorders Adult Consultation Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, describes forgiveness as “an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not.”
See, forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting. It doesn’t mean everything goes back to the way it was. You aren’t letting someone off the hook for what they’ve done or erasing blame. You’re choosing to let it go anyway. And you know what’s so awesome about forgiveness. It’s in YOUR control. You get that power. And no one can take it from you.
That’s what makes that quote by Maya Angelou so powerful. Forgiveness is for YOU. It’s not about the other person. It’s not about if they “deserve” it or not. It’s not even about repairing relationships (though it can be). It’s giving yourself permission to move on. It’s how you begin to heal.
How do you deal with forgiveness? Does it come easily to you or is it a struggle? Are there ever circumstances you just can’t forgive?
‘The Burning Girl’ by Claire Messud tells the story of Julia Robinson and her friendship with Cassie Burnes during their childhood growing up in the small Massachusetts town of Royston. After meeting at nursery, they are inseparable throughout school but … Continue reading →
Okay, so if you’re not familiar, the Museum Of Ice Cream located in Downtown LA is basically an entire museum designed to be the PERFECT place to take photos. I’d seen it all over Instagram and wanted to go SO BADLY! Like, can you even imagine? A whole museum dedicated to ice cream! And Instagram. PLEASE TAKE ME THERE!
So, we signed up for tickets! I thought maybe there’d be a couple weeks wait. No biggie! Patience is a virtue. Ha, I was so naive. It was MONTHSSSS. This place is seriously popular. When we finally got the call that we had spots reserved, it felt like Christmas morning. I might have even screamed a little. Wow, I literally did scream for ice cream.
We were able to take the whole Blogifam team, which was amazing and almost like being a kid again and taking a field trip with your class. Company bonding over free ice cream samples and shameless selfies?? Yes please!
Also, I was dying because after I posted the above photo, some of you thought I was announcing that…I am pregnant?! I guess it was THIS caption that started that lil rumor…
And then you guys were like…
Oh man, I shouldn’t have used the baby emoji. What I MEANT was that we had a new BLOGIFAM member joining us! Haha and here she is!
Yes, our family grew bigger, but that’s because Brittney, an awesome graphic designer, just joined the team literally 2 days ago! Lesson learned. I will be careful using in the future!
Anyway, let’s rewind a bit and talk about the Museum Of Ice Cream because it was EVERYTHING. The first “official” room was PURELY PINK with retro rotary phones lining the walls. Some of them contain secret messages. So obviously we had to orchestrate a Girl Group photo. Couldn’t this be the cover for our first hit single? Maybe one day…
Then we went into a Hollywood themed room with funny walk of fame stars on the floor. Like how my toes match the star?
After that you get taken to the Banana Swings. This one was very popular and had a line for it! So when we got there we did Boomerangs, pics – I mean, the whole shebang.
After that, they shower you with EVEN MORE bananas. This naturally put me in the mood to do the banana…splits!
There was the Mint room, which had a 1950s vibe to it. We brought our Infinite Ice Bottle (which is also Mint) and snuck some product shots because like, how could we not? A room head-to-toe in mint! It felt like it was made for us ;)
The most immersive and unusual part was the Sprinkle Pool. It was literally a pool filled with sprinkles! But, not real ones. Plastic ones.
The Sprinkle Pool is one of the most recognizable exhibits in the whole museum. You have to remove your shoes and belongings and stick them in lockers before getting into the pool. It almost feels like a community spa?! It was hilarious. And it’s not as private as we thought. You’re just like, oh hello strangers, let’s chill in a pool of sprinkles together! Yet, it’s one of the most oddly liberating things you will ever experience in your life.
But! Be warned that the time you get to play in the pool is actually restricted to around 5 minutes. And when it’s over, the person who mans the pool literally counts down from 5 to 1 and everyone sadly stares at her and then reluctantly (but peacefully) leaves. We snuck this shot in the countdown!
One of our Blogifam members, Ari, got fully emerged in the sprinkles and almost instantly regretted it. Why, you ask? Sprinkles. In. The. Underwear. Actually all of us were shedding sprinkles the rest of the day. In the parking lot. In the car. In the office. In the bathroom.
What I loved most about the day was how much fun we all had together. We laughed. We posed for sooooo many photos. We got to know each other even better. We got sprinkles in places sprinkles shouldn’t be. It was one of those experiences that cements you as family, you know?
Grateful to have the Blogifam to share these crazy, silly, amazing experiences with!
Would you be interested in going to a museum designed to simply take IG photos? Fun? Or shamelessly narcissistic!??
‘Solar Bones’ by Mike McCormack won the Goldsmiths Prize last year and has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize this year after it was picked up by the UK-based publisher Canongate. It tells the story of Marcus Conway, a … Continue reading →
It’s almost the weekend! It’s always so nice to have a little break from work or school isn’t it? Life has a tendency to be so busy sometimes that we don’t realize how BADLY we needed a second to chill.
In fact, I think taking “Me Time” is a really important concept. Me Time varies depending on the person. Maybe your “Me Time” is filled with close friends and family. Maybe you want absolute quiet and dream of a nice, uninterrupted bubblebath. Maybe it’s going hard during your workout. Hey, maybe Me Time is a 30 minute power nap! We all get energized in different ways.
Sadly, sometimes “Me Time” gets accused of being something else. Selfishness.
Of course, I believe in caring about people and practicing compassion! Of course you should consider other’s feelings and thoughts! That’s part of being a good person. It comes with the territory.
But it’s also possible that you’re so consumed with other people’s needs that you completely ignore your own. This is not a good recipe. You cannot keep giving if your well runs dry. You matter, too.
I mean, think about all the various roles we might take on during our lifetime! Daughter, son, mother, father, partner, friend, caretaker, colleague, mentor! We’re doing our best to balance people, responsibilities, and somehow still make sure everyone and everything is taken care of. Phewwww, no wonder so many of us are tired! (That 30 minute power nap is sounding pretty good right now…)
Remember, there’s nothing wrong with needing a moment. There’s nothing wrong with telling a friend, “I love you, but tonight I’m going to stay in because my body needs it.” There’s nothing wrong with dedicating time to a hobby or passion that makes YOU feel good.
I know it can be hard. I know we’re all living with so much pressure. We never want to feel as if we’ve let loved ones down. And the fear that we’re being “selfish” can sink in. But every now and then, it’s perfectly okay to put yourself first. You’re allowed to be a priority.
Repeat after me: Self-care is not selfishness.
In our latest Sheroic podcast episode, Lisa and I discuss how we deal with stress and what we like to do when it comes to practicing relaxation. Have a listen!
What are your favorite things to do when you need a little “Me Time”? Comment because I’d love to know!
So unless you are living somewhere where there’s no internet, (also, how are you reading this????), I’m sure you know Taylor Swift released her first single “Look what you made me do” from her upcoming sixth album, Reputation.
When the song dropped (and I am going to be brutally honest with you guys), I just wasn’t impressed. Like, at all. In fact, I sort of hated it. And when I say sort of I mean totally.
I’m all for artists expanding horizons and trying new things, but it didn’t really feel or sound like Taylor. I’ve been a country Taylor fan for a looooooong time and was sort of thrown off by “Shake it Off”, but I really wasn’t ready for pop Taylor to turn into…Lorde-Taylor?
For those of you who know me, you know that I was a huuuuge Taylor Swift fan since the early days. True story, I even went to her house once! (I KNOW, I KNOW!)
BUT…
When the whole Kimye disaster happened, my trust in Taylor Swift was broken forever. After watching Kim Kardashian’s video, Taylor went from being my most beloved celebrity and my fave artist after Michael Jackson to a person I felt like I didn’t know anymore. She lost a fan that day. (If you need all the details on the drama, read this Buzzfeed article.)
So why am I writing this article?
Well, after a year of not listening to her music, Taylor somehow has my attention again.
In fact, after she released the “Look what you made me do” music video, she earned my respect…again. A different respect. But a respect nonetheless.
“Look what you made me do” is one of those songs that you don’t like the first time you hear it, but it gets catchier and catchier each time you hit replay. Then paired with a BRILLIANT music video, it’ll be stuck in your head for good.
So what happened? Why do I think Taylor is “brilliant”?
OMG so many reasons.
THE MARKETING GENIUS OF THE TAYLOR TRANSFORMATION
First, I think everyone can agree that the Kimye situation was a PR DISASTER. (Unless it was a part of a long term marketing plan for her brand’s evolution that involved getting the biggest celebs in the world to play along. I highly doubt this, but it’s one of my conspiracy theories.) Taylor could have defended herself forever and could have made everyone feel sorry for her. Instead, she went radio silent (which made her seem even more guilty) and then BAM came out with a single that basically said “Yeah, you caught me, I AM a bad person. Deal with it.”
Do you know how much FREEDOM she must feel from releasing this single?
Taylor used to be a goody goody that would get scrutinized for every single little tiny misstep she took, while other celebs with a less-than-perfect reputation would get applauded for basically not committing a crime for the day. Now that she’s admitted that she’s a new Taylor…a bad Taylor…a mean girl Taylor….she has the freedom to release herself from those perfect girl shackles and do whatever the heck she pleases.
Side note – I can TOTALLY relate to this. Because Blogilates is a very family friendly and overall super positive female fitness brand, when I say one slightly tough thing, I seem to really upset people right away. I mean, literally the other day I posted a motivational quote that said this:
It was meant to be inspirational. A little kick in the booty! But I got a ton of comments on Instagram saying how disappointed people were in me…how people were going to stop doing my videos because of how insensitive I was. My follower count was in the negatives that day!
Honestly, if this quote made you mad enough to unfollow me, then I apologize for offending you, but I urge you to take a step back and ask yourself why. There’s a big difference between actually being lazy versus taking a rest day, needing a moment to relax or taking some time off to not work.
Anyway, I digress.
But see what I mean? “Good girls” aren’t allowed to make mistakes. “Bad girls” are.
Taylor can wear skimpier clothes, she can get plastic surgery, she can cuss, she can cut off all her hair, she can even release sex tapes – because guess what, you do not have the power to judge her based off of her old good girl standards. Those ancient standards are dead. The new Taylor has written her own rules – rules of which the public no longer has control over.
She is BORN-AGAIN.
This is the brilliance that I am impressed with. Who Taylor Swift is as a person, I am unsure. (I mean she was nice when I met her, but that’s all I know.) But the marketing behind her image and the execution of her new brand is SO GENIUS that my mind is exploding.
So for my business and advertising people…listen up.
Taylor went from naive country girl to romantic country princess to a squad-goals pop star to a certified bad girl. She’s been in the spotlight for over a decade and STILL has my attention. Many stars fade after a year. How did Taylor withstand the test of time? BECAUSE SHE EVOLVED. Even when people didn’t want her to.
In her latest transformation, Taylor went with the flow. She could not fight against the tide. Though the tide was one of major negativity, she embraced it and embraced it HARD. I really did not expect her to admit to her character flaws in her music video, but when she did, I forgave her. Once I did that, I felt like I was allowing myself to enjoy her music again.
The fact that Taylor is so self-aware (a la the scene at the end of the video where the Taylors from different eras argue with each other – ugh so good) lets me know that she’s smart, she’s creative, she’s funny and that she’s one step ahead of us.
HOW TAYLOR COMMERCIALIZED THE DISS TRACK TREND
Maybe diss tracks aren’t your type of content (not mine either), but this year it’s been HUGE on the ‘Tubes. Hands down, the “hottest” YouTubers now are Logan Paul and Jake Paul.
Logan got to over 11 MILLION subscribers in less than 1 year! To give you some context, I’ve been on YouTube for about 8 years and I am about to hit 4 MILLION – and that’s supposed to be pretty good.
But anyway…
The Pauls are brothers whose entire empires rest upon their oddly successful diss tracks – each video racks up hundreds of millions of views. The numbers are OUTRAGEOUS and pretty much unheard of these days for non-celeb musicians. These diss tracks are rap songs where the brothers make fun of other YouTubers. You could call it comedy or you could call it straight up bullying and harassment. Either way, kids LOVE IT and it’s super viral.
But the truth is, I think people love a good drama…especially when it’s “real” drama. To be completely honest though – what’s real and what’s not these days? It’s hard for me to tell because I feel like everything is planned. Especially social media.
Entertainment has evolved and it is not at all what it used to be. We went from seeing actors in plays, to seeing actors in movies, to seeing “real people” on reality TV shows, to seeing “real-er real people” in YouTube videos, to seeing the “real-est, rawest, real people” in Snapchat videos. I mean, we think we’re seeing the truth, but is there still an underlying script that we don’t know about? Like are YouTube feuds and IG story dramas the new reality TV drama? Are we all just being played by Kim, Kanye, Taylor and Katy?
I don’t know. But either way, it’s all marketing and PR brilliance because it gets the entire world talking about them over such petty little things.
I mean, I just wrote an entire blog post about Taylor Swift after a year of ignoring her music. She got me. And she got me good.
Oh gosh, this post ended up being wayyyyyyy longer than I wanted it to be. But I have some takeaways for you:
If you run a brand or business who has made a mistake, own up to it. Admit it. I find it much easier to forgive a guilty person who has admitted fault than to believe a semi-guilty person who keeps trying to defend their innocence.
If you’re a person who feels boxed up and restricted by what other people want you to be, set yourself free by not letting their expectations shackle you. Allow yourself growth and change. Those who can accept the new you deserve to be by your side on your journey. Those who don’t can stay left behind.
HAHA who would have thought that this blog post would end up with “Look what you made me do” life lessons?
What did you guys think of the video and the song? What do you think of Taylor Swift? Let me know your HONEST feelings in the comments below! I am DYING to hear them!
One of the first events I went to at the Edinburgh International Book Festival last month was a discussion at the Spiegeltent with Francis Spufford and Dilys Rose chaired by Lee Randall. Spufford and Rose are the respective authors of … Continue reading →
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in the future!
