Coast 2 Coast Mom

I Registered for My 1st Half Marathon!

I admittedly have many weaknesses, and running is one of them. I can swim, circuit train, dance, play tennis, basketball, baseball - even Zumba for gosh sakes! - for minutes or hours on end . . . but running? Not so much. I could never get the breathing down. Yes, I could run a mile in under 10 minutes (6:58 is my PB from YEARS ago), but it hurts my throat and lungs. Not my feet, knees or hips, but my lungs and throat. Because of this, I never saw the point in running for the joy of running. Running... Read more →

Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum Visit

Since the Kiddo was born, I'd wanted a personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bat for his room, and our coast-to-coast road trip was the perfect opportunity to visit the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum and pick one up. It was timely too as he'd just completed his first year of Little League tee-ball! We rolled into Louisville about 4 p.m., which gave us just enough time to make the last tour of the day. We missed the cut-off to order and receive a personalized bat that day, but we placed an order and were able to pick it up first thing... Read more →

Nike Advertising: What Type of Consumer and Athlete is Nike Targeting These Days?

Oh, Nike. (Sigh.) In case you haven't been following the recent Nike advertising and marketing announcements, Ad Chickadee has a thoughtful synopsis on just why I'm sighing right now. Nike announced that they've re-signed Michael Vick to their athlete roster, and also started selling Nike shirts with phrases like "Dope," and "Get High," on them - which while controversial, seem the opposite of phrases that a healthy active athlete would be touting anyway. There was a reason we stopped getting excited about your products, Nike...and it had nothing to do with your marketing. We didn't start buying Under Armour (among... Read more →

Capturing T-Ball Highlights with Windows Live Movie Maker

Father's Day brought a close to the Kiddo's first season of little league tee ball and as eager first time parents, we of course took lots of photos and video. We wanted to capture all of the memories from opening day to the final high five and all of those game playing firsts in between . We turned to Windows Live Movie Maker to create a highlight reel from this first season of t-ball in three minutes or less (we came in at 2:20). This is how we preserved the Kiddo's t-ball memories in a montage using Windows Live Movie... Read more →

Talking Water Safety with Olympian Swimmer Aaron Peirsol and Auro-Dri

Yesterday the Kiddo and I were invited by Auro-Dri swimmers' ear solution, to spend the day poolside atop the Empire Hotel in NYC with five-time Gold Medalist swimmer Aaron Peirsol. They didn't need to ask twice. ;-) We were ever so grateful for the opportunity to cool off poolside during the sweltering 95 degree heat wave, and also to swim and chat with such an accomplished athlete as Aaron, who still holds the world record for the backstroke. The Kiddo was excited to meet the world record holder in the backstroke and took to him like glue. Of course, on... Read more →

Playing Golf on the iPad with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12

The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass just wrapped up this weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, and we found ourselves playing along with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 for the iPad. This full featured game for the iPad, iPhone or iTouch allows you to play TPC Sawgrass like K.J. Choi this weekend, and it comes with four modes for some variety and flexibility in how you want to play your round of golf. Good player customization Similar to customizing an Xbox Live avatar, before you even tee off, EA enables you to create your golfer avatar, either male or female, with... Read more →

SuperBowl Football Fun With The Kiddo and @Qubee

We've taken the kiddo to several professional and high school football games and watched enough of them on TV that the kiddo "gets" football, but I don't think he really understands the meaning of a "1st down," other than it's what the team gets as they make their way toward their end zone. ;-) Looking ahead to Super Bowl XLV next weekend, former Arizona Cardinal Kurt Warner has helped to launch an app "Kurt Warner's Football 101 for Kids," for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch to teach kids the fundamentals of football. It's great timing to help kids understand... Read more →

NYC Marathon Goes Green with the LEAF

Tomorrow is the 41st running of the New York City Marathon, and continuing the theme of a healthy and green lifestyle is a not-so-surprising sponsor of this year's event: the Nissan LEAF. The LEAF is the official pace car of the 2010 ING New York City Marathon, and for the first time, the front runners won't be breathing in a trail of car exhaust. . . because this year's car is 100% electric. I unfortunately was unable to make my appointment today to get a personal overview of the Nissan LEAF at the pre-marathon health and fitness expo; however, I've... Read more →

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day and Stonyfield Cafe Launch at U.S. Open

Thanks to Stonyfield, we had a terrific time Saturday attending Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the U.S. Open in Flushing, NY. This was our first visit to see the Unisphere and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as a family, and it was a beautiful blue-sky day for all 23,000 people attending. The day started with all sorts of tennis fun for kids: target practice, obstacle course, speed tennis, etc. with prizes sponsored by Hess, Olympus, Nike, American Express, Wilson Sporting Goods and others (They gave 200 kid-sized racquets out to the first 200 kids, but we arrived too... Read more →

Having a Ball Playing Atari's New Sandlot Sluggers

Last week we were treated to an amazing baseball wonderland at Atari's headquarters in celebration of the upcoming launch of their Backyard Sports Sandlot Sluggers video game. They really outdid themselves bringing in Astroturf, a hot dog vendor, popcorn stand, t-ball equipment - thanks to Franklin for the backstop tents that saved me from spending my entire time chasing down baseballs to keep placing atop the t-ball stand for Li'l Boo to hit ;-) Oh yes, there were lots of video game systems set up for us and the kiddos to play Sandlot Sluggers. Li'l Boo had a fantastic time... Read more →