I was so excited to receive a beautiful collectable snowman figurine to review the other day. It came packed in a really great Styrofoam container that was made to fit the base and snowman exactly, to help prevent breakage. There were instructions on how to remove it from the packing & assemble it, so that you didn’t break the glass or damage anything.

Since I was putting up our Christmas lights and little tree this weekend, I decided to unpack my beautiful Thomas Kinkade snowman and set him up in the living room. I was thrilled to see that you could either use the AC adapter to plug it into an outlet or batteries, if you chose. I bought some extra rechargeable batteries for it, because I have cats and cords just spell trouble with them.

I got him all set up and turned him on, and watched the cute little train circle the base & the lights of the tiny village in his belly come on and look like a real village. These pictures really don’t do the figurine justice, it’s just gorgeous! His face, mittens, scarf and little lantern all sparkle like snow and the glass base reflects all of my Christmas lights in the window behind it at night. The village is super detailed and lovely, from the tiny signs in the front to the house on top, each one has everything you could want. The little train is just as nice as the village, and runs quietly around the base. Rhi came in after awhile & noticed that I put him up & had to come and take a look. She loved the tiny train and how detailed all of the little buildings and windows are. I took a close up of it for you to see the village:

It’s very pretty and I’m extremely fond of it, I only wish that the lights were a little brighter or that here was some sort of sound with it, that’s the only thing that I’d change on it, at all.

** This review is a result of a feedback campaign by Collectibles Today. I was asked to give an honest opinion about the product I received. Good reviews are not incentivized and poor reviews will not be censored for the opinion of the product. **

We were recently given an opportunity to review an awesome product & exercise program. A few weeks ago, I received a package from KettleWorx, which included a 10 pound Kettlebell, and a box of DVDs, which contained their 6 week body transformation workout. The program consists of 3 20-minute workouts a week, one each of core, cardio & resistance.

Three weeks or so ago, Troy & I started the program & I’ll have to be honest here & say that it was a bit too challenging for me & I wasn’t able to make it all the way through the first core workout, but Troy finished it. I just think that my current level of fitness isn’t quite up to par for the series and although I tried to keep up with each workout, I wasn’t able to. Troy has been very faithful to the program & gotten to the point where he looks forward to challenging himself with it each time. This is what he has to say to about KettleWorx:

The Kettleworx system of workouts is an effective way of doing everything the product says. It really does begin to transform your body and give you more energy. A lot of people will say that any form of exercise will do this, why does this work any better than any of the rest?

My answer to that is simply Ryan Shanahan.

Ryan is the trainer/developer of the Kettleworx system, the guy on the videos, and the guy that could become annoying like any trainer does. The difference is that wasn’t my experience. Yes, the guy is in phenomenal shape. He’s got a pretty good resume of fitness related activities, but when you look at him, he looks like a regular guy, like somebody you’d hang out with OUTSIDE the gym. His motivational/instructional stuff doesn’t aggravate me to the point of shutting off the DVD. Yes, after 3 weeks it is repetitious, but what wouldn’t be? I enjoy Ryan and look forward to the workouts.

The results have been everything advertised I lost inches on the waist, love handles going away, and overall fitness level improved. It is not a miracle cure, it is intensive exercise, it will challenge you, you will sweat, and you will work. Some of the exercises seem like they don’t do anything, DON’T let that fool you, you feel it, sometimes (at least in my case) ten minutes later, but you feel it.

Kettleworx is fun, intensive, interactive, and it works. You will be challenged, but the results are real, and worth it.

All in all, it has had a positive affect on both of us, because even though I wasn’t able to continue the program, I did start walking every day & have worked my way up to 2 miles a day (and yes, I walk every day) and am getting faster every time, too. I think as an individual, you have to find the type of exercise that you love & I’ve never been fond of weights or the type of exercise you find on most DVDs, but I do enjoy my walk a lot & would miss doing it if I couldn’t anymore.