Saturday, February 21, 2015

Movie Review: Exodus: Gods and Kings



The story of Moses is a familiar one. I remember the old TV movie The Ten Commandments playing every year as the back drop to my family celebrating Easter at my grandfather's house. Later, there was an animated adaptation, which I enjoyed watching. It had a very good soundtrack. So, I was quite surprised when, recently, my mother wanted us all to go out and see Exodus: Gods and Kings. If anyone knew the story of Moses inside and out, it was us. So why would we spend money to go and watch it again? I am going to tell you why.

This movie spends a lot of time focusing on Moses and Ramses II. Focusing on them as people, reacting to the situation that they have found themselves in. Two brothers in staunch opposition to one another. Personally, I like the take on Moses that this film presents. Here you have a man, raised Egyptian, a prince and general, farming goats. The entire movie, you see a push and pull relationship Moses has with God, which is very different from prior adaptations. Moses is normally shown as being very accepting from the moment he encounters God on the mountain.


This film makes the character of Moses feel more human to me. He struggles with putting away what he once had to transition into the leader of a people he barely knows. I also like the fact that the film creators chose to give a face to the voice of God, rather than making Him an invisible presence. A face gives the conversations an extra something that a disembodied voice cannot.

The only negative thing I have to say about this film is that there were sections that felt rushed. One scene in particular is where Ramses is talking to Miriam about Moses. There was little setup for that scene and I felt we were simply to accept what was happening because we knew it had to happen. We know there is a huge climatic ending and only 2 hours to get there. So, certain scenes have to happen in order to progress, no matter if they flow seamlessly into the story line or not.


Exodus: Gods and Kings is a good movie. It takes a familiar story and re-imagines it into something new and different than its predecessors. I enjoyed watching it.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Product Review: Shea Moisture African Black Soap



My sister is always finding new  things for us to try. This time she found the body wash and lotion product line by Shea Moisture. The first one we tried was African Black Soap.

I have to say, it was quite different from my every day body wash (wish is usually Suave or something scented that I pick up from Walmart.) so I was really eager to give this a shot. After a few uses, there were several pros and one major con.


First pro, after bathing with the body wash, my skin felt super soft. And this was after one use. Anything that can do that is amazing, in my eyes. The body lotion was thicker than I had expected. It was more like a body butter than a lotion. After my struggle with trying to squeeze it out of the bottle, I just removed the top. The lotion did everything that it claimed it would. My skin was soft and moisturized all through the night and into the next day.

The major con? I was not a fan of the scent. The African Black Soap product has more a cologne like fragrance that I wasn't too fond of. It wasn't offensive enough to make me stop using, mind you. I still bathed in the body wash every day and used the lotion every night. So the scent wasn't assaulting. It just wasn't my favorite.

I really like the Shea Moisture line of products. However, I do not think I would buy this particular product again. However, my sister did send me some Coconut Hibiscus. That sounds like it is more up my alley.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

30 Day Workout Challenge: Day 11 - Injured. Now what?

Some days I feel like I have the most injury prone set of ankles and knees on this planet. This issue is not anything new. I have been banging my knees up since high school and turning my ankles since college. So, when I start going full tilt during workout sessions, I am always concerned about injuries.


My first mode of action is trying to prevent injury at all costs. I wear supportive shoes as much as possible. And not just during exercise, but in my every day comings and goings as well. I have invested in decent braces and wraps over the years. So if anything does feel a bit out of sorts, I just brace it or wrap it up for a few hours and take it easy. Most importantly, I rest what is hurting. Sometimes pain is a sign that you need to slow down a bit and recuperate. But what do you do if you have already injured yourself? 


This used to be the death card for my exercise regimen. I would get into a good exercise routine and then suddenly everything would come to screeching halt because I hurt my ankle or my knee. I would tell myself: "Hey, no problem. I just sit out a week and then get right back up on that horse once I feel better." But that would never happen. For some reason, that much time out of my exercise routine would end everything. I kept saying, "I'll go back to the gym tomorrow" and tomorrow never came.

So instead, the better idea is to change up exercises. Instead of doing normal cardio workouts, I should have switched to something that would let me workout without putting any weight on my injured joint. There have been no injuries for me as of yet (Thank God), but I have noticed my ankle ache once already. Instead of sitting out, I came up with something else to do. I traded in my Zumba for an ab intensive workout. This way I didn't fall out of routine.


Minor injuries doesn't mean that you are forced to quit altogether. It just means that you need to be creative with how to workout in the safest way possible.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

30 Day Workout Challenge: Day 5 - I'm Tired

I am nearing the end of my first week of this challenge and so far, everything is going well. I wake up in the morning, get my work out in, eat breakfast and start my day. However, Day 4 did bring about a bit of a problem. I was extremely tired.

My pillows were whispering in my ear.

It wasn't the kind of tired you get from not sleeping enough. This felt different. After 3 days straight of Zumba and Taebo, my body physically felt like it just couldn't take another morning of me jumping, kicking and dancing about. I thought about just rolling over in my bed and calling it a rest day, but Frankie had a better idea. Why not do something with a lower intensity instead?

So yesterday, I put my cardio DVDs aside and pulled out my New York Ballet workout DVD. Something that I have not touched in years. Surprisingly, it was exactly what I needed. I got my workout in, but I didn't feel like I was going to drop on the floor when I was done. I got the chance to have a more relaxing workout session (if there is such a thing). One that my body was able to handle. Aside from the fact that I am no where close to being as flexible as those guys in the video.


 I am going to have cardio days and non-cardio days on rotation from now on or else I am going to wear myself out before the 30 days are up. Plus, having days where I do yoga, pilates, or exercises in that vein will probably help any sore or tight muscles I get from bouncing around during my higher intensity workouts.