Collab: Living In America & Living In Kenya

Hello Bloggers, 

Today’s post is a bit different, I wanted to do something fun and also something new. I hooked up with another blogger (whom has done a guest post for me in previous months) and came to her asking if she would be interested in doing something like this, where we each ask each other 5-10 questions about each other’s country and/or state and have that person answer them. Hopefully all of you will enjoy this little activity I came up with. I am from Ohio and she resides in Kenya, and if any of you have questions for either one of us, feel free to leave a comment here or at her page https://lifesfinewhine.wordpress.com/

My Questions for her/ her answers:

  1. What is your favorite cuisine in Kenya?

     Probably Ugali and Sukuma! I can’t live without Ugali!

  1. Are there any animals going extinct in Kenya or becoming endangered, if so, which ones?

    The African Lion, Cheetah, Zebra, Black Rhinos and the African Elephant. We need to take much better care of our animals and it’s very sad to see how much the wildlife in this country has declined in just the last few years. For more information on this please check here: http://www.kenya-advisor.com/wildlife-in-kenya.html and please try to learn on the internet how you can adopt and help save the animals. 

  1. Special holidays your country celebrates?

We have something called Madaraka day on June 1st which celebrates the heroes who for fought for independence and is the day Kenya attained internal self rule in 1964.

  1. What do young teens and/or young adults have to do for fun in Kenya?

Well if you’re an extrovert there are plenty of clubs, bars and restaurants where you can hang out and have fun in the cities. If you prefer the nature there are lots of animal parks and orphanages, safaris, and other fun places to visit.

  1. What languages does the population of Kenya speak?

There are about 42 tribes in Kenya each of whom speak their own language and there are some tribes that speak more than one language so there are a lot of languages that are spoken in Kenya however most people speak Swahili and English.

  1. What religions are popular in Kenya?

The most popular religions are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism however there are other religions in Kenya too.

  1. Is finding employment hard in Kenya?

Depending on what you do for a living and your level of education finding a good job in Kenya can be either very easy or incredibly difficult. If you do something like accounting or medicine it is probably easier for you to get a job whereas if you do something in Arts like History or Literature there are not as many job opportunities.

  1. How old does someone have to be in order to smoke & drink alcohol?

Eighteen.

Her Questions for me/ I answered: 

  1. What’s your favorite American food? I like Italian dishes, and Mexican food. But if you mean “American”, I would say probably a hamburger! Like something about eating a hamburger with whatever toppings really makes me drool – I have tried so many different ones and they have been delicious.
  2. Many People Come to America seeking the “American Dream”, but do you think the “American dream” is real anymore?   I think the “American dream” depends on the person these days, I don’t necessarily believe in the American dream like most people did back when, but I do believe in being successful and happy in whatever you choose to do.
  3. What was the best place you have travelled to in America, and why? I liked both Colorado and Pittsburg, for different reasons. Colorado had a lot of outdoor activities that I enjoyed (hiking, camping, nature/wildlife, viewing sites, etc) and I was not used to all of that growing up, so it was a nice change and not to mention where I resided in Colorado at the time it was fairly more diverse than where I reside now – different walks of life. I like Pittsburg because I enjoyed the HUGE city, and being able to see some important monuments, festivals, restaurants. I liked the whole fast paced life that most seemed to live, and the jollies of visiting different parts of Pittsburg, definitely different than what I am used to.
  4. What is Ohio best known for (besides having an awesome fitness blogger living there)? Ohio is known for our state bird the Cardinal, our buckeye trees (and buckeyes taste so good), for our football team (The Ohio State Buckeyes), for the state flower – the carnation. The American Football Hall of Fame (Canton, OH), our amusement park – Cedar Point, Ohio has been home to at least 8 Presidents and some other famous well known people.
  5. What’s one place in America you really want to see?: I don’t know of any ONE place I want to see, I have so many I want to see. I need to do more traveling! I want to visit some of the warmer states and perhaps visit NY city as well, just to say I have. I wouldn’t mind hiking some of the more popular places in America. I would love to visit each state’s zoo, lol.

Shay-lon  Moss

I didn’t forget about you..

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

I apologize for some of my absence, I have not forgotten any of you and even though I may not always be online to chat with you, I do get notifications and will always get back with you when I can. I plan on playing some catch up Wednesday on the majority of your blogs and videos. I know it can seem like forever before you hear from me, but know I would never leave ya stranded. I try to make time everyday to post some blog post and to comment on others, but sometimes LIFE JUST HAPPENS. In my case, I have family that came down from Michigan and another who came up from Texas. This is all very exciting but it means I am online little less than the usual and occasional miss your blog post or replies. I know many of you bloggers can understand where I am coming from when it comes to getting behind in writing and responding- my stats are dwindling this month and it does sadden me but it makes sense as to why. Since starting YouTube along with this blog, I used to dedicate ALL my time to just this blog alone and now I have to split my time between my blog and YouTube and it has gotten to be somewhat overwhelming some days more than others and although it has its perks, it can have its downfalls I am noticing as well. 

 

I am learning to manage my time better and it will be a work in progress, so I appreciate all your understanding and patience with me as I develop into a more rounded writer, a better on screen entertainer and a much more focused individual. The summer will be hectic because that is the time for traveling and bbqs and bonfires, etc, so I might have weeks I am M.I.A for a long period of time but It doesn’t mean I stopped blogging or left ya’ll empty handed, just means I will be back ASAP because I love my blog friends and audience and I wouldn’t give any of you up UNLESS it was for a kitkat, jk 😀 I just wanted to make sure I gave you all my thanks and support and let every one of you know where I have been and what I have been up to. I will probably make a small blog post later this evening when I get back from my bbq perhaps and tomorrow, it will probably be another late post because I will be gone all day tomorrow as well. I know the late blog post suck, but I try to squeeze in my post whenever I can and no matter the time (even if it means staying up late to do so). 

 

Thank you for your continued support and positive vibes on my blog page, appreciated. I will continue to keep you in the loop as time progresses and will continue to rock out some great blog topics and YouTube videos!

 

Your Fitness Blogger,

Shay-lon xxoo

For All The Star Wars Fans –

May The 4th Be With You!

Is “Strong the New Skinny”

So the newest saying from around the block is “strong is the new skinny” and I realize this has been going on since CrossFit became a hit and everyone figured “fuck being thin”, let’s get huge and muscular – both men and women. I just have some two cents I would like to share about this particular saying.. and maybe some of you will agree and maybe some of you will disagree and look at it differently, doesn’t matter, this is my opinion and you can either take it or walk away with your own opinion. 

 

For one, I will admit, that people have called me both, “skinny”, “lean”, “strong”, “muscular”, so I have been on both sides of this spectrum and to be honest, I don’t consider myself “skinny” by any means (sure growing up, I was), but muscular, sure.. I mean, for a female one may agree I have a muscular body frame – and I am okay with that, judge me if it makes you happy. I particularly don’t find anything wrong with being skinny or being more muscular or perhaps being both, and if that bothers you, well you are on the WRONG blog page. 

 

I have lived by: being skinny doesn’t make you weak, and being strong doesn’t mean you can’t be skinny (I know we have this thought that muscular men and women are all bulking looking and have a giant amount of mass) but I know plenty of leaner people who are just as muscular & have strength gains. So, this whole chitter chatter about being skinny is no longer attractive , is bullshit (and yes, this is what that saying means to me) it means we are saying, skinny girls are out and the strong ones are now in (same goes for men). Well I am sorry to be a total douche bag, but before this whole let’s get big and tough happened, we were all saying “fat is not cute” and being skinny makes you attractive — anyone else remember those days? so now, I have taken notice that people on social media seem to making these depressing statements that are basically nailing skinny females (and possibly men) to a wall, saying they are no longer the cool thing and now if you want in the cool crowd, become a stronger person and have abs and have quads that seem more defining… oh gosh much, much more. Well I hate to break it to you, it really isn’t any of your damn business how someone chooses to have their body frame/body image, it never was your business, so if you make it your business, then you are the PROBLEM. We can make our bodies our business and if you choose to be thin and run marathons, cool or if you choose to be muscular and more defining and do bodybuilding, that is cool too! BUT neither one of those physiques is BETTER than the other. Everyone has preferences, doesn’t mean the other side is wrong or ugly, or should be looked down upon. I hate when people talk shit about someone’s else choice of physique, we can’t possibly think that everyone in the world should be the same. 

 

This is me saying being strong is not the new skinny, being skinny doesn’t make you weak and you don’t have to choose between the two, just be you! Thanks for reading! feel free to share, comment, like and follow.

 

Your Fitness Blogger,

Shay-lon xxoo

V-ups (Exercise)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP2fjvG0g3w

Happy Monday FitFam, 

I love working my abdominal muscles, I love being creative and finding new ways to really activate my upper, lower and oblique muscles. I know a few people who find ab workouts to be boring or not as engaging, but I think many of those people I find only do the standard crunches and sit ups. There are so many exercises for the abdominal muscles, and today I am going to introduce you to at least one but in future post I will introduce you to more. 

Have any of you heard of the “V-Up” ? Have you performed it? if so, let me know what you think of this exercise and your experience with it. 

What Muscles Does This Exercise Work:

  • Strengthen back muscles
  • abdominal muscles
  • quads 
  • hamstrings 
  • A little bit of the obliques as well

How Does One Perform this exercise? 

You can watch the video in the following link above, or follow these steps:

  1. Lie on your back on the floor
  2. Extend arms behind your head, palms face the ceiling
  3. keep feet together and toes pointed toward the ceiling
  4. Lift the legs up (keeping them straight)
  5. Raise the upper body off the floor – reaching for your toes
  6. Engage and squeeze the abdominal muscles as you reach for your toes
  7. lower back down to the starting position

Would I recommend for beginners?

Personally this exercise requires some flexibility and someone who is not very flexible may have issues with it but with practice may be able to acquire this movement more smoothly. I know for me, this exercise was difficult at first and I was all over the place with it, but focusing and really engaging the muscles, while going at a slower pace will be helpful for beginners. 

If you are someone with prior injuries or conditions that could possibly prohibit you from doing this movement, I would speak with a professional before continuing with this movement. 

 

I hope all of you will give this exercise and chance, and let me know how you did! 

 

Your Fitness Blogger,

Shay-lon xxxo