Le 30 septembre 2010 nous, Chloé Patenaude et Xaviera Daoust, avons reçu notre confirmation d’inscription pour Le Trophée Roses des Sables.  C’était  un an jour pour jour avant notre départ pour cette grande aventure.  La route n’a pas été facile pour arriver à  participer à ce rallye d’orientation réservé aux femmes et venant en aide à l’organisme humanitaire Enfants du Désert. Campagne de financement, vente d’objets promotionnels, recherche de commanditaires, organisation d’évènements ont fait partie de notre quotidien pendant l’année qui précéda notre voyage.  Nous avions choisit comme nom d’équipage ‘’Les Complices des dunes’’ et le numéro 69 nous a été attribué par l’organisation.  Tout le travail en valait cependant la chandelle car nous avons vécu une expérience exceptionnelle : l’expérience d’une vie.  À bord de notre 4×4, un Toyota Land Cruiser, nous avons parcouru plus de 7 000 km, traversé 3 pays, sillonné 2 continents, rencontré des gens merveilleux, aidé des enfants dans le besoin, surmonté nos peurs et dépassé nos limites!

Le rallye consiste en un défi d’orientation à la boussole et à l’aide d’un ‘’road book’’ en plus d’une épreuve de franchissement des dunes.  De Ciboure, en France, en passant par Algéciras, en Espagne, jusqu’aux dunes d’or du désert Marocain, nous avons su bien tirer notre épingle du jeux et ce, en ayant confiance l’une envers l’autre, en fonçant, en appréciant le moment présent et en conservant une attitude positive et le sourire!  Car ce fut pas toujours facile : nous étions complètement en dehors de notre cadre de vie habituel : chaleur, heures de sommeil restreintes, nourriture différente, vie en bivouac avec près de 500 personne aussi, être 24 heures sur 24 avec la même personne, notre coéquipière!  En conduisant avec assurance mais prudemment, en prenant bien nos caps, et en suivant notre propre route, nous avons réalisé un rallye sans bris de véhicule, sans jamais s’éloigner sérieusement de la route prévue, sans s’enliser dans le sable….tout cela nous a mené à une 10^e position sur 150 équipage! Nous revenons donc avec un immense sentiment  d’accomplissement, une amitié plus forte que jamais et beaucoup de reconnaissance envers ceux et celles qui ont cru en nous et qui nous ont supportée, encouragée et commanditée, nous permettant ainsi de mener à terme cette grande aventure.

Vous pourrez vivre l’expérience avec nous car nous avons été sélectionnées par l’équipe de production de la chaine Évasion et ferons donc partie des 12 émissions sur le rallye qui seront diffusées dès mars 2012!

Xaviera Daoust

Welcome to my Lolë Podcast of Mommies-to-be fitness!  My name is Nikki Atzori and I am a certified Personal Trainer and Zumba Instructor.  As you can see I am 5 months pregnant but that hasn’t stopped me from staying fit!!  In my PODCASTS you can expect to do some light strength exercises done on a  yoga mat and a chair.  The cardio exercises will incorporate my favourite fitness program…. Zumba!  Zumba is a latin inspired dance program which will have you salsa’ing and doing some Bollywood inspired moves!

Some benefits of exercising while pregnant include maintaining muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness, reducing the risk of developing gestational diabetes and preventing excess weight gain.   For me staying in shape while pregnant helps me strengthening the muscles needed for labor and delivery, which can ease delivery and labor time!

Important:   Always get clearance from your doctor before starting any exercise program.

If you like being active, you’ve probably seen, done – or considered doing! – one or more of today’s most popular workouts. Maybe you embrace trends like yoga, balance training and outdoor fitness not so much because they’re trendy, but because you love doing them. That’s my take on trends, too.

Still, I’m a sucker for those “what’s hot” roundups that come out at the start of every new year, and so, as a Lolë Ambassador, I consulted the official (and carefully researched) 2012 fitness trends reports from two well respected fitness associations: American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Council on Exercise (ACE).

These organizations polled a combined 4,100 in-the-know fitness pros about upcoming trends. I narrowed down each association’s top-10 list to bring you my 5 favorite trends for the year ahead. Here they are.

1. Smartypants Fitness Pros (from ACSM report). The trend toward fitness trainers who know their stuff through experience and education has taken top spot for five years running, according to the ACSM. It’s safe to say, then, that we can move on from trainers who look good but that’s about it. I’m all for that.

2. Muscle Up (from ACSM report). Whether you like to condition muscles by lifting weights, doing yoga or hauling around life’s “gear” (backpack, snowboard, baby car-seat, etc.), the benefit is the same: stronger muscles and bones make for a healthier body and better well-being.

Anything that helps women feel more confident in their inner and outer strength is a trend worth watching – and doing.

3. Whole-Life Training (from ACE report). This trend focuses on fitness plus wellness, nutrition and stress-management all rolled into one holistically healthy lifestyle. Can I count you in on this progressive approach?

4. Let’s Dance (from both reports). One of the keys to wellness and “living out loud” is having fun with however you choose to move your body.

With its high-energy music and go-for-it attitude, Zumba is one of those workouts that you can’t help having fun doing – even if you’re not the “dance-y” type (that’s me).

5. Facebook for Fitness (from ACE report). I’m excited that the fitness industry is starting to create more interactive and online programs and exercises because that fits perfectly into my on-the-go Lolë lifestyle. I like being able to instantly access workout ideas on my phone or computer.

I I got the inside scoop that in keeping with this techy trend Lolë will be continuing to provide fitness motivation and connect active women together through the Lolë Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account, and mobile Lolëpop App. I’ll be interacting on all of them – what about you?

Do any or all of the above trends resonate with you? Why or why not?      

When you were in school, were you ever asked to create a collage? After all, what better way to answer, “how would you visually describe the protagonist’s emotional journey through the story” than with cutouts from Better Homes and Gardens and Popular Mechanics? The end result of my own high school handy work always made perfect sense to me; a visual smorgasbord of emotion, feeling and teenage angst placed into one, eight by eleven poster. There’s now a new social media tool (yes, another one) that replicates this activity for the web.

Pinterest allows you to interact with it the same way you would with blank poster board, scissors, a glue stick, and a stack of magazines. You select your favourite content, including photos, articles and blog posts, and assemble them into “boards” or web pages that you title, yourself. Your friends on Pinterest can see your boards, follow them, like their favourite “pins,” and even repost it to their own boards.

I have friends who use Pinterest as their digital cork board to feature favourite content from do-it-yourself wedding blogs. It allows them to create and curate an online life that looks and reads like a glamour magazine. No wonder brides-to-be are so taken with it. It’s the perfect wedding in digital form, right down to the pixel. Companies and organizations other than women planning their dream wedding are even beginning to take notice of this social network’s growing popularity.

Writer and non-profit tech expert Beth Kanter recently wrote this article on Pinterest and how charities can build boards that feature their work in a visual and creative way. Beth has created several boards herself, one of which is titled “Nonprofit Infographics” and features 16 different infographics, each one its own pin.

Organizations like the National Wildlife Federation and charity:water have begun pinning on behalf of their cause, featuring campaign photos and photos of real people from their supporter base.

Writer and non-profit tech strategist Lauren Bacon with Raised Eyebrow Web Studios identifies the different types of non-profit organizations that should consider setting up their own profile. Lauren describes Pinterest “like a custom-tailored magazine: your home page will be a visual feast of images geared to your personal affiliations and interests.”

Pinterest, while separate from my other social networks, allows me to draw from all of them and feature my favourite content as if I were designing my own, personal window display. From a non-profit perspective, it allows supporters to show off their mission-driven values like they might wear a clothing brand. Just like you would notice and be noticed for what you wear and how you wear it, Pinterest allows you to feature what you support and how you support it in an elegant and easy way.

It will be interesting to watch how non-profit organizations embrace tools like Pinterest and whether or not they impact how these groups visually communicate their message in the future. I can’t help but ask myself if I will place more importance on logos and brands? Or, when I build an action page, will I spend more time communicating with my audience using photos as opposed to words?

If tools like Pinterest are the way of the non-profit future, it’s time to dress up, online. There’s going to be a lot more people window shopping the web.

Grâce à iTunes, je redécouvre les vertus des mini albums, les EP. Avouons que rares sont les groupes qui peuvent aligner 11-12 excellentes chansons alors, à 4-5 $ pour 4-5 chansons, le EP constitue une excellente façon de découvrir de nouveaux groupes. Lâchez-vous lousse !

La très vibrante NYC nous offre évidemment de quoi nous sustenter amplement, musicalement. Mais, nous allons commencer tout en douceur avec du rock atmosphérique exquis d’un groupe qui a été à l’école de Bjork et d’OMD : Exitmusic. Plus entraînant, savoureusement torturé : Psychobuildings 

Cultfever, de l’électrock avec de l’attitude.

Puis, du pur folk indie : Swear & Shake. Indian Rebound, un duo aux harmonies de voix recherchées. Ski Lodge, de la pop dansante et heureuse d’un ex Clementines.

Je termine sur un des bands qui jouit du meilleur buzz en ce moment — et avec raison — North Highlands.