Last night we went to see Social D at the HOB Anahiem as part of a benefit concert for a fella who sustained a spinal cord injury while surfing at Huntington Beach Pier. The show was incredible. Mike Ness is always emotionally charged but I think because of the nature of the show he was even more so. He did the old classics and a few new ones but the kick ass part of the show was when he brought out his oldest son to play lead guitar for "Ball and Chain" and holy shit can that kid play! The show was just incredible, the reason for the show was emotional and the whole experience was great.
Just a few random thoughts on why Social D ROCKS!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Last Night's Earthquake
OK, I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I got hammered drunk on Saturday night and was so hungover that I only got up off the couch for one of 3 things; 1) food, 2) loving from my honey or 3) a shower. However, when I saw my whole house shaking and heard the grumbing I was FREAKED OUT! I heard it first then saw my house sway back and forth. Nothing fell or broke, it was a slow sway. I grabbed my bf's arm and was like WTF! We looked at each other for a second then ran upstairs to check the earthquake website we have bookmarked. Sure enough it said it was a 5.0 (later downgraded to 4.7 but who's counting!). What a trip, I was so freaked out. It wasn't the first one we had felt but was definitely strong. Then the news stories started pouring in and of course they get the most uneducated person on the phone to talk about how things were shaking and falling and all of that. That part was entertaining to say the least. It is so funny to me how much drama the news brings to the table. The way they were reporting it you would have thought the big one hit. Too funny. Like I said above, I was freaked but my bf, like always bless his heart, set me straight. If it had been a tornado or hurricane we would have had some damage. This little earthquake (no reference to the Tori Amos song but it is now in my head!) was nothing to be concerned with.
Just some random thoughts on earthquakes.
Just some random thoughts on earthquakes.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Why I exercise
I was lying awake one night a few weeks ago going through my mind how many times I had decided that I was going to take care of myself and live a more healthy life. There are always a ton of reasons to tell myself that I need to eat better, exercise more, cut back on the booze but inevitably I would be on the straight and narrow for about 3 weeks then fall back into my bad habits (no exercise, beer every night, too much cheese). One of the first times I made this commitment to myself was when I was in a horrible relationship and decided that if I could make myself happy and healthy maybe I could fix the relationship. I ran everyday, I stopped drinking and started eating right. All that did was drive a wedge between us; I wanted to exercise and be healthy, he wanted to eat, drink, smoke and be merry. Needless to say, that didn't last long. I spiraled into a horrible year; drinking every day (sometimes drank my dinner), I didn't exercise and when I ate it was horrible for me. Then I moved to Northern California. I got there and saw all of these people exercising. All ages, fitness levels, sizes, etc. I was floored. I had never seen so many people taking care of themselves. I told myself "I can do that". We lived in a beautiful home that had a 8 mile bike path behind it and we would go for a run or bike ride before lunch and then do some arms and belly work before dinner. I looked good, real good. But, as usual, I slid back into my old habits.
Next, we moved to Southern California. If I thought the people up north were fanatics, they were nothing compared to the southerners. I will never forget the day I saw a 30 something woman running, not jogging, running with a dual stroller and the babies couldn't have been more than 2 months old. Not only was she RUNNING, she was going up hill. Up hill for Christ's sake. I felt horrible about myself, looking at this highly motivated person, and I was hungover and getting ready to eat 3 taco's from Taco Bell.
I went back and forth about how to get, and stay, in shape. Some of the things I tried worked, some didn't. I found that consistency is key (my boyfriend would get a huge grin and give me the "told you so" look). I am not one for fad diets or 'get slim quick' pills. All the books are right; exercise and eating in moderation are key. I have been subscribing to Self magazine for about 4 years and one of the services they provide is www.selfdietclub.com. This is an online diary of sorts to track what you eat and your exercise. For me, writing down everything I eat (and I mean everything, even those 2 m&m's count) was eye opening for me. The tool allows you to search a huge database of foods and if what you ate is not in there, you can create your own custom foods and recipes. You put in your height, weight and goals and the tool tells you how many calories you need. You also enter in how active you are and it calculates what your daily intake of carbs, fat and protein are. You can view your eating habits in a graphical format, it is really easy to see where you are eating right and where you aren't. You also track your exercise in the tool. It will calculate how many calories you burned and will show you where you get the most bang for you buck (running a 8 min mile for 25 mins burns more calories than biking at 10mph).
Last summer a friend of mine asked me to participate in a super sprint triathlon for Ovarian Cancer research. I was skeptical at first but was in one of my lulls. I wasn't tracking my meals (b/c quite frankly I didn't want to see how many calories I was consuming). It was exactly what I needed to get going again. I had to get ready for a .24mi swim, 6mi bike and 1.5mi run. I admittedly slacked at first. But about 4 weeks before the event I kicked into gear. I think I trained for the swim 1 time. It was weakest leg and I was avoiding it. I had the bike and the run down. The day of the event came and even though my swim time was slow, I finished in under an hour. It was a whole new high; like one I hadn't felt since using drugs. I was hooked. I immediately felt better and renewed my commitment to myself. I slacked over the holidays but I have been consistently tracking my meals and exercise since February of this year. I did the Pasadena Triathlon (5k run, 15k bike, 150m swim) and I have done a handful of 5k runs. I have lost 8 pounds, my clothes fit again and when I look in the mirror I don't cringe. It has been a great few months. On May 31st I am going to do the Rock and Roll Marathon relay in San Diego. I am so excited.
I found that I have to take this commitment to myself seriously. I have to make time in the day to exercise, even when my work or relationship needs my attention too.
Just some random thoughts on exercise.
Next, we moved to Southern California. If I thought the people up north were fanatics, they were nothing compared to the southerners. I will never forget the day I saw a 30 something woman running, not jogging, running with a dual stroller and the babies couldn't have been more than 2 months old. Not only was she RUNNING, she was going up hill. Up hill for Christ's sake. I felt horrible about myself, looking at this highly motivated person, and I was hungover and getting ready to eat 3 taco's from Taco Bell.
I went back and forth about how to get, and stay, in shape. Some of the things I tried worked, some didn't. I found that consistency is key (my boyfriend would get a huge grin and give me the "told you so" look). I am not one for fad diets or 'get slim quick' pills. All the books are right; exercise and eating in moderation are key. I have been subscribing to Self magazine for about 4 years and one of the services they provide is www.selfdietclub.com. This is an online diary of sorts to track what you eat and your exercise. For me, writing down everything I eat (and I mean everything, even those 2 m&m's count) was eye opening for me. The tool allows you to search a huge database of foods and if what you ate is not in there, you can create your own custom foods and recipes. You put in your height, weight and goals and the tool tells you how many calories you need. You also enter in how active you are and it calculates what your daily intake of carbs, fat and protein are. You can view your eating habits in a graphical format, it is really easy to see where you are eating right and where you aren't. You also track your exercise in the tool. It will calculate how many calories you burned and will show you where you get the most bang for you buck (running a 8 min mile for 25 mins burns more calories than biking at 10mph).
Last summer a friend of mine asked me to participate in a super sprint triathlon for Ovarian Cancer research. I was skeptical at first but was in one of my lulls. I wasn't tracking my meals (b/c quite frankly I didn't want to see how many calories I was consuming). It was exactly what I needed to get going again. I had to get ready for a .24mi swim, 6mi bike and 1.5mi run. I admittedly slacked at first. But about 4 weeks before the event I kicked into gear. I think I trained for the swim 1 time. It was weakest leg and I was avoiding it. I had the bike and the run down. The day of the event came and even though my swim time was slow, I finished in under an hour. It was a whole new high; like one I hadn't felt since using drugs. I was hooked. I immediately felt better and renewed my commitment to myself. I slacked over the holidays but I have been consistently tracking my meals and exercise since February of this year. I did the Pasadena Triathlon (5k run, 15k bike, 150m swim) and I have done a handful of 5k runs. I have lost 8 pounds, my clothes fit again and when I look in the mirror I don't cringe. It has been a great few months. On May 31st I am going to do the Rock and Roll Marathon relay in San Diego. I am so excited.
I found that I have to take this commitment to myself seriously. I have to make time in the day to exercise, even when my work or relationship needs my attention too.
Just some random thoughts on exercise.
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