Movie Review: The King's Speech

I have been meaning to watch this movie for ages and ages, but by the time we had time to see it in the theatre it was out of the theatre, then it came out on DVD, and I think I've mentioned how Target is an evil place and when I go there unsupervised I put my blinders on and stick to my grocery list.  Needless to say, this movie has never been on my grocery list.  But, my moms have it, so problem solved. 


The King's Speech

Most excellent flick.  The end.  Just kidding.  Not about it being good, about that being the end of my rant.  I've never had a stutter.  I've tripped over my own words because I talk too damn fast and messed up the order in which the words are supposed to be coming out of my mouth because I think even faster than my mouth can spit out the words, but that's not even in the same league as a stutter.  I've worked with kids that have stutters and I can see the frustration, anguish and fury contorted on their little faces as they try to desperately spit out one word let alone a whole sentence.  So what I do know of stutters, is that they suck big ones.  And yet, Colin Firth manages to pretend to have a stutter flawlessly.  More than once I thought to myself, I totally know that look, I see that look on my kiddo's face when they try to say a word that starts with a "K."  Had I never seen another movie with Colin Firth in it, I would have thought that this was an actor with a stutter of his own.  Such phenomenal acting.  


Geoffrey Rush's character is most unconventional and is the kind of person that we all secretly hope we would be if ever in the presence of royalty.  To him, the King and Queen were just other people, a throne was just a chair for anyone to sit in.  While maintaining that proper etiquette that only the Brits seem to be able to posses, he's just not intimidated by the royal blood line.  He has unconventional therapeutic methods like rolling his patient around on the floor, swearing at the tops of their lungs (suddenly having flashes of rolling my kiddos on the floor and having them scream cuss words at the tops of their lungs to help them through their Dibbels testing... I think I'd have the whole PTA on my ass and then some) and while the King is most skeptical, it helps, he helps, and the King is able to deliver a nine minute speech without a single stutter.  


As impressed as I am with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, the cake I think really goes to Helena Bonham Carter.  Why?  Because she plays a normal person, with normal feelings, and she has compassion and it's not weird.  Helena Bonham Carter is known for her quirky roles.  Insert Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter), the Red Queen (Alice in Wonderland), and Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd).  She's totally whacked out in all of those roles.  She's always toying with full fledged crazy while maintaining a weird sense of collectedness about her (insert Marla Singer from Fight Club).  Plus, she has the high cheekbones, the somewhat sunken eyes, the untamed curly hair that just completes the look.  Yet in this movie, she's normal and warm and funny.  Not crazy funny, like, real humor ha ha funny.  She totally pulls off normal.  I was super impressed.  Not to mention her character is of course the embodiment of the British monarch: strong and sensitive, polite, eloquent, bold, steely but never losing that unprecedented royal cool.  In short, she freaking rocked. 


Oh yes, and of course the plot line and the whole story was awesome as well.  My grade: A+

Game Review: Settlers of Catan

The hubby and I spent Christmas with my family in California.  I'm the only extrovert in my family, and having grown up with three other people who get energy from inside themselves and through individual tasks like reading or knitting etc, I learned to enjoy reading and to feign patience as I stared at them all waiting for them to make eye contact with me so I could start spewing my word vomit before I would suck all their energy from them and they would have to retreat back into their books, boost their energy, and go through the whole process again.  It's an imperfect system, but it worked for us.  Then I married a man who is so extroverted he makes me look like an introvert and then all of the sudden there were two energy suckers in my parents' house whenever we would visit.  

To totally steal my sister's latest phrase, how did we reign in the crazy?  My mom soon discovered that we love strategy games.  It started with my mom's obsession with a computer game called Mystery Case Files, where you have puzzles and hidden objects to find and specific tasks to do in order to complete the game.  We saw her playing that once and we were hooked.  We got to bond over the game, we got to strategize with each other, she would give us helpful hints whenever we would get totally stumped, lots of social interaction there which was good for the hubby and I, but it also meant that the hubby and I were occupied for at least 3hours at a shot, which meant that my family was able to re-boost their energy stores.  Every time we visit, my mom would have purchased the latest and greatest MCF game and this is how we would spend our time doing something interactive with each other and with my family who came buzzing in every now and then, but also gave my family their much needed space.  The latest and greatest MCF game is seriously disturbing.  The creators were trying to get into the mind of a sick man (of which the saga of Ravenhurst is about), which I totally get and can appreciate on some level.  But having to pop a mannequin's pimples and collect the juice, and then feed said mannequin a pie with a bomb in it to blow it up (this mannequin represented the guy's mom), having to have a "pregnant" mannequin deliver a mannequin baby, and sever the cord in the right order before the mannequin baby BLEW UP (and this is just the surface level of the crazy in that game) I think crossed a line into full blown crazy.  Thus enters, Settlers of Catan.  

It's a board game, that when set up, looks like this:

And a black cloud fell over the land and the settlers of Catan were shrouded in darkness

Wait, that's not how it's supposed to look.  That's Malcolm, my moms' 20lb mammoth cat who decided that he was going to sit in the middle of our game until he was fed.  It's supposed to look like this (not our actual board, but you get the idea):

The rules are complicated to explain, so I'm not even going to begin to describe it to you, but they're easy to learn through playing.  Each player has a set of towns, settlements and roads to build in order to accumulate points.  In order to build you must have a certain amount of resources (grain, ore, lumber, sheep and brick) which you can either steal from other players, or accumulate through your settlements/towns on the board.  The person to get 10points first, wins.  It's like monopoly, but way better.  It took us a bit to figure it all out, but once we did, we were able to enjoy this super rad game.  You can block other people from getting to certain resources, you can control harbors and trade on the seas, or you can trade with your fellow players for resources you need, you can get points for the longest road, the biggest army, but no one ever really knows how many points you have on the board because there are these secret cards that you can buy that no one else can see until you lay them all down when you hit 10points.  It's awesome.  

There were a couple of rules we struggled with.  My sister struggled with trading.  For some reason when someone would say, "I'll trade 2 sheep for 1brick," she would always hand out the 2sheep, instead of the 1brick.  So we started to say, "I'll give 2sheep to receive 1brick" and that seemed to work out better for her.  Needless to say, it's a good thing the game isn't real life because Aud would constantly be giving away free shit.  

I, however, struggled with rolling the damn dice.  You can either roll the dice, OR trade resources.  At one point I was sitting on a move where I needed to trade resources in order to build my final settlement and get to 10points and win the bloody thing, and I would tell myself, DO NOT roll the dice, TRADE.  And for three rounds I would be handed the dice and roll them, making it impossible for me to trade, and I would have to go another damn round before I could trade.  After my third time of doing this IN A ROW I squealed out, "OH MY GOD WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT!!!"  To which my sister replied that I had broken the sound barrier at that point, which is true, but I just didn't understand my malfunction.  As my AB is playing her turn, the whole freaking time I'm telling myself, DO NOT roll the dice, and then she would hand them to me, and I would roll the damn dice; like I'm conditioned to roll dice when I'm presented with them regardless of whether or not that is something I want to do.  So frustrating.  

Now, back in Tucson, I have every intention of stopping by a game store and buying this epic board game and forcing our friends to play with us because it's rad.  My grade: A+

Traveling Makes Me A Little OCD

It totally does.  When we're about to travel, out come the to do lists and the packing lists, and the chores etc.  I'm a seasoned traveler, and if there's one thing I've learned about traveling, being organized keeps everyone so much calmer.  These skills I have are only used some of the time to this level of efficiency during my day to day life, but they go into hyper-overdrive when we travel.  For instance:


Things I OCD Over When We Travel


1) To Do List.  I never make a to-do list.  Shit will get done when shit gets done.  I make goals to have certain things done by a certain time, but I hardly ever write it down.  Except when we travel.  When prepping for travel, I sit down and make a detailed to do list.  On that list includes all the other lists I have to make, such as the packing list and the chore list, in addition to the other things that need to be done before leaving and I stick to that like the Holy Grail (then thou shalt take thy holy hand grenade...)


2) Laundry.  I can't stand coming home from a trip and having dirty clothes in the hamper.  This usually means I have a load of laundry going the day that we leave so I can wash the clothes that I was wearing the day before while doing the rest of the laundry so that when we come home there's nothing in the hamper.  This includes washing the sheets, the towels, the bath mats, EVERYTHING gets washed before we leave.  I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that in my normal life, I'm not very organized in my closet or drawers and so I'm constantly misplacing my clothes and having everything clean and in it's place at home or in my travel bag means that I can't possibly freak out over losing anything.  


3) Clean and tidy bed.  I change and wash the sheets on the bed the day we leave.  Why put that added pressure on myself the day I'm supposed to be leaving for a trip?  Because changing the sheets the day we leave means that the sheets will be clean and crisp and tightly tucked in when we get home.  Clean and folded sheets in the cupboard also means no laundry to do (see above for my OCD-ness about that).  I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited for our bed at home when we get back because of how tight I pulled those sheets and tucked them in when I made it.  


4) Packing.  I start packing at least the day before.  I make a list of everything I'll need, pack all of that, hem and haw over my clothing selections, realize I can't make a decision about what to bring and what not to bring, end up bringing about three weeks worth of clothing for a week long stay and being very content with all my options when I get to my travel destination.  It drives my husband crazy.  This time around he asked me to pack his toiletries, and to just add on to the bag he used last time.  I asked him to text me specifically what he wanted or he was getting everything I thought he needed, to which he responded that he would take care of it when he got home later that day because he didn't want our whole bathroom coming with us.  


5) Pet care instructions.  Juan's sister agreed to house sit and take care of our furry babies while we were away.  I typed up a 4 page word document of detailed instructions, and then hand wrote in extra asides that I forgot to mention in the margins before we left.  I forewarned her and told her not to be offended, that I just get a little OCD and hyper-focused on the minutia.  As someone who worked as a pet sitter all through high school, I can honestly say that the more detailed the instructions, the more grateful and comfortable I felt with taking care of their precious furry family members.  Feeding and picking up poop is pretty self explanatory.  The details are what really matters.  


6) Time.  I become an excessively punctual person.  We needed to be at the airport no later than 4pm for our 630pm flight.  I made sure we got there by 3pm just in case there was holiday traffic, holiday crowds in the airport, etc etc. I'm totally that person who would rather wait in an airport bar with my Wheel Of Fortune word search booklet for 3+ hours and feel totally relaxed and at ease than get to the airport an hour before my flight and feel like I'm rushed.  


Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like and how much I could have accomplished if I attacked every day like that.  Then I realized I would probably be a meth addict in order to keep up with that hyper-vigilant pace.  I'm not one of those people that gets all a twitter with anxiety while traveling, you know who I mean, I mean the people that you want to slip a Xanax or two into their tea.  I actually really enjoy traveling, I just hate feeling like I'm rushed or feeling like I forgot something because I probably did forget something.  If something goes wrong, like an accident on the way to the airport, or some yahoo pulling a stunt at security, or the plane being frozen, I just like being prepared and knowing that even if those things happen, it's no big deal because I've accommodated for  it already.  It may drive my husband a little nuts, but he always comments on how our travels go so smoothly, and while he may not want to admit it to my face, I think we both know it's because my OCD-ness paid off.  

TV Show Review: Dead Like Me

We're not done with it yet, but Juan and I have been totally obsessed with this show: 

It's a show about modern day grim reapers, collecting the souls of those recently died and helping them move on to wherever it is they go.  Juan says I'm just like the heroine, George (Georgia, but everyone calls her George), which I find most ironic since my sister used to torment me like only big sisters can when I was younger by calling me George.  Why?  I don't quite remember but I think it started because I had a boy's haircut and people were constantly mistaking me for my mom's son and my sister's brother.  Anyways, I digress.  


George dies at a very young age, and is forced into the reaper role because the man who reaped her, retired with her soul collecting, and now she has to reap a certain amount of souls before she can move on.  No one knows how many souls you have to reap.  But Daisy, one of the other reapers, has been dead since the 20s and is still going strong.  If being forced into an undead employment of reaperdom doesn't suck enough, she doesn't look like herself (obviously or else her family would be like, WTF?!), she can't die or get hurt, but she still has normal alive people qualities and needs like hunger and sleep, she doesn't get paid to be a reaper, so she has to either a) steal and squat in empty apartments (usually of those who just died) or b) get an actual job.  Imagine being 18years old, undead, forced to collect souls until god knows when, having to get a crappy job so you can live crime free but one that is also flexible enough to allow you to do your reaper duties, all while coming of age with a give a crap attitude and a mouth that is constantly getting you in trouble because it hasn't learned to shut up yet (hence why Juan thinks she's just like me).  In short, this show is hysterical.  I have to keep myself from watching episodes without Juan.  Netflix is like cheat proof because it shows which shows/episodes you've watched.  No cheating.  So as much as I want to watch the rest of the season today, I must wait until later tonight when we can both watch it together.


I'm not sure why it only lasted 2 seasons, but my grade: A+

Movie Review: Killers

Recently the hubby and I curled up on the couch and did what we do best: watched a movie on Netflix.  

It's a movie about a CIA assassin who falls in love with a socially and relationally awkward girl from the suburbs and wants to leave the killing profession and settle down; while of course hiding guns and identities in the upholstery of the furniture and cars, just in case.  It's good to be prepared though as sleepers who had been planted in his life turn active and come to collect a $20million bounty that had been placed on his head some years later.  Lies, deceit, half truths, secret identities, all of it unraveled in this light hearted ro-co as the two wrestle with the truth of their picture perfect suburban marriage turned professional killer and wife of professional killer, all of course while dodging bullets and impressive explosives.  


Not that it's in any movie theatre, but I don't think I would pay full price to see it on the big screen.  It's definitely one of those movies best enjoyed by curling up on the couch under a blanket with a bowl of popcorn so you can snort in laughter in the comfort of your own home.  


My grade: B+

Homemade Latkes and an Ewok Stuffy = Hell Yes!

We (we being the hubby, myself and our group of friends) had our annual holiday party over at the Rosas this year.  Mostly because I decided that I wanted Jen's homemade latkes, and lucky for me she wanted to make them so it all worked out.  


I have no pictures of people or the food.  The food, especially the latkes, were gone within minutes so even if I wanted to take pictures of it, the pictures would have been of all of us stuffing our faces.  And I don't know a single person who can eat a chicken burrito sexily.  


My friends' kids are all getting kind of exciting.  There was a 3 year old, a 9month old, a 6month old and 3month old at the party.  Basically, imagine a family room floor, full of blankets and toys, with various babies playing and crawling and taking tummy time with the 3 year old delegating play duties to each of them.  We as the adults just kind of stood back and let them take care of themselves and drank mimosas.  It was pretty rad.  


While I have no pictures of babies or adults or food, I do have a picture of this:

Princess Kneesaa!  My friend Erin had this stuffy I guess as a kid, and they were going to give it to good will, remembered that our friend Clay is a total nerd and were going to give it to him, until I completely geeked out over it and screamed, "OH MY GOD IS THAT AN EWOK STUFFY??!" and then it was mine.  All.Freaking.Mine.  I had to practically wrestle it from a baby's clutches when we were leaving, but it's all good now.  If you don't know what an Ewok is, shame on you and go this instant and watch Star Wars Return of the Jedi.  If you've never watched Star Wars, double shame on you, go rent Episodes 4-6 (the original), and watch those first in order, then go back and watch Episodes 1-3.  You won't appreciate 4-6 if you watch 1-3 first, and considering that 4-6 came out decades before 1-3, you won't be lost or anything.  Go forth and geek out my friends.  

Capoeira Day 1

I used to train capoeira (cap-o-WHERE-a).  That's actually how the hubby and I met.  He was my instructor.  Many a hour spent together rehearsing for various shows, Chipotle dates, three years of dating, two years of marriage, two cats and a dog later, and we have completely fast forwarded to present day.  Plus or minus a few stories of hilarity.  


What's capoeira?  Well, it's an Afro-Brazilian martial arts.  Observe:

I am no where near that good.  Though I have met several capoeiristas who actually are this good.  But you get the idea.  


I haven't trained in four years, and when I did train, I only trained for a year and a half.  Juan and I have been talking about trying it out again because we both had so much fun doing it.  And it's a phenomenal work out.  I was in the best shape of my undergrad when I was training capoeira.  But right before we went to our hour and a half training for the first time in four years, I had done an hour of Zumba.  The hour and a half capoeira training would be my 13.5 hours of exercise this past week.  And that's just counting actual exercise classes I've taken, not the endless hours I have spent choreographing every single day this week.  So what does all that mean?


It means I got freaking destroyed.  I was surprised how much my body remembered, but I was also really surprised at how much it didn't remember.  Movements that were simple for me four years ago such as a queda de rin:

Are now surprisingly more difficult than I remember them being.  


BUT, movements that I was sure I wouldn't be able to execute a giratoria:

While I executed no where near as pretty as this guy does it, I could still do it.  You might be thinking that this second one is way harder than the first one, and you would be right.  But that's just not how I operate.  I always get the hard stuff first for some reason.  


My knees are bruised, my shoulders are sore, my feet freaking hurt.  But it was fun.  I'm going to have to give it another go, because it would be nice to see what my game is like when I'm not exhausted and every muscle in my body is just wanting to collapse in a heap and rest.  


If you ever had questions about wanting to try it out, I say go try it out.  You'll be surprised at what your body can do your first time in a roda, and the fun really is intoxicating.  

Zumba Day 28472910334857

Well, okay not really.  I only got licensed a week ago.  But it kinda feels like it because all I've done since Saturday is Zumba, and more Zumba, and even more Zumba.  The insteps on my feet are still sore.  


Basically I've been spending my days going to a Zumba class, then coming home, having some breakfast, then spending all. day. long. youtube-ing Zumba music and routines and loving some of it, but really hating a lot of it, and then taking what I like and meshing it all together, then running through it all, sweating a bunch, drinking a lot of water and being hungry all the time, then doing it all over again.  


It's harder than I thought it would be.  I can dance, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I can.  I've always been a good dancer.  Even when I was a little kid; I can remember my sister telling me once when I was still in elementary school that I was the kind of person that could dance to any kind of music.  My spicy latino husband introduced me to the latin rhythms and has been twirling me around ever since.  The steps I get, the steps I'm good at, following I'm good at, leading though, totally not good at.  And thus enters my weak spot with dance/Zumba.  


I spent close to three straight hours yesterday listening to a Celia Cruz song that I've danced to a million, gazillion times before trying to break down the pieces of the song and coming up with a formula for the choreography.  Problem numero uno: since I didn't grow up listening to this music, my ears are not expertly trained to pick up subtle differences in rhythms and beats.  So to me what sounds like one continuous rhythm in one song, could actually be 4 different variations of one rhythm in one song.  Different variations means different steps to choreograph to and if I can't pick up on them, I have the easiest choreography of all time, but the also the most boring.  Problem numero dos: in all my dancing to the latin music, I never lead, which means that I a) don't have to pay attention to the different rhythms, I just follow the change from whomever I'm dancing with, and b) I never have to think about the steps because someone is always telling me and leading me in the right direction.  Which means that when I have to choreograph my own stuff, I really have to think about it, because usually I don't. 


So as I'm starting to really doubt my abilities, I was thinking to myself, "gee, I wish I knew someone who knew these steps and who was used to this music and could help me break the song up and identify rhythms."  And then it dawned on me.  I have a spicy latino husband!  And thus Juan's help was employed.  What took me almost three hours to come up with, Juan helped me solidify it and put it all together in about 15minutes.  And as much as I wanted to throttle him out of jealousy, I am eternally grateful.  Thanks, lover.  

Trolley Pub

Last night was my friend Diana's birthday.  A little bit ago she won a ride on the Trolley Pub, and decided that for her birthday, we were all going to go.  And go we did. 


*I don't have any pictures of this epic event because I forgot my camera and the camera on my phone sucks massive balls.  


What's a trolley pub?  Well, imagine a trolley, but instead of an engine or electrical pulley system, each person sitting on the trolley has a set of pedals, and the people pedal the trolley from bar to bar and back again.  Now, the trolley driver is totally sober, which is how we can all get away with not getting DUIs because all the participants are really doing is providing horsepower, not driving.  You also get special deals at the bars that you stop off at.  


So we go pedaling down on our way to the first bar, do some dancing, do some drinking, pedal to the second bar, are totally disappointed, so we walk next door to another bar, do some bull riding, some pole dancing, some more drinking, pedal to the third bar, buy the birthday her last set of drinks, and then pedal all the way back to our starting point.  At this point though we've lost four abled bodies who can pedal, and at any given time there were two people dancing in the middle of the trolley and not pedaling.  Result?  Pedestrians were moving faster than us.  We tried to get these two guys to hop on and help us out but they argued that they were walking faster than we were pedaling, and who could really argue with that?  


BUT, despite my lack of photographic evidence, we had way too much fun and I highly recommend it if you have one in your area.  And definitely wear clothes you can sweat in, because even though last night it was in the 30s, we were all sweaty and peeling off layers of clothing trying to haul that monster up and down the street.   

Look, Ma! We Helped!

It's been a might bit chilly the last few days.  Today for example weather.com says that it's 37out but feels like 29 due to wind chill factor.  We've whipped out or fleece blankets to put on the bed and bundle up around the house wearing socks and sweatshirts and huddle under blankets.  


My darling little felines have taken it upon themselves as their personal mission to make sure the bed is always warm.  This usually means that when I get home in the afternoon my pulled tight blankets are all in disarray as they've made it more comfortable for their all day sleeping.  How do two little kitties mess up bed covers?  I wasn't so sure myself, but stay tuned and you'll figure it out too.  

Sazu: "Simba!  Look natural bro maybe she won't notice..."  
Simba: "Gaaaahhh!"
Notice how it's only my side of the bed.  I pulled up my side of the covers all the way over my pillow and these two got in there and made it look like I leave the bed a mess every day... 

I call this the guilty face.  This is how my bed sheets get all messed up - Sazu gets underneath them, walks and stomps around for a bit, and covers himself.  On the other hand, he did manage to cover himself with the blanket, so can I really be annoyed at my rumpled bed?


Simba took a different approach:

"Look ma, I found your pajamas and have been sleeping and shedding on them all. day. long so they'll be nice and warm for you when you get into bed."

Thanks guys.  

Zumba Day 1

Okay, not really.  I've done Zumba before.  I bought the DVD set back in, gosh, 07-08ish and have done the DVDs at home.  I've never been to a live class though, I've always done the DVDs in the comfort of my own home.  At least until yesterday.  


Yesterday I became licensed to be a Zumba instructor.  


I'll admit, though I'm a little bashful to say so now, we decided for me to become a Zumba instructor on a bit of a whim.  We could really use the extra cash, but neither my husband nor I really liked the sound of me going down to part time student so I could get a more traditional part time job.  That left multi-level-marketing jobs (Avon and Mary Kay for example) but I'm not into sales, or hosting do-it-yourself-make-over parties.  So what did that leave me with?  Well, I'm into fitness, but I'm not ACE of AFAA certified, so I can't do personal training, and I can't pick up more shifts at the pole studio.  Well hey, I used to do Zumba let's see how much and how long it will take me to get licensed.  Only a day?  Okay.  


I honestly didn't expect to get much out of the training.  I expected to go over the steps, and to be given a binder or a book with the break down of the steps, some music and then let loose on the world.  How wrong was I?  Let me count the ways.  


We start the nine hour (yes, nine hours) day off with an hour long master class, an hour long Zumba class led by our instructor for the day.  My instructor/the woman who licensed me, Vanessa Lupercio, stands at about my chin of my towering 5'4'' self, has abs I could wash clothing on, has this fiery tough girl disposition (probably has something to do with the 14 years she dedicated to serving in the Army before she found Zumba) and is on some SERIOUS Zumba crack.  In other words, she is freaking awesome.  Seriously, if you are ever in the Phoenix area, take one of her classes.  She's amazing.  A.MA.ZING.  Anyways, she led such a rockin' master class that I now understood why the recommended we bring 2 changes of clothes, and I was so glad I did.  I had sweat lines behind my knees on my pants, on the crease of my booty where the booty meats your thighs, on my shins, my shins people, my shirt was completely soaked through, the tail part of my pony tail was wet, and (this might be a TMI) I had to dry my undies under a hair dryer in the locker room because I was just completely soaked through.  


After we changed and drank a bunch of water and ate some snacks, we got into the first lecture part of our day where we talked about Zumba, how it got started, and to my surprise, how to run your business as a Zumba instructor.  If the endorphin high I was riding after that awesome master class hadn't completely inspired me to be totally gung-ho about this, this part of the class flipped my brain.  I was so impressed by how simple the program is and how supportive it is and how family like it all felt.  I felt such respect for Vanessa and the program when she emphasized upholding the integrity of Zumba because it's not just me I'm putting out there, it's Zumba brand (I've seen many a fitness instructor who is only in it to show their students how awesome they are and it drives me nuts!).  I was inspired.  I was excited.  I was pumped.  I was on Zumba crack.  


Then we went over all the steps, moved around a bunch, sweated a bunch more, ate a bunch more, I personally went through 6liters of water over the course of the day, sat down and did some more lecture, then moved around a bunch more, sweated a bunch more, partied it up with the moves and choreography (Vanessa said that the average person burns 3500 calories on a Zumba training day - so I wasn't guilty when I got a Chipotle burrito and ate the whole damn thing for dinner), and then got our licenses.  


Even after nine hours of sweating my ass off and three changes of clothing, I was still on Zumba crack.  I was on Zumba crack until almost 11pm last night, and even then I only settled down because Juan was trying to go to sleep.  I was chattering away in the car and talking to Juan about how awesome this is and how I can't wait to get started.  I made us listen to Zumba music all the way home.  Literally did not stop talking for 2.5hours straight.  


Today, my insteps of my feet are sore from all the pivots and turns, my shoulders of all things are sore from all the arm movements.  Me, a pole instructor who has above average upper body strength, my arms and shoulders are sore people!  But despite all the ache, all day today I've been dancing the steps I learned, listening to different latin rhythms trying identify where the breaks in music are, letting my body naturally choreograph itself, buying Zumba music from iTunes, and I choreographed my very first song and have it memorized.  


It's the Zumba crack, man!  So go get you some!  Take a class.  Don't worry if you can't dance.  Zumba isn't just latin dance brought to you, it also adopts that familial aspect of latin culture that I love.  If you have a good instructor, they will make sure the whole class is one giant party among friends.  For chrissake the way we had to introduce ourselves at the workshop was not with handshakes but with booty bumps.  Zumba is one big party, and who doesn't want to party?  Get out there and go party!  Go!  Now!  


And come to my classes once I get them started!  Stay tuned for details!

Movie Review: The Rite

I don't do scary movies.  They, well, scare me and of course I always start to obsess about them when the lights go out and my head is on the pillow.  After watching The Descent in theaters I fell asleep watching Cartoon Network to get the images of cannibalistic cave monsters out of my brain.  Religiously based scary movies, those don't bother me.  I even watched this one alone.    

First, Anthony Hopkins = bad effing ass.  He's one of my favorite actors, and he can pull off the creepy, intelligent thing really well (insert Silence of the Lambs and Fracture).  He of course totally delivers in this movie as well.  He plays a Priest who specializes in exorcism and fighting the devil.  Unlike the comical Constantine ("Constantine, John Constantine, asshole!"), Hopkins' character is so good at his job, that you start to wonder if he's not the devil himself, or just bat crazy.  Enter the young priest who doubts his faith and the cloth all together, who has to battle his own internal demons in order to let go of his doubt and fight the good fight.  The battle of good and evil is gruesome and arduous and while young priest prevails, it doesn't leave you with the feel good feeling of a victory.  It leaves you with that tingly feeling of "It's all good... for now."  It's definitely one of those movies that makes you go, "woah."  So I give it the grade of A.  Job well done Mr Hopkins.  

Animals Have The Best Faces

Setting: evening at home after I had just completed a good 10minute fit of hysterical laughter for no good reason and Juan had been making comments regarding my sanity
Juan: Don't turn your nose up at me...
<pause>
Juan: Stop judging me!

Us girls gotta stick together!

It's Not Just Me, It's Actually Science!

A friend of mine who also struggles with tummy troubles (tummy troubles that trump my tummy troubles), sent me this email today about a natural remedy to help the tummy: Peppermint Oil.


Now, I have been drinking peppermint tea almost every night for a while now, and I carry a packaged tea bag with me in my purse.  I noticed that when I drink it it helps me digest, it helps me feel less bloated, it helps me feel less gassy, and it silences all those gurgles that often precede impending tummy troubles.  BUT, I thought it was just me.  I thought that the peppermint was acting more as a soothing agent, reducing my stress and anxiety about my tummy troubles, which in turn was helping reduce the troubles themselves (don't ya just love self fulfilling prophecies?).  I honestly thought after drinking it so often and feeling like it helps I was really experiencing more of a placebo effect than anything else.  Apparently not.  Here's some info my friend sent me via email to back up how awesome peppermint is for you tummy:


"Wikipedia excerpts:

Peppermint oil

In 2007, Italian investigators reported that 75% of the patients in their study who took peppermint oil capsules for four weeks had a major reduction in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, compared with just 38% of those who took a placebo.^[17] A second study in 2010, conducted in Iran, found similar results.^[18] 2011 research showed that peppermint acts through a specific anti-pain channel called TRPM8 to reduce pain sensing fibres. The authors feel that this study provides information that is potentially the first step in determining a new type of mainstream clinical treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.^[19]

Peppermint tea

Similarly, some poorly designed earlier trials found that peppermint oil has the ability to reduce colicky abdominal pain due to IBS with an NNT (number needed to treat) around 3.1,^[20] but the oil is an irritant to the stomach in the quantity required and therefore needs wrapping for delayed release in the intestine. This could also be achieved by using the whole herb or leaves rather than the volatile components alone. Peppermint relaxes the gastro-esophageal sphincter, thus promoting belching. [and inadvertently causing heartburn!]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the North African drink, see Touareg tea.

Peppermint tea is a tisane (infusion) of peppermint, Mentha piperita. It is sometimes called mint tea. It is naturally caffeine-free. A tea made from blending peppermint and spearmint leaves is referred to as doublemint tea.

Health benefits and concerns

Though there have been no human clinical trials on the health benefits or risks of peppermint tea^[1], some believe peppermint tea has healing effects because of the menthol that it contains. It is said to ease such problems asirritable bowel syndrome, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, headaches. Its minty flavour can take the edge off bad breath. It is also said to control mild asthma, manage stress and ward off the common cold. In some countries, peppermint tea preparations list these proposed effects on their labels.

However, peppermint has properties that may relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing the contents of thestomach to move upwards into the esophagus. For this reason, patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) are advised to avoid peppermint, at least in theory. On the other hand, precisely because it calms and relaxes the muscles along the intestinal tract, thus reducing spasms, peppermint may have beneficial effects in treating digestive symptoms like diarrhea and colic.^{[citation needed]} Peppermint also seems to be effective in relieving intestinal gas and indigestion."

Pretty cool, huh?  Not too confident in Wiki?  Take this from University of Maryland's Medical Center:

"Peppermint (Mentha piperita), a popular flavoring for gum, toothpaste, and tea, is also used to soothe an upset stomach or to aid digestion. Because it has a calming and numbing effect, it has been used to treat headaches, skin irritations, anxiety associated with depression, nausea, diarrhea, menstrual cramps, and flatulence. It is also an ingredient in chest rubs, used to treat symptoms of the common cold. In test tubes, peppermint kills some types of bacteria, fungus, and viruses, suggesting it may have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Several studies support the use of peppermint for 
indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Several studies have shown that enteric coated peppermint capsules can help treat symptoms of IBS, such as pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. (Enteric coated capsules keep peppermint oil from being released in the stomach, which can cause heartburn and indigestion.) However, a few studies have shown no effect. One study examined 57 people with IBS who received either enteric coated peppermint capsules or placebo twice a day for 4 weeks. Of the people who took peppermint, 75% had a significant reduction of IBS symptoms. Another study comparing enteric coated peppermint oil capsules to placebo in children with IBS found that after 2 weeks, 75% of those treated had reduced symptoms. Finally, a more recent study conducted in Taiwan found that patients who took an enteric coated peppermint oil formulation 3 - 4 times daily for one month had less abdominal distention, stool frequency, and flatulence than those who took a placebo. Nearly 80% of the patients who took peppermint also had alleviation of abdominal pain."

And that's just copying what it has to say for IBS.  The UMMC website goes on to talk about headaches, depression, tension, skin irritations etc.  In essence, this herb is a cure-all.  

Movie Review: Immortals

The other week, Juan and I actually went to see a movie that wasn't in the cheap theatre and was in the regular theatre.  That movie was Immortals.

A story of a poor young man who fights to avenge his mother against the evil forces of his time by taking up ranks with the prestigious warriors of the area, meets a pretty girl, blah blah blah.  Plot = very predictable.  I'm pretty sure without watching it, you already know what happens.  That being said, I was underwhelmed by the story itself.  I was, however, entertained by the great visual graphics and effects.  The hero has that signature 300 washboard stomach and spends a lot of time without his shirt on.  I love movies that blur the line between reality and fantasy, the ones that play on mythology mixed with every day realities, so you can actually imagine it happening in the world we live in today.  Percy Jackson and the Olympains: The Lightning Thief I am in love with right now (I give that movie an A+) for that very reason.  I love Greek mythology.  So I was actually kind of excited about this movie.  So when the story line was predictable, and the gods' outfits were just, atrocious to the point of distracting, the only thing that was really redeeming about the movie was said 300 abs of steel and good graphics.  I would definitely recommend waiting for this movie to get out of the theaters and not paying full price to see it.  If you really want the movie theatre experience, then see it at your local cheap theatre.  I thus give this movie, a B-

Hair Swishing and Holiday Shopping

Yesterday was the open house at the pole studio I teach at.  We did pole demos and offered free pole mini classes.  But the owner and one of the instructors are all crafty and shit and so they brought stuff for people to buy for Christmas gifts.  


I don't have any pictures of me on the pole, because I spent 3 straight hours on the pole doing advanced movements and choreography.  Kind of hard to snap photos of yourself when you're upside down hanging by one hand, or to take photos of others when you're the one teaching for that matter.  I wasn't alone though.  My friend/co-instructor Sara was up there with me the whole time, and after three hours of gravity defying stunts, we are both sore and achey today.  We even got the boys that showed up on the poles and were quite impressed with their strength.  


BUT, I do have pictures of my friend/co-instructor Robin's goodies.  She's the owner and designer for Gilded Cage Design.  Just look at this craftiness!

Her whole table full of goodies

Those little doll heads?  Yeah, she made those into tissue box covers.  I think the flower things are pins.  All hand made with the finest ribbons and vintage buttons!

Wrist cuffs.  Again all hand crafted

Chokers

For a vegan she makes a tasty looking turkey back there

Vintage inspired baby booties!  Also hand crafted.  

I'm not crafty like this, so I brought chocolate chip cookie bars for people to snack on and manned the poles while she sold her stuff.  You should totally check out her website.  She does costume designs, interior decorating, she made a super sassy Moulin Rouge inspired costume for the owner of the studio we work at, she's got amazing stuff.  Check her out!

I Ate The WHOLE Thing

I haven't posted anything in a while because I think there's still a part of me that is trying to crawl out of the food coma I induced upon myself on Thursday.  Needless to say, Thanksgiving was rad.  


I missed my family, for sure.  It's been a few years since I've been able to spend Thanksgiving with my moms and sister.  But that didn't stop me from texting/IM-ing my mom every chance I got to ask about how to make this, and when do I do that.  This was my third Thanksgiving that I've hosted, you'd think I'd have figured it all out by now.  Nope.  Every year I still have to get advice from the kitchen guru that I owe all my skill to.  I've always loved helping my mom in the kitchen, and since she is a superb cook and baker, I learned a lot.  Family dinners were vital growing up, so there's a certain amount of sacredness that I hold when it comes to food and feeding other people.  


That being said, it's no surprise that when I uploaded my turkey day photos that I didn't have any photos of people, and only of the food.  

Ahh, look at that feast!  We had to add our outdoor table onto our nice oak table even after we put the leaf in it to accommodate both people and food.  There's our beautiful turkey and ham, and also my homemade bread rolls and mashed potatoes.  

Here we have our three mushroom stuffing, sweet yams (compliments of the Rosas) with melted marshmallows no top and homemade strawberry bread (compliments of my friend Sara) that is really too good to be true.  

Our fancy decanter (people should get married just to get gifted with stuff like this.  No way would we have bought this for ourselves, I didn't even know what a decanter was until we unwrapped this bad boy) with our red wine.  Juan had a bunch of this, I had three glasses of white wine instead.  

Oh the pies.  I love baking pies.  I hand made the pie crusts and fillings and they were both delicious.  Pie crusts are wonderfully forgiving and easy to make.  Even if you rip a hole in them when you're rolling them out, super easy to patch up, and best part, no one would be able to tell.  


That pretty much sums up our feast.  It was delectable. And the company was pretty freaking awesome to!

Running Day... Something...

This post might be a little boring, but whatever, deal :)


I'm still running.  I did my first full 3miles this past week for the first time in three weeks (thank you sickness).  But I've been doing a few 2mile runs during the week since I got sick.  My 20minute DVDs are all high intensity and a challenge even when I'm feeling 100% awesome, and my easier DVDs are about 40minutes in length, and exercising for more than half an hour while recovering from being sick didn't sound like fun either.  Since I wanted to work out, quickly, but not destroy myself, I've been running.  What?  I want a quick and easy work out and so I do 2 or 3 mile runs??  When did that shift happen?  Holy rusted metal Batman, am I a runner??!


I may not be fast, not by any means, but does being fast constitute being a runner?  I've been running alone with my bouncy running playlist with my faithful (most of the time) canine companion in toe and all of the sudden without my realizing it, running has become my quick and easy work out.  More than that, running 3miles has become my quick and easy work out.  


Two months and one week ago was my first time outside to train for my 5k race that I had in mid-October.  Since then I have had my ups and downs with running from my gait, to my breathing, to my over all will to put one foot in front of the other and propel myself forward with some sort of speed.  I've been bored by it, I've been annoyed by it, I've been disappointed and discouraged by it.  But I've also been elated by it, surprised by it, and enjoyed it.  I've found companionship in it, and when I go alone I can sometimes get "blank brain" moments where all I think about is singing along with the music.  


I may not be fast, I may not ever train for more than a 5k, I certainly don't see any half or full marathons in my future, I don't get "Running" magazine, but somehow, some way, without me even noticing it, I think I've turned into a runner.  

Oh Sazu

I know it's just a picture of Sazu, doing nothing spectacular in particular.  But the more I look at this picture, the more it makes me laugh.  

*poof!*

Holiday Happiness

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving, but even all the stress to get family together, the pressure to prepare a decadent feast and have none of it burn and hit the table hot all at the same time, the mountains of dishes, the incomprehensible amount of calories consumed and then needing to be worked off, despite all the stressors, there's just something so cozy about Thanksgiving.  


Maybe it's the good food, maybe it's the company of good people, maybe it's because there's no pressure to have gifts, maybe it's because the weekend is so short, that everyone wants to make each moment matter, or maybe it's just the wine.  Whatever it is, every year I get a tickle of holiday joy and excitement whenever November comes around.  


This year that tickle is less like the gentle brush that gives you a fleeting shiver as it has been in the past years, and is more like a full on tickle fest from the tickle monster.  I find myself perturbed that there are no Thanksgiving decorations out and it's all Christmas oriented (Halloween just passed people...) and annoyed at myself for not buying the Thanksgiving stuff while it was out.  Even the fall decor is being replaced with snow covered Santas and reindeer.  Even with that annoyance though I can feel my heart warm at the Christmas lights and my imagination wanders as I mentally put together my holiday home.  


I find myself wanting holiday flatware, you know, those special plates that you only whip out for the holiday season.  Target (evil, evil place that it is) has these beautiful dark red plates right now that as soon I saw them I thought to myself, "Those would stand out nicely on a forest green table cloth for Christmas."  Such domestic thoughts have never crossed my mind before.  I saw a dark red table cloth and said to myself, "That tablecloth along with those burnt orange place mates will compliment my brown dishes nicely for Thanksgiving."  I actually stopped in the middle of the aisle and looked around me trying to figure out if that sentence had originated from my head.  


When I was in the plate aisle (who walks down the plate aisle unless they need plates??) there were some china sets out and I thought to myself, "It's high time we start putting together our china collection.  Not that I have anywhere to put it all.  We should get a china cabinet.  Ooo!  A china cabinet!"  Then down down the glasses aisle to check out wine glasses (I've broken all of ours except the crystal goblets my sister in law got me that I'm terrified to touch on the off chance my butterfingers drops one) and as I looked at the wine glasses, pondering if I wanted traditional stemmed glasses or the more modern stemless glass, my eyes roamed over to their other kinds of glasses I thought to myself, "Those whiskey tumblers would look great in our china cabinet along side our martini mixing set that we already have."  Again I stopped and thought incredulously, "We don't have a china cabinet!  We don't drink martinis that's why that mixing set is in a cupboard somewhere and we certainly don't drink whiskey so we don't need whiskey tumblers!"  And then that domestic voice said back to me, "But the point of a china cabinet is to display all your beautiful pieces.  Mom has stuff in her china cabinet that they you've never seen them use."  And then I was stumped.  It's true; my mom has a gorgeous china cabinet filled to the brim with beautiful things.  Some of which I don't think I've ever seen out of the china cabinet except to be dusted.  


And so I yielded to the domestic voice and texted the husband and shared with him this odd little voice inside my head asking for things like china cabinets and holiday dish sets.  His response: I'm no longer allowed to watch Desperate Housewives.  His response after I told him how excited I am about making our home holiday-cozy because of this rush of holiday frenzy: We're going to Target on Sunday.  


I've thought about where this is all coming from.  Is it purely consumer driven?  Or is there something inside of me that is ready to start making my own traditions?  My verdict: I think it's 30% consumer driven (let's be honest, most holiday preparation is) and 70% me ready to make my own traditions.  Just like with Halloween, there is something inside me that is calling me to cram our box of holiday cheer full of festive goodness.  I think that urge is coming from a place of, dare I say it, wanting to settle down and no longer looking our rented home (although we have some pretty awesome digs in my opinion) as a temporary place.  Instead, I find myself looking at our place and saying, home is where the heart is and my heart is here, so this is my home (and my heart is also at Target apparently).  That's not to say that my parent's house isn't still my home, because it is.  I grew up in that home and I will always love and cherish it.  But I think I finally feel like I have a home here too.  

Wedding Bliss

Juan and I got invited to one of Juan's co-worker's wedding this past weekend.  It was beautiful.  The bride was gorgeous, the groom was handsome, the venue was dreamy, and the food, dear god, the food was simply to DIE for.  The atmosphere was both elegant yet relaxed, sophisticated yet playful, serious yet full of humor - everything that marriages are made of.  


The venue - The Westin La Paloma.  My night time flash was trying to pick everything right next to me up, instead of going long, and the regular flash was washing everything out.  And since I didn't have a tripod, the no flash option was not an option.  So, damn it all, all my photos are blurry (Dear Santa, may I please get a digital 35mm camera for Christmas?).  

The groom (right) and his best man (left) attempting to look pensive moments before the ceremony

The gorgeous bride as she makes her way to her soon to be husband (that blur is going to kill me).  Her dress was STUNNING

First kiss as newly weds!

To make up for my crappy outdoor photos, I decided to get good pictures of the stuff indoors.  Check out this cake!  Red velvet with I think a hint of brandy.  Delish. 

Handwritten place cards in super beautiful calligraphy, complete with little gems glued to them

There's probably about a billion other photos I could post, but then this post would be insanely long.  My determination to get decent and artsy photos coupled with who knows how many glasses of wine (my glass would get half empty, then a server on super ninja stealth mode would refill it when I wasn't looking and I would look back and go, huh I thought I drank more than that.  I never actually finished a glass of wine, they were just always magically full), equals a lot of pictures of center pieces, roses and candles alike.  


Since my own wedding, I have attended a few other weddings and each one brings up something new for me.  This one brought about long wistful looks to my own husband as I reminisced on our special day that was also full of love and laughter.  It really is quite amazing to watch two people who love each other so completely come together in front of their family and friends and pledge a life together.  Standing up there, in a fancy gown and sharp tux, eating decadent food and sharing cake to toasts of champagne doesn't change the relationship the happy couple has.  But there is something so magnanimous about that outward recognition, of that tangible representation of love that, as my sister puts it, is significant in knowing that your love has been recognized and celebrated by others.


And since pictures can speak better than words: