Yay! I'm blogging from my brand new iPad! Tye brought it home for me yesterday. I was sur-prised indeed.
I always thought they were cool, but never thought of spending that kind of money on me. Or on something I don't "need".
But, I have to say, it's pretty rad.
I know that I haven't even begun to know all it can do. But it will be fun to figure it out.

Last night I downloaded a bunch of free iBooks. Then I read one to grace as we snuggled, rather than watching tv.
It's good.
Really good.

So, how was your Xmas? Ours was fantastic!
Tye was pleasant, grace was pleasant. I think I was pleasant.
We went to my mom and dads on the 23rd to celebrate Xmas. Everyone had originally planned on going to San diego over Xmas, but us. So we made othee loans for Xmas. Then, not everyone decided to go to San diego, so, my parents came here.
However, we had already made Xmas plans, enter Xmas on the 23rd.

It was great. We ate, talked, played games. We also gave my parents their gift.
We had the grandkids pictures professionally done for them.
The last time we had them done was 8 years and 4 grandkids ago.
It was time.

I had my sister in law, Sara, take the pictures.
Those that are followers, prally already know how awesome she is.
Then ww had them printed on wrapped canvas from iprintcanvas.
He rocks.
Our pictures came out UH-MAZING!!

We were so excited to give the pictures to them.
They LOVED it!!!!

My mom cried. Score!

Then we played trivial pursuit until 2 in the morning.
It was such a great night.

The next night we went to tyes moms for our annual family Xmas party. Every year we have a themed party. This year analee wanted to have us bring our music stuff so we could make music. So we decided that we would all come dressed as musicians. Well, not EVERYONE was a musician.

Tye was some guy from alice in chains. He actually could have been kid rock.
Grace was shania twain and I was Elton John. I will post pics when I can get them from Sara.

Analee was Liza maneli (sp?)
I can't remember who Doug was, but he looked AWESOME!!!
Yale was Ted nuggent, allee was pat benatar (sp?)
Linzy was one of the beetles and Xander was Chris ledeux.
Alex was Elvis, Sara was MJ and Oliver was Michael McClain. Oliver was my favorite. He looked awesome!!!

Anyway, it was a great night with yummy food and awesome music,

Grace got a couple small things for Xmas from Santa. Then......from around the corner the kitty came.
She flipped out!
She has wanted a cat for a long long time. I have always said no.
She eventually got good with it. So she didn't suspect a thing!!!

I'm not gonna lie, this kitty is pretty damn cute!!
We named her Tori.

Then up to tyes dads we went. We spent most of the day there. It was really nice and relaxing.

However, I am glad that it is over.

Now, back to the gym. I gotta get there before the beginning of the year so it isn't just a resolution.
Know what I mean?

Bye bye.

Alisa

15 Hours in Seattle

So, my trip to Seattle.....

LOTS of driving.

LOTS.

And then more.

Why did I go?

Silly, you know why I went.

I went to go see my girl, Brandi.

I was supposed to see her twice, but only got to once. The story is coming.

Now, as much as I love Brandi and the twins, they are not complete without her drummer, Allison Miller. She is not only the frosting, but the sugar IN the frosting.

Serious.

So after their headliner, they dimmed the the lights. Then Allison snuck up on stage, sat at her drums, and without any notice, went INSANE on the drums. INSANE!!

I think it scared everyone.

And here she is, going CRAZY!!

Oh man, it was SO GREAT!!

THEN, here is the song........

(There are some swears here....)

I WAS SO EXCITED!!!! I have always wanted to see her do Creep Live!

I cant even tell you how AMAZING it was!!!

In this video, she is singing with her sister Tiffany (who is engaged to Phil)

While we were in line, I mentioned to Jen and Cristina (our new friend) that I bet she will bring her sister on stage, since they are playing at home. OH, and MAYBE even her mom.

Guess what, SHE DID BOTH!!

This is Tiffany and Brandi.

I love, love, love, love, love her.

But, you know this.

So, bum deal though. We didn't get to see her perform with the Seattle Symphony. :( Sad.

There was some gnarly weather headed our way, and I DID NOT want to drive in it.

I woke up Sunday morning with 6 different weather alerts on my phone and ALL of them were places we had to drive through.

I just had a pit in my stomach. Leaving was the LAST thing I wanted to do. Well, second to last thing. (The VERY last thing I wanted to do was drive home is gnarly weather.)

So, as I listened to myself say to Jen, "Jen, we cant stay, we need to go."

While the rest of me way saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I knew we had to go.

I had been nervous the WHOLE trip about driving home.

I like to believe that I made the smart choice, even though we STILL had to stay the night in Baker City......AGAIN!

Oh Baker City..... I really dont care if I EVER go there again.

INFACT, if I drive to the Northwest again, I will drive straight past Baker City to Pendleton. If I have to break it up, I will stay in Pendleton for the night.

Our first night, we stayed in Baker City. We stayed at Knights Inn.

Oh lala.....

When we got in, I think it was 21 degrees.

We checked in, and sorry, but I could only understand about every 5th word that came from the man behind the desk.

We get up to our wood paneled room and bundled up. IT WAS SO COLD!

It looked like there were about 3 different ways to heat our room. So, I picked up the phone in our room to call the front desk to ask which way I heat our room that was, no lie, 45 degrees.

Im not kidding you when I tell you that the phone in the room, WAS A PROP!

Serious.

There were no hang up buttons.

AND, there was nothing plugged into it.

Yeah. Things were goin' great.

So, I called the number that they had on the pad of paper that they provided.

Apparently, Knights Inn has a call center.

A women answered the phone and I told her what room we were in and we needed to know how to turn on the heat, My Land, THE HEAT!

Mother of all that is warm, I NEED HEAT!

The girl on the other line says, (quite condescendingly, I might add) "Listen, Im not at your hotel, this is a call center."

I say "This dump has a CALL CENTER??"

Her: "........"

Me: "Well, then I bet you have the number to the one that I am staying at. Im in Baker City, Oregon."

She gave me the number. I call it.

Again.... every 5th word is understood.

However, I did understand this part: "If you like, I can come up there and help you figure it out..."

Uh, Thanks, and NO THANKS.

We did what we thought we needed, bundled up, and tried to fall asleep. (Worst night of sleep on a LONG time)

I figured the heat came on around 2 or 3 in the morning.

Nice.

So, as I said....back in Baker City again. I was NOT a happy camper.

Anywho, watch those Youtubes and love her. LOVE HER!

Consistantly Inconsistant

Holla!

Can I just tell you.... I AM SO AMAZINGLY, TRULY, GENUINELY EXCITED!!!

Really, I don't get REALLY excited about much. Day to day stuff just isn't exciting.

Don't get me wrong, I am comfortable in my daily, boring and predictable routine.

Comfortable- VERY

Love it- Not all the time

I have a great job. It really is a good gig. Minimal stress. Casual setting. Great people to work with. As far as jobs go, I have a sweet gig.

BUT- There are the mornings when I wake up and I say out loud "Please...no....not again. I cant do this routine one more time...I cant!"

Then I think really hard.

And then I remember, ITS SATURDAY!

Now, dont think that just because it is saturday, there is anything exciting going on.

Nope. On any given Saturday you can find me cleaning my house. Just so it can stay clean for 3 days. Then it becomes a mess and I do it all over again on Saturday.

Hows that for routine?

BUT- Not this Saturday. Hip Hip Hooray!

I will be in SEATTLE!!

Serious, this little ole Utah girl has wanted to go to Seattle for-EVAR!

The gloomeyness of it. The GREEN. The grunge. And I am positive that Seattle just always smells like coffee. ALWAYS.

Oh man, i am SO EXCITED!

So in this post, I blogged about why im going to Seattle. Remember how I mentioned that we paid 400+% for our symphony tickets?

Well, shortly after I blogged that, I got this email....

Hi,

I read about your unfortunate experience with the symphony tickets on your blog. I just wanted to let you know, in case you didn't already, there is a secret show with Brandi and the Twins on Saturday 11/20 at Neumos in Seattle. Tickets are still available. The show is listed as "The Story Guy and his Band".

https://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/onlineSale?action=selectPerformance&cobrand=neumos&performance_id=1342018

.

Hope you can make it.

Roberta

(www.againtoday.com)

WHA????

How did this chic know to read my blog? Don't get me wrong.....SO GLAD SHE DID!

Againtoday.com is a fan website for Brandi Carlile.

So, yeah....I've been on it a few times.....what of it?

Anyway, the next day I went online to the venue website.

Sure enough "The Story" guy and his band.....

But, there was no bio for them. I get it, is supposed to be a secret show.

But I wanted to make sure!

So I called the venue.

Ring Ring Ring

Them: Neumos

Me: Hi. I have a quick question.

Them: Sure. What is it?

Me: So, Im looking at your website and the shows coming up.

Them: yeah

Me: Well, Im reading the bio's, but there isnt one for "The Story Guy"and his band....

Them: ................

Me: Hello?

Them: Why are you asking?

Me: Well, as I mentioned just now, you have bios for all the other bands, but not this one. What can you tell me about them?

Them: Well, actually, its a secret show.

Me: Secret show? How is it secret if its on your website? ( I knew why it was secret.....I just like to ask alot of questions)

Them: Well, its a band that is pretty popular in Seattle, so they are doing a show only for those loyal, hardcore fans that would know how to find out that they are doing a secret show.

Me: So, you're talking about Brandi Carlile.....Right?

Them:...................

Me: Hello?!

Them: I cant tell you that.

Me: Well, OBVIOUSLY Im one of those fans you speak of since I just asked the secret question about the secret band.....

Them: Per the contract, I cant say the name of the band. BUT, I can tell you this. Get your tickets.

IM SO EXCITED!!!

AND Brandi was on Austin City Limits on Saturday night.

It was like watching someone I know on TV.

I know, I am pathetic.

I am pretty much a stalker.

Wait, no, im not.

I don't know anything that anyone else couldn't know.

Its not like I know the color of her drapes. Or her route to the gym......past the grocery store and next to the library in the small town she lives in.

Sheesh...its not like I know that she likes to eat brown sugar on her cream o wheat with one boiled egg while she reads the paper (local section first)

THAT would be icky.

Funny Grace story (havent done one for a while)

We went to the dentist today.

I knew that she had at least one cavity. So, I wanted to make sure I used my insurance before things changed the beginning of the year. AND, I wanted to make sure we didn't have to deal with any bigger problems later.

I know, good mom, right?

So, she HATES the dentist. She gets scared. But, we have a great one for her. She gets to watch a movie on the 3-D glasses magigado thingy.

AND, she gets laughing gas.

SHE IS HILARIOUS!

All inhibitions out the window. At one point the dentist was giving her a numbing shot. It was pinchy and it hurt.

Grace was saying "Ow! Owie! Stop. Please Stop!"

The dentist said "Im almost done.....5 more seconds...."

Grace YELLS (with the dentists hand in her mouth, but heard VERY clearly) "DONT LIE TO ME LADY! TAKE YOUR EVIL MACHINE OUTTA MY MOUTH!!"

hahahahahahahaha

The dentist looked at me, I just shrugged my shoulders. Thats my girl.

Then, as the dentist was working on her, and she was watching Tom and Jerry, at one point she started laughing and could not stop. The dentist stopped for a second and asked "Whats so funny Grace?"

Grace responds with sticking her pinky finger in the air and giggles "Look how skinny and little my pinky finger is....I wonder how bendy it is...."

Yeah, she was feelin' good.....

so, if you know me, or if you read my blog (at the right time) you know that i have the hugest girl crush on Brandi Carlile.
HUGE-EST!!

last time she was in town, she came for THREE nights in a row!
THREE!!
the first two were impromptu.
i went to 2 of the 3.

she is so amazing.

anyway, i met lots of super cool people in those two days as i sat in line waiting for the doors to open. one person had told me about brandi's performance in seattle with the seattle symphony.
she said that if you are a brandi fan, this performance is not to be missed.

i have never been to seattle, but i already know that i love it. serious.
already love it.
so, a couple weeks ago, being the brandi ho that i am, i decided i was going to see her in seattle.
i may go alone, i may invite someone. who knows.
either way, im going to go see her.

now the money.

i was determined. this would happen and the funds would make them selves known. (does your money hide from you as often as mine does?)

i was given what i needed.
we were refinancing our house at the time, and as luck would have it, between the payment we skip with the refi, the taxes we paid for 2010 that we get back and the money that we got back at closing (which we werent planning on)- there is more than enough to go on my trip.

su-weet!

so, then i decide that i will invite a friend.
it took a few days, but she was in.

perfect!

then, on tuesday night, my friend asked if we should get our tickets.
i didnt think so. brandi is doing two nights. the first sold out, but i didnt think the second one would.
i went online on wednesday to get tickets.................SOLD THE EFF OUT!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, well, not totally sold out.
there was still ONE ticket left at $71.00
ONE!

i called my friend in a panic.
then we decided there has to be ones for sale.
ebay, craigslist, other ticket vendors (aka...scalpers)

so, we found 2 tickets for $87 each. we knew that we were paying more than face value. prally 200% more. but we were fine with that.
my friend ordered them. they were to be delivered to her house.

she text me today to let me know that they tickets showed up.....and they have their face value printed on them.

come to find out that we would have saved some money IF paid a 200% increase.
we would have saved money if it was a 300% increase.
and....we would have even saved money if it was a 400% increase.....
we paid a 450% increase on the face value of our tickets.
they were $19.00 tickets!!!
yup, i said $19.00!!!

i decided its all good. i would be WAY more disappointed if i didnt get to go.

road trip from salt lake to seattle and back in 3 1/2 days.
and i get to hear brandi sing.

i. am. so. excited.

lets hope we do better with the hotel rates. :}


alisa

Candi....what?

**Warning, this is a LONG post. If you want to know about what MAY be ailing you...continue.**

Candida-

Ever heard of it? You probably have. However, I have not. Well, until yesterday.

I was talking to my mom about Nutri-biotic for this little sickness I have been dealing with for the last couple of days. (Made me miss going to San Diego....jerk)

Anyway, my mom was rambling off the ailments that Nutri-biotic helps with. Then she mentioned yeast infection or candida. She then says "Oh, I need to tell your sister about that part.."

She has had digestion issues as well as other issues that she has been trying to figure out.

At one point she thought that Candida might be the culprit. She was swayed from it. But she came back to thinking that this was the issue. So she did alot of research and she is pretty sure she has found what ailes her.

For those of you who, like me, havent heard or known of candida let me tell you what it is.

Candida is the over growth of yeast in your body.

All of us have yeast in our body. Naturally the body knows what to do with it and there isnt an issue. However, there are a lot of those who have yeast over growth, dont know it, and then have issues that they arent sure what to rack it up to.

This is about yeast over growth in the digestive system. It makes it hard for your body to process your food. And, if you dont know that you are dealing with it, you are probably making it worse with the foods you consume.

My sister decided she would do the candida spit test.

Great name huh? Well, its pretty self explainitory.

In the morning, you put some distilled water at room temperature in a clear glass. Then, before you put ANYTHING in your mouth, you get a good amount of spit in your mouth and you spit in the glass. You can leave there for up to an hour to see what your spit does.

IF it gets stringy and kind of separates as it goes towards the bottom, YOU my friend are dealing with candida. IF it separates like small spotty pieces, YOU my friend, are dealing with Candida. If it floats on top of the water, YOU my friend, are NOT dealing with Candida.

Ok, so, what are the symptoms of Candida?

Well, there are many. Hell, breathing could be a symptom. Yep, its one of THOSE things where anything that you feel could be related. But, just for fun, I will list the symptoms.

Here goes.....

• abdominal gas and bloating


• headaches


• migraines


• excessive fatigue


• cravings for alcohol


• anxiety


• vaginitis ( cant we thing of a better name...??)


• rectal itching


• cravings for sweets


• inability to think clearly or concentrate


• hyperactivity


• mood swings


• diarrhea


• constipation


• hyperactivity


• itching


• acne


• eczema


• depression


• sinus inflammation


• pre-menstrual syndrome


• dizziness


• poor memory


• persistent cough


• earaches


• low sex drive


• muscle weakness


• irritability


• learning difficulties


• sensitivity to fragrances and/or other chemicals


• cognitive impairment


• thrush


• athlete's foot


• sore throat


• indigestion


• acid reflux


• chronic pain

Some may look at this and say "k, so....whats the big deal?" Well, maybe not a BIG deal if it is mild and you dont have a reason to even think that anything may be wrong. However, it can reck havoc on the following:

• digestive


• nervous


• cardiovascular


• respiratory


• reproductive


• urinary


• endocrine


• lymphatic


• musculoskeletal

So yeah, yeast issues arent just for *down there*. See what I mean? ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is a symptom. However, for my sister, her issues that lead her to this conclusion was bloating, sugar craving (abnormal amounts), anxiety, as well as hormonal issues.

When she was talking about all of this, I thought "Hmmmmm.....I wonder if there is something to this for me.."

My issues, Keeping the weight off, sinus issues, headaches, gas and bloating and digestion issues. Ya know, my stomach never feels good.

So, I did the spit test. Sure enough, it didn't take long for my spit to separate, get stringy and sink.

So, what can be done about this?

Well, there are some supplements out there that say they can combat the candida with out much change in diet.

There may be some truth to that. However, I tend to believe that the majority has to be done with diet.

So, what does the Candida diet consist of? I asked this to my sister and PRAYED and crossed my fingers that it wasnt like eating when on HCG.

Well, it kind of is. But not the same.

The "DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT EATING!!" Foods-

SUGAR!! Avoid it like the plague. Did you even know how many kinds of sugars there are? Well take a looky loo:

-Beet Sugar
-Maple Sugar
-Date Sugar
-Organic Cane Syrup
-Organic Cane Juice
-Organic Cane Sugar
-Dextrose
-Maltose
-Lactose
-Maltodextrin
-Fructose
-High Fructose Corn Syrup
-Brown Sugar
-Powdered Sugar
-Honey
-Molasses
-Alcohol is the most refined form of sugar you can consume.

Anything ending in "lose"....yeah, stay away from that.

-No alcohol
-No wheat
-No yeast
-No caffeine (Caffeine prompts the liver to dump large doses of sugar into the blood stream)
-No preservatives and additives
-No refined and processed foods
-No moldy foods
-No dairy (except yogurt and butter on occasion)
Cheese and milk contain lactose (milk sugar) which the yeast will feed on.
(some people can do small amounts of cottage cheese)
-Low in Carbohydrates

-No processed meats like lunch meat, spam, bacon, sausage etc.

Um...ok, so what CAN I eat?

-Lean Meat and Fish
-Eggs
-High in Protein and Vegetables
-Low in Fruit and Nuts

The basic and most successful anti Candida diet should consist of nothing but lean meat, eggs, and low carbohydrate vegetables. A small amount of whole fruit, nuts and seeds may be acceptable if they don't flare symptoms.

Meats to Include

-buffalo (is lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey)
-chicken
-beef
-turkey
-lamb
-ostrich
-pheasant
-venison
-fish.( its good to be wise about the fish you eat. some are high in mercury and *most* farmed fish are full of pollutants. I also read that Atlantic Salmon is higher in mercury than pacific salmon)

I always think that Organic is best. I mean, if you are trying to get rid of the yeast overload in your body, it makes no sense to eat meat that is pumped full of antibiotics. (one of the things yeast feeds on)

Low Carb Vegetables to Include

-cabbage
-kale
-lettuce
-cucumbers
-zucchinis
-cauliflower
-green beans
-spinach
-any green leafy vegetable is low in carbohydrates
-onions
-garlic
-green peppers
-avocados (are excellent because they are also very good for stabilizing -blood sugar)
-tomatoes are low carb but high in acid and often aggravate yeast, you'll need to monitor your symptoms to determine whether you should include them in your diet.

Ok....so what can I eat, but just not much of or not often?

High Carb Foods to Avoid or Eat Sparingly

-potatoes (DAMN!)
-carrots (Meh..)
-sweet potatoes (DAMN!!)
-yams (DAMN DAMN DAMN!)
-corn (meh...)
-beans (damn-ish)
-winter squash (SH&T, DAMN, HELL!!!)

K...FINE! WHAT ELSE CANT I HAVE???

Grains

Grains should be avoided completely or reserved for special occasions on the Candida diet. Not only are they are highly allergenic and high in carbohydrates, but the human body does not digest them properly. They disrupt the gastrointestinal tract.

-rice (meh...)
-wheat (Meh...)
-oats (meh...)
-barley (meh..)
-spelt (meh...)
-rye (meh...)
-corn (meh....)

There are ALTERNATE grains that can be used though:

-Kamut (huh?)
-Quinoa (YUMMY!!)
-Amaranth (Ama...what?)

So.....I guess this isnt really much different than how normally eat....except for the the stuff that I am swearing about. BUT...Eggs and Yogurt are allowed...to an extent.

Yogurt is okay on occasion because it contains healthy bacteria. (GREEK YOGURT!!)
-Cheese or cottage cheese should be restricted for special occasions. (meh..)
-Eggs are a good protein and contain no carbs. (YAY for Fresh Eggs from our chickens!!)

Lets talk about nuts-

Some people can include nuts, while other's can't. Nuts are very good for you, so if you can include them in your diet, you should. However in the beginning phase of the Candida diet they are best avoided or reduced.

Nuts are moldy. Some of them are also high carbohydrate.

Cashews are high in carbohydrates.

Macadamia, Almond, Walnut Hazelnut are lower in carbohydrates. Peanuts should be avoided, they are actually a legume, not a nut.

Ok, so whatev....I mean, I would be sad if I couldn't eat Almonds, but they are Ok-ish. Sweet!

This ones going to hurt. Alot......Fruits..... grrrr....ok, here is goes-

Most people need to cut down on fruit intake drastically while following the Candida diet. This is because fruit is high in natural sugar. Some fruits are higher in sugar than others.

Some people can eat fruit freely and other people can't eat it at all. On the other hand, some people can only eat fruit that is lower in sugar.


Fruit High in Sugar
-Oranges (very moldy as well)
-Bananas
-Dates
-Raisins (At one point these wrinkly fellas were Grapes.......damn! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Grapes. But, I did stop eating them as much because I noticed that I was bloated the more I ate them. And I could eat a pound a day. No lie... So this is making sense)

Fruit Medium level of sugar
-Apples
-Apricots
-Peaches
-Melons (also very moldy)


Fruit Low in sugar
-Strawberries
-Blueberries
-Raspberries
-Blackberries
-Pears

Oh, and this. NO VINEGAR!!!! WHAT???? I guess scientifically, it makes sense. I think I can handle it. However, Apple Cider Vinegar is fine. But I LOVE Balsamic Vinegar. Hmph.

So, in a nut shell (depending on the nut)

No Starches

that is to include grains and root veggies.

So, no bread.

No pasta

Minimal (if ANY) fruit

No dairy (sucks that I LOVE blue cheese....ya know....moldy cheese....perfect feeding ground for a yeast extravaganza)

Very picky with nuts and what is actually a nut.

"They" say that for every month you have had candida, you should adopt the diet. But who knows how long they have had candida. I mean, by the time the symptoms make you go "hmmmm" its already a problem. So, I will do it as long I feel I need to. Then when I am ready, I will introduce some of the no-nos into my diet and pay close attention to the results.

LOTS of people D.R.O.P. weight like a hot plate when they get going on this. Not knowing that this was a main reason as to why it has been so frustrating getting the weight off.

So- here goes nuthin. I would like to say that I will blog about results in the way I feel and look and that I will also blog about what I eat, but really....who am I kidding?

If I do, consider it a good day for me....and you. :)

Alisa- The Candida Hunter

i really should be getting ready to go to the gym.

i guess all it takes is putting my shoes and sock on. i think i can do that and be there 18 minutes.

push play on the ipod to the right. its gonna play my new favorite song for right now.

k, so, i know how much i talk about brandi carlile. but serious guys, she is UH-MAZING!

so, she came to Red Butte in july. then 3 weeks later announced that she would be at The State Room in September. the minute they went on sale, i got my ticket. i am glad. she sold out in a hour. now, there were only 300 tickets available, but still.

so, she was scheduled to come on tuesday the 14th. and she did.

but she came on the MONDAY and SUNDAY before!!!!

she was supposed to open for sheryl crow in vegas and reno, but SC got the poopies.

so, she canceled.

so brandi was like- " hey, lets go see our besties in the SLC."

i couldnt go to sunday, but I went to monday with nikki and joni. then AGAIN on tuesday with joni, nikki, nancy, nicole, jen and lindsay.

i knew that i was going to have to be all crazy and get in line at like 2. doors opened at 7. So that is what i did. and sure enough, there were like 9 chairs in front of me.

but that was cool. i knew that we would still get front left of the stage. yup, bellies to the stage.

that is my new favorite thing. going stupid early to concerts and waiting in line. i made lots of new friends. and i am sure that there were people that wanted to punch me in throat too. but whatev, i made friends with some pretty groovy people. however, they thought i was a lesbian. in all fairness, most people that see brandi ARE lesbians. cuz she is a freakin HOT lesbian herself. and she is an uhmazing singer/songwriter. oh, then, when we were starting to actually go in to the venue, like 7 little glammed out chics decide that they are going to butt in front of us. I wasnt having it. i was mouthy that night. i was pissed. so i took jonis hand and we made our way in front of them. i had one person (that wasnt with the glamm's) ask me if i was trying to butt in front of her. I said "no, im just taking my place back. you were 15 people behind me 20 minutes ago..." nothing she could say about that. she understood. but then i got some stink eyes and wispering from the glamms. so out loud, and a little passive aggresivley, i say to joni ***get ready for some real language*** "i want them to say something to me. i can break their skinny asses over my knee."

i thought that was original. and it shut them up. :)

i had one of my new friends ask me how i met a mutual friend of ours. i tried to explain, and her girlfriend said "wait, arent you her partner?" i said "na, my husband might feel weird about that....at first. but mostly he would get pissed cuz i wouldnt want to take pictures...and then there is my daughter....it might confuse her...."

she went bright red. she apologized.

i dont see a reason to apologize. i told her not to worry about it. would she apologize if she thought i was with another man? nope. please dont think that i would be embarassed if someone thought i was a lesbian. that would indicate that is something to be ashamed of. not in my world. besides, i have many people in my life that are gay, and i love them the mostest.

anywhoooo

brandi said happy birthday to joni cuz we screamed it to her.

she winked at nikki, AGAIN.

she winked at her on monday too when she asked for requests and nikki requested a new song that isnt on any albums yet. so she said ok, and winked at nikki.

oh.

be still my heart.

so after the concert on tuesday, they werent going to come sign autographs. but we knew that they go to the bayou after their shows. so we went there to get something to eat.

they werent there.

but when we were going back to the state room parking lot, we saw that the bus was still there...and there she was. there was brandi.

(they couldnt have left if they wanted to though. nikki was parked in front of the bus...bwahahahahaha)

so i had nothing for them to sign.

damn!

wait, i have my big wheel shirt on.

you know, white shirt with a blue neck and blue 3/4 sleeves.

they can sign my shirt!!

first i had allison (her drummer) sign my shirt. on my chest. (not boobs)

then i had josh, the cellist sign my back, then katie herzig (opening act) and her bass payer sign my back. then brandi signed the right side of my chest.

seriously, one of the BEST nights of my life.....as far as concerts go.

please check her out.

you will love her too.

and if you dont, thats ok, then i dont have to get all ninja on your ass when you are in front of me in line.

pssst... im listening to her now.

alisa

i just realized that i never did tell you about the biker that hit my car.

maybe tomorrow. between the party, massage, cleaning and yard work.

OH! AND i cant find my gym key card!!!

NOT COOL!

I'm not going to apologize this time for not blogging for so long.

Only because it seems that I apologize all the time.

Kinda like when you "love" everything, you "love" nothing.

If I apologize about the same thing all time, I really must not be sorry.

So I am not apologizing out of technicality.

That works.

I wish i had my camera with me, rather that in some random pocket of my husbands, as he is hunting. I wanted to post pictures of our Yellowstone trip.

It was grand!

I got some great pictures of Grace fly fishing for the first time. She LOVED it.

I also wanted to show you the little country cabin we stayed in while in Cooke City Montana. Cooke City is GORGEOUS! Such rugged country. I could post the pictures of all the bison we saw, but really, you see one buffalo, you've seen 'em all.....right?

I will save that post for sometime in October when I see my husband again.

(Hunting season)

So, I mentioned before that I started my 3rd(!!!) round of hell..er HCG. Maybe I didn't mention it.

Well, I did.

I was pumped. I knew that I could do it. The first time was such a success. The second time was, until I went to Oregon and put everything I saw in my mouth. YES! Everything!

"Hello Eggs benedict with crab on top"....in my mouth

"Hello anything sweet, salty, crunchy, gooey.."......in my mouth

"Hello pretzel on the floor of our rented cougar car (HHR)".....in my mouth

"Hello Pine smelling car freshener"...in my mouth

It was bad. Oh Lord, It was bad.

So, 3rd round. PUMPED! I can do this! My cousin was doing it with me. It always makes it easier for me when someone does it with me. Well, wait, not when my husband did it with me on my second round. No NOT EASIER. HARDER. PAINFUL!!! The protocol that we were following was stricter than a lot of them out there. No mixing veggies, and less veggies to choose from.

So he would ask "Can we have broccoli?"

Me:"No"

Husband:"Why?"

Me:"I don't know, it just says"

Husband:"So your just going to do what someone tells you to with out knowing why?"

Me:"Normally, NO. However, in this case, yes"

Husband:"Thats stupid we cant have broccoli. I don't understand why we cant have broccoli"

Me:"Go argue with the dead doctor if you want to then...GOSH!"

Never doing that with my husband again.

Anyway. A few things I learned this round:

1- Im stronger than I thought

2- I HATE CABBAGE! I thought we could reconcile from our nasty break up in round one. We tried it this time. Im sorry, but you just cant fake chemistry. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. There will be no more cabbage for this girl.

3- It is possible to go out of town, and do HCG. It takes HOURS of prep and more control than anyone should ever have to muster up. I had to muster it up from every corner of my body. I drained it from my finger nails.

4- NEVER GO ON TRIPS WHILE ON HCG!!!! ( I went on two and never cheated)

5- Hcg has served me well. And it is time to bid farewell.

So, no, I didn't make it to 23 days. More like 18. I lost 12 lbs. Im cool with that. However, as I was on my last trip, I read The Eat Clean Diet Recharged by Tosca Reno. I have read her other book. And I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed it so much! I was so inspired! I was so excited to get going on it. That is why I dumped HCG. Eating Clean is a lifestyle. Hcg is not. So I wanted to take advantage of my excitement to implement this right away.

Tosca talks about eating 6 times a day. This is not a new concept to most of us. However, I bet most of us don't do it. She talks about portions of protein, grains and complex carbs. She talks about how important all of those are. And, she says DONT COUNT CALORIES!! Holy scare the bejezus outta me!! Do you know how long I have been counting calories????? Its my wooby. It really is.

Oh yeah, and she tells you NOT TO WEIGHT YOURSELF?

WHHHHAAAAAA????? I am not familiar with the concept. I cant drop that cold turkey.

I cant.

I will weigh myself weekly. Then I will wean myself from that and weigh monthly. But, I am going to trust her on the calorie counting thing.

Since I AM on phase three of HCG. (This is where I have no sugar and no starches) I cant implement all of the foods she talks about. Ya know, most of the grains and some of the veggies. However, I am doing the rest of it.

Now, the gym is not a new concept to me either. In fact before Oregon, I was going almost every morning. but since Oregon, I just choose to let them take money out of my account on a monthly basis. Well, I went back this last week. I have a routine now though. That is what I was missing before. I go 3 days a week for now. I do 1/2 hour of cardio. (The elliptical) Then I do a half hour of strength training.

Mondays I work on my core.

Wednesdays I work my legs.

Fridays I work my upper body.

Then after every work out, I have a high protein smoothie to repair my muscle.

When building muscle, you do it as if your muscle is the new army recruit and you are the drill sergeant. You break it down, and then build it back up . That is what happens to your muscles when you work them. You are shredding them. That is why it is so important that you have a protein shake, or something of the sorts, after you work them out. That protein helps build them back up. That is why you are sore after a work out, Specifically strength training. So, sore is good. Just not debilitating sore.

Anywho, the reason why I am concentrating on strength training and not just cardio is that I want to flip metabolism.

Building muscle will get my metabolism working for me even more so (I would imagine its close to out of batteries right now) when I am not even working out. The more lean muscle mass you have, the better working metabolism you have.

So- I am diggin' this. It isn't a HUGE lifestyle change for me. Really, we eat pretty dang clean in my house. In fact, today, I am cleaning out my pantry. We RARELY eat out of cans and never out of boxes or bags. I will move all these things down to our food storage.

I am excited, because I will be able to use most of my pantry for storing other things for the kitchen that I seem to have run out of room for.

WAHOO!!

I am thinking that I will start another blog that is mainly about my eating and my working out.

I will see.

Obviously I have a hard enough time taking care of one blog. Why would I take on two?

Ya know how in high school for one of your classes they have you carry around a bag of flour and act like it is a baby for a week. This is a sorry attempt to get high school kids to have some sort of idea about how hard it is to be a parent.....TO A SACK OF FLOUR....??

Anyway, they should have that for people who are thinking of having blogs. Something to help you determine if you are adult enough, responsible enough and willing to put in the time to a blog.

Clearly I would have left my sack of flour on top of my car at least a dozen times by now.

I'll have to think about this.

Have some super days.

Alisa

Internet Squatting....

What you dont know (until now when I tell you) is that I am doing a dance.

A jig of sorts.

This is because WE HAVE INTERNET!!!

Geez Lu-eez, we havent had internet for MONTHS!

Judge if you want, but whatever internet we had, we stole. Well, graciously borrowed.

Someone around here had an open network. So when it worked we graciously said please and thank you. However, I think they stopped paying their bill.

HELLO! You have other internet addictions to feed...not just your own.

But, this is how we are paying "them" back....ours isnt locked. So, they can partake for a few months. I would gladly go tell them, but I have NO IDEA whose internet home we were squatting in. Time to make the universe balanced by sharing...right?

I hope that you dont think bad thoughts about us now.

We really are pretty good people.

Anyway, that is why I am doing a dance. And in order for me to keep up on whats going on in blogger-ville-ing-ton, I would have to lay in bed at night and read the posts. I would also have to post from my phone. It isnt hard, it just takes a long time and I already know that I need to work on my patience.

So, I very graphically threatened my sister in law Sara about getting me the rest of the pictures and video from Oregon. She ignored me.

I cant put on here how I threatened her. But trust me, I am surprised she didnt take out a restraining order on me.

Later she told me she would get them to me soon. So, when I get them, plan on either a mother of a post, or a gaggle of posts. With pictures.

Today is my first day of 500 calories on my third round of HCG. I think my head is in it this time. I am excited that in 40 days, I can undo all that I did in 6 months in the undoing of my 2nd round.

Did that just make you dizzy?

What that means is that in 6 months, I gained every pound back that I lost in my 2nd round. I know some will read this and think or say “See! HCG doesn’t work!!”

I beg to differ.

I didn’t work.

HCG did its job in the time frame that I did it. Hell, it did its job months after I stopped. I’m the dumb @$$ that decided to eat like crap!

Actually, I kept all of it off quite successfully up through May. May was the slippery slope. Well, Oregon was the slippery slope. I came back from Oregon, physically, feeling like crap. I ate badly for how I normally eat. I normally eat fresh, clean foods. In fact, I was talking to my sister last night, telling her that I don’t know why I even have a pantry. Well, at least a pantry that is stuffed to the gills with food that we don’t eat. We just don’t eat out of cans or boxes.

Anyway. I blame me for my weight gain. Blaming HCG for my weight gain is like blaming the Insulin when a diabetic has issues because they decided to eat sugar.

I know exactly where I went wrong. I stopped taking my lunch to work. AND, I stopped going to the gym. I guess in a sense, I got lazy. But man, I feel like I was ALWAYS running. Always having something that needs to get done. I am still super busy. But the part about HCG that I am looking forward to the most (other than the weight loss) is the structure.

In order for me to be successful with it, I MUST be structured. I have to be prepared and I have to be on a schedule. So, that will get me and my lard-o butt back on track.

Ok, so since I have working internet that I can be a proud owner of, I will post more often. I told my friend Jen that I will blog about the time that I got hit by a cyclist……in my PARKED car….. Let that simmer.

In the mean time, I have some Asparagus Curry Chicken soup waiting for me.

Catch ya on the flip flop

Alisa

Help a girl out suga......

So-
I am planning my return to Italy next year. I will be there in June for two weeks.
We will be in villages that are snuggled up against The Dolomites.

Here is a visual:


Super rough, huh? I know. But I am a trooper.

Anyway, every time I plan an adventure, I think "Oh, but we will so close to _________. Maybe we should try to fit in ___________." And it can turn crazy REALLY fast.
However, last time, we thought "Oh Man, we will be so close to Greece. We HAVE to go to Greece." So we did and it was great. You should check it out here. (But wait until you are done with this one. I need your help!)

This time is no exception.

So, this is the decision we are up against. Below are the three options of the other places we will be so close to.......

Austria

Or

Switzerland

OR...

Southern France



I'm really leaning towards Austria.

Help me out.