Ouch & Movies

I used to love doing Tae Bo.  I still have some VHS tapes (one that I think I borrowed from Pat and never returned...oops) that I really should have tried out again before attempting what I did yesterday.  I tried out a cardio kickboxing class.  I though I was doing pretty good at converting what the instructor was doing to more of a low impact (almost everyone in the class was in shape) but she corrected my stance and ouch.  I only lasted 20 minutes.  I was good and did a treadmill cool down, some stretching and a little sauna, but my quads are not happy campers.  My left leg has given out a few times on me today.  So class should be interesting tonight.  And I'm not longer sad that I spent the rest of the day yesterday catching up on movies (The Karate Kid remake was long, but still fun.  Love the move they did that replaced the crane from the original but SO not actually possible).  Also watched a crazy Australian movie that was basically an homage to 70's exploitation movies (with much of the Xena and Hercules casts in cameos), Fish Tank (British movie that ended up being boring), The Girl Who Played With Fire (Swedish version) which I liked much better than the first movie, and Moon, an awesome psychological movie that I recommend to my R-rated watchers (language).  Also saw The Town which was pretty good and Mic Macs, a French film that I'm still not sure exactly what happened.  But it was shot in the Amelie style, which I enjoy.  Also watched a bit of the Oscars.  James Franco was lifeless and I think Anne Hathaway overcompensated for it (I adore her though).  Kirk Douglas was great.  Probably won't watch the rest of what I missed.

In the Moody

I've been super moody recently.  There were several weeks when I was just in a funk.  In my plan for this year, I planned to have Lasik surgery and then 3 months later, join a gym with a pool.  But eating better has gotten harder and I wasn't losing any weight.  Thinking of all the weight loss sayings I have heard, one was that you shouldn't plan to make changes, you should just do it.  So about two weeks ago I did.  I joined a gym.  I also signed up for a group weight-loss class which kicked my butt the first day (I didn't even know treadmills could go up to 15% incline).  I've since had to modify the intensity down a bit so I don't feel like vomiting or fainting, but surprisingly exercise seems to be helping.  At least I have times when I'm in good moods now.  And strangely, I have felt more like socializing recently.  I know, shocker.  So now I'm going to the gym 3-5 times a week and slowly trying to add more protein and less carbs to my diet (not Atkins, don't worry).  I am drinking my first protein shake now.  It takes like chocolate pudding.  That's good at the moment.

It's very frustrating not to see any results after making a major change to your lifestyle.  Yes, more energy and better moods are results, but not the number one result that I was looking for.  And being so overweight and going to the gym makes me feel very vulnerable.  There's also a lot more pain in exercising than I used to have.  But I plan on keeping at it.  I shouldn't complain too much - my bowling score has strangely gone up (correlation or causation?).  Current average is now 123.  High score is 170. And it let me give in and buy some new geeky tee shirts.

 

Root Beer Review: Dog n Suds

Contains neither dog nor suds.

I can't find my bottle, so no ingredients.  Final review from my big box of root beer! Smells like root beer (yay!) Tastes like it too!  Strong carbonation with bite for the first part of the bottle and then smooths out at the end.  Grade:  B+.

Root Beer Review: Triple XXX

So does that make it XXX XXX XXX?

Hilarious name.  But it smells like root beer!  Huzzah!  Tastes like it too! Very smooth and light, yet full of flavor.  Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Benzoate (preserves freshness), Citric Acid.  Grade:  A

Root Beer Review: Sioux City (Take 2)

Better than last time (previous grade:  D).  Amazing what a bunch of bad root beers can change your view.  This time, Sioux City was mildly pleasant, thick and smooth.  Tasted like a lighter A&W.  Seems like there may be an issue with consistency in taste.  This bottle has PURIFIED carbonated water compared to the other - wonder if that helped?  Ingredients:  Purified Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Caramel Color,  Sodium Benzoate (as a preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid.  Grade:  C+

Root Beer Review: Boylan

I thought I'd done this one before, so I don't have the bottle any more to put the ingredients.  Basically, this tastes like Listerine.  Disgusting.  Grade: F.

Flash Mob!

My brother was in a flash mob.  I am so proud!  (He's the first boy you see dancing).

For my snowbound peeps

Root Beer Review: Thomas Kemper (Take 2)

I've reviewed Thomas Kemper before, but it was the low calorie version (grade C-).  This version smelled like cardboard and tasted very bland.  There is still a hint of honey flavor, but there is something off about the taste - maybe a small hint of the mouthwash flavor some beers have.  Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Maltodextrin, Honey, Caramel Color, Natural Flavor, Sodium Benzoate (for freshness), Gum Acacia, Phosphoric Acid, Salt and Vanilla Extract.  Grade:  C.

Root Beer Review: Meyer Avenue Red

I was excited to taste Myers Avenue Red as it had a whole different look from the other beers.  It had a light cinnamon smell and a strong cinnamon taste.  In fact, it tasted like a vanilla soda with red hots soaked in it.  No root beer taste at all.  Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Sweetener, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavor (Cinnamon), Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium as preservatives, Molasses.  Grade: D.

Root Beer Review: Route 66

Mild combination of root beer and cardboard smell.  All carbonation; no taste.  Carbonated sugar water.  Not unpleasant, just forgot to add the flavor.  Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, Real Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavorings, Quillaia, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (preservative).  Grade:  D+.

Root Beer Review: Chicago

No scent.  No taste.  Basically Sugar Water.  Bleck.  Ingredients Filtered Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Benzoate and potassium as a preservative.  Grade:  F