Everyone has an opinion: Health & Wellness

This year my company did a discount for our benefits program. Employees could sign up for a health & wellness program and assessment to get $45 off the monthly price. I signed up and did the assessment. 

For some strange reason, I actually passed. I'm not going to contradict the results. Because of this I just have to do something healthy each quarter. My goal is to pass again.

For those who didn't pass, they have to check in with a health coach  and make a goal to keep in 2014. They make progress on the goal and report in each month. Like I said my goal is to pass again.

In an effort to make better choices in food and other things, I started looking into things I could do. Dieting doesn't work on me. I start a diet and I immediately want everything I've denied myself. 

Exercising isn't my favorite but I want to make a new year's resolution to us the gym at work. I can bring in my Blu-Ray Battlestar Galatica and work out. I figure if I look at a bunch of rock hard abs... maybe I'll work hard to get some. Or at least work off some of my flubber. 

The thing I can't stand is that since this thing started at work everyone is an authority on what is healthy and what is not. I've heard it all. Drink a gallon of water a day. Each 'fresh.' Comments about every item I'm consuming from co-workers like this person has some authority. 

First, drinking a gallon of water is preference. Some people swear by it. I do not. I drink what has been listed on the medical sites like the mayo clinic. Nine glasses of water a day. Okay, I don't always reach that goal... but that's my goal to attempt. I also don't count the soda, juice or milk in that nine glasses. I can't imagine drinking a gallon. That's twice what I'm consuming now. There is a think called too much water. I'm sure some who are athletic or running need that much but if I drink too much my tummy gets all sloshy. It's not a good feeling. 

Second, 'fresh'... I don't know what that even means. Organic. Food the person likes vs. the 'unfresh' food the person dislikes. To me is an overused excuse. 

Third, I love when people comment about my food that I'm in the middle of eat to say how deep fried or sugary it is. That the food currently on my plate, that I purchased is what is causing all the health issues in the company. It's the reason Americans are so obese. Yes, I probably need to eat less like a college student and more like the 32-year-old I am but REALLY. Please keep your comments to yourself before I knock you off your soap box. UGGH!!

My goal is to drink more water. My goal is to also follow the food pyramid. I had a friend do a study in college where he compared results of the fad diets and the old fashioned food pyramid. He concluded with his group that the food pyramid was actually still relevant and a good thing to follow. So that's what I'm going to do. You can do whatever you want. I promise I won't comment about drinking your weight in water, discuss eating only fresh food, or comment about your lunch choices while standing by the register waiting to eat. 

May you have at least one cookie to brighten your day to enjoy in front of a crazy dieter.

Happy Eating. 

The Curse of the Cancelled TV Show

It seems that when I enjoy a TV show it immediately becomes the network corporate team's mission to find a way to cancel it. This has happened with several of my favorite shows.

Does anyone feel they have this curse?

KINGS

FIREFLY

DOLLHOUSE

HAPPY TOWN

JERICHO

SPACE: ABOVE & BEYOND

There are also several shows I've discovered (thanks to TV on DVD) that are amazing but also cancelled before their time.

BETTER OFF TED

MOONLIGHT

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

I fear that when I watch a show from the beginning... I curse it to be cancelled. Sorry good TV!

Electric Six and why you should see them live

A few years back I was introduced to a fun sextet band called Electric Six. They sing great hits like "Danger! High Voltage!" and "Down at McDonelzzz." But the goofiness of the songs and lyrics is not what brings back the rabid (often crazy) fans. No, it's the live show.

Lead singer, Dick Valentine, has a distinct stage persona. In fact, Mr. Valentine's real name is Tyler Spencer and I'm pretty sure that Dick Valentine is the name for the person he becomes on stage. His charisma and intriguing moves during the instrumental portions of the song make fans smile.

While at a show, one thing you should never go without is a little people watching. Why? Well, the people (the afore mentioned rabid fans) are an interesting brood.

Evidence #1 - Stompin' in Skinny jeans
The skinny-jeans wearin' girl looked about 14-years-old but the scene of the crime was Urban Lounge so she had to be at least 21. She started with a full mug of beer and as the beer disappeared the stomping increased. Skinny jeans kept going and - never to any beat I could hear... but it was entertaining.

Evidence #2 - Sunglasses
He wore his sunglasses at night... and never took them off. The awesomness of the band was just too bright for him to take in all at once.

Evidence #3 - Dancin Fool
The first Urban Lounge encounter was when a big drunk dude decided to slow dance with Jen to the E6's cover of INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" FABULOUSLY HILARIOUS!

Evidence #4 - Freeze!
The band one time decided that leaving and coming back for an encore was silly. Instead, they just all froze onstage as the packed room screamed and cheered and clapped for at least 5 minutes. They finally began to play a few other songs before departing.

Evidence #5 - The Cape
While witness history in the making, E6 played at Bar Deluxe. Dick Valentine strolled onto the stage and leaned against the stage's strange wooden beam that's right in the middle. He sang and moved to the tunes and wore a tiny cape (probably meant for kid). It said something on the back. He took off the first cape to reveal a second. Also, awesome...

Needless to say, the E6 experience never disappoints - even if the band doesn't go on stage until midnight.

HANNA - Top 7

1. The Chemical Brothers. This techno-making musical group scored the flick to perfection. The tense moments were more tense, the creepy moments were more creepy, and the fight sequences flowed brilliantly.

2. Soarese Ronan. She annoyed me in "The Atonement" but captivated me as Hanna - a young girl who was trained to fight and survive by her father in the middle of an arctic woodland area.

3. Creepy guy. Wonderfully creepy played by Tom Hollander. He's so good at the crazies and the badies. He dons bleached blond locks and a pedophile/serial killer aura and is often more scary that the government suits.

4. British teen. Teens are generally annoying but somehow the Brits can pull of sounding like M.I.A. or some ditzy young girl and still make it sound cooler than any American teen. She has some witty lines "She's mine I found her" and many other gems.

5. Cate. Is there anything more classier than Cate. Even as a red head her poise and grace appear through the evil, relentless Marissa Veeglar.

6. Eric Bana. The Aussie is hot and also has a few tangles throughout.

7. Intriguing story line about a girl with special skills and mystery surrounding her origin. It keeps you guessing til the end and it's a refreshing tale of government plots gone arrary.

The Mental Health Day

It's a little known fact that everyone needs some time off - even if you're not sick. I am a huge fan of the mental health day. A day where you gorge on TV watching, eat yourself silly with junk food and processed meals, you watch 4 hours of YouTube videos about kittens.

Yes, the mental health day is a required day. It's something we all need.

Wake... as in funeral

Have you ever had a strange obsession or hobby?

Well, Carys Reitman (Bijou Phillips) has the ultimate choice of weird hobbies. She enjoys a hard jolt of emotion and finds that attending random funerals does the trick. And it was working until she meets Tyler (Ian Somerhalder) - AKA the man of her dreams - at a funeral only to find out that the dead girl in the box was his fiancee.

"Wake" is a witty and unique dark comedy from director Ellie Kanner who's experience comes mostly from television. Kanner took a typical 'girl meets boy at funeral and pretends to know his dead fiance' story and made it heartfelt, dramatic, suspenseful and sizzling story.

I highly recommend this - if you like a romcom with a twist.

Sundance Flick #1 - Wish You Were Here

As the film frenzy begins this chilly - and somewhat snowy/rainy - January, my two film friends (Jen, Cindi) and I headed to the legendary local venue, Tower Theater, to see "Wish You Were Here."

This Aussie flick begins with four friends having a good time on vacation in Cambodia. As they enjoy the culture, the four shop the street vendor's booths, eat local treats like fried snake, and relax on beach. The film cuts to two of the vacationers, Dave (Joel Edgerton) and Alice (Felicity Price) arriving back in Sydney, Australia and you discover that they are married with two kids and one on the way.

Slowly the film unravels secrets about what happened to change their fun, alcohol infused trip into a nightmare where one person didn't return and those who did make back home are now haunted by the last days in a foreign country.

"Wish You Were Here" gives gritty look at a married couple dealing with their relationship, kids and the aftermath of their Cambodia vacation. Co-screenwriter Felicity Price (also played Alice) and wife of the director, wrote the film's original treatment where the film looks at relationships and what happens when you add secrets into the mix.

Edgerton and xxx gave powerful and realistic performances which make you root for the couple to succeed as they work through marital problems. The steady release of facts and events unveil more about the missing friend and the couple's real struggles. Teresa Palmer ("I Am Number Four" and "Take Me Home Tonight") and Antony Starr also star in this movie.