Music Evolution

Music and artists evolve all the time makes you wonder why?  In the past few songs or collaborations Eminem has done, I couldn't help but to think what he throws down on tracks has changed.  I never thought I'd see the day when he worked with Rihanna and definitely Bruno Mars?!?

Eminem's album Marshall Mathers LP lyrics were intense, cruder, wittier, harder, soul-bearing and more shocking than his previous albums.  He didn't soften his voice to stay popular or to become a bigger success story- he let the world what he thought/felt and got scrutinized for it.

He recently got clean, took some time off and his album Relapse and Recovery are a new breath of fresh air if you will.  Still speaking his mind but it is less crude and in your face way.  So what changed?

• Drugs, alcohol = sharp tongue & don't give a damn attitude? *
• Finally come to turns with his crazy mother?
• Kim (ex-wifey) outta his life for good?
• Didn't have to prove himself as an artist anymore?

I think either way you look at things you can't help but notice the change in his lyrics.

Marshall Mathers LP song:

From Relapse album:

Either way I'm a fan, just really makes you wonder how an artist takes their journey and conveys it to the public- is it all a show?  Perhaps, but at the end of the day they are people who battle life everyday just like we do. He's not the only one, compare some of Rihanna's new stuff to her old or really most artists for that matter!

New collaboration with Bruno Mars

Holy Baby!

Now there have been some big babies, 10 lbs pushing the 11 lb marker--but 16 pounds!!!  On the Today Show the feature story was a 16 lb baby born in Texas!  16 pounds= a horse, a lineman, fricken huge kid an average 7 month baby.

Here's my thing; I've known some people who were born kicking and screaming at the 11 pound range and now they are hella skinny, perfectly healthy kids.  Let's be honest though for a second, what is this child's risk of getting diabetes, heart disease, or some other type of chronic illness!  He's already so big at such a young age; are his organs also over developed to support him?

This face pretty much sums
up what I'm thinking.  Things that
make you go hmm?

On a side note:  What do you think the odds of her having a 4th child who is even bigger than this one?  The mother mentioned she had big babies in the past but was expecting a 12-13 pounder. 

For the full story via Today Show check out the link!http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43710841/ns/today-parenting_and_family/

Why I like blogging

Blogging- very nice (say in a Borat type voice)**
Gives me more than 160 characters to express myself; Gives me something to do with my time  Allows me to say what I want without having to worry about judgements or how people will respond.  Life is about censors whether you believe it or not and sometimes it is nice to be able to say "Hey, life is kinda rough right now but it'll be okay" without people blowing up your Facebook status or pointing out some hidden treasures in life. 

It's also pretty sweet to form a virtual network of friends or update family and friends across the country what cool stuff you've been up to.  Gotta problem, need a support system, want a good chuckle, have tons of thoughts and no one to listen- all great reasons to blog or read blogs. 

Side note: check out Kate Nash, she's English and a pretty catchy songwriter/singer!

24 Hour Fitness

I've gone to a few different gyms throughout my short 22 years of life; every gym has its pros and cons.  24 Hour Fitness is no exception to this rule. 

Pros:

• Open 24/7
• Pool/Steam room/Sauna Open 24/7 (you'd be surprised that some 24 hr gyms close these at 10pm..WTF?)
• Free Fitness Classes including yoga, Pilates, boot camp, and some even have hip hop
• Semi Hottie Trainers

Cons:

• Lack of stretching/abdominal work space
• Not a single WoodWay Treadmill
• Hip hop class not so great if you want to be challenged or may feel like you can't bust a move to the fullest for fear of judgement*
• How Freaking Hot is in the there...Feel like a whore in church on $2 Tuesday!

1st things 1st.. WOODWAY Treadmills God's gift to the inside runner especially for those long runs!  Not joking, I tripped and fell of the back of one and still got up like a champ and continued to run.  WHY?! Because their patent rubberized belt lowered the impact on my body?  Manly for pride but you'll get my point in the following reasons.

Here's the specs

1.  Rubberized tread averages up to 200,000 miles of use without a single belt replacement
2.  Low-friction transportation system completely eliminates the deck
3.  Less maintenance and reduced operating costs compared to conventional treadmills
4.  Due to the rubberized tread- joins absorb energy during impact getting rid of the stress/shock on joints & connective tissue
5. Great for people with Arthritis, prone to shine splints, & helped me manage my pain level during my half marathon training! 
6. Check out a list of full benefits here!  http://www.woodway.com/woodwaydifference.html

It's worth the investment! Less maintenance, less energy consumption, makes working out more comfortable = higher memberships sold! 

2nd- Can we get some A/C in this bitch!!!

It's a known fact that I'm a sweater, I don't glisten or whatever that crap your girlfriend tries to sell you when its 100 degrees out and her makeup is melting off her face.  Working out = sweating.  However, I should not be dripping sweat after my 5 minute warm up (I'm not obese, I'm in okay shape, inappropriate). 

As a marketing standpoint, I get it- it's no different than what our high school athletic director did during winter sports- paid off the other teams turned up the furnace!  The warmer environment makes a person tired, increases sweating thus increases dehydration, & makes a person think they are working extra hard.  

In an effort to trick the average person into believing they are getting a top notch workout you raise the temp. on you A/C unit - here's a tip. 

                    Not kidding, I feel like I get heat stroke every time I'm there!

After my workout, so not impressed- feeling like death & dizzy. Awesome!

If you actually turned down the temp. these would be the consequences:

1. less people walking around half naked- damn I know
2. people would burn more calories b/c it takes your body more energy to warm up the air temp. to core body temp
3. gym wouldn't reek like your brother's car after he left his wrestling gym bag in a hot car for 2 weeks
4. decrease bacterial growth & the chances of people spreading illness
5. would be half as humid in that bitch
6. people might buy more PT sessions to get to the point of dripping sweat that they used to achieve

Increase my monthly fees by 5 bucks, turn on the A/C and get yourself a WOODWAY.  Hell WOODWAY's would alone increase your membership enrollments because very few gyms have them! 

Harry Potter and Twilight

Okay, I'll admit it I do not understand the hype, the obsession with Harry Potter and Twilight, especially Twilight!!  I mean as a youth I may or may not have fallen victim to the boy band craze but honestly they were attractive (in that late 90's hipster way) and if you didn't like boy bands you weren't cool. 

But honestly, there is everything from Lego's, to books, angry church groups burning books, girls in their 20's calling their friends sobbing that the Twilight characters aren't together.  ITS NOT REAL!!!

Granted they allow their viewers to escape their own lives, experience adventure, love, fantasy but at the end of the day it is a story.  It got people reading again-wonderful but the over the top marketing empires need to stop.  Girls falling all over themselves because they want to be some character out of a book and being a certain "team" again these are fictional characters the actors aren't those characters in real life. 

Can anyone explain this obsession to me?  How do you feel about these summer and fall blockbusters?

I ran a half marathon!

Running: some run for enjoyment, for conditioning for other sports, to get cut into shape, or to really indulge their fat kid soul.  I started running when I went out for sports in middle school, did I enjoy it- definitely not- hated it actually.  It was boring, and used as a form of punishment (running wind sprints or killers come to any one's mind??)  I got into running this past year when I decided to sign up for Team In Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  For the first time in my life, I felt like I was doing something productive and impactful not only for myself but for so many other people.  This past few months I've been training for the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon and this is how it went...

The week or so before the half, I was extremely nervous about the San Diego Half Marathon and just wanted to get it over with. More than anything I just wanted to accomplish a few things:

• Manage my chronic scapula/upper back pain
• Don't cry
• Come close to my goal time of 2:30
• Pretend to be a morning person (3:45 wake up call! what?? In the AM??)
• FINISH and not annoy my brother by how slow I am

Pretty simple right? Wrong! I think I only accomplished 2 of the 5 - I'm not a math major but I'm going to assume that's not a good percentage.

Before the Race / The Expo:
When I arrived in San Diego, I just felt really uneasy about the whole situation. Adam kept asking me if I was ready or excited and in my usual answer I said "Sure, I guess?" To be honest I had no idea if I was ready! How do you know if you're ready?  Do you have a stellar long run? Do the running fairies grant you super powers? A large part of me just didn't want to mess up, at what I'm not really sure, but I bet it has something to do with the fact I don't like working out in large crowds.

The expo was so much fun, my other large expo - RnR Denver, was so much smaller and didn't have half the fun stuff that San Diego did. Free stuff to the max; I'm a fan!! Ha. Because I was part of TNT I had my official looking purple shirt on at the expo and people just keep yelling 'GO TEAM" which was cool but made me a bit weirded out. One guy was like 100 feet away, yelling at me (sensory overload much?). I never imagined so many people to be part of TNT/supporting LLS it was a very humbling experience to be surrounded by so many "good doers".

Race day:
TNT makes you get up so early, team picture at 3:45 AM then at the start line by 4:10 AM. Not really sure I needed the 3 hour warm up time but hey it got me there and let my stress melt away...sorta! At that point you can't feel your toes, you're standing next to a generator for heat, you're putting on 100 spf sunscreen in the dark, praying to have an IBS moment before the race instead of during or after, wishing you could have eggs on toast rather than a dry bagel with Cytomax (SICK- furry teeth for 13.1 miles just what I wanted!).

Holy crap there were so many people there - at the expo, in the corrals, on the streets cheering, zooming past me, and at the finish line. People everywhere. I knew there would be a lot of people but I wasn't expecting that. It was a bit overwhelming!

Miles 0-4: At the start of the race, I kind of noticed I run similar to how I drive-semi aggressively! Because of all the people, I just wanted to get my own little space on the pavement without having to weave in and out of people.

Mile 4-10: This highway portion of the race killed me, with the downhill slant followed by a 2 mile incline. My IT band and hip flexors are naturally tight and that combination of things did not help the situation. Miles 6-10 I definitely wanted to quit, stick a fork in me I was done! My pain was out of control, taking deep breaths only helped radiate it and I was mentally struggling. I also think I waited way to long to have my gel pouch and felt so tired and sluggish; I'm not a huge fan of those things/eating while running so I always prolong the process.

Miles 10-13.1: I just wanted to finish and found my 2nd wind to keep going. I definitely couldn't have done it without my big brother; when I wanted to quit he put things into perspective and kept me motivated. I kept reminding myself I was doing this to remember and honor our grandma. I never set out with the mindset of "I'm going to be a runner"; it simply was to impact the lives of others in a way my grandma impacted mine. 

Finished! At the end of the race, I was so happy to be done! I felt like death!! I knew I had fun, I loved the fact that my big brother and I could share this experience/memory, I finished close to my goal ~ yet at that moment I didn't have anything to say (which is unusual for me, I'm like a Chatty Cathy doll!) I was also disappointed that I couldn't manage my pain and allowed it to ruin several miles during the race for both Adam and I.

After The Race:
All in all, I had a great time, proud I finished close to my goal, and thankful my big brother was with me every step of the way. Will I do another half? Probably not, I don't like to say never, but I don't think my body was really made for half marathons. Maybe if I get more insight into my pain and how to control it better, I'd say "yes of course, I'm hooked!"  Who knows maybe at the end of the summer I'll do the Run Like A Diva Half Marathon in Vail, Colorado; but for now I finally enjoy to run and found peace with my grandma's passing and I'm totally okay with that. 

Quick update!

Sorry haven't updated my blog in a hot minute-school to say the least has been owning my life.  Here's what has happened in the last few weeks that I would like to rant and rave about!

• I got into the Certificate of Public Health Program at the Univeristy of Colorado-Denver

                Nice, to have a plan for next year however, it was the most screwed up process ever to get all worked out!! Bummer situation of it- I start school June 7th!  Indifferent situation- I'm moving out of FoCo but trying to still work up here this summer.

• I exceeded my fundraising goal for my half marathon in the memory of my grandmother!!!!

                Yaya, sunny San Diego here I come!  I couldn't ask for such a great support system and everyone that has donated along the way- check out my website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/rm/rnr11/cricklefs

• My brother said he would actually run the race with me all 13.1 miles-THANK THE LORD
• I graduate in a week-ahh scary--is this real life.you gotta watch the video below bahaha

• My two favorite holidays (Easter & My Birthday!) were on the same day this year