Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping - Workouts

               Farrell's is not just the nutrition plan, it also includes workouts. There are two different types of workouts; cardio and resistance band training. Cardio is the kickboxing and resistance bands use resistance bands to tone your muscles and help you gain muscle.

                On kickboxing days, we will start with a fifteen minute workout and then spend the next half an hour on the punching bags. We will go over the different types of kicks; basically just the front kick, donkey kick and the round house. The instructors change the kicks up though. The front kick and donkey kick is usually for warm-ups and the round house is done for both power and speed. We also learn different types of punches; the jab (a straight forward punch), the cross (opposite arm punch), the hook (a punch that is kind of up and from the side), also the upper punch (punching from under and going up to where the opponents chin would be). Kickboxing days are intense, it is forty five minutes of nonstop movement and exercise.

                Resistance days are opposite the kickboxing days. Every other resistance band day switches between arms and legs. On arms days, we use the resistance bands to work on shoulders, chest, back, biceps, and triceps. The opposite days are leg days. On leg days we work our quads, hamstrings, hip abductors, gluts, and abs. Resistance bands are used for the quads, hamstrings, hip abductors, and gluts. For the abs, we do different types of ab exercises like crunches, toe tappers, sit-ups, penguins, side to sides, etc. For most of these exercises we use a weighted ball. The smallest size is six pounds I think and the heaviest is fifteen pounds. There is never a problem with having too light of a ball because honestly, there is not many people that can go above that and by the time abs are done, they probably couldn't or wouldn't want to.

                So there you have it. Farrell's is an extreme program but the workouts and nutrition plan will really make a difference if you do your best to follow them. Since joining Farrell's there has been no question as to why they call it Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping. In case this discourages you in any way, don't let it. Everyone has the ability to participate in Farrell's and shouldn't be scared to do so. (401)

Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping - Nutrition

                Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping: the ultimate fitness program that will transform your body. It includes a nutrition plan (not a diet), fitness kick boxing, core training, and resistance training. You start with a ten week program and just wait for the inches to fall back. The program may seem impossible but I am enrolled in it and it's actually fantastic.

                Before you start the training, they give you a nutrition plan. They make sure to point out that it is not a diet, just a change in the way you eat and what types of foods you indulge in. The nutrition plan is as follows; you are to eat six meals a day, nothing less. You should eat every two to three hours. Each meal should have both a protein and a carbohydrate. The carbohydrate should amount to the size of your fist and the protein no bigger than the palm of your hand. If you do the math, a woman should have about fourteen grams of protein per meal and only about twenty grams of carbohydrates per meal. For a man, I have no idea, but I am sure it is about the same but a bit more. In addition to each meal, you should include lots of vegetables; the greener the better. You can have as many vegetables as you want and it doesn't matter how often you have them. The dark green vegetables are the best for you because they are so low in everything and so high in nutrients.

                The nutrition plan extends farther than the food as well. You should drink at least eighty ounces of water every day, throughout the day, and for every one cup of coffee or caffeine you have (it is not recommended to have any caffeine though) you need to drink two glasses of water in addition to your eighty ounces. To be honest, drinking all of this liquid is kind of difficult because you will find yourself needing to go the restroom A LOT more often.

                Believe or not, but the nutrition plan is what really makes the most difference and causes you to lose all of the weight and inches. Working out does actually help and makes your body look a lot better and get more toned but if you don't follow the nutrition plan, you won't lose anything.

                In my next blog I will be sure to explain the workouts associated with Farrell's. (412)

A Thousand Splendid Suns Annotation – First 112 Pages

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, 2007. (112/367)

                I have begun to read a lot of interesting and different books this year. Each one is different than the other and there aren’t two books that are alike. This year I have read The Help, The Shack, and many others that are each based in a different time period and in a different setting or country than the last. A Thousand Splendid Suns was definitely not an exception to this trend. I must admit that I have not finished this book yet; I am only about a third of the way through it so my observations and interpretations are subject to change by the time I finish this book.

                A Thousand Splendid Suns is basically a book centered on the inner strengths of women and how they deal with their struggles. This is also a first theme in the books I have read. It’s very interesting to read about the strengths of these women because I am a woman and can think from the same point of view. I think it adds to my personal experience of the book because of the female similarity.

                The setting of this book really isn’t completely different from others I have previously read. I should say time period because the location is completely different.  From what I can tell, this book is around present day, maybe later like the 1970s or 1960s or so. This time period isn’t really that different from other books because they were all written about the same approximate time. The location of the book however, is in Afghanistan. Previous books were mostly based closer to home or with the same type of culture. I find it interesting to read a book located in Afghanistan because I am not really familiar with the customs or landscape in Afghanistan.

                So far I find this book to be very interesting. I think that the setting change contributes to my fascination and the story is actually very moving. It kind of seems like I have hit a dry spot but hopefully it passes soon because I quite enjoy this book. (368)

The Shack Annotation

Young, Wm Paul. The Shack. California: Windblown Media, 2007 (248 Pages)

The Shack, by Wm. Paul Young was a very religious and spiritual experience. The book was enlightening and completely different than anything I have read before. It is about a man’s experience with God and what led up to those events. I haven’t read any spiritual or religious books this year so it was refreshing to read something new.

            The book was not written in a way that was challenging to read but the information and content of the book was sometimes difficult to understand. The beginning of the book was more of a retelling, or narration, of the events leading up to the reasons for Mack’s evasion of God. This was easy to understand content-wise and was actually in my opinion the most exciting part of the book. The second half, when Mack went up to the cabin, was interesting in an entirely different way. It wasn’t really thrilling or exciting; it was more interesting and enlightening. This was the more challenging section to read because it was a lot of information to comprehend; it was also more difficult to continue to read because it kind of made my brain hurt after a while.

            Even though The Shack was a hard book to fully understand, I consider it to be one of the best books I have ever read. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who is atheist or believes in a different God because they would disagree with a lot of the book. I would absolutely recommend it however, to someone that does believe in God and is looking for “spiritual enlightenment.”

            This book is amazing all of the way through.  I will admit that it gets a bit difficult to continue reading at times, but it is hands-down one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I usually don’t re-read books but I would definitely make an exception for this one. (331)

Difference Between a Surgeon and a Fast Food Employee

                A mother’s favorite motto: “You better go to school Little Johnny or you’ll end up like that guy or worse yet!”  For the purpose of this blog, the worse yet will be compared to a fast food worker. This job was chosen randomly without bias, just observation, and the claims in this blog do not have any actual proof or information to back them up, they are however based on my observations and experiences with fast food workers.

                A surgeon is probably considered a pretty high job to be at and the most pre-planned mother’s dream for her baby to be successful. Again, this doesn’t apply to all mothers, just hypothetically speaking. A fast worker is probably on the lower end of the working food chain. In this blog, I will compare the two based on my observations and stereotypes.

                The easiest differences in jobs are that a surgeon operates on people and a fast food worker serves them instead. A surgeon deals with people’s organs and insides and a fast food worker will deal with the food that goes in someone’s insides. A surgeon would probably live in a bigger house and have a bigger salary. This is mostly due to the difference in salaries; A surgeon will make somewhere around 300,000 dollars every year whereas a fast food worker will make a measly 16,000 dollars every year. This could just be me, but that 284,000 dollar difference has got to make some kind of a difference in living styles.

                Let us compare the experience it takes to get to each of these positions. A surgeon will go to school for a minimum of eight years with the addition of residency. They will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for this schooling as well. A fast food worker does not even have to finish high school and in turn will pay nothing for his schooling.

                After they get the job, a surgeon will work crazy long and odd hours whereas a fast food worker will work normal hours and may have trouble even getting enough hours.  A surgeon will live off coffee because of his long and weird hours and a fast food worker will drink coffee, of they can afford it, because they didn’t sleep long enough, were lazy and groggy, and need to get into a better mood.

                So in short, one has a clean, more extravagant life style, and the other has a less-surgically clean and maybe money-tight lifestyle. The career choice is always up to you but I mean, sometimes, your mother may be right. (440)

Potty Mouth Brother

Recently my brother has found a new infatuation with “potty” references. It seems like his new hobby is to just think of these references and then makes sure he comes and finds me to tell me about them. I think he just finds it hilarious to see my disgusted face and hear me say “ew.” I don’t know if this is just a brother or a boy thing, which I mean it probably is, or if it is just a MY brother thing. Below I have listed some, only some, which is kind of sad considering how many I have listed, of his disgusting and repulsive potty references. If you have a light stomach or are easily disgusted I would definitely recommend that you do not read these. Also if you have just eaten or are eating, this blog may not be the best for your stomach.

List of My Brother’s Potty References

I have to make brownie mix

I’m making brownie mix

I’m peaking

I’ve got a peaker

I found a caterpillar

I have to squeeze the lemon

The three bears went home

My car got stuck half way through

I need to make lemonade

He shoots he scores

That worm traveled far

I found a tootsie role

I’ve got a crawler

It’s like speed racer

It’s not peaking anymore

The lemonhead has been squeezed

It’s flowing like the Mississippi river

It took off like the space shuttle

It went boom like dynamite

I found M&M’s in the toilet

                Do you not share my disgusted-ness? I don’t care if it is a boy thing or not but…EW! I cannot figure out why there is so much pleasure in being so disgusting. Playing in the dirt or that kind of dirtiness is tolerable because it is a harmless dirty boy activity. Apparently when boys grow older, they get tired of their dirt and find other forms of amusement. If anyone has any insights, feel free to share… (331)

Lent

                Lent is a Christian tradition that is meant for a time of prayer, penance, sacrifice, and preparations for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday (this year it was on February 22) and ends on Holy Thursday, otherwise known as Easter.  There is exactly a forty day period between the two. The word lent is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words lencton, meaning “Spring” and lenctentid, which means both “Springtide” and “March.”

                For Lent, each Christian is asked to either give up something or add something to their daily life styles. It could be giving up chocolate, candy, pop, coffee, etc., or adding something like exercising, reading the bible, not saying anything rude to someone or everyone, etc. The purpose of lent is to become closer to God and prepare oneself for Easter. It is basically like a New Years Resolution that you actually follow, but for a shorter amount of time. Although, if you give something up for forty days, chances are that you will continue with your same changed routine even after Easter and better yourself because of it.

                The “40 days” of lent actually has a spiritual significance. In the Old Testament, Moses went up to Mount Sinai to prepare to receive the Ten Commandments and stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights without any food or water. Elijah also walked 40 days and 40 nights without food or water to Mount Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of the Lord. The most important 40 day significance was when Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert before He began His public ministry.

                Lent does not last for exactly 40 days and 40 nights however. It consists of fasting for six days over the course of six weeks. The whole reason for Ash Wednesday was to bring the number of the fasting days to 40. During Lent, Catholics are prohibited from eating all forms of meat and animals, except fish, on Fridays. Other branches of Christianity do not follow this rule.

                On Ash Wednesday, Christians go to church and receive a cross on their forehead. The cross is made of ashes and is meant to symbolize that everyone dies on Earth and that we should turn to the Lord. (379)

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

Mardi Gras

          Mardi Gras, otherwise known as Fat Tuesday, is a festival celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is basically a big party, known to be celebrated to the extremes in New Orleans. It’s a good thing for New Orleans though because it brings them A LOT of money from tourists.

          Mardi Gras actually originated in ancient Rome. They celebrated a circus like festival called the Lupercalia. When the Romans became Catholic, they decided that it was better to incorporate their traditions into the religion instead of getting rid of them completely. So, they placed the Lupercalia so that it was leading up to Lent. This way, they could have their merry festival with a religious purpose.

          Obviously, Mardi Gras did not stay in Rome. I don’t know how it got to Paris, but it had been celebrated there as a major holiday since the Middle Ages. A French explorer named Iberville then brought it over to America when he came in 1699. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico where he started an exploration of the Mississippi River. By March 3^rd of 1699 he had set up a camp on the river bank about sixty miles south of the current New Orleans. March 3^rd is the day that Mardi Gras is usually celebrated in France and so Iberville named his camping site Point du Mardi Gras.

          When the Spanish conquered New Orleans during the late 1700’s, they banned the Mardi Gras tradition. It wasn’t until the US took over New Orleans that they were able to continue the festivals. Through the years, many people tried to ban the Mardi Gras festival because they considered it violent. Obviously though, the festival has withstood the many haters and is still around today.

          Since the Mardi Gras tradition started in the United States, it has developed many of its own customs such as the King Cake, the purple, green, and gold colors, beads, and random truck drivers. Mardi Gras is considered to be the day before lent where you get out all of your sins and then start a “religious binge” for the next forty days. It is a massive party that thousands of people have a blast at. (373)

Information found at http://www.eastjeffersonparish.com/culture/MARDIGRA/HISTORY/history.htm

Now and Then

                In the story "On Keeping a Notebook," Joan Didion describes different journal entries and her memories associated with them. She looked back on herself while she read them and described the girl that wrote them. I, like Didion, kept a journal when I was younger. Unlike the journals Didion kept, mine were all fact and feelings. I never kept a daily journal though because I often got bored and ran out of time to write.

                When I look back on what I wrote on November 1, 2002, I realize how different I am now. In one entry, I might have put that I was mad at my brother because my grandparents had gotten him a bed, or how I thought my sister was stuck-up because she wouldn't play with me. Every time I read them, I realize how simple my life conflicts were and how naive I really was.

                My memories of my childhood seem to give me a different sense of who I was though. I remember in the fifth grade, Tamagotchis were a big thing and we weren't allowed to have them in school. I saw someone who had one and instantly tattled to my music teacher who took it away until the end of the school year. Thankfully, the girl I tattled on never knew it was me but I remember feeling very bad.

                I am still that hones fifth grade girl today, only I have learned the appropriate times to hold my tongue (or at least I am working on it). There were other times in my childhood that I remember myself as bratty and stuck-up.

                As I have grown, I have tried to overcome some of the traits I did not like, such as being a brat, and hold on to the ones I did, like honesty. I am sure as I keep growing I will find myself changing even more and hopefully morphing into someone I am proud to be. Didion looked back on her past through her journals to find the person she once was, and maybe I will too. (350)

Homemade Cheez-Its

I found a recipe on pinterest.com for homemade cheese-its and thought I would share it because really, what’s better than cheez-its? Yeah that’s right, nothing. Now you can make your own cheez-its however often you want without paying three dollars every time you want fourteen ounces of them. So I have described below how to make your very own batch

                First off, you need the ingredients. You will need eight ounces of extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded, ½ stick of unsalted butter, one teaspoon of kosher salt, one cup of flour and two tablespoons of iced water. For the materials you will need some bowls, stirring devices (including an electric mixer), a grater, and some measuring utensils. You will also need a rolling pin and a cutting apparatus.

                To begin you will need to measure out the eight ounces of cheese if it wasn’t already measured. If it was, then just go ahead and start on step one.

1.)    Before you start any of the steps, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2.)    Cream the cheese you just measured with the butter and salt in the mixer until it is combined.

3.)    Add the flour slowly to the cheese and butter mixture until it is kind of crumbly looking.

4.)    Next add the iced water until the dough forms a ball. This does not require the great help of the mixer; I would suggest forming the dough by hand. Mostly because the dough feels so cool that it would be a shame to miss out on. Make sure you wait a couple of seconds for the dough to make a ball before you add any extra water.

5.)    Pat the ball into the shape of a disk and put in the fridge for about an hour. It doesn’t matter too much if the hour is not precise, you can go over by however much you want. Only if you leave it in the fridge for less than an hour will it cause problems for you.

6.)    When your hour is up, roll the dough out so it has about an eighth of an inch thickness

7.)    Cut them into little squares that have about a one inch diameter. If you want you cheez-its to resemble the store-bought kind, use a cutter that will leave the same kind of edges. A pastry wheel works very well.

8.)    To get even more of the store-bought appearance, poke a hole right in the middle of each of the squares.

9.)    Place the squares  onto a baking sheet and put them in the oven for about twelve minutes

10.) When they come out, I recommend test-tasting them. If they are good, hoard them. If not, share them with everyone else! (460)

More to Life than School

                What is the point of learning all of the information we do in school? I understand that in order to get a good job, you need a good education, and in order to specialize in some area you need extensive knowledge of that subject but why? Why do we need jobs? Why should it matter what we learn? Why can’t the knowledge be spaced out and give everyone time to sort everything out? I think that the amount of things we learn should correlate with our age, and our life experiences should progress in correlation to our education experiences.

                I think that when everyone is little, they should all learn world languages, although if everyone in the world spoke one language, it would make everything a lot easier. Every child in the United States should learn English, Spanish, Latin, French, and Chinese or some other Asian language. If every child learned these languages while they were young, they could learn them faster, without an accent, and could progress farther into each language as they grow.       

       

                I guess that as they grow they could also learn the other subjects like math, history, science, etc. but as soon as they reach high school age or higher the curriculum should change drastically. High school and college are about figuring out who you are and what you are going to do for the rest of your life. If all you do is sit in a classroom and go farther in depth in the same subjects they have been studying for the past 9+ years. They should go on trips, and able to experience everything around the world and curriculum so that they can be happy with their future life decisions. If teenagers and young adults stay in one place their whole life, they can only become something within the place they are. It only makes sense to present them with an entirely new and different experience.

                I guess my main point is that there is so much more in life to learn then what you are able to learn in school and if we really want kids to develop into respectable and self-confident adults, we have to focus on what they are going to become and not so much on what facts they need to memorize. (387)

Tree Branch Study

On the onion.com, I found an article about a study done with tree branches. It wasn't done to study the molecular structure, or its effects on soil or some normal study like that. Before I explain the purpose, if there even is one, I think I’ll just tell what they did in the study. They hired four hundred people to participate. First, they walked through a disgusting spider web, and while trying to untangle from the mess, an assistant standing nearby smacks them with the tree branch. They then determine whether it hurts.

…Um ok? Is this study archaic to anyone else?

          What in the world would persuade someone to think of doing a study like this? I feel like the leading scientist got smacked in the face by a tree branch and wanted everyone else to feel his pain and thought a scientific study would make his revenge feel more legitimate. This would also keep him from getting sued. Maybe. 

            Apparently, this study turned up “ground breaking evidence!” It was more like “nose-breaking evidence.” They concluded that if someone gets smacked in the face by a tree branch it will hurt, but only initially. After a few minutes, the pain will go away and the only thing left over will be the red mark smack dab in the middle of your face. Hard hitting evidence right? Well these scientists seem to think so! They say “the implications of the study could be far-reaching, having a major impact on future research in the field of getting smacked with a variety of stupid goddamn things in various anatomical areas and its relationship to whether one is more-or-less fine after a minute or two.” Now, I really cannot tell if this is a serious study or if it is just archaic because it was posted on the onion. I think that it was probably an actual study for a stupid purpose. What I really can’t figure out though is who would actually volunteer to be smacked in the face… (341)

http://www.theonion.com/articles/study-finds-getting-smacked-right-in-the-mouth-wit,26837/