Are you shocked to see me here? Are you expecting another whiny/venting post? I don't blame you one bit, but I'm actually posting about a band I saw perform last night. :D
I took a friend's daughter to see Paramore at the Tabernacle last night, and you know what? It was a freaking kick-ass show. I caught a lot of grief for 1) taking a 15 year old to a concert and 2) for going to see Paramore in the first place, but I love teen angst music. So you haters can just suck it. LOL And that girl has some pipes and is just a phenomenal performer. So the show was so worth the crappy drive down there in rainy rush hour traffic. :D
Paramore had two opening bands, and I immediately fell in love with one of them...a little punk band from Michigan called The Swellers. Check 'em out:
http://www.myspace.com/theswellers
They have a new album out and I've had it on repeat all day long. Love the music, love their voices, just love everything about them...especially the fact that they're cute as hell. :D
So give them a listen. I'm sure they won't be to everyone's tastes, but I was totally impressed by their live performance. Especially since the lead singer had strep and still killed the show anyway. The guys were all really approachable after the show too, so I want to help spread the word. :)
Enjoy!
and by the looks of my friends blogs, I'm not the only one who lost interest:) But, being the creatives that they all are I'm sure they've just moved on to other venues. I'm feeling the need to pick this up again...going to Calgary for the iStockalypse in a couple days, so I'll have plenty to report. Til then.
This is going to be a somewhat girly, somewhat private issue post so boys...consider yourselves warned. LOL
I'm sure I've mentioned my god-awful monthly cycles more than once over here. They're short, for starters (anywhere from 18-21 days), and they're horrible. I have the worst PMS, and the cramps put me out of commission for at least a day or two even though I usually suffer from them for the better part of a week.
Every doctor I've ever seen has told me the same thing...there's nothing I can do except eat better and exercise. I would always roll my eyes because that just wasn't happening (at the time), so I'd choke down the maximum amount of Advil I could take every three weeks.
Well, I finally had my annual checkup after three years of not seeing a doctor. And I love this guy. First, he's super sweet but also no nonsense about health. He's the one who said I need to give him 30 minutes of cardio at least three times a week. And you know what? I have. More on that later.
I was afraid to tell him about my ridiculous PMS and cycles because, well, he's a man...and he can't relate. LOL But you know what? He absolutely listened and asked questions and responded with a real SOLUTION. I think it's easier to talk to a male doctor than a female doctor who has never experienced any of my woes. Not once did he act like he thought I was making things up or exaggerating things. He was very sympathetic and wanted to help me not have to suffer every few weeks. lol
So he suggested the NuvaRing. I have not been on any kind of birth control probably since college because I cannot for the life of me remember to take a damn pill every single day. lol Plus I was worried about the side effects, etc. so I just gave up on it. But my doctor thought the NuvaRing would be perfect for me and suggested I give it a try. So I did.
And this last cycle is the first time in my life that I did not have to take any kind of pain reliever to make it through the day. My cycles have stretched out to the "normal" 28 days, and I cannot begin to tell you what a relief it was to not want to crawl into bed and cry for a full day because I was so miserable. I used to take 800mgs of Advil every 6 hours just to help me function. That's how bad my cramps used to be. Child birth was a walk in the park compared to what I have to deal with every month! :D I felt a little crampy for a day or so but it was fine. And I didn't need to take anything to help with the pain.
Amazing.
I don't know if it's completely related to the NuvaRing, though. I have started walking, so the exercise might be helping, too. It certainly can't hurt, right? :) This is such a huge lifestyle change for me...I have never been active. Never played sports, never worked out regularly, etc. So this new routine has taken a lot of discipline on my part, but I'm so glad I'm sticking with it. I feel better, and I think I've lost around 10lbs total. I met my first weight loss goal of sorts, and now I'm just trying to get in shape. I like Kevin Spacey's line from American Beauty: "I want to look good naked!" :D
I thought adding any kind of exercise routine would be harder than changing my diet. I am a junk food addict, and I tend to snack throughout the day. And eat the kids' leftovers. LOL But walking is my quiet time and I look forward to it. Eating salads and skipping the chips and ice cream has been much tougher than I thought. Especially with two kiddos...and it being summertime. But I'm doing it. And I feel so much better for it.
Anyway, I realize this is a random update. :D But not taking Advil during one of my cycles is just huge. So I had to share. :)
