Welcome New Shredders!

A very quick post today, but I noticed there are so many new shredders in the shreddersphere and I wanted to say a quick welcome.

Thank you for coming to read my blog and your wonderful comments.

Feeling confident

I went out with friends and we decided to walk down the street to get something to eat. I said I was going to walk, and other people asked to walk with me. I warned people in advance that I walk kind of slow, but as it turned out nobody noticed. When we walked back to our cars after dinner, which was about a mile down the road, I didn't even give my disclaimer again. I may have a bit of pain now and again (especially from my workouts and increased stretching), but I am so much more FUNCTIONAL. I'm so happy I could cry.

There's been lots of moments like that lately. Like when I chose my new apartment. Even though I felt a little pain when I climbed the stairs, I knew I could get up that flight of stairs every day. When I was in the Philippines, we were worried I would be able to maneuver the two steps from the family room with my walker. For SO LONG the world had just been a sea of stairs and long walks that I was trying to problem solve my way through (if I walk to the end of the street I could probably rest, I'll wait until those people are up the stairs so I don't slow people down, I'll walk by myself, because I have this tendency to get hyper talking to people and walk faster than I can and end up hurting myself, etc.). But slowly, as I've walked further, worked out little by little, I'm watching my body get stronger. And I've gone weeks at a time without taking even an Advil for the pain. But I may take one tonight. That push-up was hard on my lower back, but it was worth it. :)

Finally did it!

A cabillion years ago in the shreddersphere there was a push-up challenge. I could not do one. I've only recently been strong enough during this mission to do some light weight training. In all honesty, my legs kind of shake after I walk up stairs (but my new apartment is on the second floor, but that's gonna be a BIG help) and I can barely complete two reps of most of the upper body workout exercises, BUT I've been doing wall push-ups for the last few weeks. So today I just gave it one try. I tried an official boy push up. OMG! It was so HARD. I fell the first two times on my face, but I finally did ONE! Better late than never. In the past I've found the hardest progress was from zero to one (like just getting to walk to get my own coffee) and then before I knew it I could walk FIVE miles. So I think the same will be true for these push-ups. :)

Today I'm grateful I got to:
• Meditate
• Eat THREE servings of fruits and vegetables (but I've only been up eight hours so "m sure there will be more)
• Did ONE boy push-up (I'm totally feeling it, for reals, lol)
• Read more of Do You by Russell Simmons

PS Yes, those were my beloved big pajama bottoms in yesterday's shot.

Dark photo

Sorry about the dark photo. Too lazy to move my computer, I guess, but I just had to get this done. Hmm. I've got a lot of things going on, but sometimes when I have a lot on my plate I get a little overwhelmed and it gets hard to do anything. But I just do what I can and have faith that the rest will take care of itself. I'm reading a book by Russell Simmons (Def Comedy Jam, Def Jam Records). It's really inspiring.

Today, I'm really grateful for his book. (Title: Do You)

Quickie

Just a quick walk today, but my eating is back on track. I've been neglecting my gratitude list lately. I do better when I remember to do it.

Today I'm grateful I got to:
• Eat FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables
• Drink a FIVE glasses of water
• Walk 1 mile.
• Meditate

I GOT IT!

I haven't gone to sleep in over 24 hours. I got a lead on an awesome apartment a few hours after I came home from the USO (6am), and I GOT IT! A great deal. A great neighborhood. Has parking. It's small, but I LOVE IT. And I move next week. Yippee! Edie and I went out to dinner to celebrate (chicken wings YIKES!), but I was too exhausted to cook dinner. Now I'm going to bed, which for me is late 8:30 pm, because I normally go to bed at around 10 am on Tuesdays, but now it looks EARLY. Haha. I did get a lot of walking in today, checking out my neighborhood and to save money on parking.

Here's a shredder benefit that I never thought of: BEING A SHREDDER CAN SAVE YOU MONEY ON PARKING!

More later. I'm EXHAUSTED and so PSYCHED. My new residence on is in Studio City on the main drag--VENTURA BLVD. (like in that Tom Petty song, but not in suburb Reseda end in the cool Studio City side.) SO HAPPY! The photo is so dark, because I'm too tired to move my laptop cam into the kitchen for better lighting.

Slow Internet

At USO again. Internet very, very slow.

A Shift in Focus

I had to buy coffee at my our 3% meeting today (that's what Marty, Brett and I call our weekly career-life meetings). But that's okay. I switched up my goals this week to cut down on my overwhelmed factor. To use one of Joni's phrases from Mary Kay, "I've got a lot of life going on." It's all good stuff.

So I'm going to break it down into doable chunks, do daily meditation, eat my meals more consciously, commit to FOUR weight training sessions and FIVE walking sessions this week. I'll just do my best. I read in Juli's blog that she has a much-loved training log. I keep a journal, but I don't keep an official record of "my workouts." I've only been weight training for a few weeks and just jotting the date and reps right into the book w/ the exercises. And my walking I keep a running tally in my head (like I do my checkbook), and I never forget how far I walk, because I have to map on the computer and that makes it stick. BUT I like the idea of getting in the habit of keeping an official training LOG because I fully expect to progress at much more rapid rate. (I DO keep very good business records and now that I think of it, will keep even better personal finance records, too.)

I'm going to label it training log and call what I do working out instead of practicing walking, my back exercises, or any other apologetic term that pretty much says, "I'm not really working out." Because I don't actually believe in living my life by comparison, but the reality of that kind of phrasing is that there is an underlying thought that I have that because my workouts would not be strenuous to somebody else then it's not "real." And that's not the kind of thinking I like to encourage in myself. I like to run my own race and go my own way, but I have to say my confidence in the physical arena and my own ability to correctly assess what it is I can do has been shaken in the last few years. I'm not regretting or apologizing or beating myself up for having these thoughts, I've just go to the point where I can see them and act on them differently.

The most important thing is to put my focus on embodying fitness now instead of recovering from injury. I feel the shift has arrived at the exact right moment as this kind of stuff generally does.

PS If I ever put the phrase--my workouts--in quotes again, remind me to knock that stuff off. Since the shift is literally taking place as I was writing this, I'm leaving that last self effacing quotation marks in there for posterity. :)

Big Gigs and Traffic Tips for Your Blog

My sister, Edie had a big gig at the Blue Ridge Pickin Parlor tonight. She's the fiddler for the bluegrass band, Murphy's Flaw. The Pickin Parlor is legendary and every seat was taken. It was a long drive but totally worth it.

My eating is a little off. I try not to sweat that stuff too hard, because I live a no regrets life and just keep moving forward (but I do get bummed out from time to time, but not from regret, just plain old sad. I'm not an advocate of emotion stuffing. It leads to food stuffing lol.) BUT things have been pretty great and fun lately. Things are busy, because I'm apartment hunting and putting things together for my show at The Improv. Plus, my second website for comedy and other stuff is getting 100 hits a day. I had some nerve damage on my left side from the car accident and in the past it interfered with my playing any music. I've been practicing a little more each day, and have started writing funny songs again while playing the guitar VERY BADLY. I debuted a few songs on July 3rd and it went okay, and then I did more songs last Wednesday. I may be hitting a few of the music open mics soon, too. I've got plans to put together an comedy music album for sale online and to add to my act. So much work to do.

BTW, if anybody is looking to get more traffic to your blog, I highly recommend doing some good keyword research and submitting to article directories like EzineArticles. I've had over 19,000 visitors just from the 13 articles I wrote and submitted to their site. It's pretty cool. Also, try to use your targeted keywords and keyword phrases in your tags, title, first sentence, and a link and for that particular entry make sure to have at least 125 words.

A little pressed for time

Wow! Life is really getting exciting (and BUSY). More later.

Day 49: Free Day

I've got to do a LOT of walking before Saturday at 3pm, or I'm buying coffee for my friends Marty and Brett. Marty and I are still waiting for our first show date at the Hollywood Improv, but FREE SHREDDER TIX if anyone is visiting LA.

Tonight my sister and I went to the Howard Hughes Center and got to see a really kickin' band Phat Cat Swinger. It was a super fun show.

Day 48: Two weeks left!

In two weeks, I'll have my new apartment and be the fittest I've been in years.

Jury duty did not go as expected in that I didn't go. I'll have to work that out tomorrow BUT Marty and I had our meeting at the Improv and we're getting a night to do a show. Now, the hard part about producing a show--butts in seats. :) I got in a quick mile today, and did a quick set in Culver City tonight.

Jury duty & my meeting?!

My meeting with the Improv was moved to tomorrow, and magically my jury duty number has come up for the same day. We'll see how it all works out. Boo! Thumbs down on that whole deal. Plus, I have to be up in the morning YUCK!

Great day today on the shredder front. I walked three miles. I'm committed to walking 15 miles by Saturday at 3 pm or I have to buy my friends Brett & Marty coffee. So far 5.25 miles. I want Friday to be my "long walk" day, so I'll take Thursday off to prep. That means I better get some walkin' tomorrow or I'm buying coffee.

USO night again

Day 45: Great Day

I got in a 2.25 mile walk today. What's really cool is that my speed is picking up. It took only 45 minutes. I can't wait until I can walk 8 miles straight (at any speed). Then I can do the marathon training mileage chart I found. I wonder how many miles I'll be able to do on my long walk day. I've gotten up to 4.75 miles. I'm sure I can at least do 5 miles, but I wonder how much more I'll be able to do. My long walk day will be Thursday or Friday.

I'm on call for jury duty this week. We'll see if civic duty calls.

Day 44: Horrible photo

The shirt untucked in a weird way in my photo and totally makes my poochy tummy all the more poochy. Normally, I would take another photo, but I'm pressed for time.

I'm so excited. A good friend and awesome comic Marty Laquidera and I are "doing lunch" with the booker at the Hollywood Improv to book a night there every month. She's a super cool lady, and I'm really psyched about the meeting THIS MONDAY. We're doing it up with lunch (well actually it's dinner 6pm) at a cool Italian joint in Beverly Hills. I haven't taken a meeting in over three years (pre-accident). When I started in comedy I dreamed of performing at the Hollywood Improv. I've performed at the club before, but only once since my car accident, and I've never been made a regular there.

I'm so excited and NERVOUS. We're prepping tomorrow. My proposal is all written up and luckily I have a lot of friends in the business from slugging out all these years to come down and lend their "celebrity" (if comedians can be celebrities) to the show.

It's not until Monday, but feel free to wish me luck in advance. :)

Day 43: Need to update my blogroll

In a hurry. More soon.

I need to add to my blogroll. If you're a shredder reading this and your blog isn't in my shredder blog roll, drop your URL and name of your blog in a comment so lazy me can just copy and paste it into my blogroll. :)

Day 42: End of Week Six

Wow! Time sure flies. I'll be honest, I weigh about 2-3 pounds more than when I started. I'm not worried about it. I'm feeling stronger and fitter than when I started and the rest will take care of itself. My eating has been sporadic as has my workout plan. Also, I've had to switch up my business efforts from content building to link building and learning more stuff. I'm not making excuses, but I don't want to give a false impression like I'm working really hard. I'm just having a great time. The cool thing about having a mission for me though is there's that deadline at the end. It just sort of a thing where I want to see what I can do over the next three weeks. It's just for fun and for good health, too. :)

Adam got me thinking about how many people have visited my thank you notes. Can you believe I've had OVER half a million visitors. The world is full of grateful people. It's just so cool.

BTW, I get my vegetables from spud.com (formerly Organic Express).

Day 41: Feeling Good

The house is low on fruits and veggies, but luckily I've got another box of organic fruits and vegetables being delivered tomorrow. I'm so excited. The convenience is amazing, and a box lasts about a week and half for the two of us (Edie and I) and costs less than two takeaway meals.

Day: 40

Things are getting pretty excited. My business had it's biggest month last month so it's official, I'm looking for my own place. It's going to be so cool to not only be physically fit enough to not worry about living alone, but ALSO be financially fit to afford living alone, too. I'll be COMPLETELY debt free by August 28th, and the great thing about that is that the current debt I have is on a 0% interest card. Woo-hoo.

Day 39: Back at the USO

I'm sore from yesterday, but not scary sore. I've got to do my strength training when I get home from teh USO before bed. Today I'm grateful I got to:

• Eat SIX servings of fruits and vegetables
• Drink FIVE glasses of water
• Read a chapter of a spiritually enriching book

Day 38: Inspired

I watched the amazing Wimbledon final with Nadal and Federer and was just so inspired. They were so fit they were hitting incredible winners even in the last game in the last set of the longest final in Wimbledon history. I just loved it.

I kept imagining to myself, "What if I were so fit that no matter what I was doing, I could just focus on the task at hand without having so much of my energy and joy being distracted by the hindrances my lack of fitness puts on my life?" From martial arts to learning to dance or rushing to catch a plane or carrying luggage. Imagine having all that extra focus for learning and enjoying life! No more distractions of pain, my back, or lack of breath--stealing my joy.

So in my long day, I just focused on that feeling and walked. I made it a point to just enjoy my walk and go for time and distance over speed and HIT MY PERSONAL BEST! It took two hours, but I did it. I took a warm bath and changed into my pajamas right after to celebrate. (after LOTS of stretching)

Tomorrow strength training. This week I'm shootin' for 2.5/2.5/5, but I'm gonna do what feels good be it more or less.

Today I'm grateful I got to:
• Walk 4.75 miles!
• Eat FIVE serving of fruits and vegetables
• Drink FIVE glasses of water
• Read THREE chapters of a spiritually enriching book

Maxin' and Relaxin'

Holiday. Not feelin' on the blog thing today.

Happy Fourth of July

I'm exhausted. I had a show in Northridge, and it's been a long day. I'm grateful I got to:

• Eat FOUR servings of f&V
• Drink FIVE glasses of water
• Walk one mile
• Practice guitar - A LOT

Day 34 Already?

I walked three miles today even though I was only scheduled for 2. I think I've got a great shot at 4 miles on Friday, but I'll be super careful. Weight training tomorrow. It would be way cool if I could do two sets of everything, but all I've got to do is keep up my best, be patient and my body will grow healthy and stronger before I know it.

I was on a day schedule today, which was kind of cool. Having that box of organic fruits and vegetables delivered has really been handy. Next time, I'll go heavier on the fruits (because I love to have them handy).

Today I'm grateful I got to:
• Walk three miles
• Eat FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables
• Drink SIX glasses of water