Coachella 2012

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What can I say about Coachella?

Simply amazing.

If you love music then you absolutely must attend Coachella at some point in your life. It is three days of jammed packed music action in one of the most well run festivals I have ever been to.

This year Coachella was broken into two weekend with the exact same line up for both. We chose to attend the first week because we wanted to be the first to experience everything.

Day 1: The weather did not start out great for the festival. By the afternoon it was raining, cold and windy. We literally had to take a cab back to the hotel to get more clothes on. Three sweaters did not do the trick as we froze our butts off. But we did see some great bands!

The Sheepdogs, Kendrick Lamar, James, Girls, Arctic Monkeys, Madness, Pulp, The Black Keys.

So much fun to see bands like James and Pulp who I listened what seems like a million years ago. And new faves like The Sheepdogs and The Black Keys.

Day 2: The weather was better. Warm but still a bit windy. But I welcomed the breeze until night-time when it got so cold again! Despite being prepared with extra clothes, we still got chilled to the bone! But another great day of music.

Dragonette, The Vaccines, Azealia Banks, Grace and the Nocturnals. Manchester Orchestra, Martin Solveig, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Jeff Mangum, The Shins, Bon Iver and Radiohead…. holy crap right? What a day!!!

The thing I love about festivals is not only seeing bands you love but being introduced to new ones like the Vaccines, Azealia Banks and Jeff Mangum. I was thrilled to finally see The Shins live, was blown away by Bon Iver and died when Noel sang “Don’t look back in anger” my favourite Oasis song.

Day 3: Finally good weather!! So hot and not a cloud in the sky! I didn’t think day 1 and 2 could be topped but day 3 was such a stellar day of tunes. We just laid back on the grass and soaked it all in. We either were sitting, standing, dancing, or lying throughout the day depending on who we were listening to.

Lissie, Le Butcherettes, Band of Skulls, Santigold, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Hives, Gotye, Girl Talk, At the Drive-In, Florence and the Machine, Dr Dre & Snoop Dog.

There are moments at shows that stay with you and watching Gotye and thousands of fans sing “Somebody that I used to know” was one of them.  So amazing. But overall what a great day to end my Coachella experience on. Again was introduced to new artists like Lissie and finally got to see Fitz and the Tantrums. Had a 45 min dance party to Girl Talk and was mesmerized by Florence and the Machine. I have to admit though…. we missed the Tupac hologram during the Dre/Snoop Dog set. Oh wells. Can’t win them all!

Overall thoughts on Coachella. It is unbelievable people watching. And it being hot, means sunglasses so you can look all you want and no one can tell! The fashion is insane. In a good and bad way. Let’s just say, it seems pants were optional for most girls (and some guys). But there is style to be jealous of for sure! I saw a lot of selfish behaviour from a lot of people. People that drink all day should not be surprised if they can’t remember seeing their favourite band. Platforms shoes should be left at home. You can’t see every band that you want to. Make sure you see some that you don’t know because you may be surprised!

But the best thing I can say about Coachella is that it is a true example of how you can never be too young or too old to enjoy music.

Diet Update: Almost There!

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On January 2nd, I embarked on a journey to lose 20 lbs. I knew it was not going to be easy but I also knew that with a healthy diet and exercise that it would happen.

Today is February 23rd and I have 5.8lbs to go. In 7 1/2 weeks I have managed to lose 14.2lbs and I didn’t starve myself in the process. I have literally just been watching what I eat, practising portion control and working out.

So what have I been eating?

Breakfast: Healthy pancakes made of cottage cheese, oatmeal & egg whites.

Lunch: Lean cuisine (or one of those types of meals), sushi or I will make extra pancakes from breakfast and eat them cold.

Snacks: Apple, oranges, Slim Fast bar

Dinner: Grilled chicken or fish with a salad and/or veggies.

Dessert: We don’t always have dessert but sometimes we will indulge in a sugar free pudding or a Breyers low calorie ice cream bar.

Alcohol: Cut down to 2-3x a week

Treats: We certainly haven’t given up on things we love. We still go out for meals but try and make the healthier choices. For example if we want a burger we will have it but order it with salad instead of fries. We have popcorn when we go out to a movie. We will have the occasionally yummy dessert but just make sure that we don’t have a massive piece.

I think the most important thing about this weight loss journey is that we haven’t been doing any fad diet. I have done those before and although I lose the weight and fast, it always comes back.

When it comes to my workouts I have mostly been following Body For Life’s plan:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Weights + Cardio (Technically on BFL you do not need to include cardio on weight training days but I like to add in about 20 min)

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday: Cardio (On the BFL program, it says you only need to do 20 min of cardio but I like to do at least 45min).

Here is a link to the Body for Life exercise program: http://bodyforlife.com/library/exercise

I don’t plan on changing this program even after I have hit my goal. I may add in a few more calories but this, for me, really is a way of life. A healthy life. And a happy one.

Project 365

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This year I really wanted to attempt Project 365 and take a photo a day. I am interested in photography and I thought this would be a way for me to become better. But I failed and I failed miserably. I only got through about 2 weeks when I realized it was just going to be too much and I didn’t have the time.

Maybe one day I will try again.