Summertime Spin Tunes

Had a little fun this past Saturday with a fun summer themed ride. My playlists aren't just for spinning. Feel free to try them out on your mp3 player while you are running or on an elliptical machine. I use my playlists to exercise to even when I'm not teaching indoor cycling.
Crooked Teeth - Death Cab for Cutie - warm up
Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day - Bowling for Soup - if you have kids, you know this tune! Seated fast flat.
Hot Hot Hot !!! (2006 Remastered LP Version) -  The Cure - rolling hills
The Boys Of Summer - The Ataris - sprints at chorus, work it!
July, July! - The Decemberists - take a break, easy flat
In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry - slow down the pace, pick up some light weights and we are doing uppers.
Sunglasses At Night - Corey Hart - more rolling hills
No Sunlight - Death Cab for Cutie - fast seated flat, sprint at 1:25, 1:45, and then speed from 2:10 to the end.
Islands - XX - standing climb, it's suppose to be hard!
Melting In The Sun (LP Version) - INXS - this song makes me feel old...add resistance and stand at chorus, pick up pace.
Beautiful Day - U2 - Finale, sprints at chorus, give it all you got...
Sunburn - Muse - slow down your pace and get ready for the cool-down. I bet you didn't think I could find a summer themed Muse song right? Every one of my rides contain a Muse song or two, that's just my thing ;)
Island In The Sun - Weezer - more stretches and cool down. yeah! we did it!

Who's that girl?

I've subbed 2 spin classes this week and each time it gets easier and I'm less nervous. I love teaching! I can't wait until I get called to sub again. I think I've found my calling: combining my love of music and exercise. My confidence has been boosted because I've class participants go out of their way after class to compliment the routine and the music. Woohoo! Here is one play list that I played this week. I tried out some tunes from the yet to be released 'Eclipse' movie, sounded pretty darn good...enjoy:


Uprising - Muse - warm-up. Check fit on bike. Light stretches.
New Fang - Them Crooked Vultures - seated road w/ more resistance. mod.-heavy.

I Will Follow - U2 - seated road, flat. in the saddle explosion, light to mod. resistance.
Molly's Chambers - Kings of Leon - After 1 minute, end climb w/ an explosion of speed out of the saddle, jogging cadence.  
Jonathan Low - Vampire Weekend - As you hit bottom of hill, inc. resistance, jump out of saddle after 2:00- pick it up. Light to mod.
Dakota - Stereophonics - Seated road, flat. light to mod. resistance. Take it away...
Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) - Muse - Flat with two 30 second standing flats. Standing flats are a jog, follow the galloping pace of the music beginning at 1:30.
Cobrastyle - Teddybears (Featuring Mad Cobra) - break, back off resistance.
Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups - Stay seated & find an effort of 3.  Start to build resistance for a 5 minute climb.  Add resistance every 30 seconds until it feels like a 7 effort.  Hang in there and throw in some cadence changes to keep it interesting.
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap -  back off resistance. Last song, mod. resistance. Let the song take you away. You’re on an open flat road. Wind in your hair. You’re done!
Cool Down:
Overkill - Colin Hay - sit up and do nothing, time for upper body stretches.
Six Underground (Nellee Hoopers Edit) - Sneaker Pimps -  floor stretches
Goodbye song -
We're Going To Be Friends - The White Stripes

A Spinning we will go....

I was an absolute nervous wreck this morning when I taught my first spin class. I subbed for another teacher this morning and I think overall I did well. I just need to speak louder in the microphone, but you know I'm a soft-spoken person, so I will just need practice. The following is the playlist I used for my first spin:

1. Magnificent - U2
2. I'm A Believer - new Weezer from the new Shrek movie
3. Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns
4. How You Like Me Now - Heavy - c'mon, I know you know this one. Think sock monkey.
5. Kill Me Carolyne - The Whigs
6. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
7. Supermassive Black Hole (Album Version) - did you really think I would create a playlist without Muse??
8. Gold Guns Girls - Metric
9. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
10. Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Cool Down and Stretches:
11. Porcelain - Moby
12. Endlessly - oh, yeah, more Muse....
Goodbye music:
13. Yellow - Coldplay

 Enjoy the playlist...rock on!

Hot new band...

Check out this new alt/classic rock super group featuring Queens of the Stone Age's guitarist and vocalist Josh Homme, Nirvana/Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on drums, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on bass. Not sure how long this album will be $2.99, but get it while it's discounted!

'Muse'-ings of a Rock and Roll Mama

When I first began this blog I wasn't sure what direction it would take. Well, it looks like my topic of choice is music. I love music. I surround myself with music. I encourage my children to sing and dance and appreciate music. My interest began when I was 9 years old when I was given a Blondie record as a gift. I would sing and dance in my room with my disco ball twirling about. Yes, I had a disco ball, a small one, but hey, it did the job. No surprise that my own 9 year old daughter would no doubt follow in her mother's footsteps and enjoy good rock music as well. My husband and I took our daughter to her very first rock concert. Oh, yeah, I'm the cool mom! Wooo! We took her to see Muse on February 27th and it was an amazing experience for all of us. Don't worry, I was the responsible parent and made her wear ear plugs. We had incredible seats and captured great videos and pictures of the concert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJJ4Dd7lrw8  We were very lucky to have a great opening act: Silversun Pickups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSoSY7qwPd8 Two bands that we love performing. Now, I've been to many concerts in my day and I must say that Muse is the best live band I've ever seen. It was amazing. The very first concert we take our daughter to is probably the best one she will ever see. We've spoiled her now! So what is next for this Rock and Roll Mama? Well, Sunday I will be completing my group certification so I can begin teaching spin classes. I may have a "spin-off" blog, yes, pun intended ;) -- where I will list my spin routines and links to the music I play. Then Monday, my husband and I will be heading to Nashville to see Muse again! We didn't plan on seeing them again, but we found tickets and since they are close by, why not take a short road trip? I'm telling you, the show was THAT amazing. Well, the girls will be staying with grandma and we will have some alone time while seeing our favorite band again. So, in closing, I end this blog entry with this: you are never too old to rock! Have a great week everyone!

Etsy Pick of the week

Here is my sister-in-law's new Etsy shop. She makes bath and body products. So far, my favorite is the Tangerine Body Scrub. Also, she makes very unique natural soaps with beautiful scenery.
Check out the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/biosphere



Support handmade and buy Etsy!

Fascinating.

Yes, that is what Mr. Spock says quite frequently on Star Trek: The Original Series. What is more fascinating to me is that my daughters (9 and 5 years of age) love this show! I shouldn't say that I'm completely surprised. After all, I remember watching the reruns when I was young. My dad and I would bond and watch the show on the local UHF channel while my mother was cooking dinner. Of course, this was back in the '70s before everyone had cable and VCRs. Now, my husband and I don't consider ourselves 'Trekkers', which unknown to us until recently, that is the P.C. term for a Star Trek fan, not 'Trekkies'. Who knew?
But thanks to J.J. Abrams' blockbuster version of Star Trek last summer, my husband and I revisited the old series by renting the blue-ray disks from Netflix. Little did we know that our offspring would also enjoy the series. Watching the shows again 30 years later, I have a whole new appreciation of Star Trek. The show truly was ahead of its time with their plot points and political references. Star Trek has the reputation of being totally geeky, but to be fair, it really was a well-written show. Now my kids enjoy watching the show and will have memories like I did of watching the reruns with their parents. If you ask my kids what a Gorn or a Tribble is -- they will most certainly give you a full description and definition. By the way, I do believe I have found my Halloween costume for this year: Ladies Star Trek Costume, hmmm, maybe they can make one for my girls...we shall see, but for now, I will leave you with this: "Live long and prosper."

Muse!

Just in time for the start of their U.S. tour, which happens to begin right here in the ATL. -- Amazon is offering Muse's 'Origin of Symmetry' today only for $2.99.  Woohoo! I think Amazon MP3 should make every day a Muse day.  Oh, yeah, did I mention I'm going to this concert in February? So excited, and Silversun Pickups is opening. Now, only if Amazon will offer one of their albums as a deal of the day....

Found more good deals...

I searched Amazon's Alternative Rock special deals and found Radiohead and Coldplay albums for $5.00:

My Gaming Obsession

I remember when I was 11 years old and Santa brought us the Atari Game System. My dad and I played Asteroids until 3 in the morning and therein, my gaming obsession began. In college, I inherited my brother's old Nintendo system and I was introduced to Super Mario Brothers and Tetris. Well, I lost interest in video games after college because I was concentrating on career and other life events. Then in 2006, we bought an Xbox 360 Console and that beautiful piece of machinery renewed my interest in video games. Oh, yes, I play a pretty mean Guitar Hero. Then the Nintendo Wii came along and we asked ourselves, "Do we really need another gaming system?"
The answer: "heck, yeah!" So now the whole family is addicted to the Wii. We LOVE Mario Kart, I'm the reigning champion in this household. No matter the age, kids as young as four and even the grandparents play this game. My youngest would dress up like Princess Peach, was Toadette for Halloween and she had a Super Mario Brothers themed birthday party. That's another blog for another time. My husband thinks I'm obsessed with Mario Kart, which I find nothing wrong with that addiction. The game is super fun after all and quite addictive, so what does he do? He buys us the New Super Mario Bros game for Christmas. Okay, what kind of message is that sending me? Well, the obsession continues and we all play this game as well. I'm telling you, it is a lot fun to play, especially with the kids. The moral of the story? You're never, ever too old to enjoy a good video game. I plan on being the grandma playing video games with my grandkids and they will have to sit and listen to my stories about the old gaming systems and that very first game called Pong.

I want everything in this shop!

Many of you know about my obsession with Etsy. An amazing on-line shopping experience where everything is homemade or vintage. One of my favorite stores is Lillyella. She creates beautiful jewelry and sells at a reasonable price! Here is a link to her on-line shop:
Lillyella
She also has a blog where she features amazing deals from other Etsy sellers as well as recipes and craft tutorials. The link to her blog is over there to the right.

Eco Tip of the Day

I'm always looking for ways to use non-toxic cleaners at home. I was having problems with my gym clothes still smelling after washing . I tried washing in heavy duty mode with hot water and color safe bleach. I don't like using bleach unless I absolutely have to, after all, it is a chemical. So one day I tried a cup of vinegar along with my regular detergent and voila! It worked! No more smelly gym clothes. And nope, the clothes do not smell like salad dressing :)

My Quotable Kid

Who knew kids would be so entertaining? Yeah, mine drive me nuts sometimes, but there is never a dull moment. My nine year old gets angry with her five year old sister and calls her evil. Well, my youngest begins to cry and says, "Evil people don't cry!" Another funny quote: "Mommy, my mouth feels pepperminted!", after eating a candy cane. So I came upon this book:
My Quotable Kid/
Unfortunately, it is on backorder, but it's a definite must have. How else are we going to embarrass them when they are adults?

Woohoo! Duran Duran

Greatest Hits, 19 songs for $5.00, yeah!

Amazon MP3 deal of the day

I know I talk about the Amazon MP3 store a lot, but I can't help sing the praise of Amazon MP3s! They have such amazing deals. Today's deal is Vampire Weekend's new album released today for $3.99:


I'm continuing to build up my MP3 library (thanks to Amazon) so I when I become a spin instructor I will never be at a loss for good music to spin to.

Wow! Great deal!

Radiohead's album Kid A is $1.99 on Amazon today.
Kid A

Can't pass this up!

Snow Day!

...and it is freezing outside! Well, good excuse to tidy up the house and take down the Christmas tree. Yes, it is still up. Although I have taken all the ornaments off. Once I've done that I think the girls and I will finally get around to doing some crafts.
Oh, yeah, the Amazon MP3 deal I mentioned yesterday ends January 10th.

Amazon MP3 deal

Buy an MP3 album priced at $7.99 or more and Amazon will send you a credit of $5.00 toward a future MP3 purchase. Not bad!
Amazon MP3 Promotion

Recycling Christmas Cards

Check out the following link on how to make Christmas ornaments from your
recycled holiday cards.
I'm going to try this project as I am always looking for something crafty to do.

Scoutie Girl

My First Blog Post

After talking about it forever, I've decided to start a blog. I'm hoping I can share a few of my favorite interests with you. I'm hoping to discuss many topics and share my favorite links and blogs.  Since this is my first blog post, where do I begin? So many things to discuss! Please check back often as I will post cool things that I find, which includes new music, arts and crafts, eco-friendly tips, and my journey on becoming certified as a spin instructor.