showing Maria how to make a black'n'tan

On Saturday, Maria (M-Dot) Afan and I worked Oysterfest for LLS. Basically, that means working from morning to night pouring Guinness-branded beers, with tips going to the Leukemia Society. It was a SUPER cold morning, so I visited my Favorite Shopping Palace (Sports Basement) to pick up some arm warmers before hitting Fort Mason. Maria put this photo on Facebook, and one of her friends asked if the “black and tans” were the drinks, or Maria in the arm warmers! Loved it.

My bartending skills were definitely put to the test as the day wore on. WOW there were a lot of people, for a cold and foggy day! It could be because there were headliner bands (such as Cake) playing. At one point I wound up “womanning” the taps myself – meaning I had about 5 pints going at once. SO iron! The frustrating bit is that the tips that are received all go into a big “pot” and are then “divvied out” – and MANY of the people pretty much either stood around or didn’t even work (e.g., didn’t put on the staff shirts, and just took off). Although the gal running the whole thing for LLS “cautioned” that if you “were caught” doing this that you would not get your portion, OF COURSE no one was really watching. This does not take away from the HUGE Thank Yous that are due to everyone who threw dinero into our Tip Boxes – you are making a difference and maybe your $$ will be what tramples blood cancers once and for all!

me taking my one 10 minute break, under the truck.

OK, I should get off my disgruntled soapbox…Well, one more thing. I think Maria said that last year, after working the same amount of time (over 8 hours) that she got $100 as her “cut.” I am not sure what I was expecting, but I guess that I thought that there would be about 1/2 the volunteers (which would probably have been about the number of volunteers that actually worked, if our booth was any example of the other beer booths), and that we would get 5x $100. “Bitter, party of one…” OK I will shut up. Maria took some cute photos though so here they are (smile).

Our team did their 80-mile Vineman course ride on Saturday. I woke up on Sunday sore from all the standing on Saturday, and sore “mentally” for not having done the ride. Maria and I had received an email at the end of OysterFest (and, of course, the end of that 80-mile ride for our fellow “otter swimmers”) that Coach Mike’s excursion to Pacific Grove for an open water swim in Monterey and long run was cancelled due to Vineman Ride Exhaustion. I had a seriously Lazy Mental State going, and felt “weird” about being so sore from basically “pulling taps” all day (and not “really” exercising). However, I got myself together after Maria and I had a little “pep talk” with one another, and did an 8 mile Run, and then a 2000 yard Swim. The Run had been switched from an 8-miler to “do an hour and a 1/2, of which 45 minutes is at your Tempo pace,” but it is a lot easier for me (since I don’t have a Garmin) to pace out a set of miles in the car, and then go for that. (I can’t figure out my “Tempo pace” otherwise, because I have no way of knowing how far I have gone in a set amount of minutes.) I ran out China Camp from the JCC (my pool) – the first 4 miles I did in 45:14, which IS about my Tempo pace from the V-DOT chart (my Tempo pace is 11:57). I took a “pit stop” and then came back the 4 miles, and did that in 47:44. My legs were definitely heavier on the way back. I was having fun though – listening to my “toonz” and actually singing which is always a BAD thing. Some guys going past me with their windows down and their muddy bikes up on racks from a ride (mountain biking was basically “born” at China Camp) passed me while I was singing and laughed and gave me a  “thumbs up.” As in “You go girl, don’t worry about what ANYONE thinks.” (smile)

The run was one of those glorious ones that don’t happen often for me – when I feel like my legs are sort of on “autopilot” and just carrying me forward. I had that a few times when I was training for the Big Sur Marathon – I feel strong, balanced, and like my legs are almost “robotically” moving the “top half” of me towards the destination. It’s hard to put it to words, but I just love it. I don’t even have to think about leaning forward, pacing, or the like – it just “happens” and I get to “go along for the ride.” I was super happy. Yippee!

"carbo loading" (beer and gel!) during my 10 minute break - I thought I'd have time to get food, but no go. Thank goodness I brought a Hammer Gel!

I got back to the JCC and transitioned into the pool, and did the 2000 yards. I decided to pretty much take it easy – just plug it out. My arms were really sore, and I realized it was actually probably from (wo)manning the taps the day before! I did the 2000 yards in 48:32 – so each of the three “sets” – the two 4-mile run “sets” and the 2000-yard swim “set” – was pretty much the same time (right around 45ish minutes).

Monday was supposed to be the 80-mile ride, with Maria and Coach Mike, but as rain was forecasted, Mike was kind enough to instead set us up with a Triple Brick. (For a definition of a “brick” follow Maria’s link, above – she talks about it.)

Maria got to my house somewhere around 9:30 a.m., and we got our nutrition together, and our “timing.” I wanted to be sure that we didn’t have to go back up to the house (as we were doing the Spin down in the “workout studio” – a/k/a garage) except for me to take Jake (my dog) inside when we would go for the Run (he’s gotten too old to come along at speed, poor darlin’), and to have “potty breaks.” We were both a bit “math challenged” on the nutrition front, which was sort of funny. I thought I was the only one who couldn’t “multiply by 2″ in my head. (smile) Once we got it all sorted,

we plugged my iPod into the stereo system that H had rigged up down there, and started our “journey.”

Here is the workout:

Pedal Mechanics Sustainable Power.
Clock Time:
0:00 Begin Easy Warmup
9:00 One Leg Drills begin RIGHT leg (easy gear)

We don't need no stinkin' Garmin: With a heart rate monitor watch AND a chrono watch AND a cadence meter...and a bottle of Thermalytes & a sweat rag...anything is possible, right?

10:00 Both Legs (1′RI @ 90+ RPM)
11:00 Left Leg
12:00 Both
13:00 Right
14:00 Both
15:00 Left
16:00 Both
17:00 Right
18:00 Both
19:00 Left
20:00 5′ Recovery @80-85+ RPM
SUSTAINABLE POWER INTERVALS
(Lvl 6-8 Effort 90+ rpm)
3×10′ efforts w/5′ Recovery between each effort
25:00 First 10′ SP Interval @ Lvl 6-7
(zone 3- Tempo LT chart)
35:00 5′ Recovery, easy gear 85-90+ rpm
40:00 second 10′ SP interval @ Lvl 6-7
(zone 3 – Tempo)
50:00 5′ Recovery, easy gear 85-90+ rpm
55:00 Third 10′ SP Interval @ lvl 6-7
(zone 3- tempo)
1:05:00 10′ Run @ Level 3 effort
1:15:00 Repeat Spin from time 0:00 (3x total)

view of the rain, from the "workout studio"

in the "workout studio" - yeah, sexy sweaty hair I got there. I know. Totally Vogue.

It was tough, but it was also fun. We got “Workout Tourettes” by the 3rd go-around on the Spin, but in general, we pretty much kept it together. (My bike computer registered that I covered 46.6 miles in the Spin for the session – well, Dist-1 is 46.6 and Dist-2 is 63, I have to believe I didn’t zero it out. I worked HARD though, one way or another.)

When we went for the Run, it was raining, but not particularly cold or windy (except the 3rd time around, when I was videotaping Maria – you can hear the wind blowing in the microphone). Maria did manage to find out that her “waterproof” jacket was actually just a “windbreaker” – when she came back from the 2nd round totally soaked!

The road from my house is pretty hilly – as in, I can’t actually make it up the hills myself on the bike. So though the runs were only “5 minutes out and 5 minutes back,” it was definitely not a cakewalk. On the last run, when we were definitely in “loopy stage,” we filmed ourselves – here you go:

finishing the bike part of the 3rd brick. Oh yeah. Sex-say.

In all, quite the weekend! Today (Tuesday), writing this, I feel VERY fatigued but, masochistically, in a ‘good way.’ I feel (as Maria said in her blog) as if I really “earned the burn” during this workout. I think we kept each other going – and whether it was me shouting “ONE MORE MINUTE” or Maria shouting “KEEP IT AT 155,” we ground it out (in a good way). Every now and again I would look at Maria and think of the lyrics to John Lennon’s song Imagine, “You may think I’m crazy…But I’m not the only one…”

One of our many You Know You’re Iron When learnings from Monday – You Know You’re Iron When you are “steaming” – from the INSIDE and from the OUTSIDE! Also – as Maria noted on her blog – we staged all these photos (except the 2 videos of course) AFTER our workout – no sandbagging by these grrls!

Postscript: Just got the notification that Oysterfest raised $10,662.06 (or $400 more than last year) for LLS. Which is GREAT. That works out to $90 each. Oy. I gotta not be bitter about folks who did not work. I gotta. I gotta. I…maybe it’s time for a beer (laugh). 

Me, steaming (the "defocussed part" above my neck/shoulders is steam coming off my back)

This is so fantastic. A few quotes from it: “…Where I excel is ridiculous, sickening work ethic. There is no easy way about it – your talent will fail you if you’re not skilled – if you don’t dedicate yourself to being better every single day…The only thing that’s distinctly different about me is that I’m willing to die on a treadmill – you might have more talent than me…but if we both get on a treadmill, you’re either getting off or I’m going to die trying….You don’t start by saying ‘I’m going to build the biggest baddest wall’ you start by saying ‘I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid’ and then ultimately you will have a wall….Being ‘realistic’ is the biggest road to mediocrity.”

Check This Video Out. It’s the song “Stand By Me,” and a guy used a standard microphone and laptop and did a “virtual band” version of it. Listen all the way to the end – it’s great. I’d love to see a followup where he takes this to the artists (especially the two who started it, in L.A. and NOLA), and let them see (or, in the case of the blind guy, hear) the final version.

Want a smile today? This will bring it. Thanks for sending it to me, Warren Y.!

You can achieve anything you put your mind to. And you deserve to, too.

There is a corollary to this – you should NOT do things that you do NOT like, and/or are bad at. I recently received an email newsletter from Stephanie Frank at Success IQ University that was on this subject. The email had to do with one of her coaching clients, a “people person,” who was trying to take on blogging, Twitter, SEO’ing her website and the like. The coaching that she received was basically – STOP IT – if that is not what you love and what you are good at. If it’s something you are actually interested in, well, great. But if not – that’s what other professionals are for!

In general, we usually hire “experts” for medical consultations, financial consultations, legal consultations, and the like. But what about taking over those other parts of your life or your business that you really hate? Myself, I have a “house cleaning consultant.” Yes, that’s right – I am not crazy about scrubbing the toilet, I ‘fess up. So I have someone that comes in and does it for me. I get to spend more time doing things that I love. Things that can bring abundance into my life – financially, or just through the Joy of not having to pull on those sexy rubber gloves.

We often get in our own way as well – and then hold onto our stories about how “we are.” What you think is what you are. Change what you think – change what you are. OK, so, think about it . . . and while you’re at it, for a laugh, check this out. It’s a little over 6 minutes but it’s good all the way to the end.

 

 Get Out Of Your Own Way - In 5 Minutes Or Fewer!: Play Now | Play in Popup | Direct Link

You gotta watch this! It will take just under 3 minutes and it will MAKE YOUR DAY. CLICK HERE FOR FEED (I tried to put it in the video box below, but it keeps freezing, so go to the source).

Talk about stopping traffic. The spontaneous reaction of the subway customers is great. This commercial was shot at the Liverpool Street Subway Station in London about 6 weeks ago (Jan 15, 09). Only the dancers knew what was happening; the general public didn’t have a clue what was about to unfold.

Watch this again and again when the day, economy, recession or “whatevah” gets you down. And remember the “Mall Walk” exercise in my book – this is what it’s all about

- Solitaire

P.S.:  Here is the “Making Of” video

I am just such a ham! View From The Bay, our local San Francisco Bay-area show that’s on the Hour before Oprah, came to my house during a Clothing Swap that I was doing, as outlined in Chapter One of my book.  (You have it, right? So you can just go check it out…right? (wink))

We had a BLAST, and all the clothing that wasn’t taken (which was thousands of dollars worth) went to a charity, Image for Success, that dresses women (and their families) with two weeks’ worth of business and personal clothing. Check it out! 

This is from the Femdefense website:

“Femdefence is an on-going project first presented in 2003. The project includes the creation of an imaginary product, which bears the project’s name. The product is a kind of protection against rape, somewhat similar to a tampon in that its user carries it inserted into her vagina. In it there is a sharp pin which has a penetrating effect on the perpetrator’s penis in the event of a rape. The construction is such that the pin cannot injure the bearer. The design is based on a similar construction invented by a Swedish woman named Anita Ingmarsdotter. She came to work on her invention after a series of rape cases in Sweden that received a lot of public attention. Typically, in many of these cases, the accused do not receive an adequate punishment, and the abused women are left without appropriate support from the judicial system. All too often they, in the perpetrators’ place, are burdened with guilt.”

Yee-owch…

 

 FemDefence Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the 3rd of a 3-part vodcast series done with Mr. Martini (BehindTheBarShow.com). The first was in celebration of the Kentucky Derby - we made a mint julep and discussed Da Horses. The second took the bourbon from the julep to create an Old Fashioned, and discussed “old fashioned” subjects such as etiquette, manners, language, listening, and having a signature cocktail without being branded High Maintenance.

In this vodcast, we take the mint from the julep and create a Mojito, and as the Mojito reminds us of travel (Cuba might open up any time now!), we discuss:

*  How Sandy packed in 15 minutes for a 3 week honeymoon;

*  Picking and packing in a “base” color, intelligently;

*  Getting around every woman’s Achilles heel (as it were) – Shoes!

*  Things to leave in your suitcase, including one Secret Weapon to amaze your James;

*  Covering issues such as plants, lights, kids, pets, mail, newspapers and the like so you’re ready to take off when an adventure presents itself;

*  Handling lotions, potions, makeup and jewelry on a trip; and

*  Much more!

In a few minutes, we hope we can get you from “Oh Honey, No!” when those tickets to Paris show up unexpectedly, to “Honey, Let’s Go!”

Let me know what you think – either give me a ring on my Listener Feedback line 206.350.3537, leave a Comment here, or email to sandy[at]beabondgirl[dot]com.

 

 Mojitos and Travel Tips - How to Get Out of Dodge in 15 Minutes for a 3 Week Holiday! (64 MB): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the 2nd of a 3-part vodcast series done with Mr. Martini (BehindTheBarShow.com). The first was in celebration of the Kentucky Derby - we made a mint julep and discussed Da Horses.

In this vodcast, we take the bourbon from the julep and create an Old Fashioned. Then, we discuss how to have a Signature Cocktail without being branded High Maintenance, plus some Old Fashioned Virtues… such as manners, etiquette, language, and listening. 

In particular, we discuss how you Bond Girls can understand how men communicate, and to embody this secret weapon to be even More Enticing than you already are!

Let me know what you think – either give me a ring on my Listener Feedback line 206.350.3537, leave a Comment here, or email to sandy[at]beabondgirl[dot]com.

 

 An Old Fashioned Subject: Etiquette and the Old Fashioned Cocktail (large file/downloads slowly - be patient): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hey Grrls!

Can I tell you one thing? I’m in LOVE with Lisa Quinn (host) and David Corona (cameraman). I am honored to have been asked to come back to View From The Bay (ABC) to chat about another portion of my book – on feng shui. As you know, I’ve done two podcasts on feng shui (I actually just linked them on my Home Page to make it easier) – but this was my 3 minute “down and dirty” feng shui episode.

Now, if someone could teach me to MENTION THE NAME OF MY WEBSITE when I say “go to my website” - I would be Golden!

If you’d like to see the video – click here!

Yup – we’re at it again – Mr. Martini from BehindTheBarShow.com and I cooked up some vodcasts for your viewing entertainment.

This first one is in celebration of the Kentucky Derby, which will be running on May 3rd. First, I give some tips on horse racing and betting, then Mr. M. shows us how to make a mint julep. And just in case you want to expand the recipe to cover 30 of your best friends who you’re now going to invite to a Derby Party on Saturday, we also discuss how to make the mint julep party-style!

Watch out for more vodcasts coming to you soon – Mr. Martini and I have been having a ball learning about this new medium, and as you can see, we just love to hang out together!

Let me know what you think – either give me a ring on my Listener Feedback line 206.350.3537, leave a Comment here, or email to sandy[at]beabondgirl[dot]com.

 

 Kentucky Derby Episode (90MB takes a while to download!): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By popular demand — the blooper reel to The Bond Girl and the Bartender Make a Cosmo!

 As you know from a previous post, Mr. Martini from Behind The Bar Show and I did a video podcast on “how to make a cosmo” a week or so ago.

Last weekend, we got together and did a video podcast… which I posted last week. Well, by popular demand, check out the blooper reel, below!

Let me know what you think — either give me a ring on my call-in line 206.350.3537 or email to doubleohsandy[at]yahoo[dot]com. I am still laughing and have played it a dozen times…

 

 Mr. Martini and the Bond Girl BLOOPER REEL: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Join Mr. Martini and Solitaire for a quick video on how to mix a cosmo first the bartender way and then the Bond Girl way

We did it!  Mr. Martini from Behind The Bar Show and I met (accidentally, believe it or not!) in a bar in San Francisco now about eight months or so ago. I had been a fan, and was in that bar because he had recommended it, and then… well, if you’re curious, you can listen to the story here. First, we became fast “podcast friends,” then actual Real Life Friends.  (I bet there is some sort of web acronym for that, but I’m afraid I don’t know it — Comment, and clue me in!)

Last weekend, we got together and did this video podcast for you, showing The Bond Girl Way vis-a-vis the Bartender Way to make a cosmo. We had so much fun, it wound up running 53 minutes! No… this download is not that big, never fear!

Now is the time to send us email to beg us for the outtake tape. We had some things that were so funny, they still make me laugh looking at the video for the zillionth time. Go tell Mr. Martini that you want him to post that, too *smile*  I’m Ms. Non-Technology and so it’s all him, all the time.

Enjoy! Let us know what you think!

 P.S.:  If you are curious, the outfit that I’m wearing is by Nicacelly – it’s all recycled/organic and the yummiest, softest outfit you have ever worn!

 

 Bond Grrl Cosmos: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I was sent this link this morning and thought I would share:

You have to watch — it makes me feel GREAT seeing it. So fun!!!