The Shred

A year ago, my good friend introduced me to Jillian Michaels' DVD, The 30-Day Shred. 

My friend's Facebook statuses reflected how effective the workout was, and I was convinced to try it.  The DVD has 3 levels, each one successively more difficult than the last. Each level has 3 circuits, each composed of strength, cardio, and ab moves.  The great thing is that each level is a quick 22 minutes (not including warm-up or cool-down), so it's a snap in a busy schedule.

I never did 30 consecutive days of the Shred, nor did I ever do level 3 more than once.   Most stupid of me was my decision to do level 3 the day before flying to the US, which meant sitting for nearly 24 hours straight on a train, in planes, and then in a car, after one of the most brutal workouts of my life.  Not conducive to avoiding sore muscles, that's for sure.

Months later I heard one of Jillian's old radio shows via Podcast, where she answered a listener's question about doing the Shred.  She told the listener that she should do the first level of the Shred until she could do it with 100% ease, and then move on to the second level, etc.  It didn't mean that one should do it for 30 days straight, nor that it should be a structured 10 days for each level.  And if the caller could still only do level 1 at the end of 30 days, then that was fine too.  Whew!  Those were some relieving words to hear. 

Still, I have not accomplished doing the Shred within 30 days.  This is also stupid, because even doing a few days' worth will show results!  This time, I'm serious.

So I joined one of the Jillian Michaels pages on sparkpeople.com, a free site for weight loss and fitness junkies.  The outpouring of support and commiseration in agony (plank jacks!) are a great source of fuel to keep doing the Shred for 30 days.  Plus, another member posted the bikini pictures of herself, before and after Shredding, and the after pic deserves a huge round of applause.  WOW, if it can do that to/for her.....

I started this go-round on May 17, but had ended up doing only 7 levels in 14 days.  Those other days were filled with running, tennis, and long walking trips to the mall, so they were not without decent calorie burning. So today I doubled up, levels 1 and 2.  Without too much cursing at the TV (I hate you, military press and v-flies!)!  I am determined to do 30 levels in 30 days with this go-round.  How else will I know what its true effects will be? 

You may be aware (from the effective PR machine Jillian has, and oh how I wish I could be a part of it) that the 30-Day Shred is not her most recent DVD.  Yoga Meltdown is. I even pre-ordered it in February and happily paid for overseas shipping.  My first time trying it, however, made me realize that I needed to work those plank muscles big-time before it could be at all effective.  That is why I am back to the 30-Day Shred, to pump up the arms before planking it out in yoga. 

I look forward to seeing and talking about the results of being Shredded.  Until then, there is Jillian's new show, Losing It, which will premiere tomorrow.  Really can't wait to check that out, and compare it to the old You Are What You Eat shows that featured diet coaches Gillian McKeith from the UK and Lene Hansson from Denmark.  How will America's Toughest Trainer compare to the nutrition-focused Gillian and Lene? 

Pop Culture, week 21 of 2010

While checking out the Danish news sites this morning, I saw that Gary Coleman had died, and wondered if this was another point in what seems to be trending as another "Summer of Star Deaths", as 2009 was.  Lena Horne, Art Linkletter, and now Gary Coleman.  I remember watching the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and enjoying his rascally ways and suspiciously demanding, "Whatch you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" questioning of what was really going on in the world high above his head.  The commercial break could have included a "Craftmatic Adjustable Bed" ad featuring Art Linkletter, and the Cosby Show I watched that week could have been the one featuring Lena Horne.

What sounds like another obituary are the reviews of Sex in the City 2 film, which opened this weekend.  My favorite review was from Lamar, the People's Movie Critic on the Bob & Sheri radio show. His entire review is here, but I would like to quote his opening lines:

"... if you loved the TV show, don't go see this movie. In fact, if you have friends who go see this movie, and like it, stop being friends with them: they are not the kind of people you want to be associated with. If you're a guy and your wife wants you to go see this movie with her, file for divorce and seek custody of the kids, she’s unfit. If the judge has seen this movie, you will win. If you are a woman and your husband suggests this movie, he’s either gay or he’s cheating on you."

Oh, that Lamar, he's hilarious!  And I always agree with his reviews.  He also works at Anheuser-Busch; therefore, his ratings are based on a 6-pack of Bud. He gave this film 1 Bud, although he couldn't explain why he did even that, except he didn't want to anger all women (his lower ratings include warm Bud, cold Zima, and warm Zima, the absolute worst. I'm including a link to Zima for those of you who are too young/lucky to not know what it is). 

Two years ago I saw Carrie and the girls' first film on opening night. The sight of hundreds and hundreds of young women dressed up for each other and enjoying the freebie cosmo drinks at the theatre was something else.  I enjoyed the movie, as all the story lines were nicely wrapped up at the end of the film.  I knew then that they would most certainly make another film to continue raking in the non-edible dough, and that it would be terrible, because there wouldn't be much leeway with the story.

Speaking of 6-packs, I bought a 6-pack of the brand-new Danish Tuborg lime yesterday for the Mexican dinner we'll have before watching the Eurovision finale tonight.  (Corona: yuck!) Now 6-packs are not a 'thing' here, as they are in the States, so I was super excited to pick up the very convenient cardboard 6-pack and be on my way to the checkout.  Sweet!  My heart is warmed, because the new product reminds me of my last 4th of July party in '07, when I still lived in the States, where Miller Lime was the featured drink, and also of the big bonfire party my sister's neighbor had when I visited the States last year, where Bud Lime was prominent.  Ah, good times.


Another note on 6-packs and pop culture hit me while I was at the neighborhood "Average Joe's" gym yesterday. I call it Average Joe's because it reminds me so much of Vince Vaughn's no-frills gym in Dodgeball.  And the folks there can look a lot like the ones in his gym; in other words, not a lot of 6-packs or fashion sense going on.  Well neither do I, so I put myself in that sorry group too (except I do love the look and feel of my Danskin workout clothes).  While jogging a not-too-demanding 5.84mph/9.4kph, Adam Lambert's "Sure Fire Winners" came on the iPod.  My mind drifted to disbelief: Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since his loss to Kris Allen (who?), that this year's American Idol was so utterly boring, and that no one seems to have mentioned how it was also band leader Rickey Minor's last AI gig before moving on to fill Kevin Eubanks' shoes on Jay Leno's show. Poor Rickey, all the Going Away partying seems to have been only for Simon!  (note: as far as the national news reports go; I did not see any of this season except for a few minutes of rehearsals with Mrs. Beckham.)

I really love this song, because it has a good beat and the lyrics are about being a winner, and not stopping until reaching the top, and how "all the girls in the club wanna know, where did all their pretty boys go?" uh, whoops, it appears outside in the parking lot to kiss a gay friend! The true fans of Daniel Craig, like myself, know that this would not have been his first time kissing a man (he did so in the dramatic thriller Enduring Love and also in Infamous, for example). Ah, that 6-pack in Casino Royale....  My mind drifts more: these boys here at the gym, geesh.  The use of soap and detergent would be a great start.  I swear the dude on the elliptical next to me smelled of a mix of meatballs and cat.  Back to a more pleasant thought, one of my favorite actors. Well kiss or no kiss, why are people freaking out about this?  Except for the whole part that would mean cheating on his woman.  Other than that, we are in changing times, folks: not even the misogynist ways of James Bond can escape.  What a great thing!  After all, why is it OK for Angelina Jolie to have kissed everyone she has, and still be the hottest female action star, beloved by men and women alike?

"all the girls in the club wanna know, where did all their pretty boys go?" Can't get that song out of my head. On that note, I must get ready to head out to the Havnekulturfestival, which seems to be a great festival full of international flair. Just a few Saturdays ago, T-bone and I celebrated the local island's asparagus and beer.  Today it's time to go global.  I wonder who will win Eurovision tonight!

Channeling Cake Boss Buddy

It feels like it's been a crazy week, despite having started off with a holiday on Monday.  Not that that really matters for me, as I approached 7 months of unemployment this week.  Yes, more apps went out and rejection letters came in.  In the meantime, lots of other things preoccupied my time.

On Wednesday, DH Tbone and I walked 2.5 miles to the big shopping center, which has the new largest Ikea in Scandinavia, a mall to rival the Ohio Valley Mall of my childhood, and what I call "the fake ww (aka WalMart)", Bilka (I still can't help but to feel like I'm getting bilked there, despite it claiming to be the cheapest).  We had a lot of things to get, such as a tennis racquet on deep discount, cake baking supplies at Ikea, and more. 

It was a mostly successful trip, except for the cake decorating set being sold out.  Two shelves devoted to this product, and it was sold out!  Are Tbone and I not the only ones in Denmark riveted by Cake Boss Buddy and filled with desire to concoct our own creations at home?  But we found a set at fake ww, which will have to do in the meantime.  Besides, the cake that we are working on today to bring to a Eurovision finale party is a practice one for the real cake for the World Cup match of Denmark vs. Holland in a couple weeks.  So it's OK if this one is not perfect.

So last night we were making the modeling chocolate, which we plan to use on a Rice Krispy-shaped microphone, and trying to figure out how to color it.  Turns out that liquid food colors will NOT work with modeling chocolate (duh: liquid and melted chocolate do NOT mix, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner).  Powdered colors, however, DO work. Thing is, there's not a Wilton store anywhere around here, and even the 'fake Jo-Ann's/Crafts 2000' has supplies only for candy making.  Seems the best option is to order British made Sugar Flair Colours from the Kagebutikken's site. 

It's strange to me that cake-making isn't bigger here, but my eyes are colored by the experience of having a mother who always made the best desserts at least once a week.  Friday dinners were special, because we always had a homemade dessert.  Her specialty is pie, but I have many memories of baking cakes, cookies, and breads too.  During my teen years, I made a "watermelon cake" for each 4th of July cookout, which had pink cake encased by green frosting; the top center of the cake had pink frosting sprinkled with chocolate chips. From above, it looked like a just-sliced-open watermelon.  I don't know why we just didn't enjoy only the real watermelon for dessert!

Alas, in this country, the big cake thing is lagkage, or layer cake, which can be assembled with store-bought yellow cake rounds and layers of real whipped cream (one will not find Cool Whip here, which I consider a great positive).  If one is feeling adventurous, other items such as sliced fruit, chunks of chocolate, or crushed macaroons can be added.  In any case, the cake rounds are not tall and fluffy, and the lack of real frosting makes me sad.  What point is cake without the frosting?!

So until we import some powdered coloring, we will have to think of some other way to make the modeling chocolate-covered Rice Krispy treats look like a microphone. I'm hoping that these silver balls will help.  Actually I'm just hoping that Tbone and I can get through this experience with a product that both of us are happy with and proud of, and will lend itself to future cake baking and decorating experiences!  Channeling Buddy.  He and his team make it look so easy.

What You'll Find Here (and Happy Pinse Day)

Hi all, so after months of debating whether or not to do a blog, here is my first post.  Yes, this comes just after reading an article that the number of blogs is decreasing, and after reading about the House, M.D. episode where Laura Prepon's character was a blogger, and whose marriage was on the rocks because of it.  Additionally, I am not a mommy blogger, the likes of which seem to be dominating the popular side of the blogosphere.  Still, I have a lot of things to say, and a blog seems like a fun way of doing it.


These are the topics that you can expect to find here:
- being an American in Denmark
- health and fitness
- organic foods
- cooking


Today in Denmark it is Pinse Dag (or Pentecost Day), one of the many religious holidays that are celebrated by taking a day off from shopping, going to school or work, and conducting government business.  Yet no one seems to know why.  I am continually fascinated by the number of people who seem to not know what the religious significance is behind the many holidays they get off annually.   May has another one, Ascension Day (Kristi Himmelfartsdag).  But then again, 1.5 years at Danish language school didn't teach me this either (nor a lot of Danish); however, even on the Danish version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, there is a Christian Religion subject, so I assume it is taught in all the schools.

So, what is Pinse Day?  A quick Google search reveals that the day is always 50 days after Easter, and until holiday reforms in 1770, a 3rd Pinse Day was also celebrated.  Hm, so I guess that makes today - Monday - the 2nd Pinse Day?  More Google searching leads me to discover that Ascension Day is 40 days after Easter (so that's why it's also called "Ascension Thursday").  Some vague childhood bible study classes are coming back to mind - Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after he was crucified, right?  Or did he go without food for 40 days?  Or both?!

Back to the math, Pentecost is always 10 days after Ascension Thursday, so that makes the Sunday before Pentecost Whit Sunday, and the following Monday is Pentecost.  Gotta hand it to the folks before 1770, to drag this observance out a day longer.

But what makes Pentecost significant? Apparently the apostles were hanging around celebrating the Jewish holiday Shavuot, when they heard a gust in the air, their tongues turned to fire, and all of a sudden they started speaking "in tongues". They felt they had received the holy spirit and immediately increased the number of their followers; therefore, this day is seen as the birthday of the church.  (I am assuming that speaking in tongues made them suddenly fluent in other languages and able to communicate their message to speakers of other languages.)  Interestingly enough, Shavuot celebrates Moses receiving the 10 Commandments, which happened 50 days after the Exodus.

My main question is, why in the world were the apostles still celebrating Jewish holidays after their savior died?  Hm?  And did being fluent in other languages also mean that they were literate and able to write strange alphabets and know how to correctly spell everything?  Or did all that go to Paul, who then used his writing skills to chastise the partying-it-up Corinthians?

Whew! This is enough religious history and biblical pondering for me until the next religious holiday, which is Christmas, if my TimeandDate calendar is correct. (Look forward to my post then, which will surely include ancient Viking pagan rituals that are now used by Christians.)  If only I could find what those apostles were drinking, and be hit with a gust of air so that I could immediately be fluent in Danish!  I only assume they were drinking, because this story reminds me of some flaming shooters I've observed with many international students at Tony's, with all of us saying "cheers!" in different languages.

I must say I feel some pity for the Christian (Lutheran in Denmark) church, because an entire nation's productivity is ground to a halt to celebrate its birthday, but only a few have straggled to make it to the party, despite a baptism rate of at least 80%.  I would be so very, very sad if only 20% of my confirmed RSVP'd guests made it to my birthday party.  But that's how it can go in Denmark.