Alchohol Action Plan

I have health insurance through my employer. The insurance company will offer a 5% rebate if you go through certain steps to demonstrate you've met their wellness criteria. You have to see your physician for a basic physical, go to the lab and get glucose and cholesterol screenings, and complete a Total Health Assessment. So I did the Total Health Assessment online today. I was completely honest and it asked about diet, nutrition, weight management, alcohol consumption, exercise levels, stress, medical history, etc. 

 At the end of the assessment, a health plan is magically produced that is suppose to give advice and guidance catered to you personally. And, oddly enough, it was pretty spot on about me. What caught my attention was the alcohol plan for me (below). I made some comments about my favorite parts.

Alcohol

People drink for many reasons: to relax, have fun, cope with stress, or forget their troubles. (I was having a hard time justifying my desire to drink wine every night. And the first line in this gave me four great reasons that happen to be very true! Awesome.) But drinking also has disadvantages (bummer) that you should be on the lookout for (ok).

 

Alcohol's Effects on You

Everyone processes alcohol differently. But no matter who you are, alcohol can start to affect you after only a few drinks.

 
Possible effects of alcohol based on your weight:

Drink 4:Perception, memory, comprehension, and vision impaired (They're not lying. Memory loss... check, comprehension... huh?, vision impairment...easily fixed by keeping one eye closed.)

Drink 3:Legally intoxicated — senses and motor-control impaired (For me the speech goes first and it's pretty noticeable because I'm always talking.) 

Drink 2:Beginning of motor-impairment (inability to control your movements) (I'm pretty darn coordinated so I have great coping skills here.)

Drink 1:Reduced attention span and lack of judgment (I already have the attention span of a flea and fairly poor judgment, so this really isn't noticeable.)

 

Recommended for you: based on your gender and age, no more than 1 drink per day (What's the point?)

Time for a change?  (probably)
You seem to be thinking about cutting back on your current drinking. (Aren't we all always thinking about cutting back? At least in the morning anyway.) Maybe you aren't confident in your ability to cut down or stop drinking, but having the motivation to do so is a step in the right direction. (Yay, me!) Let’s learn more about your drinking and then think of effective ways to deal with potential drinking situations.


Your alcohol use
You tend to drink every day. (Well you don't have to say it like that.) And when you do, you usually have 2 drinks. (Sometimes three but they asked for "average". )  Binge drinking is having four or more drinks in about 2 hours or less. (I know what you're thinking, but they said "in 2 hours or less" and I think I can honestly say no to that one.) It puts you at a higher risk for serious injury. You indicated that you never drink that much on any given occasion.(in "2 hours or less") Continuing not to binge drink is a good idea, (Fair enough.) for your health and your safety. (Though I haven't fallen off the couch yet.)


What’s safe?
Although you only have 2 drinks when you do consume alcohol, national guidelines for healthy drinking recommend that women who aren't pregnant have no more than one drink a day. (National guidelines also gave us No Child Left Behind.)


A closer look
We all want good health. Like anything worth having, it takes effort to get it. Thankfully, you don’t have any major health conditions now. But you should know that excessive alcohol consumption could increase your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain types of stroke. (Serious buzz kill) Do you know if alcohol interferes with any medications you might be taking? (Yes I do, thank you very much.)


Creating a game plan
While considering a change in your alcohol use, take these three steps. (Good. An action plan.)


Step 1: Identify roadblocks and temptations. There are many situations and emotions (and children) that lead people to drink more than they should. Let’s take a closer look at what may influence you.

Alcohol may seem like a tempting way to cope with feelings of depression to some people.(Luckily not to me.) But you're confident that when you feel down, you'll resist drinking. (Had the opportunity to test that, unfortunately.) It's good to understand that drinking will not help and could make those feelings worse. (I believe that 100%, no problem.)


You might find it hard to avoid drinking when socializing. (I thought the definition of socializing was talking with drinks in your hand.) Just remember that drinking can make us feel more outgoing, (Ya think?) but it can also lead us to say or do things we might regret later. (Ah, the morning after cringe that comes with, "did I really....?")



Step 2: Experiment with change. Change doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. For the next 2 weeks, experiment with change. (So bossy.) Keep track of how many alcoholic drinks you have each day. (Zero two days ago, 3 last night, none tonight. That's an average of one per night!) Use the motto: "Think before I drink." (As long as it's not "Think while I drink.") Offer to be the designated driver during a night out with friends. (Ok. I will. I'll do that tomorrow night for our ladies night. So there.) See if you can have fun without alcohol, (I know I can, but it's not nearly as relaxing.) and notice how you feel the next day.



Step 3: Enlist social support. Think of someone who's concerned about you and your health. Ask yourself: What can this person do to help me change my drinking? Tell your support person what you come up with, and ask them to help. (That's not a bad idea.)


You can do it
You're giving serious thought to making some changes in your alcohol use. Use these three steps to help you make an informed and responsible decision. Make the commitment for yourself. Invest in your future. (Well, when you say it like that...)

What the Hell is Wrong with People?

Seriously. What's wrong with people? I'm trying to figure out if this is the way people have always been and I'm just in a stage of life where it's more noticeable or if people are generally becoming more narcissistic.

Two cases in point:

1. I was in La Jolla, California this summer. We went to La Jolla cove to spend a few hours at the beach. The beach in Southern California is always crowded, but this was exceptionally crowded. I dropped off my car load of people to go enjoy the beach and then stayed in the car to circle the parking lot looking for a spot. Oh, I have a lot to say about parking etiquette, but that can be a later post. So anyway, I circled for at least 30 minutes and finally got a lined up with a possible space. So I stop in the lane and put on my blinker and wait. I can see two cars side by side both loading. No one can pass me because there is a motor home sticking out so far that people can't get passed. So I sit and wait. The line behind me backs up enough that I can count 10 cars and see that it goes around the corner at the beginning of the line. The two groups loading their cars stop to talk to each other. They end up talking for 14 minutes. Seriously. Eventually, a car beyond them packs up and starts to back up. I decide to take that spot and start driving. I pass these people and roll down my window and ask if they're leaving, they're like "yeah, man, you got this spot, how lucky are you?" I tell them it's a little late now and there's another site opening up and they're like "Oh, you're giving up a good spot." I got out of my car and had time to take a picture of them still talking to each other, with the whole line of traffic still waiting for a spot. I don't get it. They could see the line of traffic as easily as I could. I don't expect people to hurry getting in their car when they see someone waiting for their spot (though I do), but come on. 14 minutes to have a conversation with a stranger! The selfishness and rudeness and narcissism and obliviousness truly continue to astound me.
2. This weekend, we camped in Yosemite National Park for my birthday. It was a truly great weekend. However, there was this campsite that was entertaining and shocking, to say the least. So on Saturday, we were sitting around having lunch. A humongous 5th wheel trailer pulls up to park in the spot across the road from us. There were already 3 vehicles and two tents there. This thing had to be 35-40 feet long. No joke. So we thought this would be entertaining. It was. They pull up and after about an hour, manage to get this thing parked diagonally across the site, then push out the 5 pop out sections (that have to fit between the trees) and roll out the carpet. Oh yeah, the jet ski trailer is parked in front of the 5th wheel (there are no jet skis allowed anywhere in Yosemite). So finally we see the people come out of the 5th wheel. It's a young couple with one young child (Brody, of course). They were fine most of the night, other than having a member of their group put up a tent literally touching a tent of the stranger in the site next to them. We had to eventually ask them to turn off their front porch flood light (that was aimed at us and not them on the other side of the trailer where they were sitting by their fire), but they were very nice about it. The only other thing we saw was the mom sweeping the outdoor carpet every time someone walked across it. Oh, later they had to work on the popcorn machine in the outdoor kitchen because apparently it was acting up. So in the quiet hours after 10:00 pm, the noise settles down and we go to sleep. We awake at 7:15 to what sounds like chainsaws. I'm serious. It took me a minute to jump out of my cot and figure out what it was. It wasn't chainsaws, it was their two generators. I'm not exaggerating though when I say it sounded like chainsaws. I fly out of the tent to stare at them. People all over start to stumble out of their tents to figure out what's going on. Literally everyone in the surrounding 20 sites is now standing and staring at this spectacle. It's so loud, I can't talk to my husband standing next to me. We have to shout. They can hear this, they know how loud it is, that's why they have it chained to a tree facing away from them and towards everyone else. They can see everyone that they've disturbed, and yet, they don't stop. I'm thinking they better have someone in that trailer that is on life support and that will die if they don't keep the power going. Nope. After 90 minutes of this, they turn it off and we hear them talking and saying that the wife needed hot water for her shower and her coffee. No joke.

So, is it me? Has it always been this way? Am I just being over sensitive? When did people (I know it's not everyone, most people are good and considerate) stop giving a shit about everyone else around them, or at the very least, become oblivious to the fact that people are around them? I mean, people will stand in line at a checkout and talk to the person on their phone, instead of the checker. People will cut across 4 lanes of traffic and stop across those lanes blocking traffic, just so they can get in the turn lane instead of making a u-turn. I want some scientist to do an actual study on this. Are we more narcissistic now than we've been in the past? Is it too much reality TV? Too much Facebook? Too much Miley Cyrus? It's too much something, that's for sure.

Rubicon Brewing Company IPA

Here's my second review. I'm no more experienced as this review comes on the night of my first ever review.

I chose Rubicon (http://www.rubiconbrewing.com/) as it is a very successful local brewery. I would like to work for Rubicon before starting brewing school, and hopefully during brewing school. In comparison to Ballast Point's IPA, Rubicon's IPA had a very similar color. The color was honey and it was very clear. However, it had a less hoppy flavor to me and a more mellow finish. My husband didn't enjoy it as much and felt there was a funny aftertaste, but I enjoyed it more than Ballast Points' IPA.

Ballast Point IPA

Ok. So this is my first very informal beer review. If I'm to start Master Brewing School in January at UC Davis, I better start familiarizing myself with different beer. Yesterday, at Nugget in Elk Grove, when I had a cart full of different beer bottles that I was planning to sample, the guy behind me suggested the beer that he had in his cart (Hoptologist Double India Pale Ale from Knee Deep Brewing Company at http://kneedeepbrewing.com/) was a good one and I should try it. He admired all of mine and we talked. Long story short, I told him my intentions, to sample all this different beer as preparation for Brewing school. Then the guy behind him chimed in how bad he felt for me that I had to drink beer to prepare myself for my career. I KNOW! Rough life. Made me believe even more that life is short and we should do what we want.

SO, anywho! Here it is. Just sampled Ballast Point Brewing Company IPA (http://www.ballastpoint.com/). To be fair, I'm not a hoppy girl. I actually think most people are not hoppy. I think that people that say they love IPA's just like it because it's hoppy enough and distinctive enough that they can tell they're not drinking Coors Light or MGD. However, I drank it. And, yes, it's hoppy. But the color was beautiful, like liquid honey. It had an extremely crisp, clear, and hoppy flavor. I liked it enough that I finished it. There you have it.

Gettin' it goin'

Ok. This isn't for you. It's for me. It's been a while since I posted anything and I decided I just have to type something to get the ball rolling again. But to be fair to myself, there's been a lot going on. I think since I last posted, I went to Monterey for 5 days with my family, my kids finished this year in school, I drove to Washington and back with my family for 8 days, got home for two, then drove to San Diego and back for an emotionally draining but wonderful family trip including a big family wedding. I've been home for 5 days now and am just starting to catch up. Tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday is Swim Champs. This means 12 hours in the sun waiting by the pool with 2000 other people for our kids to swim like 4 times for 30 seconds or less each. Don't get me wrong, we love it, but I'll be happy when this weekend is over. OH, and, we found three eggs in the yard today. Lucy (my chicken) laid her first eggs and is hiding them in a "nest" she made in our bushes. After searching the park and the neighbor's yards for her today when we couldn't find her, she finally popped out of the bushes. We checked the spot and there were three eggs! It's like we should have her Quincineara party or bar mitzvah or something! Anyway, I'll get back on it soon. Just had to get the ball rolling and start with something. :)

Recycle. Compost. Landfill. Oh, My!

So have you seen these new trash... err... excuse me, Landfill cans? Well, I guess they're not really new. If you live in the San Francisco area, you've probably seen them for years now. But I'm guessing in most parts of the world or in at least most parts of America, these have not been seen. So you walk up to the, shall we call it, waste sorting station, to get rid of your trash, or waste. And you are faced with not one, not two, but sometimes 3 choices. Great, more decisions. As if the number of choices at the Supermarket is not already overwhelming enough.

So, at Starbucks this morning, there was a can that said "Recycle" on one side and "Landfill" on the other. Oh, crap. I don't want to have to send things to the landfill. I mean, I know I do and have for most of my life, but when standing there faced with the decision of whether or not to give this piece of material a new chance at life in a new shape or form or to stand on the edge of the cut Earth and heave my Starbucks Artisan Sandwich bag in, I was a bit stressed. I really wanted to throw it into the recycle side just to believe I was not destroying the Earth. Luckily, they provide a list of what can go into each side. What's interesting is that almost no container that Starbucks sells can actually go into the recycle side of the can. Well, at least they've probably helped the problem with the amount of waste that occurs at recycling centers due to people throwing the wrong stuff into the recycle bin, but it really appears that Starbucks needs the 3 choice model.

Yes, the Recycle, Compost, or Landfill model. I've seen this one at a Central Valley California Costco and at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. So, you walk up to this can and are faced with 3 choices. You stand there for a while and read and look at the pictures and hope that you will be able to throw your waste into either the compost (turns out we can compost a whole lot more than we think we can) or the recycle hole. Please, don't let it be the landfill hole. Somebody might see me. There truly is a feeling of judgment while standing there. It's a very effective guilt strategy. I mean, whoever invented this thing had to be Catholic.

California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco

Starbucks

Positive Energy Kids Triathlon

My kids (8 year old girl and 10 year old boy) participated in their first triathlon yesterday. Neither their father or myself has ever done anything like this so we were SO proud of them. It was called the Positive Energy Kids Triathlon (PEKT) and took place in Davis, CA. It was truly amazing. If you ever get the chance to participate with your family, do it. It was SO organized. The kids had bibs with their numbers in huge font across their chests. They had their numbers written on their arms and legs. They had their numbers on stickers on their helmets and bikes. Both kids felt so professional! Their was a short swim across a 25-yard pool (since my kids are swimmers, they wished that part was much longer). The swim was between 25-75 yards for them (longer for older groups). Then a bike ride for 1-4 miles depending on the age (again, 1-2 for my kids), followed by the run (both my kids did 1/2 mile). I know it's not huge distances, but it was a challenge for them and they were exhausted at the end but SO proud of their accomplishment. They both woke up this morning and wanted to wear their triathlon t-shirts and medals to school today... and did! All in all, it was a fantastic, completely positive energy, fun family event. Do it if you ever get the chance. Maybe next year, we'll even participate with them... maybe. :)