Tag Archives: water

Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

Posted on November 4, 2014 | Comments Off on Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

FTC Disclosure: I was given a free sample of the Waiakea water in exchange for my review. All opinions are of my own and were not influenced by the free product.

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had soda in my life. There have been a few times I’ve had a sip (for example when some Sprite was in a punch that I drank at a baby shower), but my last intentional soda was in January 2013.

Considering how much Diet Coke I drank every day, I can’t believe that I was finally able to kick an unhealthy habit like this. I’ve also pretty much cut back on the flavored sparkling water I loved so much. I sometimes will get one at the store, but I probably average one bottle a month (if that).

So I’m pretty much only drinking water these days (with the exception of the occasional cocktail or glass of wine). So when Waiakea Volcanic water offered to send me some samples of their bottled water, I said yes!

I’m not usually a bottled water drinker. I have a water filter at home and I think that it is much cheaper to drink filtered from home water (and I don’t have to carry heavy water bottles home). But for a splurge or when I’m out and about and getting thirsty, I get some nice bottled water.

I have a few brands of bottled water that I love (and yes, they do taste different to me), but Waiakea was a new brand to me and I was very curious what it would taste like.

IMG_3944

And I have to tell you that it was very yummy bottled water! It was really crisp and fresh tasting and didn’t have any of that gross plastic taste that so many bottled waters have.

I wish that the bottles came in a sports top option (I like having those for when I’m drinking bottled water in my car), but that is not a big deal. I now know that when I’m getting bottled water when I’m thirsty that this is a brand I will be on the lookout for.

And as a bonus, Waiakea gave me a promo code to share with you all! If you would like to try their water for yourself, they have an online store so you can have it shipped right to your door (and not have to carry heavy bottles around a grocery store). You can go to this website and place your order. Then use the promo code BOMBSHELL20 for 20% off any orders that you place!

I know that reviewing water might not sound so exciting, but for someone like me who is a water drinking fanatic, knowing that there are more great options for bottled water makes me so happy!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailCutting Out My Favorite Drink (or Goodbye Diet Coke, Diet 7-Up, Fancy Water) Default ThumbnailSoda Free (or Maybe I Can Keep This Last Bit of This Vice) Default ThumbnailBulu Box (or Testing Out A Subscription Box) Default ThumbnailHaving Water At A Wine Bar (or Getting A Temporary Job) Default ThumbnailContinuing The Birthday Celebrations (or A Birthday Twin Adventure) Default ThumbnailAlmost Halfway Through The Cleanse (or Bring On The Tonics And Detox Drinks!)

Comments Off on Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Saving

Tagged , , ,

Ice Bucket Challenge (or I Guess My Floors Are Clean Now)

Posted on August 29, 2014 | Comments Off on Ice Bucket Challenge (or I Guess My Floors Are Clean Now)

I’ve been enjoying watching all the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos. Some of them are really creative or silly, and I think getting the awareness of any disease is awesome. Plus, the challenge has helped to raise so much money!

Even though I’ve been enjoying watching the videos, I’ve been very happy that I haven’t had to do one myself. It is really hot here in LA, but the idea of dumping a bucket of water over my head isn’t really appealing. And for all of you concerned about the drought (I’m concerned too!), I don’t have a lawn or wash my car so I think I can waste a little bit of water.

I don’t know how I made it so long without getting nominated, but the other night (as some of you might have seen on Instagram) I accidentally took the Ice Bucket Challenge.

I was getting a glass of ice water to drink from my kitchen before going to watch some TV I had recorded on my DVR. I get a glass of water plenty of times throughout the day. Nothing was different this time.

Except that my right hip decided to not work as I was walking. My hip caught and locked up so I pretty much stopped mid-step. And being off-balance like that caused me to fall and land flat on my butt.

And that glass of water that was in my hand went all over my face and down the front of my shirt. And it was a pretty large glass of water too!

10646767_10152652531502748_4809942049473006651_n

After the initial shock of falling down and getting soaked with ice water, I did a quick evaluation to make sure I was ok. My hip was fine but my butt was killing me. The next morning I would wake up with a nice bruise.

Whenever I fall I’m scared that I did some serious damage to either of my hips. They both have their own issues and my hip surgeon has warned me against doing anything that might cause me to fall on a hard surface (skiing, roller skating, ice skating). So falling down on my floors is not ideal, but not the end of the world.

I’m also grateful that I almost always use a plastic glass for my water. They are bigger glasses than my fancy ones. And if this had happened with one of my fancy glasses, I probably would have had broken glass to worry about (and I was barefoot when this happened). So I’m lucky in that sense.

So all of you who were considering nominating me for the Ice Bucket Challenge don’t have to nominate me now. And since I accidentally took it, I’m not going to nominate anyone else.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailSecond Week Of My Orangetheory Challenge (or I Guess I’m Tougher Than I Thought I Was) Default ThumbnailGetting Weighed In (or A New Orangetheory Challenge) Default ThumbnailAttempting To Go Scale-Free (or A Personal Challenge) Default ThumbnailFirst Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times) Default ThumbnailA New Challenge (or Who Wants To Come Workout With Me?) Default ThumbnailThe End Of My 8 Week Challenge (or The End Is Really Just The Beginning)

Comments Off on Ice Bucket Challenge (or I Guess My Floors Are Clean Now)

Posted in Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged ,

Making The Most Of My Last Day In Tahoe (or Tucker Is A Lake Dog!)

Posted on June 26, 2014 | 1 comment

On my last day in Tahoe, I didn’t have to leave for the airport until after dinnertime, so I had a full day to have fun. So for the day, we decided to head to Donner Lake to enjoy some time on the water.

We went to the exact same beach that I went to last summer. But besides bringing the raft with us again, we also brought our 2 kayaks to the lake!

We decided that my mom and Kate would each take a kayak out and my dad, Tucker, and I would go in the raft. Tucker had been in the raft one other time the week before and he did ok then. But this time, he wouldn’t be with both my mom and dad so we were a little unsure of how he would do.

We got my mom and Kate in the kayaks and into the water first. Tucker watched from the shore and yelped a little that my mom was paddling away. He didn’t want to get into the water so he stayed on the very edge of the shore. Then I got into the raft and my dad picked Tucker up and placed him in with me. Then my dad got in and he took over the paddles (he’s way better at it than I am).

The kayaks are pretty easy to maneuver, so my mom and Kate were off and going around the lake. My dad refers to the raft as a bathtub so we paddled away from the shore and pretty much just floated out there.

But I have to say that Tucker seemed to really love it!

IMG_3279 IMG_3301IMG_3296

And yes, he’s wearing Dante’s old life vest.

Tucker spent his time in the raft people and dog watching and then just leaning back on either my dad or I and enjoying the sunshine. But his favorite thing to do was to lick the water off of the paddles.

IMG_3287

You can tell from that photo how giant his ears are! And you can tell that he’s a bit of a redhead too!

When my dad and I got back to shore, there were a few other families with their dogs near where we set up our stuff. The dogs were jumping in the water and swimming and Tucker was mesmerized by that. We thought that maybe if he watched other dogs swim, he would try it too.

The owner of the other dog wanted to help us get Tucker to swim, so she kept throwing toys into the lake for him to get. But again, he refused to swim. He got very close, but when he realized that he couldn’t put his foot onto the ground, he backed up. But even without swimming, Tucker had so much fun.

IMG_3303

My mom and Kate kayaked back to the shore then and my mom wanted to see if Tucker could kayak with her. So my dad got into the lake with Tucker and got him on the back of the kayak. My mom paddled in the shallow area incase Tucker fell off, but it turns out he has amazing balance and managed to stay on!

IMG_3312 IMG_3326

We spent a good few hours at the lake, and eventually it was time to head back to the condo. Kate and I wanted to watch the World Cup game and my mom was going to make a nice early dinner.

Around 6pm, Kate got into her car to make the drive back to the Bay Area and my mom, dad, Tucker, and I got into the car to do a little walking around before I had to get to the Reno airport.

It was a gorgeous evening at Lake Tahoe and I was sad that my vacation was coming to an end.

IMG_3336

At about 7pm, we got back into the car for the drive to Reno. Airport security only took me 5 minutes from the time I was dropped off, so I spent a lot of time looking at all the tempting ways I could spend my money in the Reno airport.

IMG_3342

I managed to keep all my money in my wallet and just read my book while waiting for my delayed flight home.

I’m so glad that I was able to do this trip to Tahoe this summer. Even though I got to go last summer as well, I haven’t been able to go up as often as I’d like. I talked to my parents about me going up this winter since it’s been a few years since I’ve been up in the snow. Hopefully we can make that happen.

I’ll see my parents again in about 2 months when they come to LA. We are all going to a show at the Hollywood Bowl together. And I’ll see Tucker again at Thanksgiving. There’s a small chance I might be visiting my sister-in-law at the end of the summer when my brother is working out of the country, so I might get to see everyone then as well.

But for now, I’m just grateful that I got to spend a nice long weekend with my family (and chosen family as is the case with Kate).

 

 

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Plane Ride And A Mini Road Trip (or My Adventure To Get To Lake Tahoe) Default ThumbnailLong Lake And The Best Caesar Salad In The World (or The First Day Of Adventure In Tahoe) Default ThumbnailSaying Goodbye To Tahoe (or Going Rafting Before Flying) Default ThumbnailA Tahoe Weekend (or Let It Snow!) Default ThumbnailHello Tahoe! (or The Start Of My Weekend Getaway!) Default ThumbnailWelcome Tucker! (or Filling The Dog Shaped Hole In My Family)

1 Comment

Posted in Family, Fun Stuff, Travel

Tagged , , , , ,

Getting In The Ocean (or My Final Day In Maui)

Posted on September 17, 2013 | Comments Off on Getting In The Ocean (or My Final Day In Maui)

My fear of oceans started in 2000.

I was in the Galapagos for a family trip and we went snorkeling. In the Galapagos, the animals there do not know that they should be fearful of humans. So they will come up to you all a lot. Well, when I went snorkeling, I was in the water and a sea-lion came up to me. I’m sure most people would think that is cool, but when it was in my face, it blew bubbles and me and completely freaked me out. I didn’t go back into the ocean for that trip or for any other trip for the next 13 years.

I tried to get over my fear, but it just didn’t happen. I wanted to try surfing lessons (confront my fear head-on), but every time I scheduled a lesson, the day before there would be a shark sighting very close to where I was supposed to be.

I took it as a sign.

Well, in Maui, I declared that I would make it into the ocean. And on the last day of the trip, I finally had a chance.

We drove over to the hotel my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Steve were staying at. My Aunt Cindy had told me that there was a reef right off the beach at their hotel and it was very easy snorkeling and perfect for a beginner.

It was a very nice beach day, although a little windy and the water was a little choppy.

DSCN1078 DSCN1079

Fortunately, the rental house came with snorkel gear, so I didn’t have to worry about renting any. My mom decided to stay at the beach with our stuff (and be the official photographer), so it was me, my dad, and my Aunt Cindy heading out into the water.

My mom got one before shot of us all.

DSCN1084

And then we went into the ocean. I had to get some instructions from my dad about how to get all the snorkel gear on the easiest way, so I sat down in the shallow part to get my fins, mask, and snorkel on to my liking.

I put my face into the water and immediately had a panic attack. I started to hyperventilate a bit and was tearing up. But I was able to get my breath under control and tried again.

For the first part of the snorkeling adventure, I would get panicky if my ears went underwater (because then I could hear my breathing and it freaked me out). But I got much calmer as we went.

DSCN1096

And it was totally worth it! There were a ton of beautiful colorful fish right there! I didn’t like when the fish got close to me, so I tried to stay where it was a bit deeper. I have no idea what the names of any of the fish were, but pretty much all of them were super bright colors. We also saw a school of something like 100 fish right below us (which made my aunt wonder what they were swimming away from).

I thought (and I think everyone else thought) that I would be the first one ready to go back to the beach, but after a while, my dad announced that he was getting a bit tired. So the three of us went back to the shore. Turns out, we were out there for about an hour! Not too bad for my first time in an ocean in 13 years!

After snorkeling we rinsed off at the outdoor showers and met up with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Nancy (who went scuba diving that morning) for lunch. And after lunch, it was time to head back to our place to start packing up!

Of course, we enjoyed out last Maui sunset.

DSCN1099 DSCN1104

And finally decided that we should light the tiki torches that were in the backyard.

DSCN1109 DSCN1110

I had a really wonderful trip. I got to see so much of the island when we were there. And I felt like I finally got a real vacation! As sad as it was to say goodbye to Maui and the amazing place we stayed in, I was ready to come home.

I hope that you all have enjoyed reading my Maui adventures! I promise to get back to my usual types of blog posts!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailHappy Birthday Dad! (or Just Like Mom, I Promise Not To Reveal Your Age) Default ThumbnailOff On An Adventure (or It’s Hawaii Time!) Default ThumbnailDriving Around East Maui (or Crossing Things Off My Maui Bucket List) Default ThumbnailDay One In Maui (or The Only Way To Start A Vacation Is In The Hot Tub) Default ThumbnailThe Big Event! (or The Reason I’m In Maui) Default ThumbnailExploring West Maui (or My Dad Found A Coconut With Jesus On It)

Comments Off on Getting In The Ocean (or My Final Day In Maui)

Posted in Family, Fun Stuff, Travel

Tagged , , , , ,

Cutting Out My Favorite Drink (or Goodbye Diet Coke, Diet 7-Up, Fancy Water)

Posted on August 23, 2012 | 1 comment

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved diet sodas. There was never regular soda in my house growing up, so I truly enjoyed the flavor of diet soda.

At some point in college, my body stopped liking caffeine. Pretty much, my body will have symptoms of caffeine withdrawal pretty soon after drinking it. So I stopped drinking Diet Coke and started drinking caffeine-free Diet Coke.

I also have a love for Diet 7-Up and those no calorie flavored carbonated waters you can get at the grocery store (I’m partial to Albertson’s peach flavor).

In 2006 and 2007, I was on a no food diet. Literally, no food. I would only consume 600-800 calories in shakes each day. It was done at a hospital and I was being monitored each week, so it was safe. But during this time, I craved any flavor other than the chocolate shakes that I survived on. I would drink between 2-4 of the peach flavored no calorie carbonated waters a day. And each of those drinks was 1 liter. That’s a lot of soda. I also drank a lot of caffeine free sodas (I was on a weird orange soda kick for a while).

I’ve cut out most sodas in my life. I’ll occasionally get a caffeine-free Diet Coke at or a Diet 7-Up when I’m at the store. But I never was able to stop drinking my flavored carbonated waters (which I lovingly referred to as yummy water).

But now, Albertson’s doesn’t carry yummy water anymore. Or if they do, it’s in one of the weird flavors like blueberry acai berry. So I’m taking this opportunity to make a serious attempt to limit my fluid intake to water (and the occasional alcoholic drink).

This isn’t just a health thing. Sodas are expensive. Those yummy waters are $1 each. It adds up. I’d rather spend my money on paying off my debt or enjoying outings with friends.

I’m not going to try to cut out sodas and yummy waters completely. I feel like that is setting myself up for failure. Instead, I’m going to say only 2 sodas or yummy waters a week. And once that seems easy, I’ll cut it down to 1 a week.

So I had a caffeine-free Diet Coke today to say goodbye. I’ll see you again soon.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailTesting Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak) Default ThumbnailSoda Free (or Maybe I Can Keep This Last Bit of This Vice) Default ThumbnailDirty Shirley (or My Signature Drink) Default ThumbnailMy New Favorite Happy Hour Place (or Free Hot Dogs) Default ThumbnailMy Current Diet (or I Miss Food) Default ThumbnailNew Photo (or It Reminds Me of The Old Me)

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Saving, Weight Loss

Tagged , ,