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I have been a part of this yummy Bzz Campaign for Smartfoods snacks.  An alternative snack company that offers yummy goodness without sacrificing heath.  Their products use All natural ingredients, no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. They are free of Trans fats and use absolutely no MSG!   Every one who knows me knows what a picky eater and label reader I am. I am here to tell you I actually enjoyed them.  They did not sacrifice any flavor.  They do use dairy in some of their products, which is something I usually steer away from.  Over all, I like the flavor and feel safe with the ingredients. Give them a try!

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Great pizza and free apron!

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Reboot: Day 25: Phase 2 Day 11 - The end

Here begins day twenty-six, day six of phase two of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a few weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. This is the last day of my reboot! I have reached my goal and lost 15 pounds on the way. It was a fun, challenging and very educational experience. I feel terrific! I will continue juicing as a part of my daily routine, but will now continue back to my regular menu of fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, whole grains, legumes and seeds and the occasional fun meals like pizza, steak and what not. The idea, here, is to maintain a healthy base to allow the body to function at peak performance without sacrificing the joy of being alive. Some people have interpreted this journey as a denial of life's true pleasures, eating "real" food. When in reality, it allows me to enjoys the finer things in life while without sacrificing my health. Which includes not only rich, yummy non-nutritional foods, but also healthy reboots. A reboot is just that, a reboot. It is a good way to cleanse the body of toxins and replenish the coffers with the vitamins and nutrients the body uses to fight off disease and maintain good health. But it does not include all the nutrients the body needs to function efficiently so it is important to eat foods with plenty of protein, fiber and essential nutrients for sustaining good health(ie nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains) I am now fully aware of the damages of processed foods, which incorporated about 60% of the American diet. I know I will probably eat these foods again, but never in large quantities. I have not had soda or "juice" drinks in over six months and plan on keeping these at bay also. I guess just the fact that I am aware of what I am putting inside my body is a huge success. To be honest, I have been craving a big fat steak! Haha! I know, but yum. We'll see whether it happens. For those who believe man is a meat eater, here are some annoying facts to toss around. I'm not taking sides, but I thought this was interesting.

Meat-eaters: have claws

Herbivores: no claws

Humans: no claws

Meat-eaters: have no skin pores and perspire through the tongue

Herbivores: perspire through skin pores

Humans: perspire through skin pores

Meat-eaters: have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding

Herbivores: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding

Humans: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding

Meat-eaters: have intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly

Herbivores: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.

Humans: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.

Meat-eaters: have strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest meat

Herbivores: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater

Humans: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater

Meat-eaters: salivary glands in mouth not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits.

Herbivores: well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to pre-digest grains and fruits

Humans: well-developed salivary glands, which are necessary to pre-digest, grains and fruits

Meat-eaters: have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains

Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains

Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains

I've been asked a great deal about why I am doing this Reboot.  There are several reasons. I have spoken about the Bzz campaign, and mentioned the immune system reset. What I did not mention was that I am going in tomorrow morning for some minor, non-life threatening surgery.  It will be an out-patient experience, but will require a great deal of heal time.  I wanted to prepare my body and get it in top shape to perform its healing duties.  I was quoted 3-4 weeks of heal time, and I believe it can be sooner. I will not rush the process but will monitor it very closely.  I would like some time off from work, but not this way.  So  off I go.  I am officially ending my reboot today because tomorrow I will by pumped full of meds which basically nullify my journey.  During the healing process, I will continue juicing, but will also be eating lots of beans, whole grains and brown rice to bulk up and get plenty of protein back into the mix.

Again, this has been a fun experience, and look forward to doing it again soon. I will continue with a six-day reboot every two months, or so, and another 15-day reboot in six months.  I hoped this blog has helped people and I recommend joining Joe Cross at Join the Reboot.  There is lots of information, recipes and forums to help you find your best path to a healthy new you.  Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 21: Phase Two Day 6

Here begins day twenty-one, day six of phase two of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a few weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. Over the course of the last three weeks during this Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead campaign, I have met a lot of new people and forged new bonds between old friends. Two such friends are a married couple, Maggie and Gary, I have had the pleasure of playing music with for the past year and a half with The Mad Maggies. They have been following my progress with this Bzz campaign through my Blog, On the road to my destination, and have been asking me questions throughout. Gary has also been following Joe Cross, himself, on his page, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As of last week, The have purchased not only a Hurom juicer, but a Vitamix! They began their 15-day juice reboot on Monday. I believe Maggie is doing a six day reboot, but will remain plant based in diet in  solidarity I have been following their progress through their Facebook pages. It is quite humorous reading their stories and seeing all the parallels between our journeys. Last night I went over to their house to go over some details of and up coming tour and live album we are planning. When I arrived, I noticed instantly, a change in their appearance. It had only been 6 days, but there was an unmistakable change in their being. Gary lost about 7 pounds and their skin and faces looked, healthy! When I walked in the door, they were excited to have me try one of their creations. I was actually bombarded by concoctions. First, they handed me a leftover of Gary's famous avocado smoothie, made with the Vitamix. It was nothing short of heavenly.Maybe Gary will share  the recipe and I'll share it with you all. Next, they handed me a watermelon juice made with the Vitamix and all but the skin of the watermelon. It was blended perfectly so there was just enough pulp to make it a fun experience to the mouth without losing any flavor. Sweet!  After which, they preceded to peel, de-seed and cut up an entire cantaloupe. After 20 seconds in the Vitamix, the declared it was their first time trying this, and poured me a glass. Three words...De. Lish. Us! We sat out back sipping on our smoothies and talking shop. About two hours later, Maggie declares she is hungry. Dinner time! They asked if I would like to stay for dinner. Absolutely is my answer. I wanted to see this Hurom juicer in action. I was not disappointed. They created a beautifully yummy juice containing spinach, red beets, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, parsley, bok choy, kale, apple....I know I am forgetting something, but let me tell you, I have a Breville Juicer, which I love, but it is loud and makes juice like no tomorrow. The Hurom juicer works slow, quiet and methodically to extract all the juice from the pulp allowing a bit of the pulp to seep through. It has to be experienced. Well, we toasted to our health and future success in the music world, and drank away. It is very rewarding to do things for oneself that you know are great for one's health. But it is equally, if not more rewarding, to have friends join in the experience of taking care of oneself and each other. This has been a great campaign and I plan to incorporate juicing in my routine in one form or another for the rest of my life. I feel great, and am honestly more optimistic towards just about everything. Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 20: Phase 2 Day 5

Here begins day twenty, Day five of phase 2 of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a few weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. Its been a while since I've updated my status. I am now on day 20 and all is well. All the drama has passed and I am now in auto pilot. The juicing is still a major part of my eating program. I have juice in the morning and at night. In the afternoons I have a plant based meal consisting of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and beans. When I crave a snack, I whip up an awesome fruit smoothie with various frozen and fresh fruits. I like to add bee pollen and a mix of crushed flax, sesame, and sunflower seed into the mix. I've learned a few things along the way about juicing. I've tried to mix it up and try new thing. One thing to never do it juice a whole skinned cactus leaf!!!! Unless you like drinking a glass of St Bernard drool, I suggest you avoid it. That disaster prompted me to hit the books. I've checked out a couple. The first logical place to start for me was The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juicing -Mantesh. This provided the basic who's and what's of Juicing. I then went out and purchased, for a small fortune, Conquering ANY Disease (book) by Jeff Primack. "Includes time-proven "Specific" food healing guidelines for helping the body naturally reverse Cancer and Tumors, All forms of Heart Disease, Diabetes Type 1 & 2, and Autism!! Also provides the keys for: Allergy, Anemia, Arthritis, Asthma, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Poor Blood Circulation, Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia, Colds, Coughs, Flu Virus, Constipation & Digestive, Depression, Eye Diseases & Poor Vision, Infertility, Insomnia, Kidney Stones, Liver Diseases, Menopause, Migraines, Osteoporosis, Prostate Disorders, Sexual Problems, Thyroid Problems & Weight loss." The big book of Juices is another book I'd like to check out. My point being there are so many things to try and experiment with that it keeps things interesting and exciting. I've also met a whole new crew of people who have embraced my journey and are helping me along with new ideas and methods of juicing. I met a woman who showed me the correct way to grow wheat grass, a fairly new addition to my daily routine. I don't have a wheatgrass juicer yet, but I think my friend had mentioned his Hurom juicer would work. I have to check one of those out. I keep hearing they are the bomb! I have also discovered that a great number of my friends are interested in juicing and eating healthier. Since I have begun, 8 of my friends have started on this reboot plan. Some try the 6-day and some more ambitious ones are going for the 15-day. I wish them all the best. They will love the results! Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 15 - End of Phase One

Here begins day fifteen, the final day of phase one of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. I made it through the first 15 days. Summary, I lost 14 pounds, my arthritis is gone and I have a lot more energy than before I started. I was at an annual boy scout camping trip over the weekend and was extremely shocked and happy when people I haven't seen in a long time complimented me on the way I looked. I had several people ask about what I had done and enjoyed sharing the process with them. What I call phase one was a 15-day all juicing reboot. My goal was to go the first 15 days with nothing but juice. Unfortunately on day number twelve, I weighed in below my goal. I had to start phase two early. Phase two is the same as one but incorporates 1 smoothie and 1 plant-based meal a day. So on the night of the twelfth day, I ate a lot of fruit and salad. I even snuck in, I know, bad, a hot link. I was camping! I did juice 8 liters of veggies before I left for the campgrounds, and stored it in a cooler. I drank one liter for every meal I was there. On day 13, Saturday, I played a fun gig with The Mad Maggies at Korbel Winery in the Russian River Valley. It was a private party for the wine club and had a pirate theme. Not only was it a great night, but I got to eat a beautiful plate of food prepared by the chef on hand. There was a delicious green salad and sauteed veggies. I even indulged in a little coleslaw. I don't recommend eating out during a reboot because they tend to use a lot of salt and oils. But these particular foods were not too overdone and yet very tasty. On day 14, back to the liters of juice as we packed camp and headed home. Day 15 and I was back to work. Mondays are always fun. I've had three 20oz juices through the course of the day and am about to make my dinner salad an smoothie. I had fun meeting the challenges for the first 15 day phase and look forward to the next 15. If feels good to do something nice for myself! Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 12

Here begins day twelve of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign,  Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a  couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and  rebooting the body. Wow!  It's already Friday. Well this was a very busy but productive week. 1 major project was finished yesterday and 1 will be finished this afternoon. There's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment. Speaking of accomplishment, day number 12. I woke up bright and early this morning and walked into the gym. The first thing I did was weigh myself.  It has been 6 days since I stepped on a scale. I thought my eyes were filled with morning goo as I stared at a 175 on the scale. That is below my target weight. I do not want to lose anymore. I am now at a crossroad. It is only day 12 on phase 1. I believe I must enter phase two early. My phase 2 is the same as phase 1 but incorporates 1 smoothie and 1 plant based meal a day. I do not wish to lose anymore weight. I guess I need to hit the weights harder and bulk up more. Ugh. I can't believe I lost 10 pounds in 10 days. I do feel really good. Still no return of the arthritis in my hands. The pain in my feet has come back so I am now positive it's got something to do with my back. That's another blog.  Alrighty then. Looking ahead I have a weekend of camping and a great show out in the Russian River area. Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 9

Here begins day nine of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body.  I have to say I feel like a new person on Day nine. I awoke with absolutely no sign of the headache I had had for the past two days.  My hands are still pain free and my feet are still improving.  This is getting interesting.  The tire around my waist is slowly disappearing, too.  The belly blub is still chillin, though. I guess I actually have to work for that...ugh.  Well, to everyone's wonder, I am still only juicing.  At this point, I have a lot of friends questioning why I am doing this.  They now realize I am totally committed to finishing what I started. I have to admit, I, too, am a bit surprised I am still going. I love food. I can't wait to eat something other than juice. But here I am. I am actually pretty content with everything. I believe the results I mentioned earlier are my drive now. This is really working....huh, who'da thunk it.  Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 8

Here begins day eight of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body.Day 8 was a bit of a blind spot. I'm not sure why but I suffered a severe headache yesterday. Almost migrainish. I'm not sure if it was from detoxifying, or maybe I have some how compartmentalized all the crazy life experiences that have piled up on me over the last few days. Granted, they were all the little things that didn't deserve a whole bunch of power. Somehow I let the little irritations manifest in my brain where they began feasting on my nerve endings. Regardless, the end result was painful. I was squinting all day like Clint Eastwood. And of course, on this day, everything required my immediate attention.  I managed to muscle through the whole day and by 6 pm I found myself sitting on the couch in a dark room. I drummed up enough energy to make myself a dinner juice. Afterwards I went for a short 20 minute walk, took the shower and went straight to bed.  Okay, that covers the days happenings. I have made a few observations that are very interesting. About 4 years ago the ball under my right foot pinky toes started to go numb. About a year ago the left foot started. I drive a truck 5 days a week and I play drums 7 days a week so my feet get a workout. I thought maybe it was wear and tear. Just be sure I went to the doctors. They ruled out diabetes and several other diseases. About 6 months ago I started getting arthritis in both my hands. Again I thought it was from my drumming and my driving. Now I don't know if this is coincidence or not, but over the last few days the arthritis in my hands is completely gone and my feet have been the,awing out.  I have had days where my feet haven't hurt at all, and the numbness seems to wane. I have also had days where my hands don't hurt at all. But I have never been pain free in both my hands and my feet at the same time let alone 2 days in a row. I am going to be optimistic and hope the juicing is helping these situations. Time will tell. Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot: Day 7

Here begins day seven of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. Day number 7....almost half way through the initial 15-day Classic Reboot. This couldn't have been a better Sunday. I started off the day around 6:30 am with my first super sweet smoothie. It was mad with 3 apples, 1 yellow beet, 5 stalks of celery, 3 leaves of kale and 6 carrots. It hit the spot and wasn't too overpowering for the morning. Shortly after my girlfriend and I went for a 3 mile walk around Spring Lake before it got too hot. We did it in half an hour and drank plenty of water. We were back home by 11:30am and I had absolutely no commitments for the rest of the day!!!!! Hell to the yeah! Just what the doctor ordered. It has been a trying week, and it seemed appropriate to end it this way. Next week doesn't look so bad. I've got a normal week of work followed by a weekend of camping! Oh yeah, I have a pirate party to play at on Saturday at the Korbel winery in the Russian River Basin. That ought to be fun. I'm tellin ya, if you want to see a crazy bunch of musicians, check out one of the Mad Maggies shows. You can keep track of us here The Mad Maggies. Anyway, I am winding this day down with a fabulous 30oz juice consisting of massive green leafy yumminess and other assorted nuggets I call the Veggietitis. So tomorrow I will pass the half way point for phase one, the 15-day Classic Reboot. After that, I will repeat the 15-day classic reboot only this time I am going to add one fruit smoothie and one plant-based meal a day. After phase two, I am going in for a minor surgery and will be laid up at home for about three weeks. In that time, I will most likely reboot again! Stay tuned!! Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign.

Reboot:: Day 6

Here begins day six of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. Ahhhh....day 6. Yes, where to begin. The day started out at 6:30am when I got up to meet the termite inspector. Yeah, I said it, my house has termites. UGH! The inspector arrived on time at 7am and poked and prodded and crawled around under the house. The final verdict was not as bad as I thought. He quoted me a reasonable price, we scheduled a day to exterminate and we moved on. Next was the gig on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. Weather forecast was for an uncanny 86F. I had the van loaded and ready to go by 9:30am and went back inside and mixed up 40oz of Veggietitis to last me through the gig.(the recipe was posted on my FB page) The gig went great! It was hot, as advertised and I managed to make it through the entire 3 hour gig without beer or food! Considering that was all free to the band, I am proud of myself for resisting. It is not easy for a person of Scottish decent to turn down anything free!!!!!! After the gig, I drove a bunch of us to The Marin Brewing Company for beer and garlic fries. Again, I had water only. By the time I got home it was 9pm. My last sustenance intake was at 4pm. I was famished! As I was whipping up my dinner juice, my girlfriend got on the phone and ordered a large pizza which she is eating as I type. I'll let you all fill in the blank. The pizza smells real good. Well, I got 9 more days to go. I weighed myself today and came in at 188 pounds. That is 8 pounds in 6 days. I personally don't want to go below 180. Gonna have to hit the weights more to build up more muscle mass if I am going to make it all 15 days. So I am going to cap off the first week with a super easy day. Tomorrow, Sunday, I have no plans. Gonna go to the gym and then......nothing! It's a me day Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign!

Reboot: Days 4 and 5

Here begins day four and five of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. I have finally gotten over the hunger pangs and moody drowsiness that plagued me the first few days, although my girlfriend still seems to think I am a bit grumpy. Days four and five posed a new challenge to me. I had to go somewhere overnight for work. I didn't bring my juicer and was going to rely on places along the way to juice for me. Two immediate problems with that plan. The first being availability. I work from 1am to 3 pm and when I am done I am held hostage at a hotel with no reasonable form of transportation. This leaves only a couple of opportunities to score juice. The first available time for me to get a juice was 8am which is when I got a 2oz shot of wheat grass($3.50) and a 16oz everything(beets,celery,kale, garlic, ginger, lemon, bell pepper)$5.99. By then I was famished!!!! My last chance was at noon which left me high and dry for way too long. I ended up having to make a compromise. There was a Smart and Final by the hotel so I bought a 320z Green Machine by Naked Juice($6.50) which contained:Apple Juice, Mango Puree, Pineapple Juice, Banana Puree, Kiwi Puree, Spirulina, Natural flavors, Chlorella, Broccoli, Spinach, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Parsley, Ginger Root, Blue Green Algae, Odorless Garlic 2 & 3/4 Apples, 1/2 Banana, 1/3 Kiwi, 1/3 Mango, Hint of Pineapple, Spirulina 1300mg, Chlorella 400mg, Broccoli 100mg, Spinach 100mg, Blue Green Algae 50mg, Garlic 50mg, Barley Grass 75mg, Wheat Grass 75mg, Ginger 50mg, Parsley 50mg. That held me over until day 5. The morning of day five I found a Jamba Juice that opened at 5am!!!! I got a 2oz wheatgrass shot($3.00) and a 12oz carrot juice($5.50). I then bought a 320z Boathouse Green Goddess which was basically the same as the Naked Juice I had the night before($5.99). The second flaw in this plan you probably already put together...the price! I spent a good $30 on a few low quality juices. It made me feel like I was cheating a bit. No worries, cuz when I got home I went straight to the market and dropped $50 on a 3-day supply of fresh, organic veggies! I just finished preparing The Red Dragon. I posted the ingredients on my FB page for those of you who are interested. Okay, the challenge for tomorrow is I am playing drums at a gig out on an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay where part of the pay is beer and BBQ oysters!!!! UGH! I'll get back to you on this....Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign!

Reboot: Day 3

Here begins day three of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. Lucky me, day number three falls on the 4th of July. Day of the barbeque. I woke up early and hit the gym. I spent about 45 minutes there and went across the street to Trader Joe's for some more supplies. I picked up some kale, spinach, apples, lemons, celery and garlic. The whole load cost $16. I came home and immediately whipped up a batch of the previous ingredients plus a tomato, bell pepper and pineapple hearts. I called it The Kitchen Sink. I made enough for 2 16oz glasses. I had to ramp up because I was about to embark on a day at the Morton Hot Springs with my girlfriend and her two kids, Logan,7. and Sienna,9. Throw in the fact it's a holiday and 95 degrees to boot, and you have the makings of an exhausting day. After two hours at the hot springs, I was beginning to run down. The closest thing the snack bar had to resembling what I needed was a frozen juice bar packed with sugar. I focused on finishing my water and then we headed back home. At around 2pm I made two more 16oz glasses of The Kitchen sink. I can actually feel the rush of nutrients as they enter my body. I feel I need a more steady influx of food. I have never been a huge fan of the three meal-a-day program so I don't see how it can work with juicing. I am now going to attempt to have a 12-16oz juice every two hours, except while I sleep, of coarse. That might help my energy levels fluctuate less. It's worth a shot. Tomorrow I am back to work. It's a super early start. Ugh, I smell coffee......Thanks again to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign!

Reboot: Day Two

Here begins day two of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I continue on my journey of health and rebooting the body. I'm feeling a bit better today than yesterday. I began the day the same way as yesterday, except one hour earlier. I managed to make it all the way until 9am for my first juice. Today, my job took me up to beautiful Willits, California. They have a great natural foods market called, Mariposa Market. So for lunch, I had them make me a Green Machine which consisted of celery, cucumber, spinach, apple, lemon and ginger. It came in a 20oz glass for $7.50. I also had a 2oz shot of wheatgrass for $3.60!!!! Yummy! For dinner I mad 30oz of my Vegisaurus. (see yesterday's post for ingredients). In about an hour I will hit the gym again for a short 40-minute workout. Tomorrow is the 4th of July. This will be a test of my willpower. I will be surrounded by blazing barbeques piled high with pounds of yummy goodness. Not for me! Ya know, looking at my cat, Tiko, I believe he may need to start this vegi diet, too....no worries. I know he's a cat. A carnivorous kitty. Tomorrow brings new adventures! Thanks to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign!

Reboot: Day 1

Here begins day one of my participation in the Bzzagent.com campaign, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. As a Bzz agent, I joined this campaign a couple of weeks ago and today I embark on a journey of health and rebooting the body. First of all, let me say that I am with out a doubt, hungry! With that said, I digress. I begin today weighing 196 pounds. I am 6'1". My first day of my reboot was probably a typical start. I woke up at 4am for work. Proceeded with my regular morning routine with a few exceptions. I did not make coffee and I did not cook a breakfast. In stead, I slammed a giant glass of water and, because I hadn't gone shopping yet, prepared a hemp protein shake mixed with water. I figured that was as close as I could get to juicing without the juice ingredients. I got to work at 5am, did my paperwork and went out to start up my truck. Low and behold, it wouldn't start. Short story, the starter was fried and waited 3.5 hour till the mechanic arrived and replaced the starter. 3 hours late, no worries. I surrendered to the events early and decided to roll with it. I was late, but was not going to stress on it. Something that would have been difficult to do hopped up on coffee. I plugged on through the day and found myself famished by noon. I found a great little vegan restaurant in San Francisco, the city I was delivering in, and ordered one off their juices named, no joke, Buzz! It consisted of burdock root, daikon, ginger, kale, chard, spinach, carrot, beet, celery, lemon, turmeric and blue green algae served in a 12oz class for $12. It was delicious! I made it through the rest of the route with a liter of water. On my way home I stopped off and picked up supplies. When I got home at 5pm I was famished again. So, for dinner I created the Vegesaurus! It consisted of kale, chard, carrot, celery, crispy pink apple and ginger. I had 2 12 oz glasses of this masterpiece and am off to the gym. After the workout I will head off to bed and rest for the next go. Overall I feel pretty good. A little shaky from no coffee and starting to get a tinge of a headache,(more juice!) I'm a little more tired than usual, but not too bad. We'll see how easy it is to wake up tomorrow at 3am....ugh! Thanks to Bzzagent.com for allowing me this opportunity to participate in the awesome campaign!

The 30-Day Reboot Challenge

I just finished watching Joe Cross' amazing documentary, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.  What an motivating and inspirational film! I must first say about three months ago, I stumbled on Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live program. I am a huge fan and have been applying his ethics and techniques to my lifestyle. In the past three months I have changed my diet from eating processed foods, meats and sodas to 90% fruits, nuts, beans and vegetables.  In that time I have lost 26 pounds and feel much better.
     When I was invited to the Fat, Sick and Almost Dead campaign, I thought, why not?  After watching the video, I am even more inspired to keep my diet going and improve my health even more. I accept the 30-day challenge and am going to begin tomorrow, Monday, July 2, 2012. I plan to juice for the whole 30 day program and follow thru with the plus dinner reboot, which is a juice all day program with a plant based sit down dinner. 
     I have been sporadically juicing for over 5 years now. I own an awesome Breville juicer. Like Joe's new found friend, Phil, I, too, am a truck driver. The big difference is I do not do long haul.  I am a short haul delivery driver of a 26 foot bobtail truck.  But I do share the same dilemma of the ability to juice all the time.  So my challenge will be to overcome that obstacle.  I do, however, have the luxury of living and working in a very health conscious Northern California community so access to juice bars should not be a problem.
     I will do my best to update my progress and my even try to journal my adventure.  I am very active with my work and play in a band and have family and friends that I share my time with so this will be fun!
   Here I go.....

My cat vs Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance cat food

I once knew this cat named Tico. Every time I would buy him food he did the same thing.  I would open the bag and pour it in his bowl. Hearing this, he would run up to my feet and start the rub dance.  I set the bowl down, He walks slowly up to the bowl, sits down in front of it and stares at it....hard.  Slowly he bends over to take what I think is a bite, half way down, he stops, turns his head to look at me, and then walks away with tail in the air.  Now I now he eats the food eventually, but he will not let me know.
     Last month I got a sample of Hill's Science Diet Grain Free cat food in the mail for a Bzz campaign I am currently doing. I Bzz Agent.com is a community of people around the US, Canada and Britain that review try products and then share what they have learned with other people by word-of-mouth. A brilliant and fun way to try new stuff and meet new people. I digress, So I get this sample and place it in the bowl. The whole routine starts over. But this time his head goes straight for the bowl. He ate almost everything in one shot, while I stood there. I thought this was a freak episode, but to my surprise, he's on his second bag. It has taken me 5 years to find a food he actually likes. Persistance.
     Needless to say I still know this cat and I still have this cat. So if any of you have a problem like this, may I suggest a small bag of

Hill's^® Science Diet^® Ideal Balance^™ cat  food

 

It just may do the trick!

 

About.me.com

As you all have been following, The Mad Maggies just finished their 2012 Alive and Squeezing Tour of the Pacific Northwest. We have posted many pictures, videos and audio on several sites. I have uploaded my own share of A/V material all over the net. The best way to track down all my social network sites is through a brilliant webpage called About.me.com. My particular link is http://about.me/shuttupian  It is a great way to follow all my shenanigans. I first learned about this site as a campaign through Bzz Agent.com of which I am a Bzz Agent.  If you have a big mess of social networks sites, you should try this and organize all your site links into one convenient page. It has helped me keep my peeps in touch with my latest ongoings.  I will fill in more about the tour later. In the mean time, check out About.me.com!

the Mad Maggies -- Making Way

The Mad Maggies -- Sweet Lorna

The Mad Maggies -- Heaven on This Earth

Old World Deli in Corvalis Oregon

We arrived n Corvallis around 6pm with just enough time to unload our gear at our motel get to the gig two blocks down the street. Adrian did an awesome job of backing the huge van down a small alley way with 3 people directing him from outside the van and Maggie within.  We were greeted by a man who handed us $30 as soon as we walked in the door.  He sad he loved us the last time we were here but we were apparently too loud.  We were mistaken for Those Darn Accordions and when we told him we weren't them he too $10 back.
     The Darn played 1st and we had a pretty rocking set.  F'ed up a few times but was better than Seattle. Paul continues to make me laugh.  We had another issue with Dumbass on the Mountain. Apparently the dude who wrote the book this song was based on was from Corvallis. Ha!
     The Maggies came on about 8:45 and played till past 9:30.  We had a great response. With all the confusion I forgot to eat. The kitchen was closed by the time I got packed up.  They were nice enough to give me a salad. YUM!
     After the show we stopped at Safeway and picked up some beer and all 9 of us crammed into Lewis' room. We hung out till Lewis passed out standing up against the wall. The party then moved to the room Tim Tait and I were sharing.  After 2:30am the party cleared out and to our surprise it began to snow.  It has been snowing ever since.  Ugh

     Woke up about 7:30 and by 11am had loaded up the van and then walked down to Broken Yolk Cafe. The food was GREAT!!! Very hospitable people who had no problem dealing with our gang.  After breakfast we stopped by the music store 2 doors down so I could get more sticks. 90 minutes and $100 later we emerged successful. Nothing crazier than 6 musicians in a music store.
    We are now n Eugene awaiting our gig at Sam Bond's Garage.  Load n s at pm so we have some well earned leisure time. Or should I say recovery time. I forgot to mention the snow ball fight that covered 49 miles. It got quite ruthless at times. Anyway... more tomorrow. We head to Portland.

We r playing at The Old World Deli. Tomorrow will be Eugene. Lots of rain today

The first hour goes to The Darn, the 2nd to The MMs. 7-9pm. Staying in a motel 2 blks away. Any1 close by say hi. Towne House Motor Inn

We are now heading south to Corvalis, Oregon for a short 2 hr gig

Seattle Circus of Mayhem

Lets begin at the beginning shall we.  First off the show at McMenimans on St Patrick's Day was AWESOME!!!!!!!!  The place was packed and full of energy. The sound was fantastic also.  Getting there was quite a challenge.  It was almost a 9 hour journey full of extremely disgusting and juvenile conversations. Let me tell you, stuck n a small space for that long with that many musicians creates quite a unique dialogue.   We covered everything from the German language to broken penises.  
     On Sunday after getting a great night sleep at the Best Western Plus in Troutdale Oregon we took off for Seattle. Little did we now what we were headed for.  We arrived at 3pm at Deborah and Pepper's house, friends of Maggie and Gary. We took a load off and had a wonderful dinner prepared by Debbie and the headed off to The Central Saloon for our first gig with our touring buddies The Darn. The Central Saloon was built in 1892 and seems to be n ts original state. A huge room with booming acoustics the Saloon sound s loud.  We all arrived around 7:30pm assuming we start setup at 8pm and start playing at 9.  Well the sound guy did not show up until 9pm. So we had time to kill.  I walked up to the bar where Paul and Lewis (from The Darn) were splitting a French Dip sandwich to say hello to them and was approached by the bartender. She was a awkwardly exotic young woman with a blue Mohawk and a low-cut shirt.  I wasn't planning on drinking  before I played but she asked me with assertion what kind of beer I wanted.  Being the professional I am I blindly asked what her favorite was. She answered and I sad okay give me one of those.  Paul looked at me with confusion and asked me if I liked flavored beer. I said no why?  He told me I just ordered a Blackberry Porter. Ugh.  It arrived and I paid her and took a sip.  Paul leaned over and asked if I liked it. Nope but I drank t anyway! What a dork! 
     So the sound guy finally showed up at 9pm.  It took about an hour to set up everything then he had to have a cigarette before he did sound check.  By this time all the people that come to see us had to leave.  The Darn started at 10pm.  Ths was the first show I played with the Darn and t went better than expected.  There was one funny thing that happened during the set. We had just finished a song called Dumbass on the Mountain which is about people who climb Mt Everest to prove they are studs and end up dying. It is a funny song. Anyway after the song one of the bartenders approached the band with three shots of whiskey. She handed them to Paul and said these are for my boyfriend who died on Mt Everest.  Paul replied with a low "awkward".  She then continued that she has a rule that she buys a round for anyone who can offend her. Paul responded with "if that's the case I'll be drunk n 20 minutes"

     Due to the fact the computer I am using to type this is missing the ( i   k  ,  8) keys it has taken me an hour to write this much by cutting and pasting and continuously spell checking. I have had enough for one day. I will continue with more tomorrow.

Just arrived to seattle. Through rain snow and sleet. Staying at a friend of Maggies. Dbl gig tonight. Sweet!

Now at the 102 mile marker......I just heard a request, or a plea, for a pee stop. Wait for it..........

We are currently freezing our asses off in Weed,Ca....25 degrees!!!!! WTF!

Ugh...Day 2 under way....Oregon brace yourself

     Last night was an awesome show. The people were great.  Lots of good beer and great music. People were very responsive and seemed to have a great time. Lots of beer and good music was the theme.  Somehow we mustered up the stamina to play 2 hours.  The real fun began after the show. They fed us some de-lish-us food!  Then there was the task of breaking all the stuff down and trying to piece t back into the van from whence it came.  After that was accomplished we headed off to our stay at the world famous Bridgehouse Bed and Breakfast .  if you are ever in Redding  highly recommend you stop by an stay here!!!!!
     So we arrived to the B&B @ 12:30am which was just enough tme to shred down and steal  hours of sleep.  Up at 4:0 am we all got t together and were back n this van by 6am heading to McMenamins Troutsdale Oregon. We have  hours to get there. Downbeat s at 4pm......TBC

We have arrived in 1 piece! Time to unload

One hour away from Redding. My Android phone hates the van wifi. Cant upload photos. The volume levels are decreasing. Everyone slowing down

All loaded and ready to go! We r on sched waiting only for Maggie....go figure.

Okay all done with my last stop. I am now leaving morgan hill and going to head up the east corridor. May the road warrior gods be with me

Allright check hollister of the list. Off to morgan hill. Apparently it's starting to rain there. Still on schedule. Rock 'n' Roll!!!

Just thinkin.... I have a beautiful and wonderful girlfriend, awesome friends, and a great band. Trifecta! Life is good!

A little note about these mobile phone uploads. I'm using voice recognition to post them. Its interpretation of my words is sometimes let's say creative

Salinas went off without a hitch of the hollister. Still no rain but clouds are darkening. Yau...

I just finished my third stop in monterey and now heading for salinas. On schedule no rain so far.

Let the games begin! A series of mobile blogs from my supersonic bionic phone.

Twas the night before Redding

1 day to go. Decided to fuel up on some sushi while chillin in Monterey. The weather is nice down here. No rain and about 71 degrees. Nice. The main event for 2 day is to get rest and gear brain for traveling in a van with 6 other unstable of musicians. I am so wound up I cannot relax. I am tempted to slam 3 or 4 sakes but I fear a hangover to start the tour would be not only bad form but would also invite trouble from the others. So now here I sit at my secret hang out in Seaside California awaiting my sushi reward. Then I will scamper back to my room pull closed the blackout curtains and begin the sleep ritual. Tomorrow requires a 3am awakening to complete my 218 miles delivery route and arrive back in Petaluma in time to get back to the van and begin a long trek to Redding, California for our first gig. A nice kick off show. A 2 hour gig starting at 8 pm. Part of the compensation includes room and FOOD! Alright, my food has arrived! See ya!!!!

Birthday Rain Destruction and Gas

     Happy birthday Adrian! The awesome sax player of The Mad Maggies celebrates a secret number of years on this planet today!    
     Well I survived today by a thread. I had a little incident at 3am when I first arrived at work that ended in a massive turrets outburt. But MF'er if it didn't feel good. I got so much crazy energy building up inside that I needed to bust out in vocal tirades.  The rest of the day went fairly smooth except for all the crazy drivers out there! People, rain=slow,,,WTF?!!  I passed an accident almost every ten miles. I'm not talking fender benders. I'm talking demolition derby! Some of the cars looked like a Decepticon picked it up and threw it across the freeway. What are these people thinking? Now they are not only super late, but they need a new car, too. That is if they are still alive, holy crapnards!
    I think I am ready to go. It seems to me that I have a lot of shit I'm bringing with me on this tour. F! Well, I may have overdone it but it will give GDub something to load...haha! Rock 'n' Roll!!!!!
     Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal  of $500 (actually hit $800) for gas at the The Mad Maggies Reward Your Fuelish Ways campaign at Rocket Hub. We really appreciate it!!!
   2 more days!

The Mad Maggies meet Photobucket

     It has just been brought to my attention that a photobucket account has been set up for the upcoming tour.  To access this site and keep up with all the madness as it unfolds, click on the following link and enjoy.  The Mad Maggie's Album. This album, I assume, shall be packed full in no time.  All 7 of us will have camera. Some of us like to snap and post EVERYTHING......hee hee.  There will also be plenty of video footage also.
     Well, the rain is here. I am soaked already. Buts I do loves the rain! Bring it. 

The Countdown Looms

     Four days away from the launch of the 2012 Alive and Squeezing tour.  Just finished checking the weather reports for the shows we are playing and it goes as follows:
March 16 - Friday - 8pm - Vintage Wine Bar & Restaurant, Redding, CA  Rain High 57
March 17 - Saturday - St. Paddy's Day - McMenamin's Edgefield, Troutdale, OR Showers 48
March 18 - Sunday - 8:30pm - The Central Saloon Seattle, WA Few Showers High 47
March 20 - Tuesday - 7pm - Old World Deli, Corvallis, OR Showers High 51°F 60%
March 21 - Wednesday 9pm - Sam Bond's Garage, Eugene, OR Showers High 52°F 60%

Well, you get the idea.  I can only get the 10 day forecast but I'm guessing....mmmm....rain  No worries, a little water will separate the witches from the crew! I pretty much got every thing ready to go. Just a few loose ends. I wonder what the infamous "one thing" will be that gets left behind. So long as it's not too important I'm okay. 
     The hardest part so far is trying to rent a car for my Breezy with a debit card.  Not pretty. It looks like it could be a $300 deposit, depending on my credit check. Good luck with that. Enough said, if anything was said at all....it is time for me to shut up. But wait.....

Photo of the day!

Firing it back up

     Well, a year has passed and , holy shit, if everything hasn't just gotten soooooo much better! When I left off, I was auditioning for The Mad Maggies band http://themadmaggies.com/. Needless to say, I got the gig and had one of the most entertaining and creatively challenging years of my musical career! We played about thirty shows last year including The Santa Rosa Fair http://www.sonomacountyfair.com/fair/sonoma-county-fair.php, The Cotati Accordion Festival The Cotati Accordion Festival and three shows in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (BrewNost(http://www.ncsml.org/Events/20110923/80/BrewNost-2011.aspx), The Accordion Symposium(http://www.thinkingoutsidethesqueezebox.com/) and The Red Baron).
     We are now gearing up for a nine day, eight show tour from Redding, California to Seattle, Washington. Maggie rented a cool custom van from http://bandago.com/ and all seven are going to embark on a crazy journey starting March 16th. Out of the gate, it should be an interesting tour. Hopefully I will keep y'all posted on the shenanigans! Of course the new tour will require new equipment. It has been 15 years since the purchase of my last drum kit. Don't get me wrong, that kit is still totally relevant and kicks ass, but hey, I got an excuse to get new gear...carpe diem! So If figured I needed a more compact drum set as to not hog all the room in the van. My current kit consists of i large 20" bass drum case, 2 tom cases (12" & 13") one 14" snare case 1 drum caddy full of 95# of hardware, 1 cymbal bag, 1 bass drum pedal suitcase, 1 stick bag, 1 carpet and 1 fan! Oye! Imagine loading and unloading that every freakin night. Especially after playing for three hours at 2am. Not fun, but that's the glamor of music.
     Anyway, you get the idea. Smaller is better....well sort of. What I found was this amazing drum kit made by a true artist. The Man is JT Whitney, and his drums are known as Whitney Drums (Fat in the middle). He has some brilliant ideas and has created a wonderful sounding light weight and down right beautiful kit. If you get a chance, I recommend checking out his sight. http://whitneydrums.com/wp/ I can go on days about the ingenuity of these drums but it is best left to the master, JT, himself to tell you. I went to the site, picked out what I wanted, shot him an e-mail.. He wrote back and told me to call him, which I did, and he was very helpful in assisting me in designing the kit that would be best for me. This was early January. I told him I needed them for my tour in the middle of March. He told me he could do it and holy shit if he didn't come through. He builds each set to order, and let me tell you, so far, this kit is the bomb! All, I mean ALL, the drums fit in one case and weigh 35#!!!!!!!!! No joke! HEAVEN! A big thank you to JT!
     I also had to get some more new gear, of course. I bought a new Axis Hi-hat longboard pedal(http://www.axispercussion.com/longboards_L-HH.html) I had to get a travel case for my cymbals(http://www.gatorcases.com/p/4127-1355/gp-pe302) , and I needed sleeves (http://www.cymbag.com/?content=secciones_contenido&idSeccion=1) to protect the cymbals in the case . And no drummer is complete without the proper footwear!!!!(http://www.drumshoes.com/) And that concluded my shopping spree. I wanted a new bass drum pedal, but the funds ran out!! Next time.... So now it's off to the races. Five days till we leave for the tour and I still have a lot of shit to do. So here I go. Later!