Loot Crate Review

A couple weeks ago I signed up for LOOT Crate. It was the first crate subscription I was even remotely interested in. I'm not into the fashion boxes, craft boxes, or healthy snack boxes, but you can bet that I'll sign up for the nerdy gamer toy lover boxes.

So I got my first Loot Crate this weekend.
It was AWESOME, just look at all this stuff!! We got a Superman Pop figure, a Minecraft Mini Calendar, Nasa Patch, Star Wars pocketmodel trading card game, Melting Rubik's Cube sticker that Brian turned into a magnet and a Star Trek Badge.

The subscriptions start at $19 if you want to be able to cancel at any time, but go down if you sign up for more. Check out the site here and indulge in nerdy goodness.

Jealousy is...

Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.- Fulton J. Sheen

Having been a tom boy for most my life I never understood jealousy. As a tom boy I was used to hanging with boys who were direct, less judgmental than girls, and not so much into competition outside of sports. Most people that know me can attest to the fact that I am a person who likes to be accepted for who I am or not at all. I don't like to play games and I don't pretend to be anything I am not.

Most females are brought up looking at other females as competition, who is prettier, who is thinner, who has the best boyfriend/husband, who has the better job, who can eat a shit ton of pizza and not gain a pound, who gets more free drinks at clubs, etc. Which is really just a waste of energy and time. It's not important.

My husband always tells me not to stress over the things I cannot change, with me that stress is wasted on bills, plans, etc. Hardly ever do I waste my time on jealousy. I've tried my best to realize that instead of being jealous over someone's accomplishments I should be positive and work harder to accomplish my own goals.

Not only does this translate into my life of being a woman, but in being a musician as well. We hear of bands we don't care for being signed or getting a break. Instead of wasting time and breath on negativity towards that I welcome it, if they can do it so can I.

I think a lack of jealousy definitely shines through as strong self-confidence. If you're happy with yourself you don't waste your energy being nasty or rude to other people, especially to other females.

I am also not intimidated by other successful women, I love them. I love that they have worked hard to get to where they are and they can probably teach me something awesome.

I mentioned before that these last couple years I have been able to find a great group of other down to earth, kick ass chicks that are my friends. Real friends not nasty jealous fake friends who feel the need to put other people down to make themselves feel good or talk bad about people behind their back.

If you're surrounded by the fake type, then you might be getting sucked into a nasty vortex of jealousy and negativity. Cleanse yourself, get some distance and reevaluate that friendship.

As you get into your late twenties/early thirties I believe you realize that strong positive friendships are far more nurturing.

I can tell you from experience, it's a great thing to wake up in a few months after mourning a broken friendship to realize all it was doing was holding you down.

Don't waste any time on vapid jealousy, it will cover you in a mask of bitter nastiness and you'll come across as insecure and miserable.

Leverage

This is the time of year when I don't like to leave my house outside of going to work, band practice, and the store. 

Mostly it's cold, I don't like crowds and I received some video games for Christmas and they aren't going to play themselves.

Unfortunately our son feels the same way. He doesn't want to go outside and play or ride his bike. He wants to get grubby fingerprints all over my new tablet while playing Angry Birds Go.

Before winter break his teacher sent us an email stating that he just wasn't trying at his school work and if he kept it up his grades would suffer.

So during winter break he had to earn his video game time by writing stories, reading books, and going outside to play.

The other day he brought home his most recent progress report and he had raised all of his grades to A's and B's. So yeah, video games as leverage can be pretty awesome. 

What I learned in 2013

Every year around this time I like to look back on what I learned in the past 365 days. Here's 2012's and 2011's lessons in review.

2013 has been a roller coaster year. A lot of ups and downs in our adventures.

January 2013. 

We learned that eventually the picky-ness displayed by our little man will end. Well, hopefully.

We made a list of foods Hayden would promise to try. Of these five  1. Bacon 2. Chicken Noodle Soup 

3. Scrambled Eggs 4. Rice 5. Spaghetti he's tried three but he did add more to the list and has broaden his palette. 

Here he is trying #1 on the list, almighty BACON.

We also got to attend NAMM again. We learned there that  Art Alexakis of Everclear thinks he knows Brian, Fieldy from Korn can be a douche and Hayden loves road trips.

February 2013

We learned Brian says hilarious things on anesthesia when he needs to have eight teeth removed, on Valentines Day. He was out of it and wrote me a note while out of it saying he now knows the secret to his life is taking care of me and his son. Which was super sweet and hilarious when he couldn't say it and drooled all over himself trying. 

I also learned that for once in my life I have a really awesome group of girlfriends who I love so much and who like to grab my boobs. 

March 2013

We were planning a trip to Florida to visit my Mom and Stepdad at the end of the month, however I learned that bad things happen even when you have a vacation planned. My maternal grandfather passed away and my mom had to tend to the details with her family in Northern California. We instead headed to Southern California for a weekend trip and had some fun with our good friends who then moved to Vegas the following week. I also learned that despite thirteen years of struggling with holidays, birthdays and the gift buying that those entail my husband finally learned how to rock it when he bought me a surprise spa day for my birthday. 

April 2013

In April we dealt with the loss of a fellow musician when Che Cheng slipped away. It was hard news but little did we know how much harder the next month would be.

May 2013

In May we learned that a new floor can do wonders for a kitchen. We learned that Mother's Day should not be taken lightly and you should make your trip to see someone sooner rather than later.
Brian's mother passed away on May 20th after years of battling with cancer. He was on the phone with his sister when it happened. We are still effected by it every day. The trip to Washington to be with his family and attend the memorial was a hard one in many ways. We miss her and think about her often.  

June 2013

In June we played a great show at LVCS with Fear Factory then a weird show at the Roxy in Hollywood where I scared a bunch of kids expecting us to sound like Paramore. I learned that my Land Rover was a good car, but when the transmission broke I bought a newer car. I love my Rav4. The highlight was that Hayden made the honor roll for his last semester of first grade.

July 2013

In July we were nominated for a Vegas Rocks Magazine award. We learned that we really do have a 2 year curse with guitar players. We celebrated Hayden's 7th Birthday and we celebrated Brian's birthday as well.

August 2013

In August we announced our new guitar player Brian Jackson. We played an awesome show with Hemlock which was Rob's last show with us. 

We learned that Florida is super hot and humid in August.

We had a great vacation and visited my mom and stepdad.

We attended the Vegas Rocks music awards and learned that we were definitely in the wrong category, but the experience was fun and we felt like stars. While everyone else was getting eye raped by Miley Cyrus, we were enjoying ourselves at the Hard Rock. 

Then Hayden started SECOND GRADE!!

September 2013

In September we took some awesome new band photos with Radiant Inc. We played a great show with some friends at the Dive Bar. We also celebrated our fifth year in Las Vegas.

October 2013

In October we learned that helping and giving back to a cause we are really passionate about can make a difference when we helped paint the Huntridge theater. I learned that a little health scare can freak me the f- out and I like my boobs.

Brian and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and 14 years together. We took our first trip to Disneyland to celebrate the anniversary. We learned that Disneyland is super freaking awesome and we will now go broke making many more trips there.  

We played an amazing show at a new favorite club called Backstage Bar and Billards. 

We saw our first ever Slayer show. We celebrated Halloween with our friends and I learned some cute Halloween crafts off pinterest.

November 2013

Our highlight of November was heading to Nor-Cal to play a couple shows in our old stomping ground. It was a great experience reconnecting with old friends and really feeling appreciated for the ten years we've been a band. 

We played four shows that month including another awesome show with Fear Factory at LVCS.  We closed out November with a peaceful Thanksgiving with friends and are very very grateful for all the wonderful adventures.

December 2013

December started out rough with my dear husband getting let go at his job after five years of busting his ass there. We pushed through the wrenches in our gears and managed to have some great times anyhow. 

We attended a great party at Backstage Bar and Billiards and learned that I'm getting too old for weekday parties especially when the band we hoped to see didn't start till after 11pm. 

We played a last minute show at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. Even though some parts were rough the show was a success and we had a way better experience than the trip to LA in June. 

We played an underwhelming show with Nonpoint at the LVCS where I learned that no touring band's tour manager will EVER push us around again. 

This past weekend we took a little family trip to San Diego to see the Raiders play the Chargers. We had such a great time even though our team lost. Hayden and Brian had the best time at the game and my early Christmas gift to them was a great one.

We had a sweet Christmas and look forward to New Years. 

2013 was a great year even though we had some very bittersweet moments and losses. Every day I am grateful for my boys, my amazing friends, my talented band members and the wonderful experiences I have been able to collect. 

I wish the best to you and yours for a great 2014!

I am an adler

According to Celtic Astrology you were born under the Alder moon, the fourth moon/month in the Celtic calendar, a time of new growth and rebirth and finding a balance between work and play. Alders have a defence against rotting in water and are used to build bridges, boats, wooden shoes/clogs and milk jugs and was considered to be a crime to fell an alder, as the angry tree spirit was believed to burn down dwellings.

Being born at this time professes that you are the doers of the Celtic Zodiac. This is the time to make your business and academic ventures work, to sew the seeds of success. You are a busy person who likes to take on new projects. You must however allow yourself to take time out other wise you may find yourself burnt out and having to rebuild again and again.

Animal: Bear
In Celtic Astrology the animal associated with March 18 – April 14 is the Bear whose Gaelic name is Art (pronounced as AiRCH). (Cutios is the Celtic name for this season and means windy time.)

Bear people are primitively powerful, courageous, playful and extrovert with an inherited sixth sense, they are sensitive to the mystical side of life and very connected to their native roots. They are extremely protective of their loved ones, have a great sense of adventure and like to roam the land.

Google Celtic Astrology to find what your tree is.

Weekend Redux: Last minute road trip to Hollywood

Friday about 1pm I was informed that we would be playing the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood with Wayne Static on Saturday. The four of us were stoked. We rushed around to get our shit ready and hit the road at 6am Saturday morning.
I booked us rooms at an awesome hotel called The Grafton on Sunset. The rooms were beautiful and the staff was extremely accommodating.

We had some drama with a girl that was [thisclose] to getting throat-punched but instead of getting arrested I opted for leaving and enjoying my night in Hollywood. We went to go prepare for the show at the venue and left her drama ass at the hotel.

We walked around the Sunset strip. The weather was an amazing 70+ degrees while Vegas was a very cold 50 something.

The Whisky was packed and we had an awesome show. The crowd showed us lots of love and we were placed in an awesome spot on the bill. The Defiled played after us and Wayne Static was after them. They used some of our gear as you can see below.

Overall the trip was a good one and we had a blast. We made some new friends/fans and got to enjoy the Cali weather for the weekend.

Wrenches

I posted last month about how these were the best times of our lives. I gave credit to the positive energy and thoughts that we've been trying our best to keep up. Sometimes fate has a way of saying, "Oh yeah, well take this wrench I just threw at your face and see how positive you handle that."

Well we handled that wrench with the best positive energy we could muster. The wrench was Brian being laid off from his job of five years with no warning.

But things are ok. We have a plan and just need a little time and money to get it going.

In the time being we're living it up and enjoying our times. Its colder here in Vegas now, so cuddling, playing video games, and building Lego masterpieces is how we're spending most of our time.