Wouldn’t it suck if you were the one that fell?

http://youtu.be/DLRKBL_yt9M

The past four years of my life has been focused on my newest occupation, Mom. During this time, I have surfed maaaaaaybe 25 times? This is not how I expected my favorite past time to go down! Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom and all the love and affection I receive on a daily basis, but there needs to be some “me” time thrown in there! After the first two years of  momhood, I thought I was going to start gettin somma that me time, but it didn’t quite work out that way. We decided to adopt a teenager. Yes, I said teenager. After another two years things are starting to really come together over here and I have decided to follow a new dream of mine….becoming a real surfer!

In my 20s, I moved to California for one thing…to learn how to surf. Since I can remember, I have wanted to live near the ocean.  Not just any ocean, it HAD to be the ocean on the West Coast. The big blue Pacific. Ahhh, it is such a calming force in my life. My newest resolution is to become a better surfer. I am tired of sucking at catching waves (see photo above).  It all started about a day before Christmas Eve while I was in Colorado for the holidays. I stood staring at four feet of snow and realized that I had not gone out in the ocean for almost three months. There is no excuse for not taking a dip- at least- into the energy recharging blue liquid that is only a 1/2 mile from my house and beach lab. No excuse!

I started my search for an organized, surf-specific workout on the Internet. I found a cool workout designed by a personal trainer in Australia who trains lots of surfers, professionals included. It is called “Total Surfing Fitness.” It has three levels of workouts to build muscle, flexibility and mobility….the secrets to catching good waves.

Today’s e-mail from my virtual trainer was to test my flexibility. I am supposed to be able to put one arm over my head and bend it back behind my head, then do the opposite with my other arm and touch them together in the middle of my back. Three weeks of lots of pop-ups and push ups had made me stiff… ooouuuuuch…Need to work on flexibility. It is a pretty organized workout; Do the surf specific workouts three times a week, alternating with days of surfing, paddling or some kind of cardio.

I am on my 3rd week of level one workouts. I am constantly hungry and my butt is sore. I have gone out surfing (not this week since it has been raining and flat) and I have noticed a difference in my ability to catch waves. This week is the third of four weeks on the level one and then I move to the next level. My virtual trainer sends me e-mails almost every day to keep me motivated and jazz up the workouts by adding a new balance or strength workout.

My end goal is to charge some giant waves by the end of the year. No fear. No drowning.

You don’t need to go all the way to the Caribbean to swim with Whale sharks!

http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-swimming-with-sharks.html

This is in my budget.

Hope they aren’t napping when I am visiting…

http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-sperm-whales-caught-napping.html

And this is just a great title…sea urchin orgies?!

http://news.discovery.com/videos/animals-preventing-sea-urchin-orgies.html

Check out the cool graphic of the path of the debris.

Check out the article:

http://news.discovery.com/earth/tsunami-debris-floating-fast-towards-hawaii-111025.html#mkcpgn=emnws1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/31/sunscreen-pill-coral-five-years

Great article for us environmental hippies taken from the Discovery News. Always learnin’ somethin’…..

This article focused solely on the disposal, end-of-life phase. Read it and educate yourself.

THE GIST

• Buying biodegradable products can ease your conscience, but they don’t necessarily do much for the Earth.
• Biodegradable products can do more harm than good for the environment if they end up in landfills.
• One of the best ways to reduce your impact on the Earth is to use less and throw less away.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/biodegradable-trash-garbage-waste-110616.html#mkcpgn=emnws1

He was following everyone around the beach.

We went down to La Jolla this weekend to check out the Children’s pool. According to the law, People do have a right to use the beach at Children’s pool, but they need to stay clear of the seals, don’t disturb them if they are hanging out sleeping, and DON”T try to pet them. San Diego Freedivers were down there to share the beach with the seals…we each had opposite sides except for the little elephant seal that was sick. He came very close to us and did not look well. Seaworld was called and he was taken back to get some much needed medical care.

A big fish was caught…7 gill shark…and was eaten right on the beach with the BBQ grill. At first, I was not keen on the idea of cooking up a shark in front of the “Friends of the seals” that are there everyday, but the Freedivers needed to show that they do actually EAT the fish they catch. It does not go to waste.

I felt bad for the “Friends” and hope they didn’t feel uncomfortable watching that, but they tend to get a little radical at times and the freedivers had to do that.

it says "Enjoy the Beach" not "stay away"

Photo from today's The Sun

How cute! This is the exact feeling I have when I put my Surf-fur Waterparka on after a cold morning surf session….Warmth, love, and a little sleepy. It was cold in the water today, but the waves were calling to me. After my session, I just threw my Surf-fur on over my wet wetsuit, got warm and sleepy, and just watched the “good” surfers out there catch those big waves. If I could only wear it while surfing….

The same weekend, our team rider, Terri Plunkett, took first place in the race in North Carolina.

AND!!!! The LCC Surf team completed state finals at Oceanside Harbor! The girls did awesome! And the guys got second in short board.