Today’s blog: My re-entry into the world of fitness.

Some of you may have seen my fb posts, if not you may not be aware of my re-entry into the world of physical fitness. A week ago Saturday, my boys wanted to go to the gym/spa where we have a family membership. They wanted to play basketball. Fine, I told my husband that they could go and I’d just stay home. Well, he wouldn’t go for that. I dug deep into my closet and found my bright white workout tennis shoes….not new, just rarely used.  Off we went to the fitness center that we joined last year but visited less than 5 times. As my boys (now 8 and 11 years old) hit the gym, I ran into my neighbor Michelle who asked if I was there for the Zumba class. When I said no, she said “Oh you should so try it.” At this moment I realized, I had a choice to make….work out with my husband and listen to his ridicule of how out of shape I had become….or go to Zumba………………… I chose Zumba.

My thoughts on fb after the first class: “Went to a Zumba class over the weekend…it reminded me of trying to learn dance steps at cheerleading camp when I was in high school…feeling uncoordinated and at least one “8 count” behind! lol And I know, I know…if I drag myself to a 2nd class it will be better…..right? ”

My thoughts after the second class: “Just got back from Zumba, 2nd class ever. My thoughts: 1) Doesn’t really matter how bad you are, everyone else is either trying to figure it out too or so good they just want to look at their own self and 2) It is almost as challenging to find a place to park when you go to work out in the evening. ”

First class was Saturday, second class Monday….but no Zumba class offered at my gym on Wednesday…back up plan. My thoughts after I obviously thought working out twice put me in the mindset I could do all the workout stuff I did when I was 17! Lol

My next post was “Perhaps a tactical error in my new workout plan. No Zumba offered tonight, so I attempted a step class instead…seems it was an advanced class…lol. I left early but am sure gonna feel that tomorrow. ”

And here was my post the morning after! “ update: I am indeed paying today for that master step class last night… even though I only stayed for half I should have left when she said we were using two step benches….one in front and one in back….ouch.”

Week two update to follow…..since I am in the middle of it now!

My wife pointed out the other day that we’re not like most people.  We rarely ever AREN’T on the go.  Then I realized…I’ve always been this way, much like my dad.  I don’t function well as a hermit or stagnant person.  I like doing things and enjoying activities.  It doesn’t even have to be things that cost money.  I’d much rather be fishing, playing games with my family, or going to the park or kids museum than stay home.  Of course, house cleaning and yard work are activities, but not as much fun.  I like shopping like my wife, but I like what I call “bullet” shopping.  Knowing exactly what you want, and going into the store and buying it.  Women however like to look, and look, and look some more.

And with that, I present summer road trip #1….

Last weekend between radio show’s we slipped to St. Louis to visit family and take a night in while my folks watched our son Jake.  We went to dinner at, of all places, Jake’s Steaks on the Landing!

We had dinner there with some friends and family about 6-years ago during St. Louis Marti Gras and always talk about it.  We also hit the Cardinals game and won a little money at Lumiere Place (cool new St. Louis Vegas-Style Casino).  But the fun didn’t stop there!  We were in the good ole Mount Olive, Illinois, Homecoming Parade with my folks on their horse and buggy, did a little fishing at my folks pond, and relaxed.

This weekend we went to see Cars 2 to with Jake.  He luckily made it through both hours, but I’ll tell you that it actually had quite anadvanced plot for a 3-year-old.  They could’ve just put “Mader” up their on the screen making jokes and talking and the little ones would be good with that.

The highlight of the past week was having Memphis Tigers Coach Josh Pastner in our studios to guest host a show I produce on our sister station, 92.9 FM ESPN.  He did a great job.  Josh took it very seriously, and he’s an impressive person for sure.

So with no vacation yet for the Perrin family, we thought we’d set out and explore some places here in Memphis and the Mid-South. First stop…a place talked about by many, but a place my husband and I (both lifelong Memphians!) had never visited. In fact, we had never even heard of it until recently…..Jerry’s Sno Cones.  

So, we headed out to experience the frozen treat. I will add my youngest has been on a snow cone kick this summer so it only seemed appropriate we embark on a quest to try all in our area. It seemed natural Jerry’s would be a place to try. We knew the general area (Wells Station Rd) and made our way there.  Again, my husband and I, discussing as we were driving, how puzzled we were as to why we had never been.  We pulled up a picture on the phone of the pink building that we would be looking for and showed it to the kids. To our surprise both said….”Oh, we’ve been there.” We were like what? No way! But turns out one day last year at one of their summer camps to cap off a field trip they indeed made a stop at Jerry’s. They told us they all got sno cones and sat on a little hill to eat them. Sure enough we get there, line about 15 deep (30 deep by the time we left) and my kids confirmed this was the place they had been.  Go figure. My husband and I were thinking we were showing our kids unique, tucked away places in our city…only to learn they had been there first!

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So last night I thought I’d be Mr. Funny Man.  I was watching the news talk about how people had “passed out” in the hot weather during a Keri Hilson free concert at the local Wal-Mart.  First, I do like her music, but no…I wasn’t actually AT the concert.  I “facebooked” that I “appreciate everyones prayers after passing out at the Keri Hilson concert.”

Well, many of my friends on Facebook were concerned, a couple figured it out, but when I got the “what happened” e-mail from my mom today I knew it had gone too far.

Larger point being, it’s all fun and games until people who really care about you get concerned.  I need to reevaluate my strategies on practical jokes while using new social media!  Another point, don’t believe everything you read or hear.  Sometimes people make stuff up.  Sorry mom.

~Brad

Summer is here so I realized that I better get to planning a family vacation before it is time for school to start again. Of course, no one in our family wants to go to the same place….my 2^nd grader wants Disney, my husband wants the Grand Canyon, I want the beach and my 5^th grader  wants to go nowhere! Anyway, I got online to just explore airfare….WOW! Cha-ching…and that was before baggage fees for four people. So, unless I can scrape up and use some frequent flyer miles, looks like we are driving to our summer vacation destination. Being unsure where to vacation that is somewhere fairly close to home, I went straight to Facebook and to 94.1 listeners for ideas…..and I got some great ones!

Most votes for family trips went to St. Louis, Missouri and Hot Springs, Arkansas. For St. Louis, highlighted attractions included the zoo, Six Flags, baseball games, the arch, science center (and more!) and of course a stop at Lamberts on the way home.  In Hot Springs, the water park and Magic Springs seemed the biggest draws if you go with kids.

Other great suggestions included (but were not limited to) Branson, MO…. Heber Springs, Hardy or Eureka Springs in Arkansas….. Calloway Gardens in GA, Pigeon Forge TN, Pickwick Lake TN, Atlanta GA, Philadelphia MS, Birmingham, AL and in KY, the Cave City area for Mammoth Cave.  I personally can tell you we enjoy the Space Museum in Huntsville (which we have done several times as a day trip.) Also, last year we took a weekend in Chattanooga … much fun…and yes we “saw” Rock City, Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain and the Aquarium.  Happy vacationing everybody….I know I am ready for one.

(For those of you reading this on FB, you can go to my wall and see the near 100 comments from my wonderful fb family on my original post for the complete vacation conversation ideas. If you are reading this and we are not yet fb friends and you would like us to be, send me a message.)  

The Top 5 @ noon still seems to still be a solid feature on the “midday” show I do here on Classic Hits 94.1 KQK, but if you’d like a Top 5 Review simply e-mail me for any specific list at: bcarson@entercom.com  That way I can gauge specific interest in particular countdowns and I can keep my blog a little more organized.  And now as Casey Kasem says…”On with the countdown!”

I’m looking forward to this weekend.  I’ll be doing some work for our sister stations this weekend, along with being on-air here on Classic Hits 94.1 KQK tomorrow (Sat. from 10am-2pm), I’m adding a regular radio show on our sister station, WMC-FM 100 (99.7).  This Sunday I’ll be hosting the 10-2 pm show on 104.5 The River (WRVR) because Bill Bannister (their regular host) just had a baby (at least his wife did!).  Yes, 3 stations, 1 weekend.  I like all three varieties of music, and I enjoy radio.  I also look at it as job security.  But…there’s still more to do this weekend!

Classic Hits 94.1 KQK will provide coverage throughout the weekend with live reports from Bill “Goose” Munguia at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.  If you love golf, you really should go enjoy the tournament this weekend at the TPC Southwind and help the mission of St. Jude at the same time.

My wife and I will at some point take our annual trip to Germantown for the Charity Horse Show!

And I usually don’t mention 94.1 KQK’s giveaways here, but I’ll be giving away something my 3-year-old has been looking forward to for a long time!  DISNEY PIXAR’S CARS 2 Tickets!  Actually, Classic Hits 94.1 KQK and the Malco are partnering for the Official Advance Screening on Saturday and you can win 4-packs of tickets by listening to my show starting Monday (6/13-6/17) at around 1:10pm each day this coming week!  Cachow!

Karen Perrin also just told me they do “kid projects” every 1st Saturday at Home Depot.  I have to get a “bolt” for my grill, so maybe I’ll take my son their as well on our way to the Children’s Museum (for some cool play!).  Enjoy the weekend!  Thanks for listening, and reading.

~Brad

This week I attended the Go Red for Women Girls Night Out. It’s a big fundraiser for the American Heart Association. I got to emcee the fashion show, filled with red clothing items of course. But along with the fun, there was a serious issue to be discussed, women and heart disease. While we can’t change our family history, I was certainly reminded that we can make choices every day for good heart health. A few months ago, I was featured in a AHA piece in Memphis Magazine….here is part of that:

Go Red For Women was created to remind us that heart disease is the number one killer of women nationwide, but over 80 percent of deaths due to heart disease are preventable. Like many women, I know most of the things I SHOULD do to be heart healthy, but if I answer honestly… there’s more I could do. My grandmother lived to be 94. Up until the day she died, my Grandma told me nothing had ever been wrong with her heart. I can only hope I got some of those good heart genes. But the rest is up to me. I have two very good reasons to pay attention to my heart: 8 and 10-year-old sons. They love sports and are always on the go. Family in mind, I have been doing my part to get more active, by making time to walk and at least joining a gym. (Joining is a start, right!?) Also, in the Perrin house we are doing our best to make healthier food choices as well. I have even gone soda free since September… a HUGE step for me! I am making healthy changes that will not only benefit me, but my family as well. And hopefully by setting good examples for my boys, heart healthiness will be a way of life for them. Like many of us, I am a work in progress. We all need to remember it’s never too late to take steps toward a heart healthy future.

After this week’s event (and hearing so many women share their personal stories) I am even more determined to get heart healthy. I have done those things I mentioned above, but now it is time to get serious. Summer heat is no excuse. Time to GO to the gym with the membership I have! Drink that water! Eat more fruits and veggies! Get up off the couch! Hey, I just thought of this…..maybe I should only allow myself to get on Facebook when I am on the treadmill. Wow! If I did that, I’d be 40 lbs lighter in no time!

We’ll it’s DEFINITELY SUMMER TIME… because people are buzzing around the radio station today as I type this preparing for another night at Italian Fest tonight, ZZ Top in Concert at the Memphis Botanic Garden tomorrow night, and then a slew of other June concerts and events you can read about right here in the concerts and events section of our 94.1 website. 

When I was younger it seemed like the gap between Memorial Day and Independence was so much longer.  Now, my age shows because I find myself complaining about things like “we didn’t even have a ’spring’” & where’s June gone?  Funny how you have to remind yourself to enjoy the moment, otherwise those moments get missed and underappreciated.  I’m excited about the full roster of stuff!  And even more excited about my son, who just turned 3, enjoying the summer time fun!

Here’s what we did this week on the Top 5 @ NOON:

Tuesday, May 31st: ”Hey! What Band Were You In?” #5. Ides of March – Vehicle #4. Free – All Right Now #3. 10cc – I’m Not in Love #2. Van Morrison – Domino #1. Hamilton, Joe, Frank & Reynolds – Fallin’ in Love

Wed., June 1st: Top 5 on 6/1/1977 – #5. KC & the Sunshine Band – I’m Your Boogie Man #4. Climax Blues Band – Couldn’t Get it Right #3. Marvin Gaye – Got to Give it Up #2. Fleetwood Mac – Dream #1. Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke

Thursday, June 2nd: #5. Kool & the Gang – Celebration #4. Three Dog Night – Celebrate #3. Sly & the Family Stone – Dance to the Music #2. Kiss – Rock and Roll All Night #1. KC & the Sunshine Band – Get Down Tonight

Friday, June 3rd: #5. Irene Cara – Flashdance #4. Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing #3. David Bowie – Let’s Dance #2. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean #1. Pat Benatar – Love is a Battle Field

  Actually, they’re ‘just’ good friends…

  Gotta teach those kids how much FUN hockey violence can be!

  What goes up…:-)

  And people accuse ME of ‘foot-in-mouth-disease’!

  So little ‘Julie’ – what was your favorite part of the game?

  Even the models on the billboard are caught in the moment…

  Is everybody HAPPY???

 

 Well now, not everyone is celebrating!

See? No matter how bad your day might be – IT COULB BE WORSE! Have a great day, and see you on the radio at 2!

So a national magazine listed Dyers burgers here in Memphis one of the top ten burgers in the country. Nice! Not only did the list make us hungry, Steve Conley and I were curious what other hamburgers around the mid south were your favorites? Took calls at Classic Hits 94.1 KQK and here are (in no particular order) some of the suggestions.

Topps,

Alex’s Tavern,

5 Guys,

Huey’s,

Uncle Lou’s,

3 Angels on Broad,

Trolley Stop,

Off the Hook,

Big John’s in Marion,

Exlines,

Stinkerbells,

TGI Fridays,

Dales Restaurant,

River Oaks

and Shelby Forest General Store.

Memphis is a great food town. Enjoy a burger today.