Float in a Sensory Deprivation Tank

I first heard of Sensory Deprivation Tanks, also known as Float pods or float tanks, from a video Joe Rogan put out on YouTube. Float pods are these giant alien looking tanks filled with water and 800 pounds or more of therapeutic grade epsom salt. Inside the tank your body will float as if suspended in mid air, and once you close the pod door, you will no longer see, hear, or feel anything, allowing your body to shut down 90% of it's functions.  It seemed like something pretty bucket listy to do, so I added it to my list. I found out last year there is a place in Houston that had recently opened called True Massage Floatation Spa, so I did a little research and found they had discount Groupon coupons. I bought one, and called True Massage to make the appointment. I spoke to the owner, Jeff, who in person seems like a pretty intimidating guy until you hear him talk about his immense enthusiasm for floating and his joy for life. He spoke to me for quite a while answering my questions, telling me about the benefits of floating, and tips for how to have the best float. It's difficult not to feel excited about the experience talking to Jeff.
We spoke about how floating seems to have a sort of image of being for "hippies" or people who do psychedelic drugs, but how beneficial it truly is for anyone. Yes, there is a strong spiritual benefit to floating and he told me stories of clients who had walked out of their pods crying over emotional breakthroughs and having found answers to many issues during their floats. And yes, it's true that some floaters can experience non-drug induced hallucinations. However, there are a myriad of physical benefits as well. Many athletes use float tanks and swear by the increased performance it gives them. Fibromyalgia sufferers find it a tremendous help. Elderly clients call it the fountain of youth. It relieves stress, tension, muscle pain,  heck, the salt water is even amazing for your skin and hair.
Friday morning, I did as Jeff instructed and did not wear any hair product, make up, deodorant, lotion or anything else that could gunk up the salt water. Being as this is Houston and even in Spring it was in the 80's, I was glad I had made an early appointment. I arrived at the floatation center, located off of Westheimer and Dairy Ashford in Houston, at noon and Jeff was already waiting to show me to my float room. I was led down a hallway to a dark, peaceful room containing a massive pod that looked sort of like Eva from the Disney movie Wall-E. He instructed me to change into a soft fluffy robe that was hanging on a bench in the room, bring a towel, and walk across the hall to the bathroom to rinse off  to get off any dirt, sweat or anything else that might be on me before I got into the pod. The shower area was one of the largest I've ever seen. It looked like the size of my first apartment! As I got cleaned off, Jeff had the room prepared for me. He showed me how to get into the pod, how to turn the soft interior lights off (which were glowing a nice blue), showed me where the ear plugs were and how to insert them, and let me choose between nine or ten different music options for the first ten minutes of the float. I don't remember all of the options, but I ended up choosing ocean sounds.

Jeff left, I turned off the room lights, dropped the robe, and climbed in, I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. What if I felt claustrophobic? What was I going to do with myself for an hour with no stimulation? What if I experienced hallucinations? What if I didn't experience anything at all?

I laid down and immediately my body wanted to float. I grabbed a bar inside the pod and eased myself back. The water and air were body temperature, maybe slightly warmer. The ocean sounds started to play and I laid there for a minute just getting settled in before finally reaching over and turning off the blue light. Everything went pitch black. The air was warm and humid which made it a bit hard to breathe. It was unsettling at first, but I got used to it after a minute. Soon the music went off and I knew ten minutes had passed. Now it was just me and my own thoughts, I tried not to think, but ended up thinking about not thinking. I thought about what I would say in my blog, I thought about the Live Below the Line challenge I was doing in a couple days, and for awhile my brain even insisted on listening to Pantera and kept playing one of their songs. The more I tried to stop thinking, the more I thought. Then I remember a trick Jeff had taught me, and put my hand under me and touched the bottom. It's a lot harder than it sounds, I tried to count to 60 but only got to about 24 when suddenly my arm filled with helium and began to float away, I could feel it rising higher, higher and higher until it went so far into outer space I worried I would never get it back. A minute later a white light came on directly over my head. I blinked, and it didn't go away. It wasn't a bright light, but like a single Christmas tree light bulb softly illuminated above my head. Slowly it dimmed and blinked out. I began to feel myself spiralling, but I didn't get dizzy. My body began to melt into water, and I couldn't tell what was me and what was the water in the tank. I laid there feeling myself spread out like an ocean when suddenly my head jerked forward abruptly and I jolted up a bit, sending waves through the tank. I was back together, my left arm was back and my heart was racing. I figured it had only been maybe 20 minutes at best, so I tried to calm myself back down and try to get into the theta brain state. That's when the ocean sounds began again, My session was done. It hadn't been twenty minutes, it had been sixty! I opened the pod door, eased myself out and in a daze managed to locate my robe, put it on and take another shower to get the salt water off. I came back to the room, got dressed, and in my daze I ended up leaving without saying goodbye to Jeff. Thankfully my husband had driven me there, because I didn't snap out of things until I was halfway home.

It was like waking from a beautiful dream. For the rest of the day I felt relaxed, peaceful, like I'd woken from a full uninterrupted nights sleep, like the one I got that same night, I've never slept so well! We had a massive storm hit us that night, and I slept like a log through it all.
The next day I bought myself another Groupon for another float, and got one for my husband as well. He works so hard and has done so much overtime lately, he really needs an hour of complete and total rest on every level. I can't wait to see what my next float brings. I hear you really need three floats to get into it enough to start feeling the complete benefits. I think I'll be a float customer for life!

Comicpalooza Ticket Giveaway!

I am giving away a family 4 pack of passes to Comicpalooza! That's a value of $240! If you want to get in on this, and I know you do, check out my fancy-schmancy Rafflecopter giveaway. The contest runs until midnight Sunday, May 10th and the winner will be announced Monday May 11th on my blog and Facebook page.
And remember, you can always use the code "HoustonNerdsUnite" to get discounted tickets. That code will get you $5 off a 4 day pass or $3 off a 1 day pass. Comicpalooza is May 22-25th at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX.

Win a Family 4 Pack of Passes to Comicpalooza!!

*Disclosure - This is a sponsored post, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*

By submitting an entry to this giveaway you agree to the following Terms & Conditions:
Giveaway ends May 10, 2015. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook or Twitter. Open to US residents 21 and older. 1 winner will receive four (4) four day passes to Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas. Winner will be chosen at random using Rafflecopter after giveaway is over. Winner will be notified via email and given 48 hrs to respond. if no response, a new winner may be chosen. Winnings will be shipped out once shipping info has been received. GetofftheCouch.co is not responsible for fulfillment and once item has shipped both GetofftheCouch.co and Sponsor are not liable for damaged lost or stolen goods. Your email address will not use sold or shared.

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Comicpalooza 2015 Official Blogger

Exciting news! Comicpalooza has been on my Houston Bucket List for years, but every time I planned to go, something would happen. This year, I'm not letting anything stand in my way. I am an official blogger for Comicpalooza, and I could not be happier. In addition to marking off attend Comicpalooza, I will be able to mark off another bucket list item I never really thought I'd have a chance at doing. Meet George Takei! Yes, Uncle George is going to be at Comicpalooza, and I just happen to have won an autograph pass. When I first created my "People" list, I started off fairly safe, meet an athelete, meet a model, meet an actor, general things like that. Then one day I thought, you know, I should make my goals bigger. I may not get a chance to meet these people, but what fun is it not even trying? So I added George Takei, JJ Watt (whom I met last year), and a few other celebrities (Bill Murray, and Sweetums the Muppet for instance. What? Sweetums is totally the best muppet) and filed it away in my brain as unlikely. But that's the thing about the unlikely goals, when they end up happening, it's that much more exciting! Who knows, maybe someday I'll be blogging about how I just met Bill Murray. A girl can dream, right? 

You know what would make attending Comicpalooza even more fun? If some of you dear readers attended with me. That's why I want to offer you a discount code so you can save some money on your tickets. The code is "HoustonNerdsUnite" and that will save you $5 off a 4 day pass or $3 off a one day pass. This year Comicpalooza is going to run from May 22nd - May 25th at the George R Brown Convention Center.  Pre-registration is going on now at www.comicpalooza.com/register/ 

Discounted tickets isn't enough, you say? Alright, if you insist... I will also have a giveaway so you can win a 4 pack of tickets! I will be posting that information very soon, so check back promptly! You won't want to miss this one. I mean, have you seen the guest list? Jeremy Renner? Stan Lee? CHEWBACCA? There are too many awesome people to even list here, so you need to go check it out for yourselves. Don't worry, I'll wait. I'll be working on that giveaway post while you're doing that. 




*this is a sponsored post*

Kick Your Bucket List up a Notch

Nothing can compare to the feeling of ticking another box off the old bucket list, but what about when the list starts running low? There are endless things to do out there, whether you’re looking for a crazy new experience close to home or you want to make a big jump and travel the world to find something new and exciting to try out there. I’ve already got a list of achievable ideas for your bucket lists, but these are more specific ideas and possibly slightly crazier ones that may be less achievable, but definitely just as much fun to complete.

If you’ve already tried snowboarding and loved the thrill of soaring down a mountainside with only a board strapped to your feet, why not try a slightly more extreme way to slide with volcano boarding? In truth, it’s more like sledging on hot coals, but you’ll reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour with only a flimsy board beneath you. The most popular destination for this is definitely far flung, at Cerro Negro in Nicaragua, but definitely worth the trip if you can do it. The volcano itself is still live - it erupted last in 1999 – so will be the ultimate thrill ride for adrenaline junkies. Run by a company called Bigfoot, the $29 price tag will get you transportation up the volcano, all the safety equipment you’ll need, beer and a cookie on arrival, and a mojito on the journey back.

The infamous Cliff Walk on Hu Shan Mountain in Xian, China, is certainly another popular bucket list idea for thrill seekers – watch this to see just how death defying it can be! Trekking more than 6800 feet above the solid earth below, you’ll reach the point at which you must traverse a series of rickety wooden planks more than a half a mile above the ground on a vertical cliff face. To say it’s a dizzying feat of strong nerves is an understatement! Those that complete it though will be rewarded with not only the most amazing sense of accomplishment, but some of the most stunning views the natural world has to offer.

If you’re looking for something just as terrifying, but want to be able to stay close to home, parachuting and sky diving are the easiest ways to get your fix and get checking things off your list. There are places all over the world to try out this sport as a tandem jump, or even alone if you’ve had experience in the past. Some of the most outstanding locations to give skydiving a go are across Britain, and companies such as Into the Blue have deals all over the country.

Let’s calm it down a bit though and step away from the more thrill indulgent ideas, not every bucket list item to be crazy and get the adrenaline pumping – it might just be something you’ve always wanted to do and need the kick to get it done. For example, something inspirational like finish writing that book you started years ago, or turn your skills into something marketable and start an eBook. It might even simply be a life goal you want to achieve such as owning your own home in a certain place or settling down with a family; a bucket list doesn’t need to be confined to one off experiences.

Marking off Seeing a Metal Show

This Thursday night I'm getting the wonderful opportunity to mark seeing a metal show off my bucket list. Back in the 80's I was really into the metal of the time. AC/DC, Ratt, Poison, KISS, and of course, Queensryche were all on heavy rotation`in my room. My musical tastes have changed a bit since those days, but I still have a spot in my heart for the bands I grew up with. This week I will be attending a concert at the Arena Theater for one of the most talented bands of the bunch, Queensryche. I remember when my older cousin gave me a tape of theirs for Christmas, and how I wore it out so much I had to buy a new one as a replacement. And they aren't just your Dad's metal either. Queensryche remains one of the most popular progressive metal bands today, with millions of albums sold.
Is seeing a metal show on your bucket list? If so, you should join me. They're playing with two of Houston's own bands, Helstar and Sid Seventeen, so it's a great way to support local musicians as well.

Tickets start at $25 and go up to $45 for mid-level seats, but I am giving a $10 off discount to my blog readers so you have the chance to mark something off your lists with me. Get your Queensryche Discounted Tix here and use promo code BG1. I'll see you at the Arena Theater on August 14th!

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas cruise

In January when I made my new 101 Things list, I put down "Go on a cruise" without any idea how I would manage to cross it off. I have a 10 day trip to Europe planned for later this year, and another trip planned next year that will eat up all of my husband's vacation time as well as most of the money we could spend for travel. Being the firm believer I am in having goals that seem impossible, I wrote it down anyways and hoped for the best. I was quite shocked when I got my golden opportunity early last week. I belong to a Houston bloggers group on Facebook, and saw a post come up saying Royal Caribbean was looking for local bloggers who would be interested in participating in a free one day/night cruise from Galveston on their newly remodeled Navigator of the Seas ship. There were only 10 spots available, so I wasted no time submitting my name and details to the lady who posted. Amazingly I was one of the ones chosen to go. I was allowed to bring 3 guests with me, but they all needed to have proper ID, so that left my younger children out. I decided to bring along my husband, my 19 year old son and his best friend. I emailed the person who was handling our group all of our details, including the information for my son's friend, and was given the all clear.

On the morning of the cruise we got up early and set out to the Port of Galveston. We were able to park in a free overnight parking area and take the shuttle bus to the ship. I believe parking for longer cruises was $40. Once we arrived in the terminal, which was a lot like being inside an airport, I was told to have our "set sail" passes ready to show. Our what now? No one had given me anything of the sort. I frantically rechecked all the emails I'd gotten, and nope, no one had given me or told me to print out any set sail pass. I told one of the staff people, and they told me it was no worry, I'd just need to fill out some extra forms. We made our way through security and up to the front where our ID's were checked and extra paperwork was presented. They handed me a sheet of paper and immediately I noticed my son's friends' last name was written as Roberts, the same as our, instead of his actual last name, Edwards. Again I checked the email correspondence I'd had with the person in charge of our group, and I had given them his real last name, Edwards. The lady helping us looked perplexed. I'm sorry, she said, he won't be able to join you since the information isn't correct. His ID had to match what was in their system. I explained that I had given the correct information and showed her the email proof. She told me to wait a moment and she would do what she could. Since we'd arrived extra early perhaps there was still time to change it. She called over some other people, and in a few minutes they were able to change the name and let us all on board. Crisis averted. We went up the ramp, scanned our handy new cards we'd gotten from our angel at the desk, which acted as a room key, credit card and ID while on the ship, and headed inside.
The ship was incredible on the inside. I felt like I was walking into the first class area of the Titanic, only hoping it wouldn't end the same way. I haven't ever been on a cruise ship before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I was stunned at how nice it was.The elevators were glass, so you could get a great view of the ship as you sped up or down to your destination. We found our balcony room on the 7th floor and put our bags down. We were all starving at this point, so we used the touch screen signs to locate the Windjammer Cafe which was open for lunch. The Windjammer had a very large seating area, most of which had excellent window views. At this point we hadn't left the port though, so our view was the fairly
unspectacular Galveston Port. I tried to make note of all the food that was offered at the lunch buffet. I saw stations for pizzas, tacos, baked potatoes and hamburgers. At the buffet tables were chicken, paella, various soup, salmon, mashed potatoes, fries, green beans, root vegetable medleys, mac and cheese, and a dessert table with jellos, cakes, and such. There was an ice cream machine as well. I'm sure there is much more food offered that I just don't remember. On the sides were tables with ice cold tea, lemonade and a fruit drink that tasted a bit like strawberry kool-aid. You could order other drinks such as cokes, beer, bloody marys, mai tais and such from the wait staff. All the food in the Windjammer was free. I had some salmon, veggies, a bit of paella and a bloody mary that was a bit too strong for me. I'm not a big alcohol drinker though, so it's probably just fine for others. The food was good, about on par with other buffets.

After we'd had our fill at lunch, the boys were ready to go try out the FlowRider surfing simulator. We got changed into our swimsuits and used the touch screen system to find the sports area outside. When we walked out into the sports area there were several ping pong tables, a large basketball court, a mini golf area, and a place to sign waivers and get wristbands to use the FlowRider. We got our wristbands and made our way behind that station to the surfing area. I got in line and watched to see how the other people in front of me fared. They were doing body boarding first, which was great as I have never surfed in my life. If you see the video of me attempting to skateboard, you'll know I pretty much suck at that too. The first guy who went on wiped out and his shorts were blown off by the force of the waves. Note to others : do not wear loose

fitting clothes! An older gentleman was next, and he wiped out as well. He came back around, got in front of me in line and said "I'm going to do it again". The instructor lady let him go before me, knowing he'd just come off. Oh well, I thought, I'm next anyways. No big deal. He wipes out yet again,  and as he passes me, he stops to let me know how much falling off hurts and that I'm probably going to break my arm or get the wind knocked out of me. Thanks, guy! Finally it's my turn and I go to grab a body board. "Sorry", the instructor says, "body boarding is now over. You have to either stand up surf or get out of line." Wait, what? You just let a guy cut in front of me for a second go, and you won't let me go now? She doesn't seem sympathetic to my plight a bit and ushers me down to the stand up surfing area. I pass by the cutter, who tells me again it's going to hurt when I fall. Now I'm scared. She makes me remove all my jewelry, including a necklace I haven't taken off in 8 years, but I'm already there so I remove it. She holds my hands and tries to steady me on the board, and tells me where to place my feet. I am not exactly sure what she wants but I try to put my feet where she wants them. No good. She uses her foot to kick mine into place. She asks me to place my weight towards the back side and bounce up and down as she pushes me toward the waves. I've never done anything like this before, I confess. I'm nervous. She holds on to my hands as I try to loosen up and find my center. Apparently my center went out for free drinks because I never did find it. She pushes me out into the waves and I crash. Not only did I not break my arms or get the wind knocked out of me, it didn't even hurt.

I laugh it off and go sit down to watch the boys try. 

Take that, Rude Old Guy!!

(more to come soon) ...

Marking off the #1 thing on my list!

I don't think there is anything like the feeling of marking off a bucket list item that you've been trying to accomplish with all your heart, but I was able to do that very thing Friday night when I met Mr. JJ Watt. I have been on TV about my bucket listing, making sure to mention how much I wanted to meet him, and when I signed the Before I Die wall at Distinctive Life in front of a news crew, I wrote "Meet JJ Watt" as my #1 thing I wanted to do. I even carved a foam pumpkin in his likeness hoping it would buy me an "in".
I was too late to the punch to get tickets to the JJ Watt Charity Classic softball game, and I really thought I had lost a golden opportunity. I would have, indeed, had it not been for the wonderful people at Charitabulls who had a contest to win 2 tickets. I won, and my husband and I were able to attend the game. I brought the pumpkin I'd carved, thinking maybe it would get his attention. I asked all the staff "If one was hoping to give JJ Watt a pumpkin carved in his likeness, how might one best do so?" and they pointed me to the JJ Watt Foundation table. I told them I wanted to donate it to them to auction off at their next event. They told me "Let me go get JJ's Mom and show her." I about had a heart attack when they said that! They couldn't find her at the time, but I promised to come back after the event and give it to them then. We found our seats, and I waited down at the bottom in hopes some players, one especially, would come by and sign things. The ladies who came up to stand next to me started chatting about the pumpkin and said they had just seen Mrs. Watt at the tables. I wasn't sure whether to go back up or wait where I was. They assured me they would save my spot, so off I went, pumpkin in hand, back to the Foundation set up. Sure enough, there she was, posing for pictures with other fans of her son. I showed her the pumpkin, as well as a picture of it lit up, and told her I wanted to give it to her to keep, or auction off, or whatever she wanted to do with it (promising to carve another for the Foundation if she chose to keep it.). She told me she loved it and would be sure to make sure he got it. I told her I was sort of hoping to meet him, but she said no, you won't be able to meet him tonight. You can give to me, or take it with you, but you can't meet him. I struggled internally for a moment, knowing if I gave it up I wouldn't have anything to grab his attention on the field, but I decided I really wanted her to have it, so I gave it up. She was kind enough to pose for a picture with me, but I really wish I'd gotten a picture of her holding the pumpkin, too.


I went back down to the spot where the ladies had kept their word and saved my place. My husband, who was to be my photographer in case the big moment did happen, left to go to the restroom. Not 5 seconds after he walked off, who should run up and give me a big ole high 5? JJ Watt! As thrilled as I was to have that brief encounter, I was also a bit disappointed I didn't have any pictures or witnesses that it happened. I wasn't even sure that counted as meeting him. Soon the game started and I sat and enjoyed the show.

The game only went to 7 innings, so toward the end of the 6th my husband prodded me to go back down to my spot from earlier so I could be there if the players came up to sign autographs after the game. I had to do some security guard dodging and lay a bit low, but I managed to not be chased away. The game ended, the fireworks went off, and I stood waiting. My heart sank as I watched JJ Watt go all the way to the very opposite end of the field to sign things, but I was cheered up when I saw Mr. Case Keenum heading my way. He not only signed my bucket list, he also posed for a picture with me and stole my phone and took a selfie with it, with us in the background. What a great sense of humor he had. It was getting late and my husband was tired, and seeing as how JJ Watt was as far as he could possibly be away from me, I thought it was probably time to throw in the towel and just be happy that I was able to meet Keenum.

Right as I was about to walk away I saw what looked to be a mountain running straight toward me. It was dark, but wasn't that mountain running from the area JJ was just signing stuff? Soon he came into view and was standing right in front of me. The crowd pushed from behind me, people were shoving footballs and photos into his hands, women were screaming "JJ I LOVE YOU!!!" at ear splitting levels. I leaned in and said "You have to sign my bucket list! You're in it!". He looked straight at me, smiled his MegaWatt smile and said "Oh that's so cool!". He signed it, upside down, but that's just fine with me. I turned to make sure my husband had captured the moment this time and he said he had. And what a picture it is. This, friends, is what it looks like to cross off your most desired bucket list item. Pure joy.