Workout Week Feb 20-27 2013

My 4 personal goals: 

1. Drink 64 oz. of water.
2. Eat 3 servings of vegetables a day.
3. Eat 2 servings of fruit a day
4. Workout at least 5 days this week

Overall personal goal analysis: Bottom line I didnt meet any of these goals... As a result I am now 10 lbs heavier than I was 4 months ago... thankyouverymuch.... ugh

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: Thank to my mom texting me (as she has gotten in the habit of doing); I woke up at 5:45 am and made it to my 6:30am bootcamp. I can;t believe I went with all the jetlag from the Tahoe trip... well not so much jetlag as skilag!

That night I played softball but I drank entirely too much beer!

Thursday: I had high hopes of going rollerskating with my girlfriends as a little birthday celebration with them but we ended up noshing on pizza and cupcakes instead!

Friday: I drank again this day- a lot- and I played an hour of softball and prob only got my heart rate up for 3 min total

Saturday: I had a late night out Fri night which resulted in a late morning in.. UGH AMY!

Sunday: I took spin and it was great, but i needed to take about 10 classes to make up for all the damage I did that week.

Monday: A bunch of my Angels friends came over to my place this night. I raced home from work and cooked away and had a wonderful night with them eating and drinking. They stayed about 5 hours!

Tuesday: I needed to get in a good workout but instead I went to the gym for about 45 min and did the elliptical. WOAH IS ME!  Gotta get back on it!

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: feeling bad... real bad

For next week: I am recommitting hardcore. I cannot let this happen

On deck: A great week lined up and hopefully an even better weekend. I think I'll have a lot of temptation with a lot of social things planned with friends but I will try to be strong.

Tumultuous

It's Monday and I had a really crazy weekend with highs and low lows.... I dont know quite how to feel today, but something deep down tells me to be optimistic, because despite it all I still feel blessed and lucky.

My cousins Dennis and Melissa gave birth this afternoon to a little girl. I just can't wait to meet her. I am so happy for Dennis who grew up surrounded by boys. I think this will be a nice adjustment for them and I think they're going to be FAB parents.

Tonight I am hosting a little appy party for my friends at Angels. I am so excited but a little nervous to have them over because I haven't prepped much. I did my grocery shopping on Saturday but my intention was to clean and prep last night and sadly that did not happen.
On the menu:
White wine
Lemograss spring rolls
Veggie samosas
Hummus
cheese and salami with cucumbers
Baguette with greek feta tomato spread.
I hope that will be enough for the 5 of us!

This is what I ate Sat

Breakfast was egg white, cherry tomatoes and a flour tortilla with a half of my grandparents avocado sprinkled with cracked pepper and kosher salt and lotsa lemon.  This is one of my go-to meals. I love it and could eat it morning noon or night!  When I wake up early I try to cook something.

I ventured to my goody bin around 11am and broke these puppies out. I tried to eat half of the box but I ended up eating 3/4 of it.

I went grocery shopping, as I mentioned on Sat and got a ton of produce. I love shopping at Sprouts, they have great sales on fresh fruits and veggies all the time. I came out with tons of stuff all under $10!  I spent the late morning prepping all of this while I sipped on tea.  I had artichoke hearts, celery, plum tomato, red onion, carrot, radish and bib lettuce.

Then I shopped for bday gifts for my friends Yolie and Jimmy. While I was out I got myself an almond pastry from Blue Frog and ate half.. soooo good.

For dinner that night I met up with my friends for Ramen. It was excellent. I had the char sui ramen, gyoza, side salad, and ginger katsu chicken with my beloved sake!

It's Been a Whirlwind!

Life has yet to normalize since I've been back from Tahoe.
I had such an amazing time with my friends and family, words can't do justice. We stayed 4 nights 5 days in a beautiful large cabin in Zephyr Cove which was about 3 miles from the Casino's and Heavenly Ski Resort. The cabin itself was large and airy. It wasn't fancy but it was perfect for all 11 of us to stay comfortably under one roof and share communal family meals together and relax by the fire and play games- which is exactly what I wanted and envisioned. It had a loft, fireplace, large dining table and new spa on the deck.

It was cold throughout the week but not overly so. It snowed lightly on our last day otherwise it was beautifully sunny and crystal clear.
Guests included: Jimmy, Yolanda, Nathan, Scott, Linds, Brenda, Allison, Viv, Melis and Guillermo. My parents also came out which was great- I loved having them and they were able to cart a lot of our food and skis/snowboard.

Every night we had a fabulous meal. Scott and Nathan went all out with Spare Ribs the first night with Polenta and Porchetta and mashed potatoes the second night.
One of my biggest goals was to get back into skiing as I havent been in about 13 years since my shoulder surgery. I was curious if skiing is like riding a bike and sure enough I picked it up right away.  The views of the mountain from the slopes were phenomenal!

It's been hard to get back to reality, but I'm reluctantly doing so...

I just never wanted to go home.

As for now I'm back into full swing at work. I also got my taxes done today and I'm focusing on some decorating items for my condo. Deciding on an art piece for my front living room. I'd ideally like to get the piece while traveling out of the country but I'm contemplating a filler piece for now.  We will see!

Photo Food Diary

This is what I ate on Sunday:
Breakfast before the gym

A whole wheat tortilla with a kraft single, slice of ham and two eggs. Also a banana on the cutest place mats ever.. Thanks Carley!
Went to the gym and did spinning that morning then met up for coffee and a bagel.

I had a sesame seed bagel with chive cream cheese and sliced tomato with lemon pepper sprinkled on top. My coffee was cinnamon toast flavored and was a little bland for my taste. I like my coffee strong like my men... jk

I then ran a million errands all over town including airport and ski outlet adventure. I drank strawberry champagne teavana.

 
For dinner I went to Amanda's and she cooked such a feast.  With a glass of Cupcake Chardonnay we had a green salad with a lil balsamic and blue cheese dressing and for dinner she made delish chicken noodle soup and crescent roll twists. She's the sweetest and such a wonderful cook!
Not pictured- dessert which were these yummy choc chip cookie cups with chocolate filling. Very diet friendly..lol
Overall not a great eating day. Did not have enough fruit and veggies(its hard when you're on the go) but I did drink a TON of water.

I took a pic of a couple little goodies from my bday... so cute!

I'm off to Tahoe for the LOOONG weekend! No posts for a while! Ciao bella!

Workout Week Feb 6-13

My 4 personal goals: 

1. Drink 64 oz. of water.
2. Eat 3 servings of vegetables a day.
3. Eat 2 servings of fruit a day
4. Workout at least 5 days this week

Overall personal goal analysis: I drank drank water like a crazy person this week and have noticed a big difference in the way I've been feeling. I like this water drinking kick I've been on. BUT can anyone tell me if you drink water as tea (as I've been doing- does it count?) Veggie and Fruit wise I've also been meeting my goals which I'm proud of. I try to add veggies and fruit to every meal I eat and constantly snack on them as well. 

Workout goal- Check!

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: Thank to my mom texting me; I woke up at 5:45 am and made it to my 6:30am bootcamp.  She loves to text me 2 min before my alarm goes off and it infuriates me. That workout felt SOOO good!  Also it freed up my night to have a bday dinner with friends

Thursday: I usually do spinning but my girlfriends and I went and had indian food this night. We got out of dinner early so I actually went walking around my neighborhood. I walked for 1 hour.

Friday: I usually play softball this day but it got rained out... lame. 

Saturday: I hit the gym hard this morning. I got there 45 min before my bootcamp started and did 45 min on the treadmill and 30 min of bootcamp. Felt great!

Sunday: I took my usual spin class but my instructor was sick so we had a lame teacher and it wasnt a great use of time. It was an ok workout.

Monday: I met up with my masters program friend for dinner this night so no workout.

Tuesday: I was craving a good workout but I went to my cardio dance class and got a good sweat going but prob coulda done more.

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: Feeling rather large still and also very out of shape. Things I use to find easy- like my bootcamp, are now hard.. bad sign!

For next week: I think this will be a pretty weird week as I will be traveling. I dont know what to expect from food and exercise and frankly, when I'm on vacation I rarely limit myself! I'm sure I'll be so active it wont even matter.

On deck: Tahoe! I'm celebrating my 30th in a big way with a trip to Tahoe with all of my loved ones! I wish some ppl like Jessica, and Mike could be there, but that's ok.  I haven't skied since my shoulder got separated in HS so I am nervous and anxious to hit the slopes once again! I will post some pics when I return.

Below is a pic of my little Valentines gift from my mom (left) and my birthday card for my dad (right)- he is a valentine baby. Love these cards!

Photo Food Diary

So I am trying trying trying to be more aware of what I'm eating. I am really trying to eat more protein in the AM so I eat less in the PM. I've found that so far this has been slightly effective.  Lately with my groceries I'll buy something healthy and my mom will buy something healthy and we'll divy it up. For example, I went out and bought Mission Whole Grain Flour Tortillas and gave my mom half.  She bought deli sliced ham and gave me half. WIN WIN!

Breakfast was one egg, one egg white, slice of deli ham a Kraft Single and whole wheat tortilla. Not pictured is a half banana I also ate.

Off to work I went and I always brew a cup of espresso from our Starbucks Virismo and add vanilla creamer and take it to go.

This day I drank it at my desk.  I have this awful habit of taking my ring off when I put on hand lotion and one of these days I'm gonna lose that sucker. My bro gave it to me a few years ago and I love it....  Notice the excess amount of lipstick on the rim of my coffee mug? I've been obsessed with my new Maybelline Whispers.. They are so moisturizing and pigmented. I love them!

The colors (Left) Lust for Blush and (Right) Oh LaLilac

I worked away and then at lunchtime I heated up a cup of leftover Italian Wedding Soup from the Hospital Cafeteria and had some melon. I waited a bit then had a Trader Joes Chile Relleno. It was just meh- not something I'd purchase again. (Package displayed below.)

Around 3:30 PM I had two squares of this... DELICIOUS. My Aunt Anita gave it to me in my housewarming package. I'd been eyeing these for ages but never pulled the trigger-she made it so I didn't have to!  I am trying to divy this up so I eat no more than 2 pieces at a time and it lasts me at least a week.

I worked away then gave in to my inner sweet tooth and the lure of a free birthday Starbucks and headed next door. I got the new Iced Vanilla Spiced Latte and a large cup of water. I ended up splitting this latte so I felt less bad but I would never order this again, it wasn't that good.

After work I headed to the gym.   I did about 45 min on the treadmill and walk/ran a total of 3.75 miles.  I then stretched and tried to do abs for the next 20 min but I always feel unmotivated to do abs.
For dinner that night I went to Blue Frog and got a chef salad.  This salad had tomato, croutons, sliced ham and swiss, and shredded chicken with cucumbers and a hard boiled egg. It also came with a slice of homemade bread and I always order my Ranch dressing on the side.   I also ate an orange from my grandmas tree.

Lash Experiment Day 1

So I've embarked on a little lash journey- in which I have purchased a lash enhancing serum in the hopes that it will turn my slim lashes fat  :) (as oppose to fat girl slim..lol) so this is the product under review:

multiplEYE™ lash enhancer

Sold at Sephora, retail price: $65

Company image

My bottle- sitting bedside

So I've always considered myself to have pathetic eyelashes. Yes I'm not as unfortunate as some, but my lashes are short, sparse and straight.  When I look at another woman with long curled eyelashes, I definitely have lash envy as I think they are a key feature that enhance beauty.  

A few years ago my dear friend Melissa showed me a revolutionary mascara that redefined my beauty routine. It was a mascara from Mexico that actually kept my straight eyelashes curled! I never had that before. This was a most welcome addition to my beauty routine- and my mom embraced it too!  She asks me to get her a supply now.  This is my holy grail beauty item.

I've only been able to find this product on Amazon and ebay here in the States. I usually stock up on my yearly trips to Mexico. I'll buy 10 at a time- they retail for about $3 each.

It was one thing to have an amazing mascara that kept lashes curled but it was quite another to have short sparse pathetic lashes- thus I have been on the hunt for something that would thicken my lame lashes. 

For a while I swore by Buxom's eyeliner gel which claimed to be a cream eyeliner that would also thicken and condition lashes.. and in my mind it did- a bit- but it dried out soooo fast! This company needs to consider reformulating their gel to make it firstly more pigmented but also more long lasting. i always try to secure the lid tightly but it just dried out after a few months.  Thus- I needed something new, something that would really produce results... 

Enter Tarte's Lash Enhancer.. 

What it claims: helps eye lashes to grow longer, stronger, and thicker n just six weeks. Our proprietary HydroPlant Peptide™ is clinically proven to give the appearance of longer, thicker eyelashes naturally: soy and amino acid proteins combine to form an essential super-protein base that fortifies and nourishes lashes. This protein emulsion is infused with cellulose, a plant-derived thickening agent, and vitamin C, an antioxidant booster.

Directions: Apply nightly to clean, dry lashes by applying as if it is a liner, close to the lash line. Within six weeks, lashes will be healthier, thicker, and longer.

I love the brand Tarte. Possibly my favorite brand right now. I use their amazonian clay blushes, the new BB Cream, their eye primer and  was using their Amazonian clay 12 hour full coverage foundation in the summer but it's too dark for me now.  I love this company's philosophy on high performance, earth engineered products that are paraben free. These are all things that are really important to me, which I always consider when putting new products on my skin.  Best of all their products are great quality, highly pigmented great amazing innovative beauty items which rarely disappoint.  I am very excited to see if this serum works.

These are my BEFORE pictures- Day 1

Photo Food Diary

Birthday food.. its "pretty" but it's not "pretty" for my waistline...

Woke up in the morning and decided to bust out my new Teavana set.  My friend Brenda got me this amazing Strawberry Champagne Tea and my roommate Ashley got me a traveling mug that goes with it. It's so fancy I hate to drop it, it's made of glass! Disaster in the making. I wish the lids screwed on better- they leak!

For my breakfast I went to Blue Frog with a friend and split a breakfast burrito. It was amazingly delish- it had bacon and ham and a yummy salsa and melon on the side.

A few hours of pounding the keyboard later I decided to fill up on a little more fruit and Tazo Passion tea- I forgot how much I dislike this tea.. It's too tart... Teavana has spoiled me

For lunch with my friend we went to Lazy dog and I had a grilled romaine mahi mahi salad. It was sensational. I loved the taste the grill gave the lettuce.  It had a balsamic drizzle around the edge which added just the perfect touch of tangy.

On to dinner and you'd think I was full- NOPE

We went to Taps in Brea.  The service was FAR less than stellar. They made mistakes at almost every point of the meal.  What made the difference was the manager came up towards the end of our disastrous experience (on his own volition) and offered to make it up to us and deeply discounted our bill. That was a nice gesture but Taps really needs to get it together! Pathetic service but good food.

Starter-Oysters sampler which included Oysters Rockefeller with a delish Irish Red Beer.

Main course - top sirloin with mixed veggies, garlic mashed potatoes and shrimp scampi- not pictured was my lemon drop martini.

Done? again, NOPE

The whole reason for going to Taps- the Chocolate Souffle...and coffee of course- I split this 5 ways so wasn't all tooo bad

Next it was on to--- j/k 

that's all that could possibly fit in my ever expanding stomach that day... It was a very nice birthday but I definitely don't need to eat like this on the daily!

Workout Week Jan 30-Feb 5th 2013

My 3 personal goals: 

1. Drink 64 oz. of water.
2. Eat 3 servings of vegetables a day.
3. Eat 2 servings of fruit a day
4. Workout at least 5 days this week

Overall personal goal analysis: I drank my goal amount of water 4 days (go me! as a result i was constantly in the restroom- hoping my body adjusts) and ate 3 servings of veggies 5 days and 2 servings of fruit 3 days.. FAIL  I usually just have a banana in the morning and that's my only fruit.

I did meet  my workout goal BUT I ate like a starving cow this week. I ate so so so so much!  Dangit.... everyone says bday week calories dont count but they DO count when I see them on my waistline!  I only worked out 3 days  :(

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: I set my alarm for 5:45am to go to my 6am bootcamp... 2 hours after it went off I rolled out of bed and went to a vendor meeting in Tustin.. yep not motivated this day AT ALL.

Thursday: I got back on the wagon and went to spinning, but didnt work that hard and was distracted the whole time because I was going out to dinner afterwards.  

Friday: I usually play softball this day but instead I had work. I did zero physical activity.

Saturday: I went out after work on Fri night and drank about 3 glasses of wine. Usually I'm ok to get up early on Saturdays and hit the gym but nope- I slept in and then went to a baby shower filled with tempting foods!

Sunday: Trying to get back on it- went to the gym. This day I took Jessica's spin class which was so tough- I really noticed how out of shape I've gotten. Then I went next door and transitioned into Jessica's weight's class. My mom joined me for this one and we were both dying afterwards. Great workout.

Monday: My BIRTHDAY! I was so sore after Sundays sesh that I didnt even think about working out... Instead I thought about bday cake  :)

Tuesday: I was still pretty sore from Sunday so I went to a yoga stretch class for 60 min at the gym. It was just what the Doctor ordered and felt amazing!

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: Feeling rather large and trying to recommit myself since bday week is almost over to a new healthy regime!

For next week: I want to get back into focusing on eating and cardio, (soon). I am obviously out of shape. I am looking forward to the weather changing and getting back to walking/running outside.

On deck: I have a few bday dinners and happy hours planned in the coming week- I dont know if I really want to limit myself.. I think not...   Not much is planned for the weekend -but mentally I am gearing myself up for a fun long weekend from Feb15-19th in Tahoe with my best friends to really celebrate my bday.  My bro and family will be there as well and I just cant wait to have all the people I love and care about in my most favorite beautiful spot in the whole world.

Dirty Thirty!

Well the day has come where I am no longer in my 20's!

Bittersweet? Yes, a bit -but much more sweet than bitter. I am looking forward to my 30's and feel that they have good things in store for me.

Reflecting back on my 20's I experienced a variety of high's and lows. 

-The first thing that comes into mind is my love life which was def a roller coaster, but one which helped me grow SOOO much personally were the bad relationships- (my early one's- while they didnt last- were def good ones). I think I'm stronger, more independent and more happy every day because of the trials and tribulations I've experienced.

-My career isn't exactly where I thought it would be when I was freshly out of college.  But then again I was naive and waaaay too arrogant at that point. I didnt realize what a 8-5 job was. I remember my first week at Angels working an 8 hour day nearly killing me.  I've come a looong way since then and feel extremely thankful for my job(s) as they are now as they each give me a different element of fulfillment  I still feel highly motivated and hopeful too- BUT I have to work on my biggest obstacle- which is my desire consistency. I don't like change- but this mindset will get me nowhere! 

-Another thing about my 20s that kind of goes hand in hand with career is money. There are all these grand things you want to do in your 20's but you just don't have money to do them! Living at home helped a lot and in my late 20s I started to experience what savings felt like. It afforded me the opportunity to buy my condo which I'm SO thankful for.  I joke with a triathlete at my gym, named James about bucket list items; he always says "marathon's are an early 30's sport! In your 20s you can't afford them and in your late 30's / early 40's you have kids or too many responsibilities to have time to train for them! "  Sooo true.. So should I tackle a marathon?

Anyway enough about my 20s- its time to look forward  There were a lot of things I've accomplished and a lot of things I still want to accomplish. I am looking towards this new decade with the complete confidence that they will be my best years yet.

Cheers to the DIRTY THIRTIES!