A New Adventure

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.
I have been up to my eyeballs in work and new things and big transitions.  Lately I've been feeling very emotional and overwhelmed.

While the Ducks are in playoff mode and Angels have been in full swing - AND I've been working like crazy there is something even BIGGER on my plate.
I have accepted a position with Cystic Fibrosis Orange County and I couldn't be happier/ more excited/ nervous/ wanting to barf.

I will be leaving my current position as Associate Director of Stewardship for UC Irvine Health and venturing into the great unknown of smaller nonprofit.  I will officially be the new Senior Director of Development for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  A national organization but working for the local chapter.
I gave my notice today at UCI.  After 5.5 long years I am moving on from this place.  It has definitely been a roller-coaster filled with peaks and valley's. I have gone from a lowly assistant and climbed my way up to Associate in three years and have been in my current position for over 2 years. I love what I do now, but it was a far cry from what I use to do and how I use to be treated.  I use to work in a crazy toxic environment with unhealthy people.  Slowly that has changed and I have grown to enjoy my new colleagues and actually look forwarder to going to work each day.  With that change also came comfort - a little too much. I have grown complacent and have taken this position for granted. I haven't challenged myself the way I use to, or pushed myself mentally.  Luckily a new opportunity has come looking for me - and I am ready to seize it and get out of my rut.  Change is hard, but not evolving is much harder. I want to get out of my comfort zone.

Looking back I've come a long long way and learned so many life lessons from working at UCI.
 It just goes to show that resilience  persistence, hard work and faith all payoff. I am sure I will be tested and abused in my new position but I welcome the challenge. This will be a major growth opportunity and a chance for me to really spread my wings.
I'm ready!
Bring it on!

Photo Food Diary

I sure do love my weekends!

This is what I ate on Sunday.

I woke up with a little hop in my step and had my delicious oatmeal with cinnamon, slivered almonds, peanut butter, raisins and banana. Yum-O!

Then I was off to the gym where I had a nice workout.

That afternoon I met my mom and friends at our usual spot nordies. I haven't been going as much lately because I've been so busy but we finally all managed to get together this day and meet up.

I always get the grilled cheese and tomato basil soup and my mom gets a salad and we split. One of my fav salads they make is the arugula shrimp salad. Those little cubes in the salad are polenta and are delicious! I also had a big glass of their iced-tea. I always crave nordies iced tea.

That afternoon my mom and I made strawberry jam. All I did all afternoon was taste test... For research purposes! I must have had about 20 crackers with jam on them.

At some point a few hours into jam making, I convinced my mom to journey with me on a Yogurtland run. Yogurtland is going this new promo with flavors from around the world. I had to sample them all and they were amazing!!  I got tart flavor mixed with their new POG sorbet (passion fruit orange guava from Hawaii). l I covered it heavily in Fruity pebbles and strawberries!

After an afternoon of helping my parents around the house, we finished the night with a glass of wine and BBQ. I didn't get pics of the whole meal which included marinated blue fin tuna and white rice, but I did get pics of our yummy veggies... Dinner was SO good.

Post about strawberry jam making soon to come!

Workout Week April 10-16

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: My busy week continued and I just did not focus on my goals AT ALL. The only thing i did consciously was try to drink more water and less coffee. In the morning I drank more tea and constantly refilled my Teavana cup at the water cooler. I think this helps me more than I even realize sometimes.  I ate out a lot this week because despite buying and prepping healthy food, its hard to pack a dinner and lunch every day, and the free time I did have, I was eating out with friends.

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: I worked late the night before - till midnight to be exact, so after getting into bed around 1 am, I just didn't have the strength to go to bootcamp at 6am.  I did have a lovely dinner with my good friend that night. it was April 10th so I made sure to call my best friend in San Fran and give her a big "phonehug" I wish I coulda given her a hug in person.

Thursday/Friday: i worked both of these days as well- no working out... just loooong nights.  Friday I went out after work around10:30pm and I was like a zombie. I had to get some sleep.

Saturday: I went to the gym for a job and Spartacus but I still felt like a zombie. That afternoon I had my friends baby shower, and I could barely keep my eyes open. It was a long shower, so after I got home around 6pm I took a little nap and went out in Costa Mesa with a great group of friends to a place called Garf's. I was so tired but I had a TON of fun.

A little shuffleboard action!

Sunday: I slept in this day- and sleep I did!! I then cleaned my house and spent time with my parents.

Monday: Feeling much more revived, I got in an hour of yoga and had a lovely dinner with my friend at Carolina's a little mom and pop Italian restaurant.

Tuesday: Back to normalcy big time. After work I went to the gym and did an hour of cardio. Afterwards I did a ton of grocery shopping.  

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: I had a long tiring week but I feel good. I made decent choices and tried my best to squeeze in a workout when I could. I could have definitely eaten healthier, but its hard when you are away from your home from 7am until midnight so frequently. The next few months will be a lot of readjusting to different schedules as my teams come in and out of town.

For next week: Tonight I have such a great night planned with Steph, Neal and Melissa.  I was suppose to go to San Fran this weekend but my trip got cancelled and its my Aunt's big 60th surprise party instead.  I am excited for a normal week ahead and I'm gonna do my best to make good choices!

Photo Food Diary

This is what I ate yesterday, Tues April 16.

Breakfast was at my desk at work. I had ants on a log.. I have really been on this peanut butter kick lately! I also had strawberries and grapes.  I have been picking out donor gifts and sifting through hundreds of samples of pens and mugs. You can see one of my catalogs in the background under my fruit!
I then journeyed to Irvine for a couple meetings and had lunch with a friend.

We had Wahoo's and it was delish.  Living in so cal, whenever a restaurant has a patio I absolutely must sit on it. I love sitting outside especially when some days I get so stuck in the office i never get to see the sun.  I really feel like I've "escaped" when I get some patio time!  At Wahoo's I had the grilled fish salad with the cilantro dressing on the side.

I gotta admit I made a stop off at the mall afterwards to pick up my broken watch- then i come to find they've replaced my watch entirely with a new one!!! I love you Nordies!!! That's why I'm a loyal customer! While I was there I also treated myself to some MAC products. I really feel like I've been working my butt off lately and deserve to treat myself once in a while. I got a new blush from the "Extra Dimension" line called Bareness. I LOVE it! It's light and sheeny and absolutely stunning. I am wearing my new blush already!
I also got a new Paint Pot in Antique Diamond which is a greenish grey sparkle color which will pare well with MACs Club eyeshadow. I also got a new 212 brush which I've been coveting. I wanted to but one more Pro Longwear Paint Pot in  "Vintage Selection" but withheld as it is now a permanent item.

I worked the day away and when I got home -

I had a delish but not nutrish dinnner of leftover pizza- I also ate an orange. I might have also had a chocolate or two.

Then off to enjoy my night!

Photo Food Diary

This is what I ate yesterday, Sunday April 14.
I actually got to sleep in this morning and it was soooo wonderful! I was so exhausted, my body needed the sleep.

For breakfast I had my beloved oatmeal with bananas, cinnamon, peanut butter, chopped pecans, raisins and dried cherries. So delicious and filling!
That morning I cleaned and cleaned my place. I even mopped - it is soo great to start the weekend with a clean home!
After a couple hours of cleaning I met my mom for lunch. She got home from London and Paris on Saturday so I was happy to see her for the first time in over 10 days. Her choice for lunch and she was craving Asian food.

We tried a new place in Brea- as soon as we walked in we noticed how packed it was, which was a good sign!  I got my usual Vietnamese iced coffee- this stuff is STRONG. I ordered Beef Pho and my mom had BBQ pork with rice and a side of egg rolls. Everything was delish. Afterwards we went to TJ Maxx and Nordstrom rack.  I haven't shopped in a while so I did some major damage. I got my best friend, Linds some bday gifts to complete a very long planned package, I also bought new workout clothes, a jewelry organizer, purse and top.  I love everything I bought! No buyers remorse.
We then went back to my parents and I got to catch up on my Game of Thrones.

My mom brought me back some chocolates from Paris, which I didnt take a pic of  :( But I also snacked on a  Luna bar. Caramel Nut Brownie is my favorite flavor.  I also had an orange.
For din we had more Asian:

Thai style chicken with rice. I added a  little chili sauce to this. It was spicy and didnt really agree with my stomach.  I ate about half of this and took the rest home.

For dessert I made some vanilla jello pudding and sliced some strawberries over it. A nice low-cal delish dessert! Only whipped cream would have made this perfect.
I am anxious for this week. I am hearing big news back about a job that I really hope I get.
Crossing my fingers!

Workout Week April 3-9th 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: This was one of the BUSIEST weeks of my life. Mostly working which is good. Making that $... but I am utterly spent and just wanting to curl up and sleep for 48 hours straight. I did NOT do well on my goals. I worked out a bit but did not eat right or drink my water. I am going to recommit to my goals this week.

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: The intention was definitely to wake up early and get to my bootcamp, but alas, the late night Tue and the late night I knew I would be having at work this night prevented me from doing that. I worked Ducks vs. Kings that night and it was insanely busy and hectic. We ejected 5 people.  Ducks won in overtime.

Thursday: I had a nice evening off. I got to go to spin class and hang out with my friends prepping for a bachelorette.

Friday: Had an amazing evening.  Worked hard all day on site for our Gala. I just made it to softball then that evening spent the night with friends on a yacht in Newport Beach. It was the most amazing boat I've ever been on.  It belonged to the former president of a country but my friend is the captain. 
Saturday: The BIG GALA day. I got in an early morning workout which may or may not have been a mistake because I just consumed so much energy at this event. It was magnificent but such hard work. We raised $1.25 million total. Sooo glad its over.

Sunday: As much as I wanted this day to be a recovery day, I had to work Ducks.  I cleaned and repaired things at my home with my dad all morning and in the afternoon was off to work again.
Monday: While the rest of my office received the day off- I sadly had to go in to work. I am on the interview committee for a job in our department. I scooted out early though, and had Ducks to work that evening.
Tuesday: I was so exhausted I called in sick to work. I went to the gym took spin and went grocery shopping. It was so needed.  That evening was opening day at Angel Stadium so I worked from 3pm-midnight.

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: I did not do too much working out this week but in no way am I living with regret, because physically and mentally- there's now way I could have squeezed it in. I am more tired than I think I've ever been. I feel emotionally drained and my body hurts. I dont want to complain on and on  so that's all I'll say.  Looking forward to some time off next week.

For next week: I want to get back on the eating healthy and drinking lots of water kick. I want to work out consistently and cut back a little on my obligations.  ironically I am interviewing for a new job right now so that's also been an added stress. Maybe next week regardless of the outcome I'll treat myself to a lil mani pedi or massage.

I leave you with my beautiful flowers from Rogers Garden's- 

Photo Food Diary

This is what I ate yesterday, Thurs April 4.

Yesterday felt like a helter-skelter day, from the min I woke up at 6:15 AM to the min I walked in the door that night at 10:30 PM - I did not stop!
Sadly I took too leisurely a shower yesterday morning so I didn't have time for breakfast. I did however plan ahead the night before and packed a lunch- so I grabbed my bag, downed my daily multivitaminand a banana and was out the door.
In my lunch I packed a bunch of mixed berries and I always have Greek yogurt in my works refridge.  I mixed my strawberries and blackberries in with this Blood Orange Chobani and sprinkled in some flax seeds and had a yummy breakfast.
We have our Gala this Sat so work has been nuts. Completely crazy.  Everyone in our office is running on 4 cylinders - and in some ways its been kinda fun because we've all been bonding. Kinda like when you go through the trenches together.

One of my coworkers lives in Brentwood right next to New York Bagel Co. I lived in Brentwood for three years and would always go there. They have the best bagels. They ship the water they use to make the bagels in from NYC.  She was so kind and brought some in for our office. I had half a sesame with cream cheese.

While I worked I sipped on my Teavana and had a Japanese treat.

For lunch I got to steal away to take my sweet grandmother to lunch. Its her 87th birthday. I was so excited because my cousin Steph could go too and she brought her 2 year old, Aubrey who is THE cutest thing in the world.  It was so fun to have a girls lunch!!  We went to Lucilles Smokehouse BBQ. I had a baked potato with pulled pork and cheese- trying to be good I asked for the sour cream on the side. (I ate it all anyway). I also had a side salad with Ranch and 1.5 biscuits with apple butter. ugh so good!

Work flew by and by 5 o'clock I was at the gym - where I did the elliptical for 20min, and did spin for 55min. I worked up a good sweat. Afterwards I ran home to pick up a bachelorette gift and snacked on yummy pineapple and quinoa with peas, peppers, red onion and raisins. It was so good.
I then ran over to my friend Stephany's to help her prep for a bachelorette party for my friend Jenny. Sadly its Saturday and because of my Gala I can't go. But I did buy her a sexy gift and helped Steph prep the decorations.  I made tiny little corsets and decorated felt penis'.... Yes that's right.  I themed them to all the things Jenny Loves...
WARNING- content may offend some:

Themes included: Disney, Angels Baseball, Harry Potter and Twilight.  I think Jenny will get a kick out of them!  We had so much fun making them! I wish I could be there...  Dang my photo cut off the Harry Potter wand... ugh that was the best part!
Ok enough fun for now.
I have a BIG day tomorrow. I am gonna try and get my nails done beforehand. Also I have Ducks on Sunday so busy weekend. Have a good one!
.

Lash Experiment- 2 months in

On February 11th I began my lash experiment journey.  You may recall this post in which I had just purchased the much debated Tarte multiplEYE to see if it could give my tire thin lashes a little boost. I would like to show you the effect two months in. (please refer to previous post for product details)

The BEFORE:

The AFTER 2 months:

Do you notice any difference? I SURE AS HECK DON'T
This stuff is NOT worth the money, in my opinion as it did nothing for my eyelashes. And if it gets slightly in your eye it burns. This doesnt totally freak me out because the product is all natural.
I've read reviews on this and many people complain about the same issues. I dont get why Tarte wouldn't have accounted for that and made a better product??!

A lot of people in the forums say to give this product at least 3 months.. SO I will give it one more month just because I've gone this far!

Workout Week March 27-April 2 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: I definitely did my fair share of working out for the week and I feel really good about that. This DID NOT show on the scale but sometimes it takes a week or two for my body to kick in and I'm confident it will show up in the next 2 weeks. I probably did 3 days of drinking my water goal. Like I said weekends are hard for me as I don't usually have a water bottle sitting in front of me at my desk like I do during the week. I definitely did well on fruits/veggies with my snack packing. I planned ahead and always had a bag of cherry tomatoes, clementines, oranges, and bananas on hand.

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday: Spurred by the impending 5k comign up I got my butt up early to go to boot camp. I am always so happy that I do go despite the ungodly hours. I love the saying: "I regretted that workout: said no one EVER" or "you never regret a workout" so true!

Thursday: We had our first official Angel game that night. No workout - but it was so good to be back at the Stadium... I love that place.

Friday: This was a day off from work. IT WAS glorious. In the morn my mom and I went to pilates and afterwards I went to the mall to buy a new dress for our upcoming Gala. I bought a beautiful green dress that I'm in love with.  Afterwards Mike took me to a sushi restaurant right by my place called Oshima.  It was one of the best sushi meals I've ever had. So authentic and delicious. What Japanese food and sushi is suppose to taste like. They even have a menu for local fish and Japan caught fish. That evening I played softball and had an amazing game night with all my friends. We played Mafia, Catch Phrase, and Logos which was so hard but so fun!

Saturday: The day of the LOOOONG anticipated 5K.  So the night before at game night not only did I drink a lot but I also ate the crappiest food. I couldn't keep my hands off the nachos. So needless to say - I thought for sure I'd be draggging this morning. Buuut low and behold - quite the opposite!  I was feeling it major! I ran my best 5K EVER and felt so amazing. Even my smack-talking dad couldn't keep up and I bested him by a whole minute. He said he kept trying to catch me but I was too fast! I have never felt that way running EVER. It was a total high. Check out my results:

I ran the whole race in 27 min 7 seconds 

an 8:44 min/mile

and ranked 519 our of 5324- TOP 10%!!!!

in my age group for females- 23rd out of 344 

and for females in general 113 out of 2936 TOP 4%!!

AND this doesnt even factor in how slow I started while I was weaving in and out of traffic (the slower runners)

What a great milestone in my life. SO proud!!  I am not a runner so this is quite an accomplishment for me as someone who did not train. Granted I'm in shape but not running shape.  I dunno if I'll ever be so in the zone again. 

Sunday: Today I went to the gym but took it easy. I wan't so sore but I just wanted to not push myself too hard. I took spin

Monday: I had a bday dinner- yes three months late- planned this evening but I squeezed in a little yoga stretch at my gym. It was just what I needed to quiet my mind.

Tuesday: I went out with friends this night so no workout

Overall workout analysis:

How I feel: I was so proud of my 5k and have frankly been on a high ever since. I have been eating a lot this week but that might be hormonal. I am eager to sign up for another race and keep this up. 

For next week: Our Gala is coming up on Saturday and  Angels opening day is next Tue - so life is getting hectic. I don't anticipate I'll have much time in the coming week to work out so I better eat right!  I think my only day off next week is Thur!

Peanut Butter Spinach Smoothie

This is my all-time favorite smoothie.

Not only is the banana super filling, the greek yogurt packed with protein, the milk with calcium and the spinach loaded with vitamins A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate etc-- but it tastes AMAZING! It tastes like a peanut butter ice cream shake-not like the healthy smoothie that it is.  The spinach is undetectable. If the color throws you off- do like I do and put it in a colored container to drink! 

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbs Peanut Butter
1 banana
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup nonfat milk/almond milk

handful of spinach 

3-5 ice cubes

OPTIONAL: dash of cinnamon or a dash of vanilla extract or a tablespoon of protein powder

DIRECTIONS

1.     Place all ingredients in a blender. (I usually put the ice at the bottom nearest blades)

2.     Blend on medium-high for 30 seconds (or until desired consistency). I like mine super smooth and creamy

Nutritional info:

350 calories, 10g fiber, 21g protein  makes about 16 oz

I love this smoothie so much

Cheers!!!!

Photo Food Diary

Easter Sunday!
For breakfast I had a bowl of my new obsession:

Oatmeal mixed with a spoon of creamy PB with dried cherries, sliced banana, chopped pecans and cinnamon.  I added just a touch of brown sugar too. It is AMAZINGLY delish. I just know how I get and I'll be eating this every day for three months until I get sick of it.
I worked out this morning. I figure since my mom was making a giant feast, I might as well give myself a good excuse to eat it! I actually did an hour of spinning.  After spin I had a snack:

My coworker snacks on Turkey Pepperoni and after she shared some with me I was hooked! It's a little salty but otherwise something I'd consider a healthy tasty snack!
I then went grocery shopping and then to my friend Melissa and G's to drop off some beverage containers for their Easter picnic.  When i got to my parents I was so excited to see the spread my mom put out.

Isn't this just the cutest? She made an egg quiche, with roasted asparagus, breakfast potatoes, and assorted fruits and yogurt for parfaits. So cute and love how she thought of all the little details. Even our salt and pepper shakers were little bunnies. She filled little teacups with starburst jelly beans, had my fav treat- snicker eggs everywhere as well as other little treats all over the table. My dad contributed by picking flowers from their rose garden. Just the right touch! Perfect Easter.  We spent the rest of the day lounging watching NCAA basketball. When that was over my dad and I worked on a little project for my patio. I'll show you it when it's done!
For dessert that evening I made a pineapple upside down cake. I used a WW recipe that only had 5 ingredients  Pineapple rings and its juice, butter, Cake Mix, an egg, and brown sugar.
They were pretty darn good but nothing too obsess worthy. I added cherries for a little pop.

Sadly I had a photo of the finished product but deleted it accidentally  :(
Dinner was leftovers from brunch.
Overall a very yummy and productive Easter Sunday with my fam!