It's been quiet around these parts.

And when I say "these parts," I mean "this blog," which really means life has been hectic and busy and stealing me away from our special time together.

But for what it's worth, I think about you often.

Work has been, for lack of a better word, intense.

One of the girls in my department got promoted which means I have been taking on this new workload, which also means I've been working 9-91/2 hour days. I work through lunch and I stay late. Working. Non. Stop.

I don't know about you, but I, for one, have never had a job that required so much mental strength from me. Not only am I just 2 months into this new job and still learning, but I am just literally trying to make sense of how I have so much to do! I mean, really, working through my lunch break?

But, I will say, it's possible some good things are coming of this hectic situation. Although I guess it's possible there aren't. Let's just say I have mixed emotions about it and until I sort it out in my own brain, I'll save you from my ramblings.

In other life happenings, as of today, I am down 4.6 pounds! I only have 1.5 pounds left to lose in the next 20 days if I want to win this DietBet game. Easy Peasy.

Hold please. I have to go take the lid off my frozen lasagna I got cookin' in the oven.

Okay back.

You see what my life has come to? Frozen lasagna. Because I'm just too tired and lazy to do anything else. I'm sure this will do wonders in my weight loss journey. #not

So yeah. I've been doing pretty well with my exercising and eating.
In fact, I've been doing SO well with my exercising that after 3 straight days of running a total of 10 miles and attending a Zumba class, my body decided to gift me with a cankle!

Pretty neat huh?

So yeah. No more running for me since last week's shenanigans.

However, I did attempt a Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown YouTube video last night. Two words: Butt kicker. It was only 30 minutes and I felt like jello after! Today, my arms are sore. But, you know, that good sore where you know you've done something beneficial?

Anyway. I've got to go! The Dizzle's going to be home soon and I've got to get that frozen lasagna cooked and then disguised like I made it from scratch before he gets here! Ha. Jay kay. He knows I'm not that talented in the kitchen.

But I wanted to end with this.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling way too overwhelmed for anybody's good, and I just want to curl up in a ball and cry it out because I don't know what I'm doing with my life or where I'm headed or who I want to be when I grow up, and oh wait, I'm already grown up so I should know this information and why can't I just be traveling the world again, and yadda yadda yadda, you know, those overwhelming feelings? I just want to say that I think about this little blog of mine and I think about all of those special and thoughtful comments you guys leave me and how they make my day a little brighter.

And then of course, I drink a bunch of wine to numb the pain as well. (Kiiiidding. Okay fine, I'm not.)

Anyway. I'm calling this time in my life an "adjustment period." I don't know when this period ends, but I'm hoping that soon I will stop making faces like this:

And instead make more faces like this:

Stay tuned. I think it's just around the corner.

xoxo

How can I love something I'm so horrible at?

Normally, with my competitive nature and all, I stay away from things I'm not very good at. If I know I can't be amazing at it, I'll most likely avoid it altogether.

I mean, sports? No, thank you. Let's just say the only sport I attempted in high school was volleyball. And I only made it on the JV team. And that's because there were like 10 girls total and we all made it by default. I never did master that overhand serve.... Enough said.

And shall I mention Art? Ha. No, I shouldn't mention it. Lest we forget this night? Mishi here is not an artist. I think the creativity genes just skipped me altogether.

But DANCING? Well. I mean. I just love it. I love it so very much.

Dancing has always been something I've loved, really. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad resentful towards my parents for taking the Asian route and putting me in piano for 16 years.

But I digress.

Here's the thing. Dancing? I'm horrible.

I was in Zumba the other day, at the front of the classroom, of course, because I'm weird like that and always try to get a spot right in front so I can see myself better in the mirror and not be blocked by anyone else, obviously, and I was realizing just how horrible I was at it.

No really.

I mean, I can follow along and get the steps right, sure. And maybe my piano lessons have helped in some way that I can follow a beat. But good lord, I cannot, for the life of me, move my hips with any sort of grace. I'm stiff and jerky and in no way sexy when I dance.

And if you know Zumba, then you know that it's filled with salsa and samba and hip pumping and booty shaking and every teacher I've had has had hips that don't lie and wow, I wish I could move mine like that, but oh wait, nope, I'm still robotic.

My teacher last week was basically Shakira herself and I couldn't stop staring at her butt swaying back and forth and just how effortlessly she looked!

Then, of course, there's me, in the front of the class, sweaty, stiff, and as awkward as can be.

But here's the thing! And what I love so much about Zumba - - As I was awkwardly dancing my heart out, I took a look around the classroom, and I'm pretty sure 99% of the other Zumba-goers were JUST as awkward as me! It was great and totally made me throw any self conscious thoughts I had out the window!

I just love it. I love dancing. I love shaking my tail feather, no matter how stiff and NON-sexy it looks. And I love that after the hour of dancing, I am soaked in sweat and got a really good workout in!

So.

For all of you people out there who love to dance but feel like you could never step foot in a "dance class," fear not! Zumba is here! I promise you, it's a room full of people feeling the exact same as you! So we can all be awkward together!

Now, go shake your tail feathers!

In the name of dancing, amen.

xoxo

Still going strong.

^^^Gorgeous view from my run last night^^^

What's that saying? I feel like a chicken with its head cut off? Or something like that? Yeah. That's me. Things at work have really ramped up for me. I've been learning so many new things, going to more meetings, handed new responsibility. It's all been awesome and I think I'm really headed in a great direction here, but I've just been slammed, without a moment's rest! (Allow me to mention that I thrive on that type of atmosphere and 100% prefer it over sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, bored to tears.)

But enough about work.

Allow me to boast about my week of diet and exercise:

Monday - I ran 5 miles (Say whaat?! I haven't done that in almost a year!)
Tuesday - I ran 5 miles (Say whaat, again?! Thank you to the "Spice Girls" Pandora Station.)
Today - I'm going to Zumba! (May I remind you of that time I had an awkward Zumba battle. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.)
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - I will run 5 miles (Fingers crossed. Fridays there are no guarantees.)
Saturday - Rest Day
Sunday - Hiking (Hey, Mo, Hey!)

And on top of all that crazy-who-am-I exercise, I've been using the My Fitness Pal app, which has really helped me keep track of what I'm eating and staying on top of portion control and good eating habits! I really do love that app.

ALSO - Let me just say: Remember that DietBet I'm partaking in? Well! The pot is now up to $11,340!! Can you believe it? And GUESS WHAT? You can STILL JOIN (until day 14). Every day, the pot keeps growing and more and more people are joining to lose 4% of their body weight by Sept. 17! In fact, my Mom just joined today and let me just say how proud of her I am for doing so (Hey, Mom, Hey!).

SO FAR - I've lost 2.2 POUNDS! Nothing insane, but I'm definitely feeling better. Funny what healthy eating and exercise can do for you, eh? Maybe I should do it more often?

It's been very motivating to see results happening and let's just say there have been many o' naked happy dances happening in my neck of the woods. (Glad you have a visual now.)

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo

Other than almost dying, my weekend was pure perfection.

I don't know about you, but I had a damn near perfect weekend. The weather was beautiful, I accomplished everything on my to-do list, I tried my hand at something new, I had a date with The Dizzle, and it was just grand, really.

But before I get to those grand things, can I tell you how I almost died first? Yeah? Okay, cool.

Friday night, The Dizz and I spent several glorious hours frolicking the town of San Francisco. And when I say frolicking, I mean we parked our butts at this wine bar for a few hours, sippin' away. After we were good and ready, we headed over to The Kabuki Cinemas in Japantown for a 9:30pm showing of Wolverine.

We got our popcorn, we got our Peanut M&M's, and we even had some wine beforehand, because the theater is cool like that and serves alcohol (as every theater should, in my opinion). At about 9:20, we settled into the darkened theater, cozied up in our reserved seats, held hands, and was ready for some Wolverine action!

Promptly 20 minutes into the movie, I was fast asleep.

Promptly 45 minutes into the movie, The Dizzle was fast asleep.

Promptly 90 minutes into the movie, we got up and went home, to bed, like proper 75-year-olds should.

Now here's the part where I almost died (cue the dramatics).

At about midnight, as I am fast asleep, dreaming of a hairy Hugh Jackman, or something like that, The Dizzle smells something burning.

He checks the oven. Nothing.
He looks outside our window. Nothing.
He goes out into the hallways. SMOKE GALORE.

He heads down one flight of stairs and sees smoke wafting out of the corner apartment.

It is only him and two other girls wondering what the heck is going on. The Dizzle, being the hero that he is, begins to pound on the door to see if anyone is home. He hears nothing. Meanwhile, more smoke is pouring out, filling the hallways, smoke detectors blaring.

Also meanwhile, may I remind you, I continue to sleep away in my wine-induced coma.

They call the fire department.

The Dizzle dashes upstairs, through the smoke and stench, in order to save my life.

He BURSTS into our apartment (okay, I'm sure he didn't burst, but it's making the story more exciting), and gently, but urgently, shakes me awake!

"Honey? You need to wake up now. The fire alarms are on. Smoke is filling up the building and the firefighters are on their way."

"Huuuuhhhh? Hmm? What?" I ask groggily, wondering if it's Hugh or Verner that's waking me up.

And sure enough: Outside, 2 big fire trucks pull up, blaring!

The firemen run upstairs and pound on the door. They hear nothing.

They then BREAK the door to enter!

(And of course, I'm standing there, documenting like a risky and dedicated blogger should.)

There was a girl inside!
Sleeping!
Sleeping through all the smoke and alarms and pounding and breaking of the door!
Wait. Sleeping?!

This dumb-dumb apparently turned her oven on, in her drunken stupor, then fell asleep and forgot about it, then never even woke up until the firemen physically shook her awake!

I mean....

So anyway, long story long, you can clearly see how I almost died! <---not really.

And now, I just feel like anything else I share with you about my weekend won't be that exciting compared to this death-defying experience!

But I will still share with you anyway, because I'm kind like that.

Let's seee.....I started my DietBet officially today after sending in my official weigh-in photo over the weekend. The pot is at $9690!! Can you believe it?! (You still have time to sign up TODAY if you want!!) So over the next 4 weeks, I am hell bent on losing 4% of my body weight! I must win people. I must! And I will! In fact, I am running 3 miles after work today. Boo-yah.

Other mentions: I got a quick haircut. And when I say quick, I mean, real quick. Scary quick. I don't think I really love the lady that did it. But I mean, it was $22, what can I say? At least now, there's some sort of texture instead of one poo length.

Oh, and we used our juicer for the first time this weekend. Apples, pear, tangerines, broccoli! It was delish. I highly recommend it.

(And here is where I insert the crappy cell phone pictures for proof.)

ALSO! I attempted my very first banana bread yesterday. And guess what? It was a hit!
In fact, it was such a hit, that when we took it to the park for some sun-soaking and wine drinking, we had all the homeless come and eat it up!

No really, that guy on the right LOVED it. I'm sure he also would have loved the wine too, but that, I was hoarding for myself, thankyouverymuch.

So there you have it.

In conclusion to this extremely long blog post:

- If I go to a 9:30pm movie after several glasses of wine, I can pretty much guarantee I'll be paying for a $14 nap.

- Pretty sure you never want to be the girl that turns her oven on, falls asleep, then almost burns the entire apartment building down.

- Money is apparently the one key motivational factor for weight loss in my life.

- Juicing is good.

- I make bomb banana bread.

- Just ask the homeless.

xoxo

Fridays are never meant for serious blog posts, IMO.

I'm in an awkward stage with my hair.

Ever since I chopped it off for the good of all hairs on my head so that they may flourish and grow strong together, I've been kind of, sort of, very much uncomfortable with it. My hair and I? We just haven't been on the same page since.

Yesterday, I put that headband thingy on my head because without it, the wispies surrounding my forehead were going cray and I looked like a straight up homeless person.

Or Nick Nolte.

I asked V Dizzle if I looked weird with the headband on, and his response?

"I'll let you decide that one."

So... I decided to look weird for work. Better than homeless Nick, I suppose.

And when my hair is down? It's all one awkward length. Not long. Not short. Just....there.

I found a hair place near my house that charges $22 for a haircut. And we all know how I feel about not paying an arm and a leg for a cut, so I think I may need to pop in and get some layers up in this B. In fact, perhaps I shall do it this weekend. Because, why not?

///

In other news, since last week, I have now lost POINT 8 pounds (of my TEN that I need to lose). Call it small, but I call it a win. You know what I did yesterday? I RAN home. And then you know what I did once I got home? I ran a little more. Sure, maybe it was only 3 miles total, but still, I am impressed with myself for trying. There were many times that I thought I was going to pass out and fall to my death, but alas, I pressed on.

And this morning? Immediately after weighing myself and realizing I lost another point four pounds?

I did a little naked dance.

Because, obviously, I was already naked. So, you know, it just happened to work out that way.
I'm sure The Dizzle was pleased?
(Why am I sharing this?)

Annnnyyywaayyy, this is where I shall bid you adieu.

Tonight: Date night with my boo! We will be heading out to a wine bar and a movie. And let me tell you something: I am excited. In fact, so excited, that if I were naked, I'd be dancing. But I'm at work, and that would just be weird.

Happy Weekend, friends!

xoxo

99 Problems But Weight Ain't One

That's the name of the game.

What game? The DietBet game.

So far, 71 people are playing, but it's likely it'll get over 100 players!

Let me break it down for you:

Goal: Lose 4% of your body weight in the next 4 weeks.

Buy in: $30

Winners: Split the pot

Current Pot Size: $2100.00

Start Date: Aug. 19

End Date: Sept. 15

Okay folks. Here's the deal.

These past few weeks, I've been attempting to eat healthier, snack smarter, drink less, exercise more. Well, maybe I shouldn't say weeks, more like days. Anyway, so far, I've lost .4 pounds. That's POINT 4, not 4. I need some more motivation in my life! And nothing says motivation like 100 other friends doing it with you and cash on the line, am I right or am I right?

Roo, over at Neon Fresh, is gathering people again for a group DietBet.

You pay $30 to play (which goes into the group pot).

You have 4 weeks to lose 4% of your body weight. Which, let me tell you something, is TOTALLY doable.
For example: If you weigh 130 pounds, you only have to lose 5.2 pounds. That's it! And you're a winner.

There can be an unlimited amount of winners, so essentially if EVERYONE loses 4%, then you basically get your money back. BUT - - With over 100 people potentially in the game, there are many who are bound to not hit that goal and then voila! More money for YOU!

It's a pretty neat site and I'm kind of excited about it.

The "Official" weigh in is on Aug. 17 and 18. 

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET ... WEIGH IN!

"Two days before your game begins, you'll be prompted to submit your official starting weight.

Our standard weigh-in process involves you submitting two photos, one of you on a scale in airport security attire; another of the scale's readout with your weigh-in word."

NOTE: We never post weigh-in photos and
your actual weight is kept private by default.

This video will probably explain it all better:

So.... Who's with me??? 

Let's make some mula and shed some el-bees, eh??

Whoo hoo!

(Can you tell I'm pumped? ;) )

xoxo

That Red Couch.

So here it is, this red couch of ours.

I spent 5 long weeks waiting for this beauty, and at long last, it arrived yesterday afternoon and greeted me with open arms when I walked through the door.

And there it sits. Staring at me. Wanting me to sit and enjoy.

But here's the thing.

What does one do with a couch that doesn't have a TV in front of it? How can I not sit awkwardly without a table to prop my feet? The hardwood floor is just too hard beneath my feet, am I supposed to get a rug now? Where do I put my glass of wine?

These are questions I have yet to answer.

So hence, after about 8 seconds of new-couch lounging/awkward sitting, I promptly stood up and made my way back to the comfy bed. The bed that has been a dear friend of mine for the last few months when there was nothing else to sit on. The bed that has brought much comfort and relaxation while I ate/slept/watched TV/cuddled/drank wine/and ate some more.

So, to my new, dear, beautiful, red couch, allow me to say this: It's going to take some time for me to warm up to you. We'll have to work together to make this relationship a solid one. But in the meantime, while I'm sitting on my bed, I'll very much enjoy staring at your beautiful self. So don't you worry. I have high hopes for us, indeed. Just give me some time.

xoxo

Anybody want an iPad? Or how about some cold, hard cash?

Oh hello there and good morning to ya!

I have some fantastic news to share with you on this lovely hump of a day.

Michelle, who blogs over at Making Sense of Cents, is celebrating her 2 year "blogiversary."

In case you don't know her yet, Michelle has a very popular blog about conquering your finances and how to maximize that extra income. She also has more fun and personal things to talk about like her upcoming WEDDING! Pretty exciting stuff, I tell you! Anyway, I had the privilege of participating in this very generous giveaway.

So, without further adieu,

On to the prizes!

The prizes for this giveaway will be:

First place - iPad Mini WIFI 16 GB

Second place – $150 cash

Third place – $100 cash

Rules

- Open Worldwide.
- If the winner of the iPad Mini prefers cash, then cash value for the iPad will be given instead.
- Paid via PayPal
- All entries in the Rafflecopter are optional

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

xoxo