Kinda sore...

Ever since I started working full time, I've been looking for ways to work out here! My one problem is that running is almost out of the question because I don't wake up early enough to go before work, summers are pass-out-hot here and I work until it's super dark during at night during the winter and I refuse to go alone.

So I've tried the 24 Hour Fitness near me, but it's kind of sketch. And ended up costing me a lot of money I wasn't willing to spend on something I could essentially do for free if I had the motivation. Which is why I got pretty excited about all my Wii workout games that I got for Christmas. But I ran into yet another problem - I go on the road often and I work so late sometimes that when I come home I just want to veg out or read or not get all sweaty and nasty so I'm taking two-to-three showers a day.

So yesterday, I found a solution to my almost year-long problem now: I work in an athletics department! Our athletes have a strength and conditioning coach and a weight room accessible virtually 24/7. And during the lunch hour, those athletes don't have scheduled training sessions!

During our "lunch break" yesterday, a couple of co-workers, some softball coaches and I all made our way down to the weight room for a lunch sesh with the conditioning coach, who is essentially serving as our personal trainer for the time being!

What we're going to aim to do two times a week is TRX Suspension Training. What that is, is basically a pulley device with handles and stirrups designed for various workouts that use your body's weight naturally in resistance against your workout positions. He has them attached to taller weight machines, so we have our own personal workout spaces. And MAN is that a workout! We were all dripping after just an hour with it yesterday.


But the best part - still haven't reached it yet! - is that Tony's making up circuits and reps specifically for us! Starting off slowly and introducing more and more elements as we progress. Yesterday we started with squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and leg curls. All that happened after 15 minutes on stationary bicycles and plank exercises to warm up our cores.

Only one day and I'm already super sore - but in a good way! I'm actually pretty excited to keep this up because a.) I want to tone up! and b.) this doesn't take away ANY time in my day. I can come home and do whatever I want, guilt free without that nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I need to exercise today :)

Now back to the dog front... I'm not sure it's going to work out :( and I'm super super bummed about that. As soon as I emailed the lady about her dogs, she happily gave me her phone number and told me she'd love to meet with me. But when I brought up the prospect of heading up to see all the dogs this weekend, she hadn't responded to my email in two days. So I figured I'd give her a call when I got off work last night - after all, she did give me her phone number - and still no response. Who doesn't answer their cell phone these days?!

I just want a puppy, is that too much to ask?!?! Wish me luck......

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I think I've finally talked J.D. into the joys of puppyhood :)

So we're looking at the end of baseball season, when we both stop traveling for the year and have the entire summer off! At least, that's when I'm trying to find a puppy by! Since we still live in an apartment complex, and let's be real here, I probably will be renting for a while longer, we're looking at small dogs.

In the meantime, I'm familiarizing myself with adoption/breeder sites. Ideally, I'd like to adopt and save some little tyke! Plus, adoption dogs aren't purebred so they can be cheaper.

But at the same time, I'd really like a long haired miniature dachshund!

Like this guy...... I found him on one of the sites and melted.

I'm on the hunt!!

OH MY (@^#^!*)#$%! GOD!!! I'm moving to Germany

What the heck..... why aren't I in Germany?!?!

Everyone knows of my love affair with wiener dogs. Well, I'm getting back on the "I-need-to-have-a-dog" kick, big time. So I went back to Googling puppies and where to get one.....

But then I came across this little gem. And immediately had a heart attack. I can't look at it anymore, the cuteness is going to make me explode.

So, boys and girls, I bequeath it to you then, today. It's a story from Berlin that actually happened last year. But oh man, it still kills me. I have to have one.... of each! It's actually kind of a sad story, but the ending is happy. I mean, read the lead from another article about this story:

Stroehen, Germany - A tiger cub born in a German zoo at the weekend and rejected by its mother has experienced a further tragedy, as a dachshund which adopted the newborn was run over by a postman's van, the zoo reported Wednesday.

I frickin' KNEW I loved weenie dogs :)

(P.S., we saw the Weenie National qualifiers at the San Joaquin County Fair this summer.... I'm still flipping out over the cuteness.)

I WANT ONE!!!

Just because it annoys Ben

So I NEVER watch American Idol. In fact, I can honestly say that I've never once seen an entire episode of it.

But then, how would I know about crap like this, if I never saw it?????



"Pants on the Ground" was one of the many songs that unfortunately did not get a hopeful singer to the judging stage of American Idol. But it did go on to make this sweet remix, which is my boss's ringtone, and will be stuck in everyone's heads for quite some time.

Is it wrong that I think it's hysterical?!

Ta-da!

As promised, here's my new hair!


How'd I decide, you may be wondering? Well Target has a sweet kiosk by the hair dyes that asks what kind of color you're looking for, natural color, skin hues, etc. Then based on your responses, picks out a suggested color. So I actually ended going one shade darker than my recommendation.

This one's called golden cappuccino, but it oddly turned out reddish in the light instead of golden. And oh yeah, I also took your suggestions into consideration ;)

Please excuse the myspace bathroom photo, that's the best lighted mirror in my house.

You know how texting/talking on a cell phone is illegal in California? What are the odds blogging's allowed....?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pretty sure this is my new favorite website

It's pretty funny. From the people who brought you Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling.

Also, I'm tired. It's Friday. So don't judge me. Just let me enjoy my açai berry topper from Jamba Juice (smoothie, granola, banana, what could be better?). 22 consecutive blog posts in January, bitches.

Created by Oatmeal

Timber.

Ok, obviously it wasn't this bad, but trees definitely were knocked down this week. It's been a rough storm, after a moderately quiet fall/winter season.

I started Tuesday off solidly, waking earlier than usual because I was going to carpool with a co-worker and get some early coffee. Luckily I got up that early. Just as I turned off the water in my shower, all the power shut off completely. Freaking out, I scrambled to find my towels in the dark but knocked off the entire rack from the wall. Then I hit my foot on the shower and tried not to slip all over the place in the dark.

You have to understand we live in a middle condo unit, meaning we have shared walls on both sides. That leaves only the back of our house available for windows. So yeah, it's pretty dark in there. So I searched the house looking for candles and was unable to dry/straighten my hair. Instead, I threw it up in a quick, sloppy ponytail, hated my life and applied makeup in the dark. Awesome, since we had a game that night and usually have to dress up nicely.

Then I realized I wouldn't be able to open my garage door, or security gate to the complex. What a disaster it was. Thankfully Ben was already driving, so I just grabbed my gate key and went out the pedestrian entrance, standing freezing in the rain. And I found out when I got home that the power came back on not long after I left for work!

Then yesterday, I awoke briskly to a severe crashing noise outside my bedroom window. I sprang to my feet to check what made the noise, and nervously hoped none of the evergreens beyond our backyard had crashed into the fence or house. Luckily they hadn't, but I was never really able to figure it out until I came to work.

When I arrived in the parking lot in front of the baseball stadium and my office, I sat my coffee on top of my car so I could readjust my lunch, purse and open my umbrella. Except it was so windy, the cup was knocked off my car, spilling the contents all down the side of it as well as my pants.

Best week ever.

And I learned from a co-worker who lives in the same area that yesterday's large crash was a palm tree being uprooted and falling to the ground at the Home Depot parking lot a block down the street from my house.

Is it summer yet......??????

Ugh why are girls so dumb?

I apologize for the headline, seeing as how 95% of my readership is female (and, clearly, so am I).

But sometimes I really hate being a girl and I hate having that stupid gene that makes me want to buy things I don't need so often! Well, usually I don't like going to malls, etc. If I'm really in need of something, I will buy it. While generally I am fairly cheap, I'll spend a bit more on an item if it's of decent quality or is something I cannot live without (ie., I'm in need of a new black bra ... sorry for sharing, but I need a new one asap!).

And yes, I usually don't go shopping often. I'll usually wait until I get paid, or I'm always talking myself out of buying things. Plus, I'm really trying to save money so I can buy a car sometime next year. And I'm looking to hit that mark pretty well. But, I stumbled across something I've been avoiding for months now, that I really couldn't resist any longer.

As a member of my bank, they introduced a new program a few months ago called Add It Up. Which basically means if you buy things online from certain partnering companies and use your bank debit/credit card, you'll get a percentage of your purchase put back into your checking account later. And it's ridiculous, places like Barnes & Noble, ShutterFly, Target, iTunes, Wal-Mart, Under Armour, and Victoria Secret (plus a billion other companies) are all in on this!!!!

WHY?!??!!?!?!?!?

So I gave in. And since we all know I hate shopping in person, I just clicked around a billion times in 30 minutes and spent over $70. On stupid things at VS like underwear and a sweet new clearance bathing suit.

But hey.... I got $2.35 back into my checking account for using Add It Up. So that makes it worthwhile, right?

Right????

I saw it first!

When J.D. and I went to Las Vegas last month, we tried looking up things we could do for free and one of them was the CBS Television City Research Center.

CBS essentially has studios in Las Vegas where they run pilots of new, upcoming series. The website falsely advertised that they'd offer $15 for about half an hour of your time. We watched the pilot in a room alone in front of computers then had to answer about 50 questions, multiple choice and answers.

Before entering, we had to sign that we were ok to watch a TV-14 show. We were curious as to what was going to be shown, since most TV ratings are TV-G and TV-PG. TV-14 shows, on the other hand, are reserved programs after 9 p.m. and movies that are rated PG-13 or R.

TV-14

(Parents Strongly Cautioned -- This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.)

Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children of any age watch unattended. This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:

• D for intensely suggestive dialogue
• L for strong coarse language
• S for intense sexual situations
• V for intense violence

The show we viewed was called Life, Unexpected, which airs on the CW tonight (well, it's probably currently on as I type this). Although it was a bit cheesy and slow-moving at times, it's a pretty decent drama that J.D. and I both agreed we'd try to watch and see how it develops.

The only thing I'm pretty annoyed about is the fact that it will run on the CW. I thought that channel was for middle and high school girls....

But it's gotten some pretty good reviews. I'm just curious to see how the viewers' responses from the CBS Research Center will change what we saw from what airs tonight. According to J.D., the responses will shape how they edit/alter the first run from the pilot.

On road travel

For the amount I've flown, I shouldn't be as afraid of planes as I am. Granted, I've never really been afraid of flying, my hands just get extra clammy on take-offs and landings and my heart beats heavily in my chest as of late.

Maybe that's due to the small 60-person carriers I was used to shuffling in on my way back and forth from the Bay Area/Santa Barbara (with its two gates) when I was in college. I swear during one flight on an abnormally windy day in San Jose, our pilot made an announcement over the PA system that he couldn't fight the wind on account of our plane being so small. So we literally were tossed around in the air, my stomach doing flip-flops the entire time.

Today was much of the same story. Let me explain myself a bit.

We flew out of Orange County, the John Wayne Airport, in one of the first flights of the day this morning (8 a.m.). The county of Orange has some interesting noise ordinances regarding the airport, since Los Angeles is the epitome of suburbia and urban sprawl, and per capita, is the most densely populated city in the United States. So with houses literally on the landing strip, John Wayne Airport (referred to as SNA from here on out) has reduced hours of operation. Furthermore, planes must take off at abnormally fast rates, almost like a sonic burst of energy, to create as little noise pollution as possible.

See SNA's explanation of this ordinance below:

"John Wayne Airport (SNA) is one of the busiest and most noise sensitive airports in the United States. The Airport is located in the center of Orange County, California with residential areas in close proximity. To mitigate potential noise impacts from aircraft operations and to enhance compatibility with surrounding communities, the Airport maintains some of the most stringent noise rules in the United States. The General Aviation Noise Ordinance (GANO) has been adopted by the County of Orange to regulate the hours of operation and the maximum permitted noise levels associated with general aviation operations."

SNA, note the cluster of houses and businesses just beyond the airport

Another aerial view of SNA and surrounding suburban areas

Well, today when we began to take off, we streaked through the sky in less than one minute. However, a pilot could not rationally continue at top speeds like that, because it makes for a very turbulent and jittery ride on a small 737 plane. So as soon as we hit the appropriate marker in the sky, I believe the pilot completely let off the gas. Instead of slowly decreasing down to our average speed, he just let go.

All of a sudden, looking out the window, I noticed we were going from rapidly ascending, to quickly descending in free fall. You know that annoying, adrenaline-induced feeling in the pit of your stomach when you drop in a rollercoaster? Well it felt like that, but much, much worse without the suspension to a track to guide our fall.

A billion thoughts ran through my mind at once, as our free fall hit close to the one-minute mark. I thought for sure we were crashing, my biggest fear in life. As soon as the sensation subsided, I unlocked my vice grip on the seat handles, noticing that my hands were abnormally sweaty. At this point, my breath caught up with me and my heart battered around in my chest, as I began to sort of hyperventillate.

Sitting next to me, our trainer, Kyle, let out a long, "WOAH." Seconds later confiding in me that he, too, feared we were all going to die in a matter of horrible seconds. Honestly, that was one of the WORST experiences of my life. Nervously joking, we both talked about the horrid sensation during the course of the next 15 minutes.

It is not without immense appreciation, that I say I'm glad to be back on solid ground for the next couple of weeks. I don't think we'll fly out again the remainder of the basketball season, unless we make the post-season tournament in Anaheim mid-March (spring break). I think that'll give me enough time to recover.

If you put an A in "definitely," you're definitely an A-hole

My sister shared this gem on my Facebook wall this morning.

I don't know if it's because I was an English major, or used to be an editor, or because my biggest pet peeve is when people misuse further/farther, affect/effect, their/there/they're, or because I'm a grammar nerd, or plainly because I love manatees.... but she was dead on. I found it SO awesome.

(Side note: I did my animal report on the manatee in third grade. By fifth grade, I was a full-fledged member of the Save the Manatee Club. Currently I have a manatee Christmas stocking, Horny Manatee shirt - thanks Conan O'Brien, and numerous likeness of manatees, from thimbles, to stationary, etc. I love manatees.)

(God, isn't that thing cute?!)

So anyways, back to me being a dork. The link my sister shared is called "10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling." Might just be the greatest thing, ever!

I can't be that big of a dork, seeing as how I thought this book was kind of an overkill. It's funny if you can stand it in small doses though:

Oh and if you're keeping score at home, that was 18 words, not 10. (10 word pairs would have been more accurate, but not like I'm anal or anything.)

Joyeux Anniversaire

This weekend, J.D. and I celebrated our anniversary (yup, right word, it really has been a year) at the place I took him for his 26th birthday - The Melting Pot in San Mateo. I guess he registered for some birthday club thing, and included in it was also a space to write in your anniversary.

So come January, he received a coupon via e-mail for a free chocolate dessert for two in celebration of the "anniversary." However, the coupon said wedding anniversary, so that was a little odd to me. Rest assured Mom and Dad, we did not get married without your knowing.

Anyways, we all know how crazy I am about all things French, so a nice fondue meal with ambient French music (that later morphed into French rap, or Raï) was really a nice treat.

The featured menu for this month is Alpine Fondue, tapping into fondue's Swiss history. Nevermind they already feature Swiss cheeses in one of the cheese courses.

We ended up going with the four-course meal (And I, of course, kicked off the meal with a passion fruit vodka, strawberry and mint martini):

-Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue:
Gruyère and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, white wine, a touch of garlic, nutmeg, fresh lemon, and Kirschwasser. Served to dip included Granny Smith apples, celery, cauliflower, carrots and an array of three breads.

-California Salad:
Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, walnuts, and Gorgonzola Cheese, topped with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing.

-Coq au Vin Fondue:
Our own interpretation of the cooking style favored in the French countryside. It combines the flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, imported spices, and a hearty Burgundy Wine. Served to dip included two lobster tails, Dijon marinated chicken, sirloin steak, hefeweizen-marinated shrimp, sun dried tomato ravioli, potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms.

-Yin & Yang (free dessert with coupon, heck yes!):
Half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate, artfully swirled in the same pot for that special mix of flavors, we added some Grand Marnier specially to our fondue for taste! Served to dip included strawberries, bananas, marshmallow treats, graham cracker dipped marshmallows, brownies, pound cake and cheesecake.

YUMMY. We've gone twice now, and I would definitely do it again!

Now enjoy the photos taken from my phone (sorry, the lighting was very dim, so they turned out kind of weird):

martini

cheese course

meats and coq au vin sauce


dessert

Eventually I'll get there

Clearly, I've figured it out!

I just played around in PhotoShop and googled HTML help. I'm pretty impressed that I can do (computer) things on my own.

I also got into such a groove that I even updated my header. Wow, I should invest this time into working out or reading or something. So with that, I'm going to go read Devil in the White City! And then after, working out with my new EA Active for Wii.... ugh, so fun. I'm such a dork, guys.