this is just effing awesome.

Where do I even begin..  This has been just one fabulous night (and I say that in the most sarcastic tone possible) because the timing just couldn't be any better.

So..let me recap tonight's events..
a) I've lost my drivers license sometime between last Tuesday and tonight.
b) My cell phone was either stolen, thrown out, or ahem stolen from the employee bathroom at my job tonight.
c) I'm coming down with a damn cold.  My throat is soar, I'm sneezy, and now my nose is running.

Life could be worse, its not the end of the world, but tell my watering eyes that.  I'm really hoping tomorrow improves.  This night just needs to end, and I have to wake up in less than 6 hours. I'll finish this story later.  Its so sucky, its almost funny.

I almost treated myself to ice cream, but decided to blog instead...

some things never change.

1991(ish)

2010

So tonight I took the liberty to scan this old photo of myself that was taken when I was about four.  I have it displayed in my room because it is one of my all time favorite photos.  I'm not gonna lie, part of me likes it because I think its cute, but the truth is there is only a hand full of events you remember when your this age.  I remember this night like it was yesterday.  And that that tutu, it was from K-mart.  I'll never forget that either.  I wanted it so bad.  My parents had just enrolled me in my first ballet classes.  I remember seeing that tutu while I was sitting in the shopping cart (the basket side). The sparkly mesh caught my eye!  I don't think my mom wanted to by it (probably because it wouldn't have been appropriate for my ballet class & I'm sure she figured I wouldn't wear it).  I must have pouted and cried enough to the point where my mom caved.  My mom always says I was the most stubborn child.  In my opinion, I just new what I wanted, and did what it took to get it.  That never changed, either.  I remember the night I put this on though.  I was so excited about something, not sure what, but I had to grab/put on all my favorite things and have my mom take a picture.  I was so exited, I forgot to take off my undershirt/tank.  My mom instilled good habits into her kids at a young age, my brother and I wore undershirts everyday up until we could pick out our own outfits.  Ha! So there I am with my favorite barrette, scrunchie, baby blue heart bracelet, button necklace, egg necklace, my baby dolly and my wooden blue cat.  Possibly, I was a very strange child, but I did have style and I never stopped accessorizing.  Always a material girl.  What can I say, I grew up on Madonna, Dirty Dancing, and MC Hammer.  This is not important, but I'm pretty sure my mom was on the phone when I gave her the camera.  Anyways, point is, my love for fashion, jewelry, and pretty things has been running through my veins for a very long time.  This here proves it.  I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed reminiscing.  And Mom, when and if you read this, you have to comment!

Its funny, too, because my 'look' has changed a lot in the last five years.  I've had long hair, short hair, blond hair, black hair, blue hair, curly hair, strait hair, blah blah blah...but I've seemed to finally make a full circle.  I'm literally rocking my hair from the early 90's.  I can't stop laughing.  But I do love it.

you know you want to...

SEE IT. Okay, maybe you have no desire to fork out fourteen bucks to watch Sex and the City 2 on the big screen.  We all knew it wasn't going to be 'one of the great' movies of the year, but still, its Sex and the City.  Its four girls, one great city, and viva la fashion.  Its not one of those movies thats going to really move you or make you think, duh.  Which is why it was the perfect way to end my day that started with  a 45-min spinning class followed by running errands, and then work.  It wasn't (ahem) great, no better than the first one.  Just more attempted humor with lots of outlandish ridiculousness. They tried to add more humor, which I thought seemed forced with quite a few one-liner, almost cleaver puns from Carrie.  But it was entertaining, and I left feeling inspired from the fun, eccentric wardrobe and I don't know, girl power?!

a perfect 'me' day

the flowers from one of my bbf's wedding :)

Its easy to get caught up in expecting yourself to accomplish fifty things a day.  I set a high bar for myself, I want to achieve some sort of greatness, and I want to be able to have all that I want.  Don't ask me why, sometimes I feel like a slave to my own expectations.  The thing is, I am a very true believer in that "you can do anything you put your mind to," I don't think there's anything you can't accomplish if your heart is truly in it.  There are a lot of things I want out of life and then there is a lot I want to give in life.  I tend to get so ambitious at times, that I want it all to just happen now or I feel that I'm in a race against time.  So I have to remind myself of balance and that its good to take time to sit and enjoy life, nature, the world around us, and that its good to take time out for ourselves.


I'm really trying to strive for a healthy, peaceful, yet productive live style where can be the happiest.  And I finally feel 'on track' with it.  Today, I woke up around 7:30 (& w/o my alarm!), got dressed in my workout get up, made tea and ate a little parfait of strawberries, plain kefir yogurt, with some chopped almonds sprinkled on top.  I checked my emails, got sucked into the internet for a little bit, and then hit the road with my yoga mat.  I hiked up Runyon Canyon and made it down just in time for the 10:30 yoga class.  It felt so good, I haven't done full on yoga in like six months!  Now, I decided I'm going to follow that little routine every Wednesday!  I got home by noon, chatted with my room mate and then made myself a big 'ol veggie salad with chicken and goat cheese! I sat out by the pool and ate it with a tasty glass of coconut milk.  I learnt recently that you should consume a bit of fat with your vegetables to increase your body's ability to absorb the health-promoting carotenoids that vegetables provide.  There are lots of good soluble fat in coconuts, so why not get the biggest bang out of your food.


"Carotenoids are fat-soluble substances, and as such require the presence of dietary fat for proper absorption through the digestive tract. Consequently, your carotenoid status may be impaired by a diet that is extremely low in fat." Found @ http://www.whfoods.com/, one of my favorite informational websites on nutrition.

my salad today

my roomie's mushroom & avocado omelet looked so good this morning!

when I move to Chicago..

One of the first things I'm going to do is check out Dance It Off, supposably part exercise class and part underground dance club.  I'm loving the idea, and wishing I could go right now!  I am a dance-a-holic, or at least would be if I had more time and money or space.  Here's there website for the details.  http://www.danceitoffchicago.com/

They have list of the music they play each class and it's not bad at all! You can't go wrong as long as there is some eighties music in the mix!!

addiction

My new favorite addiction is Silk's Almond Milk! It took me a little while to originally fall in love with almond milk because seemed weird at first to drink a liquid with a light nutty almond flavor.  I would use it in place of milk in my morning bowl of Kashi cereal (which in my opinion is the best way to eat Kashi's orig. Go Lean cereal).  But, okay, so there is almond milk by Almond Breeze which is good and I will continue to use in my cereal.  BUT NOW Silk just introduced there almond milk and it is sooo good, especially for shakes or just to drink alone.  It is much more savory, not to mention thick and creamy :) !!!  Now I wish they'd set me up with a lifetime supply of free almond milk for spreading the word and raving about it!!  Look I even have an ad..

Here are two recipes I have yet to try, but I found them on http://www.silkpurealmond.com/ and they sounded yummy!  I will let you know how they turn out!

Mango Smoothie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups diced ripe mango (1 1/2 to 2 mangoes)

1 cup ice cubes

A pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons honey, if using Silk Pure Almond Original

1 1/2 cups Silk Pure Almond Original or Vanilla

Method In a blender, combine all ingredients until thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. Serve in tall glasses garnished with mint.

Yield

4 (1-cup) servings

Time

Preptime: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: N/A

Nutritional info  Calories 101; Total Fat 1g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 83mg; Carbohydrates 24g; Fiber 2g; Sugars 21g; Protein 1g; Vitamin A 20% DV; Vitamin C 49% DV; Calcium 12% DV; Iron 2% DV

Creamy Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped

1 large butternut squash, about 2.5 lbs, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 stems fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3-4 cups water

2 cups Silk Pure Almond Original

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

4 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, for garnish

Method Heat a 5-quart soup pot over medium-low heat; add olive oil and heat for 1 minute. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add apple, squash, thyme, bay leaf, nutmeg and enough water to cover ingredients. Turn heat to medium high and cook for 15-18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender. Stir in Pure Almond and heat through.

Remove from heat, remove thyme stems and bay leaf and allow mixture to cool for 5 minutes. In two to three separate batches, puree soup in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Return to saucepan and reheat. Add nutmeg and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls garnished with toasted sliced almonds.

Yield

6 servings

Time

Preptime: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Nutritional info   Calories 159; Total Fat 9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 444mg; Carbohydrates 21g; Fiber 4g; Sugars 8g; Protein 3g; Vitamin A 202% DV; Vitamin C 39% DV; Calcium 17% DV; Iron 7% DV

seven weeks, seven adventures

Its May. WOW!?  I feel like it was just a few weeks ago when the new year rang in along with my new goals and plans for the year.  Now its four months later.  I'm left sitting here wondering what happened to time and if I accomplished anything.  Its weird because I guess when I do think about it, a lot has happened.  Only, it either took longer, or wasn't planned.

Now if I stick to my current plan, I have seven weeks left in Los Angeles before moving on to my next city and new adventure.  Which means, no more diddle dallying, its time to make the best of everyday spent in the sunny state of California.  So I'm starting a few lists.  Lists of restaurants and bars, museams, beachs, towns, shopping, and anything else I've had sitting on the back burner.  Check out the MY PROGRESS HERE!

***Also, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been following my blog! And to those of you who  have left me feedback, you've made my heart smile! Thanks for that :)