2011 becomes 2012

Inspired by Rachel Ann over at The Love Hive, my cousin and I answered these questions watching "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve" and drinking champagne.*

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
J: Got a retail job
C: I went to New York.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
J: Yes and no, I make on-going goals.
C: None available. Didn't make any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
J: My friends in North Carolina - hi Alexander.
C: My cousin

4. Did anyone close to you die?
J: Yes, my grandfather.
C: No.

5. What countries did you visit?
J: I moved!
C: I visited 2 states: Vegas and New York.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
J: Strength.
C: More money. A college degree.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
J: July 7th when I moved back to California after 6 years away.
C: I can't recall a certain date so I don't know.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
J: Continuing to work out and focus on fitness despite not getting anywhere sometimes. Finding jobs that work for me.
C: Nothing. I can't say anything was noteworthy.

9. What was your biggest failure?
J: Nothing. I don't know, I really don't consider anything I've gone through a failure. Really, when I realized I failed at finding happiness in my last job, I knew there were more opportunities and I could do better.
C: Still stuck at retail job.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
J: A few chiropractic and hormonal prob but not anything huge.
C: No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
J: My bike!
C: I didn't buy it, but I guess it'd be the watch.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
J: My mother and family members for helping me adjust to the move.
C: My parents for helping me pay my tuition.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
J: No one.
C: My friend. It was only for a brief moment though. A week or maybe 3 or 4 days.

14. Where did most of your money go?
J: Being jobless for 3 months.
C: Food and drinks.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
J: My new jobs and loving them!
C: I'm excited about listening to music. I was super excited about going to the rave.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?
J: "Moves Like Jagger"
C: Skrillex "Cinema"

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?: J: Happier. C: Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter?: J: Bigger but not by too much :( C: Fatter.
iii. richer or poorer?: J: Poorer, but it's okay. C: Poorer. For me, it's about the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
J: Walk more.
C: Probably worked more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
J: Eating sweets. Disliking my body.
C: Eat.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
J: Relaxed, with family, but not with a big meal. I was happy for that.
C: I watched the NBA season tip-off and I went to "The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo" with my cousin.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
J: With basketball again (on Christmas)
C: No.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
J: "Bones."
C: "Friends." I watch it the most probably.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
J: Nope.
C: No.

24. What was the best book you read?
J: The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo series.
C: Ahaha. I don't think I picked up a book at all in 2011.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
J: Nothing new.
C: Dubstep

26. What did you want and get?
J: New jobs and happiness in my professional life at the very least, and realizing I have become less stressed due to my very stressful last job.
C: It's hard to say. My phone.

27. What did you want and not get?
J: A stronger bod though I've lifted more this year. Results.
C: A girlfriend.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
J: "The Help?" I don't know.
C: "Fast Five."

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
J: I forget. I turned 24. I had a mini mango cake.
C: I went to class and then turned 24.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
J:
C: Having a new car.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
J: Lots of workout clothes, and things that are ugly but had to wear.
C: Laid back and casual. Reserved.

32. What kept you sane?
J: Working out and work (my new one).
C: Music.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
J: The Rock.
C: Mila Kunis.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
J: Not supporting the British and having to continue buying gas from the Middle East.
C: PPACA. The health care law.

35. Who did you miss?
J: My dad.
C: Particular friend.

*We couldn't figure out how to open champagne. Sad because I drank a lot of it a year ago.

Last day

To cap off the year, I woke up late (kind of) and decided on TurboKick Best of Vol 6. I thought it would be a nice change... and I have all these DVDs still in their shrink wrap. I liked it, but part way through, my left ankle hurt so I took it down to low impact. Well, ya know what? I felt the moves on my bottom more so than I did with high impact.

Work started at noon and ended at 4 so that leaves me plenty of time for... not celebrating New Years Eve really. I'm just going to do the usual, maybe break out some beer.

Brunch: 2 egg whites with jalapeno almond cheese and a few pieces of leftover chicken + green beans

With almond milk & rice nog coffee:

Snacked on almonds and favorite fro-yo after work.

For dinner, at around 4: slice of pizza + 3 soy chicken wings

I also stopped by Trader Joe's for a couple of items for the week:

A carb

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Maybe next time I can try the gluten-free version as well:

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And for tonight, for just under 5 bucks:

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Happy 2012 all!

Day 16: Animals

My favorite of my mom and aunt's 3 dogs.

Day 15: Technology

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It's the latest technology melded with 1980s cool.

Day 14: Movement

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Get it girl.

Day 13: Written Words

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Current books:

• PUSH
  
• The Devil in the White City - Historical but not a book I'd typically read.
  

And a few things I nabbed at the local library today:

• The Craft of Baking - I loved 'wichcraft's first book especially the peanut butter cookie recipe. Next trip to Vegas, I'm totally heading to the restaurant!
• Kardashian Konfidential - Really fun to read especially if you're me and you found your love for these girls.
  
• Cooking with Trader Joe's - Kind of a disappointment
• Eva's Kitchen - Not bad with lots of basic recipes. A lot of the recipes can be found in almost any typical cookbook though.

What I'd like to read in 2012:

• Belong to Me - I read Maria de los Santos' book Love Walked In and am excited for the sequel.
• American on Purpose - Sounds funny.
  
• The Year of Living Biblically - Ridiculous experiment that I hope teaches me more about the Bible
  
• I Love Yous Are For White People - Vietnamese-American story as part of my cultural reads
  
• Barefoot - Trying something different: Northeast and family
  
• Knit the Season - Read all the others by Ms. Jacobs
  
• Population: 485 - Loved Truck and can't wait to read more about his hometown
  
• The Last Summer of You & Me - A book by the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
  

Some of my favorite books:

• The Help - Just as good as everyone says! It doesn't move along well though. The movie might be better because it made me cry.
  
• Eat Love Pray - I absolutely hated the movie. I was so excited and loved the book so much that I went to see it in theaters. My butt hurt from sitting for so long...
  
• The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm - It was required in a class I took with my favorite professor. I've read this book twice, and I don't read a lot or any books twice. I had to re-purchase it when I moved. That's how good it was.
  
• East of Eden - My favorite classic. I love Steinbeck's works, mostly because of the region and population he writes about: California and the West during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and immigrants. I'm a history nerd sometimes.
  
• Room - I read this as part of the Peanut Butter Fingers book club. I like it and I don't like it. It's disturbing in a non-mysterious way.
  
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - I've read all of Ann Brashares' books including the spin-offs. I also watched the movies. I cried.
  
• The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo series - Unlike "Eat Love Pray," when I went to see this movie in theaters, I was so entranced, I forgot I had to sit for 2 hours and 40 minutes. The books are extremely detailed with lots of useless information, but honestly, you learn to skip those and get on to the juicy, juicy details. On the end of my seat all the time.
  
• Friday Night Knitting Club - I picked these books up by chance and found myself really enjoying the mother-daughter relationship. Is it similar to my own? A little. I think I have an interest in books about groups of women and their relationships (see some of my other choices on this list).
  
• Waiting for Snow in Havana - This and the book below are about immigrant children and how they lived. For some reason, I think Cubans have exotic lives.
  
• The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood - My family went through the Vietnam War. This story is about one of the many children born to Vietnamese mothers and their American fathers.
  
• Lipstick Jihad - Required reading in a humanities class, but I ended up loving it. I've had this prof several times and he always chooses great books.
  
• The Book of Salt - I remember being so into this book so much that I got excited about getting on the elliptical to read it!
  
• The Girls from Ames
  
• The Coldest Winter Ever
  
• Truck: A Love Story - It's a biography about a rugged man and his little hometown. I love small towns - they're something of the past.
  
• Stealing Buddha's Dinner - I love food. She loves food. We grew up in a similar culture as well.
  
• Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure - I read this book when my friend Kris went to India for the summer. I didn't know much about India and I loved reading about someone adjusting to the country.
  
• The Life & Times of The Thunderbolt Kid - I've read Billy Bryson's travel books, but this is my favorite of his. It's about American life in the middle of the century (love!), in the Mid-West I think too.
  
• Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Before I went to college in the South (North Carolina though), I imagined something like this. Picturesque. It wasn't exactly that, but I still loved the Southern charm of the stories.
  
• Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
• Firefly Lane - The book chronicles the lives of two girls whose lives intertwine. I guess I liked this because I yearned from a lasting friendship like this, where you have a friend you've known since forever.
  

Also, check out my goodreads for more recs!

Day 12: Hands

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Everything is right. Beautiful hands. Decorated with fun colors that I normally wouldn't like but works so well in this image with the vintage car interior and blue tights.

Old New York

Holly Golightly's apartment is for sale! You know, if you had a cool $5.85 mill.

I don't own a lot of old movies, but I do own "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

P.S. I'm getting around to taking a nap.

So hypnotizing

While making my inspiration board, I found a discarded Lucky Magazine from November.

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I love the Kardashians. All of them. They're so beautiful and fun. "Jersey Shore" has nothin' on them.

Is it weird that Khloe is on my inspiration board? I like that she struggles with her weight and hasn't gone crazy in losing it... yet.

A little PUSH

After many days of trying to read Spirit Junkie, I gave up. It referenced the Course and was a tad too new-agey for real life (mine, at least).

Instead, I switched over to Chalene Johnson's PUSH: 30 Days to Turbocharged Habits, a Bangin' Body, and the Life You Deserve! That's a mouthful.

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I attempted her 30 Day Challenge, but I found videos too hard to keep up with. I haven't even watched the free videos that came with this book and those were out long before I received my book! I had to log on and spend my time watching whereas in book form, I'm easily able to go at my own pace (even more so). Anyhow, I am literate. :)

10 yearly goals per week (12/29/11)

1. Get a teaching job.
2. Become an RD.
3. Teach fitness classes.
4. Get my blog out there.
5. Bike/run 5Ks.
6. Hang out with friends.
7. Be up on my bills.
8. Save $5000.
9. Consistently look put together.
10. Traveled and hiked parts of California and the Southwest.

Part 2 is rewriting these goals as if they've already happened.

1. I am a high school teacher.
2. I'm in school to become an RD (registered dietitian).
3. I am a fitness instructor.
4. I write a blog.
5. I participate in 5Ks on holidays.
6. I hang out with friends after work.
7. I'm on time with my bills.
8. I saved $5000.
9. I do my hair and makeup everyday.
10. I explored San Diego and San Francisco, and saw the giant Sequoias (General Sherman).

Surprisingly, losing weight didn't make it to my top 10. It must be intrinsic. Working out is part of my life to the point where I don't think about it. I suppose I like to organize it and talk about fitness, but there's no more maybe I should work out. 2 years ago, I went from 0 days of working out to 3 and now I've consistently worked out 5+ days each week for a year and a half!

Okay, I haven't read on, but according to Chalene, I will find that as I write 10 new goals every week, I will find some keep popping up. Those are the important ones.

I haven't read on yet. I actually was ahead of myself and did both my priorities (will share - still working on writing the perfect statement) and my 10 goals last night. However, I created another step for myself: daily goals for today (at least).

I numbered them 1-10 to correspond with my 10 yearly goals.

1. Send in sub application. / Buy a study guide for CA credential exam.
2. Find out which classes to start taking this summer at the community college and see if I can get accelerated courses.
3. Find classes at the community college for the summer.
4. Have a few varying posts. (30 Day Photo Challenge, food, fitness, design) / Comment on 10+ blogs. / Work on inspiration board to send in. / Look into the burpee challenge.
5. Bike 20 minutes. / Run 2 miles.
6. Text friend.
7. Pay T-Mobile and cancel. / Cancel Blockbuster.
8. Get gas with card then take out $50 cash to use. Don't use card. No fro-yo.
9. Get my hair cut. / Apply Gold Bond to cracked heels. / Do eye makeup. :)
10. Go somewhere new. Hike Peters Canyon. / Go for a walk.
    

Each daily goal should help advance me towards my yearly goals.

Another recommended read is Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. It's not a diet book like Chalene's isn't really a diet book either. Since I've read this one, I feel obligated to go ahead and read Jillian Michaels' Unlimited.

Still in bed part 2

Worked.

Bought a new shirt.

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Looks better on a real person than this model.

xs 2 - a thermal with horses on it!

Plus, a workout towel (set of 2).

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Ate pizza with soy chicken.

And a bit of fro-yo.

Slept late.

Slept in.

BodyPumpin' in a few.

Bike weather

Good afternoon! I slept in, but not until now. I stayed in bed after a couple of snoozes. I hadn't decided on a suitable workout for the day - I wasn't up for TurboKick or yoga. But I peeked outside and the day looked gorgeous. By 9, it was still gorgeous. I finally got out of bed and made breakfast.

I bought almond jalapeno jack style "cheese" yesterday at Mother's to change up my usual goat cheese. Melted on half my bagel. Yum.

Paired with spicy green beans and a bite of last night's Babycakes NYC blueberry donut. :)

I got the bike out and rode. I had plans to buy Gold Bond for my cracked heels (shoes in, sandals out unfortunately) and stuff to send my dad. I also rode out to Trader Joe's and found there was no more cookie butter! :( I had one jar and didn't hoard. I ate quite a bit of it before deciding it was bad for my health. Hah, but it was sooo good. :/

Picked up yesterday! Those figs finally on sale! :)

I was in luck when I headed to TJ Maxx. Tons of workout wear for the new year. I found one yoga towel for $14.99, much less than the price of YogiToes and Gaiam yoga towels.

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Post 10-mile ride, I had part of a leftover apple with a little PB and a bite of raw apple pie.

Ugh, now I have to get ready for work. I switched with a co-worker tomorrow and will work close again. I don't like it, but I'm too nice to say no and hope she'll take one of my shifts when I need.

1 hour to LA

Today is typically my off day from working out, or at least it has been for a few weeks now. Last week, I took a Wednesday to run a couple of miles, which while tough, was only 20 minutes. I decided to head to the gym for a little cardio: 30 minutes on the elliptical. I aimed for 45 but got bored. I have to work up to it again.

I had to get to work at 10:30 anyhow. I sold a lot today but by 2PM, I was burned out and took a 10 minute break in the sun. After work, I headed to Mother's for raw apple pie (finally!), some almond cheese, and a slice of pizza. I wasn't planning on pizza again, but I had plans for drinks tonight and wanted food in my belly before I headed to L.A.

A former work friend and his wife met me up in L.A. after a 5 hour drive from her hometown of Fresno and an uneventful, touristy day in Hollywood.

We talked about work, plans, and shared stories from our past. So many interesting things go on at the preschool all the time though I suppose it's not interesting when you're in it. Thankfully, I wasn't involved in much while there and quit before I blew my top. Worst. Job. Ever. They never appreciated us. Lots of people quit as well while others had some very shocking issues. Ugh, so happy for where I am right now.

Do I miss Asheville? Not really. I think 6 years was enough and I was sick of it. I have tons of fond memories but going back would be lonely. The last year (of working) totally killed my social life and almost (but didn't) inspired me to change careers altogether.

Anyways, back to fun. It took me an hour to get to L.A. and there was minimal traffic. I was pretty lucky. Nathan & Anna weren't as lucky. Since I had a few minutes and was less than a mile away, I stopped by Babycakes NYC. I always come if I'm in the neighborhood. The storefront changed to have a bigger kitchen and smaller front. It's also plainer than before - they used to have old wood and it was gorgeous. :( After I got over the change, I got myself a banana chocolate chip bread, cornbread, and a blueberry donut. I nibbled on it pre-drinks.

I called my friend who lives in L.A. for some bar options. He suggested Wilshire in Santa Monica, but it looked pricey. Instead, I called up my friend since first grade who was wine tasting at the time. He told me about two bars in downtown L.A. called Spring Street Bar and The Falls.

My camera broke so I nabbed some pictures online.

The Spring Street Bar was nice. They had quite a few people there at 5:30-6. I chose this place after reading reviews on their tap selection. Nathan chose the Seadog blueberry and Anna had a tangerine wheat. Both were good, but the Seadog hid the beer taste more. I ended up with the Heavenly Hefeweizen. It had a faint taste of bananas.

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After awhile, we went next door to The Falls. Deserted. But it was also the most gorgeous bar I've been to. They had retro seating with walls to match and the other half was comprised of wood logs. Nathan got the beer shot (tequila + Negro Modelo), Anna had a grapefruit cocktail, and I chose a strawberry-basil + red pepper-infused vodka. Our second drinks sucked. I tried to get my fill of nog with an apple nog: whiskey, imulsified egg, and apple juice. Yeah, it ended up being disgusting and I left the $12 drink on the table.

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The drive home was easy and quick since I waited till 9PM to do it. :)

Now time for bed and some yoga or something else in the morning.

It can only get better

Success! Despite slacking (in my opinion) in my workout this morning, I went to work and was met with a ton of customers. I was sweating from all the running around! I was asked to stay till 6 and sold $1900 worth of stuff. Last time I worked, I sold $1400, and was again top seller. Like it matters... But it's good for my ego to know I can do this (work in retail).

I headed to Mother's for a green juice but was enticed by the jalapeño-vegan pepperoni pizza! I still got an 8 oz green juice for my fill of veggies. Except wait, they gave me 16 oz and said it was okay to keep. I can have the rest tomorrow. That's not it: dessert for 50% off. I got sugar free pumpkin cheesecake since I didn't get my fill this holiday. I'll save it for another day since they had 3 free samples of dessert. :)

It's jammie (still struggling but my face looks better when I gain weight so it's a toss up) and basketball time (Lakers v Kings and it doesn't matter either way). Then I'll work on my list of to dos I made earlier.

Needs some TLC

Zumba was rough. I haven't gone in so long. My body is stiff! Partly because I haven't danced in awhile but also my body needs some work.

• Go to the gym!
• Call to make an appointment to get my hip adjusted
• Get myself to work 12-6
• Plan more Zumba this week!
• Set some goals (like I do all the time) + make an inspiration board
• Attempt to read more of Spirit Junkie. Not sure if I like how it's written thus far and would prefer to delve into Chalene Johnson's PUSH - trying to hold off for my new year book club! <<Spirit Junkie was not for me!
  

P.S. Happy Boxing Day! Oops, I didn't kickbox on the account that today's sub wasn't a preferable one.

NBA: obsession reignited?

I headed to bed late after watching "Southland Tales" and woke up to go to yoga with mom. We went to Ra Strength. I'm glad I got her to come because I always wanted a more active family. Though my mom is as active as it gets in my family. I couldn't help giggling with her there. Today was better than yesterday for me. I got 5 lb and 8 lb weights this time around. What would help is getting my hip adjusted... yoga has elevated the pain in my hip.

I drank some of my super cleansing cocktail (bought yesterday from Mother's) and had a bagel-wich: Rudi's Organic plain bagel toasted with goat cheese spread on one half and PB2 + Tofutti cream cheese spread + 2 slices of turkey.

We're watching NBA games (Miami v. Dallas & Lakers v. Chicago). I haven't watched basketball in 7 years. I used to be a diehard fan till I moved to college. I'm rooting for Miami and to spite my cousin, Chicago. While he likes teams, I follow players so wherever mine go, my heart goes. After clips of the NY Knicks v. Boston game, I think I'll be rooting for Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks, but Boston is a team you just can't hate.

P.S. Chicago's team was much more fun to watch than the Lakers, and they won in a super close game.

A nap and oatmeal for dinner later, I'm ready to get to the theater to see "The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo!" It's 2 hours and 40 minutes long, but I hope I can combat numbness in my butt. :/ Off to cut an apple to sneak in (have to be healthy!).

Merry Christmas all!

Sun, Dec 25
10:30 Ra Strength
Super Cleansing Cocktail (150), bagelwich (250) [400], chips + salsa (100) [500], almonds (100) [600], oatmeal (150) [750], apple + almond butter (200) [950]

Mon, Dec 26
9 Zumba, 10 yoga
12-4 work
bagelwich, yogurt, green juice, apple

Tues, Dec 27
30 mins elliptical
10:30-3 work
1/2 banana (50), bagelwich (200) [250], yogurt single (120) [370], 1/2 green juice (100) [470], sugar free pumpkin cheesecake + raw apple pie (250) [720], pizza (250) [970], beer + cocktail (300) [1270]

Wed, Dec 28
3-7:30 work
bagelwich, yogurt, green juice, apple

Thurs, Dec 29
8 BodyPump
3:30-7:30 work
bagelwich, yogurt, green juice, apple

Fri, Dec 30
8:30-9:30 24SET
bagelwich, oatmeal, green juice, apple

Sat, Dec 31
12-4 work
bagelwich, yogurt, green juice, apple

Spiked with color

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Christmas without a bang

Happy holidays! Unlike Thanksgiving, we're not doing anything snazzy. Some of my family went out to eat broken rice with meat and whatnot while the rest of them had Vietnamese pho. I didn't do either. I had a green juice pre-yoga. I bought it yesterday but forgot all about it when I went to bed at 8:30! Eek. I woke up at 1 and stayed up for awhile and finished Love Walked In.

Such a great book! I've been slow in finishing it but only because I've been busy. The book isn't easy to start but after the weird, fanciful descriptions, the story reads well. It's not about man-woman love as much as it is about love in general and finding yourself I guess. The whole situation the story poses is odd though. I suppose you can fall in love with a random child and want them to be yours?

I headed back over to Ra Yoga and tried Bik Ra. It's similar to Bikram in terms of poses, but it was only 60 minutes rather than 90 and not as hot. I wasn't focused and need to practice yoga more - I didn't do so well. :( I wanted more heat. I didn't sweat so I just changed and went to work.

Afterwards, I got hungry so I dropped by Mother's Market for their holiday sandwich. I figured that I needed to get my Christmas meal in somehow: 2 slices of nine grain bread, Tofurky, lettuce, and tomatoes with garlicky mashed potatoes and cranberry relish that I asked for on the side. Unfortunately, they did not cut it in half for me and I struggled with eating half the sandwich while driving to work. The other half was consumed after work.

I was the big seller today. When we sold, we sold quite a bit. Or rather, I sold a lot - $1400 and was at the top. Big deal right??! I'm being sarcastic by the way. Who cares? It's a corporate tactic to get us to sell more, and I'm not with that...

My co-worker brought Sprinkles cupcakes and since I had wanted to try the eggnog spice before it goes away for another year, I ate the top half and scraped off the frosting. Though I had fro-yo from Cherry on Top on the way home too. Only $1.50 worth of it though. :)

I showered, napped, and then my cousin and I went to buy some snacks for his dad, rent a movie ("Southland Tales" because we love The Rock), took presents over to my aunts and uncle, bought him blueberry + strawberry donuts from The Donuttery, and finally headed home.

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To culminate my Christmas Eve eats, I had organic tortilla chips with Trader Joe's pineapple salsa and an apple with my new MaraNatha almond butter.

I also bought a gigantic jar of their peanut butter with a hint of sea salt. I totally add more sea salt to it though.

Off to put in "Southland Tales" and sleep. Tomorrow, it's off to yoga for me and my mom. I need to get my practice in gear. Hopefully, we can fit in some long walks as well. And I'm not much for seeing movies at the theater, but I'd love to see this, particularly because it's in English:



I'm super excited to have found this LivingSocial deal for my hip prob. I'll get both a massage and an adjustment.

Gingerbread bird house

One of the simpler gingerbread houses I like:

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Just enough

Just enough: color and decor. Gorgeous and simple.



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What a Christmas tree should look like

Christmas must include green and red. It's a must and those white and pink glittery trees just won't do. It's not that I like country Christmases either, but I like eclectic tradition (gaudy) or something like that.

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I thought it was a house

But it's a restaurant...



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Sparkly pops

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Taped up

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Touch of ruffle and color

Surprisingly ruffly and bright... despite the room color and headboard.

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Ra(wr)

Yoga is one of those things I neglect quite often. I know I should do it, I feel good when I do it, and honestly, I've lost weight doing it. But... the instructors are a hit or miss and the prices are steep.

In Asheville, we had an Asheville Community Yoga Center that was nicer than the for-profit ones. Plus, it was free! They had tons of classes to choose from as well.

I've tried yoga elsewhere and never did really like any place else. Sometimes, I just went to the gym because it was close and I had a membership.

Because I wasn't feeling BodyPump due to my hip and didn't want to dance it out in Zumba at night, I chose yoga. My co-worker and some customers suggested Ra Yoga in Costa Mesa. I'd seen them. It's right off the 405 freeway.

Not a lot of people. Okay, it's 10:30 on a Thursday before the holidays... The space is gorgeous - organic and neat. They sell two kinds of yoga tops I coveted and had yogi toes, which I need to remember to buy. You take off your shoes and walk right in, even into the bathrooms and lockers. Fortunately, they are superbly clean.

I chose Ra Strength. I once did a Yoga Download video that incorporated weights and boy, was that tough. Since I chickened out of BodyPump, I thought this might be perfect. The room was smaller than I expected but perfect for the number of people who showed up today. Unlike Huntington Beach Hot Yoga, it wasn't packed and disgustingly hot. Plus, they have wood floors rather than carpet though Bikram (Asheville) had carpet and I was okay by that? The temp was up and I dripped in sweat. The class was moderately difficult and great for my laziness today. :)

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I'll be back Saturday and Sunday when the gyms are closed or offering classes I can't attend because, *sigh* I'll be at work. *P.S. I totally folded clothes for hours yesterday on a table that was just high enough to strain my shoulders. :(

I enjoyed Bikram yoga when it was cold and bought a Groupon to try the new one out here, Bikram Yoga Huntington Beach.

Siggi for breakfast and I just shared a Rudi's bagel with Tofutti & fig butter + 2 slices of turkey with my cousin. Then we'll be sampling at Costco since I have to get some yogurt. We're having crab and watching "Kung Fu Panda" tonight.

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Off to get some presents for the family: fitness hoop, slippers, and chocolate. I promised my cousin I'd help him wrap his presents as well. I really enjoy wrapping presents.

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