One word

Zumba.

Is.


AMAZING!

I tried a Zumba class tonight and I absolutely loved it! My instructor Jen was so energetic and fun... I can't wait to go back to another class. I can see how this can get addicting.

Zumba, Do it.

Nutrimirror

A friend of mine turned me on to this free website called "Nutrimirror". It's so great! Its an electronic food journal that also breaks down the nutrition facts. In the beginning, you set goals. The goals are broken down by the website to suggest how much percentage of your diet should come from carbs, protein, fats, etc... Trying to stay "in the green" is a fun little challenge. You don't want to be deficient or over your percentages.If you're in the green, you're on target!

They've been having some technical difficulties with the website lately so I haven't gotten to explore the recipes and journals of others but once everything is running smoothly again, I'll definitely check it out!

Not feeling so great...

So yesterday, I went to Sugar Plum Vegan cafe with April (my lovely co-worker). I had a tomato, basil, vegan cheese paninni and it was delicious!!! They also have a yummy pastery case so as I was leaving I got a couple things. A vegan "hostess" cupcake and a vegan whoppee pie. I was going to eat the cupcake when I got back to the office then save the whoppee pie to share when I got home.

The cupcake was amazing! Even though it felt like it weighed about 5 pounds, it was moist and creamy...

I kept the pie out of sight so it would make it home. Knowing how good those things are, I had to take extra precausionary measures!

Needless to say, half didn't make it home.

I didn't feel too guilty knowing it was at least vegan food but by the last bite I took, I had had enough. Too much sweet food!! I was on a sugar overload. All I wanted to do was take a nap. I crashed and I crashed hard! I'm taking this opportunity to put it out there that I am officially limiting my sugar intake.

Yes, as I sit here with my non-fat white mocha latte, I am officially limiting my sugar intake.

I should probably start by looking into the sugar of my latte huh?

Running = Knee problem

So I haven't run since my 5k. Why you ask? Because my knee has been giving me problems. I know I need new shoes for the particular sport. Maybe even just some great insoles. I don't know. But my knee hurting shouldn't be an excuse to know be working out at all.

I think I need some help getting back on the wagon.

HELP!

This time it worked!

I made sure this morning to hit the Start button on my Runmeter App.

Here are my stats from this morning:

Start time - 6:03 am
Run time - 38:01 minutes
Distance - 3.16 miles
Average - 12:03/mile
Fastest Pace - 10:15/mile

Sweet! My additional side street mileage did the trick almost to the mile! I even named the little addition to my route "Squirrel!"

WTF?!? Squirrel? Really Krista?

Yep! It feels like I'm running along on this great big loop then *Squirrel!* I chase this imaginary squirrel down the street until *Squirrel!* I see another across the street and chase it back up to the main road. At that point I realize there isn't really a squirrel so I continue on my merry way.

I do have to say that today, my run felt great. I got all the apps working on my phone, had some good tunes playing to help me through it all, let my mind wander... Overall a great run. I even found that fast Viennese Waltz music is a great tempo to run to! Good stuff :o)

Now all I need are some good running shoes so my body doesn't hurt from running on concrete...

Nike Woman's Fitness 5K

My roommate and I are doing the Nike Woman's Fitness 5K in Sacramento this Sunday. I haven't really been running all winter since I like to run outside and it's cold and rainy. I like my warm bed better! But with signing up for the 5K, I realized it's time to get back into running shape.

Too bad I realized it the week before!

So last Thursday after my dance lesson, I tied my running shoes to my feet and hit the pavement. I ran a new route just to see how far it is (I have a cool app on my iPhone that tracks my distance). It's only 2.64 miles around that loop but I did it in 30 minutes. Not bad for not running in months!

I didn't have much time this weekend to run so I got up early this morning and ran before my shower. I set my app to "Go" and tuned into my iPod. I got in the zone and didn't think to much about the actual running. I just let my mind wander otherwise a few miles feels like it takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

I got my daily wake up call from Mom on my phone while I was running so I didn't answer it. I just kept going.

Knowing that a 5K is 3.1 miles and my new loop is only 2.64, I decided to run down one of the long housing streets I pass, turn around and come back onto my route. I figured with its length and doubling it, I could probably get closer to my 3.1 miles I want to run. Since my phone is strapped to my arm I couldn't check for sure but I figured I'd just check when I got back home.

I made my way back home and stripped off my jacket to get to my phone and I notice the screen is black. I unlock the screen to come back to the app and IT NEVER STARTED! I will have to run the whole thing again tomorrow (not that its a bad thing) to know for sure if what I added made my route a complete 5K practice run.

DAMN.

Oh well.

BodyBugg check:
Activity - running
Time in activity - 40 minutes
Calories burned - 943
Steps taken - 6499
Time completed: 7:00 a.m.

Not too shabby before breakfast!

Change of Direction

So apparently using this blog as a place to just spout random thoughts on life wasn't such a good idea (seeing as how I haevn't blogged in 5 months...). I've decided to change the direction of this blog a bit.

I'm going to focus on one topic.

One topic only.

My one and only topic of choice: My fitness (Original. I know!)

I think with a topic as broad and open as "my fitness", I can have many different sub topics such as recipes, things that work for me and things that don't, challenges I've accepted, a daily journal, the list can go on and on...

Let's keep this one going shall we (and by 'we' I mean me)...

My Obsessions

So I've decided I have a totally addicting personality. I, like most people, have some normal addictions.

• Music - check



• Shoes - check check (One for left, one for right)



• Books - check



• Clothes - check

However, I made the unfortunate realization this morning that my seemingly harmless addiction to books is a little deeper then that. I could already tell you that I had an addiction to buying books seeing as how I've got shelves upon shelves of unread books. Even still, I made a stop at Barnes and Nobles last night and purchased two new books (one on clearance, the other not - but still a good price!) and a soundtrack to a Broadway musical.

But why, may I ask, do I feel the need to carry my new books around with me after I've purchased them?

I can understand carrying the CD with me while I'm still getting used to the order of the songs and need a reference from the case. But why, when I'm already carrying around two other books I'm currently reading, do I feel the need to carry my two new books with me? It just adds to my load and makes my back hurt.

Is it me trying to justify the fact that I just bought two new books and while I've got the best of intentions, they will enevitably end up on a shelf with the rest of my unread books? Or do I seriously think I'll crack them open and start reading them?

Can anyone help me with these little questions???

Breeeeeathe!

Can I get a breath at all? Seriously?!? I don't have much on my plate at work. Or at least it doesn't seem like it! So why is it that when I'm gone for one day, it feels like the whole world wants something from me?! I don't have time to breathe in between all the project deadlines and normal busy work that needs to be done yesterday. I have a pile of stuff that I need to talk to my boss about but with our schedules both being the pits, its been piling for a week!

Am I amazing enough to get it all done? Of course I am!

But seriously... can I breathe?!?!

There is always tomorrow, I know. But I don't care for work on my desk waiting for me the next day. My mind thinks about it at night and that's just as bad as bringing work home with me that I don't get paid for.

So why am I blogging on work time?

I haven't taken a break today. Yes I took my lunch but I haven't taken a 15 minute break.

So thank you dear readers for bring my mind breathing break.

On a side note, I have a lot to update you on (the cruise, Wicked: The Musical, Merry Julianuary Cookie Exchange...). I've even got a blog started about the cruise but its not ready. I haven't had much time to update my blogs either. So please be on the look out for those. Coming to a computer screen near you soon.

As promised...

Here are the pictures from the New Year's catering event I did with my family...

Me and Stephanie after getting dressed as penguins



Our group that worked (left to right: Me, that guy (I can't remember his name), Heather, Austin, Stephanie and my sister Tammie)



Stephanie, Austin (my nephew) and me



Velociraptors!!



Yep. We're nerdy.

Cruisin'

I'm not referring to the classic Smokey Robinson song (later remade by Huey Lewis and Gweneth Paltrow in the movie "Duets" - and well done might I add). I'm referring to this weekend. I, along with a bunch of dance buddies, will be setting sail for a long awaited vacation to the highly sought after destination... Ensenada, Mexico!

We'll be leaving Sacramento on a 10:15 Southwest flight for LAX. We'll hustle (meaning scurry rather then dance) to Long Beach to board our cruise ship. Woohoo!! After that, there's no telling what will happen... Seeing as how I'll, 1) be on vacation and 2) be in international waters without cheap access to the internet, I won't be posting to my blog until Monday.

Well maybe tomorrow morning in all the traveling excitment... But if I'm grumpy because of the early morning hours, I'll spare you.

Promise.

But for now, enjoy a bit of my happiness. Pick your poison...

Classic Smokey version




- or -

Huey and Gweneth version

Cupid Shuffle

So I know the Cupid shuffle isn't new - it's a few years old at least now - but I'm just discovering this awesome little line dance. At the New Year's Eve Dinner/Dance I catered with my sister, they were doing it. I watched them from the kitchen, completely devoting my attention to it rather then the meeting my sister was holding at the time (oops!). I quickly submit the steps to memory. Last night, when I downloaded the song, I was dancing it around my room. Stephanie suggested there were different moves to it so we watched it on youtube. The actual steps in the music video were a combination of what she knew and what I'd seen. So we learned the steps and put our own flava (oh yes I did!) to it. Here's the music video for your enjoyment:



Pictures from the catering to come in a later post. I brought my USB to upload pictures to my computer from my camera... but no camera.

My Budget...

...is in need of a makeover. Does anyone know of a good budgeting program that will help me lower my debt? Obviously, I know that my mortgage payment isn't going anywhere for a LONG while but my credit cards and student loans need to go away. I'm doing my best but being a mid-20 something with a shopping addiction and a (hopefully only temporary) paycut from the Governator, I'm in need of an intervention.

Shopping urges + paycuts = No good!

Challenge Accepted!

The Challenge: Read 50 books by the end of the year

Motivation: My bookshelf full of unread book purchased with good intentions and the list of books that keep growing

I like challenges. I can do this!

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl

Oh yes I did check out "Secrets of a Former Fat Girl - How to drop Two, Four (or More!) Dress Sizes - and Find Yourself Along the Way" from the library. And oh yes I am getting addicted to it. So far, it isn't anything I haven't already figured out on my own. I haven't learned anything new from the book. But it has reminded me just how far I've come. How this crazy weight loss journey is not an overnight thing. It took Lisa Delaney (the author) 5 years to lose her weight and find herself along the way. So far, I'm starting year 4. I think its just the reminder - and kick in the butt - I need to get me going again.

Today, I was looking at some old pictures and I can clearly see my transformation!

May 2006


November 2008


Today (Literally)


Not too shabby.

Genius moment!

This weekend, I bought some loose leaf tea. I don't own a tea infuser thing (note to self: get one!) but I really wanted my new Apple Lemon Pomegranate this morning. So I let the tea run loose in the bottom of my tea pot and I filled it with water to steep. In the meantime, I look around my office for anything that could be considered a strainer. I find an old box of tea bags (with tea still in them). Then a lightbulb turns on! I could empty the tea bag and open the filter paper and use it as a filter across the top of the cup while I pour the tea through it. It would catch all the little loose particles that get through the holes in my tea pot! Brillient!

Unfortunately, the filter is so dense that even the tea water won't go through very fast. It just sits on top of the filter and pours over the sides. So need less to say, my tea has bits in it. Mmmmm crunchy tea...

Reflection and Resolutions

2009 was a pretty good year for me. Here are some highlights:

- Within the first 6 months, I'd dropped 30 pounds and a few dress sizes. Of course after that, I stayed the same weight and it completely frustrated me (which has continued into 2010 - but that will be another blog).
- I started running in the summer of this year and even though I haven't dropped any more weight, I feel pretty good about myself because I was one to finish a mile in 20 minutes in high school. Now I run 3 miles in 45 minutes or less. Go me!
- I was furloughed in February and while that sucks and isn't really a highlight, it did force me to get a roommate. So now I live with Stephanie and I consider that a highlight.
- Stephanie and I had our first and only party of 2009 over the summer. We learned to Bar-B-Que on one of my little hibachi grills. Unfortunately, nobody showed so we had leftovers for a week.
- This past Halloween was my first trip to Vegas and what a fun weekend! Well, what I remember of it... I did Vegas in true Vegas style!
- I started my blog. Something I plan on continuing well into 2010. I'm already absorbed into blogging world.

While there are many other great (and not so great) things that happened to me this year, those are some of the highlights.

On to the list...

I normally make the usual New Year's Resolutions (lose weight, get more sleep, save more money, etc...), I thought this year I'd be a little different. I'm not going to make a list. I'm not going to plan on changing anything this year. I'm simply going to make better decisions everyday. A friend recently told me that he doesn't make resolutions lists because its like setting yourself up to fail since most people don't follow through. Normally, I'd make a list and achieve all my goals just to prove him wrong. In all honestly, that would just add more stress to my life and at this point, I don't need that right now. So I'm not going to make a list either but not with the same outlook. I'm just staying away from my typical list and just make better decisions. I wonder how that will work out??