Down but College Bound...

   Lately I've been feeling down about my job and my future/retirement etc. I think it's because I'm turning 30 and I feel like I've accomplished so little up till now. My 20's with the exception obviously of my Husband and Kiddo just felt like such a waste. If I had to sum up my 20's in one word "Awkward" comes to mind. Not unlike my teen years I feel like I just haphazardly lived through an entire decade with no real purpose. I'm still discovering myself in many ways;  My view on Politics/Religion/Relationships/Style (or lack thereof) - things I feel I should have established by the time I was 30.

    The biggest regret I have is that I put off College. I got a job working as a contractor for NASA right after High School graduation. Being young and living on my own of course I didn't give up a nice paycheck to go back to school. I worked there for 8 years until I got laid off. By that time I was only working part time since I had just had my Son, but I was also working part time at my current job (a small start-up). My boss brought me on full time and I've been here ever since about 4 years. I LOVE my Boss, my co-workers and my schedule is something to be envied for sure, but I just feel like I've reached as far as I can possibly go and I just don't see myself doing this job 5 years from now. The only way out of this situation is going back to school. This clicked with me last night and this morning I got the ball rolling; Signed up to get my student ID and got the schedule for the placement tests. My dream is to be a Nurse. I think part of the problem after High School was that I had so many interests that I ended up choosing none. It wasn't until my time at NASA when I joined the rescue team did I decide that I LOVE helping people. Nursing just seemed to me like the perfect fit. I know I've got a long way to go and an uphill battle - Holy cow I've been out of school for 12 YEARS! - But I'm so ready for it...I'm Stoked/Scared/Happy/Excited/Petrified all at once....

America's Got Talent Re-Cap

    We arrived in SF about an hour before the posted start time. I should have known that was not enough time as we drove up the line was ridiculous! There went any hopes of getting on the first floor. We all looked at each other and almost decided to book it to Pier 39 instead, but quickly decided to press on. We parked and got in line, waited about an hour in line before we got in. We sat on the 2^nd floor in the “TV Section” but I don’t think I ever saw the camera pan our way. About 45 minutes after we sat down the taping finally started. Just FYI the shots of the Audience Booing/Cheering/Clapping/Throwing up X’s is taped BEFORE the show starts. Yes, we did still react to the performances, but about two hours in we were pretty bored, Ran was nodding off - standing up and clapping was just not an option at that point so I understand why they do that. In the 4 hours we were there we saw maybe 8 acts. We left the taping at the break (which was about 3 hours in) but apparently we only missed maybe 2 additional acts.

     

    There were definitely a lot of Stern fans in the audience. I heard more Ba-ba-booey’s then I would have liked, so many so that I would have probably punched someone in the face if they were in striking distance. Howard as a judge was fantastic! He X’d who should have been X’d and let go those that deserved it. He also had the ability to tell the performer the truth no matter how awful they were, without being mean. He even managed to make them laugh while he was crushing their dreams. My Mom who is not really fan was a convert when we left the show. I think people will be pleasantly surprised by him. Sharon Osbourne also seemed pretty cool. Took her a few minutes to make it to her seat after her introduction because she was giving out so many hugs (To the dismay of Nick Cannon who looked annoyed) Both she and Howard interacted with the audience during breaks which was nice. Here are some of the highlights from the auditions:

Taylor Beckett: She was filming her “Intro” while we were waiting in line so it was no surprise when we saw her walk on stage as the third act. She has this beautiful BIG voice coming from this tiny little thing. She got some flak for singing so “Big” without any build up, which I agreed with, but she sounded amazing in the auditorium. She has a classic “I-can-sing-the-shit-out-of-this-song” voice, which is nice but I tend to like the singing acts that have some kind of interesting inflection to their voice.

Chadwick Johnson (At least that’s what I thought I heard): Another singer with an amazing voice. He was a surprise because he seemed kinda nerdy, a bit introverted which is weird because he’s a bartender. Howie kept mentioning what a “Winning Smile” he had, we couldn’t tell from where we were. He could sing for sure! He had great control of his voice. I think he’ll go far if he can get some personality.

“Turf” (Didn’t catch his real name): He was the “Hard Luck” story of our visit. He is a dance contortionist and I admit I was cringing in my seat - the things he was doing with his arms and legs was pretty cool to watch. He’ll never win, but he had a story that made you want to root for him. Homeless at one point, dancing on the streets of SF to make money he seemed genuine and someone you want to see succeed.

  After the taping we made our way to Pier 39. Ran wanted to stop by the Houdini Magic shop to pick up some trinkets for our kiddo. We ate at Louie’s Seafood – Food was “Eh”, but Ran did enjoy his crab. I had pasta which was my bad - ordering pasta at a seafood restaurant :/  We then headed to Ghirardelli Square and we managed to get one cell phone shot before my phone died. The real winner of the day was the SF weather. It was BEA-U-TI-FUL in SF!

The Golden Gate is behind us, but the sun and my crappy cell camera blocked it out :(

We got home fairly early and since we were sans kiddo for the night, we walked to a nearby restaurant/bar. This is my Holy-Cow-Long-Beach-Teas-Taste-Like-Pink-Lemonade and now I'm buzzzzzzzzzed face.

All in all a good day was had by all...

Howdy Doody Tooty Fruity

      Hello Blogland! Been awhile since I’ve logged in…truth be told I’ve started a blog post a few times only to stop before getting a coherent sentenced typed out.  A lot of the time I sit here with my laptop staring at the screen with a cocked head thinking “WTF am I going to write?” I live a relatively boring, mundane life and envy those that can not only blog every day/weekly but actually have something interesting to say. In any case I suppose I could at least let you in on what I’ve been up to this past month. 

     

 As far as my diet I’m UP a few pounds WHOMP WHOMP. My drive and motivation pulled a “Thelma and Louise” - I’m kicking myself because I was doing so good! I tell ya this food has such a grip on me it’s unbelievable. I had a few pretty wild years when I was younger; tried just about every drug under the sun, had a really fun time, but never once found myself getting sucked in the way food seems to just encompass my brain. It’s the closest thing to a true addiction that I think I’ve ever faced. I have this all or nothing mentality when it comes to food. Either I completely deprive myself or I completely give in. I can’t seem to do the “have one bite and move on” that one bite always leads to me wanting more. I really need to find my happy medium, my 30^th is fast approaching and I’m no closer to my goal than I was a month ago. I’m not delusional I know I won’t make goal in a month, but my overall goal is still attainable. I don’t want to waste another DECADE battling the bulge, I refuse to.

     Other than eating anything and everything this past month I’ve also been working like crazy - We just moved to a new office space and broke in a new intern from Singapore (From NUS studying at Stanford) fun times. I’ve also been working in my son’s class a lot.  Anyone that says Teachers are paid enough need to actually spend some time in a classroom – I’m exhausted after just a few hours. Still hitting up the thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales. My Mom and I went to one this past weekend - a total time warp. This was easily a two million dollar house, beautiful on the outside but a delightful mess of a time capsule on the inside. The woman that lived there out lived her husband and kids and hoarded everything after their deaths. It wasn’t filled to the ceiling with cat poop or anything but it was definitely a haven for dust and cobwebs. I chatted with the family for a bit, very lovely people and I’m always glad to see when family is present for these estate sales – It’s still a bit weird for me as a shopper and I’m sure for them, but a lot of the time I find they like to discuss their family member and the belongings finding new homes with folks like me. Speaking of thrifting I am a bit closer to opening an etsy store. I’ve been measuring and researching getting ready to finally photograph all my wares. All in all a pretty uneventful month - you see why I had a hard time keeping up with my blog? Pretty boring stuff…

On the Horizon…This weekend Ran and I are going to a taping of America’s Got Talent in San Francisco. Ran is a longtime Stern fan so I’m sure he’ll be trying to see how many times he can scream “BA-BA-BOOEY” before we get kicked out…

I did manage to photograph some of my recent thrifty purchases. Some things I’m keeping. Others will eventually be Etsy bound…

 

These little guys are cute, but have absolutely no business being in my house they'd be broken in no time flat. I think they would make darling little terrariums though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite recent finds and I got a set of FOUR! that never happens. They are porcelain (Heavy duty) soup/salad sets. I've seen these priced $30-$50 bucks a pop I paid $3 dollars a set. Plus I think they might be vintage, the bowl has a GDR stamp on the bottom.

Cute little daisy coat hanger.

This vintage skirt screams "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" but I couldn't pass it up. It has the cutest candy colored buttons. Unfortunately I'm not a waif so I won't be donning this skirt.

Super cute tribal print skirt falls mid-calf and I love it - Can't wait for summer.

I loved this skirt from the Target Missoni line but wasn't about to shell out the big bucks for it on ebay. I found it at Goodwill for $4.99. Yup, Goodwill gets Target merchandise that hasn't sold (clothing/shoes at least)  3 months after it hits the store floors. So if you missed out on the Jason Wu line check Goodwill in a few months.

This was a pretty sweet find too REAL Missoni shoes. $5 bucks whaaaat!

Oh I'm also babysitting this little guy and his two buddies (Dogs) I've currently got 4 dogs and 1 turtle in my little 2 bedroom house. I feel a bit like Ace Venture when they all gather around me. Luckily, they all leave tomorrow with the exception of my two loveable mutts. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

   Is there some kind of surgery that turns taste buds off? If so, sign me up! I know I said I'd be back on track on Tuesday but it never happened. I'm still a bit sick so I can blame some of it on that, but really I'm just so lazy right now. I have no desire to cook - it's currently much more appealing to order in or eat whatever my Husband makes (Which is usually not low carb and seriously lacking in the greenery department).
     I wish I could say I'm fat because "X" happened or because I eat when I'm angry/sad/glad etc. because then maybe I could address it and move on. But isn't it possible that I'm fat because I just love the way unhealthy stuff tastes? I mean, I know all the health benefits of eating healthy I even feel better physically when I do, but I sometimes find the whole process of preparing and consuming said meals quite daunting. My brain is constantly telling me what I'd rather be having...That little voice is usually very convincing. Even my usual modes of motivation: blogging, thrifting, crafting are feeling like chores to me. I hate it! I need to get out of this funk!! I'm not sure how to move on from here but I don't plan on giving up just yet.

Holy Shit Maurice Sendak is still Alive!

I will admit before I saw him on Colbert last night I just assumed he died a long time ago...Come on you did too, right!?! Not only is he still alive, he's a total nut! I LOVE it...check out the video below.

Peeking out of my shell for a bit...

  I’ve been in such a funk this past week - quite literally, luckily you all can’t smell me. I’ve had no motivation to eat on plan let alone get out of bed. Without fail every time there is a major shift in the weather I get sick and this past week was no different. I’m much better today but now my little one is sick so we’re housebound together. I need to get my ass back in gear - Reaching my goal weight by my Birthday is pretty much a pipe dream now, but I’ll forge ahead (Starting tomorrow, ha!)  For today I’ll be crawling back into bed with my warm chocolate chip cookies and re-runs of Designing Women and Golden Girls…Good times.

On a good note I ordered a VitaMix blender from QVC and it arrives today!! Looking forward to consuming at least some of my meals through a straw. Anyone else have a vitamix?!

Low Carb Sugar Free Paletas de Coco!

    No other dessert evokes more memories of childhood for me than Paletas de Coco. I can clearly remember the sound of the bells as they inched closer to my house - the old man pushing the ice cream cart was the highlight of my day during the hot summers. I'm not a cook/baker by any means, but being on a low carb diet kind of forces you to get creative in the kitchen. I've been trying out different dessert recipes - most failures, until it dawned on me that I should try and makeover my all time favorite ice cream bar. The original recipe is super simple just three ingredients, but the main component was sweetened condensed milk which is basically a sugar BOMB. Then I remembered a post by Beeb over on Lowcarbfriends where she made SCM from table cream. Once that part was figured out the rest was easy peasy. Thanks, Beeb!

~*~*~Low Carb Paletas de Coco ~*~*~

What you'll need:

1 can Media Crema Table Cream (Threw the can out before I got the measurement, pretty standard though)

2/3 Cup Sweetener (I used Swerve which is basically Erythritol but measures cup for cup like sugar)

2 Tb Unflavored Whey Protein powder (I only had vanilla on hand so that's what I used)

1/2 Tb Vanilla

1 can 13.5-15oz can Coconut milk 

Unsweetened coconut shreds (optional)

*Optional add ins - Mango, Pineapple, Guava

Combine the first 4 ingredients and simmer over medium heat until it thickens - Takes a few minutes. To this mixture add the can of coconut milk, again simmer until slightly thicker another few minutes (It doesn't get super thick so don't go on thinking you need to cook it for a long time) Remove from heat and allow to cool about 10 minutes. Add as much or as little of the coconut shreds to the mixture as you like. Pour into molds and freeze.

These are very rich and creamy. Next time I will try the "Light" coconut milk from Trader Joes and see how I like them. That will shave off about 10 carbs from the total count.

Approximately 4.75 net carbs per bar

Right after I added the coconut milk

I was able to fill 4 traditional molds and 3 Rockets!

A Workout Story in Pictures and Words...

  Once upon a time there lived a family of "Losers". Mother loser despised all conventional forms of exercise and searched high and low for unconventional ways to enjoy time with her family and get their bodies moving. Then, she discovered Sky High. A magical place of many, many connected trampolines.

Lots of fun was had by the entire Loser family and their friends.

 

 

 Looking for further enjoyment the Loser family headed to "The Pit". The pit is also a magical place - a place where you can run, jump and fly through the air. But beware, the pit is also a dangerous place with many rules that if not followed will leave you in regret. The littlest Loser tried with all of his might to do a flip, but always came up short.

Mr. Loser was determined to teach his little one this awesome move. But, Mr. Loser didn't think he needed to follow any stinkin' rules so he jumped and flew how he saw fit.

In went Mr. Loser like an arrow through the wind straight to the bottom of the HARD pit floor...CLUNK! BANG! BOINK!

Don't worry folks, Mr. Loser is just fine. No broken bones. Just really, really sore. Leaving the pit bruised and battered but with humility in tact.

Pit 1 - Mr. Loser 0.

Tag, I'm IT!

   I was tagged by the Lovely Leigh from Poonapalooza. This is my first time being tagged, but I'm already going to have to break the rules - Yeah, I'm a rule breaker - Since I don't have a ton of followers, and I'm pretty sure most of them have already been tagged (according to my Google Reader at least) I'm going to go ahead and call out any of my follower/readers that have not yet done one. Consider yourself TAGGED YO!

Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tag­ger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you've tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 peeps!

~*~*~*~*~ 11 Random Things ~*~*~*~*~

1. I was in a movie with Brad Pitt! Ok, not exactly. Hubs and I were extras in Moneyball. We saw Brad, Jonah, Phillip and the dude from Parks & Rec. Brad Pitt and Jonah hill are SUPER nice and Brad looks BETTER in person.

2. I use to be on a rescue team for the Federal Government. Husband still is.

3. Relating to number two, I repelled off of Dumbarton Bridge (Local Bridge kind of near San Francisco) as part of training.

4. I hate olives

5. I’ve never seen Titanic

6. In elementary school I was part of a PBS special about African drums, but I’ve Never seen it!

7. In junior high our school won a performance by then unknown Backstreet Boys. Kids who sold a ton of fundraiser crap were given backstage passes to get autographs – they were tickets with special cougar paw (mascot) stamps on the back. I faked mine and drew one on the back and met them, Ha! Naughty, I know…

8.  Lakes freak me out - I’m always afraid something’s going to bite me. Oceans I love though, go figure!

9. I cannot watch 3D movies. They make me sick as a dog – Avatar put me down for a day.

10. I'm "Married" to a Skateboarder. He doesn't skate nearly as much as he use to, but it's definitely his first love (I've come to terms with that) You can see him in old Tilt Mode Army videos.

11. I’m super competitive when it comes to Board Games –Bring it!

~*~*~*~*~ Here were my questions/Answers  ~*~*~*~*~

What was your favourite food when you were a child?

I had a crazy, crazy obsession with butterfingers at one point in my childhood. I somehow managed to not only get like 10 of them at once, but ate them all in one sitting. I majorly upchucked shortly after and have NOT had one since, the thought of them actually makes me sick now.

What is one of your favourite quotes?  

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says "I'm possible"!" ~ Audrey Hepburn 

What is your favourite body part? 

I think I’d have to say my lips - I just need to start being braver with my lip color  

If you could stay a certain age forever, what age would it be and why?

Though I’m not quite there, I’d probably say 30. You’ve had enough life experience by this age to actually have an opinion on some things ;p 

If you could chose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

Oh man these questions are tough! But if I could sit down and pick the brain of someone the first person that comes to mind would be Leonardo Da Vinci. 

If you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be?

So many! But since I just mentioned him I’ll stick with Leo – such a brilliant human being. But the girly girl in me really wants to say Johnny Depp, ‘cause well HELLO it’s Johnny Depp! 

What celebrity do you get mistaken for?

Is there a celebrity named Nobody? ‘cause that’s who it would be. As a child though I did actually get mistaken once for Tatyana Ali – Remember her? the youngster from “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”  The lady swore up and down I was her.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

A life well thrifted! 

What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

A little portable cassette player with speakers that I would take to school and my Friends and I would listen to Color Me Bad, Digital Underground and Bell Biv Devoe. We thought we were the shiznit, lol.

What was the last experience that made you a better person.

When my Son was born. I learned to be a much more patient person

What was the last movie, tv show or book that made you cry or tear up?

 

What’s sad about this is that it wasn’t even a movie, but a trailer for a movie! Sandra Bullock’s new movie “Extremely loud and Incredibly Close” makes me tear up EVERY time I see it. I will NOT be watching it in the theaters because I will be a blubbering fool.

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Now should you choose to take on this mission here are my questions for you. Be sure to come back and let me know if you answer these!

1) What was your favorite cartoon growing up
2) If you had a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
3) Which one of the seven dwarfs do you relate to most? (Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy)
4) What if your favorite Holiday and why?
5) What annoys you?
6) What was your first job?
7) What is your current favorite TV Show?
8) What do you love about yourself?
9) What was your first car?
10) Ocean, Lake, River or Pool where would you prefer to spend a hot day?
11) Does expecting the unexpected make the unexpected become the expected? (Thank you Philosoraptor for that mindfuck)

Peace out, Peeps! That was a lot of work!

~Christina