Wrinkles

I am SO tempted to get Juvaderm for my smile lines!  In fact, I am so tempted, that I’m thinking about making an appointment as soon as this afternoon.  Here are my dilemnas:

1.  It is really expensive. 

2.  I don’t know if the results will justify the cost.

3.  The doctor’s office is far away–about 20 miles.  PITA.

4.  I don’t know which filler will give me the best results, for the longest amount of time (Juvaderm, Restlyane, or Perlane). 

On the other hand, here are some pros:

1. I’ve been talking about getting this for a long time; I really want it!

2.  See number 1!

I don’t know anyone who has had any of these, so I haven’t gotten any advice from friends.  What to do, what to do?

See the smile lines?  I’d like to make them a little less noticeable…

Deal of the Day

I finally got these today.  I have been wanting them forever! 

It’s a skirt.  No, wait, it’s shorts.  I think they are actually called “skorts”.  Anyway, I think they are super cute, and they were $19.99 at the Nike Outlet Store.

Today was a not-very-good food day.  After my workout, I ate lots of healthy stuff, but I ate SO much.  So much, that I’m not even hungry for dinner.  I had a couple of crackers, a very large red apple, a half a whole-wheat tortilla with almond butter AND a carrot with Better ‘N’ Butter peanut butter.  Oh yeah, I also ate a whole bunch of nuts.  And when I say “a whole bunch”, I mean a half a can.  I don’t know what had gotten into me, today, but I feel really…heavy now.  I do NOT like this feeling.  Oh well; tomorrow is a new day.  Anyway, here’s some of the stuff I devoured today. 

It’s Been A While!

I am back after a few days of taking a blog break.  I hadn’t written in a while because of a few reasons:

1. Uploading pictures takes a long time.

2. Out of town guests were here for the weekend.

3. I don’t know if anyone looks at my posts, so I figured nobody would miss me!

But anyway, I’m back, and I am ready to get on track with writing again.  Maybe someone out there give me tips on uploading pics more quickly/efficiently.

Anyway, some highlights from my life, over the past few days…

I got a pedicure (check out Buddles’ toes).  Actually, I take that back.  I did not get pedicure; I just got my toes painted with a french manicure.  I always just get them painted because I don’t like it when people pick on my toes, and because it’s also a lot less expensive.  It was only $9 (instead of $23). 

A party at the family-owned outdoor farmer’s market at my house.  I bought FOUR red peppers for a dollar here, which cut up and froze.  What a deal!  Now I can just throw peppers into my omelettes (or whatever) whenever I want!  Anyway, there was a band at the party, and they had homemade cake with fresh fruit and cream on top, so I splurged.  I could not resist.  And you know what?  I didn’t feel guilty!

Edgefield, with friends.  I wasn’t hungry, so I just had a Diet Coke.

Running around downtown Portland with my boyfriend, his best friend, and his best friend’s dad.  It was so hot this weekend that I felt like I was going to pass out.  We started the day with breakfast at a local place called Cup and Saucer.  I wasn’t impressed.  My veggie/egg white omelette was FULL of oil.  The plate was smothered in it, so I hardly ate any of it.  Instead, I filled up on coffee .  We went to the waterfront and checked out the view from the Nines (which is a very fancy hotel), and wrapped up the day by eating dinner at Blue Moon.  Blue Moon is where my boyfriend and I went on our first date, which is why we love this place.  Not to mention, they have a really delicious hummus platter (my usual).

Chris and I wrapped up the weekend’s activities with a little hike in Forest Park.  By the way, I do not like hiking, but when it’s only for about 30 minutes, it’s not so bad.

Oh, I’ve also been eating a lot of almond butter.  I’ve never had almond butter, but I saw it at Costco and thought it looked interesting.  I like that it doesn’t have any ingredients beside “almonds”.  No sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no crap!  I tablespoon has about 100 calories.  Not too bad, since the stuff is pretty rich–I’ve found that I don’t really need more than a tablespoon.

Off to tackle my Monday “to-do” list and enjoy the day!!!

Work, Shmurk.

Guess what.  I love not working.  I know this goes against everything my mother taught me, but I cannot help the way I feel.  I love being able to sleep in if I want.  I like to enjoy my morning coffee while watching the View and checking my email.  It’s nice to be able to take the dog for a walk when I feel like it.  I’m able to keep up with my to-do list, keep my house clean, and catch up with friends who I have lost touch with.  I have no stress, EXCEPT when my mother calls me to find out if I have a job…yet.

I’ve worked my whole life, until now.  I always felt like I was spinning my wheels.  There just were not enough hours in the day.  Everything was rushed.  I felt like I was going through the motions during the work week, and not really enjoying anything about corporate America.  What’s the point of it all, anyway?  Obviously, we all need to work to pay the bills, but what’s the have a job that ruins the quality of your life?  We spend so much time at work that it’s difficult to not let it affect your personal life, especially if you’ve had a bad day at the office.

I’ve never been fully satisfied with any job I’ve had.  I don’t enjoy pushing paperwork, measly cost-of-living pay increases, dealing with difficult personalities, and being forced to sit at a desk until 5:00, even if I’m finished with all of my work.

I suppose I’m still trying to pick my passion.  I wonder if I’ll ever find it.  Until then, I’m enjoying unemployment.  That probably sounds pretty pathetic to a lot of people, but it makes me happy.  And that is what is most important .

This is what I eat. It’s so boring.

OK, so here’s what I ate (in addition to what I had for breakfast, which was in my last post).  My food is so boring.  Seriously…

Lunch was a plate of veggies with buffalo wing sauce and parmesan cheese.

Then I had an apple.

Snack was some of this power mix that I diluted with some Trader Joe’s bran cereal.

Dinner was a Boca Burger on a whole wheat tortilla with mozzarella cheese and ketchup, followed by another apple.  Yes, another apple!

Post workout snack: 2 carrots, some raisins, and some sugar free hot chocolate.

I love cooking; I really do!  It’s just that I have a hard time resisting yummy food in my fridge, which is why I just eat the same old boring things .  I actually like my boring way of eating (in case it sounds like I am complaining).

Does anyone else eat the same stuff ALL the time, like me?

Knocking Out the “To-Do” List

Happy Monday!  I forced myself to sleep in today until almost 10:00.  Holy mackerel!  It was hard; my body wanted to get up at 7:30 this morning, but I allowed myself to continue to snooze.  Hey; life’s short, so why not indulge?

I’m starting off my day with some coffee.  No cappuccino for me; I’m out of milk.  So, I’m drinking my drip coffee with Coffee-Mate creamer in it.  Yes, I know the stuff is crap.  Total junk.  But, I need my coffee in the morning, and I’m not ready to run out to the store yet.  I’m still in my PJ’S AND I have pillow creases on my left cheek.  I am definitely not ready to face the public yet! 

I’m looking forward to knocking out my “to-do” list, which I also refer to as my “todo” list (“todo” in Spanish means “everything”).  Take a look at the pile of paperwork I need to tackle.

Later on today, I’m going to the gym.  It’s my favorite night to work out because both instructors are great and force me to challenge my body.  First is a one hour step class, followed by a power sculpting class.  I’m always disappointed when there’s a substitute teacher, and guess what.  There’s a sub tonight.  Hopefully she’s good!

I Love Weekends.

Even though I’m not working, I still get excited for the weekends.  They feel like vacation! 

Saturday and Sunday consisted of working out for a two hours each morning (step class, followed by weight lifting class). 

It also consisted of Cappuccinos.  Many, many cappuccinos. 

 Bargain shopping.  This fabulous pink and purple silk cheetah prink sheet set was $15.99.  I thought they’d be fun.  I’ve had my sheets since college, so it was time for a change. I also got two sports bras ($6.99 each), and a fancy black tank top with ruffles and a big bow on the back ($7.99).  Yes, I admit, I am a frugal fannie. 

Walking the dog.

An outdoor jazz festival in my neighborhood.

Chris got a pizza at Signal.  And yes, I snuck some bites.  My favorite food is whatever happens to be on his plate.  His food always looks so good, and I ALWAYS want some of his.

 A ska concert.  I was not familiar with Ska music, but decided to go to support my friend–it’s her husbands band, and also, to try something different.

 Oh, although I typically eat the same things every day, I decided to buy something new when I went to Costco.  Since they don’t carry tubs of soy nuts anymore, I decided to buy their Power Mix, which consists of soy nuts, almonds, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds.  Although it’s DELICIOUS, I have to confess that once I start on these things, I have a hard time stopping.  It starts as an innocent handful, which then turns into many, many, many handfuls.  Which then makes me feel guilty.  I tell you, this snack is like crack.  So, although these things are great, I don’t think I’ll buy them again…unless it’s a special occasion.

Tomorrow’s Monday, so the weekend’s pretty much over.  Now that my internet is up and running again, I am going to make it a priority to blog every day.  I didn’t realize how much time it would take me to get my site set up!  Not to mention, my camera was malfunctioning, so that didn’t help any.  I’d love to get feedback, as long as it’s nice (my feelings are easily hurt, so be constructive!).

Brunch and Snack (Still Trying to Finish Creating my BlogSite)

So, I’ve been working on and off today on making my blog look nice.  I’m still having technical difficulties.  Since my morning coffee post, I had breakfast and a snack…

1/2 cup dry oatmeal, 1 packet of equal, cinnamon, frozen berries, a splash of milk, some crunchy fiber cereal from Trader Joe’s.  It still didn’t taste right, so I added some sugar free syrup after I took the picture.

Afternoon snack was salad.  I love salad, because I feel like I can eat as much as I want, without feeling guilty.  I’ve been stopping off at the dollar rack at the farmer’s market pretty frequently.  My latest find were peas in the shell.  I got a huge bag for only a buck!  It seemed fun, but I discovered that removing the beans from the shell is time consuming.  I just don’t have enough patience to do that when I am hungry!

These are what I extracted…

And here was the waste:

And the final product:

Salad mix from a bag, peas, a carrot, sunflower seeds, and homemade dressing, which consisted of honey mustard, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, and parmesan cheese.

Morning Coffee!

Look at my delicious cup of coffee.  It’s got four shots of espresso, steamed milk with lots of foam, two equals, and a dash of cinnamon.  Just the way I like it.  My goal for this morning is to get this blog set up so it looks decent.  I don’t know why, but it’s been such a hassle for me.  I’ve been putting it off for so long that it’s discouraged me from doing daily posts.  Wish me luck!

Are you living life to the fullest, or just living?

Since I was laid off my job, I’ve had a lot of free time.  At first, it was a curse, because I became isolated and withdrawn.  All I did was excercise–that was my only escape from reality.  I fell into a slump; always tired and never had the energy to do anything or go anywhere beside the gym. 

Finally, about 4 months into unemployed life, I got a temp job, which lasted about 3.5 weeks.  Although I loved being busy all day, I also felt like I had no time left for me!  I was spinning my wheels.  I was getting up at the break of dawn to go to work, then to rush off to the gym, then home to pack my lunch for the next day, shower, and walk the dog.  I wasn’t getting home until about 8:30 at night and I had to be up by about 6:30.  I quickly realized that I did not want to live like that.

Fortunately, I am not temping anymore.  I’ve now realized that I need to start LIVING and not just letting life pass me by, especially since I can do whatever I want, now that I am not working.  There are so many things that I want to do, but never seem to get around to them.  I live in Portland, which is an amazing city, but I realized I really don’t know much about the history of this place.  There are also a ton of sights I’d like to see.  Being jobless (this time around) has been a blessing.  I’m using this time to catch up with old friends, try new recipes, start a garden, and to begin exploring everything that Portland has to offer.

So…tonight, a friend and I went to a concert at Sauvie Island!  It was unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Imagine a combination of a picnic in the park, a live band, u-pick berries, hay rides, dancing, and kids playing in sprinklers.  It was surreal; I felt like I was in a movie from the ’50s.  Everyone was so relaxed–nobody was on their cell phone or their laptop.  It was so nice to be in an environment where people were just there to have a nice time and enjoy the company of their friends and family.  The only downer was that I got ATTACKED by mosquitos. 

Hooked up with veggies! Can't wait to experiment with the beets.

 

My first hay ride.

I love my heart rate monitor.

About a month ago, the battery in my heart rate monitor died.  It’s taken me almost a month to replace it  because I could not find the battery size anywhere!  Today, I finally found a kiosk in the mall that specialized in watch repairs (they also specialize in gold teeth and really blingy “jewelry”). 

Tonight, I burned 632 calories!  After not having my monitor for so long, I have to say, it was so great to have it back.  Seeing how my hard work pays off at the gym is so rewarding!

How do you use your heart rate monitor?  Does anyone use it for other purposes, beside tracking the number of calories burned?

By the way, my hands are starting to look like my mother’s.  Look at all those scary veins!  I remember when I was younger, I used to push on her hand veins because they were so…weird.  Look at me now.  Hmph!