Anna In LA

My Apologies

2009-03-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Friends,

I know that I haven't been updating in a while. There are a few reasons for this:

1. I want to lock down a venue and date for the wedding by the end of March, so all my spare time online is being spent researching that.

2. I've become really bored with the format of this blog, and I can't believe I had a few regular readers. It got to a point that I was bored even thinking about what to write. I need to revamp the blog format and come back with something better.

In the meantime, just know that I am still doing these things to get fitter:

1. 60 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weight lifting 6 days a week, with an average of 650-750 calories being burned each time.

2. Switching from sugary soy milk, yogurt, and other bad snacks to unsweetened soy milk, plain yogurt, and fruit.

I love you all! This isn't the last time you will be hearing from me.

AA

Wednesday's post that i missed

2009-02-26T10:27:00.001-08:00

Exercise: 60 minutes on one elliptical. 2 sets 20 reps each lat pulls, back and shoulders, triceps, biceps.

Miles: 1.5 mi.

Polar: 710 calories

Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, silk, boiled egg, clementines.

Snack: trail mix

Lunch: Versailles leftovers again! chicken, rice, black beans, plantains. 2 oreos and a kudos bar.

Snack: I don't remember, probably some bad shit.

Dinner: Chipotle with Simon! We both always get carnitas soft tacos with salsa fresca and corn salsa, and some chips and guac. We're thinking about branching out to other salsas in the future.

Just Another Regular Tuesday

2009-02-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes each other elliptical, stationary bike, and treadmill. 2 sets 20 reps each leg press squats, and dead lifts.

Polar: 680 cals.

Miles Biked: 3 miles.

Pre-workout snack: half an apple.

Breakfast: 1 hardboiled egg, oatmeal, silk, raisins

Snack: wheat thins and hummus, trail mix, and yellow vanilla pudding cake slice (sadface!)

Lunch: Chicken Itza leftovers! Por, black beans, rice, steamed vegetables.

Snack: strawberries and vanilla yogurt

Dinner: Matzo ball soup with deli meat and a hardboiled egg. Then the rest of the Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Today I am rendered childish and impulsive by the cookies in my office.

2009-02-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 mins elliptical, 30 mins other kind of elliptical. 2 sets of 20 reps inclined bench press, chest curl, shoulder press, shoulder lifts (front and side)

Polar: 640 cals.

Miles: 0 (drove today because i thought it might rain).

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Silk, trail mix.

Snack: big-ass chocolate chip cookie from Costco, more Silk

Lunch: Versailles Cuban food leftovers: black beans, rice, plantains, roast chicken, half an avo.

Snack: 4 Oreos.

Dinner: sliced strawberries and vanilla yogurt. Ben and Jerry's fish food ice cream. Salami slices.

I am in a serious "fuck it" mood today. I had 4 different sweet treats, and then when I got home from work I started doing this messed up thing I used to do when I was in high school: eat something incredibly sweet, and then to get the taste out of my mouth eat something incredibly salty. Rinse and repeat.

This morning when I woke up I drove to work instead of biking. I justified it by saying to myself that the sky looked gray, but really I was lazy about it and I would have driven whether or not it was raining.

Then I was tired at the gym and just constantly eating bad shit the rest of the day. Then when I got home, I ate Ben and Jerry's ice cream out of the carton and alternated bites with salami slices. Sick! Fucked up!

It's getting way too hard to recover from my gluttonous, debauched weekends. Maybe I need to shape up on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

OSCARS NIGHT

2009-02-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

Exercise: watching TV intently.

Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, oatmeal and milk, 1 applesauce packet.

Lunch: KOREAN BBQ! Went with Simon and my future brother and sister in law to a delicious Korean BBQ restaurant in Van Nuys. I got bibim neng myun (naturally), and since there were three other people, they chose to grill meat at the table! There was beef, bulgogi, pork belly, squid, and pork. So yummy! And now my hair smells like smoke and bacon.

I want to go to there.

Again.

Snack: Apple "crisps"

Dinner: Pinkberry! If my sister lived in LA, she would probably call this place "PinkBo." Large pomegranate and original swirl, yogurt chips, raspberries, strawberries. If any of you ever visit me in LA, this is where I'm taking you.

Did you notice that a lot of stars were wearing white gowns at the Oscars tonight? Holler if you hear me!

TGIF!

2009-02-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill, 3 sets of 20 reps each hip abductions (both in and out)

Miles: 3

Polar: 740 cals.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, silk

Snack: Trader Joe's brownie bite, trail mix, diet coke

Lunch: Steamed brussels sprouts and veggies, mixed into a Campbell's chunky canned soup. Surprisingly good, and definitely filling! I should start cooking more veggies and things to mix into the canned soups available in the office kitchen.

Dinner: boiled egg, spam, bibim neng myun noodles.Phish food: lite. Yuck!

A sick window into my relationship awaits you!

2009-02-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Exercise: a crazy ass aerobics class at Bally's called "Hi-Lo." Picture the most hyperactive kid in class kicking, jumping, bucking, flailing, and screaming. That was my aerobics instructor, and the dance studio was packed. It got so hot and sweaty in there I started smelling salt, like "ooh! Someone's cooking Ramen noodles!" kind of salt.

3 sets each lat pulls, back pulls, chair dips, and 2 sets bicep curls.

Polar: 700 calories.

Breakfast: oatmeal, soy milk, apricot yogurt.

Snack: Trader Joe's brownie bites

Lunch: Mastro's leftovers, one more time. Brussels sprouts, asparagus, mashed potatoes (found a lobster chunk in it!), creamed spinach, the last bit of the rib eye steak.

Man, if you were watching me trying to cut the last, last piece of meat off that rib eye bone, you would have thought I was really pathetic.

But I love me my steak.

Snack:cookies, half apple, strawberries, whatever I could find. I am always starving at around 4 or 5pm...

Dinner: soy milk, panettone!

It's no surprise that Simon's family is way more wealthy than my family. We've just started talking about a budget for a wedding, and even though we haven't really laid any groundwork, I am starting to feel like it might be harder than I thought to get a straight answer out of anyone. Just take this conversation we had last night about it:

Anna: You're hella rich.

Simon: Yeah? So?

Anna: Do you want to sign a pre-nup before we get married?

Simon: Nah, that's just silly. We're going to love each other forever! [hugs, kisses, eyes twinkle with happy tears]

[a pause]

Anna: If we get divorced, I'm suing you for 50% of your net worth.

[Simon leans in close, clutches my waist, and starts shaking me. Whispers...]

Simon: No you won't, because I'll KILL YOU before it gets that far.

[Simon and Anna burst into laughter on the bed]

Simon: Hmm. Why am I aroused now?

LOST is so freaking lame tonight.

2009-02-18T13:54:00.001-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes another kind of elliptical. 3 sets 20 reps each leg press, squats, and 1 set of 20 reps dead lift.

Biking to and from work, ~3 mi.

Polar: 780 cals. again!

Weight: 156 lbs., down from 160 lbs. a month ago

Pre-Workout Snack: half a huge Fuji apple

Breakfast: oatmeal, Silk, 4 strawberries, 1 hard boiled egg

Snack: Trader Joe's brownie bite. Damn you, Joe!

Lunch: Mastro's leftovers - steak, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, steamed brussels sprouts, creamed spinach, and then 1/3 an avo and a rainbow cookie, just because it was in the lunch room.

Dinner: Thai boom with Simon! Pad thai, shrimp curry, white rice, and beef satay.

Poll: What do the people think about short wedding dresses?

2009-02-17T15:04:00.001-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill. 3 sets of 15 reps inclined bench press, 3 sets of 20 reps shoulder press, 3 sets of 20 reps chest curls, 2 sets of 20 reps shoulder lift.

Calories burned according to Polar Heart Rate Monitor: 780 calories.

Pre-workout Snack: half a huge Fuji apple

Breakfast: plain oatmeal, unsweetened Silk (yuck!), packet of raisins, one boiled egg.

Snack: 4 huge strawberries, 1/2 a chocolate thing.

Lunch: Mastro leftovers! A small bit of steak, creamed spinach, steamed asparagus, steamed brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes.

Snack: a mini brownie thing from Trader Joe's. 2 pieces of those chocolate macadamia pieces that come from Hawaii. I wonder if the Obamas enjoy these when they go back home?

Snack: 1 small banana, 1 strawberry yogurt

Dinner: 1.5 cups soy milk

GChat with Donna:

Donna: How do you exercise everyday? I can't find the motivation.
Anna: It's a little thing called my wedding. And fear.

Dress 1

Dress 2

Dress 3

Dress 4

Today I got a lot of errands done.

2009-02-16T19:58:00.001-08:00

Exercise: 60 minutes of spin bike at Simon's house, 2 sets of sit ups before I was over it.

Breakfast: woke up too late.

Lunch: 2 slices of pizza, 1 apple.

Dinner: 1 english muffin, 2 slices fried spam, 1 hard boiled egg, and some chocolate.

Over the weekend, Simon and I drove to San Diego to hang out with Biran, Tiffany, Alex, and more high school friends. It was so fun! We ate lunch at a good tacos place, had some pinkberry, and then spent the night playing this awesome card game called NERTS! where everyone gets their own pack of cards. I made it to the final round, then lost miserably.

Biran's girlfriend Tiffany loved my engagement ring, and she kept on putting it on and role-playing a proposal. I bet Biran loved that. Biran and I also got to talk about my work out plan for the next few months, and this are my new action steps:

1. Up the cardio to 60 minutes a day.
2. Avoid processed sugars (white, powdery).
3. Eat half a boiled egg at breakfast.

I think he said more things but I tuned them out because I felt overwhelmed. I will try this for a few months (2-3) and then come back to him for more tips on how to take it to the next level.

This was the best Valentine's Day weekend ever because I got to spend it with my love, but also with my friends so it was extra fun. On the drive home I asked Simon if he was getting along better with Alex. At first he grumbled but eventually he said:

"Well, he's interested in public transit. And we read the same blogs."

And that made me smile.

Best Valentine's Day Ever!

2009-02-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Biked 5 miles to gym, then work, then Ugo's Italian Cafe, then to my friend Jeremy's house, then back home. I love biking now, even though it's really cold and windy right now! 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes other kind of elliptical, 3 sets each lunges, quad extension, hamstring extension, and hip abductions in and out.

Breakfast: Since I didn't have dinner yesterday and I went to the gym before I had breakfast, I was starving by the time I got to work! I took the lunch that I had brought and ate it all before 10am. 2 spam, 1 fried egg, noodles, stirfried vegetables, picked radish, steamed brussels sprouts... a pungent, stinky feast that I only felt comfortable eating outside my office, in the courtyard.

Lunch: Then I had my breakfast: oatmeal and a packet of raisins.

Snack: navel orange

Dinner: Biran and Tiffany are in Los Angeles! Because they came down, all the high school friends got together and we ate at Ugo's Italian Cafe in Culver City. The food is always just aite - the prices are what keep us coming back. I ordered shrimp linguine, had a glass of red wine, and the appetizers were calamari, meatballs, and slices of bread.

Simon came from work and he brought me K's Chocolatiers truffles, chocolate bears, and chocolate covered pomegranates. They are from a fancy shop in Beverly Hills - the title of this blog post is a link to their site. He remembered that I saw them once on a food network special and that I was drooling over them. Then I got to share it with all my friends. It was the best Valentine's Day ever.

X'otik!

2009-02-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Biking to and from work, (3 mi.), 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes treadmill, 3 sets each lat pull, shoulder work, triceps, upper back stuff I don't really know the name of.

Breakfast: chocolate croissant

Lunch: I went a little crazy here because work catered lunch from X'otik! because we had to listen to some Smith Barney guys talk to us about retirement plans. Boring!

Steak, chicken, fish, pasta, steamed vegetables, salad, pita bread, strawberries, brownies, roast potatoes, curry.

And then I had seconds.

Then thirds.

Dinner: Watching Private Practice after going to the gym.

It has been a crazy PMS week

2009-02-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 3 miles biked to and from work, 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes stationary bike, 3 sets each leg press, squats, and dead lifts. My thigh muscles are getting more defined. Is it because of riding the bike to work?

Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins.

Lunch: noodles, stirfry vegetables, steamed and seasoned Brussels sprouts, and a fried egg. Fig newton cookie, an orange.

Snack: hot chocolate. Then some chocolate.

Dinner:Tender Greens with simon! He had chicken bbq salad, and I had flank steak, baby spinach salad with hazelnuts and goat cheese, and mashed potatoes. We switched plates half-way.

Snack: More chocolate.

My PMS is so obvious that my mid-manager asked me if I was ok and needed to talk or take a walk. Awkward! I need to better control the journey from my feelings to my face - stop showing my emotions so much.

Octo-Mom Angelina Look-Alike

2009-02-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 3 miles biked, 45 minutes elliptical. 3 sets each bench press, shoulder press, chest curl, shoulder lift (forward and out to the side), bicep curls.

Breakfast: Oatmeal packet, stolen silk, raisin pack

Lunch: White rice and fried fish from last Friday (it was still really good!)

Snack: freakish stress snacking: 3 cookies and a hot chocolate. Work has been crazy hectic lately and I just can't deal! Biran advised me today to just get a bar of dark chocolate and break off a piece if I need to "take the edge off" (ha ha ha) instead of sugary cookies and hot chocolates. I think that's a great idea!

Dinner: 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup green tea, 1 mochi with red bean filling.

What are people feeling about the Octo-Mom Angelina lookalike? I read in the LA Times that people were outraged on a number of levels: her irresponsibility, her irrationality, etc. I thought it was fascinating to watch the progression of the news coverage on the births - first from medical marvel, pledges of charity and support, to confusion when her background and homelife were made public (single, 6 other children, no income), to outrage and vilification.

I talked to my friend IK (I think of him as "the smart one") and he said that it would have been an interesting situation if it were transferred to a country with state-provided health care: If a woman on disability and welfare with six children came to an IV clinic and asked to have more embryos implanted, the hospital would have red-flagged her case and denied the fertility treatment on behalf of the state welfare system.

My Mom had the best breakdown, though. She said:

When people say they are angry at her, they're really just mad about welfare in general. For me, since there aren't any laws yet against having too many children, or how to have children, she has done something within her legal rights. I pay taxes, and I know where all my withheld pay goes. Taxes are for welfare, and welfare is for people who can't support themselves. I understand this system, and I'm OK with it.

What do you all think about her?

I crave chocolate like a confused vampire who keeps on eating chocolate instead of drinking blood.

2009-02-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 mins. elliptical, 15 mins. treadmill, some lame-ass sit ups.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, stolen silk.

Lunch: leftover Korean noodles (jjol myun?) from my lunch with Jenn, 2 slices of spam. God, it was still SO SPICY even two days after I had first eaten it!

Snack: Hot chocolate

Dinner: Special K with Strawberries, Soymilk.

Today Biran sent me some notes for tips on more nutritious eating. There were a lot of good tips he included. Later on this month we are going to craft a work out plan to make my body look more like Beyonce's. I am not joking. I specifically asked him, as my wedding gift, to help me look like Beyonce. Here are some of his food tips:

1. Avoid the Bad

Whenever I am eating a meal, and someone asks if I want dessert, or a second helping of something delicious as fuck, I ask myself “Will I be glad I at this 20 minutes from now? 1 week from now? 6 months from now? Is it worth it?” Sounds stupid, but it helps. If I can just withdraw myself from my instinctual urge for momentary gratification for those 10 minutes, my brain can focus on another activity and forget about whatever was delicious as fuck.

So that’s one thing that helps me avoid things I know not to eat.

2. Don't make yourself sad

Don’t shut out everything you like to eat. It might make you sad. Just eat the unhealthy things in small, controlled portions. Make a mental note of it, and do a little extra the next time in the gym to knock off those calories. When I was super healthy in college, I went to the Cheesecake Factory and ate a cheesecake. Later that night, I ran 5 miles to burn it off. Freakish? Yes. Excessive? Maybe. Homophobic? No. It works.

Omikase makes me gase!

2009-02-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Exercise: pre-menstrual naps.

Breakfast: 2 slices fried Spam (lite!), 2 fried eggs, re-fried rice.

Lunch: chicken noodle soup from Subway, 1 medium original-pomegranate pinkberry with raspberries, strawberries, and yogurt chips.

Dinner: Omikase menu at the Katsuya restaurant in Studio City! Today was Allie's birthday celebration dinner. She is 28. There were 8 courses:

1. an amuse bouche of sea urchin, fruit, and soy sauce
2. a trio of tastes: seared scallop and black caviar, king crab and cucumbers, and seared tuna slices
3. broth with shrimp ball
4. assorted sashimi - toro and king crab with avocado
5. miso cooked black cod fish, steamed vegetables
6. tempura: vegetables and fish
7. 6 different sushi - eel, egg, spicy tuna on a toasted rice cake, needlefish, tuna, scallop
8. fresh fruits and mochi ice cream

As the dinner drew to a close, Simon and I started whispering to each other, "God, all of a sudden I'm really gassy. We gotta leave, right now."

And for the rest of the drive home we took turns farting horribly, blaming the other person, and then rolling down the car windows. It was kinda sweet in a sick way, and it reminded me of my parents' marriage.

Is it independence or self-made loneliness?

2009-02-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

I have so much to say tonight, for some reason.

Simon has been asking more and more if we could live together. There's just something that rubs me the wrong away about it, although I know many a happy couple who are living together and it has either led to marriage or lifelong partnership. Every time someone finds out I'm engaged, they are surprised to find out that we are not living together. Some of the more outspoken people come right out and say, "Do yourself a favor and live together at least a year before you get married." Others just make a little surprised noise, like, "eewoohh... well, good for you!" The Evangelical in me is still a little shocked at being confronted with the exact opposite value I was raised with. It's weird - I haven't seriously attended church in years but I'm still little priss when it comes to a few things.

Here are my reasons against it:

1. Loss of independence. I'm savoring my "singleness" by taking care of myself, doing what I want, making my own plans, etc. As it is, every time we hang out we end up lounging and watching DVDs. I still don't have many friends in LA, and I need to be a go-getter! Going on friend dates and such, build up the network of girlfriends DC has shown me that I need.

2. Chores. I don't have enough confidence in Simon's housekeeping abilities. I hate the thought of us both working demanding jobs but me doing more housework. It happens! It's sociologically documented and it's called a woman's "second shift."

3. This statistic I heard that couples who live together first are more likely to get divorced than those who just get married and then live together. I think this scares me a lot because it's so mysterious. Why does this happen? It's so counter-intuitive.

4. Everyone knows that if you live together first, the wedding presents aren't as good. (ha ha ha. but seriously. Everyone knows that).

5. Making my parents sad.

6. Making myself sad for not saving anything special for marriage.

7. I like the intentionality of our Wednesday date and our Saturday or Sunday date. I feel like maybe if we lived together we'd be lazy about our time together and count watching LOST and surfing on our laptops side by side as a date.

8. We spend money really differently. We've both agreed that when we get married, we'll combine our bank accounts. But for now, I'm not sure we could agree on a budget. He thinks its strange that I save money for "tithe" (since I hate church, this is basically just money to invest in an org. or charity). I think it is strange that he eats lunch out every day at work, even though his office kitchen is fully stocked. Drama.

I asked Simon for a moratorium on the request to live together until June, the month that I can move out of this house if I choose (I verbally agreed to 6 months here). Then we would re-evaluate the idea. I wonder how I'll feel in the summer time.

Sex and the City Sequel Confirmed!

2009-02-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

Exercise: walk to work (.5 mi, as I took the bus to the gym), 30 mins. elliptical, 15 minutes treadmill, 3 sets each row, shoulder press, lat pull, bike home (1.5 miles)

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Silk,raisins, and an apple

Lunch: Leftovers from Royal-T/Cafe, the chicken, fried rice, and Roy and Simon's unwanted creamed spinach! They're crazy to give the spinach up.

Snacks: hot chocolate, peppermint tea, 2 wheat thins.

Dinner: greasy "3 item" Chinese food plate - fried rice, kung pao chicken, and a whole fried fish! It was a pretty good deal ($8) considering I got an entire fried fish. I ate everything but saved half of the fish. I picked all the meat off the bones and I put it in a tupperware for lunch next week. It's this place around the corner of my house called China Wok, which means I can walk there. On the way back I saw one of our homeless peeing in a patch of grass. And I also noticed 3 women hanging out on the corner. Might explain the occasional condom wrapper I find on the ground. Who am I kidding? This place is fucking gross.

This morning I found out that my Mom reads this blog. I was really surprised, but I remembered that I sent around a link to it when Simon proposed last week. Re: the engagement - people everywhere are offering to help me when I start planning. I'm grateful, but a little scared. How much help am I going to need? Mom, if you're reading this, I was kinda hoping to pass everything onto you...

Tonight I biked home in the rain. It was horrible! Everything was so slippery, and I had a hard time keeping my shoes from slipping on the pedals. Because of the wet ground, my brakes were screeching and sliding a bit. The worst part was that my back wheel kept on flipping dirty street water onto my bum. It soaked the back of my jeans and I felt really grossed out.

Right now I'm curled up in bed. I'm in the middle of three loads of laundry. It's kinda looking like Friday nights are laundry nights. How lame is that? I didn't used to need to do laundry every week, but ever since I started going to the gym I've racked up work out towels and shower towels and work out clothes and sweatbands and 2 pairs of socks every day... It's a lot, and an unintended consequence of going to the gym 5 days a week. Of course, I could just be like those other people at Ballys who show up and you can smell that they wore that outfit to the gym yesterday, and the day before. YUCK.

It Rained Today

2009-02-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

Exercise: biking to work (1.5 mi.), my heart beating really fast at work because it was so stressful today.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, stolen Silk, raisins.

Lunch: Campbell's clam chowder, half an english muffin

Stressed out snack: 3 chips ahoy cookies and a hot chocolate

Dinner: Restaurant week with Noah at Beacon! I had a stirfried mushroom salad (so good! Delicious chunks of cheese), fancy fried catfish and sweet potato chips, and a trio of sorbets. My favorite flavor was lychee! And we also split a bottle of Cava! I'm really glad Noah picked me up at work and dropped me off at home or else I would be driving while tipsy...

Royal-T/Cafe

2009-02-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 4.6 miles biked! From my house to the gym to work, then from work to the Royal-T Cafe back home. 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes stationary bike, 25 minutes of half-hearted sit-ups.

Breakfast: oatmeal, milk, 2 packs of raisins.

Snack: banana

Lunch: leftover pasta from yesterday

Snack: granola bar, trail mix

Dinner: Restaurant Week! Today I met my friends Liz and Roy at the Royal-T/Cafe to enjoy the prix fixe meal.I had smoked salmon canapes (yum!), chicken breast over fried rice (meh! Only a half-step above Panda express, imho), and a red velvet cupcake! The restaurant is a combination cafe, art space, and kitsch store. Such an interesting place!

Simon and I met Liz and Roy, our dear friends, in Culver City. They are hilarious! Simon said that he likes them because everything they say is funny. I love them for their stories and also because of how affectionate they are over each other. They live in an apartment together on the East side. I met Liz when she was volunteering at Sojourners, and I was so happy to find out that she was getting ready to move to Los Angeles. Now we are Los Angeles friends and we have so much fun together. They absolutely love our ring, and our dinner conversation ended with Roy asking Simon what his purchasing process was. I think it made Liz feel secretly excited to hear him plan.

The next time we hang out they are taking us to an LA chain called King Taco. Simon looks forward to getting diarrhea from there.

Best Day For Regular Meals Ever

2009-02-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 3 miles biked back and forth from work, 30 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes precor, 3 sets each squats, leg presses, and deadlifts.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, 2 packs raisins, milk, banana.

Lunch: spaghetti and meatballs, salad and steak, 2 slices fancy pizza, 2 brownies, I don't even remember. There was a lunch event at work and I lost my shit when I saw the fancy catered spread. While everyone was networking and listening to the speaker, I was stuffing my face.

Dinner: 3 fish tacos, guacamole and chips. Simon's treat from Baja Fresh! Grapes and leftover Mrs. Beasely's cake.

Oh yeah, and something horrible happened at the engagement dinner

2009-02-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Exercise: bike to and from work (3 mi.), 30 mins. elliptical, 15 minutes treadmill (woo hoo!), 3 sets each bench, chest curl, shoulder lift, and lat pulls.

Breakfast: Maple syrup and brown sugar oatmeal packet (with extra fiber!), milk, 2 packs raisins.

Lunch: Can of soup! Chicken and corn chowder, half an avo, diet coke

Snacks: Trail mix, banana

Dinner: The ultimate sad (filipino) single lady dinner - fried garlic rice and a chopped up hotdog. Green tea. Get ready to read the saddest thing ever: while I was eating I touched my bangs and felt that I had accidentally gotten some hotdog grease in it. So I dipped my fingertips into my hot tea and then smoothed out my hair with the water.

I forgot to mention one horrible thing about our engagement night! We went to the lovely Crustacean, but we were seated right up against another couple. We were separated by a rail, but they were elevated on a short stage right beside us. This, no joke, is an exact transcript of this awful couple:

Man: Don't you just wish you could be one of those boys, you know, those boys who got touched by a priest? You grow up and then you've got millions of dollars coming your way in a lawsuit.

Woman: How dare you say that! How dare you say that to me, knowing what happened to me when I was a little girl! I told you, I told you that time about when I was small and then I visited my neighbor and he took off his pants and exposed himself...

[continues trivial but obviously traumatic story for 5 minutes]

Man: You're overreacting. How does that have any effect on you now?

Woman: You just have no idea...

Blah blah blah. They just went on and on, so loud about what molestation is, the perils of organized religion, insensitivity, etc. And they weren't even eating anything! Just having flight after flight of wine tastings.

Oy! Like the last thing they needed was more alcohol.

Superbowl Sunday!

2009-02-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Lifting up my left hand to show everyone my ice.

Breakfast: a slice of leftover Mrs. Beasley's cake (dense dark chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, a Ganz standard) and two servings of Top Chef.

Lunch: at the Portuguese Bakery around the corner! I ordered the french toast made with special Portuguese bread and Simon got an omelette with linguica, bacon, and cheddar in it. Then we switched halfway. Just one of the wonderful benefits of being in a couple: tasting two different meals at restaurants. My parents taught me that!

Dinner: Superbowl party at Allie's house! (Simon's sister). We arrived after the first quarter, I watched the second quarter, and then I had a third of a bloody mary and fell asleep during the second half. Simon held my head in his lap while I napped. The party woke me up in the last two minutes and I got to see the most exciting part of the game!

Other things I ate at the party: KFC chicken thigh, chips, guacamole, and salsa, a biscuit, a cookie, two magic bars (I don't think that's really the name of them, but they have chocolate and caramel chips, graham cracker crust, and coconut shavings).

I miss my parents and my aunt and my sister and brother. I wish they were with me right now. I miss my girlfriends in DC and my high school and college friends in the Bay Area. I feel so happy, but I wish I could share it with everyone I love. It felt good to reply to everyone's Facebook messages, though.

Yesterday Simon and I went back to the ring shop (Matthews, part of the Michael B. shops in Los Angeles) because the ring is a bit too big. The jeweler welded a small platinum bar to the inside of the band to make it snugger. While I was waiting for the ring to be fixed I got a manicure (OPI Linkin Park in the Dark) because I figured everyone would be looking at my hand for a while.

Back to work!

The Crustacean

2009-01-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 15 minutes on the treadmill. 3 sets each leg presses and inclined bench presses. I'm finally benching a little more than the bar (10 lbs.)

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, Silk Vanilla lite, banana.

Lunch: Progresso lentil soup, quesadilla, salsa, half an avo.

Snack: more of that damn Costco trail mix! It's not even good to me, except the M&Ms, almonds, and raisins.

Simon showed up at work to pick me up for his birthday dinner, but he had forgotten I work a little later, and also that I ride a bike. So I gave him my backpack and keys and told him to wait for me at home. When I arrived:

Simon: Wow, you're sweaty!

Anna: I know. I just biked 1.5 miles!

Simon: Let's open my presents now.

Anna: No, I gotta shower and get ready for going out!

[Showers, dresses, does make up]

Simon: Let's open my presents now!

Anna: I gotta blow dry and curl my hair. Wait a little.

[5 minutes before we have to leave for the restaurant]

Anna: Here are your presents!

[opens, feigns surprise even though he specifically told me he wanted iLife09 for his birthday a week ago]

Simon: I want another present.

Anna: I don't have any more money!

Simon: Anna, it would be the best birthday present in the world if you would answer this question I have.

[gets down on one knee, proposes]

_________________

I loved the proposal and the ring, but I'm not going to let it change my lifestyle! At the restaurant later, I ordered the roast dungeness crab IN SHELL because it is more fun to work for your food. Also, I was celebrating, after all! Nothing says congratulations like a big, tasty crustacean. I asked Simon to hold the ring in his pocket while I sucked that thing dry of sweet, juicy crab meat.

Poll: Which crab is better, blue Maryland crabs or red San Francisco dungeness?

It's Simon's birthday tomorrow! Be sure to write on his Wall.

2009-01-29T23:03:00.000-08:00

Exercise: biking to and from work, 45 minutes elliptical machine, a few half-hearted sit ups before I got bored and went home.

Breakfast: Chocolate croissant

Lunch: leftovers from last night, mashed potatoes, tri-tip, and chicken. A box of raisins and a granola bar.

Snack: Costco brand trail mix. Did you know that the serving size is 3 tbs. and 160 cals.? I think I had like... 2 or 3 times that.

Dinner: Today after I came home I took Steven to the Fatburger around the corner. I used to be against Fatburger because I thought they were gross. But today I ordered mine without onions or lettuce (hate it!) and I added an egg on top. Yummy!

G-chat ruined my productivity today.

2009-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 mins. elliptical, 15 minutes stationary bike, 3 sets each squats, leg presses, and deadlift. I'm trying to build my booty shelf, like Beyonce did!

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, apple, silk vanilla lite

Lunch: Last round of Ethiopian leftovers. Sadface!

Snack: Diet coke, trail mix. Peanut butter cookie.

Dinner: Dinner at Century City mall food court: hawaiian chicken, tri-tip, mashed potatoes, gravy.

The Biggest Loser on NBC is truly motivating! Check out their Before and After gallery

2009-01-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Exercise: biking to and from work, 30 minutes on the elliptical, 15 minutes on the treadmill, and three sets each incline bench press, shoulder press, chest curls, shoulder lift, biceps, and triceps.

Progress: Today I weighed myself and since last week, I have gone from 160 lbs. to 158 lbs.!

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, banana, Silk Vanilla lite.

Snack: elf cookie

Lunch: Ethiopian food leftovers, an apricot yogurt.

Snack: Costco chocolate chip cookie

Dinner: bites here and there of the black beans and rice I was making.

Today I finally did something that has been nagging at me for a while. There are these two minivans parked outside my house, each with a homeless man living inside. Jose only speaks Spanish, not English. He waits on the corner with other men looking to pick up work. Steven is waiting for welfare for his cancer. He sometimes gets sympathy mechanic jobs from the Jaguar repair shop next to my house. I've known that they live on my street since I moved here in December, but it wasn't until I started biking that their situation really started getting to me. Maybe it's because I can feel how cold it is, or maybe it's because I can't avoid them by hiding in my own car as I pass them by.

Anyway, I've really wanted to help them for a while, but I don't know what to do. I know that in Los Angeles, the homeless shelters and work centers are swamped because this bad economy hits the poor first and worst. So tonight after I came home from work I knocked on Steven's window and asked if he would like some dinner. I made him black beans, rice, and included jar salsa and grated cheddar cheese. It felt good and natural to cook for him, and soberingly, something that I should have started earlier.

Maybe I'll see them once and a while and ask if they would like some dinner, but I want to help in a more substantive way. Does anyone have any ideas?

Today I found a huge black spider on a towel in my backpack and it kinda looked like this one.

2009-01-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

Exercise: biking to and from work, 30 minutes on the treadmill, some half-assed sit ups.

Breakfast: Chocolate croissant, Silk Vanilla lite, tangerine.

Lunch: Rosalind leftovers!

Snack: strawberry yogurt, raisins.

Dinner: hunks of panettone, dreams.

I Love You, Rosalind!

2009-01-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 3 hours of laundry and a burrito run for my boss at work today.

Breakfast: kim chi ramen with a hotdog cut up in it. Mmm, sodium. The ultimate sad single lady meal.

Snack: 3 dove chocolate pieces

Lunch: Silk Vanilla lite, blueberries, and panettone!

Dinner: a delicious dinner at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Rosalind's! It's in little Ethiopia neighborhood, on South Fairfax. I don't know they names of anything, but I always get the vegetable combo and Simon gets the meat combo. SO GOOD. But, if you know any tagalog, in the morning, sira ang chan ni Simon.

Chub Rub, or Damn the Gomezes and their Active Lifestyle!

2009-01-25T00:21:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Walked 6 miles from Alex and Jenn's apartment to the harbor and back. Basically the worst thigh-chafe I have ever had in my life. Right now, when I look down, there are two 4 inch-wide raised blisters down there. So painful I'm afraid I might break the skin if I move too suddenly.

Breakfast: Lovers eggs at Du-Pars! I had french toast, turkey links, and an egg over-easy. So delicious! I think I've found my stand-by dish at this overpriced but reliable diner.

Today after eating breakfast with Simon I drove down to San Diego to hang out with Krista, Jenn, and Alex. We all brought/made a little something and had a cute little potluck get-together. I love everyone there so much!

Lunch: I brought two different kinds of champagne (Thanks Ganz family!), raspberries, and strawberries. The fruit was so delicious with the champagne, especially the strawberries! Alex made beans, rice, meat, fresh salsa, and heated up corn tortillas. Jenn made bell pepper bruschetta slices and made the most delicious brownies I have ever tasted (she used melted chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder!). Krista made a three layer chocolate cake with salted caramel icing.

Overdo it? That's what we do best!

Dinner: I think Krista, Alex, Jenn, and I started eating at 2pm and didn't stop until we all had champagne headaches. The only time we weren't eating was when we went on that horrible "cleansing" walk that made me feel all kinds of secret pain. I tried to subtly complain about how tired or sweaty I was, but I didn't want to bring up the fact that every step feels like I'm pole dancing against fire! Oh, the embarrassment.

Had lots of great talks today, though. I guess I'll decide tomorrow whether the thigh blisters were worth it...

"Frozen Yogurt is Not Culture!" - place that SATC quote.

2009-01-23T22:08:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes on the elliptical, 3 sets each squats, lat pulls, shoulder press, incline bench press, pulls for your back.

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, Silk Vanilla lite, 1 banana

Lunch: 1/2 Chipotle carnitas burrito, 1 light blueberry yogurt

Snack: slice of lemon cake.

Dinner: other 1/2 of the Chipotle carnitas burrito, 1 medium pinkberry! I got a pomegranate-original swirl with yogurt chips, kiwi fruit, and raspberries.

Snack: 4 squares of Ritter milk chocolate.

Panettone is my Kryptonite

2009-01-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Riding my bike to and from work, 30 minutes on elliptical, 3 sets each leg press, hip abductions (both in and out), and dead lift.

I'm not going to post my food consumption today because I think this gchat with my friend Krista sums it up pretty well:

Me: How you doing?

Krista: Good, you?

Me: Good. eating bread out of a tin for dinner.

Krista: What bread comes in a tin? Spotted dick?

Me: Panettone.

Krista: That's cake.

Me: Ok fine, I'm eating cake out of a tin for dinner.

Panda Express:Anna::McDonalds:Simon

2009-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Biking to and from work, 30 minutes on the elliptical, 3 sets ab exercises.

Breakfast: Special K with Strawberries, Silk Vanilla Lite, 1 banana

Lunch: Leftover steak, mashed potatoes, fresh salsa, 1 brownie.

Snack: 1 apricot yogurt, 2 oreos

Snack: 1 slice Trader Joe's Lemon bread

Dinner: Panda Express 2 entree dinner (fried rice, kung pao shrimp, and eggplant and tofu).

Today my lunch was heavier than it usually is, just because I had leftover steak and taters from my Mom's house. Also, I ate dinner tonight even though I wasn't hungry, because Simon was over and he was treating.

Advice that was well-intentioned but just ended up terrifying me.

2009-01-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Riding my bike! On the road! to the gym and work, and then back at night on the sidewalk. 30 mins. elliptical, 3 sets each upper body lifting.

Breakfast: Kashi blueberry cereal, Silk Vanilla Lite.

Snack: Strawberry yogurt, like... 5 oreos.

Lunch: The other half of that "Bella" sandwich.

Snack: 1 banana

Dinner: Gnawing on a leftover NY strip steak bone - no joke. Green tea, Panetonne (about 1/3 of the tin. That's a lot if you know the Williams-Sonoma Christmas Panetonne).

Today was my first day biking. In the morning it was ok and I even rode on the bike lane on Venice Blvd., but at night I was truly afraid. So afraid, I rode on the sidewalk. My problem is stopping and starting, which make stoplights and crosswalks a will-I-or-won't-I situation.

How do you practice riding your bike on the road without actually riding your bike on the road? Can anyone enlighten me?

The Road to Love and Family

2009-01-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Watching Simon and his Mom pump up my new bike, set the rack up on my car, and strap everything together. Thanks for the bike, Ganz Family!

Breakfast: some lemon meringue pie, some hummingbird cupcake.

Lunch: a NY Strip steak! Mashed potatoes and gravy, mandarins in mandarin jello.

Snack: Chocolate milkshake from the In n Out in Kettleman City.

Dinner: Back in LA... half a "Bella" panini (mozzrella, sundried tomatoes, avocado) from Simon's favorite sandwich place, Il Tramezzino.

First day riding my bike to work tomorrow! I am extremely scared. I am going to ride on the sidewalk.

Love at First Bite

2009-01-18T22:16:00.000-08:00

Exercise: walking from the Love at First Bite cupcakery to campus, while taking breaks on leather couches along the way.

Breakfast: biscuit with honey and butter, lil smokies, panettone.

Snack: mini red velvet cupcake.

Lunch: Lime Tree! Southeast Asian restaurant and we had beef rendang, roti pratha, singaporean noodles, Diet Coke.

Dinner: Sushi House! Alameda restaurant. Marine boy roll, samurai roll, baked scallop roll, orange blossom roll, seafood udon, california roll. Cupcakes.

Snack: the best lemon meringue pie I've ever had! Mom made a pie where the crust was meringue, with lemon curd and freshly whipped cream on top.

I think I can feel my skin stretching.

Today Simon and I spent some time on the Berkeley campus, waiting for Donna to finish caring for her cells before we spent the day in San Francisco. It felt so good walking through campus in the sunlight, holding hands with Simon and remembering this meal here, this kiss there. Going to college with Simon was one of the happiest parts of my life and I loved remembering it with him on campus today.

Pigs in Pleasanton

2009-01-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 4.5 hour drive (shortest I've ever done!) from Simon's house to my parents' house in Pleasanton.

Breakfast: english muffin, butter, Activia yogurt.

Snack: 2 pieces Jack in the Box chicken tenders on the I-5

Snack: a whole bunch of Christmas chocolate and sweet treats when I got to my parents' house in Pleasanton. Some blueberry pie.

Lunch: Koi Gardens dim sum! Too much debauchery to mention by name, except for the standout whole crab deep fried, with a portion of its meat put in soup dumplings.

Snack: awkward baby shower of one of Simon's college friends. Cake, meatballs, lox, chicken drumette, cookies, brownies, fruit.

Dinner: beef stroganoff and pasta, Ghirardelli brownie with vanilla ice cream and Dove fudge on top.

I think it's safe to say I'm done for the day.

Alexis gave up pork, but I never will.

2009-01-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 mins. elliptical, crazy-ass exercises with Maia (my last free training session), and a 30 min. long consultation on my diet, daily routine, and workout goals.

Breakfast: Silk vanilla lite, Kashi blueberry cereal, small apple.

Snack: 1/4 c. Kirkland trail mix

Lunch: 1 tortilla cheese quesadilla, spinach and mushrooms, fresh salsa. Diet coke.

Snack: half Trader Joe's mini carrot-cake

Dinner: 1/2 rack of baby back ribs, steamed green beans, grilled corn, hush puppies, cornbread.

Work is really difficult.

First Happy Hour in LA!

2009-01-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 mins. elliptical, 3 sets each a lot og back exercises. Dead lifts, lat pulls, lat extensions, things I don't really know the name of.

Breakfast: Silk Vanilla Lite, Special K with Strawberries off-brand, small apple.

Lunch: Quesadilla (1 tortilla only this time) with cheese, sauteed mushrooms, steamed spinach, fresh salsa, and 1/3 small avocado.

Snack: birthday cupcakes from a local place. I had a red velvet... and then I stopped at one. Go me!

Dinner: Gin and tonic, lots of garlic fries, a few chicken tenders. Yummy!

Today when I was getting out of bed I felt the answer to my question about personal trainers. The reason PTs make you do crazy exercises is to target all the places that you're not hitting! Today I am sore all across my abdomen, my back, butt, hips, and thighs. Obvi the point they make is that I'm not training well on my own, and that if I buy a series with them I'll get results faster.

I don't know if I would ever by a series. For one thing, she made me do three push ups yesterday, and that's just not cool.

First LA Happy hour with people from work, and it was fun. I hope we do it more often - I really miss going out after work with my friends.

Medicine Ball, you are my enemy

2009-01-14T15:44:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical machine, 15 minute workout with Maia with reps so crazy I can't even describe them, 3 sets each leg press, hamstring lift, sexy lady leg squeezes (both in and out). Cals. unknown because my HRM ran out of battery!

Breakfast: a Special K with strawberries knock-off, Silk Vanilla lite, a banana

Snack: cranberries, a single elf cookie!

Lunch: a cheese quesadilla (two tortillas), fresh salsa I made last night, steamed and sauteed spinach and baby bellas.

Snack: Trader Joe's mini carrot cake. Half of it.

Dinner: Green tea, White Monkey tea leaf. So mild and delicious!

Today was my first free session with a personal trainer. I have a second free one on Friday. It was short, but it was intense. Do you ever notice that people who work with trainers at the gym are always doing a whole bunch of crazy shit? Jumping up and down on blocks, dancing around with heavy-ass basketballs (or medicine balls, to the more gym-experienced), crazy floor exercises, etc. Why do they make us do this? Especially when there are so many more respectable options on the floor. Why can't we just lift weights together? Why do you and I have to toss a medicine ball back and forth while bending our knees? Why do I have to simulate picking something up and putting it on the top shelf?

Brazilian Fart Porn

2009-01-13T09:51:00.001-08:00

Exercise: 35 minutes elliptical (I ran as fast as I could!) and 3 sets each incline bench press, butterflies, military press, bicep curl, and tricep extension (520 cals.)

Breakfast: 1/2 a blueberry bagel, cream cheese, a small apple, and strawberry yogurt.

Snacks: dried cranberries, gelt.

Lunch: leftovers from Il Auk Jo - white rice, kim chee, and other side dishes. Also, the rest of my avocado.

Snck: numerous elf cookies. I was bad.

Dinner: I had it at work because I stayed so late! 1 can of Progresso soup, a piece of crusty french bread, and butter

Snack: at home, because I missed it so much. Special K with strawberries, Original silk lite.

Why the blog title, you ask? My work is a lot of YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace analysis. Today I tromped around the internet so much that I accidentally stumbled upon the horror that is Brazilian Fart Porn. Don't worry - the link is to an Urban Dictionary definition, not RedTube.com!

On an interesting note: I was talking to my boss about what I had found, and she actually told me that the porn industry is a vanguard industry when it comes to marketing. Every part of the interactive and relationship building parts of the internet (social networking, affiliates, partnerships, sponsorships, and countless software) was pioneered by porn companies.

Now, if you want to know what the newest innovation in marketing will be, just look to porn.

I could run into Brit-Brit at my new gym!

2009-01-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 1 set each of crunches, side crunches, butt lift, plank, and superman. (313 cals.)

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, Silk Original Lite.

Snack: lots and lots of dried cranberries during 4 hours of meetings before lunch. Diet Coke.

Lunch: Another Diet Coke (is that bad?), white rice, spicy garlic green beans and kung pao chicken (Chinese food leftovers from the weekend, YM).

Snack: Nature Valley granola bar, pear, more gelt. No more Diet cokes.

Dinner: 3 pieces of Dove Chocolate, 1 cup delicious whole leaf jasmine tea.

Bibim Naeng Myun gives me hives and taco ring!

2009-01-11T16:17:00.001-08:00

Exercise: Morning sex!

Breakfast: 1 english muffin, 2 poached eggs, roasted red bell peppers and a pat of butter.

Lunch: 1/2 lb. of Chinese Chicken salad from Gelson's market.

Today I spent... 4 hours making a blueberry pie from scratch. I used a cream cheese and butter crust recipe from Washington Post and I mixed and match a bunch of different recipe suggestions for the filling. Basically any blueberry pie filling is going to have fruit, lemon juice/zest, white sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Do you know of any blueberry pie recipes with different ingredients?

I told Simon today that I think it's really important for any home chef to have a pastry crust s/he can turn out reliably. He looked at me like I was crazy. I'm working on mine all the time, which is why I haven't settled on just Crisco (my Mom and Aunt swear by this), or salted butter, or unsalted butter, or a combination of those fats. I was intrigued by this recipe because I had never seen a cream cheese crust before. I think I'm going to put a year or so more into research before I settle on the right pie crust for me.

UpDate: Blueberry Pie Fail! I didn't put enough cornstarch, and I think despite all the recipes online, I should have stewed the fruit before I put it in the pie crust. Oh well. The crust was good and flaky, and the filling was yummy if you thought of them as whole blueberries in syrup.

Dinner: bibim naeng myun and kalbi at Il Auk Jo! This is me and my friend Jenn's place, and it is always delicious. They even refill the side dishes! Korean food is my number one Asian cuisine. Simon is always uncomfortable though, because minutes after I finish my noodles I get little hives on my face.

Dessert: blueberry pie "slice," various chocolate squares.

Me So Sleepy!

2009-01-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Visited Ballys and signed up for a month-to-month contract for the gym! Gonna start on Monday.

Breakfast: Leftover tempura udon soup from the night before. Dove chocolate bits. Bunch of grapes.

Lunch: Leftover mashed potatoes and lamb cheeks, bunch of cherry tomatoes and bunch of grapes.

Snack: Special K with strawberries and Silk Original lite

Dinner: a yucky restaurant that was basically like a Long Island chinese place, which is the worst chinese food of all. If you wanna read about good chinese food, go to iateeverything.blogspot.com. Things like shrimp drowned in red corn syrup, a whole fish deep fried and then drowned in brown corn syrup, oily " bbq" pork coins. Shudder. I think its a restaurant the family likes because it reminds Simon's dad and uncle of their hometown. If you want to read about good chinese food, you should read iateeverything.blogspot.com.

I miss this place

2009-01-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

Exercise: only 1.8 mi. today, as Simon picked me up part-way home on my walk from work.

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries

Snack: dried cranberries, one orange

Lunch: Tuna nicoise salad. BNF caters lunch every other Friday! How posh is that? The salad included canned tuna (kind of a disappointment as I was expecting those tuna squares that are raw in the middle, crusted with sesame seeds and seared on all sides), hardboiled egg, olives, carrots, and dressing. And it came with the creamiest, most delicious slightly spicy cup of tomato basil bisque. I LOVE white people soup! And also a few wedges of sourdough to go with the soup.

Snack: Various Ghirardelli chocolate squares, gelt (that's chocolate coins, for all you goyim out there), oreos, and other shameful things throughout the day. And also, I lied to you about yesterday night's snack: I actually had TWO Cadbury Creme eggs (2/$1)

Dinner: a horribly mediocre and understaffed cheap Japanese place! I had the tempura udon and a "Hungry Roll" - crab on the inside, unagi and salmon on the outside. Meh. I wish I lived in a town where people drank their dinner, like in D.C. I miss happy hour!

Snack: Dove chocolates and Citron Tea.

These Create the Best Bed Farts!

2009-01-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love eating my refried beans for lunch, but for the past few days I have had horrible gas in the afternoons. I'm not talking pain-in-my-abdomen gas, but more like... I would be a lot comfortable if I were just farting constantly. If I hold it in, my tummy make all these embarrassing noises. Donna says that eating beans is not worth the trouble. After two days of stepping outside to toot, I'm inclined to agree.

Exercise: 2.8 miles roundtrip to and from the office

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, silk original lite

Snack: 1 Ghiradelli caramel square, two oreos, 1 cup of strawberry tea

Lunch: burrito! 1 flour tortilla, refried beans, mexican blend cheese, steamed baby bellas and spinach, 1/3 avocado, salsa

Snack: another Ghiradelli caramel square, a handful of trail mix, then a Cadbury Creme egg (can you believe these are already out? It's like they bypassed Valentine's day, which I am fine with).

Why can't I have oreos every day?

2009-01-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Oh me oh my. It is more of a struggle than I realized to stay away from the treats that are delivered with the rest of the groceries every Monday. There are brownies, elf fudge cookies, oreos, red vines, chips, sodas, avocados, and more in the fridge, all fair game! A woman can only be so strong.

Exercise: Walking 2.8 miles roundtrip to and from my office.

Breakfast: Special K with strawberries, Silk lite, 2 Dove chocolate pieces.

Snack: apple

Lunch: delicious burrito! 1 flour tortilla, 1/2 c. of vegetable salsa, steamed and sliced baby bellas and spinach, 3/4 c. my own refried beans, sprinkle of Mexican blend cheese. Then a brownie cookie.

Snack: yoplait light blackberry flavor, 1/2 a huge-ass banana, a few dried cranberries.

I'm thinking about doing away with dinner altogether, simply because my work hours are from 10am-7pm and I end up eating my lunch and snacks so much later in the day. When I get home from work, a mug of hot tea and a few nibbles of whatever's around seems to suffice.

Off course, feeling full after work at night is all thrown off-course if I unexpectedly have to pass a second round of night soil (the first round being expelled in the morning, before my shower).

It'll also depend on whether or not I start exercising more intensely in the mornings. Methinks that if I get back to my DC levels of exercise, I'll have to eat 3 meals a day.

---Simon arrives---

I guess it also depends on if I'm hanging out with Simon. He's sleeping over tonight so we drove over to the downtown Culver City area and ate at the cheap, fresh, and delicious Tender Greens restaurant. Cafeteria style, their specialties are hotplates: mashed potatoes, your choice of salad, and your choice of protein. Simon had the flank steak strips, and I had braised lamb cheeks! So juicy, so tender. I saved half my meat and my potatoes for lunch some other day this week. All I have to do for that meal is make a fresh salad and I'll be good to go.

Finally: Simon and I worked out a budget for me now that my new job has started. I'll be spending 10% of my paycheck on food and dining.

Second day at new job!

2009-01-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Walk to work (1.5 miles)

Breakfast: Special K with Strawberries, Silk Lite

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Persian food leftovers! Delicious rice, half a beef kabob, half a chicken kabob, salad, hummus and 4 triangles of pita. 4 Oreos. Ok, maybe 5.

Snack: Yoplait light White chocolate and strawberries flavor

Dinner: cup of green tea, 2 slices apple, 3 pieces Dove chocolate.

Today after work I cooked burrito components for the next few days. I made my own refried beans with olive oil, red onions, serrano pepper slices, garlic, and red beans that I mashed myself. I also steamed a bunch of spinach and a few baby bella mushrooms, and I tried to reconfigure the week-old hard rice into delicious cilantro-lemon-cumin burrito rice, but I put too much water in the rice cooker when I was trying to re-cook it, and the whole thing turned out like sloppy risotto mess. I'm so disappointed, but at the same time everything else was going too well and I just knew it was too good to be true.