The Crustacean

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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?

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!

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.