Ugly Sweater Prepping

 

Found these festive socks in the bargain section at Target. Its my first holiday run so I want do it right and festive. Gotta deck yourself out for a holiday run. Good thing is I can also wear these socks to barre class. Pretty excited for this run. I got family and friends doing it with me so its going to be a fun time. Also the great thing about the run is that it doesn't start until 11AM. No need to wake up at 5AM to make it to a early start time. Only thing I'm missing is the ugly sweater. If I had an ugly sweater its already donated because it doesn't fit me anymore. Glad I wasn't forced to wear ugly sweaters in my teens. I don't think Asian grandmas would consider that as a gift to begin with. There's still time to register for the Los Angeles Ugly Sweater Run before the price increases December 7th. It's also cheaper to register as a team. Some cities have already done the sweater run, but there are a bunch of other cities doing the Ugly Sweater Run on Dec 21.

Fighting my body

Sometimes I feel like we are fighting our bodies. Few weeks ago I finally recovered from allergies. Surprisingly it was a mildly case of allergies. I'm used to sneezing non stop, watery eyes, and the other fun stuff you get with allergies so it was uprising not to get all that. The only downside was that it triggered my asthma and I ended up coughing incessantly during the night. Not really fun when your trying to sleep. After getting better I did a good job on keeping with my workouts, until few weeks ago. I woke up one day with a sore throat again which is a sign that I'm getting allergies. I'm thankful again it's just mild, but again it triggered the asthma and coughing. I think the recently weather changes in LA has gotten to me. I guess that's how end the year with allergies. I've never gotten it one after the other though. I felt like I was getting better after my first allergy so I was getting into a good routine of working out than bam I get allergies again. Oh well just got to roll with the punches. Nothing much you can really do when you get sick. Sometimes I do over analyze to see if I was eating healthy and exercising the past week, but that doesn't really do anything. So its 3-Allergies and 0-Me. KO. After Thanksgiving I felt much better to start running again. Kind of feel like I'm starting back at zero, but I'm glad to be running. I don't want to be running at a snails pace at the Ugly Sweater Run or stopping every 1/2 mile. Hopefully next year I can amp my miles and maybe do a 10K. I still consider myself a novice runner. More than 3.1 miles and I'm done, so when I see people post about their easy 5-10 miles, I'm just just like wow if I could do that one day.

Running update

Such a bummer that they canceled the RnR Pasadena, but it's understandable since the have the LA race. I was always surprised why they even choose Pasadena as a city for a race. Now maybe this will give some room for The Pasadena Marathon to go on. I thought I was done with racing for the year, but then I saw a Living Social deal for a Holiday run. After searching I signed up for The Ugly Sweater Run.

I know it's going to be a fun run. Finding things to wear that day is already fun. 

I found this cute Christmas hair band at the $1.50 store Dasio. 

At the dollar section at Target I was able to find some cute headbands for my teammates and I. I have a feeling that by race day I'll be like a Christmas tree and have all kinds of craziness hanging on me . I did see some battery operated light up stuff at Target so who knows. Interesting enough I just happened to see this shirt on sale for my bro to wear at the race and yes there will be a post beer at this race. 

Run Eve Run

I've only been running for a few years, but I still feel like a beginner sometimes. Well one mistake I felt like I made after last years Pasadena 5K was that I didn't keep up with the running. Especially during the summer. After May summer came and it just got progressively hotter and I joined the barre. Well of course I'm going to use the heat as an excuse not to run. So after the Pasadena 5K I ran I told myself I had to keep up with the running. The best way for me to keep up with running is to run more 5Ks. I figure if there's always a 5k to look forward too there's no excuse not to run. After looking up RNR Pasadena & seeing that there's 5K I signed up for it. I've always heard great things about the RNR races, but they are mostly half and full marathons. Glad they have a 5K option. Can't wait to see what music is going to be playing. 

Cooking With Dog Fan Event

 

One of my many favorite YouTubers is CookingWithDog. CookingWithDog videos are typically Japanese cusine. I happened to be on the CookingWithDog Facebook and found out they were having a drawing to attend fan event in Los Angeles. I decided to enter, but didn't think I would get picked. Well lucky enough I did get picked. The event was held at TasteMade Studios in Santa Monica July 1. TasteMade is this YouTube channel to has quality informative food/cooking videos. For those who don't know the channel CookingWithDog, she is best known for cooking with her well behaved dog Francis by her side. Francis the dog wasn't there of course, but a stuff dog took his place and Francis's voice double was there. Chef taught us how to make fried asparagus wrapped in bacon and pineapple ice cream which is already a previous video. We got to try both things and they were both delicious. Both recipes were pretty simple too. I can't wait to make some pineapple ice cream soon. Afterwards it was a Q&A so we got to ask Chef some questions. One question that was ask which I wanted to know the answer too was how Francis never moves from the stool. Chef said that there wasn't much room on the stool so Francis couldn't really go anywhere. I think it's also properly trained. Our old dog was full of energy and if I placed it on the counter when I'm cooking it'd probably eat what I was making. Afterwards we were treated with a bento dinner & photo op. I wish I had gotten Chef a gift because she gave each of the attendees a little gift. This was an amazing experience. It's not everyday you get to meet the person in the videos you watch everyday. For anyone that likes Japanese cusine or wants to learn more about Japanese cuisine I would checkout and subscribe to the CookingWithChef YouTube channel.

Pasadena Marathon 5K 2013 Recap

Race Swag

My Bro and I. 5K Finishers!

This is my 3rd 5K & 2nd time doing the Pasadena marathon. I haven't done many races, but this is one to remember and a learning experience. First mistake I made was not using my inhaler. I did prep the night before, but I forgot to put my inhaler out where I would remember it. Not smartest idea. I didn't realize this till I was standing in the starting line and had my doh moment. Another thing was the weather. I knew it was going to be hot, but didn't know how I'd be affect by it since I've never really trained in hot weather. That's what I get for not running too much last summer. There wasn't much I could do so I tried not to let it get to me. When I first started running I was doing ok. I got that adrenaline rush of being in the race and I got this burst of energy to run fast. I was good for about 1.5 miles. After passing city hall and passing the 5K sign was when it all went south. My breathing was getting a bit harder and I was not taking the heat. I stopped 3-4 times the rest of the race. I think I should have paced myself better instead of rushing in the beginning. I did finish at 33:24 which was approx 2 min faster than last year, but I felt I could have done better. Just like the Coaster Run I decided that I'd take pictures along the route. Its not everyday you get to run on Colorado Blvd. Obviously the photos I took were in the beginning and not at the end. Even managed to get a selfie in. Haha. Maybe there should be a website for "Photos of Asians who take photos while running".

Overall I'm glad I did the race even though I didn't feel like it was my best. If they decide to have the race in June again, I'm going to really have to think about it. I was only doing the 5K and I couldn't really take the heat. I'm glad there wasn't a full marathon it probably wouldn't have turn out too well in the heat. 6 people were taken to the hospital because of the heat. Craziness. I was looking at the comments on the PM Facebook page and some people were saying that the 5K was really 3.5 miles according to their Garmin. If that is true I guess I get to log extra miles on my Nike+. There's been a lot of complaints about this race. I haven't done that many races so I can't really compare. I'm pretty sure races big and small experience some flaws. I knew this was a smaller race so I wasn't expecting much to begin with, but to run out of medals does suck. The swag that I got was better than last years and I got run down a street where I usually drive, so that that was pretty exciting. To bad I didn't run into RunEatRepeat. I love reading her blog and it would have been cool to meet her. 

My Yogurt Addiction

I haven't posted in a long time. Well lately I've been discovering new yogurts. First my moms friend gave us some Noosa yogurt to try, which is very delicious. Usually I'm big on the Greek yogurt, but now since discovering other brands I've been having a mixture of regular yogurt and Greek. Another brand I discovered is Muller. My brother says its a German brand, but I guess Quaker brought it to the states. Now I'm seeing more and more different brands. I think the yogurt market is over saturated, but the good thing is that we get a lot of variety now. There's just so many great delicious yogurts out there right now. It's hard to choose a favorite at the moment. Lucky enough I got a coupon for Muller in my Vons rewards. I was able to score 10 at a great deal. I think it was for $0.88. Another time I went to Vons it seemed like all the yogurts was on sale. Right now I've just been a bit crazy about yogurt. Well its actually more like an addiction. I've been eating a yogurt a day. My brother was in NYC few weeks ago and brought me back a Chobani bowl. Hopefully one day I can visit the Chobani yogurt bar in Soho or Chobani will decide to expand in LA.

1 Year Barre-iversary

I never know what to blog. When I read other blogs and find everyone so amazing to be able to post something daily. Well this past week was my 1 year Barre-iversary. I never knew I would be hooked on the barre for a year. With the gym I always had an on and off relationship, but its surprised me that I'd be consistent with the barre. Also going to the barre has actually made me more consistent with the gym because I wouldn't be where I am with just the barre. I think overall the going to the barre has made me more aware of my overall fitness and what I'm doing. I am so glad I have found the barre. 

Another big help with keeping me stay on the fit track is Instagram. When I first joined Instagram I wouldn't have thought of it as a tool to keep fit. As I started looking at hahstags and finding fit minded people to follow its actually helped me with keeping fit. Seeing other people post pictures of their healthy food and workouts make me want to do the same. I still have my craving days where I give into my cravings (ok maybe more than usual), but overall it has made me want to keep up with the healthy/clean eating.   

 

Few weeks ago I finally got to try Blaze Pizza. When I've past by Blaze Pizza in the past there was always this line out the door, but never knew the line goes quickly. This is going to my new go to pizza place. Blaze is this build your own pizza place. You can think of it as the Chipotle of Pizza. You can either get their signature pizza or build your own with the variety of toppings they have. Its surprising how they get pizza cooked quickly. I would say it takes about 5-10 min for a pizza to be done which is not bad. They guy getting the pizzas in and out of the brick oven looks super busy since orders are continuously coming in.

Runs, TIU, & things...

#runforboston

I haven't post in a while. Well with all the stuff last week I happen to come upon people dedicating their runs to Boston. A lot of people was doing it on 4/17, which happened to be the day I was going to the gym. So I decided I would do that too. See as I haven't been having great runs even on the treadmill I decided that my goal would be 2.25 miles. I'm not sure what happened, but I actually did 3.42 miles. I was really surprised and I think I got a slight runner's high. Saturday my brother was home for the weekend so he decided to take me on this run he does when he's home. Again I thought I couldn't do it, but actually surprised myself. The uphill portion of my brother's run was a bit challenging. One part my brother was signaling me to stop which I thought maybe because he wanted to ask if I needed a break, but actually his knee was bothering him. I'm glad I have a fit fam. So far I'm 10.1 of 26.2 miles for Boston. Now I'm thinking one day I could try a 10k. Maybe next year.

TIU Bikini Challenge 2013

Here I go again. Got an email about the Tone It Up Bikini Challenge 2013, but wasn't sure if I wanted to do it because lately I've been signing up for things and never completing it, like BBB. Then I starting browsing around Twitter/Instagram and found out that there's a lot of support out there. There tons of TIU members/participants. Great thing about it is its free. So far I've done the Bikini Strap Workout that was called for on Thursday. So here I go again, hopefully I see this through. Lately I've been finding Instagram to be a big help to keep on the healthy track. Seeing people's photos of healthy food or anything health/fitness related has really been a big help. It also make me want to post my healthy eats. Except for when your brother comes home for the weekend and suggests eating Alberto's. Good food, but I gained a food baby out of it. Next time I'm opting for a lone burrito instead of a burrito plate.

I went in to Smart & Final the other day for bananas, but came out with this. It happened to be on sale, so I was like why not give it a try. Another way to feed my Greek yogurt addiction. Very delicious and you can't even tell its Greek yogurt. It taste even better than when I mix a ranch packet with low fat sour cream. Now I'm thinking I could make my own with a ranch packet and some Chobani. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the big Greek yogurt companies start coming out with dips.

Why does the Japanese market have to be so temping. Oh I wished I could have got something, but I had to tell myself "look, but don't touch". Hahaha. The pocky was on sale too.



YouTuber Sighting at the Gym

I love that I go to a chain gym. It has its downsides, but there's also the positives. Well one many thing is that I can go anywhere. I usually choose where I want to go depending on where I'm coming from or what errands I need to run after. Well today since I needed to go to Trader Joe's I decided to go to gym that would swing me by Trader Joes on my way home. Ok to keep long story short I saw my favorite YouTube singer Jason Chen at gym. I've seen him couple of times before when I go to this particular gym, but its always been random when seeing him. I was trying to run a 5K on the treadmill, but that ended up being a 75% run 35% walk. I haven't run for a few weeks so I should have known it wasn't going to be a good workout. I'm about to leave when I turn my head and see Jason Chen on an elliptical. Basically I hop on another machine to ponder how I was going to ask for a photo. In the end I didn't ask for a photo. I got another workout though. Always good to burn more calories. I saw him leaving, but I was like ehhh never mind. It would have been a hot mess of a photo anyways. All sweaty and stanky. No. lol.

Below is his recent cover of P!nks "Just Give Me A Reason". Everyone should subscribe. He makes covers of popular music and he has great original music.

 

Weekend Trip to SD

Ok any longer I take to write this post it will be May. The last weekend of March my family & I went to San Diego for a mini vacation, since my sister came back in town. I've been going to San Diego since I was 3, so I've lost count how many times I've gone. I was just in San Diego last September with my grandmother. One of my brother's best friend from college happens to be from San Diego, so my brother has also visited plenty of times. San Diego has always been our to go place for a quick fun vacation. The hotel we've always stayed at is Paradise Point on Mission Bay. Its can get on the pricey side, but its worth it because you can be steps away from the bay. Normally our pit stop before getting into San Diego is another beach city called La Jolla. This time we were hungry before La Jolla, so we decided to stop for In-N-Out in Carlsbad also a beach city. Thanks to the poor iPhone map/Yelp it directed us to the wrong place and In-N-Out wasn't at where they said it was. Though it was a good thing because we stumbled upon this place called Pizza Port Brewing Company. I would put a link down, but google says the site is compromised. Pizza Port is this nice casual pizza restaurant & bar. You walk up to the counter and order. They have a variety of preset pizza and you can also DIY your own pizza. In about 10-15 min your pizza is ready to take to your table. They have a nice selection of beers according to my brother the beer connoisseur. They brew their own beer and also have a selection of local/California beers. The pizza was delicious. We ordered couple a veggie, a combo one, & a garlicky one. If their site wasn't compromised then I could see  the names of what we ordered. I think Carlsbad is going to be our new pit stop before getting into San Diego. I think it would be great one day to explore Carlsbad and see what its all about.

 

For dinner my brother recommended that we checkout Coyote Cafe in Old Town San Diego because they have great Mexican food. They had a line, but it went quickly. So many different options to choose from, but I decided on the shrimp tacos. I was able to finish my dish because the portions was just right. Some Mexican places I've been to the portions are huge and I could never finish it. Not that I don't mind leftovers, but this place didn't leave me feeling overstuffed trying to finish everything. On my next trip to San Diego I am definitely going back to Old Town to have some Mexican.

 

The next day we had breakfast at The Mission Restaurant my new favorite brunch spot I discovered last time I went to San Diego with my grandma. They are famous for their pancakes which dominate the menu. They also have Latin style breakfasts and vegetarian options. Only thing they lack is omelets. They do have eggs, but it isn't a big chunk of their menu compared to other breakfast places. The rest of the day was spent at Balboa Park and dinner at Seaport Village. The beautiful pic of the flower was from the The Botanical Building at Balboa Park. Balboa park has museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. Since we've been to San Diego so many years we've already seen much of the touristy things like the Zoo. Though we did want to go to the Zoo to see the pandas, but the $44+ admission was a bit pricey.
  

 

The last day (Easter Sunday) we ate breakfast leftovers from the Mission and used up the $20 hotel credit that included in our stay. My brother and I mini golfed, which was probably more fun when we were younger. I think were just not meant to be golfers or have the patience to golf. My ball was flying all over the place and was always passing the 6 stroke limit per hole. I guess golf isn't for everyone, even mini-golf. Tennis is more my thing. For lunch we were trying to go to Point Loma Seafoods which I discovered long time a ago on Rachel Ray's show $40 a day. I totally forgot that some places close for Easter. I should have called first. In the end we just ate some seafood restaurant nearby. I took pics, but I think I already have an overload of food pics. Well I guess you can never have too much of food pics. That's just my opinion. My sis thinks I should be "pics of asian that take pics of food". Haha. Maybe I'll have someone take a photo of me taking photos of food. Below are some funny videos of Asians taking pics or pics of food. I'm not that bad.

Bircher Muesli

Back to eating Bircher Museli. Now that seasons are changing and there are more fruit options I'm definitely going to have this more often. The hard part is that Bircher Museli for one equals Bircher Museli everyday. Not that I mind, but sometimes you crave eggs and toast for breakfast. Also with Bircher Museli you find yourself trying to finish all the fruit in time before it spoils. I tried getting my sis into it, but she's just not having the "mush" as she calls it. I guess Bircher Museli/Overnight Oats is an acquired taste. Initially I didn't like it at first. I'm glad I love it now. Well more like addicted to it. Hahaha. What's not to love its like a healthy breakfast dessert.

Flashback Friday

Listening to my "Pop Fitness" channel on Pandora today I was surprised by some old boy band favorites. Randomly I was played 'N Sync and then Backstreet Boys right after each other. I know back in the day you had to pick a side. You either loved 'N Sync or Backstreet Boys. I was the rare fan that skirted on both sides. Shhh. Backstreet Boys was my favorite band first then 'N Sync. Money wise I sent more on 'N Sync than Backstreet Boys, but Backstreet Boys has a better return on investment. Hahaha. Well Backstreet Boys are still a group, so I don't feel like I wasted any money. 'N Sync on the other hand is a whole other story. Maybe I should have picked a side. At least I'd have couple of dollars in my pocket.

 

Coaster Run 5K 2013 Recap Part 2 & YouTuber Sighting

Starting of the race with a smile!

Well apparently the 5K and the 10K was not the exactly miles it should have been. It was slightly short, so I guess I technically didn't run 3.1 miles. I knew it was strange that my Nike+ said 3.06 miles. Everyone that participated got free pie. Now thats a plus for running the race. I can't wait to do the race next year.  

After the race my bro's gf and I went to Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner and had their all you can eat champagne brunch buffet. The brunch is only $19.95 and drinks are included. We kinda forgot about the champagne part, but we still enjoyed all the different buffet options. Besides my picture of my plate I guess all the pictures I took of was dessert. I guess I was more concerned about the dessert than the other food. They had a wide assortment of foods. From the fried chicken they are famous for to a carving station with turkey/roast beef. Their omelet station was nice. I love the omelet station because they had some non-standard omelet add-ins. I have never seen a omelet station where they olives or broccoli. Well I'm not 100% sure if broccoli was a choice, but I just remember thinking to myself how broccoli would fit in a omelet. We tried to eat a plate for my brother since he couldn't make it to the race, but we I think the pie we had earlier kicked in so we were super stuffed. Not sure if I ate my money's worth, but definitely worth it since I got a pic with Snoppy.

 

I love the swag we got in our goodie bags. This is only my second race so I can only compare it to the Pasadena 5K, but the goodies for this race are way better. 

Shirt & Swag

When I was driving home I hit about some traffic. I'm glad I hit traffic because as I was driving home I saw these two guys on the street and I was like wait a sec I recognize them. Of course just so to make sure I'm not seeing things, I turn around and I'm like OMG its YouTubers the FungBros. So basically I stopped and asked for a photo. I'm a big YouTube junkie, so I was super excited. These days I think I'd be more excited to see a YouTuber than an actual celeb.  The FungBros make great videos. Everyone should check out their videos and subscribe. Below is one of their recent videos Boba Life.

Coaster Run 5K 2013 Recap Part 1

Boy did I take a lot of pics during the race. Who knew I could run and take pics at the same time. The night before had to sleep much earlier because of daylight savings time. Plus I knew I would have a hard time sleeping, which I did because I was super excited for the race. I think it took me a good 30-45 min of tossing and turning before I actually fell asleep. Also I was paranoid that my iphone wouldn't adjust with the daylight savings so I set an another alarm just in case. I managed to wake up in time and my phone did adjust with daylight savings. I'm not a fan of hot oatmeal, but didn't have much choice since there was no bread in the house. It wasn't that bad though since I added raisins, chia seeds, and crunchy peanut butter. I wanted to leave the door by 6am, but I left a bit after. It wasn't bad since there wasn't any traffic at all. It was only when I got to Knotts that I encountered the parking issue. I guess I should have gotten there by or before 6 am so I wouldn't have hit the traffic for parking, but in the end it was alright. I managed to find parking and made it to the start on time. I really didn't know what to expect from this race seeing as I was having some issues running outside couple weeks before. My main goal was just to finish the race without stopping. I really underestimated myself. In my age group I finished 31 and my time was 30:12. I beat my Pasadena 5K time by 5 minutes. I think I could have shaved off a few minutes if I didn't have to weave in and out of walkers. I didn't think much of till someone posted it on Facebook. There was some complaints of corrals & racing etiquette. I mean its not a biggie since I didn't really expect much from myself, but it would have been nice to make it under 30 min. I'm still surprised at my time. I think it's the race environment it's just gives you this rush. I guess I was just gunning it. I did stop at the water station which is probably where the 12 secs came from. Overall I love this race and can't wait do to it next year. Racing inside Knotts was fun. I've only been to Knotts once when I was little so everything was new to me, well whatever I got to run by. Now I'm trying to find another 5K to do before the Pasadena one.

Coaster Run 5K 2013

5 more days until The Coaster Run 5K. Few week ago I wasn't sure I would be able to pull this off and I'd have to walk part of the way. Doing couple of runs outdoors I was still struggling to get a proper run it. Running at the gym I would get some decent runs in, but always short of the 3.1 miles. This winter was much colder compared to last year. Last year I did a bulk of my training outdoors because the weather was decent. Yesterday finally finished 3.1 miles. I had one of those cheesy I can do it moments. I was surprised because it was in the evening after work.  I feel like this week is my cram week before the a big final. I know I can do it, but to beat my Pasadena Marathon time we'll see. At this point I just want to finish the race without stopping. It doesn't matter if I get smoked by some granny. I'm super excited for the slice of pie we get after the race. I'll have to think of the pie as my carrot, which will hopefully get me through the race. I'm also hoping that Snoopy is at the finish line so I can have a photo op. I guess in past years they didn't really run through the theme park because this year the race goes through the park. After getting more info about the race I just can't wait to go.

Girl Scout Cookies

I was finally able to track down my local girl scouts last Saturday. I got Samoas, Thin Mints, Trefoils, and Tagalongs. I was able to get a sample of Samoas which I never had before. I'm not a big fan of coconut, so I just never bother to try Samoas, but now I'm a convert. Surprisingly delicious. Around cookie season these scouts are everywhere. Sometimes in the most random places. After you bought all the boxes you want you feel bad for having to say no to the scouts that you see. When the girls have a great sales pitch it really lures me in.

RIP Trader Joes Unripened Brie

Trader Joe's Unripened Brie

That picture was taken the evening of February 20, 2013. Obviously there was still a lot of the unripened brie left. Few days ago I went back to get a few more before the month of February was official over and it was gone. There was not a brie left in sight. Well RIP. It was fun while it lasted and I'll just have to ration the two I have in the fridge. Maybe I'll go check a different Trader Joe's this weekend to see if maybe there are still some on the shelves. Hopefully Trader Joe's brings it back one day.

Amazing Race

Roaming Nome

I've been a big fan of The Amazing Race (TAR) since they first aired back in 2001. Obviously or I wouldn't have put the roaming nome on my Xmas wish list. Its my favorite reality show. This each season gets better and better. This season #22 has lots of great teams to root for. I almost thought they didn't have that token team that everyone would hate, but of course they were there. I tend to root for the family teams, but these times there's a lot a great teams. Of course when I found out YouTubers were going to be on TAR I was like I'm rooting for them. Then I found out that the team of Asian girls one of them is a barre instructor so I was nice gotta root for them too. As of right now I'm rooting for Team YouTubers, Team Asian Girls, & all the family teams (bros & father/son). I'll have to see what happens as the season airs. I guess the most famous Amazing Racer besides YouTuber KevJumba is the guy who created TOMS.

Trader Joes Unripened Brie

 

 I don't know what I would do with out Trader Joe's. The have a great selection food and I don't have to worry about coupons because their prices are reasonable. Well they don't take coupons anyways. I always make sure I hit up the sample table. This time I stumbled up on Trader Joe's Unripened Semi-Soft Brie. I took at sample and I love it. So I walked around to do the rest of my shopping nothing thinking much of the cheese besides that its really good. As I'm back near the sample table, I overhear that this brie is their spotlight cheese for February and that their spotlight cheese are usually a limited supply for the month which don't come back unless high demand. After hearing that I had to get the brie and another sample. I've never really paid much attention the the details of the Fearless Flyer and had no idea about their spotlight cheeses. I don't know if their spotlight cheese are a way for them to test new products, but doesn't make any sense for them not to bring something back if it sells well. I mean even the McRib comes back. They can't just tease customers with this cheese which we may or may not be able to buy in the future. Then I rather not have known about in the first place. In the mean time I'll just have to start hording this cheese some how. Ha ha. I love brie, but its such a hassle to eat the ones with the rind. I've tried the brie with the edible rind, but I can't take it for some reason. This brie is so yummy and soft. I would hate to have this cheese disappear in some deep fromage abyss.

Happy Snake Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy Snake Year filled with joy, prosperity, and good health. I was trying to post this Sunday when it was actually Chinese New Years, but got to busy. Better late then never. Saturday, Chinese new years eve I went to eat dinner with part of my whole family. Basically whoever was in town. We ate yummy Taiwanese food that took almost an hour to come out. I guess everyone was out celebrating Chinese New Years

Haven Gastro Pub
French Onion Soup & Shake N Bake Sandwich

The next day my brother decide to take my parents out to Haven Gastro Pub in Old Town Pasadena. I had this fried chicken sandwich that had fried chicken, mash potatoes, and collard greens. I would have never thought of making a sandwich like that. We also shared French onion soup. After we decided to check out the Stone Company store since its one of brother's favorite craft beer brand.

Stone Company Store

 To end Chinese New Year we had hot pot. Hot pot is great any day, but nice to have it on Chinese New Years. To bad we don't get 2-3 week break like they do in Asia. It would be nice to get a few weeks off for a major American holiday. I wish I could have posted something more spectacular with all kinds of different dishes, but these day we try to keep it simple even celebrating holidays. Plus my parents are always saying that celebrating Chinese New Years in America is not the same as when they grew up. I don't know how it is in Taiwan because I didn't grow up there, but I love how we celebrate it here even though its simple. As long as there's good food & family its all good to me. :)

Hot Pot

Crazy Week

This week has been really crazy. Since I had to work all weekend I wasn't able to get any of my workouts in. I'm so behind in Best Body Boot Camp. I think I'll just have to forget week 3/4 and continue on with week 5. I'm really lost. I was glad to go back to barre Wednesday. Oh boy was it killer. The Wednesday teacher isn't who I'd considered "hard", but I guess cos I haven't gone for a few days I was struggling. I also manged to get in one of the runs that's part of my workout schedule. The morning of the run for some reason I woke up 2-3 times thinking it was time to get up. First I woke up around 3:30 AM just to check to time to find out it was not time yet. Then sometime around 4 I woke up again. I guess the night before I was like I have to get up tomorrow morning and told that to myself over and over again, so I wouldn't snooze and go back to sleep. When the alarm rang I did get up. Though I have yet to perfect getting out the door in a timely fashion so I'm at the gym with enough time to workout. I don't know how people get out the door in 10-15 minutes after waking up to go the gym. I mean on a good day maybe I'll get out under 45 minutes. Gotta keep trying though, but so hard when its cold. I either have to get up even earlier or just go to the gym in my PJs. Haha

BBBC Week 3

Yesterday I finished workout A. I'm just loving how I'm doing moves I've never done before. I think I should have started on Sunday. Now I'm behind and I feel all over the place. I having a hard time balancing barre class, bbbc, & getting my runs in before the Coaster Run 5K I'm doing in March. At the same time I'm trying not to stress out too much about it since my face has decided to act like a 13 year old and breakout. My main focus for Best Body Boot Camp is to learn new exercises that I will incorporate into my future workouts. I used to hear my brother and all these different strength moves he was doing at the gym. Now I can say I do some moves too. BBBC gave me the push I need to start strength training. I think if it wasn't for BBBC I'd still be just be a cardio queen.

Trader Joe's Strawberry Chia Smoothie

Trader Joe's Strawberry Chia Smoothie

Yesterday at Trade Joe's I stumpled upon Strawberry Chia Smoothie. Its $2.99 for a 16oz. Of course since I love strawberries the smoothie was delicous and you get the benfits of the chia seeds. Since I have a blendtec these days I don't buy premade juices or smoothies unless they are on sale or I have a coupon. Even on sale premade juice and smoothies can get costly. Also they tend to have alot of sugar even though some brands don't add sugar. I would definatley but it again, but on a ocasional basis.

Girl Scout Cookies

Why You Should Never Buy Girl Scout Cookies

I just read the article above. I do understand where the article is coming from especially since it's written by Diets in Review. Its great that they are informing people about what's really in the Girl Scout Cookies. It would be great if the Girl Scouts are selling healthier things, but I mean this is the girl scouts they are known for the cookies not carrots. Well maybe this article will change things and they might start selling healthier things like granola bars. As a former Girl Scout I'm still going to support the Scouts and get my cookies. I just eat girl scout cookies because they are delicious. If I wanted something healthy and delicious I'll go buy an apple.This article actually reminded me to go buy some cookies when they come out.

My Love for Bicher Museli aka Overnight Oats

That's a collage of my pictures of Bircher Museli. Yes I eat Bircher Museli (overnight oats) too much. Another reason why I can't really post pics of what I eat because 80% of the time its Bircher Muesli especially for breakfast. I have eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack. In the words of  Dr. Seuss's Sam-I-Am. "And I would eat them in a boat! And I would eat them with a goat. And I will eat them in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. They are so good so good you see!" Haha. I've only had it in the car, but if the power went out I guess I'd eat it in the dark. I'm so glad my brother introduced Bircher Museli to me. Before I ate Bircher Muesli I just ate typical breakfast food, but now I experiment more. Bircher Muesli introduced me to new things like greek yogurt, chia seeds, & flax seeds. It did take me a few times before I officially loved Bircher Muesli. I didn't like it at first, but once I figured out a version I liked I was hooked.

On another note I'm getting the hang of BBBC as were in the 2nd week. I especially love doing the Monday workouts when I watch the Biggest Loser. Very motivating.

BBBC Week 1

I completed week 1 of Best Body Boot Camp. I've always read it about it on people's blogs, but so glad I joined. Doing the first week of BBBC made me realize that I need to get out of my comfort zone and try different things when it comes to fitness. I feel that all these years I've been just a gym rat. I just feel like I've just become one of those people dragging themselves to the gym and going through the motions. Not that I don't push myself at the gym, but after doing BBBC it kind of opened my eyes to other forms of exercise. I still love the gym, but I think its great to incorporate the different kinds of exercises that I'm learning in BBBC in my workouts. I used to be a cardio junkie. I knew I needed to incorporate weight training to see better results, but I would just try weights a few times and give up so easily. I've already seen great results since joining barre and have done exercises that I've never thought I could do. Now with BBBC I hope to see even more results and learn more exercises that can expand my mental fitness library. Even when BBBC is over I can't wait to incorporate weight exercises and the different toning exercises on a regular basis. I think the hard part was my goal of trying to sleep before 11. I think I should have made that midnight. I don't want to give up on that goal though. Even though many a time I'm up past midnight I think I can try to get to bed before 11. Well I failed today, but tomorrow is another day. In the words of Casey Jr. "I think I can". Haha.

On another note I also joined another DietBet by SarahFit. Third time should be a charm. I was close with the other two DietBets by SarahFit. This time hopefully I don't go losing my bet.

BBBC Day 3

Oh boy Best Body Boot Camp day 3 is trying to test my balance . I started off a bit of a mess again because a had to re-watch a few of the videos during the workout. I got the hang of it by the start of the 3rd set. I should work on my balance more. It wasn't bad, but definitely shaky. I thought I would feel sore till tomorrow morning, but I'm staring to feel it now.
This morning I had an egg scramble with spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, and sausages. I love scrambling my eggs. It's faster and easier to cook than an omelette.
Is it me or does overnight oats make a great dinner. I guess overnight oats is great anytime.

BBBC Day 1 & 2

After barre class last night I tackled the 1st day of the Best Body Boot Camp. At first I was getting nervous because I saw so many Facebook post about it, but after doing it was ok. I was all over the place since I didn't know all the moves so I had to have my phone next to me to Google. I think the more I do it the more I'll get used to it and the moves will be easier to remember. I love not that the plan is all laid out for us and we just have to do it.

Today I tackled the cardio section at the gym. I haven't been keeping up with running regularly so I was glad I made it to the gym. Strangest thing was that I woke up at 4:25am thinking that it was time to get up, but I went back to sleep until the alarm woke me up. I usually don't get up before the alarm unless I really think about it the night before. I did think about the gym last night though. I kept telling myself I have to wake up and go. Good thing because I have had times where I hit snooze and missed my morning workout.

Ok so I kinda went crazy at the market because Fage was on sale for $0.90. It was a special club card deal that I found. I'm not sure if its a special for everyone, but I have a feeling its a special tailored to me because they have record of me buying so much Greek yogurt. Score! I have never seen it that cheap before.

2012-2013

Happy 2013! I felt like 2012 was a great year and a stepping stone to an even better year. I competed in my first 5K with my brother and I discovered my barre addiction. Snake year should be great too. I hope. :)

For New Years I just chilled at home watching the ball drop. The next day I watched the Rose Parade. I love watching the Rose Parade. When I was younger I got to watch the Rose Parade in person a few times. Its nice to see it in person, but when your a kid and everyone is taller than you it gets a bit hard to see anything. Even if you have a step stool. Its better just watching it a home in PJ's where its warm. I wanted to go to the float viewing afterwards, but that just gets jam packed so that idea was nixed.

My Goals for 2013

• Get to bed on time
• Make better choices when I eat
• Actually finish the scrapbook I started
• Run on a continuous basis no matter the weather