Kayla's Workout Plan

In honor of my idol, Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser", I put hubby and my nephew through a circuit training workout. Everyone kicked bootie and worked off the Christmas Eve dinner!

I have been looking into programs to get certified as a personal trainer. While expensive, I think I would make an awesome trainer. I would have a lot of fun helping people meet their fitness goals. We'll see what happens in the new year.

I've stayed on track with Weight Watchers so far this vacation. I've learned a lot about planning and making better choices. For example, we cooked two frozen pies last night. I could have had a piece for 7 points but instead took one bite of someone elses. Guess what- it wasn't that spectacular.

B&B wise, I have not made it to any after Christmas sales yet. Hopefully tomorrow!!

Taking My Life Back

One week ago today, my friend and I were attacked and robbed by a woman with a handgun. We were in the middle of downtown San Francisco in the middle of the day on a Saturday. There were many people around and we were in front of the GAP of all places. The woman was either very bold or very crazy, or both. In the end, she was captured and my purse was returned to me.

Since then, I've been a prisoner in my apartment. I'm extremely scared to go outside because I'm afraid of strangers! I've never been afraid to live in this city until now. I've gone to therapy, to the doctor, and on a trip to Target (in the car) but other than that, I can't bring myself to go anywhere that requires walking.

The other problem is that when I'm nervous, bored, scared, or stressed, I eat!! So, this week, I've put so much junk food down my throat that it's resulted in a three pound gain. Ugh- I've been battling a ten pound gain that has resulted from my 30th birthday celebrations- both in Vegas and here in the city.

So, today I begin again. I've rededicated myself to tracking my Weight Watchers points and to drinking my water. I also had started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout program prior to the incident last week. Today I'll begin that program again. Also, I plan to take my dog on a short walk- we'll see how that goes.

I feel really strong today and I can only hope to get stronger. Keep your fingers crossed!

No Tomorrow

For a few weeks, I've been meaning to blog about new beginnings. I've moved into a new apartment and have taken a new position in the University. I wanted to talk about how sometimes we intend to do so many positive things when given the chance to "start over" but how, really, when it comes down to it, we slip into old habits really swiftly. For example, when I moved into a new apartment several years ago, I made a vow that my space would be simple and clean...a place to relax and unwind. What soon happened was I filled the space with stuff and it became as crowded and as overwhelming as all of the other spaces I'd lived in before.

This time is different. Three days after moving into my new place, my partner and I went on vacation. Three days into our vacation, I received a phone call that my perfect and beautiful 20 year old niece had been killed by a drunk driver. I was in shock. How could this be? She was so young...and she had the desire and the ability to change the world for the better. She was a social justice advocate and really aspired to "bring down the man".

Without going into a long diatribe replete with cliches, I've realized that there is no tomorrow. There is right now, and there is eternity. I can intend to keep my new apartment orderly and peaceful but intentions are nothing. It only counts if you DO IT.

I will return to dance classes this week. I will pick up my clothes tonight, I will tell my husband and my family that I love them right now because the opportunity to do so later may escape me.

Me niece is amazing in that, even in her absence, I've learned more from her than she could have ever learned from me.

In short- right now, I love all of you. I love all of you forever but we might not have another opportunity to say it...so, say it...do it...live it...right now.

Pseudo-Celebrity

Long time, no blog!!

Over the last few weeks, I've been intending to blog- however, work has gotten the best of me and, frankly, I've had nothing interesting to blog about. How sad!

Recently, my BFF, Kelly, came to the City by the Bay for a conference on money making. Or money laundering. Or something like that. (Aside- the only things I know about Kelly's job is that "If the market is open, I work." and that she moves cash around for high roller types. In the end, she's kind of a big deal).

Moving on...We wanted to take BFF to a cool restaurant so I resorted to one of my favorite websites, www.yelp.com. I read reviews and discovered that the head chef at Circa was none other than Erik Hopfinger from Top Chef Chicago. Hoorary! A real live reality TV star! Excellent Smithers!

Hubby and I meet BFF at the restaurant and it's kind of swanky. It looks a little like the inside of the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Vegas- minus the girls in bootie shorts serving cocktails and the perpetual c loud of cigarette smoke. We are seated and BFF promptly orders a bottle of wine. I knew there were reasons why I really liked her, besides the fact that she is a rockstar.

As far as food goes, we got mini sliders with truffles, lobster mac and cheese, fried chicken, lobster corn dogs,and calamari. I, unfortunately, had to send the calamari back because, one, the sauces it came with it were terrible and, two, we found a hair on the plate. AH!!! Otherwise, our food was awesome. Our favorite dish was the lobster corn dog and, ironically, Chef Erik was voted off of Top Chef because he made corn dogs that were soggy! Bogus! I think he was framed.

In the end, I had a full tummy and a great wine-induced idea. I wanted to meet the Psuedo-Celebrity chef and take a picture. So, I said to our waitr ess, "We are big nerds and watch a lot of reality tv so we were hoping to meet the chef and take a picture." She kind of laughed and said, "No problem!" Chef Hopfinger came out and asked us how our meal was. I managed to censor myself because I'm pretty sure I wanted to say something about the hair in the calamari. We took the picture and then I blurted out, "You got robbed on Top Chef! Soggy corn dogs?? Yeah right! You were our favorite!." Chef Hopfinger laughed and thanked us.

So, in the end, I had my first encounter with someone from reality tv. What makes reality tv stars different from the rest of us? They've already had their 15 minutes of fame...oh, and some of them can make a damn good lobster corn dog!

Sad Mac=Enraged Kayla

Flash back to last Tuesday. I call hubby at home and ask him what's up. He tells me that his MacBook (his brand NEW MacBook) has just died. I ask him to kindly repeat what he said and he does- loud and clear. The computer has made a loud noise and subsequently shut down. Hubby is sad. Kayla is pissed- first at hubby. I said "How did this happen hubby??? What have you been doing??" Hubby defends himself and I'm convinced that the computer has died of natural causes.

On to last Thursday. Hubby and I make an appointment with the so-called Apple Geniuses at a local mall. We arrive and many smiling Apple employees jump to help us. I remark, "Hubby, they are so helpful!! What great customer service."

So all is well until we meet with our "Genius". It goes a little like this...

Us: "Hi friendly Genius. Our MacBook that was recently puchased is sad. Please help!"
Genius: "Ok let me take a look." (at this point he removes some screws). "Oh yeah, I see the problem- there is liquid damage to the computer. Not our fault- it's really bad too. Gonna cost you 900 big ones. What do you say?"
Us: "Oh no Genius, that's impossible. This computer has never even been close to liquid."
Genius: "Too bad, so sad. Warranty voided. Take it or leave it."

So we leave...well, I leave. Actually I storm out because I'm pissed and I'm a big baby. Hubby follows. We stress out about the computer for a few days. Very intelligent coworkers, friends, and family members encourage us to go to a different Apple store and talk to a different Apple Moron, I mean Genius. So, we do.

Flash to Saturday. We enter the downtown Apple store just as a man in handcuffs is being escorted out by police. I think he's probably made a scene after being told that his new MacBook has imaginary liquid damage.

We are called the the Genius bar and are met by a nice young man, Dan. I begin to explain to Dan that the computer died, we went to another Apple store, liquid damage blah blah blah, impossibility, please help us...and then I start to cry. Poor Dan!! He looks terrified of me. He says he will look at the sick MacBook.

Dan is gone for a mighty long time. I'm talking thirty minutes or more. When he walks back out, he has the MacBook and it is...ON!!!! He fixed it. What a Genius!

Then Dan tells us the bad news- there WAS liquid damage. Not only that but the inside of the computer smells like vanilla candles. WHAT?? He asks us if we ever spray air freshener around the computer. Why yes, Dan the Genius, we do. Well, my friends, that is enough liquid to literally fry your computer's logic board.

What Dan didn't do was tell us what he did or make us pay any money. My thought- Dan did the $900 repair for free but couldn't tell us so he didn't get in trouble. My other thoughts...Dan you are the MAN! If Dan doesn't have huge blessings coming to him, I'd be shocked.

So, the morals of this story are:
1. Continue to press the issue if you aren't getting the service you want.
2. Sometimes it pays to show how frustrated you are. (i.e. Crying in the Apple store).
3. You can get the help you need if you can find a helpful person.
4. And finally- no matter how much you or your hubby stink, NEVER EVER EVER spray air freshener around a $1200 piece of machinary.

And One More Makes Four

Yesterday, hubby and I completed the PF Chang's Rock 'n Roll half marathon in Phoenix. Overall, the race was fine. I was determined to run most, if not all, of the race- which I did- but my time left much to be desired. Oh well, I finished!!

The morning started at 5:15 am when hubby and I got out wake-up call at the hotel. Hubby was not happy as our race didn't start until 8:30 am but our hotel was only running one shuttle to the race- and it left at 6:00 am!!

So we arrived at the starting line village where it was dark and FREEZING. Luckily, I had talked to someone who had run this race before and she warned me about the early morning frostiness. Hubby and I had brought pants, jackets, hats, and gloves but we were still cold. I had "borrowed" (ok, I stole it) a blanket from our plane trip to Phoenix so hubby wrapped up in that. I then discovered that Saturn was sponsoring a heat garden!!! A what? An area that was designated for stretching that was filled with space heaters. God bless Saturn- those heaters saved us. The pic is of me snuggled up with a space heater.

Our race finally started and hubby made the mistake of saying, "If you want to run, go ahead." I took off and didn't see him again until the finish (sorry hubby)!! I ran my little heart out and earned three blisters, a finishers' medal, and a lousy time. On the other hand, I also earned enough Weight Watchers activity points to feast on a cheeseburger AND ice cream.

In the end, it's all good because I am now certain that I am capable of running a full marathon. And that's what I plan to do. In October 2008, I plan to complete the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. Stay tuned to hear about my training!

Oh and the prize for THAT race? A Tiffany's necklace. If that doesn't motivate me, nothing will. Trust me.

Things I LURVE

In the spirit of my obession with "To Do" lists, I thought it might be fun to make a list of things I cannot live without. This could be fun- more fun than waking up with you head stapeled to the carpet, at least! :)

I love:

1. Office supplies. Yes, it's true, I have an obsession with buying office supplies. I love to look at calendars and planners, markers and binder clips. OOH BINDER CLIPS! Those are my favorites- keeping everything clipped together so nicely. I generally buy a whole bunch of cool office supplies and throw them in a drawer where they sit, unused and depressed. I'm sorry office supplies.

2. Lip gloss. Hubby can attest to this- I have approximately a billion lip glosses, most of the "pinkish-brownish-nude-ish" persuasion. My lips are very thin and have very little natural pigment so I'm always on the lookout for the perfect color and consistency. The hunt continues- sorry hubby.

3. Vanilla/any food scented body products. My BFF/ex-roommate thinks it's ludicrous to want to smell like food. I think it's charming. So, I buy any and all "angelfood cake/cotton candy/ cherry soda/ baked potato (just kidding)" scented lotion/body wash/body scrub. I figure that if I slather it on my skin, I'll be less likely to want to eat the "angelfood cake/cotton candy/ cherry soda/ baked potato" in real life! This brings me to...

4. Body scrubs. I am obsessed with soft skin and what better way to get soft skin then to scrub to crap out of it with sugar/salt/sand/pumice/jojoba/wood chips (gotcha again!). I use body scrub every day and no one can ever convince me that this is a bad idea. So there.

5. Shoes- especially pointy toe high heels. Damn the man who brought back the flat. While comfortable and practical, the flat makes everyone look like they have cankles. Really, take a look the next time you sport some flats. Not that this had dissuaded me from jumping on the flat bandwagon- I've purchased one or two or fifteen pairs. I live in San Francisco! You have to have something comfortable to march up and down the hills in. Anyway, my original point is that pointy toe high heals are SUPER SEXY. So sexy, in fact that they should design a superhero whose super power is sex appeal and who runs around is the highest, pointiest, awesomest heels. Yes!

6. My new cell phone. Hubby and fam got me a Palm Centro for Christmas. First, it's sparkly black. Who doesn't appreciate a sparkly phone??? Second, it has an application for blogging built into it. Pure genious. Third, I can email, get on the internet, and keep my appointments on it and it fits in all of my purses. Swoon!

7. Diet Coke. Ok, this is a no brainer for anyone who knows me. My worst habit, healthwise, is that I love Diet Coke. I used to down several trillion gallions a day until I realised that it was very unhelpful in my weight loss pursuit. I still drink it but limit myself to one, MAXIMUM TWO, per day. Once, at Dairy Queen, I chose to have a Diet Coke as my desert. Weird, huh?

8. Books. You thought I was just a high heel wearing, lip gloss loving, body scrubbing air head, right? WRONG! I am a book worm. I will read just about anything and usually have three or more books going at the same time. In fact, over the weekend, I read one and one half books. One of my favorite activities is sitting in the bathtub with a book and a Diet Coke. Go figure.

9. The Colorado Rockies baseball team. In 1992, I was in ninth grade and a huge nerd (see above- the bookworm nerd thing runs deep). What was cool about me, though, was that my mom was obsessed with baseball and decided to buy season tickets to the expansion Colorado Rockies inagural season. That meant that virtually every night during every summer of high school, I was off to the ballpark with my parents. I never had to worry about not having dates with boys because I had dates with MEN- the men in pinstripes, that is. This year, the Rox went to the World Series and my deep love for this team was renewed. It was just like high school- except the team was actually good and I get dates now- with my hubby, but dates nonetheless.

10. Las Vegas. When I turned 25, I had blond hair, a fake tan, and spent my birthday in Vegas with my mom. I know- "with your mom??" Seriously- my mom knows how to get down. Anyway, the best thing about Las Vegas is that NO ONE CARES about what you look like, how much money you have, where you are from, or how many degrees you have. You can rock your fanny pack, and sandals with socks and you will still have a blast in Vegas. You are expected to eat too much at the buffet and make a fool of yourself on the dance floor in the club where the band plays Stevie Wonder and Billy Ocean covers. Some mght think Vegas is tacky (it is) but I can't help it- this nerdy, office supply addict will gladly pack up her lip gloss and new cell phone and hop a plane!!

Home Alone!

Hubby went to visit his fam in Iowa so I am home alone. How have I been keeping myself busy? Let's find out.

Friday: I only had to work a half day because they closed my University due to a huge storm. I came home and then I had a scheduled two hour power outage!! I spent my time taking a long bath and I read Janice Dickinson's newest book from cover to cover. She's really REALLY funny. There were three new shows on Lifetime- the best was "How to Look Good Naked" with Carson from Queer Eye. Definitely check it out!

Saturday- I went to Weight Watchers (see my post from yesterday!!! Woo-hoo) and then grocery shopping. Then I came home, gave myself a manicure, facial, and a pedicure. I went downtown and spent my Sephora giftcard. Then I went to the movies with my friend/coworker V. We saw Juno- YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE. It is so clever yet very deep- really, you might tear up a little bit.

Sunday- I slept in (hubby will be ticked when he reads this because I usually wake up really early on weekend and he wants to sleep in). I washed dishes, I spilled an entire Lean Cuisine spaghetti all over my pants, and then I took another bath. Now I am watching a marathon of True Life on MTV.

Moral of the story?? Hubby I miss you! Life is really boring when you are gone- except for the spaghetti incident, that was slightly exciting...yet disgusting.

50 Pounds- See Ya, Wouldn't Want To Be Ya!

Today was the day. I went to weigh in and I was down 1.2 pounds for a total of (wait for it)...50.8!!! YES!!!

Obviously, I follow the Weight Watchers program but I thought I could list some tips that helped me get here.

1. Measure your portions. Almost every day, I eat a cup of cereal with a half cup of skim milk for breakfast. You'd think I'd be able to eyeball how much to put in the bowl. No way Jose, I get out the measuring cups everyday and measure my food. Then I always know how much I am eating.

2. Write down everything you eat. I have notebooks worth of daily menus from the past 15 months. It keeps me accountable throughout the day so I am sure to not overeat.

3. Drink water!!! Here's a story for you- one week I worked out three times a day and followed Weight Watchers to the letter- or so I thought. When I weighed in, I was UP three pounds!!! How could it be? I realized that over the course of the week I had drank very little water and was probably extremely dehydrated. When you don't give your body enough water, it clings to the water it does have- thus you retain water, making you heavier. The next week when I did drink the water, I lost 5 pounds and exercised far less.

4. Don't drink soda- even diet. Or at least cut down. I was on a very LONG plateau (the scale didn't move) and when I cut back on my soda intake, ot started moving again. Soda is just a bunch of chemicals anyway- you might as well throw back a few bottles of nail polish remover. It would probably be better for you.

5. Enlist allies. I have lots of people on my side when it comes to Weight Watchers. Hubby is naturally thin yet he eats all of the healthy foods that I eat and has improved his own health. I have several friends from work who have joined Weight Watchers which makes for an awesome support network.

6. Find an activity that you think is fun. I really get into competition so I started training to walk races. I get really pumped up when I train for an event and it boosts my weight loss as well. Also, hubby has joined me in participating in races so it's a great couple activity for us.

7. Be patient!!! It took me six months to lose my most recent five pounds but I didn't give up. I've recognized that I'm changing my life here, not going on a 12 week program after which I can "go back to normal". This is my new normal and it's a good normal.

I don't know everything about weight loss (clearly- if I did, I'd be some celebrity's dietician) but I've learned a thing or two...or seven.

PS- If you are a celebrity who needs a dietician, CALL ME!

I LOVE Work So Much...

...that I've made a list of my favorite websites that I like to visit. Certainly, I'd never surf the web at work ;o). Here are my favorites!!

1. www.yelp.com- Hubby would go so far as to say that I'm ADDICTED to yelp. I may, in fact, be addicted. I love to check out this site and see what other normal (and some not so normal) folks in the city of SF are saying about restaurants, clubs, shops, etc. I've found so many new places to check out thanks to yelp- you should try it, you might like it!

2. www.pinkisthenewblog.com- Trent is a celebrity blogging genious. In the decade of Perez Hilton, I find Trent much less annoying and far more clever. Bulk up on celebrity gossip each and every day with pinkisthenewblog!

3. www.makeupalley.com- I spend HOURS, literally, on this site. You can check out product reviews on any makeup product, perfume, bath and body product, and home fragrance product that exists. Not sure if you should get that new miracle skin cream? Look it up on makeupalley first- see if some other sucker wasted their money and then you don't have to!

4. www.dailycandy.com- I actually get a daily email from Daily Candy but there's also a pretty sweet site you can visit as well. Daily Candy updates you on events in your area as well as new boutiques, salons, restaurants, bakeries, candy shops, etc opening in your neighborhood. You can look at posts from your city or from across the country.

5. www.weightwatchers.com- Anyone who's ever tried a "diet" and failed should go straight to this website and never look back!!! Based on a system of couting points for food consumed and earning extra points for exercise, Weight Watchers is the best weight loss program I have ever tried. Trust me, I have tried many! This website will get you started and also serves as a great tool if you do join the program. You can look up virtually any food and find out what points value it has. You can also use the site to track your daily points. There's also a message board feature and inspirational stories from members who are reaching their goals. If your resolutions unclude "lose weight", you NEED this site.

6. www.gmap-pedometer.com- I participate in half-marathons and have to complete some LONG distances while I'm training. I use Gmaps Pedometer to create routes of various distances. You simply enter your starting address and a satalite image appears on the screen. You can then create your route and even save it as a bookmark. Anyone who runs, walks, or bikes would lurve this site!

7. www.delivery.com- Somewhat contradictory for a Weight Watchers member, delivery.com allows you to order various types of take out without ever speaking to an actual person. Hubby and I order chinese and an occasional pizza from the numerous restaraunts listed on this site. It even lets you create an account and store a credit card number so you can just sign in, order, and wait for your food to come to you. Now, if only we could figure out a way to avoid having to get off of the couch when the deliveryman arrives...

8. www.sephora.com- Sephora is actually my homepage, which makes most, if not all, of the people who see my computer die laughing. I used to have a pretty severe cosmetics addiction- which has given way to new bath and body product and internet addictions. Nonetheless, Sephora is the ultimate makeup retailer and I still get a kick out of perusing it from time to time.

9. www.hotmail.com- Who doesn't have a hotmail address these days? This is extremely cliche to list hotmail as a favorite website but, in all honesty, it is one of my faves. I get several e-newsletters each day (Daily Candy, The Biggest Loser, Real Simple, Jillian Michaels, etc) so checking my email is like Christmas- but without the alcohol fueled family akwardness.

10. www.meetup.com/www.craigslist.com- I like to check out both of these websites in order to try and meet new people. Meetup is a great site for joining special interest groups and I currently belong to about ten different groups that hold events once a month or so. While I've only been to a handful of events, you still feel super popular just to get so many invitations for social gatherings. Craiglist is a cool site for buying and selling items but you can also post ads for friends or activity partners. Another priceless part of craiglist is the "best of craigslist" section. Here the most absurb and hysterical posts are higlighted. Check it out but be warned, you might snort coffee through your nose.

So, there they are- the ten reasons why "Be More Productive" can NEVER be one of my New Year's Resolutions. Enjoy!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Today, Hubby and I fly back to the city by the Bay. In the spirit of travel, and in honor of New Year's Resolutions, I thought it would be cool to make a list of places that I have not traveled to but will before the end of my days on this planet. Here we go...buckle up.
1. New York City. I have been heavily influenced by Sex and the City and Gossip Girl and I am dying to check out NYC.
2. Paris. Remember when Carrie Bradshaw went to Paris with the Russian? What a sexy city!!! And the women? They don't get fat. What better motivation to visit??
3. Hawaii. I would visit any island in Hawaii- I don't discriminate.
4. LA. Crazy, right?? I live in Cali and have not been to LA. In reality, it's kind of a far drive but now, Virgin America flys for cheap. This one might be crossed off sooner than later.
5.Greece. Any country that celebrates feta cheese is ok in my book!
6. Rome and Venice. My brother used to live in Italy- jerk. Wine, pizza, leather goods, and fashion? Yes please!
7.Japan. I don't know anything in Japanese except how to count to five. I'm sure that will come in handy!
Now to figure out how I am going to finance these trips...I am taking donations. They may or may not be tax deductable.