How the Weekend Was When I Was Not Sleeping

It was a weird weekend - I went to bed before 8pm both days.  I stuffed myself with everything bad without an an ounce of guilt that usually goes with this kind of binges and absolutely nothing could move me to do anything productive.  I still don't know how we managed to drive 2 hours into the city and stay vertical for the entire day on Sunday.  It must be the sun shining so brilliantly shaming us to get out and not waste the day doing laundry if at that.

For some reason, I was craving to go down the coast and hunker down with a really good clam chowder after a spirited hike among the redwoods.  Well, that was my vision.  But what went down was more like this:

The closest we got to the coast was the drive along the clogged-up Fisherman's Wharf where we found ourselves slurping clam chowder at a hole in the wall along the sidewalk.  The calamari was tender and seasoned close to salty - to my taste bud's love.  And we watched tourists shelled out 20 bucks for  2 pound Dungeness crabs.  The experience would have been nicer if we did not end up paying for parking since we thought our stub got validated except the stamp was invisible to the attendant.  Down with the parking at SF!!!

What we saw along the walk to the Farmer's Market at Fort Mason.

 Our hike was among the hipsters in Hayes Valley where people line up for coffee called anything but Starbucks and for an ice cream made from scratch with liquid nitrogen - it wall all unreal, except it was not.  We were down with the whole thing.  I stood on the ice cream line and people-watch the "gentry" walk their vested dogs and ride their pastel bikes in their super skinny jeans.  It was like watching a parallel world - like a hip magazine shoot it or something.

The hippy line at Smitten - I was the crazy one who just went through the line and took the picture.

At the end of the day, it was a far brighter one than if I spent it on bed instead or did the laundry.

Jigglypuff is a Judge in American Idol

It had to happen - I finally gave in. I watched my first episode of American Idol this year.  It is still the auditions which I try to avoid because they are known to draw you in like roadside accidents - not good.  I think part of me wanted to see for myself all that stuff about Nikki and Mariah out to tear each other's fake lashes out.  Well, I am halfway through the show and I find myself looking away from embarrassment - for Mariah!  I mean who thought of putting this anime on the judges' table - does she even sing? I won't be surprised if her crazy ass Barbie look spooked all the dogs in Baton Rouge.  I cannot possibly take her seriously with her blow-up lips and hot-pink eye lashes.  She makes the show unwatchable.  Paula Abdul is a class act compared with this "thing."

this one's cuter

Scary.

January So Far

I love that even the FLOTUS is not immune to January's crazy-making with self-reinventions and restart button.  Some of us reorganized our closets and threw some stuff out (we haven't worn in 5 years   at least), and others just flipped and trot out new bangs - in time for a birthday, New Year, and new presidential term - complete with a new Twitter account (#FLOTUS).  I am a fan.

I have a to-do list myself, but the problem is that,  the list is getting longer and so far, more and more boxes are being left unchecked.  Clearly, getting out of the forest and actually seeing the trees, is still  a problem.  

So far, my goal to show up at the gym at least 3x a week already hit a bump this week.  This new find at Pinterest has planted a new seed of inspiration (or hope) to make up for more bumps in the future.

We have been trying to get our small business going this year - so for the past few days - the immediate goal had been to upload products into our website - quite tedious - and more often a task that loses out to sleep a lot.  One day at a time though we have been making progress and we wish for the day when we are truly up and running.

So far this month, this year, I am really trying to be "more in the present" - and avoid getting all caught up with the "daily grind."  Some days are better than others - I'd say that much - but as Mr. Gump would say:  life is like a box of chocolate... I just really need to believe that I don't know what I am going to get - but whatever it is, it is better be as deliciously beautiful as below.

Reset Month

Well you know how it goes every January:  the gym is crowded with resurgence; the work-out gears are front and center at any stores (next to Valentine's stuff of course); and everyone is talking about how resolutions suck while secretly they made the same old crap they have been making every year.  So, in spirit of that, I wanted to restart with this prepare-ahead, home-made lunch thing.  Inspiration came in one of those blogs by do-it-all hyper moms who make lunches for the week stowed away in glad ware labeled with every day of the week - AND, they actually eat them for lunch during the week!!!

After eating a hefty dinner worthy of a construction job (which I don't have) - I somehow succeeded in dragging myself to the gym - after 8 pm.  Then I went to the grocery store to start my home made lunches journey.  Of course, such an undertaking deserves nothing that has any more than 4 grams of fat a serving and that is how I find this:

This pathetic excuse for food that looked, felt and tasted like paper - all for the sake of passing off as "healthy."  Eating this made me sad, mad, and hungry.  It would take one to eat the entire thing including the bag to ever feel satisfied with this corn derivative piece of crap.  I was so done with this health junk.  I almost got Cheese Nips I was so mad.

Anyway, I think, I will still make my lunch for work tomorrow (although these cracker chips would not be part of that number).  And I did silently make a resolution or two that involves doing 30 lunges twice and 40 calf raises.  My goal if it can wear anything would go out in this:

And I had been stalking Pinterest for pictures such as this to repel me from gravity after a long commute at least 3 times a week.  It has been only a week and a half into the year, I know, I know, but it is January and hope is new.

And of course, as resolutions du jour go, I too have my favorite inspirational quote that had me going and set my soul on fire (if only for this month).  It was one of those things that you wished you said first because it is so freaking true.

Dear 2012

Dear 2012,

Well, in a word, you were - a mess.  Not an exceptionally messier year than the one before you, but more like mostly a mess than anything else.  You turned out pitfalls like an amusement park ride - as if for fun, that is.  In between the falls, you laid out valleys of waiting, watching and over -all nothing that left many days and nights wasted.  But still you happened and therefore undeniable.  You were a part of our lives - with all your pits and plains.  I am sorry to say that I am not sad to see you over.  I celebrated your passing pressed between drunken bodies just off the strip of Las Vegas outside Planet Hollywood.  I saw your memory got blown up in poofs of lights and sizzles and broken bottles and people screaming theirs heads off with their carnal wishes for the coming year.   My wish is that 2013 will be much kinder with more peaks than lows and more moments spent not wishing for another.  As the sign at Starbucks put it on my very birthday just few days before 2013 came:  I wish of a day with free coffee, sunshine and rainbow.  Of course, for a rainbow to appear with the sun, some rain has to fall.  And yes, a rain here and there, is welcome too - just no cats and dogs please - had enough of that last year.