Whiter Teeth

Apparently, deals through groupon.com are rich with ridiculous comments. Here's a gem from this morning's new deal: (the set-up: it's a deal for whitening teeth, apparently without a laser)

Those are scams run by evil doctors who live for the thrill of shooting unsuspecting patients in the mouth with real lasers.

Now, I begin to a picture a dentist with a menacing stare and a handle-bar mustache laughing maniacally while toting a laser. Such dismal imagery. A+ for hyperbole; F for effectiveness.

Hakuna Matata

I feel half asleep as I write this. I am waiting for my load of laundry to finish drying.

The weekend began with a yoga class on Friday. I liked the teacher's style; furthermore, she'd go around the room to ensure her pupils were bending the right way. I discovered I'm more flexible and stronger than I realized. I suppose consistent exercise will do that. I have not exercised this consistently since I track my last 2 years of high school.

Saturday began with pumpkin pancakes, courtesy of Connery and Trader Joe's mix. We went for a walk and then got ready for the day. We went to the Civic Theater to watch the Lion King. Incredible does not begin to describe the spectacle. It was brilliant: from the colors to the costumes to the set design. The writers even threw in a local gibe: This looks like a shower curtain from Tijuana. I expected to cry when Mufassa died; I cried scene 1. Seeing Rafiki begin "Circle of Life" was moving. The sun rising on the stage was beautiful. It became real. I had not realized just how much I enjoyed the movie. Apparently, memorizing the soundtrack had not been enough of an indicator. Not everything from the movie was included, notably Timon and Pumba's closing to the song "Can you feel the love tonight." It was a fabulous theatre experience. Connery and I sat so far back in the theatre that we truly had a bird's eye view. The people looked more like animals. A more authentic experience? Clearly!

The play ended just before 5:00. The hunt for our dining location began. We drank $4 mojitos at Las Hadas on 4th Avenue. Delightful! We spent so much time debating whether to stay or go somewhere else for the main course and a 3rd place for dessert. By the time we had decided to go with option B, a watier brought us a free appetizer. It was delicious, but we still left. We dined at Ocean Room further north on 4th. We had dined their before, and it had been fabulous. The food was not as spectacular, but we had a nice time nonetheless. Next, we invaded Nordstrom at Horton Plaza. I bought a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then we went down a level to check out shoes. I bought a pair of black boots; Connery, a pair of Pumas. We back tracked to 5th Ave to have dessert at Chocolat. Their gelatto was fabulous and their pannini selection looked good enough for a second visit. For once, I enjoyed downtown San Diego.

Sunday began on a high note in church followed by the potluck. I spaced that it was the weekend to help clean up the allies in City Heights. Shamefully, I bailed. I had hoped to get a head start on laundry. I planned on completing 3 loads. Load 1 began but would not commence spin cycle. SIX HOURS LATER I stuck a pencil where the lid latches and that moved mountains. During the 6 hours, I prayed and felt guilty for not attending the alley clean-up after church. In my heart, however, I knew that God does not operate on guilt. I repented and He forgave me. I was very thankful to see evidence of forgiveness through a spinning washer machine. I'm thankful to have Jesus in charge of my life, because I would truly make a mess out of it.

Another Try Fulfilled

Not long ago, I shared my personal struggle with weight loss. When I began toward the end of January, I had a profound sense of motivation which carried me through until June. I began to struggle as I tried to balance healthy eating habits with real life. A trip home meant lots of delicious food and lets not forget about random happy hours with friends. Food is a pillar of our culture, especially for celebrations. And for some reason, I was craving peanut butter but found it too high in calories and fat to buy it. This deprived feeling does not encourage dieting. I was about to jump off the wagon, but fortunately Jesus answered my prayers as described in "Testify" and "Another Try."

I have wonderful news to share. Through Jesus Christ (as my will is entirely too weak), I lost 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks. I have lost a total 30.6 pounds! I finally made it to 30, a feat I've been trying to achieve since June.

How did I do it? I'm not completely sure!

I did pig out on Tuesday during a meeting. Trader Joe's makes these chocolate covered fruits, and they must be sprinkled with crack. Furthermore, I ate pizza 4 times last week (3 of the times were in a row). I convinced my supporting boyfriend to order a plain pizza at Blind Lady Ale House (cheese and basil); the next day, I fixed english muffin pizzas for brunch (mine were veggie); an impromptu dinner invitation yieled more pizza (goat cheese with either proschutto and arugula or chorizo). Sunday I gathered with my supper club and ate delightful things related to our first kiss. I left feeling very full. A feeling I do not feel as often since I began my journey with Weight Watchers. Monday, I gathered with my community group to watch the Chargers (lose); we ordered a 28 inch pizza, half sausage, half pepperoni. I brought a salad, but still ate 3 pieces. And, I forgot to mention eating vermicelli with chicken at a Vietnamese restaurant on Sunday for lunch.

For most of the week, I wrote down what I ate and calculated the extra points. Of course, by Sunday I knew my extra points were gone. I jogged twice on Thursday and once on Sunday and once Tuesday. Honestly, I expected weight gain.

One thing that has helped me adopt tracking points as a lifestyle change is to guess points values when I eat out. Before, I would just skip it because I did not know. It's better for me to guess, even if I underestimate, so I take away some of my extra points. It's all about planning. I'll add more veggies to lunch, so they can also be snacks. I choose when I splurge on calories and try to eat less points on days I'm dining out. Note I did not say eat less. I eat plenty. To lower my overall points intake, I bring extra veggies and fruit along with my main dish for lunch. Breakfast is easy since I often eat veggies and fruit with whatever I'm eating. For example, today I'm scrambling an egg (2 points) with onion, pepper, avocado (1/4 is 2 points), and salsa. I'm frying zucchini in non-stick cooking spray and eating 1 cup worth of grapes (1 point). BAM a filling breakfast for 5 points. I have 21 points per day with 35 extra points for the entire week.

Well I did not intend for this to become more of a how-to, but I'm really excited about my avocado. Like peanut butter, avocados are a treat. Side note about peanut butter, I had not realized how large 1 tablespoon is, so I've been able to use butter AND peanut butter on Eggo low fat waffles.

Sometimes I felt like I needed to eat at home in order to lose weight, but this week has shown me that I can live a "normal" lifestyle and still lose weight.

Feeling further encouraged, I'm ready for this week, because now I accept the challenge of maintaining the 30 pounds I've lost or losing even more. I am 15 pounds away from my goal weight, which is based upon the Body Mass Index. I've learned that I can still enjoy everything I like as long as I balance it with healthy options. I need to limit myself or I lose control. Thanks for your support, and praise to Jesus for truly renewing me inside and out.

Irksome activities...

Welcome to my first installment of "Say What?," in which I describe asinine things people have actually said or written.

Groupon.com is a sweet website. Various businesses provide services at discounted rates if enough people buy it. So far I have 2 massages and a kayak tour booked through groupon.

Their current deal is rather unique: 67% Off at Your Personal Concierge

What does this mean, you may wonder. The business, Your Personal Concierge, will provide a personal assistant for 3 hours at a discounted rate. Here is the description with my own emphasis added:

The experienced errand-achievers (who have serviced high-profile celebs and wealthy execs) are like interns for your life, skillfully performing your tiresome to-do list so you can focus on less irksome activities such as picking out wedding rings and finalizing divorces.

The euphemism "errand-achievers" is a bit of a stretch, but I was willing to excuse such a phrase. Their description of irksome activities irks me. Picking out a wedding ring does qualify as less irksome; however, finalizing a divorce sounds more irksome than your average task on your to-do list.

Thus concludes my first installment of "Say What?" Feel free to contact me with suggestions.

A walk through City Heights

Today began as a typical Thursday. I woke up before the crack of dawn to jog with Kristen. By 9:00, I needed to bring my car to my mechanic (yes, I'm claiming ownership) in North Park. My front brake pads were at 15% in August; I thought it would be a quick fix. He anticipated 2 hours. What do I do when I have time to kill? I walk. Last time I had a long wait with my mechanic, I walked to Hillcrest and back. This time, I was on a mission. A group of friends meets once a month for a supper club. The theme this month is "first kiss" and related dishes. My first kiss was A. not very memorable and B. not associated with food. So I decided to choose my first serious relationship kiss. I dated a Filipino and I have fond food memories: homemade egg rolls and various other dishes that I cannot name but loved. My favorite dessert was bilo bilo. I've looked for it at places that serve Filipino cuisine with no luck. As a self-sufficient person, I decided to make it myself. I googled "bilo bilo" and hoped for the best. I found plenty of recipes and the ingredient list appeared manageable. Going to an Asian grocery store was on my to-do list and it became my mission. First, I needed to go to the bank to make a deposit. I knew I could walk to the Bank of America on El Cajon and Marlborough. Then I realized that I was likely to find an Asian market around City Heights. After BOA, I headed east and became doubtful after I passed Hoover High School (where my church meets). It was odd to see teenagers milling about instead of the usual church crowd, but I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of normalcy at Hoover. Finally, I saw a sign that said Food Center.* Somehow, I decided it was an Asian market and knew I needed to check it out. Maybe I had seen it before while driving to Hoover for church.

I approached the Food Center and once again had my doubts. The sign above the door said "wholesale;" I do not need the ingredients on my list in bulk; however, once I have it in my head that I'm doing something, it's like I'm running on autopilot. Walking up the ramp, I hear people speaking Spanish. People are pushing large shopping carts filled with plastic bags. I'm slightly confused as it is an Asian market. The employees (or maybe they were delivering food) were a mixture of Asian and Latino individuals. I shopped among Asian people listening to employees speak in Spanish. I finally heard an Asian langauge while I waited to check out.

Me, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed female, with a lost look on my face entering what seemed like a new world. I felt out of place, but it didn't bother me.

I needed rice flour, coconut milk, coconut cream, and large tapioca balls (insert gratitutious giggle). I began searching and found rice noodles. Then, I saw a large spikey ball in the fish area. It looked like what I imagine a puffer fish to look like, but it was called horse-something. I cannot remember. I wandered to the shelves and found coconut milk and coconut cream. I glanced down and found rice flour. I was on a roll. I did not see the tapioca balls, so I combed the rest of the store. I found so many new things. Shrimp chips, mangostein, and practically an entire aisle of soy sauce and various other sauces. I found packets of Thai iced tea that Connery brought me from Thai Town in L.A. (Now I don't need to go to L.A.) I found Pho seasoning packets with instructions to make it. You add rice noodles, which I had already seen. I was tempted to buy both items and add my own desires for my own Pho, but I was already carrying too much. Next time.

With no tapioca in sight, I circled back to the beginning and found small tapioca balls in the same section with the coconut milk/cream and rice flour. For those of you who are unaware, I'm too stubborn to ask for help immediately. I like to struggle a bit before I concede. Also, I was afraid to ask in English and I didn't have the vocabulary to ask in Spanish. Seriously, tapioca in Spanish? It better not be tapioca.

I did not interact much with the people in the store, but I was in awe of the diversity. In church, we're always talking about bridging cultures in City Heights, and I witnessed it outside the confines of our church/high school. The numerous and mish-mashing of cultures is one of the many reasons why I love San Diego. Where I grew up, diversity is scarce; perhaps that's why I crave it. Either way, I was blown away at how God can bridge cultures.

*I googled "City Heights" and found a picture of the sign of the store that I saw while walking. This is all part of God's plan; it's coming together all too easily!

A walk along my high school Cross-Country trail

Surrounded by chilled moisture,
treading a saturated path seeping damp memories.

Plangent leaves aflame
Confiscated sunshine, a howling breeze, sporadic cloud bursts.
Predictably unpredictable weather.

An impressionistic scene of water and trees.

Rooted in the pervious ground, I grow westward.

Another Try

I'm certain you've heard the saying "You can't go home again" or something to that effect. Well, I disagree. I left home in July 2006 and have returned approximately twice a year since then. With increasing time, it can have awkward moments. When I'm around people who have influenced the core of my being, however, I feel empowered, enlivened, elevated, energized--I cannot find a word to describe it. I appreciate where I came from; I love returning to marvel at the green grass, rainy sunless weather that I purposefully left, apple orchards, apple cider, fall foliage, the regional dialect, duct tape, and all other things classified under local color. Of course, I enjoy spending time with my parents, bestest friend in the universe, high school Spanish and AP English teacher, and various other family members and friends.

During my summer pilgrimage , I was constantly on the go. This visit actually feels like a vacation. I went into town today with my Mom to visit family and run errands. I left my cell phone at the house. I only checked my email a few times a day. At first, I was uncomfortable with nothing to do. I've since adjusted. At the same time, I'm looking forward to returning and reviving my routine in San Diego.

I thought my thoughts were geared toward returning home, but they have been overshadowed by my most in-my-face sin.

Being home has made it difficult to eat responsibly. I gained 4 pounds in a week. IN. A. WEEK. (technically, 6 days.) Last week, it would have pushed me over the edge. Jesus intervened last week. This week, He stood on the scale with me (hence the weight gain {just kidding}) and gave me the strength to endure the truth. My motivation has improved, but the struggle is still present. Being home does not help. I went to a restaurant known for specialty hot dogs only sold in the area and ordered a salad. Yes, I said salad. I almost changed my mind while my 6 surrounding family members ordered michigans with homemade fries. Before I flew out, I had decided against going for michigans. The trip was spontaneous, I did not need bonus michigans. Upon arriving, I changed my mind. After being weighed, I realized I needed to prioritize. For the record, I do not feel deprived. Tomorrow night I am having drinks with cousins, and Friday, I am having a girls night complete with snacks and wine. Now, the challenge is to indulge responsibly not as a glutton like I usually do. While I am committed to giving my all to lose weight, I'm terrified of failing. I went from losing 29 pounds to 25 pounds. I was so close to my goal, and now I'm so far away. But I will look at it as a new start. I spent months in limbo between 29 and 25 and now I am all the way back to 25. I will push forward, and I will show myself that I can do it during a time that I always choose to indulge as a glutton. I will try, anyway. I don't even want to post this, as it truly is my shameful struggle.

Until I reach my goal weight, I will combine the powers of diet and exercise so neither have to be stringent. At times, I felt like I had figured out how much exercise I needed to combat all the extra calories. But I still have no idea. Praise to Jesus for using this setback to motivate me, because I could have easily become depressed. I suppose this is how being home can help even though it has its challenges. Oh right, I have the same challenges in San Diego. After all, 3 of the 4 people I update weekly about my weigh-in live in NY.

Truly, I am having a wonderful time. I've seen the trees ablaze and finished walks outside just before the rain sauntered down. I had quality chat time with my best friend, which was something we lacked during my summer trip. Plus, we finally scheduled our pedicures together. Unfortunately, my feet are stuck in socks due to the weather, but I'm hopeful for San Diego.

I'm just so thankful to have Jesus to support me, because I cannot go 40 days and nights without food. I strive to live on the word of God.

Feel free to send me your prayer requests; I'd love to do something more productive with my time. Please, I'd be happy to pray for you.