The Art of Doing Nothing

I'm having a lazy day. Although I worked my full 9 hours and stared at Marsha all day, my neck and back are absolutely killing me. I just don't want to do anything. I rarely have those days, so I hope I'm okay.

I'm going to cook some hamburger meat tonight, probably on a bed of spring mix lettuce. Pretty boring. At this point, I just want to crash on the couch and watch 2 full hours of Family Guy. 

Why am I feeling this way? It's cloudy so I don't want to go to the beach, and I really don't have the energy to work out. I guess I can skip a day. I think that I just can't wait until the 3 day weekend and hang out with great company along with some beach v-ball.

Today I'm grateful that I get to relax and do nothing, with no one telling me to do the dishes or something. I'll do them on my own terms :). For my well-being today, I shall take a nice hot relaxing bath. Yeah, that sounds just delightful. 

Until next time... hope you all had a fabulous day!

Le Festival

I actually ended up spending about 3 hours at the festival yesterday walking around. Great people watching. If I had kids, they would've had a blast. If I had friends to hang out with, we would've had a blast. If I had my sweetie with me, it would've been even better. But going by myself was tolerable. There was food, music, arts and crafts, and a henna tattoo stand. I'm sooooo tempted to get one on my lower back. But one day, I was told it means Bull's Eye. I still want to because it looks darn cute. Any objections? It only lasts 2 weeks! :)

Here are some pictures. Enjoy.

Prizes...

Giant waterslides...

Polynesian dancing

Pet adoptions

Music & a beer garden

Tons of booths with arts & crafts, jewelry, inventions...

Dr Mookie Love, this was just for you...

Ferris wheel!

Overall, a pretty good day! Got a massage at 6PM, made a delicious homemade dinner of curry jumbo shrimp with rice and lentils, and watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic," which was so-so. At least the actor was easy on the eyes. I then played Counter-Strike Source for about an hour and went to bed!

Today I'm grateful that I just got invited to a BBQ after Beach v-ball today. I heart company! Today, for my well being & exercise, I'll play volleyball for probably 4 hours. Works the legs & the arms. Have a great Sunday!

Yes, White Bread Contains Wheat Too

So I just wanted to say hello on this fabulous Saturday morning.

Last night I was going for a run, but ended up playing volleyball (very poorly I might add) for about 90 minutes. Went to bed at 11pm, woke up at 6:55... and felt refreshed, although I was awakened by my room shaking. I think there's a homeless person living above me who periodically jumps up and down for fun. Great.

So far today I've talked to my sweetie on the phone, watched some funny videos from collegehumor.com, watched half of "National Lampoon's European Vacation," made a delicious zucchini, bacon and avocado omelet (protein overload) and seen what my friends are up to on Facebook.

So today, my to-do list:

-Go to an AT&T store and see about getting my own plan (still on a family plan at home), see if I can get a great deal on a snazzy new phone while I'm at it because mine is over 2 years old

-Walk to Von's for some groceries (organic summer berries on sale! Yum!!)

-75 degrees today and the marine layer's gone, I'm going to get some sun and show off my new bikini

-Clean the apartment a bit

-The rest is free time. There's a festival at the Hollywood Riviera today and tomorrow. It won't be as fun alone, but I might check it out.

Today I'm grateful that I get a day off. Today, for my well-being I shall walk and breathe beach air. Here's to a great weekend :)

Au Revoir Les Stars & Arrete

Well, you may all know by now that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are gone... that's too bad. I'll listen to "Thriller" for old times' sake. If you see my mom, ask her about how my French is so bad that I told her that a fishbone got in MJ's heart. "Arrete cardiaque!"

Pssss, Psssss.....

Well, it's been a pretty good week - I'm able to catch up on work as there's not much going on right now. I've been doing good on my declaration of well-being. I did 45 minutes of strenuous ab exercises yesterday and 5 minutes abs + 40 minutes cardio today. I also ate a delicious dinner of baked halibut and ratatouille. Healthy AND delicious? Yes, the combo exists. And I feel great.

Right now, just listening to some bootyshaker songs. Last night I watched "My Fake Fiance" with Melissa Joan Hart & Joey Lawrence. Why you ask? I wonder that myself. I've seen stupider, but this just topped it. Sigh. I'm lonely though and need a good romantic chick flick once in a while, no matter how cheesy.

The office smells semi-terrible still from the drain leak, but once you're in it you get used to it. Then you get up to go to the restrooms, come back 5 minutes later and it smells terrible. I should never leave. Ha!

Today I'm grateful that I got home in under 30 minutes. And that I made my mom laugh so hard today. And that I have a goal and I'm sticking to it.

Have an absolutely perfect evening.

Apres aujourd'hui...

That's it, after today, it shall start.

What shall start you ask? First of all, can you believe that this costs $13???

Prosciutto stuffed mushrooms appetizer at Buca. And they weren't that great. Good thing I had a $10 coupon I had to use so they only cost 3 bucks.

But that's it. I've decided... for realz this time... that I'm going to be committed. Really. I'm sick and tired of having dark circles under my eyes again. I'm sick of having lost my two-pack and toned arms. I'm sick of it. I want to be healthy and look the best I can. I'm almost 25 years old. And that picture above, I'm already not proud of. Tonight, it ends. Tonight, I shall write my declaration of Lilie's well-being.

I. No more dipping into the bag of chocolate chips when I have a sweet craving. If I crave something sweet, I shall reach for a piece of fruit.

II. I will not only eat yummy veggies and protein from legumes, but I will eat smaller portions. I'm not going vegetarian, but I'll eat lots of lentils, black beans and chickpeas for awesome protein & fiber.

III. Back to the no wheat, no dairy. This is what's giving me dark circles under my eyes. Only indulge when I have to or when there are special occasions. In moderation, still.

IV. Losing weight is not my goal. Losing inches, toning up and increasing my endurance are.

V. I shall do some type of exercise everyday, and something for my mental well-being everyday as well.

I think that's good for now. I am now also officially adding one more thing to each blog post. Say something good I did for my well-being today. As always, I encourage you to do the same, but hey, I'm not forcing ya :)

So today... I'm grateful that I received an email from a very nice former landlord in Salt Lake, we were catching up and he told me how he always considered me like the daughter he never had. He's a great guy. I'm so happy that he remarried and I wish him the best. His email brought a small tear of joy and made me really happy. I'm also grateful that I consider my boss like part of the family. I went over to her house and gave her a big hug as she's going to the East Coast for a week. I heart my job and my co-workers.

Something funny today? Oh yeah, the office flooded... again. But that's old news, because it flooded Sunday. Good thing I went in to work to notice it in time. But that means I got to work from home yesterday and today. Tomorrow I should be able to go in.

For my exercise/well-being today: I rollerbladed for about 30 minutes, walked for about 35, took deep breaths of beach air, and declared my declaration of well-being. Here's to many more good things I will do for me [don't worry, I'm not selfish, I'll still do good things for others :)].

Have a great night! What did you do for your well-being today?

The flood - Part Deux

Sigh...

I'm going to bed.

Les Hauts & Les Bas

It's Saturday and I've had a pretty interesting day so far running on little sleep.

Went to bed at midnight last night, watched AMC: "True Lies", "Die Hard 2" (never had seen any of the Die Hard series) and about half of "Commando." It was a pretty relaxing night on the couch with my sweetie. We woke up at 2:58am to call Jetblue to confirm, then we woke up at 5:23am (alarm was set for 5:00 but I hit snooze too many times), realizing that, oh crap, we have 2 minutes to get ready and head out for the airport. He made it, which is good because he gets to spend Father's Day with his fam, bad because we could've had one more day together... but it's all good. That's what standby will do :)

I was home by 7:30 am and went to Kohl's, went grocery shopping, and I've pretty much been watching TV since. Fell asleep during "Romi & Michelle's High School Reunion" (can you blame me?), watched "Vegas Vacation" with Chevy Chase, which was fairly funny, then "Spanglish" which is a movie I can kind of relate too, being foreign. Now, I know, you'll say it was a pretty unproductive day - but I've been doing chores in between commercials. 

So It'll be probably another 6 weeks till I see my man - until then, my mom will come visit me Pioneer Day weekend, which 'll be fun. I also have my best friend from elementary in France who might be coming to visit me mid-august.

So nothing much planned for the next month... except a potluck party on July 3rd if I end up staying here, which I probably will. 

Today I'm grateful that I was able to spend a great week with my man. What made me laugh today: trying to down a 16 oz energy drink in 5 minutes, before passing security at the airport.

Wishing you a fantastic weekend!

La Vie est Belle

Hello everyone,

Just a quick hello to say that I'm spending a wonderful week with my man here. After he arrived early Friday night, along with the whole Salt Lake Real Soccer team, we went to a delicious & cheap Thai restaurant. Saturday we got his hair cut, saw the Real's Assistant Coach there who remembered Guru, and later that night we saw "The Hangover" which was absolutely hilarious. Fat Jesus made the movie. It is rated R though, for lots of swearing and the famous end credits.

I've been getting to work early each day (7am) so that I can leave early (4pm) and spend time with my man. Not only am I getting off early, I'm getting home in 25 minutes vs. the usual 40! It's awesome!

Friday I'll be working a little from home, then get the rest of the day off. Tonight I made my famous lasagna and used about 2 lbs of cheese (no kidding!). Yum!

This week I'm grateful for great company. On Sunday, we went to my work party and everyone finally got to meet Guru. Here's what made me laugh all week long:

Monday:

Boss Man J: So, um, how old is Guru?!?!?
Me: He'll be 27 in August.
Colleague K: What?!? No way!
BMJ: yeah, I don't buy it. I though he was at least 2 years younger than you.
Me: Come on, didn't you see that he's graying already?
BMJ: What? I thought that was painter's dust or something
Colleague K craking up.

Tuesday:
Boss Lady M comes in: "Good morning! So it was great to meet Guru, he's so personnable and seems like a great guy... but, um, how old is he??!!
Me: He'll be 27 in August.
BLM: What?!! No way!!! I was thinking about it. He looks about 20, but you started dating 8 years ago so he would've been 10 something... so that can't be right
Me: Cracking up. "Come on, didn't you see that he's graying already?"
BLM: well, my sister started graying at 18... hmmm...
Me: Yeah, Guru doesn't age. We even got ID'd to go see the Hangover.

Wednesday:
Stand up meeting.
BLM: So what did you guys do last night?
Me: Oh, we decided to go to Buca Di Beppo. It was good!
BMJ: Why, because kids eat free?

and we all started cracking up again.

I work in a laughter filled office. It's great :)

Good night everyone!

Jesus Préfère Sprouts a Trader Joe's

Well, hi!

Back in LA County. What a fun week I spent in Salt Lake! Saw tons of people and had good times. I'm going to bed soon, so I'll go into details another time. 

It's so nice and sunny here... and SLC is cursed with rain, I hear. Who wants to come here on vacation? LoL. Well, it's not that warm... maybe 68 degrees by the time I get off work. But so, very, very nice. I'll tell you though, Tuesday after work I took a walk on the beach... and just realized that much more how much I like it here. I REALLY like it here. I love my apartment, my location, my job, my co-workers... I better stop before I jinx myself :p but seriously, I'm grateful for that.

At work, my co-workers like my new highlights in my hair. That's good, because I love them too and keeping them :). However, I looked really sick and pale this morning (maybe because I only ate 800 calories the day before), and I think the blond washed me out. Hmm. Gotta get that tan going again. And maybe eat a few more calories too.

What are you grateful for today? I'm also grateful that I get to show my mom this cool license plate I saw on my way to work this morning: 

Have a great night!

Les Vacances...

Jamie: "Beach, septic tank. Beach.... septic tank... hmmmmm... why would you come to Utah on vacation?"

LoL. Well, I am indeed in Salt Lake... for a vacation. "But you live in a vacation," said 2 or 3 people yesterday. "Well, sometimes I need a vacation from the vacation."

:)

Well, it's been a great week so far. My brother came to Cali Wednesday night, Thursday I worked and he walked around the neighborhood and beach (the sun didn't make an appearance once), and Friday we went to the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street Promenade, which was a lot of fun. We had a late lunch at "Monsieur Marcel" and it was delicous - and very French. We just had a charcuterie & cheese plate - and a delicous tartin tatin with ice cream for dessert. Yum - or should I say "Miam."

I even found an H&M - and bought a really cute leopard print bikini. When you live at the beach, 2 swimsuits aren't enough... and we walked around shops and stuff. My brother likes to shop so it was actually fun.

Saturday, drove up to Salt Lake... left around 8:40 (9:00 if you don't count the stop for gas) and arrived at 8pm. We made great time! 10 hours and about 4 stops. Probably because my bro was driving. I swear I closed my eyes after we passed Baker and 30 minutes later I could see the Vegas skyline. After I got home and freshened up, I went to see my sweetie... for the first time in 6 weeks. It was great. Sunday we hung out basically all day and saw a movie, and it was actually really good.

Guru: "What should we see?"
Me: "I was thinking T4... or Star Trek"
G: "You've never seen the Star Trek original series though... let me ask someone that's seen it if they think it's ok"
M: "Do I need to? Can't you just brief me on it?"
G: Well, I could... ok, let's see what you need to know..."
M: "Here's a question: is this happening in the future?"
G: "OMG..." (unstoppable laughter) "Ok, maybe T4"
And the clerk says that she saw it, loved it and was able to understand it even without seeing the original movies. So we go see. Guru briefs me first on Star Fleet Academy, the space Federation, Spock's control of emotions... and the movie was GREAT! They explained it well in the beginning, too. "I might even start watching old Star Trek movies," I say. That is, only if the special effects were that good... which I know they're not.

So it was a great day. We had chicken on the BBQ and ratatouille for dinner, and that was Sunday. Monday I brought my car to the dealership for service, besides needing new brake pads it's in fine shape (woo-hoo!), took Roxy on a walk to wheeler farm, I ran 7 minutes, and on the way back Roxy had to stop and rest - she was exhausted, the poor thing. I actually carried her for about 5-10 minutes (she was probably thirsty too, it was a warm day), then she was fine again. I then got Guru from class, went to dinner and hung out.

Yesterday I went to my old work around 11:15 to see former co-workers, had lunch at the Chubby Toad with $teve and The Mad Scientist, and ended up hanging around for 3 hours before leaving to get Guru from class. We then went to the Gateway, came back home, then I was going to play Petanque at Liberty Park - but a crappy rainstorm ruined it, so we went to Gourmandise, my uncle's bakery instead.

Today, I'm having lunch at Gourmandise with my mom and my aunt, then getting highlights!!! So excited. I think that sun-kissed caramel streaks in my hair will go just perfectly with a California tan. Pictures maybe on the next post...

Today I'm grateful that Salt Lake doesn't really smell like a septic tank. Have a great day!