Archive for Author fitlizzio

5 Things I Will Probably Regret Admitting

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Today has been the most boring Monday in history. Not boring in the sense that there was nothing to do, but boring in the sense that it was very routine and blah. I don’t like routine. I like unroutine. I also like making up new words.

I got up feeling like I could stay in bed for another 2 hours, but I decided not to be a loser and to get my butt to work. I worked for about 3 hours and called it quits. I debated on going home and coming back to workout, but had a feeling if I went home I’d never come back. To the treadmill I went…..

WORKOUT

babyworkout

Today’s workout was just cardio. I put my legs through the ringer the past few days and my upper body is sore from yesterday’s workout as well. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill (8.0-12.0 incline, 3.3-3.5mph) and finished with 15 minutes on the “moon machine”. I call it that because when I’m on it I feel like I’m walking on the moon. Since I know what that would feel like.

RANDOM

Since today was so mundane, I figured I’d spice it up with 5 things you may not know about me. There are no rules to this game except that if I don’t think twice before typing it, it’s not good enough to make the list. Here goes..

1 I once lied about having a dog. No, I wasn’t 5 years old, I was 19. It was an accident, but by the time I realized what was going on, I couldn’t turn back. Let me explain….

My dog had died about 3 months prior to this conversation. This person we shall call “John” had been talking to me about his dog quite a bit. I may or may not have had a crush on John and started talking about funny things that my previous dog did. (At this point, it could have been a current or former dog, I hadn’t clarified either direction.) He then told me that we should take our dogs to the dog park together and for some reason I just blurted out “Yeah that would be fun!” I think I was just nervous and I said it before I had a chance to think. I felt like an idiot, and it was too late to say “Oh wait, I mean my dog is dead!” So, for the next week, I had to pretend that I had a dog whenever I was asked about it. Finally, I came in one day and told him that my dog had gotten hit by a car a few days before. It was a lie, it had happened about 3-4 months prior, but I didn’t know what else to do. 

2In kindergarten I peed my pants on the playground and tried to blame it on the water fountain exploding on me. The water fountain DID explode on me….internally…

3 When I was a little kid (2nd grade maybe?) our cousin was staying with us for the summer while he interned at a company in Phoenix.  I would literally bug him day and night and go in his room when he wasn’t home messing with his stuff. He had a scanner, so obviously I needed to scan every part of my body and every object in the entire house. I think I was just excited to have someone new around, but at 19 years old, I don’t think he was all that amused with me. Or at least not 24/7. I can’t remember if he got mad at me or just started ignoring me, but one day I got mad that he wasn’t paying attention to me and I took the keys to his rental car and threw them in the dumpster. I denied ever seeing them and eventually, he had to get a locksmith out to make new keys. I never admitted this to anyone until I was in college. Mike, if you’re reading this, SORRY!! 🙂

4 Continuing with my angelic childhood, my sister used to babysit a lot and actually made pretty decent money for someone her age. She kept it in a piggy bank in her bedroom. It was weird, because every few weeks a few hundred dollars would go missing and that exact amount would end up in my wallet. It was a strange phenomenon that never quite got explained…..;-)


5-2 Banana peels don’t get you high. Don’t ask me how I know that, or why I learned that at age 14. 

banana peel

So now that I’ve admitted that I was the devil’s child and also quite gullible, what is one thing you will probably regret admitting? Leave a comment! 

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Tyranna-SORE-ASS Lizzy

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Ah, the close of the weekend. For many, this is a dreaded day, as you gear up for a 40 hour week in the office. For me, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. Sometimes I don’t work much during the week and a ton on the weekends, sometimes I work 7 days a week (although lately that hasn’t been the case) and sometimes it evens out through the week. It works for me, since my brain is scattered anyways, but I am quite sure it would give some people an ulcer.

i-hate-mondays

Regardless, somehow I still find it tough to be motivated on the weekends. I want to workout, but I also just want to be lazy. On Friday, I did a leg workout that rocked my world. It altered my Saturday workout plans, in that, I didn’t work out. I couldn’t walk. I looked like I’d been riding a horse for a week. Not pretty. I did do 100 pushups (broken up into 10 sets of 10) but considered it mostly a rest day.

This morning, I woke up late. Last night was spent at my boyfriend’s new recording studio and it was the first time that we actually got to hook up some microphones and record! It was actually really freakin’ cool, especially considering how much work has been put into that place. That put us home at around 3am, so today started out slower than usual.

I met my friend Tedi at the gym at around 2pm after running a few errands with my manfriend. My legs were still sore and I just wasn’t sure how well this was going to work out. We started off doing about 15 minutes on the treadmill to warm up and then we hit the floor.

We did a series of exercises and then turned it into a buddy workout. It ended up being a complete BLAST and we plan on doing it every weekend. It’s extra motivation to have someone there with you when you’re feeling less than motivated. I’m not going to lie, my legs probably needed one more day, but I made sure to warm them up and stretch them out quite a bit in order to get through this without injury.  Here’s what we did:

WEEKEND WORKOUT

3 sets:

-Squat to bicep curl to shoulder press with DB’s (12-15 reps)

…………..superset with mountain climbers (50 reps total)

3 sets:

-Bosu DB Deadlifts (you can do from the floor if you’re not very stable on a bosu) (15 reps)

…………..superset with Bosu pushups (also can do from the knees if needed) (8-10 reps)

Then we did 3 sets of 2 different ab exercises with a blaster in between each set. We switched off deciding what our blaster would be. No rest. It went a little like this:

-Opposite hand to opposite foot sit ups (10 reps per side)

-50 jumping jacks (my pick)

-Opposite hand to opposite foot sit ups (10 reps per side)

-20 low box jumps (her pick)

-Opposite hand to opposite foot sit ups (10 reps per side)

-In/Out squat jumps: 10 reps legs together, 10 reps legs apart, alternating (my pick)

-Medicine ball sit ups (resting partner throws the ball to working partner, then switch) (15 reps)

-Run around the gym as fast as you can (her pick)

-Medicine ball sit ups (resting partner throws the ball to working partner, then switch) (15 reps)

-10 burpees (my pick)

-Medicine ball sit ups (resting partner throws the ball to working partner, then switch) (15 reps)

-1000 meter row (her pick)

 

This was a great workout and was super motivating to have a partner. It’s nice when you split the decisions because you have some control but are also not sure what to expect. Find a friend and try this workout! Let me know what you think. (Feel free to switch up any of the exercises, but you get the idea.)

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The Worst Present I Ever Received

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With the holidays right around the corner, everyone seems to be talking/posting about food, decorations, and of course, gifts. I was reading Tina’s blog and she mentioned the practical gifts her mother had given her for Christmas over the years. It instantly made me think of one particular gift that takes the cake in the most practical gift ever. It wasn’t necessarily that it was a bad gift, but it was by far the most hilarious gift I’ve ever received.

gift4

The Back Story….

Most holidays are spent at my Grandma’s or my Aunt’s house. They are central locations (well used to be, before I moved to LA) for most of our family and there is plenty of space for everyone. My grandparents were still very good friends with some relatives of ours that were around the same age as them (late 80’s, early 90’s). For the diflucan-fluconazole of this blog, we’ll call them Martha and Bob. Bob was always the funny man. While pushing 90, he wasn’t all there, but when he was we always had a laugh. (He has since passed away.) One of my favorite jokes of his was when my aunt would inevitably ask Bob how he liked his coffee. His response was always “Black, just like my women.” This was hilarious for two reasons: HE WAS 90 and his wife was as white as they come. Need I say more?

Old-men

On this particular occasion, we had all stuffed our faces with delicious food, visited with each other, and finally it was time to open some presents. I can’t remember if this was a holiday or a birthday, but at some point it was time to open my gift from Bob and Martha.

It was soft and wrapped a little funky, which made me think it had to be clothes. I carefully unwrapped the gift, and as I took out the contents, I was a little bit shocked. It wasn’t long before I looked at my little brother (who was sharing a chair with me) and began laughing uncontrollably. We didn’t want anyone to know we were laughing (although I’m sure we did a poor job of hiding it) so I help up the gift as if to show it off. Truthfully, it was to hide the laughter.

So what was it? Well, it was a piece of clothing. In fact, it was a T-shirt. And it wasn’t just any T-shirt. It was a white, Hanes, under shirts. Much like this:

supreme-hanes-co-branded-undershirts-300x300

 

Come to think of it, it might be the best gift I ever received because it sure does make a good story.

What is the worst present/funniest present you ever recieved?

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A Real Americano & a Workout

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Editor’s Note: I published this yesterday, but WordPress lost it. I had to re-write it. I wasn’t happy.

Oh man. Last night was one of those nights where sleep just didn’t happen. It never seems like that big of a deal at the time, but then you wake up the next morning. And it’s a bigfuckin’deal! You begin to think of what excuses you can use to stay in bed and convince yourself that getting up wouldn’t be healthy for you….

dog.in.bed

My schedule is pretty flexible, and this morning was definitely one of those days that I tried to think of excuses. Alas, I realized I better just get up and knock things off my to-do list instead. I had a lot to get done.

I work part-time at a boutique gym in Santa Monica. I started working there the day after I moved to LA. As in, I got to LA at 3pm on a Saturday and was at work at 7am the next morning. With that said, this place has grown to be somewhat of a home to me. When I started, I worked at the front desk. It began as about a 15 hour a week gig, but soon turned into 30+ hours per week. One day, I decided to quit to pursue other things. Then they re-hired me. The same day. In a different position. So now I do a bunch of administrative work for the gym and basically make my own schedule.

Today when I got to the gym, it hit me as soon as I walked in the door. I needed it. I needed ‘a real one.’ You see, I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine (and lately failing miserably, but did give it up for a good 6 months or so) and have made decaf Americanos a staple. Sure, I will drink 3 energy drinks in a day and be okay with it, but I won’t deviate from my decaf Americanos. Shut up. Logic isn’t one of my strengths.

The rebel in me decided that today needed to be a rule-breaking kind of day. There is a cute little coffee shop across the street from the gym, and it wasn’t long before I was walking through the door looking like Lindsay Lohan everyday after a long night. The owner of the shop immediately started to say “So a deca..” but I cut him off, looked him straight in the eye and said, “I need a real one today.” He knew I wasn’t joking and was on top of it immediately. And that was that. Soon I had this staring at me. It was glorious. And real. I like caffeine, yes I do.

americano

It lit quite a fire under my ass and I was able to get a whole lot done today. It also inspired me to do this fun little workout. It’s quick, tough, and sweaty. Hope you enjoy!

Upside Down Christmas Tree Workout (Lame Name Award goes to me!)

5 ROUNDS:

Burpees w/ push-ups (10 reps, 20 sec. rest between sets)

Rest 1 minute, then…

4 ROUNDS:

Superset: DB Squats w/ BB Push Press (10 reps each, 20 sec. rest between supersets)

Rest 1 minute, then…

3 ROUNDS:

Superset: Swiss ball crunch (10 reps) w/ 30 second plank (no rest)

No rest from here on out..

2 ROUNDS: 

Superset: Lat pulldown w/ Seated row (10 reps)

1 ROUND:

400m Sprint

 Leave a comment if you try the workout, and let me know how it goes. Then riddle me this:

If you had to live on candy, what would you buy?

I’d definitely buy sour patch kids and sweet tarts.

 

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5 Ways To Stay Motivated When…

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…When All You Want To Do is Bury Yourself in a 40 Foot Trench

Alternate titles: —

-5 Ways To Stay Motivated When all you want to do is sit in your closet and hope everybody forgets about you

-5 Ways To Stay Motivated When all you want to do is move to Botswana and pretend to be a traveling food critic.

We all go through these stages. Especially those of us that aren’t on the typical path. You know, the work 9-5, corporate ladder thang. Some of us choose to go to work in our pajamas and that is perfectly okay. As long as you can be productive in your pajamas.

Trying to work your way into a business that is laden with too many sharks and not enough bait can be extremely trying on the mind and body. It wreaks havoc on your sleeping schedule, emotions, dignity, and everything else that can be wreaked havoc on. Giving up seems like the only choice at times, but we all know better than to do that. We know that we have to keep pushing, even when it’s the last thing we want to do.

While I am guilty as charged of the above, I’ve also got some tips for getting through the down times. They aren’t a cure-all, but they definitely help get your mind out of the ditch.

1. Make a list.

Making a list seems like a pointless task, but it can really help to get your head back in gear. Write out some goals for the week, or even just for the day. Point out some things that you will do to help push you in the right direction. These are small, simple goals that will inch you towards the pot of gold. It can be something as simple as eating healthier or sending 1 e-mail per day. Being able to have a list in front of you can help streamline your thoughts and to-dos. When I write out a goal/to-do list, I start with the simple things that I want to incorporate in my every-day (i.e. send 2 e-mails per day, work on a mix every day, make 1 new contact each week, etc. ) and then move on to bigger goals (2 new projects by x date, etc.) This way I can look at the smaller goals and check them off each day as I work towards the bigger goals.

2. Take a break. 

Although it seems counter-intuitive to take a break when you should be working, sometimes a walk by the beach or up a mountain can do wonders. Getting your head clear and taking in some nature, sans-electronics, can do a lot for your mind. It can center you a little bit and give you a fresh start to go off of. Take as little as 15 minutes or as much as a few hours out of your day to connect with something besides your internet connection.

 

3. Talk to someone.

Whether that is someone who has been in your career path for a long time, someone who just has a lot of life experience, a therapist, or a good friend, talk to someone about your struggles. Lay out what is frustrating you and together, try to come up with some solutions. You don’t have to solve quantum physics, but just come up with some simple solutions that will point you in the right direction. If nothing else, you can get your fears and worries off of your chest and get someone else’s perspective of your situation.

 

4. Work.

While a break may be necessary, sometimes you have to just throw yourself into some work, even when it’s the last thing you want to do. When you’re motivated, everything is simple. It seems like a walk in the park and nothing can stop you. When you’re not motivated? Just looking at your work can make your head spin. Sometimes you just have to go through the motions until you get back on track.

 

 

5. Take a risk.

As an entrepreneur, taking risks is in our blood. Without that, you’re just another average worker in America. Sometimes being at rock bottom is just the juice we need to take a big risk we may have been putting off. I’m not saying you have to go jump off the Empire State building, but do something.  Whether that’s sending an e-mail to a potential client or starting a new ad campaign that you’ve been thinking about, sometimes taking a risk can be the best medicine for an unmotivated soul. There’s always a chance that it won’t work, but isn’t that why we live the way we do?

 

If we didn’t want the lows of being our own boss, we’d go get a job working for someone else. The fact of the matter is that we know these ups and downs exist and we know that we are going to continue to face them throughout life. The trade off is that when things are good? It feels incredible. You get to bask in the glory of knowing that you did this on your own and that what you’re doing means something. You figured out what it took to get to that place, and you got there. It’s okay to have help along the way, but in the end you wouldn’t be where you are without your individual drive and brains.

What are some ways you stay motivated when you’re feeling like the yellow starburst amidst a bowl of red and pink?

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Is This Seat Taken?

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Well hello there. I started this blog because I wanted to. I figured that was a good enough reason, but I’ll probably write about things that I like, things that annoy me, musical thingys since that is my life, and maybe some other things. How’s that for a description? You’re probably stoked!

In all honesty, I am a random person (Ya don’t say….) and I will likely write about a lot of different aspects of my life. There will be plenty of humor, plenty of seriousness, and plenty of all of the other senses that us humans think we feel. (But do we really?!) Told you I’m not weird. Maybe if you get an idea about who I am, you will become more interested in reading, but don’t get your hopes up. You will probably run away and never come back. That’s okay, I’ll keep writing and pretending I have an audience of 1 million. In my head, I totally do. Did I mention I’m modest?

My name is Lizzy and I’m a transplant to Los Angeles. I moved here in May of 2011 after graduating from ASU. I’m 24 going on 75. I was a business management major, but my career here has nothing to do with business, unless you consider the music business a real business. Sure, there is money floating around (although I haven’t yet been able to find out where), but it doesn’t operate quite like any business I learned about in school.

I’m a recording/mixing engineer in this crazy town. This crazy town is for crazy people and I fit the bill quite well. For those of you that don’t know what a recording/mixing engineer is, basically it is a nerd that makes the music you stole on your computer sound good. Or more often, bad. There is lots of bad music out there. Some people shouldn’t write music, some people shouldn’t record music. Either way, sometimes people should. I try to be one of those people.

In addition to my music life, I love health and fitness. You can’t really pick two interests that are further apart from each other. Music life: Late nights, junk food, cigarettes, alcohol. Fit Life: Early mornings, healthy food, vitamins and exercise. I choose to blend them. I don’t sleep, I work out, eat healthy most of the time but still make room for candy. Always. And I stay away from drugs, cigarettes and alcohol because they’re unnecessary in my life.

Want to know more about me? Probably not, but I’m going to tell you anyways because I’m bossy like that (just ask my boyfriend.) I took this ridiculously long survey that nobody will ever read, but that I filled out because I like filling out surveys. It’s pretty funny if you’re into that unfunny kind of humor. Any other questions you have can be directed to me at lizzy (at) lizziointhestudio (dot) com.

  1. Are you young at heart, or an old soul? Old soul all the way. I like classic rock, classic TV shows, classic anything really. I also go to bed early and don’t party much. Aren’t you just dying to hang out with me?!
  2. What makes someone a best friend? They call you when they’re taking a shit and tell you how ugly you look in red lipstick. 
  3. What Christmas (or Hanukkah) present do you remember the most? I honestly don’t remember any presents I’ve ever gotten. I would rather someone take me somewhere fun than give me a present. This includes an engagement ring (not that I’m anywhere close to being engaged). I don’t care about a ring, I want an engagement vacation instead. 
  4. Tell me about a movie/song/tv show/play/book that has changed your life. Saved By The Bell taught me that there might be other boys out there that look like Zach Morris and that I should find one, One Hour Photo’s message was really cool: “Nobody takes pictures of the little things” It basically points out that we tend to brush over the small things in life and only focus on the big things. Stop and smell the roses…and the dirt, and the thorns! I like a lot of other movies and TV shows, but I also have like 95 more questions to answer…
  5. Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike. Just one?! I like a lot of things about myself, but dislike just as many. I have a good butt, big eyes, decent lips, a small head, a big butt, small boobs and a lot of gray hair. 
  6. Would you like to reconnect with any friends you’ve lost contact with? Hmm, I will say that I didn’t stay in touch with a lot of friends before I moved to LA. I was always so “busy” being a fitness queen and I let a lot of close relationships go. At the same time, I kept close with the ones that mattered I guess. 
  7. What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection? Physical attraction comes from emotional connection in my book. My “type” is all over the map and that stems from my attraction to them beyond looks. My boyfriend is quite sexy though. 🙂
  8. Name a movie that you knew would be terrible just from reading the title. Standing on a Ledge? Or maybe it was Jumping off a Ledge? I never actually saw it, but I’m pretty sure I knew the entire plot just from the title. 
  9. What holiday do you most look forward to? I love Thanksgiving. I like my family even though they’re crazy, dysfunctional, selfish beings. 
  10. How is the relationship between you and your parents? My dad and I are best friends. We even fight like best friends, but he’s always mostly been there for me and same goes for me. My mom and I are so-so, I love her, but she’s got some personal issues that get in the way of our relationship.
  11. You’ve got the TV on, but you’re not really watching. What channel is the TV on? Since moving to LA, I’ve never had cable. It’s common here, actually. If you have time to watch a lot of TV, you’re probably living off of someone else’s money. LA people work a lot and are always too busy for everything. Even if they’re busy acting like they’re busy(which is often the case) they’re still busy.
  12. Name a song that never fails to make you happy. Simple Man
  13. You know at least one person named Michael. Tell me about him. Michael Scott and I go way back. All the way to Season 1 of the office. We just understand eachother. He’s definitely the best boss I’ve never had. 
  14. Have you ever read the “missed connections” on Craigslist? Have you ever posted one, or wanted to? I have absolutely read them. They are like the greatest invention since Nutella. I hope to one day be featured on there. I want to be the brunette girl in the coffee shop that gave the red head in the space suit a creepy look!
  15. If you could pick anywhere to live the rest of your life, where would it be?  I lived in Arizona for 23 years, but I love California. It is home to me. Will it always be home to me? Who knows! Right now I see myself here for a very long while. 
  16. Can money buy happiness? No but it can buy plane tickets and hotels, and travelling is definitely my happiness!
  17. Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not? No, No, and No. I’m quite the bundle of fun eh? I don’t drink or do drugs because it never interested me much. Possibly because I have a family of addicts and don’t want to become one, but also because I don’t want to end up in bed with Steve Erkel and have to blame it on the vodka. I am also just too much fun sober, the world couldn’t handle me on another level! I’m modest too.
  18. Is there anyone close to you that you know you can’t trust? You don’t have to give names. Yes there are quite a few. I have trust issues, but I think I have the right to given the circumstances.
  19. Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid? I loved visiting my grandparents in Chicago, vacations in Dana Point were amazing, and baseball games with my dad were one of my favorites!
  20. Have you ever spent a night in the hospital? Nope and I hope I never have to.
  21. Do you enjoy being with only one or two friends, or with a large group of people? It all depends on the people. I can have fun in both situations.
  22. Do you like the type of music your parents listen to? Do your parents like the type of music you listen to? I am an old soul remember? I love the old stuff, so yes my parents and I often have similar music tastes. Although I do not share the love for Eminem and Dr. Dre that my dad seems to have. 
  23. Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied anyone else? I was not a very nice little kid. Let’s leave it at that. I’m not sure if I’m nice now, but I’m nicer? That counts for something!
  24. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Turkey sandwiches and honeycrisp or pink lady apples. Easy question. Next!
  25. If your partner wanted to wait until marriage before having sex, would you stay in that relationship? I’d say it’s a little late for that!
  26. Do you believe in a god? Not in the traditional sense. I think there are strange things that happen in this world, but I believe more in the quantum physics of those oddities. I think religion is a security blanket. A very, very profitable security blanket.
  27. Of all the social networks in the world, why use Tumblr? I don’t. 
  28. What’s your favorite Tumblr tag to track? Um, yes?
  29. Would you call yourself/your family “middle class?” Myself? Lower than lowest class. My family? Well it depends which ones. We span across the board of classes, how’s that?
  30. Name a TV series you didn’t enjoy until after it ended. Prison Break
  31. Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial? Oh geez. When I was a little kid, there were these super amazing lego-like things on TV, but they were BENDABLE!!! Do you realize how excited the 8 year old in me was? I made my mother order them for me ASAP, and as she hung up the phone, I ran to the front door to wait for them. Little did I know I’d be standing at the front door for 3 weeks. And people say I don’t have patience!
  32. If you could give up your car and never have to drive again, would you? Hell to the no. Although I’d trade in the Silverado I have now for the Silverado I once had in a heart beat. 
  33. If you go back to one point in time to give advice to yourself, when would you go and what would you say? I won’t say when, I will just say to myself: This is going to suck, but it will be the single moment in life that leads you to a really awesome place!
  34. What’s your “quirkiest” habit? What does quirky mean? I’d have to say it’s looking up words in the dictionary that I should know, but somehow don’t. 
  35. What is “normal?” Are you normal? If I am normal, then we live in one messed up world. 
  36. Someone close to you is dying. You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years, but if you do, you cause the death of 10 strangers. You don’t have to see them die. Do you take the offer? I’m selfish. Yes.
  37. What is one thing you could never forgive? Lying, cheating, leaving out details that are important not to leave out, betrayal, eating all of my candy when I’m not looking.
  38. Would you rather be in a relationship after the honeymoon period ends, or be single? If I don’t want to be in a relationship anymore, I won’t be in it, regardless of what “stage” it is. Simple.
  39. Is it possible for guys and girls to be just friends? I sure hope so because I have lots of guy friends. In my case, yes it is. 
  40. Where do you and your friends go to hang out? Friends? Hang out?
  41. Write the first paragraph of your obituary. That’s creepy. No! (I know it’s not a whole paragraph, but it will definitely catch the reader’s attention.)
  42. What is the best TV theme song ever? “It’s alright cuz I’m Saved By the Bell deerrrneeerrnerennere neeeeeeeeer nurt.”
  43. When you were young, what would you dream you would be when you grew up? A personal trainer. I know, big dreamer eh? I tried that walk of life and it was not fun.
  44. When you’re alone in your own home, do you walk around naked? Sometimes.
  45. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Knowing if I don’t tackle my workout soon, it won’t happen.
  46. Do you want to have more friends than you have right now? I like my friends. I wouldn’t mind more if they were cool like me.
  47. What part of the past year sticks out in your mind? There are lots of things. It’s been a crazy year!
  48. You win a scratch-off lottery game that gives you $2000 a week (after taxes) for the rest of your life. Do you keep your job? Yep. I happen to love what I do for a “living”.
  49. Could you be in a long-distance relationship? If you’re in one, what makes yours work? Eek that would be tough. I’ve done it and it’s not fun. If I had any choice, I would not be in one.
  50. What’s the best route to your heart? Humor and candy.
  51. Have you ever met someone through the internet, then met them in real life? I think there have been a few music business peeps. 
  52. What is your favorite sport? To play: Baseball and Football
  53. What has been troubling you lately? The same thing that is always troubling me: work!!
  54. Did you enjoy your high school prom? If you haven’t gotten there yet, do you look forward to it? If you didn’t go, why not? It was okay. I went with a friend who happened to have a crush on me. I don’t think we even hung out the entire night. 
  55. What do you use more often: your intuition or logical reasoning? What is logic? Let me grab my dictionary….
  56. Do you know what makes you happy? Good people and good experiences. I’m simple.
  57. Tell me about the last book you read. There was lots of sex and random hookups. I try to read only about things that will make me a more intelligent and sophisticated person.
  58. What is the nicest compliment you’ve ever been given? One of the trainers at my old gym told me I had the best attitude of anyone he’s ever met. It honestly made my day,week,month, life.
  59. Who was your first crush? I had a lot of crushes.
  60. Do you believe that there is life on other planets? Totally!!
  61. Predict what your life will look like a year from now. I have no idea. My life is ever evolving and constantly throwing me for a loop.
  62. Often, people will ask how your last relationship ended. I want to know how it began. It was a dark and stormy night….
  63. Where is your favorite place to go out and eat? Anywhere that has turkey sandwiches.
  64. What is something you want to change about your current situation? I’d love to be doing more recording/mixing/production work with bands.
  65. Early bird or night owl? I already told you, both. I have no choice.
  66. Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to? I move my CD cases with me everywhere I go. I think that’s about it.
  67. Give me an unpopular opinion you have. I don’t have the time and you don’t have the money. I’ll give you one: It’s not a stereotype if it’s true.
  68. What was the last song that was stuck in your head? When you work in the music business, you spend most of your time trying to forget the last song that was stuck in your head. 
  69. Where do you live? Be as general or specific as you want. I live in Santa Monica.
  70. Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation? No! If you suck, you suck and shouldn’t be rewarded for it. 
  71. What was the longest car ride you’ve ever taken? I don’t know. I use to drive around for hours for fun. That was clearly back when my dad paid for gas.
  72. Have you ever taken part in a protest? No, I’m too lazy.
  73. Would you ever use an online dating service? No. No. No. Real human interaction!!!
  74. What is your ethnic heritage? Although most people think I’m Persian, I’m Polish, Czech and Ukrainian.
  75. Describe a person that inspires you. There are several and all for different reasons. I am inspired by most of the people around me. 
  76. If you earn minimum wage doing what you love, would you? Hahaha, I’m doing it now aren’t I? That’s a joke, but kind of not….
  77. Do you believe in luck? No. I believe in hard work. I also believe in quantum physics though.
  78. Describe the last time you were very angry at someone. I’d rather not.
  79. Do you want to live until you’re 100? If I’m still healthy and happy, yes. If not, no.
  80. Do people change? If so, how do you keep a relationship together when both of you start to change? Life is about change. If you say you don’t change, you’re ignorant. 
  81. Have you ever risked a friendship by telling someone you liked them? Not really. 
  82. Would you rather be alone doing something you enjoy, or doing something you don’t like with your best friends? I don’t mind being alone and doing what I want to do. I’m selfish, remember?
  83. Do you practice what you preach? Most of the time. 
  84. If you take precautions to stay safe, do you ultimately act more recklessly? Not really.
  85. What do you value more in a significant other: Attractiveness or intelligence? Intelligence, but luckily my man has both!
  86. Are you hard-headed? I can be, but if you drill me hard enough I’ll soften up. (God, that sounded wrong.)
  87. Have you ever laughed uncontrollably when it was socially inappropriate? Story of my life. 
  88. When have you felt most alive? Since moving to LA.
  89. Would you prefer to live? A city? The suburbs? The countryside? The mountains? All of the above. I like them all. 
  90. Do you often skip breakfast? Not usually. I’m too much of a food whore for that.
  91. How do you know what true love is? You just know.
  92. Would you want to know the exact date and time you were going to die? Hell no!!
  93. Where is “home” for you? Los Angeles. My family is in Phoenix, though.
  94. What song best describes your life right now? Crazy Train.
  95. Do you want to be perfect? I thought I already was?
  96. What have you never tried, but would really like to someday? What’s holding you back? I have a bucket list. I will check everything off slowly, but surely.
  97. How do you express your creativity? My job is creative. I also color in coloring books because I’m 5.
  98. Describe your neighborhood. My neighbors are annoying.
  99. Name something you only liked because it was popular. Insert hipster answer here.
  100. Give me the story of your life in six words. Hit Me Baby One More Time
Posted in about me, random, survey tagged with , , ,

Oops…

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Although I thought I was ready to come back to blogging regularly, actions will show otherwise. I guess I’m not really ready to, nor do I have the time to blog regularly, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t been working hard on my goals!

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to lose some weight and find a happy medium between where I was and my competition body. I’m happy to report that I’m down about 8 or 9 pounds and feeling pretty good. The best part? I haven’t cut out any of my favorite things: namely, candy.

I eat some form of candy, usually daily. Not a lot, but some. A roll of sweet tarts is the perfect afternoon pick me up. Another favorite? Pop chips. I realize this isn’t candy, but they taste damn good. I incorporate them in several times a week. So what have I been doing that has worked so well?

 

Balance. Of food, of workouts, of life. Who would have thought…..

Posted in body image, food, Workout

Day 2

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So far, so good! I’ll be honest, the lifting plan is kicking my ass more than I thought it would. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done straight sets without supersetting. The last year and a half has been mostly light lifting/plyometrics focusing more on upper or lower body rather than muscle group splits. Right now all I’m doing is 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise but more volume for each muscle group. I’m sore!

It actually feels good to be eating this clean again. I’ve actually been pretty healthy over the last 1/2 year and I’m basically just cutting out the extras that I was having. (Pop chips, sweet tarts!!)

For the next 3 days, I will be in San Francisco, so I won’t be able to lift. It’s fine since this initial phase of the plan calls for 3 lifting days off. I just rearranged my lifting days. I’m hoping to get some hiking in while I’m in San Fran, but if not, no biggie.

Here’s what food for most days looks like for me:

 

Breakfast: egg whites & oatmeal

Mid-Morning: Smoothie with: Banana, strawberries, protein powder, amazing grass superfood, spinach, and sometimes a little greek yogurt.

Lunch: Chicken & sweet potato with BBQ sauce and veggies (obsessed with this right now)

Snack: Greek Yogurt (plain 0%), blueberries and almonds

Dinner: Chicken or Turkey, sweet potato and veggies

Snack: Haven’t needed one so far, but would be a protein shake or something

 

Anyways, so far I’m feeling good and it feels really nice to eat really clean again. On days where I can’t bring food with me (studio sessions, vacations) I just will make the best choices I can. Which, to be honest, is pretty easy. Getting grilled chicken or egg whites at a restaurant with some veggies usually isn’t too hard to do. Or my personal favorite, turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread!

I’ll likely check back in when I’m back from San Fran. Take care!

Posted in food, San Francisco, Workout tagged with , , ,

Day 1

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Today has been great! I got up around 9 and walked to the gym (about 3/4 mile) and began my workout. Today was chest and triceps. Let me just say, narrow pushups are my enemy! They were so tough! After my lift, I hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes for some incline walking. I started at 10% 3.3mph and worked up to 15% 3.3mph. Afterwards, I jumped into the tail end of a circuit/plyometric class that was going on. It consisted of 1 minute each of:

-Medicine ball squats on a bosu ball

-Jumping jacks with a dumbbell held in front of you

-Exercise ball knee crunches (Start in push up position with your feet on the ball and crunch inwards)

-Battle Ropes

-kettle bell swings

-Step Up Jump offs

It was a good end to my work out!

I can’t believe it’s already 1:30pm. I got some work done at the gym and am at home now…..still doing work. I’ll post later with an update on my food intake!

 

Posted in cardio, Plyometrics, Workout tagged with , , , , ,

A New Journey

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I haven’t posted on this blog in quite some time. I’m almost positive I don’t have any readers anymore! But that’s okay, a lot has changed since I used this blog, but I think I’d like to bring it back….

At the time that this blog was a daily part of my life, I was single, competing in bikini competitions, living in Arizona and going to school. Now? I live in beautiful, sunny Santa Monica. I still work out daily, but don’t compete (and don’t do nearly as much work out volume as I used to). I’m not the petite thing I was back in 2009. I am a sound engineer and work out of a few different recording studios in Los Angeles and Hollywood. I still work part time at a gym doing operational duties. Life has definitely changed for me, but I’m happy and loving it.

Competing was fun for me, but it wasn’t good for my brain. It took me over two years to get my brain back to a semi-normal state, and I would say that I am about 75% of the way there now. It has been extremely tough, taken a lot out of me, and been a huge fight, but I finally feel almost  like a normal person again. I’ll go into some details some other time.

Anyways, for those of you that still have this blog in their news feeds, maybe you’ll stick around for some more. Since I gave up the dieting long, long ago, I am about 20 pounds heavier than I was when I was competing. Not terrible, but not where I’m totally comfortable either. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my body. For the first time in 3 years, I am at peace with my body and embrace it. With that said, I’d like to find a place somewhere in between where I was and where I am. I have been able to maintain this weight within 5 pounds for the last year and a half. I finally feel ready to do it for all of the right reasons and not because I hate myself. Because yes, as soon as I gained 5 pounds post-competition, I hated myself. For 2-3 years I hated myself. Sad, really, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come along.

My workouts over the last year or so have been pretty random. I work out about 5-6 days per week, but I don’t have a strict regimen of lifting and cardio on the daily like I used to ( which was about an hour of lifting + an hour of intense cardio and sometimes a boxing class to boot). Some days will be a run by the beach, a tough bleacher/stair workout, some days will be lifting, some days will be just cardio at the gym, sometimes a combination. I try to go hiking with my boyfriend when I can as well. I still like to push myself, but I prefer the shorter workouts as opposed to the 2-3 hours I was putting in before.

I’d love for you all to follow along if you feel like it, but I really just want to document my journey again. It’s fun to look back and see what you’ve accomplished. Life is much, much busier these days, so it won’t be quite as easy to fit it all in, but if I’ve got time for Facebook and Twitter, I’ve got time for cooking, working out and prepping food too.

My goal is to drop about 15 pounds and get my abs back. I want to keep my bubble butt. 😉

Here’s my plan: After reading Janetha’s blog about Jamie Eason’s Live Fit plan, I’ve decided to give it a go. Never in my life have I followed a “plan”. Even when competing, I kind of just did my own thing. That’s just my personality, but I’m bored and want to spice it up and actually work on losing some extra weight I don’t want. Maintenance has been great as I’ve gotten back normal hunger cues and such, but I feel ready to push harder.

Help push me along or even better, join me and we can do it together! I’ll post daily details of what I’m doing and how I’m feeling.

Take care friends!

(Photo below of me at a studio in North Hollywood last month)

Image

Posted in Abs, motivation, Workout tagged with , , , , , ,
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