A Case of the Runs

Aftershokz Sports Headphones

2013-05-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like you're doing yourself a disservice by running with earphones on? With all the dangers of running outdoors, I don't turn up my headphones too loudly, but I still worry about plugging sound out from my ear(s). If not for safety, then for the sake of the cilia in my ears...

I was sent these headphones to review, which are different in that they don't actually go inside your ear.

From their representative: "Instead of traditional headphones that cover the ears and earbuds that nest inside ear canals, AfterShokz’s ultra lightweight and durable wraparound headband stays securely in place during rigorous sweat sessions and is equipped with transducers that rest outside the ears to send sound via little vibrations that travel from the cheekbones to the inner ears (bypassing the eardrums completely). An in-line control box offers complete functionality so users can keep mobile devices safely tucked away during activity—power the unit on/off, adjust volume levels, play/pause/advance music and make/take phone calls seamlessly."

Here's what they look like, nestled under my unkempt hair.

The unit stays on because it wraps around the back of your head and hooks atop your ears. I haven't had any problems with this, and it even has a mic!

The packaging... it comes with a case!

This is definitely not for train commutes, though... I like plugging my ears up from any and all sounds on there (although I probably shouldn't!).

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FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a review unit of Aftershokz and was not otherwise compensated for providing any particular type of opinion.http://www.aftershokz.com/

Permission

2013-04-24T11:00:00.002-07:00

I think I’m in a rut, a really long rut. I have been in a rut for so long that I’m not even sure it can be called a “rut” anymore. While I’m at it, “rut” is a weird word when used so many times in a paragraph, isn’t it?

In particular, I’m in a running rut ( < < see, weird word.)

I’m not sure when it started, but I think a couple of events were catalysts to it. The first was training for the Santa Barbara International Marathon with the intention to come in at or around four hours. I used a training program and stuck with it better than I had stuck to programs in the past, only to experience not one, but two, full-on cramps sometime in the second half of the race. I had some better performances in the next two marathons after that, training not nearly as much and using a run/walk strategy. However, that strategy failed me during my most recent marathon, which actually involved me properly training. Sadly, my frustration with that Santa Barbara performance was probably the early part of my downfall.

The second catalyst – moving out on my own. Ironically, I moved into an active community, but I was much more dedicated to my long runs when I lived in a neighborhood that wasn’t active and could get a touch sketchy. Part of this was because it took a while for me to discover the local paths, and I’m sure the second part of it had to do with the fact that I was enjoying my newfound freedom, including the freedom to sleep in, and exercise/eat on an unstructured schedule. While I’d still run, the mileage decreased – partly due to my Santa Barbara results and partly because I had a lot of races that were like forced long runs for which I had to rest/taper. I’d say that these results of these races were generally pretty good to mediocre. Then, I started doing Insanity (and other videos) and found that it seemed to get me just as fit in a fraction of the time. Summer came, and I started running even less, due to the heat that didn’t let up until around my wedding.

During the last week or so before the wedding, I (along with the other 25% of my building) was told that my job at work was being eliminated. I was told that I took the news really well – too well. I was so embarrassed that for a long time, I didn’t tell anyone about this except my soon-to-be husband, at the time. Also, I didn’t want people to pity me during a time that’s supposed to be joyful. So, that day when they sent me home early to “deal with it,” the first thing I did after people-watching at the mall was put on my gear and run. The first song that came on my iPod was “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson.

I’ve still been running several times a week, though lately, perhaps because I’m in heels all day at my new job or because I’m hiking through train stations and hills to get to and from it, my legs have been heavy and stiff a lot. Rather than keep pushing through that, I am finally giving myself permission to do other exercises, maybe even to take it easy for a bit. With all the changes over the past few months – marriage, new job/routine, future planning, etc., I have been working out just as hard from the get-go, and I think that was a mistake, when my schedule now literally comes down to minute-by-minute most of the time. Meanwhile, I’ve been eating out of stress, and my gut is paying the consequences.

I will always love running and will definitely continue to do so, as my marathon is coming up next month. The lack of “Upcoming” races on my sidebar is somewhat disturbing to me, but I’m convincing myself that I’ve just “been around” the local races and am a bit in penny-pinching mode. I’m giving myself permission to just go with the flow and stop being obsessed about “having it all,” because I can’t.

I can’t expect to have the same gusto for running that I did when I completed my first marathon at 21 years old, now that I’m 28 and have marathon #14 ahead of me.

When I found my new job, I set a goal to remain for five years. Yes, I've been in the real workforce for seven years and have held four? five? jobs. However, I can’t expect that I’m going to have some great career, no matter how much I think I “deserve” one after everything I put into my education; after all, I do want children, and I don’t think those things would be compatible for some time.

I can't keep stressing out over the fact that we can't really afford the type of home in the type of place in which we would like to live, even if this is another thing I felt like we "deserved" because we have stellar credit, saving ethic, and have put a lot into our jobs. The market is a bit cut-throat and oversaturated (ahem, with foreigners wiring cash/carrying suitcases full of it, cough), so I have to grit and bear the smell of dog urine and the noise of neighbors at my apartment complex for a bit longer.

I can’t wish for better relationships with friends and family, and while there is always more I can do, perhaps love is truly unconditional. And the ones who are meant to be by your side are the ones who are willingly, well, there.

I can’t be perfect, whatever that means. I want my fries and sleep sometimes, and maybe I don’t want to be great company all the time. I will do what I can and enjoy, knowing that sometimes, going the extra mile isn’t quite worth it.

And if that’s a rut, then well… here I am.

Watching Boston Marathon

2013-04-15T15:11:00.002-07:00

It was just a few days ago that I wrote this post, as my sister was getting ready to head to Boston for the marathon. Once the tracker said she finished, I moved away from my phone, only to find out later that there was some sort of attack at the finish line. I had a huge sinking feeling but knew that I wouldn't find out anything until my sister was able to get to her phone/a computer, so I waited.

Thankfully, she, and other family members who had traveled with her, is/are fine. Yet I still have this deep feeling of sadness for everyone -- runners, spectators, volunteers -- whose days were pretty badly dinged by this incident.

Why someone would want to hurt people while they are in the middle of accomplishing a dream, an athletic feat, is beyond me. Then again, why someone would want to hurt innocents at any time is always beyond me.

Some people out there today didn't get to finish their dream marathon. Others might never get to run in the same way again.

Marathoners, and the running community at-large, can sometimes be competitive and rude in starting corrals, but in times like these, they are some of the most compassionate flocks out there.

Review: Itzy Ritzy - Wet Happened? Bag

2013-04-14T18:12:00.003-07:00

Where do you store your smelly gym clothes when you're on the go?

My sister reviewed this bag a while back, though at the time, I was pretty happy just stuffing my "used" gym clothes in plastic bags until I got home and then airing out the bag before re-use (yes, I re-use things to the point of no return, including plastic bags).

Now that I commute by train to the gym daily, I have decided that plastic bags aren't really the best storage anymore. What if sweat leaks into my giant turtle-shell of a backpack? What if it smells terrible? All legitimate concerns, right?

So I "splurged" on Amazon for this bag (they come in different sizes), and I've been using it for a month and a half.

My sweaty gym clothes go right in there, and after a couple of weeks, I usually throw it in the wash. However, I've noticed it does not accumulate odors over time. So far, I haven't experienced any leaks, smelled anything bad, or had really any issue with it whatsoever... and... it's environmental.

Supposedly, this will even keep on-the-go diapers contained... not like that's pertinent at this point, unless I wind up taking my niece out somewhere.

I intend to use this for bathing suits and other such "wet" things, and I know it will work well. No more plastic bags for me! I may get the snack-sized bags....

Going to Boston

2013-04-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Not me, of course... but my sister, M.

I was going to write this post next week, thinking that the Boston Marathon was next weekend. However, it was brought to my attention that it was THIS weekend.... shows how much time (i.e., little) I have these days.

This is me, in Boston, this past June. I even ran around the Logan airport so that I could say that I "ran in Boston."

Back in the day, M and I had finishing times that were in the same realm. She was the one who encouraged me to start running races in the first place, after I had spectated quite a few of hers.

Our first half-marathon!! (circa 2006)

After doing it enough times, we both learned about running and training, and we both started improving. Well... I improved somewhat, but she totally had her eyes on the Boston "prize." To me, it seemed totally out of the realm of possibility for most people, but she has proven that enough dedication can get you there. She BQ-ed at Ojai2Ocean last year (though I never updated my post to say that she actually did BQ, as it was uncertain at that time).

While not all of us will get to that start line, I'm sure we all have that "Boston" goal in our lives. At one point, that goal was running a half-marathon... a marathon... finishing school... etc.

To follow along her Boston journey, go over to her blog!

Pro Compression Socks Review

2013-04-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

I purchased these (on Active GearUp) for $25, which is half of the conventional price. Having seen a lot of buzz about this brand, I decided to get a neon green pair. If you’re new here, green is my favorite color (even if I have to settle for neon shades of it). I used to have a green cell phone and laptop, but these days you can still see me with a green iPod case, Nalgene bottle, and commuter tote bag.

As you can see, I wore them to LA Marathon (to go with the St. Patty’s Day “green” theme). It was not my first time wearing them, as I had done a few training runs in them.

I like the tightness, which is very similar to CEP’s (the Zensah argyle one I have is not nearly as tight, though I still use it). What I don’t really like is that it seems way too long for my calf. I have to fold the top seam down, and then pull it over my knee when I get tired of that. I think this may had adversely affected my calf during LA Marathon, but I will never know for sure.

Overall, I do like these, though I think I will be using them for recovery from now on due the the length issue.

Catching Up (I'm a Horrible Blogger)

2013-04-06T15:37:00.001-07:00

It appears that I have not been keeping up here as much as I’d like. This is not really like me at all, so shoot.

Blogging:

Since the marathon, I’ve been totally, as they say, “flying by the seat of my pants,” and I generally don’t fire up the computer at home anymore. The downside of me finally having a smartphone is that it has eliminated the need to use computers as much.

Workouts:

Despite the schedule, I’ve managed to keep up with my fitness routine. Besides the extra movement I get from all the walking between transit lines and during the mandatory hour-long lunch, I’ve been doing a little Insanity, elliptical trainer, weights (mostly of the upper-body nature), and running 3-4 days a week, usually for about 40-50 minutes. Yes, I’ve been running by time now, as I only have 55 minutes of gym time (yes, it’s that calculated) – plus, I usually opt for an indoor track over the treadmill. Said indoor track requires 14.5 laps/mi, and the air is pretty stale for most of the lap, though still more bearable than the treadmill for some reason. Also, for the most part, I’ve been working out Saturday and Sunday if time allows. One would think that all this activity has made me into a super-ripped person, but in order to keep up with everything, I think my lunches and dinners have grown in volume, and not always nutritious volume.

As you can see on my sidebar, I have another marathon next month. Actually, it’s more like two months away, but it IS technically in the next calendar month. I’m not going to worry for a couple more weeks, when I assume the fitness I got from training for/running LA Marathon has faded.

Bread:

I randomly decided to make this bread recipe from Jacques Pepin, and I must say, it was pretty easy (albeit a bit long, waiting for rising)!

Other:

“The Ukrainian” and I have also been pretty busy with “project get out of apartment.” Although I have to wake up pretty early now, the lead-footed folks upstairs always seem to wake up even earlier, weekends included, vacuums included.

Birthday:

I haven’t really been out of town since November, when we went on our honeymoon. Summer is going to be super-busy at work, and my new-employee status means no vacations until Fall. Thankfully, I get a day off for my birthday, so we have a little getaway planned in a couple of weeks. On a related note, I remember feeling “old” when I was in my early 20s… looking back, I have no idea why I ever thought that. About to hit 28, married, calling a day off a “getaway,” getting excited about bread and monetary paperwork… yeah, now I really feel old. I’m sure I’ll take that back in the future, though.

Random cat photo!

Los Angeles Marathon 2013

2013-03-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

EVENT: Los Angeles Marathon XXVIII
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 2013
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
RACE BEGAN: 7:30 AM
FINISH TIME: 04:49:45

Since I've done this race six times now (this entry, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, and 2007... whew!!), I am going to reflect rather than talk about course details, which you can catch... maybe... in my past recaps.

Compared to last year's solid finish in this race, I am pretty disappointed with my performance in the LA Marathon this year -- particularly because I had actually been putting in some legitimate training. I can't really pinpoint what happened -- recent illnesses, new routines, etc.? -- but when it comes to races, it sometimes just comes down to random little things that can negate weeks of training.

Or, I guess it was an unlucky 13(th marathon) for me.

First of all, I guess I was out of it. Even after having this photo snapped of me at the expo, I failed to notice that I was not in a seeded corral, like I had in previous years. Had I noticed "The Ukrainian"'s bib number, I would have seen that he had a letter in front of his number.

So on race morning, while I was shivering at Dodger Stadium, waiting for the race to start, I became agitated with the fact that I'd be starting in the general corral... even more agitated when I overheard people whose previous marathon times were slower than mine. I used my Ojai time (4:22), registered within the first hour that the race registration opened, and definitely felt I was within the top 10,000 times to qualify for a corral. I concluded that they messed up, but I am at fault for not noticing this at the expo.

Anyway, that kind of started my morning off on the wrong foot, so to speak, and as expected, the starting area was very hectic. Still, I only had to wait six minutes to cross the start line, dodging a bunch of people like expected. The weather forecasts had stated that there'd be a marine layer, but it broke up early, and I was definitely sweating a lot in the first half. It was kind of muggy.

I was using my walk/run strategy (a variant of Galloway) that has already worked twice for me, but even in the first half, I felt like the miles were going slowly, I was tiring quickly, and my legs were a bit tight. I was drinking a lot to offset this -- water and sports drink that I was carrying. Still, I thought things were going pretty well until after Mile 20, as most runners probably experience. I was spent by then.

I was smiling at this finish-line shot, somehow. Check out my green-ish St. Patty's Day socks.

Around Mile 22, while I was dragging, my calf seized up all of a sudden -- no warning twitch, no nothing. Trying to prevent pulling it completely, I stopped in my tracks and calmly massaged my calf. The bulging muscle subsided and then swelled again. I waited until it completely stopped before attempting to move over to the side, where it started happening again. Luckily, I was able to prevent what surely would have been a limpy ending. I credit my not freaking out.

However, I couldn't run anymore. Every time I tried, I felt I was about to pull something, so I had the frustrating task of walking the last four miles as quickly as I could. The last two times I used the run/walk method, I was able to keep myself from this fate, so I don't really know what happened this time. As I approached the end, I couldn't even run in front of all those spectators without worrying about injuring myself in front of everyone. I did manage to kind of run the last .05 mi or so (only because I was desperate to break 4:50), but it was really disappointing to finish this way.

Given that my next marathon is in two months, I am not letting this less-than-ideal result bother me too much. I think I've become accustomed to things not going as planned, and since I just started a new job, I am reminded of how amazing people think marathoning is, regardless of finish time. Not like I'm trying to be complacent, though!

Plus, I really love LA Marathon, regardless of the somewhat painful logistics and tough course. People from all walks of life seemingly come out to run or cheer, and on-course aid is so, so plentiful. Plus, I love LA in general, for things like these:

Red Velvet pancakes from The Buttermilk Truck, which had alluded me for years.

Angel City Brewery beer flight.

As for my journey to my next marathon... that hasn't been fully decided yet. To be continued, I guess.

How to Set Yourself Up for (Marathon) Failure

2013-03-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to the LA Marathon, which is ~~less than a week away~~ tomorrow (took too long to get this post live, so hmmm)! Having skipped my last long run last weekend, I definitely have some anxiety.

I don't know how tomorrow will go. I feel like I've been on a "how to fail" marathon regimen, going something like this:

1) Get sick for 50% of the month before the race.

The first was a cold that I caught on the subway... the second from "The Ukrainian" two weeks later. Awful, awful. Although I'm mostly well now, I don't know if my lungs sustained any "permanent damage." In addition, and maybe unrelated, my skin has been incredibly dry lately... even with lotion.

Same with my lips, but there's these cute cake-flavored Chapsticks for that. I have to be careful with new lip products due to random allergic reactions I can get, but this one seems to be fine (as well as calorie-free, ha ha). I was sent this party kit with it, which I'm hoping to utilize at some point when I'm less busy and more healthy. Mmmm, cupcakes.

ChapStick® Velvet Cupcake and Cake Batter varieties are available now until approximately March 31^st exclusively at Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens nationwide.

2) Start a new job, new routine, and then endure daylight savings time to boot.

My routine results in swollen feet and legs daily, along with less sleep. (Does anyone have any recommendations for comfy heel-ish work shoes that come in wide-widths that don't look hideous??) However, I do enjoy the new gig and am looking forward to all of its challenges. Everything definitely seems more rushed now, and I've definitely been falling behind on all things blogging.... but hopefully, that will pass.

3) Cut exercise time.

Okay, so I did do a 17.5-miler, a couple of 12.5s, and a 20, so maybe this can be called "tapering." My new schedule results in less workout time, though I have spent the majority of those times running (3-4 mi) and such.

4) Obsess about other things besides running.

"The Ukrainian" and I decided to finally do something we've wanted to do for a while, which is start an herb garden on our balcony. Since I took so long to write this post, I will say that we did get some growth and will be transferring the little guys to their new "beds" when we're supposed to be carbo-loading.

Racing used to be something my life would work around, but it seems as though I now just plug it in wherever it will fit. My race schedule is definitely barren this year... although on my side bar, check out my next marathon coming in.... aggh... two months?!

Be back soon with a race report!

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FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of Chapstick and was not compensated to provide a positive opinion.

Stupid Smarch Weather

2013-02-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

February is a naturally short month, but it really did seem to fly by more quickly than usual this year. The majority of this month was cold (by California standards), but as it's ending, it feels like early summer outside.

Homer: "Stupid Smarch weather!"

"The Ukrainian" and I have been pretty busy getting his old unit rented, filing taxes, and other boring things. Additionally, we've been training for LA Marathon, which is just a few weeks away! We did a 12.5, 17.5, and 20-miler so far, which puts me way ahead of my training patterns over the past year or so, sadly. Other than that, I've been running some 3-5 milers a couple of times a week and workout videos. In a totally uncharacteristic move, I actually attended an official LA Marathon training run and had a good time running with like-minded folks!

Near the end of the month, my sister got married! She's the oldest of us sisters, so now everything feels more sequential now that the eldest three are married. Her wedding and reception had a "Princess Bride" theme. I've said this before, but the best part about having a bunch of sisters is the new brothers-in-law that I'm getting... Okay, so that's not the best part, but it's fun nonetheless.

My niece (the littlest girly munchkin in the pic) is a party animal!

Finally, might as well spill that I'm starting a new job on Monday. February has been a month of transitioning off of the old job, which made it kind of unpleasant. I'm tentatively going to be taking the train to the new office, and I'm also going to have to join a gym and start going regularly again since I won't be able to work out at home as often. This will result in me being at home a lot less often, though I will do my best to keep up with the blog.

I'm hoping March will be a little more laid back, besides the new routine adjustments. =)

Walnut "Cheese" Spread

2013-02-25T05:29:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a California Walnuts "virtual dinner party" and found this wonderful Walnut "Cheese" recipe from chef Aida Mollencamp.

This is actually a wonderful recipe, because it leads to a tangy, cheese-like spread that is dairy-free!

Everything basically gets whirled together in the food processor, so it really couldn't be easier. I had everything on hand, even the walnuts (although I was sent more walnuts to work with).

The toughest part of this recipe is planning ahead the 12 hours that it takes to soak the walnuts in water. I ended up soaking mine for nearly 24 hours, simply because of my schedule. I'm not sure if it really needed 12 full hours... maybe there is something that can be done to decrease the soak time?? I also found the smell of soaked walnuts wasn't exactly pleasant at first, though it doesn't affect the end product.

However, I did realize much later that the canola oil I used was rancid... don't do as I do. Otherwise, it's quite good! Had to make it again.

Once the soaking is done, the recipe comes together in a matter of minutes! I find that the miso adds enough salty flavor, so only add salt after you've tasted it.

Here's the completed spread. Although there are options to do so, I did not make it into any variations (e.g., cheese log), because I normally like to eat things out of a tub. =)

This really does taste good on crackers, raw veggies, or mini pita bread.

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FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of California Walnuts to try but was not compensated to provide a positive review for those or any of their chefs' work.

LA Chinatown Firecracker 30 mi Bike Ride

2013-02-23T14:59:00.001-08:00

EVENT: Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Bike Ride (30 mi)

DATE: Saturday, February 23, 2013
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
RACE BEGAN: 09:05 am
FINISH TIME: approximately 02:30:00

Last year, I ran the Los Angeles Firecracker 5K AND 10K run. My friends and I decided to "catch 'em all," so "The Ukrainian" decided to join us. I was originally signed up for the 10K (I learned that doing both is not that fun, haha), but the race coincided with my sister's wedding.

No fear, I switched us both to the 30-mile bike tour taking place the day before. The longest bike tour I had ever done was around 20 miles, but the thought of another 10 miles was a bit daunting.

I trained for this tour -- once -- in the gym on an upright bike, riding for 60 minutes (about 17.5 miles).

On race morning, we took the train to Chinatown. I got nervous as I saw everyone in their expensive road bikes and gear -- felt like a fraud, ha ha. The race started with the lighting of firecrackers and one of my worst fears -- riding in a mob of people. It went fine, though.

The first few miles were a very tough climb. People were walking their bikes up the hill -- yes, even the fancy bikes (mine is a hybrid bike, much cheaper and not nearly as light/fast). I'm proud to say I did not have to walk my bike the entire time... yay for barre DVDs for strengthening my quads!

Around Mile 9.5, there was a rest stop with trail mix, peanut butter, gels, water, orange wedges, and sports drink. I had a little peanut butter, trail mix, and sports drink and decided to continue on, since we were definitely taking longer than imagined -- partly due to hills and partly due to waiting at traffic lights. Yes, we rode with traffic. This was super scary, particularly in some parts. Even more scary was going down very steep downhills with many, many potholes.

I kept imagining myself being clipped by another cyclist, despite my best intentions, or losing control and showing up to my sister's wedding all scarred. I kept a somewhat conservative pace in the scarier parts, since this wasn't even a timed event.

The most interesting parts were Griffith Park and the bike path near the LA River, which was a path I never thought I'd take. After what felt like an eternity (the second half went by WAY faster than the first), "The Ukrainian" and I crossed the finish line, high-fiving boy scouts.

I was trying to assess the effort that it took to ride 30 (hilly) miles versus running, and unfortunately, they don't compare. Although it was tiring, I feel more beat up after a 7+-mile run than this 2.5 hour schlep on my bike. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I guess I have always been intimidated by cyclists. I shouldn't have been -- I outlasted many of them. This was a boost for my self-esteem and some sort of affirmation that I am fitter than I thought. On that note, I think I will finally try spinning classes soon -- due to a gym and job change (yep! more later, perhaps), I will have access to spin classes, and maybe I won't find it as painful as I did the first and only time I took a spin class, back in college.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here's the goodie bag... the highlight was the Biscoff spread!!! Tastes like cookies!! I know this product is sold in my area, but I never bought any because I couldn't justify in my head buying something that unhealthy. Hah, I will eat it if it's free, though! (Not pictured: a package of Corn Thins I ate before the ride because I was hungry!)

There was also adequate course support to tell us where to go, so thumbs-up! I will be back next year, hopefully to run. Here's my Snake medal to add to my dragon medal... atop the awesome drawstring bag they included! Happy Lunar New Year!! Gotta catch 'em all!!

Review: Physique 57, Volume 1

2013-02-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

I think it's about time that I review the Physique 57 Volume 1 set of DVDs that I got during the holidays!

The reason I was interested in this set in the first place is that I've read a lot of hype about it. Physique 57 is a barre-type exercise program. I've tried The Bar Method and some of its associated home videos before. The in-person classes are fairly challenging, but I ended up reselling the DVDs because they just seemed too easy after a while.

After cycling through the three discs for about a month now, I definitely don't think these are "easy." It definitely works up a sweat, and I definitely get to the point of failure. Although the barre-method is a non-impact way of getting in shape, I definitely don't like for it to be a snooze. This seems to give me the best of both worlds -- focused toning with no impact and even a bit of cardio.

Here is my summary of each:

Classic Workout (~57 minutes), recommended 2-3x/week - In this video, you go through an arm segment, two thigh segments, a seat segment, an ab segment, and what I like to call a "pelvic" section (although it's more like lower back, it calls for a lot of pelvic thrusting...). Nice stretching at the end.

Pros
- Complete body workout; challenging; different than other barre moves
- Only requires a chair, mat, cushion (I use a pillow wrapped in a towel), included playground ball, 3 + 5 lb weights, and a chair
- Decent music
- Token male in the background, lol

Cons
- Tanya Becker is pretty cheezy and annoying in this DVD (e.g., "No more jiggle. Nuh-uh. Not for you!")!!!!
- I don't have 5 lb weights, so I use 3 lb for everything...
- Playground ball doesn't seem sturdy like the one in the video. I don't put my full weight on it.
- A little fast/advanced for newbies, which gives me room for improvement. If I hadn't done barre before, this would be an even slower process.

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30 Minute Express (~30 minutes), recommended once a week - This is like the 57-minute version, except shorter. Includes a short arm segment, a short thigh segment, and a short ab segment.

Pros
- You feel like you get a pretty good workout in the allotted 30 minutes
- Only need a chair, ball, weights, and mat... no cushion (I fumble with it too much).

Cons
- Tanya is annoying again
- Not very different from the 57-minute version. If I had the time, I'd rather do the full version and include the seat/lower back/other work.

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Arm & Ab Booster (~30 minutes), recommended once a week - This is hosted by Shelley, not Tanya. Approximately half of the video is arms (mostly in plie) and the other half abs.

Pros
- Challenging, maybe too much so in the ab portion... I have to take brief breaks because she doesn't really give you any
- Only requires a mat, playground ball, and weights
- No Tanya

Cons
- I felt there isn't enough arm stretching... I'd say barely enough ab stretching, either, but I guess that's what 30 minutes gives you
- She keeps making you think you are getting close to finishing when you aren't, many times... excruciating!
- See comment above in the "Pros" section

------

As for results, I have been in maintenance mode, so I don't have any dramatic weight-loss shots for you. However, I'm fairly certain this has kept the muscle tone in my abs, arms, and legs. Additionally, I think all the thigh work has helped a bit with my endurance in running. I think I only do the videos once a twice a typical week, but I was suddenly able to go from needing to walk during my runs to getting through 17 miles without needing to walk. There's something about getting your legs to shake in failure during these videos that gets you through fatigue during running. I experienced the same effect doing Bar Method, but I think this one will keep me guessing for a while.

At some point, I'd like to try Volume 2, but I've read that it's harder, and I haven't mastered Volume 1 yet. In short, Physique 57 is not really great for beginners to the at-home barre method who haven't attended any live classes.

I Did Not Run Surf City

2013-02-05T08:01:00.001-08:00

This year, I decided not to run the Surf City USA Half-Marathon again. I did this race in 2008, 2009, 2010 to earn my "Longboard Legacy" status, and even last year, 2012 for the Beach Cities series.

Surf City has always been a nice race to run -- in fact, I've PRed on this course more than once. However, it is kind of expensive for a half-marathon, and frankly, I get bored running the same course so many times.

So just like in 2011, I sat this one out while "The Ukrainian" ran. He wanted to try the full marathon and finished at around 3:37 training just a few long runs with me.

On Saturday, the day before the race, he and I did marathon packet pick-up. Since we had the morning shift, it was hard to tell how many people would never come to pick up their bibs, but I did hear a lot of people were too sick to run.

Sunday rolled around, and while "The Ukrainian" waited in the car before his race, I started my shift at 4:45 AM to help coordinate volunteers. I was scrambling around until 11 AM, so I think I had a little mini-marathon of my own. I'm still amazed to see races run so well, because it really takes a lot of manpower and a lot of organization to deploy that manpower. And when you are sitting in the front of the expo in a volunteer shirt, everyone assumes you know everything about everything and asks you everything as such. Fortunately, I've participated enough times to at least get most of them.

I was a little sad not to be running, but less than is typical. The 5K that I had coming up next week has been "postponed," so my first race of the year s now a 30-mile bike tour in a couple of weeks. I've done a 20-ish mile one before, but this upcoming one is hilly, and I'm coming into is fairly untrained. Then, about three weeks later... LA Marathon 2013. I've been getting some long runs in (12.5, 17.5) and will have to plug in my 20-miler two weeks before... great.

For now, I think I caught something on the Metro or the expo, so I don't think I'll be running until the latter part of the week. That's enough to make me anxious, but oh well. I guess it's for the better that I helped run Surf City instead of actually running it.

Track Repeats, a Decade Later

2013-01-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

While I've been doing a whole lot of running over the past six or so years, I haven't *really* been back to the track. Once, I did 14 miles on one as part of a long run... And other time, I walked around one for 15 or so miles, as part of Relay for Life.

In fact, these were all on the same track -- my high school's. (As I've mentioned, my running started in high school when I joined Track and Field).

Eleven years ago!

I don't like purposefully driving anywhere just to run, unless it's a race. This is probably why I don't really go to the gym often, unless I'm already en route to someplace else. And that's what ended up happening while visiting my parents. While I come by every week, it's usually later in the day or after I've already done some other workout.

With my Garmin finally back in action lately, I took to the track with a simple goal of doing six quarter-mile repeats, with a "rest lap" in between. I'm almost embarrassed to post my times, because not only am I extremely rusty at running in general... but my personal best for this distance is actually 1:02, more than a decade removed.

1 - 1:48

2 - 1:45

3 - 1:46

4 - 1:39

5 - 1:35

6 - 1:38

This was HARD. First off, it was kind of raining during the first three intervals, and the track was wet from the night before. By the end of the first interval, I didn't want to do anymore, but I had to silence the wimp in me.

These were definitely not my best effort. I felt myself slowing down at some points, even though I am pretty sure I could have maintained my speed. I think I am no longer used to "full-throttle" and need to strengthen that mind-body connection that will push me through those times when I otherwise would pull back at the first sign of fatigue. And somehow, I actually improved as the laps went on, sort of. After the last two, I had to catch my breath and not vomit by the end of them. As soon as I finished, it suddenly started to pour.

I do want to do this more often, though I specifically came out because I have a 5k in a couple of weeks, and my current pace is slower than slow. Although not impressive (in distance or speed) by some standards, this was a mind-strengthening experience that really did make me feel spent. I went to the gym afterward for the first time in a long time and could barely handle lifting weights that used to be easy for me. Gotta work on that, too, I suppose.

Incrediwear Arm/Calf Sleeve and Socks

2013-01-22T13:31:00.002-08:00

We're having a January heat wave down here in Southern California. If you have read my Race Reviews, you might already know that heat is my enemy, particularly when it comes to running in it. But even getting into a hot car with a somewhat non-working air conditioning system is enough to disgust me.

Prior to the last few days, though, it was cold -- at least in relation to normal conditions in these parts. This means running in sub-40-degree weather sometimes. East-coasters and foreigners, yes, I will cry you a river.

Yes, I've kept up with running... blogging about it, not so much. My average weekly mileage has jumped from 4 to a "whopping" 25-26. Admittedly, this is "only" about 3-4 days of running per week, but it has so far worked for me in terms of not burning out or injuring myself. *knocks on wood*

Anyway, on some of my "cold" weather runs lately, I've been able to try out a couple of products from the Incrediwear website. First up is this arm/calf sleeve:

I thought it was definitely interesting to use a common sleeve for both your calf and arm. I haven't really had a lot of fun wearing arm sleeves, particularly because I tend to fiddle with them a lot when I run. However, there are times when the weather is half cold and half warm that I particularly want to wear them... especially because I'm paranoid about unnecessary sun exposure. At any rate, I have generally used this Incrediwear sleeve on my calves because I like having something to guard my shins from when I accidentally kick myself while running (you know you've done it!) or when I worry about random dogs or plants near the ground maiming me. These aren't really something I'd wear for compression or cramp prevention because they aren't supportive in the same way as other ones I've tried, but I would totally wear them for the sake of protecting my legs during shorter runs, recovery, pre-run, or just because they do give the illusion of warmth when I want to wear shorts.

I also tried their Incredisocks. These are probably the only "manly-looking" running socks I've tried, but I actually like them a lot. I'm not sure if they actually kept my feet warm during runs in the cold, but I did notice a lack of rubbing/blistering, along with sweat and odor control. These socks are on the thin side, which I consider a good thing.

As I am running more, I am starting to remember how fun and useful it is for me to try and review different products, and admittedly, I'm still quite far behind in posting all of them. Since I've been out of the "training a long way" game for a bit, I have stupidly caused myself painful chafing and bonking due to forgetting to bring enough fuel for the duration. I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things soon... sometimes, the right gear helps.

Adventures in Online Learning

2013-01-10T11:38:00.001-08:00

A while back, I mentioned that I was worried about my intellectual deterioration.

Now, as I am trying to figure out where I stand professionally, I have been thinking more about what I could be doing differently. Sometimes, I feel as though I've taken the wrong path and need to do some (slow) back-tracking. Other times, I feel as though I've already sealed my fate.

"Oh, you're so young... you'll be fine," I am often told. Really? Can I suddenly learn how to handle finance work... do I even want to??

Until I sort things out, I've taken to (free!) online learning. The most alluring option was Coursera.org, which provides online courses of varying length (4-15 weeks, from what I've seen) with instructors from good universities. There are so many interesting courses on there, topics ranging from nutrition to machines... but given work, I had to stop myself from signing up for too many.

The "class" I'm in right now... well, you can see it in the screenshot above. I definitely wasn't expecting to need to draw back on my undergrad forays into programming, but I guess it's healthy??? Yes, once upon a time, I took classes in C++/data structures, Perl, and web programming... and although I was often scrambling/panicking, my grades were good. I'm not sure what learning more will do for me, but I figure it's better to know something than not.

The assignments and quizzes are quite tough and time-consuming, and I think my ability to learn in an academic fashion has already gotten a little rusty. I'm just hoping to get the 70 points I need to "pass" the class and earn a certificate. Even if not, I have learned a lot already -- and will remember to take "easier" courses next time!!

These courses are low-pressure ways to learn, but you have to be very self-motivated to watch lectures and then do the work. It helps to pick something very interesting to you... and it also helps during times of transition or when nobody seems available to hang out.

At the very least, I feel pretty good knowing I'm using the Internet for positive things...

Northwoods Inn Purple Cabbage Salad

2013-01-07T11:04:00.003-08:00

food.com

Sometime last year, I went to Clearman's Galley for the first time. I have lived pretty close to one for ages and wondered when I'd get to eat in a restaurant shaped like a boat. Next door to "the boat" is a Northwoods Inn, and from what I have gathered, they serve similar food.

The fare at "the boat" is not exactly health food -- wings, burgers, greasy cheese bread, and this cabbage salad that somehow manages to be unhealthy because it is OILY. I was totally grossed out as I realized my takeout box of this stuff had leaked oil all into the plastic bag it was in (thank goodness!).

However, since it WAS a tasty dish, I decided to re-create this salad, and it has now made its way into my regular rotation. I used an online recipe, with the main modification being that I use a whole head of cabbage instead of half. The result is a less-oily salad that will last quite a while since it is essentially pickled. Definitely allow it to sit at least overnight before eating.

As a note about preparation, I've tried using both a food processor and my own chopping for the cabbage, and honestly, the difference in effort isn't really much. You still need to butcher the cabbage head in quarters to get it into the food processor, and then you have to wash the darn thing and put it away. The chopping actually goes by fairly quickly, and I don't find that the food processor chops it better than I do (which isn't all that perfect!).

I usually eat this alongside grains or faux meat, though it is a lot like sauerkraut in terms of its versatility (hot dogs, anyone?!). A modest portion is definitely enough.

P.S. I believe "red" and "purple" cabbage is the same thing..........

The Year So Far

2013-01-03T10:20:00.002-08:00

Although many people haven't returned to work/school or whatever constitutes their "normal" routines, I feel as though I am already back in the swing of things. Perhaps this is because I had to work on New Year's Eve and immediately again on the 2nd.

Everyone's good intentions (i.e., resolutions) have been rubbing off on me, and although I did not really commit to anything specific, I do feel like I'm on my "best behavior." And I think some of it even started before the end of 2012.

For one thing, I have been using my new Thermos for warm drinks instead of going out for something. I live around a lot of drink establishments (side note: I don't count Starbucks in this category... I gave them up for good in October), so I did have that bad habit toward the end of last year. I've never had a Thermos anything before, and they work really well! Thanks goes out to my sister and the little birdie named Amazon for the tip! I have some loose-leaf teas on the way so I can reap the benefits even more. Sometimes, it just takes a spark to get me to improve on things.

Meanwhile, I have been cooking again. I may start posting about what I've been making once I remember to snap photos again. "The Ukrainian" thinks he is "healthiest" when I cook consistently, so I guess I better keep at it. As for me, cooking keeps me from going out as much because I generally make what I'd want to eat -- plus, I get to apply everything I learn when I'm a couch potato watching the 58-3 Create channel at home (and Food Network when I'm at the work gym/other people's houses). Of course, since I wasn't cooking a lot toward the end of the year, I ate a lot of stuff that eventually made me feel pretty run down all the time. I didn't resolve to cook more because this is something I should be doing... and HAD been doing, anyway.

I exercised consistently during the holidays, so at least I don't have to catch up on that. I DID back off on the running a little bit, since I was a wimp about running in the rain and without having my workplace treadmill as a backup for those days. Christmas was one of the few unplanned rest days I took, so I walked Bruno for about a mile and a half or so.

I've been trying to run at least a couple of times a week. Before the last two weeks of the year, I was running a touch under 20 mi/week, which is definitely an improvement from before. As I am working back up to that level (amazing how easy it is to fall out of a running routine), I have been doing bits of Insanity, Jillian, etc.... and the Physique 57 (Vol 1) workouts that my sister recently got for me! I'm a fan of barre-type workouts because they really do seem to tone without impact, and when I was consistent with these, I ran some of my best race times without quite as much training. This DVD set is significantly more challenging than others I've tried, so this should keep me on my toes (haha!) for a while. Review coming later.

Finally, I've been trying to sprinkle in some more "fun" things to keep myself busy. Besides trying to read, I have been utilizing our Netflix and Pandora more rather than watching mindless TV, lighting candles/burning essential oils, and short-term semi-mindless stuff like putting this puzzle together with my little sister:

So the box was missing a piece... see lower left corner. So sad!!

Overall, I'm trying to teach myself that just a few extra seconds or minutes of cleaning, planning, and organizing can make a really big difference in what I can accomplish in a day. I am often needlessly rushing, missing details, and overestimating how long/how much effort things take. This has been an issue for a while, no thanks to grad school and my tendency toward anxiety more often than not. In my last post, I did mention committing in 2013 to vague things relating to my personal growth, and I think that this is a significant part of that.

I hope to be blogging more now that things are settling down, so you might notice more journal-type entries like this one, along with the normal reviews. I certainly need to catch up with those reviews......

Here We Go

2012-12-31T09:14:00.000-08:00

Once again, I find myself in the last day of the year, which seem to come so much faster these days.

I'm getting older. For the first time in life, I am really starting to feel (and see) this "getting older" rather than just fretting about my chronological age, mostly because the holidays always feel a little less magical every year.

Yet, somehow, I still retain many of my immature habits that I hope will start disappearing more with my age. And I think if there is anything I want to commit to acknowledging and working on in 2013, it would be those. I'll leave it at that.

As was the case this year, I am not overly concerned with how many miles I run in the coming year. Besides maintaining my weight and fitness level (and surviving LA Marathon 2013), I don't think I have any real running goals besides the hope that it will be fun again and remain a part of my general fitness activities. It is really strange to see such a lack of "Upcoming" races on my sidebar, especially after a busy 2012 in the racing realm. I just don't have the same trigger reflex that I used to have when it comes to signing up for races. I've done most of the appealing local ones, seemingly, and at this point, I'm hoping the saved registration fees will go toward me getting me away from my stomp-y upstairs neighbors. Tentatively, "The Ukrainian" and I are aiming for two or three marathons over the course of next year (LA, possibly an Ojai repeat, and something in the Fall), but I'll first see how I handle the first one with my iffy attitude and training habits.

Finally, my professional status needs some work... and not by choice. Again, leaving it at that.

It's really easy for me to chuck out a list of goals and hope that I meet them, but I really just want to focus on just "being" in the coming year. Without adhering too much to my 2012 list, I think I've done a pretty good job at making my time count this year, regardless:

- I've had a lot of fun times with friends this year, more than previous years, perhaps because I opened my mind more to things. Because of past circumstances (grad school, mostly), I was worried that I'd stop getting invited to stuff, but now I'm always grateful to those who remember me.

- My job became legit.

- I've read a lot more this year, and this was even true before I got a Kindle. In the past three months alone, I think I read at least five books, which considering my history and how busy things have been, I consider that pretty good. Some of those books have changed the way I perceive and handle things, though as with anything, additional time/work is required.

- With "The Ukrainian," we managed to pull off a wedding that exceeded our expectations and are adjusting well to married life.

- Although I never reached my weight loss goals, I reached a point that I found myself quite satisfied with physically (though recent holiday habits mean that I will need some work to get back to that point early in the year).

- I'm pretty sure I've cooked less in 2012 than previously, but when I did, I found myself to be more adept at it, and the results were tastier than before.

- Even with decreased training, I pulled off two half-marathon series and two marathon times of which I'm pretty proud, as well as my first race in "costume."

- I covered a lot of miles this year -- miles traveled, that is. In the past six months, I've stayed in Boston, Chicago, San Diego (multiple times), Las Vegas, Mammoth Lakes, Oahu, New York, and San Francisco. Many of these were work-related, so I got to experience traveling alone, which was definitely different. I don't foresee any real travel next year, though.

- I finished Insanity twice!

Some pretty significant unpleasant stuff came up this year, particularly toward the end of it, but rather than dwell, I'd rather think about the stuff above.

Here's to another year!

Dairy Tales

2012-12-20T11:17:00.002-08:00

One night, I decided to order fries for dinner. While not the best choice, I wasn't exactly hungry and just wanted something to pick at while "The Ukrainian" ate his meaty dish.

The fries were supposed to come with ketchup and garlic aioli, which is essentially mayo. Mayonnaise is a friend of mine because although it does contain egg, it doesn't contain any dairy/lactose, which results in this situation:

About half an hour into my fry-eating and dipping, I suddenly got familiar stabbing pains in my stomach. I actually had not had this happen in quite a while, in spite of consuming things like:

- cheddar, gouda, swiss, and other such cheeses
- pizza slices
- pancakes and other baked goods I'm assuming were prepared with dairy
- cakes (though I usually don't eat all the cream in my lactose fears), even tiramisu and cheesecake
- butter on my bread, buttery things, etc.

Yes, the "aioli" did seem a little runny... and did taste a little like buttermilk ranch or sour cream. I should have asked but was being careless. I didn't even eat a whole lot of that dip, maybe a tablespoon in total. Sure, I didn't take my Lactaid, but it doesn't really stop this kind of reaction, anyway.

I spent the rest of the night laying and feeling like someone was blowing up balloons in my gut. Each time I do this to myself, I feel somewhat resentful that I am one of the few Asian-Americans I know who can't chug a boba milk tea, when supposedly 90% of Asians have lactose intolerance. And outside of my race (including my milk-drinking husband), it's pretty much unheard of.

I remember having a lot of stomachaches as a kid, sometimes wasting half the night in the restroom cramping and accepting that this is just happens once in a while. Sometimes, I'm in denial -- "If I can eat cheese sometimes, I can't be lactose intolerant." "If it takes so long to digest food, how could I feel pain so quickly after eating dairy?" "Maybe it's all in my head." (e.g., the smell of milk disgusts me)

Of course, things could always be worse -- at least a night of pain and my stomach vocalizing itself is my main side-effect and not something life-threatening or permanent. However, I do hope that none of my potential children inherit this cursed condition that I haven't even figured out completely. (Though I did read that pregnancy may temporarily stop this condition... it's not a very effective solution, of course.)

In the past, I had decided that because of these problems, I should just cut dairy out completely. After all, it IS the most ethical thing. However, since I keep coming back to it, I know that I am not ready for my full moral aspirations just yet. So I try to keep my dairy consumption low in lactose, per a lactose reference chart I referenced in a previous post. Overall, I think using that chart as a guide has helped me avoid episodes like this by and large.... though as I said before, I got careless this time.

I think some part of me keeps hoping that the exposure to small amounts of lactose has increased my tolerance over time. Apparently not! I have other reactions to things such as certain fruits and acne medications (which was horrible because I definitely needed those as a teen!), but none other comes to mind and stomach more frequently than dairy.

On that note... enjoy the rest of the holiday season, and savor your dairy if you can eat it without adverse reactions!

Bringing Light

2012-12-17T10:15:00.001-08:00

This past Friday, I had just finished my 36-mile trek to have lunch with my boss, and when I looked at my phone, I saw a slew of disgust on my social media feeds regarding the shooting in Newtown, CT.

I was almost late to meet her because I was kept digging for more. Digging for the name and photo of the culprit, perhaps because I wanted to start making attributions in relation to his behavior. I wanted to know what kind of person would have the nerve to point guns at small children and pull the trigger.

According to evolutionary psychology, we aren't supposed to be killing ANY children -- they could very well belong to us or someone genetically related to us. We are supposed to help them, and their cute faces kind of compel us to do so. Obviously, there was something very wrong for that evolutionary instinct to have failed in this young man.

This public shooting thing is getting old. Besides mentally processing them as they occur, I am reminded yearly of the anniversary of the Columbine shootings because it happened on one of my birthdays. In high school, on that same date, there was a car fire at my high school. My best friend and I went up close to take pictures of it for the school newspaper. Only later did we find out that the car had been rigged with a large amount of gas and was intended to be a car bomb. A car bomb gone wrong, luckily.

It's easy to attribute these occurrences to "society turning south" or whatnot. We usually try to figure out which mental illness these shooters have, in order to make some sense of it all, in order to stigmatize people and in order to feel at ease that this isn't just something that "normal" people do. As someone who studied psychology, I am definitely torn on the issues regarding how to manage those with mental illnesses. Too often, we just look away, hoping to ignore their existence, perhaps because we really don't know what to do or because we are afraid of their unpredictability. And when shootings like this happen, we can only further stigmatize -- or worse, propose some form of genocide/eugenics. In my mind, we have a big problem very difficult to solve and too much ambiguity in society to come together and work on it. (Same thing with the "gun control" debate, though I tend to be an anti-hunting vegetable lover who has lost classmates from guns and definitely has an opinion on the issue.)

What compelled me to write this post in particular, though, is that the thought of pointing guns at/killing small children struck me in an exceptional way. It made me nauseated, actually. Although children constantly crying/whining on planes definitely doesn't make me a happy camper, I have a bright, energetic toddler-aged niece and definitely a soft spot for the young children at our local synagogue... dancing, singing, and generally more understanding of "the right thing to do" than most adults.

They were dancing around in a circle during a Hanukkah dinner I attended this weekend, and along with the overwhelming feelings of "cuteness" I experienced, I immediately thought about the shooting again. Hanukkah is a highly children-oriented holiday, and as one might be able to guess one of its themes is to "bring light" to where there is otherwise darkness (typically by doing good deeds/giving rather than just receiving).

And from what I've seen, children do often bring that light. Last week, someone extinguished 20 sources of light, and I'm sure he would have done more had it not been for some very quick-thinking heroes. Well, I guess he tried... as of course these children's essences have only grown since then.

Although........ the thought of twenty sets of parents unable to bring their little sons/daughters home is utterly unimaginable and brings me a shadow of sadness for sure. Unfortunately, every time a bomb goes off in the Middle East, a child is beaten by their parents, or starved to death by their governments, that shadow grows even more.

Hawaiian Honeymoon

2012-12-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

I'm fairly certain this will be my last wedding-related post, at least for now. ;)

A couple of days after the big day, "The Ukrainian" and I went to Oahu, HI. I've been wanting to go to Hawaii since I was a kid, so to cross two items off my "list" (marrying and going there) felt great. I've gone on some business trips this year, so I've covered a lot of miles relative to the norm and found the airport-ing fairly routine by now.

Most of our five-ish days there were fairly relaxed in pace, which is exactly what I wanted after all the excitement. We had spent the previous days before we flew out there relaxing, visiting family, not cooking in favor of eating out, getting massages -- basically spending time away from our stupid upstairs neighbors who are seemingly awake very early and late, constantly walking like their feet are made of lead and don't seem to work during the day. =/

Anyhow, I'll start the barrage of photos now:

Ramen, my first post-landing meal (the meat was eaten for me). Quality was about average, says this ramen-snob.

The famous Waikiki beach. The first day was the only real sunny one we got. The lei was part of a Groupon deal, more detail below.

Had to eat some gluttonous macadamia nut pancakes... SO good. Pancakes in general are seemingly better in Hawaii.

Some other resort near the Aulani... much prettier side of the island.

Part 2 of Groupon, all-day island tour! (Part 3 was round-trip airport shuttle... totally worth it!)

Stopped at the Dole Plantation and had Dole whip (dairy-free frozen pineapple dessert). Yes, they have this in So Cal, but I haven't gone. Forgot I tend to get an itchy throat when I consume too much pineapple... this amount (shared with "The Ukrainian") was enough to make me a bit tight in the throat. Whoops.

These contained SPAM seasoning,... so good!

More tropical snacks...

Lunch stop was at a ranch... ribs and taro rolls... mmm. I had a weird veggie patty with rice. =/

View as we were eating lunch.

So many macadamia nut samples!

View from atop a VERY windy mountain.

Hanauma Bay... we came back here to snorkel, and boy did I whine in terror. I wasn't afraid of swimming around the fish or anything, but the breathing itself took some getting used to.

Came here upon recommendation. This is fast food, but tastier and had veggie chili. =)

Malasadas... filled Portuguese donuts!!

View from the room one morning.

Made sure to have some tropical drinks (pina colada + blue Hawaiian).

Nice breakfast, husband! (benedict, pancakes, loco moco)

Homemade udon, rice balls, and tempura. Be still, my heart.

HAD to try the shaved ice on my last night there. So light and flavorful!

Although it was pretty short, I think we were ready to return to reality by the time we came home. We're the kind of people who like to take shorter, more frequent vacations, and hopefully this was just the first of the many more. =)

Wedding -- All the Details

2012-12-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not a very crafty person. Okay, everyone says that about themselves to fish for compliments, but this is how I really feel, so get over it.

I should say, I used to be a crafty person, until I lost confidence in my crafting abilities. I'm not really sure how I internalized this belief about myself, as I flex my creative muscles almost yearly for Halloween (here and here are some examples). As you can see, self-efficacy isn't among my frequently-used self-management tools.

Although I walked into this wedding-planning process with the best of intentions, I ended up relinquishing control of a lot of things I otherwise would have "DIY-ed." I remember working on many other things myself, feeling a tinge of sadness but then thinking it was ridiculous that I'd be sad about assembling such a small number of things for the size of our wedding.

Here are some of the details of our ceremony/reception (all-in-one), in case anyone needs ideas. And as always, feel free to contact me anytime.

1) "The Dress" / Veil / Shoes / Accessories

I shopped with one person, my closest female friend. She volunteered for this, so I figured it'd be best to take her, otherwise, I didn't feel comfortable asking people who may not have wished to go. The original intent was to rent because I didn't want to store the dress afterward, but fate had a different outcome.

This dress came off the clearance rack at Alfred Angelo (after shopping at a couple of other places, trying on around 10 dresses). I had not been checking that rack, since those are usually filled with dresses that don't fit or are too revealing. My friend insisted I try on a dress from there that was, like, two sizes smaller than I know myself to be... and it somehow fit. This dress was under $300, and for that, I owe her a limb. Cheaper than any (decent) rental I could have found.

I wanted to buy a veil from here, but it cost more than half the cost of the dress, which seemed wrong to me. I decided to rent from my engagement photographer/make-up artist, along with jewelry because I didn't already have "nice enough" stuff. This actually was quite the cost-saver. Also, I altered my dress at a dry cleaners -- I trusted her because she did my sister's bridal gown and our bridesmaids dresses for her wedding three years ago. The seamstress needed to shorten the dress (which was not straight-forward due to intricate edging on the bottom), attach a back-panel, close off an area in the back, and create a bustle. She also pressed it, for a total of $80.

My faux eyelashes kept poking at the veil during the ceremony...

As for the shoes (which really didn't appear in photos anyway!), they came from Off Broadway shoes, an outlet of sorts that "The Ukrainian" likes to stop by all the time because it's near his parents' house. They were about $35 and fit the bill because this wasn't something I really cared about and just wanted to be comfortable (and be able to re-use them for non-bridal purposes!).

I'm not going to say a lot about the tux, as we just went to Men's Wearhouse and were in-and-out in like 20 minutes. "The Ukrainian" already had a nice pair of special-occasion Italian shoes that he got for around $80 a number of years ago. Oh, men.

2) Flowers

I really wanted to DIY this, but this involved importing unknown pieces of young bamboo from Taiwan with no samples to go on, so I bailed. Plus, I didn't want to worry about keeping all of them alive in the months-long heat-wave we had here and then bringing them to the destination on the "day of" when we already didn't exactly have that much help.

These arrangements came from here. I felt insecure about not seeing an exact sample of what it'd look like, but since I wasn't "set" on something exact, I just trusted them.

The Flower Mart, Temple City

3) The "Chuppah"

I always envisioned that we would have a Jewish-style wedding, and part of the reason for that is because I wanted to build a "chuppah," a canopy that symbolizes a couples first "home" together. Given my Asian-American heritage, and my long-time love of the color green, and bamboo's strength + versatile uses, we decided to make bamboo the unofficial theme of the wedding. Unfortunately, big bamboo stalks are NOT green, but ehhh, close enough. I liked their rustic look.

We found a bamboo wholesale in Orange County and went down there one morning to pick up six poles about 2" in diameter and about 8 feet tall (less than $20). We had a major snafu in constructing this... as it was supposed to be free-standing... All's well that ends well, though! We also had the option of borrowing one from a synagogue, but it was a fun project and meaningful because we had to work together on it.

4) The "Ketubah" + the Rest of the Ceremony Items

Along the Jewish-style wedding thread, we had a "ketubah," which is basically a marriage contract.

Although traditional texts vary in terms of how they, um, frame women, we went with some generic egalitarian text and had our names transliterated into Hebrew. We purchased ours at Gallery Judaica, and it came with a free breaking glass (which we got in green but it never left the pouch!). The artist had to customize ours and send it over shortly before the wedding date.

We also picked up a "kippah," also known as a "yarmulke," and a tallit (prayer cloth used during the ceremony). The store was pretty neat and located near my alma mater, which I didn't even know... but then again, I did not foresee myself marrying a Jewish person back then, so hmm.

Finally, we were asked to procure candlesticks, to be used in the future for major holidays and such. We ended up getting ours at Goodwill. You can also spot one of our "kiddush" cups on the left side (from Amazon because I couldn't find a reasonably-priced one anywhere!)

5) The Favors

Going along with the bamboo theme, we decided (or I decided, LOL) to hand out fortune cookies as favors. I am kind of an anti-clutter person, so I didn't want to contribute to people's junk piles. Edible favors = no junk. We ordered these from fancyfortunecookies.com in green apple + white chocolate flavor with our names and wedding date inside, plus a message thanking our guests for sharing in our special day. I also got some green organza bags from eBay (for super cheap), though I overestimated the size and really struggled fitting the cookies inside (see below, they are around the centerpiece).

The other favor... well, prop, that we gave guests was a red envelope (from Chinatown) filled with chocolate coins from World Market. They didn't get to hold onto these too long, though, as these were for participating in the entertainment...

6) The Entertainment + Photography

We had a lion dance troupe, recommended by a friend, come in for some expensive 15 minutes, lol. They are really the best in the area, jumping up and over each other, etc., and their purpose was to bring us good luck. Guests got to interact by "feeding" red envelopes to the lions. Since we did a Jewish ceremony, it was fitting to have this is our main entertainment.

Since we overspent on engagement photography, I took a friend up on an offer he made long before I was engaged to take photos at the wedding as his gift to me. While it took bringing another friend and some assurance that they didn't need to be "perfect," I think this was a win-win (they get to build their portfolio, and we didn't have to look for another photographer). One thing I made SURE to do was send a table with the rough program and desired shots for each part. We also met up at the venue a few months before to give them an idea of space, lighting, etc.

We have a ton of photos now, so now I must task myself with creating an album........ =/

7) Invitations / Name Tags / Table Numbers

Invitations are things that I never understood too well... do people even keep those? Given the small guest list, we decided to just buy a kit from Amazon and print them ourselves. Well, turns out that it was a little more complicated than hoped, so I did enlist $10 to have Kinko's do it for me, but in the end, the whole she-bang was less than a dollar per invitation. I had clear address labels already from the past, so those got used. We also decided to forego "Save the Dates" in lieu of just calling and/or telling people the date in person.

The name tags were also an Amazon purchase, and this time, the printing was fairly straightforward. The Table Numbers came pre-printed from Michael's craft store for about $6... I had other ideas for this, but this was the most straightforward and aesthetically fitting option.

8) Make-up / Nails

I went back to my engagement photographer's make-up artist to do my get-up for the wedding day. This turned out to be a money-saver because rental of jewelry, veil, and accessories were included. I didn't want to have to buy all these things (see note in #1 about clutter).

As for nails, well, I know most brides get a mani/pedi, but since I've never gotten one, I was terrified to start. Nail salons have always given me the "heebies," and the fear of cuticle-cutting and infection and people touching my feet = nooooo. Plus, my mom has always told me how nice my nails are and that I shouldn't let people cut/push my cuticles.

So, with my first bottle of $8 OPI (Newlywed shade, or something like that), I painted my own nails two days before the wedding. Who the eff looks that closely, anyway?!

9) The Cake

"The Ukrainian"'s mother wanted to have a larger role in the planning than she did, but we really wanted to do our own thing, so we compromised with the cake. I'm glad we did, as Russian cakes taste better than I have experienced in the past. This is a cranberry-flavored "jaconda" cake from a bakery in West Hollywood... totally not-too-sweet, and pretty!

10) Send-off

I'll make this short: $1/15 sticks at Michaels ... not the best quality or photograph that well during the day, but this was such a minor/short thing that that didn't matter

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So there it is... in a super-long nutshell. Since we were uncertain about all the hooplah in the first place, I am ELATED to be done with this process and money-drain. Although I wasn't feeling very confident that "enough" was put into this, we were praised for our hands-on efforts and thoughtfulness when it came to representing both of our cultures in the event. Again overall, I was very satisfied with how it came out, and I will remember it forever.

Still, I think I'll just stick to Halloween-costumes for the time being.... =)