right now...

Eating... Acai Bowls. I can eat these bowls for every meal. They are so easy to make. I even have all the ingredients, but I don't have the time in the mornings to make it, so I will sometimes get them at the coffee bar downstairs.

Planning... Back to School. Less than two weeks of summer break and I need to weed through CJ's clothes to figure out what clothes I still need to buy her, as well a new backpack. And shoes. And what else...?

Watching... Animal Kingdom & The Olympics.  When I first saw commercials for Animal Kingdom, it was Scott Speedman who I really wanted to see. (ahhh, memories of Ben from Felicity). Then I watched 3 episodes in a row and was obviously hooked. It is riveting and it has a pretty good story line. Oh, and it takes place in Oceanside...that's just up the way. The OLYMPICS!!! I'm going to be sad when its all over. I've gotten attached to the athletes and the competition.

Feeling... Relieved. Our storage unit is emptied and our stuff is now accessible thanks to my hubs for all the moving, organizing and cleaning out. I hate paying for a storage unit and it's such a hassle to retrieve stuff from it. But now it's time to puuuuuurge!

Practicing... Yoga.  I joined a rock climbing gym ONLY for their yoga classes and it is the best. I forgot how much I love yoga. And doing it in my "older years," I appreciate it that much more. Maybe I'll take a stab at rock climbing...

Cooking... Lasagna. I was hesitant to fire up the oven (this heatwave is killing me), but I've been wanting to make a lasagna dish for a few weeks now. I accomplished that last night and ate a piece this morning for breakfast. Lol!

Reading... Sharp Objects. Sadly, I bought this paperback at the airport in November to read while having the chance to relax on the plane and while in Mexico. Didn't happen. It got buried for months and has now resurfaced. This will travel with me in my purse until I finish it.

Listening to... Rebelution. Thanks to hubs, it's all I listen to to and from work. It reminds me of the islands...ahhhhh!

Loving... Capri Blue VOLCANO hand lotion. This is the scent you smell when  walking into Anthropologie. Yuuuuum!

Celebrating... Multiple birthdays and a wedding. August is always busy with birthdays and we just had a fun bbq celebration at my sister's house in Orange County last weekend. A family wedding this Saturday will be a blast, I'm so excited for it!

oh hey, what's up, hello!

Here we are in Summer of 2016 and more than half way through the year.
I've had a MAJOR blog drought; just didn't feel the need to keep up with one anymore.

Today, however, I just wanted to check in, say hello and update you on life.

My little girl Camille is now 7 as of last month. It's so crazy how fast the years have flown by. Her 2nd year of pre-school, a full year of Kindergarten AND 1st grade is behind us. She has tried her hand in a number of activities, but still trying to grasp one or two that she really likes. She was really into kids yoga earlier this year, but sadly the studio she was enrolled in had to shut down. Soccer is coming up and with the new school year beginning, so will Girl Scouts. That will be fun to get into gear for both activities.

May of 2016 marked our 11 year wedding anniversary for the Hubs & I  and we couldn't be happier than the day we tied the knot. That is such a cliche, but true. Yes, those years in between had its share of bad and hard times, but at the end of the day...we really are a content couple that doesn't require very much.

Summer is half way done and it's been too busy & hectic at work to plan a mini-vacay. After over 10 years, my counterpart left the team to be a mom for her three young children. Between day camps, appointments and work, trying to plan a getaway seemed nearly impossible. In the next week, I hope to have something planned. Anything...because this work thing is too much the past month.

It's the weekend and I plan on spending a little time with my family, my girlfriends, practicing yoga & a little bit of decluttering. I can't wait...

Happy weekend to you!!!

August

Every year, August is a month that I brace myself for, so the past weekend was only a taste of what's in store for the coming days. I celebrated two big birthdays, for people who are near and dear to me. And the celebrations couldn't have been more extreme opposites. Clearly, I was cabana hopping!

Cruzie's birthday was spent at the Legoland Hotel--- the first half at the pool in the rain with minimal crowds (looks like the rain scared people off) and the other half in the hotel lobby with hundreds of kids running around being supervised by adults with alcoholic beverages in hand. Mandatory. The rain didn't stop the kids from having a blast in the pool and nor did it deter us from having the normal lunch & cake cutting under the two reserved cabanas. I'm so happy that the gloom and sprinkles didn't ruin Cruzie's 5th birthday. The show must go on...

My bff's birthday is later this week but on Sunday her hubby and friend planned a day under the cabana (another cabana!) at the Rancho Bernardo Inn for all her lady friends. The lunch spread was delicious and perfect for the hot muggy day that it was. We were able to stay cool with cucumber infused water and margaritas from the bar. While most of the ladies got a spa treatment done before lunch and came prepared to hang out poolside, I simply dipped my feet in and sipped on my margarita. Ahhhh, this is the life...

Happy Birthday Cruz & Cathy, more celebrations to follow!

fitness friday

Because hectic ran my life all of March & April and then drained all motivation out of me for the following two months, I think I owe it to myself and my poor out of shape body to do something about it.

Well, I signed up for a 5K run!

Yikes, the run is in 2 weeks and I've only done a barre class here and there and dabbled in T25/Insanity. I'm in for it, but I'm ready to take it on.

Here's to the start of a fitness trend for me and hoping I will stick to it. 

Have a great weekend all and see you back here soon!

(hmm, I think a new pair of shoes are in order)

blog's birthday

Happy Birthday, my dear Blog.

It's been three years since your inception and I was pretty good the first year, the second year was okay, but it wasn't with out a little bit of struggling and as for this year- I don't know what happened.

I'm sorry. 

And I'm sorry to anyone out there if you are still out there.

Life happens.

I'm running and I'm catching up.

See you soon!

the JT movement

Once upon a time, in my early twenties, a cool boy band came out and caused the biggest stir amongst teens and young adults. I found myself singing along to all their songs and *trying* to learn the dance moves. If they were still a band now, I'd love them just as much. Yup, I'm talking about the talented and high energy *NSYNC. Each album that they released over time, seemed to only get better and better. They definitely ran circles around the other bands/singers (98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys, etc), and in my opinion, it was mostly due to Justin Timberlake's talent and appeal. Okay, so I'm totally biased because clearly he was the fan fav. Not long after their success, JT broke off from the group and came out with two successful albums of his own, and recently came out with a third which has him in the spot light once again.

One of my favorite moments from back in the day was being at Jimmy Love's one night with the Fab Four and getting so excited when the DJ played "I Want You Back". At the time, everyone in that dance club was twice our age, so I can imagine what they were thinking hearing that song AND seeing eager young gals so excited over this newly released pop song. Again, keep in mind... people twice our age in this place were more accustomed to grooving out to "Brickhouse" or "September" or "Let's Get it On." 

JT's solo freshman and sophomore albums were a proven success- Justified & Future Sex Love Songs- and I loved them both! A very fond moment from the Future Sex love Songs era was when I had the chance to see him perform at the House of Blues in San Diego. I don't know how we got news of him performing there, but I'm so glad that we jumped at the chance to buy tickets. I'd like to say that Angie, Emy, Hazel & I were very, very fortunate to witness this show. Now that he is blown up and he has "arrived", seeing him at a small intimate venue like HOB is unheard of. No show will ever compare to that one.We were up close and personal with Mr. Timberlake. The singer, the dancer, the actor, the golfer, the philanthropist, the comedian, the NBA basketball team owner, the clothing designer and most recently, the husband. Waaaahhhhh!

With the release of his latest album, I immediately caught on to a few songs that's been tagged as my favs. He's been promoting the release of his new CD (and pretty much himself): Target commercials, his performance at the Grammy's (wow, that was amazing!), appearances and performances on all the talk shows from LA to NYC. I was glued to the TV for weeks when he hosted SNL and then spending the week hosting with Jimmy Fallon. All of it was DVR'd and just about took up all the memory, kicking off other shows that  were recorded. Every song he performed on Fallon, made me fall for him- this boy can move and groove.  This modern day JT has my heart skipping a beat, I feel so silly being attached to him like I was 5 years or even 10 years ago, but how can I not be so fascinated by this walking legend. 

Despite the horrendous traffic and parking issues we will face at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, I'm so excited to see him perform live. This will not compare to the HOB show in SD, but I'm sure it will be up there, especially since Jay Z will be on stage as well. I will check in later next week to report how it goes.

Eeeks, SEXY is SO is back...

ouch!

Training for a summer half marathon is a son of a biatch. It's hot and the heat just makes me want to laze around. As much as I try to get up early on the weekends to run, it is so hard. So the majority of my runs end up being in the evening 3 or 4 times a week. I try to find every excuse to keep from putting on my sneaks and pounding the pavement for a solid hour, but thank God for hubs who pushes me to get it done. Love him!

On a run short run the other day, I took a awkward step and knew at that second something was wrong. Almost like I hyper extended the back of my knee. Not a severe injury, but as any leg injury, it needed to be rested, elevated and iced. I took three days off and decided to try my hand at Insanity. Yeh, total blast from the past, huh? It was so weird how I found those 40 minutes to be an easy, but great work out.

Easy, because I'm so used to hour long barre classes and hour long runs. I haven't had a date with Shaun T. in over a year and he was quite pleasant.

Fast forward to 24 hours later, my calves are killing me!!! Yet, we desperately wanted to get a run in and went to the lake the next day despite being sore. Another 24 hours later, OUCH! It's amazing how a few days of rest and a change in workouts make the biggest difference. 

Despite my ouchies I am determined to keep up with my training schedule...4 more weeks! And check this out...I searched high and low for these suckers and found them for the race. Woo-hoo!