A Day In The Life

Maui Wowie

2011-11-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Best. Vacation. Ever. We did Maui up right! We flew out on a Tuesday at 7am (early but worth it to get there at 11am) and hit the floor running. We rented our Chevy Impala and headed to Maui Coast Hotel. Our room was on the first floor just down the hallway which was super accessible and awesome. We dropped our bags and grabbed our gear to go snorkel! We walked across the street to the beach and jumped in to...! nothing but sand. So. We got in the car and went to a better area, found parking and jumped in to...! nothing but sand. We shrugged and headed to the pool then out to Stella's Blues Bar for blueberry cosmos and amazing food. Fun first day and again, so glad we got there early enough for a full day to play!
The next day we woke up and drove around the island to the seven sacred pools area to hike. The drive there was two hours, partially on a road that was 'paved' but was more like uneven drops of concrete and partially in between a cliff and the ocean (the black panther would've loved most of it). The hike was beautiful! A little less than a mile up there was a 200' waterfall that ended in a protected pond, then at the end of the trail is the 400' waterfall that we swam in :) THAT was cool. We hiked back down to the ocean where the waterfalls lead to the seven sacred pools and hung out, then decided to take the other way around the island back to our hotel. The park officials said that way was paved the whole way but a little windy. Well, it took us two hours just to get out of the constant hair pin turns and one lane bridges so ya, its a little windy. We went to a bar by our hotel called Diamonds for dinner and called it a day.

The good part of the road to Hana

Bamboo forest!!

Thursday we chartered a boat and went diving at the Molokini crater and Turtle Town. The visibility was 100' at Molokini and it was a lot of fun. We saw fish, eel and a baby reef shark that was chillin under the rocks. The only hitch in that was a guy in our group that blew through 2000 lbs of air in 11 minutes and made us turn back early. If those numbers mean nothing to you, compare it to about 40 minutes that it takes normal divers to go through that much air. Ridiculous but still a great dive! Then the boat took us to an area along the coast called Turtle Town that has an area where sea turtles come to get cleaned off by the fish. That was another cool dive and we were done with all this by noon! We chilled in the room for a little while and then met the bride and groom and their families at the pool bar and ate appetizers and listened to the live music.

Paul loves pretzels :)Friday we slept in and headed to North Shore to snorkel. The point at North Shore is one of the premier surf spots in the world but the day we went there was no surf at all. Sucks for y'all but makes for calm water and great snorkeling! It was awesome; there was a lot of coral and different types of fish and more sea turtles! From there we went into Lahaina and walked around the banyan tree that takes up an entire city block. That tree picture? All one tree. The branches all connect and some drop down with feeler roots until they hit the ground and take hold, eventually building another trunk. Cool, huh? We got burgers and bought books to read and went to the pool for the evening.

This is a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, or Trigger fish, its Hawaii's state fish and one of the longest words in the Hawaiian language.Saturday we dove again with Jen and Tyler (bride and groom), this time just going off the shore instead of a boat. First we went off Makena Landing and we saw the sea turtle in the video and coral, fish, all the goods. Then we dove a spot called The Five Caves which is actually the spot where they got married! The dive shop we rented gear from is right next to a great pizza place so we stopped there afterward and got pizza and beer. I got to watch a little of the Texas game and Jen ordered her grandparents a pizza to go. We headed back to the hotel when Paul figured out the pizza was still on the roof of the car; well, that we left with it there, because it was actually in the middle of the road being run over by a bus. The pizza place was really cool and replaced it for free so we just got back a little later than planned. Paul and I went out in Kihei, the area our hotel was in, that night to South Tiki Lounge. No one had anything but late night menus so we ended up eating pizza again. I know, rough day :) That place was fun and great people watching. I think I saw Kevin Federline! Okay, maybe his fat brother.

Sunday we decided to spend the first half of the day at the pool, which was great besides the 12,000 kids running around.. They're fine, but play on the empty side of the pool and stop getting my book wet! Bah. Then we met up with the wedding peeps to go on a two hour sailing cruise with free food, a few drinks and we actually got to enjoy being out on the water without having to work! It was a windy day and Paul expressed his desire to have a cape, so I borrowed a crew towel for a photo shoot :) Below is one of the best shots of the cape and happy Paul. We went back to the hotel from there and got ready for the luau. Now, a luau is a must do in Hawaii and we had been planning on one. Most of them are all you can eat and drink with a show. Jen's aunt decided a Polynesian luau with no food and no booze was the best idea and booked tickets for about half the people that needed one. Awesome, right? Didn't consult the bride on it and got upset when they talked about trying to switch to a eating and drinking one. We decided a luau with the whole party would be as fun as the other with just us anyways and we of course brought our own booze. The best part of it was we just walked in with the party and didn't end up having to pay! Score! The luau was fun, they pulled a bunch of us on stage to shake our money makers and the hotel shuttle took us and picked us up so it was pretty perfect!

Monday was the wedding day! We stayed close so Paul (ps he was the best man. I don't know if I said that..) would be around if Tyler needed anything. We ate lunch at Cafe O'lei, Paul wrote his toast and we got ready for the wedding. This picture is dark but there was a cousin at the wedding with a better camera than my phone so hopefully he sends 'em out. The wedding was really beautiful and fun and Jen managed to break dance in her dress which pretty much makes her my favorite bride.
We left Tuesday, but not before brunch with the newlyweds where they gave Paul his best man gifts of: superhero coasters, matching shot glasses and underwear, a pirate flask and a Packers shirt. We headed to the airport in plenty of time and enjoyed the Kahalui airport and watched movies on my laptop on the plane ride back! The whole trip was amazing, filled with great scenery, people, food, stories and of course, the one and only Paul Shrogin! I am so glad I got to meet Jen and spend time with her and Tyler and that their wedding put us in gear to actually go to Hawaii! Side note, we also picked a great week to miss work so suck it America's Cup!! Now our next project is picking a chiropractic school for Paul and packing! ~ALOHA~

Under the Sea

2011-10-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Paul and I are officially scuba divers! I had a kick butt week but in between early morning and overnight shifts, we got scuba certified! I was nervous I wouldn't like it after my initial experience but God was with us and we had good weather, small surf and cleeeeeeeeear water! We had four dives in two days and had a blast. The only part where I screamed like a little girl was the end of the first dive at The Marine Room (a little south of La Jolla Shores)when we were walking out of the surf through dozens and dozens of stingrays and I stepped on like five. Whoa, nerve wracking. I was even walking behind Paul as a buffer! Thank God they're not aggressive; we had talked about when Marcus (our instructor) and Brian (our friend that went with us working on his Master Diver certification) had gotten stung and how you have to sit in water as hot as you can stand to burn away the poison and I was not about that. All's well and now we're headed to Mauieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Long Story Short..

2011-10-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Update since July:
Still at Hornblower, just got another job at The Container Store and still lovin the Paul. We went to Vegas in August to meet my dad and hang out and we had a blast! There was pool, beverages, good Mexican food (like twice a day), dancing and as always, the best people watching besides NASCAR. We celebrated Paul's new roommate with a power outage (we had a big party plan that a blackout from Phoenix to the coast, the O.C. through Mexico changed), started the process of getting scuba certified, met and visited with his family, booked flights to Hawaii, Texas and Atlanta and are planning a road trip from San Diego to Mammoth to San Jose/Monterrey to Santa Maria and back. Far from boring.

The Harry Potter get-ups including The Man's Shop hat!

Layin out in VVVEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAASSS!

Eatin VIP style with Padre and co.

PK July 5th, pretty darn close to my happy place :)

So of the hilights, here's details on meeting Paul's fam. Scuba is tbd and Hawaii will take its own chapter:)
We drove up Sunday through L.A. and I met Paul's nanna, his dad's mom, who still lives in her house with live in care. She had amazing pictures and is a sweet woman that loves Paul. We left and headed to Santa Barbara to eat at Arch Rock Fish (Paul dubbed this restaurant Arf because of the ridiculous name and the obvious opportunity) with Paul's mom, Renee and her husband, Steve. The food was amazing and the company was better. His mom immediately hugged me and we had a great, giant, meal.
From there we went to Orcutt, a suburb-ish of Santa Maria to see his dad, Aaron and his wife, Lynn. They were also extremely welcoming and we talked and played with their cute pups all night. The next day we all went to Avila Beach and walked around that cute area and ate at a hotel basically on the water. Leaving there, Lynn (I think) had the idea to have their masseuse come to the house the next morning for massages. Amazing. Aaron and Lynn both work in the local school district and had to work super early so Paul and I got a massage and headed to Paul's mom and Steve's ranch, also in the Santa Maria area.
There, we were able to help celebrate Leiah, Paul's sister's, birthday and hang out with her for a while and his mom all evening. Steve is a professor and worked late, so Paul, his mom and I walked the ranch, worked on a puzzle, ate a great dinner and watched the sunset by a campfire while drinking wine. Not a bad scene (and 1997 mom would be jealous of the awesome southwestern stuff they have and the adobe house they put it in:)!
The next day we went into Santa Maria for Paul's chiropractic meeting and started headin south. We stopped in the L.A. area again to see his uncle Paul, his mom's brother and amazing contractor, then to see his mom's sister (she's one of eight..) and her family for the evening. They have three great kids and we had great conversation through dinner then headed home. All of this was Sunday-Wednesday. We make sh*t happen :)

Invasion of the Nerd

2011-07-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

I don't like fads. I actively try to run the other way from group-think so I've missed out on a few things. The Harry Potter craze was one of them. Enter Paul. He owns the box set of the books and has gone to the past several movies at the premiere dressed up with his buddies. When we were out for my birthday, we were talking about how I wanted a new good book to read just as a HP7 preview came on. One month later, all seven books down, I went with him to the premiere. Also dressed up. Besides the tween company, it was a blast and I really enjoyed the books. Pictures to come.

Revering Paul's First Ride

2011-07-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

So this is out of order but the pictures are too good to leave out. My parents were in town, I guess the end of May, and Paul bravely, only a month into dating me, volunteered to meet the rents. He obviously passed with flying colors and my sister was sold because he listened to her the first time around (ah hem Jeromy), got my jacket even though my stubborn self said repeatedly that I wasn't cold and let's just say he kept the floors clean.. There is also an amazing video he made of me beating Kelsey at Wii Dance by three points.. out of like, over 1,000. But as they say in The Fast and the Furious, "Winning's winning."

Queers in Action

2011-07-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

So at PK in Texas, we needed to put gas in the boat at one point. Jeromy says as we're docking, "Man, I'll pay somebody $20/10 sec that they can last on that black asphalt." This is a sunny, 105* day in ole Tejas so I say, "Really? Okay."
I ran around for I think 13 seconds (still lookin for that $26 ah hem).
THEN, my dad said he'd pay Jerm's bill to me if he got a grouper to suck on his toes. The gas dock has a corner that's a mini version of the Oasis fish frenzy. He got bitten by a few perches but no luck.

Kendyl Kliff's Notes

2011-07-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

So, as was so gracefully brought up recently, I need a new post. I have really only been working lately and hanging out with my new amazing man friend (that we have been trying to keep quiet, but seeing as my family are the only readers..)
The Paul Story:
Paul has been one of my managers since I started at Hornblower so I've known him over two years. I was dating a loser, he was dating a crazy and though I always thought he was cute and legit, the idea of dating him seemed pretty far fetched. Our story really starts at the crew party.
At this point I was single, he wasn't. We had a company party downtown at the Marriott and Paul and I ended up hanging out, talking and dancing all night.. well, until about 11:30 when his almost-ex came dt and made him go home.. I stayed out with everybody else, a few of whom were teasing that I was making good progress on getting him single (no one liked the gf), and about an hour after he left he texted his friend Steve that also works with us, "Hey, sorry I had to bail, tell everyone goodnight and sorry for me." I offered to reply for him :) so I said, "Nope, your choice, your problem. You turned down Kendyl tonight dude." Subtle and graceful Kendyl.
A few days later I got a text asking, "Hey, you didn't by chance get a hold of Steve's phone last night did you?"
I fessed up, we joked and talked and he told me he was single. He went out of town for a few weeks but we've pretty much seen each other or at least talked every day since! He is such a 180 from my usual m.o. and I couldn't be happier about it!
He came home to Texas with me last week and we had a blast! We spent a lot of time with the fam, in the pool, went to a Rangers game, got to spend a day at Uncle Steve's lake house (thank youuuuuu!!!)where he wakeboarded, wake surfed AND skied for the first time ever! and went out in dt Fort Worth. It was a quick trip but there might be a few more in the future :)

a first ski attempt, I wish this pic was closer
woo hoo!!
Jerm 'takin it easy'
my happy place
rooftop of the Reata in Ft. Worth

Adventures with Mindy Lou!

2011-05-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, nothing that interesting has been going on besides work (and a few other things) and I refuse to be one of those 'update you hourly with gonna be a great day <3, stuck in traffic, i have a snotty nose' kinda people, but Mindy Lou came in town this past week and oh is that worth writing about.

She landed at about 9:30 Sunday morning and we went directly to brunch on Hornblower. I have worked there for almost two years and had yet to be on a real cruise so it was actually fun (and went by waaaaay quicker when you're riding and not working)! We had some good food and bevvies, then headed to Heather's afterward to hang out. Heather's is where Jack goes when I leave and pawn him off and Diogee, Heather's pup is pretty much his dominating girlfriend so its always fun. After a few of our buddies got off of work we met up and went to a gay bar called The Hole, yes, weird, but cool place. We stayed there until about ten then cabbed home (with Jack, interesting) and went to bed.

Monday was beach day! We rode bikes down (also with Jack, running beside my bike as I'm hoping he doesn't start chasing a bird and drag me down) and got breakfast at an amazing place called Daybreak Cafe, then went to dog beach. There are always a lot of fun dogs there but this day there were like five other mini dachshunds that were all the same coloring as Jack so it was hilarious to watch all their little legs run around together. Also, when its warm enough and low tide, Jack likes to take laps in the shallow water when we get there and he always manages to find a deep spot where he plunks in and then freaks out and runs around some more. Always fun to watch. After, we went to the grocery store and made some bbq goodness in my courtyard with a few friends.

Tuesday was supposed to be the day we went to Sea World but of course we woke up to rain. So, we found a breakfast place by the cliffs, ate there, then went to wander on Newport in OB. We found some interesting stuff, including a cactus plant that we got and Mindy proceeded to name Sheldon. Dunno. Then we went to Coronado and puttered around for a minute before we settled on going to Peohe's, an amazing restaurant on the water. We ended up there for like, over two hours, ate some good food and I managed to drink two bottles, 34 oz of tea. We also learned that they have a sushi happy hour that I will be revisiting. The rain was pretty much done at this point so we went to play in PB for a little bit before meeting Kelsey and co. and Mindy's friends from college at En Fuego in Del Mar. It was organized chaos with three kids at a table in a walkway at a busy restaurant, but En Fuego is always awesome

Now comes the Kendylization part: we walk to my car and when I went to unlock it, the remote didn't work. I was able to unlock my door with the key but could not get my passenger door open. I tried to crank my car and absolutely nothing happened. I tried a few different things then called Jeromy who had just left. He found a busser with jumper cables who helped us push my car down the hill and try to jump it. Nothin. Then we tried to push it further and faster to pop the clutch and start it. Nothin. So I called AAA, which is expired, to get the number of a reliable tow truck, who was gonna take 45 minutes to get to us. Mindy walked down to watch the sunset over the ocean and I went and met her when I got everything figured out. When it was gettin dark, we decided to chill at a wine bar cuz hey, I'm not gonna be driving anytime soon. We stayed there until we met up with 'Duane,' who towed us to my auto shop and then took us home. He only charged me $100 where it was supposed to be $230 and told us stories of his interesting tows and barfightin days.

Wednesday we walked down to a breakfast spot called Newbreak Cafe, then headed back to Newport Ave. to hopefully find something for Mindy's brother. Mindy found some good stuff, including a man tank that said 'because you can' on the front and had 'Dog Beach' with a dog licking itself on the back for Mindy's bro, we walked to the end of the OB pier, then went home to meet Sabrina and pack for the airport.

From there Sabrina and I went on a harbor tour, got ready and went to In Cahoots for her going away party. In Cahoots is a California city version of a honky tonk and about 20 of us danced and hung out all night.

Now its back to work all weekend, playin with the rents while they're in town and helpin Sabrina pack and move. Glad I got a mini vacay with good company!

Julian

2011-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I worked a double this past Sunday and somehow woke up Monday for a hike in Julian. Its beautiful out there, tiny, but pretty, and it was a pretty amazing day, the hike being followed by thai food, hot tub, wine and Poltergeist. Here are a couple pics:

Plan B, or more like Plan Y..

2011-04-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well the Clear Channel job fell through, at least for now, because they are now on a nation wide hiring freeze. Awesome, right? So I'm in SD for a little while longer and will continue the search in Austin, SD, Denver, New York, Orlando, Nashville, Phoenix and Ft. Worth. If anyone (all three people that read this stuff) knows of any magical place that's hiring, let me know. I'm awesome.

Last ride of the year

2011-03-30T11:50:00.001-07:00

This is the view from the top of Big Bear. Not a bad day off, huh? We went again on Monday before they hit 70 this week and all the snow melts away. Four of the boys came this time and match.com boy didn't so it was awesome! I also learned that if/when I move to Scottsdale, there is a mountain in Flagstaff that will be two hours away :)

I love my job..meaning the new one.

2011-03-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

So I worked tonight and I want to give you a general idea of the company I work for. I get to work at 4:30 but will get written up if I clock in more than 10 minutes before my in-time. There are not time clocks by where I need to be mind you, there is one on the way from where I parked my car to the dock the boat comes to which is about a mile away. This is because when our boat does harbor tours or whale watching during the day, we get on as the last public cruise is disembarking and we board at one dock and board/disembark the public at the other one. This part is routine.
We start setting up for the 40 people scheduled to cruise with us and have to 'un-whale' the boat, meaning undo everything done the last night to prepare the boat to go into open waters, ie. strapping glassware down, arranging coolers and cabinets, taking candles, salt/pepper/sugar off the tables and storing them, etc. This has been happening everyday since our usual whale watching boat has been broken. Twice. As we leave the first dock, we are told that we've lost steering and are floating dead in the water. This is not routine. We make our way to a dock and are tying up, continuing to set up, and calling people to see what the plan for dinner was as this was about 5:30 and we were supposed to board at 6:30. Finish setting up, don't know, can't decide, blah blah.
At 7:00, when we're supposed to be boarded and leaving, Mr. Jim Unger the bastard in charge of making our lives a cluster frekin hell decides to switch boats. The boat is smaller, has been out all day and has none of the specifics required to cruise for dinner. We make it happen and leave the dock at 7:50 with Unger still yelling at us. Not 'wow, way to pull this off after we've given you no support or resources,' but this is routine for him. About ten minutes into the cruise we discover the soda system is broken and spewing everywhere, the dishwasher was broken and we had no lime juice. We still managed to move the food and everything else from boat to boat, setup in 30 minutes and have 100% happy guests when we were done. Magically. Happy St. Patty's.

Irish Big Bear

2011-03-17T14:11:00.001-07:00

Well, still in purgatory waiting on a definite go for the Clear Channel job..in the meantime, I loooooove snowboarding! Yesterday was my fourth day on the mountain and I'm decent enough to enjoy it! Sabrina, her man of the hour Dave and I went to Big Bear for the day. I love the fact that I can do that (p.s. Bear Mountain is only two more hours to Phoenix:). Yesterday I hit a few jumps and boxes and landed most of them, just getting baby air but it totally counts. Next on the agenda: Mindy's coming into town Monday!! I am excited to see her and to play tourist for a few days. Happy St. Patty's Day!!! I remember a year ago today I was drinking green milk with Miss Paigey:)

On The Road Again

2011-03-10T11:53:00.001-08:00

So I haven't written since my last post because I didn't have anything interesting enough to say until I knew I got that job. Aaaaaand, pending corporate approval, I'll be in Phoenix by May 1!! I'm excited for a new challenge in a new city so lets just hope Jack doesn't try to eat the scorpions..
I also went snowboarding last week for the second time ever for a friend's birthday and it was a lot of fun. We stayed in his girlfriend's (Shae's) family's cabin the first night with a group of us and of course shenanigans ensued. I was pretty entertained with the fact that our beer cooler was just out the back door in the 2' of snow. We woke up and hit Bear Mountain. I rode by myself for the majority of the day which was fine with me seeing as I am a super newbie and needed some time to figure out what I was doing. It ended up being so hot that I rode in a tank top and a shell of a jacket. When I took the lining out of the pants Sabrina lent me I seriously considered going out in my skivvies because I did not want to put pants back on :) Side effects of living alone I'm thinkin. I realized I was in public and so pale I'd glow in the snow so the pants went back on. Before lunch Cap'n Nick came with me and helped me figure out how to turn toe side so the rest of the day was fun, also with the help of the more famous, Cap'n Morgan.. Half the crew went home that night and Sabrina and I stayed in a cute little motel on the outskirts of the town to go again the next day. We ate breakfast with Scott, the birthday boy, and Shae and headed to Snow Summit, the other side of the mountain. It took me a couple runs, and several tumbles, to get my mojo back but that day was great too. Bri and I headed home just in time to get me to volleyball!
After those three games, I went straight to my sister, Kelsey's, house. She went back to Texas for a friend's wedding so I was mini-mom for several days. Paige is such a great kid 90% of the time and its hilarious to see Kelsey-isms that she mimics. I went home Saturday for the first time since before working Sunday brunch (even though packing at midnight to snowboard didn't allow me the foresight to pack for babysitting..) and ended up going home from work because the little Paige-a-gator got me sick, presumably. I went back to pick her up from preschool on Monday and she loved getting to ride in Sylvia (my mini). I have two sun roofs so she got to look at all the clouds and was excited that her arm could reach to my 'oh sh*t' bar (sorry mom, don't know another name for it..). We went to McDonalds and got her some chicken nuggets and a fairy toy and had a banner day. Now I'm back to workin, trying to figure out Phoenix and makin a San Diego bucket list so any suggestions are welcome :)

Scottsdale

2011-02-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

I have a job prospect in Scottsdale that I'm pretty amped about, pray for meeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Always a Pleasure..

2011-02-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

Another day at the ole Hornblower. Tonight was pretty decent besides the whole working with the ex that I can't get away from thing. Is there a better way to say 'f*ck off, please?' because my version apparently isn't working. I also dig the customer that comes to the bar, stares at the 30 bottles displayed and proceeds to ask if we have Ketel One. Sir, as I told the patron in front of you, no. If I had Ketel, would Seagrams 7 and Svedka be on my top shelf? Drink more. Learn stuff like this. Have a nice day.

Happy Hallmark Day

2011-02-15T00:20:00.001-08:00

So in the past two days, I've worked 23 hours. Perks of the F&B industry. Fake holidays yield overtime. My Valentine's days haven't been anything to write home about any year though. Two years ago was the pinnacle with Austin John (short version: last two dudes are John/Jon so there's Austin John and San Diego Jon). He brought me a box of chocolates, rented Indiana Jones and had incidentally gave me a stomach bug. That's the best one. So I'll settle for Jack as my Valentine. All he wants is to get his belly rubbed and cuddle..kinda whiny though. Eh, he's cute and no dog's perfect.

Welcome back Kennel

2011-02-12T12:15:00.000-08:00

So I'm joining the blog scene. Five years too late.. I have had a pretty interesting year and I think this is going to be the best and most entertaining way to keep track of it. Short version up to this point: went to The University of Texas. Rocked it. Lived for the lake, learned some stuff and graduated 12.08 with a B.S. in Multimedia Journalism. 4.09 got ansy and decided that as much as I love Austin, that I'd move to San Diego and try that for a while. Drove out here with dad and pup in 26 hours over two days. Lived in area of SD called Pacific Beach for a year in a cool little house with a not-so-cool chick from craigslist. Not the worst it could've been..but didn't really speak for the last six months. Awesome, right? Started workin at Hornblower Cruises & Events 6.1.09 and am still there. We have a seven boat fleet in the SD port and do bay cruises for anything and everything. The consistent events are dinner 365 days a year (yes, come visit me on aaaaaany holiday), brunch Sundays, harbor tours 365/year and whale watching about November-March. Beyond that, people charter boats for weddings, reunions, business meetings, concerts, booze cruises, etc. 5.10 I moved a little south to Ocean Beach and live by myself with the Jackness. The studio is pretty tiny but I'm much more comfortable and there's a big courtyard to enjoy and for Jack to run laps :) The lady that lives above me is pretty cool but the owner of the property is 90 years old and sucks. I got a talkin to for sending my rent in on time for January. Got it on the first. Can't cash it on a holiday. Also couldn't have cashed it on the weekend before. Riddle me that Batman. I have a lease through April, then the next chapter is still TBD. I could get a job and stay here. I could get a job and move wherever it is. I could take an amazing three month trip to South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. I've learned alot about myself in the last year and I'm happy about my decisions thus far (barring a few about boys) and I'm excited to see what else is in God's plan for me. This blog should be interesting...

Healthy politics

2008-10-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

With election day a mere six days away, I wanted to give everyone a general idea of both parties plans for healthcare. Senator John McCain's plan is to give quality and affordable coverage to every American. He plans to give tax benefits to all healthcare insurance holders in the amount of $5,000 per family, as opposed to the current plan that just covers those who are insured through their employer. His plan to drive down cost is to build competition within the different companies and wants to focus on preventative care and a wellness program. McCain says the big difference between his plan and Senator Barack Obama's is that while his is focusing on individual choices and maintaining the employer based system while Obama's is 'stifling individual choice and wants to eventually funnel into a European style, government run health plan.' This is according to his Web site.
Obama's version of his plan is to provide affordable, accessible healthcare for everybody, keeping insurance companies accountable and ensuring patient choice without government interference. His plan will cost $60-100 billion a year, which he says will be counteracted by ending wasteful spending in healthcare and ending Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. He says the main difference in the plans is that McCain is blocking efforts to expand access to health insurance and cut costs. He says McCain's plan is the same as Bush's failed one and McCain wants to tear down the employer based system in the current plan, which would give insurance companies a lot of power with little oversight.
Clear as mud, right? For more information, visit barackobama.com and johnmccain.com.

2008-10-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

The free facial

2008-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Exercising has obvious benefits for full body health, including your skin. Exercising opens your pores and helps with everything from acne to wrinkles. It increases circulation and helps deliver nutrients to skin cells, getting rid of potentially damaging toxins. The increased oxygen flow promotes the production of collagen, a big factor in keeping wrinkles at bay. The biggest skin benefit to working out is that it mediates testosterone hormones like DHEA and DHT that helps skin fight acne. Working out reduces stress, which also lowers the release of these hormones. In the long run, the reduction of these hormones also helps prevent hair loss. Pilates and weight training help at least reduce, if not get rid of cellulite also. Yoga inparticular helps reduce the signs of aging skin. Stretching and yoga poses stretch the muscles which in turn stretches the skin and makes it look firmer and younger. The relaxation of yoga also helps soften the look of crow's feet and prevents new ones from forming. More aerobic exercise like running or cycling increases blood flow which helps get rid of toxins more efficiently, which is amped up even more if you hydrate before and after exercising. Facials are great, and face lifts are sometimes useful, but by living healthy habits, you can get similar effects a lot cheaper and healthier.

Cookie Monster had it right

2008-10-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Sacrifice the carbs, because cookies and other simply digested carbs have been shown to legitimately improve your mood. Other foods like hot tea, coffee, and chocolate are rumored to improve your mood also, but tea and coffee are simply because of the caffeine content, which is a short lived high. Chocolate is a little bit more legit, but optimally, you should stick with a one ounce serving for the antioxidant benefits. Eating a small portion of carbohydrate for a snack about three or four hours after a meal, such as an oatmeal cookie, part of a bagel or wheat toast will send tryptophan from your blood stream into your brain which metabolizes into seratonin. Elevated seratonin improves your mood and actually can facilitate falling asleep easier. This is because your brain naturally metabolizes seratonin into melatonin at the end of the day, which is a natural sleep aid. So, okay, maybe not to the same extent as Cookie Monster, but a cookie a day can keep the doctor away too.

Trick or treat

2008-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween is this weekend, and everyone knows what that means; costumes, haunted houses and an insane amount of candy. Not only that, every restaurant is kicking their cooking up a notch with pumpkin flavors, and its usually things like pumpkin cheese cake, muffins or pie, which are also definitely not good. Pumpkin muffins are about 550 calories and Cheesecake Factory's pumpkin cheese cake has 950 calories and 58 grams of fat, only topped by Dairy Queen's large pumpkin pie blizzard with 1,080 calories and 40 grams of fat. That would take two hours of jogging to work off. For personal relief, try and avoid sweets to that extent and opt for a small portion of plain ice cream or kettle corn to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you're on a trick or treat route, milky ways or peppermint patties are a better candy choice than Reese's or kit kats, which have 220 calories and 11 grams of fat. You could also hand out chocolate covered pretzels or stickers instead. If you stick to the assorted candy, definitely go for the snack size. One day of candy isn't going to ruin anybody's diet or figure, but Halloween kind of kick starts the holiday season which can lead to more overeating, so starting good habits now can keep you sitting on Santa's lap instead of the other way around.

Eat like an Egyptian

2008-10-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

.. or any other country in the world besides America. We have the most overweight issues and 'proudly' developed fast food, the coffee break and the commercial snack industry. The international tips on keeping weight down are simple and effective.
Eat slowly and enjoy your food. Its more enjoyable and it gives your brain time to catch up with your stomach to tell you you're full.
Eat less and to the point of being full, not stuffed. Just about every other country has smaller portion sizes than in America and it shows. If you do have a snack, eat an apple, or grains, not sugary candy or baked goods that are sky high in trans fat. Snack to curb the edge off your hunger, not enough to fill you back up.
Getting your body moving everyday is essential to a healthy lifestyle and weight maintenance. Keep it in mind when you're running errands. Use the stairs instead of the elevator or park further away from the store. Every little bit helps.
Take diet tips from other cultures. In Asia, meat is not usually the center piece of a meal. Use meat to season and garnish, but whole grains or yes, carbs. This fact is why Asian cultures have rice as an integral part of their diet but are thinner as a culture. If you need meat with every meal, follow South Americans and only get super lean cuts. They eat more meat as a culture and have less cases of heart disease. A good tip from the Mediterranean is to appreciate all aspects of your food. The olive, for example, is used very frequently in the form of olive oil, which is a healthier fat. And they also eat the olives, which is a very heart healthy food. South Africa has a lot of nuts in their general diet, which are a good source of protein, and South Africa has virtually no weight problems and the least incidences of all types of cancer.

Stress Management

2008-10-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone has stress in their life. The way we handle it determines our mood and our living environment. Everyone has their way of keeping stress in check, whether its good or bad, and there are some tips to help.
-Take things on one at a time. Thinking about your to-do list for the whole week is a sure way to feel overwhelmed.
-I like to write obvious things such as work, class, meeting, etc. on my to-do list because marking things off is rewarding.
-Prioritize. Finishing a project or paper or presentation is more important than finishing your scrapbook.
-Talk things out with other people. Don't harp on what you have to do, but talking it out seems to help me make sure I have everything covered and helps me create an order for things.
-If its keeping you awake at night, take Tylenol PM (or the like), drink a glass of wine or I know some people who agree with Willie Nelson and Bob Marley's theory of stress management and sleep aid :) I'm not officially endorsing it, just another method.

Birth Control

2008-10-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Contraceptives have been around for a long time and continue to get more effective, safer and healthier for your body. There are now around 62 different methods, some better than others. The contraceptive patch has been taken off the market because of an inconsistent release of hormones, which is bad for your body. The shot is limited to a two year use to ensure that your chances of getting pregnant are still good and that your cycle is still normal. The contraceptive ring, called the Nuvaring is becoming the new favorite method. It is left alone for three weeks, then removed for a week to keep your cycle regular. The pill has many different variations and makers, and is the least intrusive regular use contraception. All of these (besides the patch) are about 95% effective in actual use. Another type of contraception is generally referred to as Plan B or the morning after pill. This is an emergency contraception for use within 48 hours of unprotected sex. This probably has the most effect on your body, usually causing nausea and a disruption in your cycle. It is definitely safer to have at least one form of contraception when having sex, and coupling one of the above methods with condoms is even better. Condoms also help reduce your chance of contracting an STD, though they're not 100% protective. There is now a plethera of information about sexual health on webmd.com and other similar sites. Get informed and stay healthy!

Cancer prevention

2008-10-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to cause cancer these days. Almost every week there's a friend of a friend who's heard that, I don't know, popcorn causes cancer. Unless its a reliable source like a doctors' journal, don't freak out, and you can probably still eat popcorn and probably aspartame (in small amounts) but there are some general good ideas to follow to help prevent cancer.
-Don't use cigarettes or tobacco products and avoid secondhand smoke
-Don't drink too much alcohol (too much isn't concretely defined, but power hour probably isn't protected
-Maintain a healthy weight
-Eat a low-fat diet with five daily servings of fruits and veggies
-Balance your caloric intake with your physical activity level
-Be physically active
-Protect your skin from sunlight
a daily moisturizer with SPF 15 is an easy and great way to keep your skin healthy and protected at the same time
-Supporting your community promotes a healthy atmosphere which supports mental health and, in turn, physical health

Sleeping Beauty

2008-10-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've recently been trying to figure out the best way to recuperate from sleep deprivation. Do you sleep 12 hours the next day? Take three naps a day? Suck it up and keep going? I've pulled enough all nighters to research most of the different 'techniques' and have a few ideas. The healthiest take is probably sticking with around eight hours a night and taking a half hour nap during the day. Naps over half an hour or 45 minutes make you groggy and usually keep you tired. Sleeping in excess the next few days seems to stop productivity and keep you more tired than you were in the first place. If we try to ignore tiredness and keep going, it eventually works but is probably the least healthy. Sleep is an important part of health, and staying up longer for most people means a lot of coffee and/or energy drinks which are definitely not good for you. Coffee is tough on your stomach and energy drinks either have a lot of sugar, caffeine, aspartame or all of the above. Best case scenario, try to sleep around eight hours a night to help optimize your health.

2008-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Healthy Nutrition

2008-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

There are countless different opinions on the best diet. Every different lifestyle has a different dietary focus and the parameters are less than agreed upon. There are, however, a few researched ideas that are generally agreed upon.

-eating more, smaller meals keeps your metabolism going and is healthier

-eating late, and the definition of late varies with your individual lifestyle, is generally unhealthy and causes more food to be stored rather than digested

-drinking a lot of alcohol right before going to sleep has the same affect (if not worse)

-complex foods are more nutrient dense and are usually healthier

-eating a variety of foods is a lot healthier

-eating foods with the nutrients you need is better than synthetic nutrients (like vitamins or supplements) but synthetic is better than nothing

Your diet and caloric intake depends on your size, age, gender and whether you want to maintain, gain or lose weight. Mypyramid.gov is a great place to start your dietary plan. Bodybugg.com is an intricate way to manage your diet with minimal math. You enter what you eat and the amount and it calculates the caloric value for you. It costs a small subscription fee but can really help.

A personal challenge I have with eating healthy is the fact that I can't cook to save my life. Cooking is a very economical way to be able to control your diet. Restaurants add oil, butter, or other fatty sauces to enhance flavor which can add calories fast. My solution is a) learning to cook, b) eating a lot of raw food like fruits, veggies and salad (and adding veggies to your diet is better than more fruit because of the sugar content) and c) finding someone to cook for me?

Stretching

2008-09-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Flexibility is a core factor in fitness. Stretching before you exercise is definitely important, but stretching afterwards keeps your muscles from contracting badly and usually decreases soreness. Most stretches you want to hold for about 20 seconds and you want to make sure and cover all the muscle groups you've worked.

Especially after running, I like to cross my feet and touch my toes. Do it with one foot in front, then switch, to keep it even. This gets a deeper hamstring stretch than just touching your toes.

For a great stretch, get something to the effect of the work out bands and wrap them/it around a sturdy post. Facing the post, grab the handles behind your back and bend forward, then back up to where the band is taught and pulling your arms. This is great for back, hamstrings and shoulders.

One of my favorite stretches is for your gluts. Lay on your back with your knees bent. Cross one foot over the other knee and bring your legs into your chest. Feels amazing.

Everyone has their favorite stretch, or a tweaked version of the traditional stretches that works for them. I'm always looking for a way to stretch that weird muscle I just found that hurts and would love ideas. Post comments and let me know what works for you!

Cardio

2008-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

Some people may know this little snippet, but its valuable nonetheless. When you're running (or walking or what I like to call elipticizing), you want to keep your heart rate at about 50-70% of its capability. Depending on who you are and your physical state, your desired heart rate is different. Mine is about 170 bpm. This burns fat but isn't intense enough to burn muscle at the same, or even a faster rate. If you do want to shed muscle, run faster. The muscle loss for those of us who aren't in the final stages of triathlon training is minimal, but this will optimize fat loss.

Health nugget of the day

2008-09-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

I received a very interesting email the other day, which was the inspiration for the subject of this blog. The email was about the shape of food and its benefits for your body. Something to think about..

- a sliced carrot looks like an eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like an eye and research has shown carrots to enhance blood flow and function of the eye

- a tomato is red and has four chambers, as does the heart. Tomatoes are shown to be loaded with lycopine and help fuel the heart and blood.

- a walnut looks like a little brain, with a right and left side, even has an upper and lower cerebellum. Walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function

- avocados, eggplant and pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female and the foods look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers

-figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well as overcome male sterility

-sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics