englandsword

On Thursday I woke up really early to eat breakfast with my mom before they left. I was sad saying goodbye so I already set up a Skype date with my mom for Sunday. At 7:30 AM it wasn't oppressively hot yet, so my step-mom and I took baby brother to the park. We stayed for about an hour until it got really hot. When baby brother decided he wanted to leave, he just started packing up his toys! So mature and responsible! :) My lunch and dinner looked like this: Salad leftovers! My sweet mom packed me enough portioned-out salads to get me through my last couple of days in Kansas and my flight home. I also had an Amy's burger at lunch and some Chinese broccoli at dinner. On Friday I had salad again for lunch and then we (my dad, step-mom, and I) went back to Yard House for dinner! I got the exact same thing as Monday. We wasted a little time before our movie and stopped into Gap, where I made my dad take a picture of me with this shirt: Cute! We saw Captain America. I really liked i...

I wanted to focus on my 8-week recap yesterday so I didn't talk much about what I did this weekend. On Friday I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 at 9:30 in the morning. That is definitely the earliest movie I have ever seen! I went as part of the internet TV show Movie Review Round Table, so you can see the review: I hope you watch it and like it! I liked doing the review and I plan on taking part again in the future. But I did more this weekend than think about pirates. Though I spent plenty of time daydreaming about Captain Jack. Saturday was kind of a dumb and frustrating day but Sunday was fun. I went to the Studio City Farmers' Market with my new roommate. We saw pretty peas and a super weird-looking orange. Oh, and look what I saw when I was walking to Whole Foods! Hugo's Tacos is now serving vegan soft serve. I haven't tried it but I know vegan soft serve can be a bit hard to come by so if you're interested and in the area, check it out! On Sunday nigh...

This morning I met two actor friends at Hugo's. Hugo's has two locations and even though I live right by the Valley location, I'd never been! It's an omni restaurant with tons of vegan options and vegan specials. My vegan actress friend raved about their pancakes and oh yes, we were all impressed. We split an order of the pancakes three ways. I just had half a pancake because I wasn't really hungry. My appetite doesn't really get going until several hours after I wake up. I haven't had a pancake in years but we were all impressed, even my friend who had never knowingly eaten a vegan meal in his life. You'd never know Hugo's pancakes were vegan, and gluten-free, to boot! Sorry for the world's worst picture quality. Closeup so you can attempt to see how darn fluffy these things were: My other (non-vegan) friend also ordered an appetizer special of waffle cones stuffed with veggies and beans and guacamole. It just sounded fascinating. I had a bite a...

OK -- three weeks ago I said I wanted to get buff . Coincidentally, that post has become my #2 most popular post! I shared my feelings after one week and the results I started seeing and feeling after two weeks . After one week, I could feel new definition in my biceps. Last week, I could see some. This week, I definitely do! Last week: This week: Hells yeah, right? Can you see that? That shadow underneath my bicep is an entirely new development of the last couple weeks. Last week, right arm (I can tell by my freckle!): This week: Yes, it looks weird to take a picture in front of a mirror. But can't you see a difference in just a week? I can. I'm not bicep-obsessed or anything, but it's the easiest muscle to take a picture of. Last week I said I could see more definition in my legs and I would say I see more this week, too. I'm just starting to see some definition between my quadricep and inner thigh muscle, which I have never seen on myself. I even see more definition...

Last week I shared my observations from my first week of my new workout strategy . Now it's been two weeks, and I'm still having fun. And I'm noticing some differences! Last week I said I could feel some new strength and definition in my biceps, and this week I think I can see it. So... I took some pictures. It's hard to take pictures of, but I can see some change. And I feel very, very silly flexing while attempting to take pictures of my arms. That's definitely a hobby best pursued in the privacy of my own room. I also can see some more definition in my leg muscles, but I'll hold off on trying to take a picture of that. Food Diary: Breakfast: Brussels sprouts with nutritional yeast and kabocha squash Lunch: Corn chowder with broccoli slaw Snack: 1 serving edamame Dinner: A couple bowls of brussels sprouts and kabocha squash; pumpkin pudding Exercise: 30 minutes bike weights/strength: chest, deltoids, abs, pushups, plank (bleh) 30 minutes dancing/ballet stre...

Today I went to my first yoga class at InYoga. I bought ten classes for $30 through a Groupon a couple of weeks ago and now that I've activated them I have four months to go to nine more classes. I think I can accomplish that. It's located on Laurel Canyon Blvd. on the southeast side of the intersection with Magnolia (5-10 minutes from my house!). The studio itself is really cute, and the people who work there are really friendly and unintimidating. They sell some yoga supplies, healthy snacks, cute eco-friendly clothes, and extras like incense in the front room. The clothes are actually really cute. I would have taken more detailed pictures but I didn't want anyone to tell me to stop. Heehee. I went for the Lo Flow class from 10:30-12. I didn't really know what to expect or how difficult it would be. I have done yoga videos for a decade (and recorded every episode of Namaste Yoga on FitTV - it's awesome!!!) but never taken a class anywhere besides the YMCA... an...