Relaxing and Spinning Again!

Last week I went to my favorite city in the United States. Santa Barbara, California is a mini version of San Diego. Great weather, clean beaches, local mountain views, awesome shopping and yummy restaurants all in a smaller package. My mom is in love with the city and she is planning on retiring there. It was an awesome 3 day get away trip that I will never forget.

We ate two meals a day that included a light breakfast and a fancy late lunch. We could not believe how many restaurants the city offers.

I did not have to use the hotel workout room because we did so much walking. Santa Barbara has so many walkways and bike lanes that a car is not needed. We took the train from San Diego and enjoyed the pacific coast views of the ocean.

For the month of November I plan to take 3 spinning classes a week. Not only for health but from my sore hip muscles. I will start Tuesday.

To all have a wonderful Halloween and a great week.

Back to Nature!

Yesterday I spent the day with my awesome mother in east county San Diego. We stopped a few times to snap a few pictures and give thanks to the heavens for nature. My mom had tears in her eyes when she stepped out the car and saw the awesome views and smelled the fresh air of Laguna Mountains.

Once again it is so nice to have a new focus on life. I have not thought about my weight and I'm still maintaining and loving my size. I am back lifting weights and that feels good to my muscles. My focus is enjoying life with family and friends and that feels really good.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Living Good In October!

September 2010 went by really fast. The month was very interesting but fun. First, I have to admit that my weekly exercise routine drop off because I went on a two week vacation to Texas and enjoyed all the wonderful southern foods. No diet commercials to remind me not to eat sausages and pork skins. No one pushing me to get up every morning to exercise because it is good for me. No one skinny enough to remind me how important it is to maintain my weight. It was odd to think that being overweight is not a problem to my family in Texas. I saw how much love they have for themselves and how much they appreciate family. It was fun to be in a world of okay people.

Second, while I was on vacation one of my coworkers passed away. It was shocking and strange to think that I would not see this person again. He was found in his apartment died in front of his new 50 inch flat screen TV. My coworkers talked about how sad it was that he died alone but all I could think about was him wanting to be alone. My coworkers felt sorry for him but I did not because he live his life the way he want to live it. His death got me to thinking how important it is to do all the things you want to do. My deceased coworker wanted three things: New car-He got that, New flat screen TV-He got that, and a New IPhone-He got that. He had no plans of ever retiring or getting married. He enjoyed his life and never talked about wanting more out of it. He died at the age of 53 in front of his TV. Live Life!

Lastly, my life is wonderful and I'm still happy. It feels good to be comfortable with myself and life. For the month of October my plan is to get back into exercising and continue to have fun.

Exercise: All cardio and Pilate's

Pamper: 3 massages

Fun: Weekend trip to Santa Barbara, Gumbo Party with friends and family, Art and Wine Festival, Blogging once a week, Waiting for my best friend newborn to arrive, Enjoying my mother's visit.

To you all have a wonderful October and enjoy your life.

Needing Approval from Others!

Still content with myself! Still eating organic and exercising. Started school last week and enjoying my two classes Anthropology lab and Intro to Human Aging.

No big plans for the month of September only to continue on with what is important and enjoy life.

Last week a friend ask me how she could get to my place of "contentment". I explained to her that contentment comes from your soul and not from outside sources. She admitted how she need others to acknowledge her and her accomplishments (weight, grades, work, etc.) to feel good about herself. I told her that acknowledgments from others will fade over time so she need to go within and learn to love and acknowledge herself. I told to her to seek therapy if she cannot find it within herself. Update soon!


To all have a wonderful week!

Content!

Content! Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied. That is the definition of my life as of today. I never thought this day would come when I started blogging over a year ago but I can officially say I'm content with my weight, eating habits, exercise goals, and my future vision. It feels so good!

This is a great day and a milestone in my life!


Exercise: Pilates
Food: 100% organic


To all have a wonderful week.

Week Plans!

Exercise: Pilates, Yoga, Weight Lifting.

Eating: Protein, Veggies, Fruit

Pamper: Massage

Entertainment: Zoo, Gardening, Baseball Game

To all have a wonderful and healthy week!

My Culture and Food!

What does this picture say about my culture?
picture taken 6/10

Last night my anthropology professor ask us to question the type of foods we grew up eating. I started to think about my culture and the foods that I love.

I have southern roots so most of my food picks included everything fried and smothered in gravy. As a child that was my way of eating and it worked for me. My entire family and friends ate that way. There was nothing wrong with it until....I moved to California.

When I moved to California it was hard to accept the west coast culture because every dish was healthy. I was embarrassed to fry around my friends because they did not cook that way. I had no idea that my cooking style was bad for my health. It was a true wake-up call.

So last night the professor ask the class to question everything we eat this weekend and decide if it is culture driven. She want us to figure out who introduced the foods to us and if it is healthy for us. This is going to be an interesting weekend.

I have struggled for years to keep my cultural foods. It has to be all or none when it comes to eating healthy. Now it is time for me to design my own food culture. I can see the list clearly and it does not include fried chicken, gravy, carbs, sweets, non-organic and processed foods. It include fresh veggies, fruits and lean organic proteins. Can I live with it? Yes, I can!

Thank you Professor R. for opening my eyes to my cultural foods.

Question: Has your culture (food) increased your waistline?