stupified....

Wow... that's all I have to say about my morning at Lale Spa.  If you've read PWC, you know I've moved my home three times in one year. Whew, talk about stress.  Then, I began working two part-time positions. Add moving two journal offices to the mix, and I was one stressed out chica... My office is still in boxes and I'm okay with that....

While packign, I found a gift certificate that was given to me last year, maybe. I called to see if it was still valid.  Yep... The value of said gift certicicate was for  $180, plus gratuity.  Damn!!!  I booked an appoitment for asap.

I arrived at Lale spa which is located inside La Rivage Hotel near the water.  I check-in and was immediately asked to sit in this lovely room to fill out a form. I was invited to a table of healthy snacks and then I sat to fill out my form.

Sat right here eating a handful of almonds and drinking water.

Then, I was asked to sit tight for my appointment. I was in this room for 20-30 minutes. I was encouraged to lay on the bed of pillows. It was dark and very relaxing. I had to turn on the lights to take this picture.  Laying on the pillows was heaven.  Can you believe it massages while you rest.

I felt like I'd be wasting such beautiful accommodations by resting so I stepped out the door and sat on that chair in the far corner.

I was encouraged to take a dip in the jacuzzi.  But I had no bathing suit and frankly, you won't catch me in a swimsuit--let alone in pubic. No way. No how.

I did partake in the hot sauna....

After two hours of full body massage, facial and hand massage, I emerged a wet noodle.

Just look at my skin.... It was scrubbed and  polished.  My friend audra called me on my way home and asked if I had been drinking. It's true. I sounded drunk.  I could not even form a coherent sentence.

Man-o-man... two hours of self-indulgence was just what I needed. I was so relaxed that I did not even yell at Daniel for leaving chicken bones in the sink.  I was pretty pleasant the rest of the day. 

I have no idea why 2 hours of pampering would leave me stupified. But it did and it was glorious. I counted my blessings that evening. God is always on-time.  Just when things are rough, I am showered with a blessing.

Thank you law journal students. It was glorious.

Question: Do massages leave you incoherent and unable to form an intelligent thought or sentence?

...:I've given up on weight loss."

I cannot believe the words I uttered today.  As I sat at a pot luck with pizza, chicken and salad on my place, listening to my co-worker say she wasn't  having a slice of cake and  how disappointed she was that the scale was not moving despite working out with a trainer, I uttered "I'VE GIVEN UP ON WEIGHT LOSS... 

For two years my scale huvers (sp?) at 173-178. It stays this say despite working out or not working out.  I have stopped counting calories. I have stopped measuring. I have stopped being consumed with what I am going to eat next.  I feel relieved but I also realize this "thinking/attitude" is dangerous for me. If I continue to think along these lines, the 45 lbs. that I  have lost thus far will return.

It's not about the destination. It's all about the journey and for this reason. I am recommitting myself to  health and fitness. No more candy and I am preparing a workout schedule.  It will include jogging, zumba, biking and weights.

My motto is "I may not be where I want to be but I'm certainly not where I was."  Shame on me for giving up.....

I don't know how I got here. All I know is I don't want to stay in this place....

California dreamin

Wow, i had a fabulous and relaxing weekend. Daniel and i drove to Monterey, California. I have lots of pictures but if i could just share a few. Here we are driving on Carmel road. The views are breathtaking.



Here we stopped to turn around and got lucky with this view.



This post is sort of backwards. Before getting to Carmel, we drove along the 17 mile strand in Monterey.



This was taken from the car before reaching Pebble Beach.



I got lucky with this picture. Love the wild flowers. I must say that this drive, with the stunning views, sounds of the ocean and cool breezes made for the most relaxing day. We had great music in the car and at one point we were listening to Spanish guitar music.



Daniel looks crabby, but i assure you he was enjoying the ocean. His favorite part of this trip were the seals at Monterey, which i will share in tomorrows post. I have unpacking and laundry but just had to post about my wonderful 3 day vacay. I say this often but i am so lucky to live in California.

energized....

That's the word of the day that describes how I feel.  I've not exercised for 5 days and I've been out of sinc with my work outs.  I've been working cray-cray hours and I've even missed zumba classes. 

I need to get back into the groove so I slept in work out clothes (which I normally do every night) and when I woke up in the morning, I jumped out of bed and laced up the sneaks.  I jogged to the park and back. It was just a mile but that one mile changed my entire mood for the day.

I feel marvelous. It totally improved my outlook for the day. I came to work smiling. It was just 15 minutes of jogging but it made a world of difference in my outlook. I think walking or jogging in the mornings might be my ticket to a happier me.

Lunch today was a celebration of a co-worker's retirement. When asked what was the funniest and toughest thing she's endured in the last 20 years, my name came up twice. We laughed. We just don't realize how much we touch one another's life until you look back. 

I ventured outside my box today. Instead of a sandwhich I ordered Grilled Salmon, english peas, roasted oyster mushrooms, baby carrots, with soy glaze. It was heaven.

I am  having an awesome day and I know the morning run had everything to do with it.  Gotta love those endorphins...

Well, I better get some work done  this afternoon. Here's to  hoping you too have an "energized day."

experiencing food

Whew, has it been warm in Sacramento!  Temperatures reached 105 on Saturday alone. That meant I did not get to ride my bike.  I wanted too but by 10 a.m., I was sweatin bullets. 

Instead, I did some shopping at the farmers market, cleaned house and went to a birthday party.  That was all fun but what I wanted to share most is my visit to a Thai restaurant. I have never eaten Thai food and heavens... It was delicious.

I ordered ginger vegetables with chicken. Look at these vegetables. Aren't they gorgeous?

My lunch special came with a chicken and cocnut milk soup. I was skeptical but I am so glad I tried it. It was absolutely delicious.

Here is my plate. I ate half of it and took the other half home for dinner.  Let me tell you that ginger sauce over the rice was heaven.

I normally don't eat white rice but it was a nice treat.

I am definitely going to google some recipes for Thai food that I can make at home.  It's so much fun experiencing food from other cultures.

Well, I better get back to work. I justed to come here and scream to the world how much I love Thai food.

Later, gators.
pwc

biking

Hi friends. Just wanted to share a picture of my bike that I purchased last summer. Now that I live less than two miles from the American River Bike trail, I decided to head out despite the warm temperatures we're experiencing in Sacramento. 

Just look at the scenery that is just within riding distance of my house.  I could hear and see families frolicking in the water.  I just love nature, don't you?  There is just so much beauty about that it makes my heart sing...

I couldn't believe it when I saw this gentlemen out with his horse. It made me think of my horse growing up.  His name was "Tormento."  How sad that i couldn't appreciate him when I was younger. I think this horse smiled for me...

I kept riding.  I ride alot slower than most bikers.  I tried not to let that bother me.  Don't you hate it when your competitiveness comes out?  I do need to pick it up a bit but then I remembered this is my first long ride in a long time. 

At about mile 11. I parked and sipped my water.  I had been out on the trail for about 1.5 hours and made a couple of stops. Again I reminded self that it wasn't a race. Enjoy paula... it's all good.

I decided to take a picture of my bike.  She needs a basket and a computer so I can tell  how fast and how much of a distance I've ridden. Hopefully, I can get that done this weekend.

I had been out on the trails for a couple of hours and it was quite hot... Here I am a sweaty mess.

My total bike miles were 20.  Not bad.  I rewarded myself with a wonderful sandwhich.

Yep. That's bacon on homemade wheat bread. 

I don't know about you, but I think food tastes so much better after  you've "earned it."

tatafornow...

pwc

Hi friends, i visited the farmers market this morning. I get a happy just walking about and eyeing the people and fresh eats. I came home after errands and got busy in the cocina. I had some pork loin and sprinled it with my favorite sazon.




I use this sazon on everything.





Cooked up the pork. Added the veggies.







Cooked until veggies were tender. Daniel took some picks while i was cooking and so i thought i would ham it up for the blog.




I don't like this picture.  The camera doesn't hide the weight gain or the lack of jogging. Doing what I can when I can despite life and obligations that interfere with my weight goals.

Anyways....;et me show you my lunch. Tostada de verdura.

it's good to be me.

Hi friends, happy Wednesday. Are you excited that Friday is just 2 days away? I sure am.

One of the perks of working out of an old house is that I have access to a kitchen.

I made a smoothie using Cocnut Milk. This is a new to me find and it is great in smoothies and coffee.  Today's mixture is spinach, coconut mik, mango and strawberry protein powder.

Smoothie was perfect. Something about the combo of coconut milk and mango. Buenisimo....

There was a nice breeze today so I took my smoothie and headed to the back yard. Propped my "patas" on another chair and relaxed...  How you like my orange nail polish?  Is it too much?

Aww.... it's good to be me...

imperfect thoughts

buenos dias all...

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine included shopping which is always depressing but more on that in a minute.  I saw the Avengers movie solo on a Friday afternoon. I can't believe I fell asleep the first 30 minutes but woke up and thoroughly enjoyed the last hour.  Had friends over on Sunday and now I'm  just spent. I really wanted to cram a 2 hour bike ride but  there just wasn't enough time.

Do you ever cram so much into your weekend that you need a rest? I really need to learn that weekends are for resting.  Nuff said about that...

Wanna know how my shopping went? I did manage to buy a couple of dresses but it can be so disheartening and traumatic when it comes to trying on clothes.

I did not buy this blue dress obviously.  It showed every imperfect around the middle. 

And then t here was this black dress.  It was comfortable. But it drew attention to my arms and then there are my knees....

Shopping can be emotionally exhausting.  If you struggle with weight and even if you've lost some weight, you still have to fight the part where you critize and beat yourself up about how you ruined your body. Honestly, I thought that... I said to self:  "why did I eat my way to being sub-human."   This negative dialogue occurs in my head most mornings while dressing for work.  I've even thought it's sub-human to disfigure one's body with food.  That's not healthy thinking and I'm learning to stop this thinking in it's tracks.  After my shopping, I looked at these photos and spied my green wristband from attending a Master Zumba class.  Then I sighed... I am learning to love myself. I am doing things to counter the negative body image and unhealthy thinking. I am learning to live with the body I have.  I am doing what I can to promote a healthier me. Inside and out.  I am reminded that I will never have a perfect body, only imperfect thoughts and it's up to me to do what I can with what I have. 

So I bought that black dress inspite of my arms and knees.  I felt girlie in the dress and I'll hold onto that...