Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Monday: A wonderful way

To start your week! No, seriously, it is!

I have been going to bed after midnight and getting up around 8am the last week or so, and it took a major toll on me. The bags under my eyes told the story better than I could, and I was feeling so. stinking. tired. all the time. Last night I got home from work around 8pm, walked the dog with the hubby, had a quick dinner of left over polenta lasagna that this girl made for me last week, took some melatonin, and promptly went to bed with a book. I believe I was asleep by 10pm. My alarm went off at 8am, was reset for 9am, and I spent the next hour cuddling with Billy, finally getting out of bed after 10. Nice, right? Now I am sitting in running clothes, Billy's breakfast and lunch made, and looking forward to the rest of my Monday.

One way you can look forward to Mondays is by participating in my favorite blog hop over at Life of Meg for Mingle Monday! Checking out new bloggers and having them visit your blog is always a great way to start your week. Meg, the overachiever that she is, is also hosting a 'Be my Valentine' gift exchange, but at the publishing time of this blog, it is already closed. Just another reason to become a Life of Meg follower and get in the know for awesome mixers, swaps and adorable posts.

What I learned this weekend

~My friend Matt is a great cook, and a fantastic story teller! He kept me and the hubby in stitches, riveted by his stories until well after midnight on Saturday.

~Making a caramel turtle chocolate cake is easy when you have the hubby make a box cake mix while you are at work, and then assemble and decorate it after. Delicious too!! I recommend a devil's food mix.

~I should really organize my tax stuff (receipts, business expenses, etc) monthly, instead of waiting until tax season!

~Chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast is perfectly acceptable.

~Seeing Michelle and Micaela, even as I am coloring and cutting their hair, is always a joy! They are now a deep brunette with short bangs, and a fiery red head with long bangs, respectively!

~The Mechanic, with Jason Statham is a fun movie for both you and your man! Lots of eye candy, with fight scenes and explosions!

~Matt Hughes, a UFC fighter, was in my town this weekend as a coach for Robbie Lawler who fought for a Strikeforce belt (and got submitted) on Saturday. We sat behind them both while watching the Mechanic Friday night, and then got a picture!!! {sorry it's bad quality!}

How was your weekend? Did you learn anything? Happy Mondays, lovelies!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

On Chocolate Cake

In honor of this past Thursday being National Chocolate Cake Day, I've got the perfect Friday Audrey quote for you....even if it is a little late! I don't think a day has ended until you have gone to sleep, even if it's after midnight!

"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me."

— Audrey Hepburn

Thursday, January 27, 2011

I must confess

I have a brand spanking new girl crush on the new spin instructor at my gym. Her name is Therese, she was a volleyball player at the University of Colorado, and she decided to become a spin instructor after moving to the south bay area and realizing the instructors here are, ahem, sub-par. She has perfect legs, the best tan, and gorgeous dark brown hair. At first, I was a little nervous, as I like the Thursday instructor who was out sick. I leaned over and told Lexie "she's cute, I hope this goes well!" Boy, did it ever!! Maybe I respond better to pretty people in authority positions, I don't really know, but I did everything she told me to. "Push it! SPEEEEEED!!" You got it, Therese, I obliged, as my legs churned my pedals harder until they turned to jelly. "Increase your resistance, we are at an 9 now, you are on that hill and it's not getting any easier!" Certainly! My quads are already screaming, but I will gladly give it more!

I finished my water with 10 minutes left to go, even after rationing it; I usually have lots left over afterward. I soaked my towel through 30 minutes in, and continued to sweat buckets afterward. I pushed, gave it my all, and was happy to do so the entire class. Then I got sad, thinking I wouldn't get to experience the awesome, challenging, and intense classes that Therese teaches. Oh, but then, she told us something amazing. She is taking over the Tuesday 9am spin classes mid-February! The Tuesday instructor is leaving, and good riddance to her, she talks far too much in class for my liking. I haven't worked that hard in a spin class since I stopped going to the 5:45am classes 2 years ago. Yeah, I used to be crazy like that, but then I got a clue. Let's just say I am very looking forward to my Tuesday morning spin classes now. All in all, I think my crush came from admiration for her athleticism, as I am a happily married heterosexual woman, but if it keeps me happily going to spin classes and getting my heart pumping, I'll take it!

This is Lexie's scared face, after I told her we definitely have to go to all of Therese's classes, as challenging as they are!

And my excited face at my wobbly legs from such a great class!

Pardon my bedraggled appearance, I sweat disgusting amounts in that tiny room with 30 other people turning it into a sauna. Also, I am really loving my legs these days, thanks running 12 miles a week and 2-3 difficult cycling sessions!

What do you do to keep active? Do you ever get girl crushes, and if so, on gym instructors that you admire?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

hair through the years

As a hairstylist, I have had many opportunities to change up my hair. I have never gotten too crazy or different because that's just not my personality, but I have had some memorable looks, both good and bad!

I started highlighting my dark blonde hair my senior year of high school and it changed my life! I usually had a nondescript cut and kept it medium length. I snapped this with a crappy old camera phone in 2005. Hello, 20 year old Adrian!

I grew out my hair for my wedding, and it got sort of longish, like past my shoulders. Nothing to write home about, but it worked for me. I also had nice highlights. My current hair is very similar!

After my wedding in 2007 I decided I needed to "cut it all off". Why?! I have been growing it out every since.

Rock star hair, platinum blonde and short! I did this after growing quite bored with my super short hair, and I needed a drastic change, boy did I get it! {Billy called this the "glow in the dark" color, because it literally did!}

After the bright blonde, I went dramatically darker and cut it in a bob, hoping it would help me grow out my hair...Hated it!

Rubia por vida!

When I realized it would take awhile to grow out my chemically damaged, over processed hair, I turned to some extensions for a salon grand opening party in 2008.

Honey blonde seems to be my favorite, and whether it's achieved through highlights or an all over color, I keep coming back to it. A 3 year old took this picture of me last summer at a BBQ.

My natural texture is on the wavy side, and with some good curly products, I can get some pretty nice curls going. Sometimes it just frizzes though, sigh. Snapped while playing dress up last summer/fall.

I wear my hair in braids and buns pretty often, this is one of my favorites for when my hair is super dirty, but I have no desire to wash and style it.

I also adore side ponytails with my clip-in extensions giving me my desired length.

How do you wear your hair? Have you made any dramatic changes to your hair in the last 5 years? I would love to see your pictures!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Monday Inspiration

"Keep your heart open to dreams. For as long as there's a dream, there is hope, and as long as there is hope, there is joy in living."

~Anonymous

"I take nothing for granted. I now have only good days, or great days."
~Lance Armstrong

Happy Monday, my loves! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Here is northern California, we were blessed with yet ANOTHER weekend of gorgeous weather. Low 70s in January? Yes, Please! I'm so very sorry for everyone who reads this from a much colder part of the country (or Canada, hi Alison!), I wish you many sunny days! Not sure if Meg is having it as usual, but you can still head on over to Life of Meg and join in the blog hopping party that is the wonderful Mingle Monday! Check out some cool new blogs, and hopefully grab some new followers in the process. It's a real love fest, that's for sure!

What I learned this weekend:

~Cooking Light magazine has amazing chicken recipes in the Jan/Feb issue, it's worth buying!

~My 15+mile bike ride from 2 weeks ago was NOTHING compared to the 7.5mile HILL ride I did with Nicole and her amazingly fit mom Carol on Sunday

~I have been lying to myself in spin class; I really need to add more resistance to get the proper hill effect

~Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while so good on their own, and SO MUCH better accompanied by a glass of milk

~Making women even prettier with cool new looks really warms my heart and gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment

~My new salon is filled with WILD and CRAZY girls! We had our salon holiday party on Saturday, and boy do those girls like to have fun!

~A grad party followed closely by a holiday party mean I ate far too much, and felt awful!

~My hubby can still make me laugh riotously and we really enjoy each others' company even with all the time we spend together <3

~I can make 3 dozen cupcakes and not eat a single one...as long as they leave my house immediately!

~Carbs, while tasting amazing, are truly not my friend when the weekend is over, the +lbs this morning proved it

Friday, January 21, 2011

On Happy Endings

If you had known me as a child, you would have found a girl that believed most of all in fairy tales, happy endings, and make believe. I loved dressing up, acting out imaginative stories, and pretending to be just about anything else but myself. Audrey is a girl after my own heart!

"If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all."

— Audrey Hepburn

Everyone should take a moment to head on over to Life and Times of Alison & Justin, a super sweet blogging duo from Canada. They recently hit 100 followers and are hosting a giveaway of really awesome vinyl wall clings to celebrate.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Swim like a

Well, definitely not like a fish, but I did get in my very first swim for my triathlon training today!

The Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon at Almaden Lake on June 11, 2011 is my goal. It consists of a half mile swim, a 14 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run.

The running is second nature now, seeing how I run the race distance or further three days a week, and usually work on increasing my speed with a 3 mile run. I have no doubts that I can finish. {If you want to start running, I highly suggest checking out the Couch to 5k plan, which is what I did this time last year, and helped me become an avid runner}

The bike portion is going to be just fine, as I am able to really push it in my spin classes, and have been taking a bike ride outside once a week. I have the mileage down, but I will have to work on speed and endurance in the next 5 months to make sure it's a piece of cake on race day.

The swim, however, scares me to death. I am a terrible swimmer. As a child I was a confident and strong swimmer. My mom wanted to encourage this, and put me in competitive swim lessons when I was in 3rd grade, after that, I could barely swim.

I can freestyle back and forth across my apartment pool a few times, then I sort of just float and hang out. Knowing I will have to swim a half mile, with no lane rope or side of the pool to be my safety net is pretty scary. I am confident I will eventually get there, but it's going to be the thorn in my side during my training.

Do you have plans to run any races or complete a triathlon this year? I would love to hear your goals and ideas! I created a 2011 triathlon challenge {sorry if that link is funky, couldn't get an actual URL, so it was through my page} group on Face book for anyone who needs a little push and extra motivation and encouragement. You guys are all welcome to join if you have big fitness plans for 2011!