Monday madness

Hello, Monday! Can I get a whoop whoop for the glorious start to a new week? 

*crickets*

Yeah, I know you all aren't as into Mondays as I am, so I'll spare you the extra cheesy happiness ;)

Don't forget to stop by Meg's and see if she is hosting Mingle Monday today. It's such a great blog hop, I love participating! Meg has been pretty busy lately, so her posts are a little thinner than usual, but I like to think it makes the posts she does write that much better!

If you want more of me, I am guest blogging over at AOG Daily on Tuesday, check it out and let me know what you think! It's my first guest blog, eek!

Tuesday is also my half birthday, woo hoo! I'm coming for you 27! No cake for me though, unless it's a protein brownie, and those just aren't in the same class as birthday cake.

What I learned this weekend

~A Costco trip is extremely necessary, as I have finished off all my staple foods

~My freshman high school small group girls are now of marrying age, as I just did the hair and makeup for one on Saturday. Time flies!

~True Blood is back, and I can't wait to see what trouble Sookie gets into this season

~5 mile runs ARE possible after not running for over a week, though they hurt more than usual

~Jillian Michaels is kicking my arse with her Making the Cut workouts, it's awesome!

~Clean eating does a body good, very fast! I lost 2lbs this week, effectively getting off my annoying plateau!

~My dog is being very bad and sneaking into the bedroom to eat the kitty food when I'm not looking....she did it twice on Sunday, the little punk!

~I'm having more good body image days than bad recently

~L'Oreal Sublime bronze tinted self-tanner lotion is a fabulous way to "tan from a can" with gorgeous dark tan results, but don't skimp on the rubbing in part, or you get streaks!

~Some wives will tip you additionally for cutting their husband's hair from an old man 'fro to a really cute style
~Another bad side effect of weight loss is the disappearance of my chest and bum. The bum I said goodbye to last year when I literally "ran my ass off", and now the girls are looking a little deflated, and well, junior high-ish, which makes me incredibly sad. If I don't find a house to buy this year, maybe I'll buy me some!

On where love resides

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
--Audrey Hepburn

Finding motivation and changing things up

Oh, heeeeey! I almost skipped posting today! No good reason like working too late. Oh no, this week is easy peasy-- 12:30-3:30 Monday and Tuesday, and 12:30-7 on Friday. That's it. No excuse other than it's hot as Hades here in the Bay, and hot weather turns my brain to mush, so I forget things...like blogging. Now I know a lot of you have been experiencing extreme weather for awhile now, but it's been unseasonably cool in Northern California, so this 95+ degree weather is a bit of an overcompensation on Mother Nature's part. 

Seriously, lady, I get that you are on board with this whole summer kick, now knock it off so we all can have a regular 80 degree weather pattern and be comfortable again. 

I guess I should update everyone on my workout and diet plans now that my triathlon has come and gone and I have no real motivation or goal ahead of me. I shouldn't say there is nothing ahead to train for, because I still have Wharf to Wharf on July 24th, but I feel like a 7+ mile run will be a piece of cake. That and it's a 'fun run', so that means dodging strollers, partiers, cars, you name it, and I'm not really shooting for a PR of any kind. 

Back to the current state of things: I spent last week sort of ignoring my workouts save for a 3 mile run and a 12 min HIIT {that's high intensity interval training for you} Bodyrock workout, because I was busy with work and "recovering" from my race. I didn't like how easy it was for me to slip up on working out by making excuses and not making the time. It was all too easy to say "nah, I think I'll sleep in a little more" or "I really want to just eat dinner and veg out on the couch instead of working out". You feel me on this stuff? The brain is a mighty thing guys, and mine was saying "be lazy, forget the workout!" I figured I needed a new goal to keep me focused. 

Enter the 30 day clean eating and working out challenge! I was very inspired by Jillian Michael's Making the Cut book I picked up last week {along with Tosca Reno's the Eat-Clean Diet Stripped, which I haven't started yet}. I have about 5-10 more pounds to shed, or at least work on building lean muscle and firming up if nothing else, so these books are my gateway to a new way of thinking. I would say I am an 80/20 person: eating well 80% of the time and then eating junk, or just too much, 20% of the time. I need to really reign it in to see the results I am looking for, so I decided to take 30 days to eat clean and fit in as many workouts as I can. Another motivator? My end of July Las Vegas work-cation! I tend to want to wear a little less, and show a little more, in Vegas, so it shouldn't jiggle too much, right? 

I started my 30 days on Monday June 20, and will end on Tuesday July 19, about a week before I leave for Vegas. I have chosen to eat healthy with a focus on: 

Lean Proteins: egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean ground turkey, and chicken breast. 

Complex Carbs: fruits and veggies, Ezekiel bread, and brown rice.

Fats: nuts, peanut and almond butter, avocado, hummus and cheeses. 

I am staying away from processed foods of any kind, SUGAR, and traditional baked goods. 

I am giving myself an option to bake protein breads and muffins if I want, since they are usually no-sugar, low-carb and high protein. I also plan to have a cheat meal once a week. Not a cheat day, as I take far too much advantage of that and set myself back, but a whole meal where I can enjoy pretty much anything I'd like. 

My workouts will vary by day and how I am feeling. 

I bought a Groupon for a yoga studio down the street from my house, and plan on going once or twice a week. They have hot yoga as well as traditional flows and whatnot. I try it out tomorrow, and I'll let you know how it goes! 

I need to continue running at least twice a week in preparation for my race, but I'll have to go very early, before it gets steaming hot out, and that's tough because I enjoy sleeping. I will be working on a gym plan to build lean muscle, and that should be 2-3 days a week. I can use workout DVDs and Bodyrock workouts at home when I can't muster up the energy to leave. I have a lot of options, I just need the willpower to do them.

Motivation enough?
I actually plan on sharply decreasing my cardio workouts {bye bye twice weekly spin classes, and 3 times weekly runs!}, and focusing more on building strength. I want a very particular type of body, and cardio can only do so much for me. One of my favorite fitness celebrities, Jamie Eason, hates doing cardio, and actually creates 12 week workout plans that insist on NO cardio for the first 4 weeks, then adding it in for the remaining 8 weeks. She has a killer body, so I'm sure she knows what she's talking about. Oh, she's also a breast cancer survivor! She was only 22 when she was diagnosed. She changed her whole diet to clean eating to help her stay cancer free. It just so happened to do great things for her body as well. 

Anyone up for joining me on a 30 day challenge of some sort? Let me know what you are doing, I would love to be your cheerleader and help you get through it! I don't mind if you all wanted to jump on my challenge, misery loves company strength in numbers! If you have any questions or want more info on what exactly I am eating or doing, let me know. I plan on posting more clean recipes like my turkey muffins, and workout updates to keep you in the loop, but if there is anything specific, don't be afraid to ask! 

Don't want to comment? Shoot me an e-mail! hairbyadrian@gmail.com

All photos via Weheartit

Meatloaf muffins on Monday

Happy end of Monday! It was hot one here, I think it reached a high of 95 degrees. I realized today that though I have been missing a warm summer so far, I am not a fan of hot weather...which is over 85 degrees to me. I hope you all are staying nice and cool wherever you are, and you had nice weekends too! 

Make sure you stop by Mingle Monday over at Life of Meg, it runs until Wednesday!

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile, so I figured I would share one that has been a staple of my diet lately. I have made some form of this recipe four times in the last few weeks because it is easy, healthy, and keeps me on track with my diet. 

Mini Meatloaf Muffins

1lb lean ground turkey

1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, grated

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Mrs. Dash southwest chipotle seasoning

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Coat a mini muffin pan or rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.  In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Mixture will be very wet, just go with it. I like to use my hands for this part, it's satisfying. Split the turkey mixture into fourths, then scoop up small handfuls and roll into balls. Either place in muffin tin, or onto baking sheet. You should get 24 mini muffins or meatballs, make sure they are even.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, and then let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before serving. Since turkey is very lean, it dries out easily and can be bland, this method keeps the turkey moist and flavorful. 

1 serving is 4 muffins which will be about 5oz cooked and is about 180 calories.

Another variation of this recipe is to halve the amount of squash used, and add half a block of light cream cheese and a mashed sweet potato. You can serve the muffins with spaghetti squash or a salad if you want to stay low carb like me, or with any other side that strikes your fancy, such as a dollop of mashed potatoes on top...mmmm mashed potatoes!

 meatloaf cupcakes via Yumsugar

On learning from the movies

Everything I learned I learned from the movies.
-Audrey Hepburn

A little late, but it's still Friday on the West coast! 


Today I had a wedding, so no nanny job, so my day was pretty free. I took Marlo for a 2.65 mile walk, which is quite far for her little bad breathing self. I  tried to turn back a few times, but she wasn't having it, and kept going. Finally I knew she was beat and we had over a mile to go back, so I turned her around. To say she was tired the rest of the day was an understatement!


After my duties at the wedding, I met up with one of my besties, Sarah, who I haven't hung out with in far too long. We caught up for a bit, then headed to the mall for some retail therapy. She was looking for work blouses and some every day clothes, I needed summer basics because I don't fit in any of my old stuff anymore.


Being fit and losing weight has so many awesome perks, like feeling healthy and looking good. Some drawbacks are shrinking out of your wardrobe. Today I mentioned to Sarah that I have been at a plateau of 132lbs for awhile. It got me thinking that a little over a year ago, I was at another plateau of 147lbs. To realize I had lost 15lbs in the last year floored me a bit, and really put my hard earned body into a new light. I am my biggest critic, like most women, and I very easily find faults and flaws, but rarely celebrate myself.  


When I got home from the mall I gave Billy a fashion show of all of my finds, and then started throwing out all the clothes that no longer fit. I got to my bikini drawer, and modeled each one for Billy, who gave me the harsh, but constructive, criticism I needed. "That one makes it look like you're carrying a load...that top makes you look saggy...oh, I like that one, it's cute!" I ended up tossing 4 suits and keeping 2 and a half, and only one is really flattering. I think I have to go shopping again *grin*.


This week I have been trying to love my body more, and really see myself the way Billy does. I still have my trouble areas, but I have goals and a plan to work on them, and I won't hate myself because of them. Or at least I can try! I hope you will join me in celebrating your hard earned wins and your body as is today. 

Wee bit Wednesday vol 3

{one} what color best describes you + why?Turquoise/aqua! It's loud, yet demure. It's pretty, yet approachable. It can be dressed up, or worn casually. LOVE me some turquoise!

via weheartit

via weheartit

 {two} how have you changed in the past year?I've lost over 10lbs. I took up running. I generally made my life healthier and I like it.
{three} have you ever had any surgeries?Oh, boy. Four!!! 2 spinal fusions, had my appendix taken out a month before my wedding, and egg retrieval for my egg donation.

Not me, but similar to my curvatures! Via weheartit

post appendectomy, looking real nice.... 

{four} why did you start your blog?I needed to separate my personal life from my professional blog. I actually have totally let my hair blog slip, as Happy Girl is so much more fun!!
{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?Las Vegas work-cation! Four days off work the week before the work-cation! Wharf to wharf race in July! Wow, all 3 of those are in July....it's going to rock! 

{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?Nope. I usually work, attend some random BBQ, or something along those lines. 
{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?Triathlon! 

{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?Hmm, I don't have a thermostat for my A/C in the car, but my favorite temperature is 76 degree F with a nice breeze :)
{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?Today  I saw Super 8 with the kiddos I nanny for, it was fun and I would definitely recommend it!

{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?For Once in your Life-- The Jealous Sound. That song just does it for me. Especially the last bit of the song repeating the chorus and the way Blair's voice breaks....ahhh I miss them! 

In the Sunshine

A few months back I had the distinct pleasure of joining forces again with my movie magic friends in Element 151, to work on a music video for an up and coming local band, Ab & the Sea. The day arrived, and I had a lot of fun doing hair, makeup, and styling wardrobe on set. I even made a few rare appearances in the video, on the other side of the camera than I usually like to be. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone! Look for me laughing in Wayfarer glasses, riding the cruiser bike, dancing by the VW van, and getting licked in the face by a big old Boxer dog. Yeah, that happened on film.

The song is amazingly catchy, effervescent, and perfect for summer. There is no possible way you are not bobbing your head and singing along to the chorus when you listen to it. The band was incredibly humble and easy to work with on set, which made the day go so well. I couldn't have asked for a better 2nd music video experience. I truly wish the best for Ab & the Sea, they are definitely going places!

Today the music video for "In the Sunshine" dropped on iTunes, and it BLEW UP! As I write this the video has about 500 views on youtube, which is something for a local band on the day they release a new video! All day long on twitter and Facebook the band and production company were posting write ups and commentary from blogs and sites about how great the song and video are.

'If Vampire Weekend went power-pop, I bet it would sound a lot like "In the Sunshine"'- Popservations

'The clip features the band playing out the "perfect summer" filled with cute girls in bathing suits, sports on the beach, ice-cream and of course a catchy, poppy and hook ridden tune.' - Filter Magazine 

'And with the recent heat wave enticing the Bay Area, “In the Sunshine” may be the new “school’s out for summer” anthem.'- The Owl Mag 

' Last week we  said it could be the local summer jam of the year. After a few more days with the song, watching the video, and observing the reaction to both, we're just gonna go ahead and say it could be the summer jam of the year, period.'- S.F. Weekly

Poppy, exuberant, and really catchy, AB & the Sea released a new video today for their brand new single.  It’s hard to turn it off.'- Music Savage

I am so incredibly happy to have been a part of this production process and I can't wait to see what all of you think! Tell all of your friends, share the video link on your blogs, Facebook and twitter. Let's get the video for "In the Sunshine" viral!!

SVST race recap Monday

Hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend and are ready for your Monday, because I'm about to get crazy on you! {you must imagine my hyper-quick and energy laden voice reading this post to you, then you will get the full effect of the crazy that is me}

The Silicon Valley Sprint triathlon was this past Saturday, as all my wonderful loyal readers know, and it was AMAZING! I kid you not, it was the most perfect day for a race, and even though it was physically grueling and mentally difficult, it was FUN! 

I was quite nervous before the race. I set up my transition area, got body marked, then started my prep. I made my way down to the swim beach and dipped my toes into the lake to find out it was pleasantly warm! It was still full of duck poop, but the ducks and geese had smartly taken refuge elsewhere, so that wasn't in the forefront of my mind. I felt a little lonely and nervous while I waited in the water for my wave to begin, so I got to chat it up with some nice people milling about, which made the time go by quick, and then BAM, the swim portion began. All of my training went out the window as my goggles were fogged up and I could barely see. I started in the back of the pack to avoid being swam over, but that didn't stop it from occurring. I spent the first quarter of the race stroking with my head above water, water polo style, and that made me tired but at least I knew where I was going. I finally just gave in and put my head under and began a 2-stroke, breathe, sight style, which is a little odd as I am used to a 3-stroke, breathe style. I swam the whole way, catching a few of the slow swimmers from the wave before mine, and was impressed with my 19:26 time for the half mile swim portion. 

Not so impressive are the photos of me coming out of the water. I only included the one you can't actually see my face in, as I was tired and looked pooped!

My transition 1 time was 3:22 not excellent, and far slower than I had been practicing at home, but dry socks do not slip onto wet feet, and my transition area was super far from the beach so I had a ways to travel. 

The bike portion was excellent. I popped a shot block once I had caught my breath, guzzled lots of water,  than began picking riders off. I am super competitive, so I would look for the ages on the calves of the girl riders in front of me, and if they were in my age group, I would try hard to pass them. I did great on the 1.5 mile hill climb at mile 7, as I have been doing all my training rides on this course, so I passed quite a few people, in my age group and otherwise. My 14 mile bike time was 51:24, by far my best time on this route! Check out my bulging quad muscle in picture 2, I can't believe these are my legs, training does a body good! My friend's hubby caught the smiley picture of me just as I was leaving the park on the course, and I LOVE it! 

Transition 2 went smoother than T1 since I didn't have to put on as much, but my legs felt leaden. T2 time was 1:37

The run is definitely my strongest point, as I have been training that the longest. I felt really heavy and slow coming out of T2, but I found a pace and stuck with it. I grabbed water at the first aid station, but nearly choked trying to sip it, so I decided against any more later on. I had my watch on so I was keeping track of my pace, and it was totally within range of my training runs, which was a surprise since I had already done so much. The last half mile I picked up my pace, then sprinted into the final bit with all I had. That little bit turned out to be pretty impressive, everyone kept commenting on how fast I came in. The photos show me behind, next to, passing, then totally ahead of an Asian girl with orange hair, it's pretty funny. My 5k run time was 26:43, I think a race PR for for me!

 My entire sprint triathlon time was 1:42:32, well within the 2:30:00 goal I had set ;)

I came in 5th in my age group, 38th for women, and 151st out of 348 overall in the race. 

I was also only 9 minutes slower than the 1st place finisher in my age group, so I have a goal for the next triathlon! See, competitive much?!

On race day I had Billy, my mom, my friends Lexie, Diane, Sarah and her hubby Brandon, Tiffany and her hubby Tom show up to support me! I was also bombarded by love and luck through phone calls, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and blog comments from so many awesome people. I felt incredibly lifted up and supported, it was amazing, thank you everyone! I only got a picture with Miss Tiffany post-race, but had my brain been anything but caffeinated mush I would have gotten pics with everyone!

Why yes, I did have a bagel in my hand for this picture, it's all about priorities people, and eating carbs after a race is tops! Also notice bulging bicep muscle. This post is full of me showing off, I swear!

On choosing your family

"True friends are families which you can select." 
— Audrey Hepburn

This is it, it's finally here! One day until my very first triathlon! I am super excited, and as  to be expected I have been preparing my day-of bag for several days. On Wednesday, I practiced my transitions repeatedly, and Thursday, I had the whole day off. It was so weird not having a workout to do in the morning, and then not having work in the afternoon gave me a ton of free time and I just didn't know what to do with myself.  So I went into dog mommy mode! Marlo had a puppy pedicure while I picked up her food, then we went to the dog park where she had a great time chasing, sniffing, running and even trying to bite. Basically, the best time ever! Thursday evening I picked up my race packet, and here are the goodies I got!

Fancy tech shirt {size small is too big, who'd a thought?}, Muscle Milk drawstring bag for my swag, purple swim cap, timing chip, bib {#1220}, samples of Clif bar, a Hammer gel and Aquaphor. Not too shabby. 


The race packets were being handed out at my favorite running store, Running Revolution, so I also picked up a bib belt to hang my number on instead of safety pinning it to my shirt, and Yankz easy tie laces so I don't have to fumble with my tedious tie laces in transition 2. I'm hoping both help keep my transition time down.


My goals for the triathlon are to :
1} finish the race
2} finish in 2 hours 30 minutes
3} have fun, try to relax, if that's even possible
4} don't get hurt, at any point in the race


The after race festival will have live bands, Muscle Milk and beer on tap, burritos, bagels, fruits and veggies available for the hungry and exhausted athletes--I'm stoked! 


Saturday afternoon, I get to celebrate my beautiful, talented, smart, and athletic former running buddy turned fitness competitor best friend Nicole's graduation from Santa Clara University with another live band, a taco station, beverages, and the best thing ever, cake! 

Happy graduation, Nicole! I'm grateful to call you are family that I get to select!

Wedding kit must haves for hair

{This post was supposed to automatically post this morning, sorry for the lateness!}

As you have probably gathered from my random drops of information that I am a hair and makeup artist. You might even have figured out that I do a lot of weddings. If not, well then, now you know!

Photos via weheartit.com, collage by moi

I have a very large kit of things that MUST go on location with me to each wedding I work. I drag around a suitcase and a smaller travel bag, {matching of course, but atrociously ugly} that are stuffed full of tools, styling products, brushes, and a myriad assortment of things. If I had to narrow down my kit and only bring a handful of items with me to style a wedding party's hair, these would be them.

Kevin Murphy styling products that are perfect for any style: 

1} Session.Spray

 This hairspray is amazing and can be layered to create quite an impressive hold, or used sparingly for a light touchable feel.

2} Fresh.Hair dry cleaning spray

Awesome for absorbing excess oil on the scalp, giving the hair a fresh scent if for instance the bride was at a restaurant the evening before and smells like food, and is a great foundation for back combing. 

3} Full.On protection

Great for heat protection as well as has some hold. I use it before I curl the hair

4} Powder.Puff

This fancy little dust creates the best volume and grip near the scalp. You shake it on the roots of the hair, tousle with your fingers, and style. Creates mad volume.

Photos via Google search, collage by moi

Bobby pins and hair pins, for updos and stray hairs

via Google

2 curling irons, 1" and 1.25" I use marcel handled irons because I'm fancy like that, but the traditional thumb tong irons work just as well.

via Google

Rat tail comb for teasing and separating the hair

via Google

A multi outlet extension cord. Because you never know where you will be working, or just how far away from an outlet you will be.

via Google

And there you have it, the smallest kit I would need in order to properly do hair for a wedding party!

Wordless Wednesday vol. 2

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

What's making you happy, today?