smooth as buttah

Tonight, Karen, Natalie and I went to my first Yelp Elite party over at Butter. Not only were they serving Miller High Lifes ("the champagne of beers"), but they were giving away free tater tots, jello shots and fried twinkies.

All of which I, in my good diet behavior, refrained from.

(Besides, there is NOTHING remotely appetizing about fried twinkies!)

Halfway through the night, we ran into Eric Pop. Ironic, since we were commenting how there was another guy there that looked like Eric Pop. "But I saw the real one," proclaimed Karen, looking a lot drunker in the below pictures than she actually was.


Karen, me and Natalie in our Butter white-trash hats. Karen is all ghetto-ass, yo.


Natalie and the ultimate hors d'oeurve - pimento olives.


Russ Simmons, founder and CTO of Yelp, eating Spaghetti-Os


Gratuitous close up of Spaghetti-Os


The ePop sandwich. Karen looks drunk, but she's not

I was good. But all that fried food made me yearn for the days of, well, fried food.

just realized something insane

I've been measuring my weight loss from 134 - which is the weight that I've been stuck at for the last year or two. But I realized that I gained about 4 lbs before my surgery 3 weeks ago. Which means, that at 129, I've lost NINE POUNDS in the last 3 weeks.

A lot of it is water weight (retaining water from eating tons of salty food), but still! 9 lbs is a lot different from 5. And I was up to a size 8 during that month surrounding my surgery - now a size 6 is starting to feel big.

Holy crap.

nude britney giving birth

I'm not really sure what to say, except that this just completely convinces me that the pro-lifers are nuts.

Here's the article:

Dedication Honors Nude Britney Giving Birth
Pop-Star's Pregnancy Idealized in 'Monument to Pro-Life'

BROOKLYN, NY (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- A nude Britney Spears on a bearskin rug while giving birth to her firstborn marks a 'first' for Pro-Life. Pop-star Britney Spears is the "ideal" model for Pro-Life and the subject of a dedication at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn's Williamsburg gallery district, in what is proclaimed the first Pro-Life monument to birth, in April.

Dedication of the life-sized statue celebrates the recent birth of Spears' baby boy, Sean, and applauds her decision of placing family before career. "A superstar at Britney's young age having a child is rare in today's celebrity culture. This dedication honors Britney for the rarity of her choice and bravery of her decision," said gallery co-director, Lincoln Capla. The dedication includes materials provided by Manhattan Right To Life Committee.

"Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston," believed Pro-Life's first monument to the 'act of giving birth,' is purportedly an idealized depiction of Britney in delivery. Natural aspects of Spears' pregnancy, like lactiferous breasts and protruding naval, compliment a posterior view that depicts widened hips for birthing and reveals the crowning of baby Sean's head.

The monument also acknowledges the pop-diva's pin-up past by showing Spears seductively posed on all fours atop a bearskin rug with back arched, pelvis thrust upward, as she clutches the bear's ears with 'water-retentive' hands.

"Britney provides inspiration for those struggling with the 'right choice'," said artist Daniel Edwards, recipient of a 2005 Bartlebooth award from London's The Art Newspaper. "She was number one with Google last year, with good reason --- people are inspired by the beauty of a pregnant woman," said Edwards.

Capla Kesting denies the statue was developed from a rumored bootleg Britney Spears birth video. The artist admits to using references that include the wax figure of a pole-dancing Britney at Las Vegas' Madame Tussauds and 'Britney wigs' characterizing various hairstyles of the pop-princess from a Los Angeles hairstylist. And according to gallery co-director, David Kesting, the artist studied a bearskin rug from Canada "to convey the commemoration of the traditional bearskin rug baby picture."

Oh. My. God.

I don't know why, but I thought this was hysterical.

great start to a new week

I conked out early last night, which meant that I was up and about at 8am today. Even though I was too lazy to trek over to the gym, I started the day by trying the Crunch Fat-Burning Yoga DVD. Not so fat-burning after 2 years of Bikram, but it was a good stretch... particularly since I was totally sore after my hip hop class and walk up Potrero Hill yesterday!

Carolyn came over and we went off to Noe Valley to paint ceramics at Terra Mia. We wandered around shopping a bit, and of course, I had to stop in to Ambiance. I found my Tell-All Dress! Its a strapless black dress made out of soft jersey, ruched at the top, and then flowing out once it goes past my waist. Its cute and wearable to any cocktail party or nice dinner, but still does the job of "telling all", since it shows my entire torso past my butt. Of course, I look *horrid* in it right now (I got a small), but the idea is to keep taking pics in it until I (a) look hot and am ready to wear it in public or (b) totally stretch it out ;-)

Little black dress - check!

I painted a spoon rest for my mom with a big pig on the front, and Carolyn, that secret artist, made a fancy cup and saucer set. "I need to do something totally random with it," she claimed, then proceeded to write the word "CUP" on it. "Put the 'of' on the bottom of the cup," I suggested. "Then the saucer can equal sunshine."

While we were there, a woman came in with a bottle of champagne and met up with 4 of her girlfriends. "I got engaged!" she squealed. It was such a happy sight, especially in the airy, pleasant atmosphere of Terra Mia, and the gorgeous daylight outside.

After Carolyn dropped me, we snapped some "before" shots of me for this week's blog, and then chatted a bit before she left. I made a super-yummy Shrimp and Tofu Teriyaki stir fry, packed full of broccoli, bamboo, baby corn and carrots, which turned out only to be 3 points per serving! As of right now, I've still got 9 points to go for the rest of the day, but I'm determined to get into that dress sooner rather than later.

I'm looking forward to a great week.

weight loss dairy: week 2 of 15

Despite a nasty little cold that I caught last weekend, I managed to hit my fitness goals for the week (working out 2x) and stay on the points plan that I set for myself (28.5/day). Considering I'm another 2 lbs down, not a bad week overall, although it got a little bumpy.

*~*~*~*
Week 2 Stats, 3/19 - 3/25:

• Weight: 130.5
• Body Fat: 29.4%
  
• Lost: 2 lbs total / 0.7lbs body fat
  
• Total Points: 202 (target = 199.5)
• Average Steps: 5,164.2 per day
  

Pictures:













Me, 3/26/06. Nothing quite like a little public humiliation to spur one into weight loss action. (Btw, that's The Dress. Will look MUCH better in 13 weeks!)

Workouts:

• Goal: 2 workouts this week - I'm still easing back into physical activity
• Thurs, 3/23: Reformer I & II Pilates at Core Pilates, 60 mins
• Sat, 3/25: Hip Hop Dance at R&M, 75 mins; Walk in Potrero, 20 mins
  

Accomplishments:

• Remained VERY close to my goal of 28.5 points a day - only ended up 2.5 over for the week, which I'm deducting from next week's total.
• Worked out twice this week, as planned, despite a monstrous cold at the beginning of the week
• Went to hip hop dance and didn't completely suck :-)
  
• Walked more then 5,000 steps a day. I'll be increasing my target steps by 15% now
• Went to my first Weight Watchers meeting with JH. Didn't hear bells ringing or the voice of weight loss god speaking to me, but I've been told by many, many people that the meetings are key to losing weight and keeping it off. Nice to have someone to go with
• Despite some terrible emotional/sick binging at the beginning of the week (40 points/day for Mon and Tues), got myself back on track by being extremely strict about noting my daily allowed points and adjusting as necessary
• Work Goodiness: Had the SharePoint Console 1.0 Release Auth, and it went well; getting a handle on the monster that is Collab Services

*~*~*~*
Phase I is now officially over. Today I move into Phase II, where my target points/calories are the ones recommended by a nutritionist I once consulted (27), just a couple over the WW magic number of 25 per day (20 per day + 35 weekly flex points).

Phase II is 4 weeks long, and I will be decreasing my daily points every week by 1. The goal is to get to 129 lbs by 4/23/06. I'm already somewhat ahead of the game, but might need a little room since I'm not exactly following the strict WW points plan. Phase II is also where I get my activity level back to the standard 3 - 4 workouts a week, and start digging at the roots of my emotional eating.

Week 3 Goals:

• Work out 3x this week. Currently planned: Spinning on Mon, Pilates on Wed, Hip Hop on Sat
• Target Points: 26.6 per day, 186.5 for the week
• Steps: 5,500 per day
• Weight Watchers meeting on Friday
• Weight: 129lbs
• Finish weeks 1, 2 and 3 of Body Intelligence program
• Stop babbling about my diet in every conversation I have. Keep it to the blog and boards where other people are having the same issues
  

*~*~*~*
PHASE I POST MORTEM

What helped me:

• Blogging! No joke. This week was tough emotionally - although probably not much different than most weeks in my life :-) I had a fight with a good friend and stresses at work, as well as $$ issues and BAD THINGS going on with my car. After 2 days of binging, I found a site called extrapounds.com on the WW boards, and set up a weight loss blog. Not only did I put all my rants and ravings on a separate blog so my friends don't have to listen to me drone on and on about it, but I also started reading other people's experiences and connected with a few really cool gals there.
  

• Online Community Boards. Again, I know I'm a geek, but the WW online boards really helped me this week. When I get down, I don't want to tell my friends, because I have this weird complex about it; plus, a lot of times, its when I'm home alone at night, and its pretty late already. I've found most people to be super-supportive, although there were a few nasty emails from people who were like, "You skinny bitch. You're complaining about trying to lose 10 lbs and get to a size 2?"
  
  
• Great Friends. Not to say that my friends aren't wonderful. Karen, Carolyn, and Agnes have all agreed to be my picture-taking person: each week, one of them will take the picture of me in the black dress (which I haven't bought yet!) and help keep me on track. Carolyn and Clyde are definitely in for the workshop, and hopefully Agnes and Fern will decide to do it too. Its also nice that JH is doing WW with me on Fridays. I had a super craving on Thurs, and she saved me with some natural popcorn at work.
  
  
• Planning Food and Snacks. I wasn't great about it this week, since I'm poor and didn't make it to the market, but the pre-measured portions for snacks from last week and single-serve popcorn saved my life! Also, after my pizza-eating binge on Monday and Tuesday, I cooked at home and was able to keep my points relatively low, especially Thurs - Sun. I've made a grocery list and will go to the market today or tomorrow.
  
  
• Being Ruthless about Calculating Points. Yeah, I'm an Excel nerd/freak/nazi. But it helped. I didn't freak out if I went over points. I just plugged in my total-to-date and recalc'd how many I had remaining from the week. Then I updated my notes in the WW tracker so I would have it in front of me. Its not for everyone - maybe just anal retentive people like me - but it kept me on track. Otherwise, the 40 points on M/T? Dead in the water, baby.
  
  
• Gradually Reduced Points. I've read so many people saying that they are just STARVING on WW. Yeah, I did too. That's why I've been on and off the points plan for over a year. Why am I maintaining so far? Because I'm taking it down slowly, and adjusting my lifestyle along with it. Taking it down doesn't actually mean eating less - it also means slowly increasing activity, especially post-op.
  

What hurt me:

• Good old emotional eating. Had a fight with AL, work stresses, etc., and THAT translated to a small Amici's pizza with fried eggplant and anchovies, garlic breadsticks, and a slice of cheesecake on Monday and Tuesday; and 37 SALTINES on Wednesday. If that ain't emotional eating, I don't know what is!
  
  
• Comparing myself to others. I got really down yesterday after I saw how I looked next to all those beautiful people in hip hop class. I started to feel like I would never take the weight off - after all, I've been "dieting" on and off for years now. I understand intellectually that its because I have body image issues (too fat at size 2?!), I was focusing on what I was not doing instead of what I accomplished, because I was obsessed with my weight, and because I had unrealistic expectations of what my life would be life if I were thin. Also, simply, I just didn't have that much weight to lose! This is a more sustainable plan. And although I haven't quite internalized it emotionally, I am using all the tools at my disposal to remain optimistic.
  
  
• Being sick! Quite frankly, it sucks.

Onward, ho...

i love pilates!

I'd forgotten how much I looooove Pilates.

Tonight I went to check out the reformer class at Core Pilates on 17th and Mission. I got the recommendation on Yelp, and I totally loved it! I'd only done group classes, which are not as structured, at Gorilla Sports, and I much prefer this one. The class was definitely the right level (intermediate) - kicked my ass, but not over my head.

If you ever want to do Allegro, this is the place! Great facility, too.

Its good to be back exercising. It felt so nice that I went home and made a healthy spinach udon soup with veggie broth, spinach, onions, mushrooms and udon. I'm even thinking about working out tomorrow... I've got to do something to offset the monstrous sick/emotional eating I did on Monday and Tuesday!

things hallmark cards don't say (but probably should)

Courtesy of Dad...

When we were together,
you always said you'd die for me.
Now that we've broken up,
I think it's time you kept your promise.

*~*~*
We have been friends for a very long time ..
let's say we stop?

*~*~*
I'm so miserable without you
it's almost like you're here.

*~*~*
C ongratulations on your new bundle of joy.
Did you ever find out who the father was?

*~*~*
Your friends and I wanted to do
something special for your birthday.
So we're having you put to sleep.

before and after

I've been making the most out of the online weight loss revolution (or wannabe revolution), and hooking up with people on WW discussion boards and also other bloggers who are trying to lose weight.

You know what's really interesting? After browsing through all these pages, I've been scouring my computer for the worst and fattest picture of me (which I put up as my "before" picture on bunnychicksf.extrapounds.com). I wonder what that means... In any case, surprisingly I think I looked fatter last summer than I do now, even though, as far as I know, I weigh slighly more now.

the endless pursuit of a weight loss tracking tool

... has led me to www.extrapounds.com.

OK, actually, I was tipped off from someone on the Weight Watchers boards, but I really like this. Of course, I'm going to run into the same problem as before with maintaining twoo separate blogs, but I like this one more because its weight-loss specific and I don't have to build the tools in myself. Also, it does have the before and after pictures.

Check out my page: http://bunnychicksf.extrapounds.com

I think I might just do the linky thing again each week. Incidentally, friends - I need to see at least one of you each week so I can keep taking the before/after pictures!

more blech

My nose is dripping, my nostrils are on fire, and occasionally, I stop hearing because my ears are ringing. I think I'm getting a six pack from all the sneezing I'm doing. Its the middle of March, and I have a freaking cold!

Well, I suppose if I had to get sick, it couldn't have been timed better than the marathon of Prison Break. I looooove TV marathons. And I love Wentworth Miller. So HOT - even if he once played a guy who turned into a fish on a particularly dumb episode of Buffy.

weight loss diary: week 1 of 15

Moved to http://bunnychicksf.extrapounds.com

hip hop bop bop

I'm so excited! Not only will I see some of my dance friends at Micaya's hip hop workshop soon (Clyde, Diana and Irma, of course), some of the Robusteam will be joining me. Caro and Agnes are both signing up, and Fernando is considering it. What a great way to see my favorite ppl every week!

I guess that means I'll actually have to try this year...

bar crudo

Yes, it was good. But more importantly, Karen set the menu on fire.

That's all.

i've just come to the conclusion

... that being an adult SUCKS.

And yes, I really just realized this right now.

This is not just whining. It took me close to 30 years to realize that I have responsibility; that just because I had a sucky childhood, it doesn't exempt me from being a responsible adult; that there is nothing to take away "adulthood" (i.e., when you're a kid and you can look forward to being an adult); and that, even when you have ppl that love you, it doesn't make problems, responsibilities and headaches go away. Sometimes it might feel good to hide from them for a little bit, but in the back of your head, you know they're there, and they'll still be there when you come out of hiding.

I've also just realized that, for all of my bossiness, project-management style roles, ability to lead, and need to take care of people, I haven't been a very good adult.

At the end of all this is that I just need to deal with my shit. I've always thought of my problems as, "if I take care of [blank], then I'll be happy." What I didn't take into account was that there will always be a new [blank]. If I keep waiting for all my problems to go away before I'm happy, I'll never be happy. If I keep putting my problems off, I'm just prolonging my misery.

Is it time to grow up? I don't think I have a choice. But I think I might finally embrace it instead of fighting it.

hospital discount

Apparently, if CPMC delays your surgery for 2+ hours and no one bothers to tell you about it, check up on you, or see if your IV drip is so low that you are dehydrating, you can get two $5 coupons for anywhere in the hospital.

Yay!

i'm so proud!

Mom called me yesterday and told me that Brindo is finally peeing where he's supposed to be. "He's such a good boy now," she said. "He pees on the pee-pee sheet 7 times out of 10."

Not only that, but he's also gotten used to the ride from Somerset to Blandon. "He's not a total bumpkin anymore... although he's still scared to leave the house."

Awwww... I miss my baby!

drunken stories: part two

Boy, I thought I was drunk Saturday night.

Then I talked to Andy, who not only vomited carrot bits all over himself and his toilet, but did so with "When Doves Cry" playing in the background. ("I heard it on the cab and really wanted to play it!" he claims.)

He gets the Loser of the Drunken Weekend Award.

the oscars

I don't usually watch the Oscars, but my massive hangover and the horrid weather made the show more palatable.

Comments...

• What's with the "watch movies in the theatre" propaganda? It was just ridiculous. Its not like the studios don't make tons of money from the DVDs. I liked Jake Gyllenhals facial expression as he tried to mouth the words.
• Three 6 Mafia winning the award for "Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp" was awesome. What a great song! What a GREAT rendition of it. Shout out to my native-ghetto ass community.
  
• BTW, I totally love Queen Latifah.
• John Stewart rocks. Period. Favorite line: "Why are they [Three 6 Mafia] the most excited people here?
• Jen Garner stumbling. Good recovery though - "I do all my own stunts."
• Is it just me, or does Salma Hayek not actually speak English?

I didn't actually watch any of the nominated movies except for "Geisha" and parts of "Crash", but now I'm definitely inspired to go see "Munich" and "Brokeback Mountain."

Now, the fashions...


Naomi Watts looks like a cake


LOVE the dress!


Another gorgeous dress


My favorite of the night


Does this man actually shower?


Love Felicity, but the dress just doesn't work.

ouch.

Laura is my oldest friend in San Francisco. Not age-wise; she was the first person I knew when I moved out here.

We bonded over a recruiting trip to UT Austin. The night before the career fair, a bunch of us went out drinking. After several beers, I ran towards the group on a pair of unstable 3-inch platforms. I was so drunk that I didn't even catch myself with my hands when I fell - I just landed flat on my face.

"Oh, that's going to bruise," I worried, as Laura (also drunk) helpfully got me a cocktail napkin full of ice. And thus began our friendship.

*~*~*~*

Last night, the same thing happened again - but this time, I managed to land on concrete.

After a delish dinner with Karen at Limon (great food, bad service), we headed over to Nihon, a new, and surprisingly not all-Asian bar, where we met up with her friend Tan and Eric Pop. I sucked down several sweet lychee and champagne drinks, followed the crowd to another bar, and ended up at Denny's at 3am.

Somewhere between bar #2 and Denny's, I managed to destroy my face.

My whole right ear is scraped up, as is the skin around my jawline. The best thing is that there is nary a scratch on either of my hands.

At 6 this morning, I woke up to the pitter-patter of pouring rain, on the floor besides my bed, still in my full outfit, lying on top of Thing-O and drooling on the carpet. I somehow managed to stick a Care Bear band-aid on my face in the middle of the night. I did drag myself up long enough to change into PJs and brush, but it took me another 9 hours to finally take a shower. I'd say today's pretty much a lost day.

You know, its been a while since I've gone out and drank. And after last night, it might be a while more before I do it again.

i got the boot!

I haven't driven my car in almost a month. Not only has it been towed TWICE in the last month - once for parking in a 3pm towaway, once for breaking down on the Bay Bridge - it got booted on Wed.

Poor MiniBun...

My friends have consequently changed my name to Robustabootie, which, if you think about it, probably is a lot more appropos. It just so happened that my Mini got booted the night of our 2nd Robusteam dinner. And, it was parked right outside my house, so impossible to miss. Wah. At least it got debootied on Friday, and I can take it to the mechanic to get fixed.

*~*~*~*
I was slightly sick the whole week. I've been rather worn down and fatigued, and opted to stay in on Friday night and chill with Andy, who was also tired. We had Indian pizza (which was surprisingly good), set the pizza box on fire (apparently putting the whole box in the oven is a BAD idea), and watched season 1 of Grey's Anatomy. I'm outing Andy, who, despite his macho protests, finally admitted he liked the show.

"I'm leaving," he declared after episode 3. "If I watch anymore tonight, I'm going to turn into a woman."

"Your boobs are already bigger than mine," I responded helpfully.

"Pecs," he grimaced. "They're pecs."

Whatever.