Losing Weight & Gaining Time

When I first got back from Miami, I gained 2 lbs. But then I lost it again and was 119 lbs this morning. Not complaining! Went to Tia Lou's last weekend for Mike's birthday and had a BLAST dancing, especially with the folks that went to Miami.



We also went to Major Lazer last night, and boy was today a rough Wednesday!



But the losing weight I'm referring to in this post's title is not about pounds. It's about something far more heavy. The Friday after we got back from Miami, Victor and I had a serious talk about our relationship. For probably the second time ever. That's right, we never were able to communicate seriously about anything because we just took things day by day. And as our days passed, our relationship snowballed into something real. But was it real enough to last? I figured we should quit while we were ahead, and save the friendship. To my relief, he agreed. And since Friday we've actually been able to hang out as friends. This is by far the cleanest, most healthy break-up I've ever had. Although it's hard to let someone go after enjoying their close company for over a year, I can honestly say that I'm okay with knowing that we'll be able to remain close friends.

And now I have more time to enjoy Spring and Summer! It's starting to warm up in Seattle, and I can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store. I'm so thankful for lucky transitions in Seattle, and the amazing people that make it possible. I'm starting to think that it'll be tough to move away when the time comes. But only time will tell.

Ultra Music Festival Miami 2013

Last weekend was seriously amazing. We had one huge trip with many laughs and memories. So many good DJs, beautiful weather, exploring a new city, and experiencing another music festival of epic proportions!

The flight there was long and grueling, but at least on the way there we got to take a Boeing 747 and had access to free entertainment. We also had the most awesome flightstaff members who were giving us a buy1get1 deal. Awesome.

When we got there, we met up with people at our condo in downtown Miami. It was actually above the Doubletree hotel, so it was really nice and definitely a prime location. More than half of the group went to see Alesso at LIV that night, but I wasn't really feeling like it. I ended up going to Blue Martini with Sean, Sarah, and Matt and we had a blast! There was a cover band doing Mexicanish dance music and EDM hits. Tons of fun to dance to, and I don't regret missing the club at all. When everyone got back to the condo, we stayed up late and talked. It was maybe one of my favorite nights.

Friday we went to South Beach for lunch and enjoyed sidewalk seating in a small and cute alley-looking street. The food was so-so, but the restaurant that we wanted to eat at was closed to we just chose a random one that we walked by.



Everyone was super excited for UMF, but we didn't get there until later than expected. I think we only saw a few DJ sets, but everyone saw what they came for - Swedish House Mafia. And it was amazing, spectacular, everything we had dreamed of. The first night of UMF I was trying to compare it to EDC and I think that really took away from the experience. I think the EDC LA stages were better and more organized. I wasn't really happy about the black dust that we were breathing at UMF that first night. After the rave, it took a long time to get out of the venue because we stayed until the end. By the time we got back to the condo and had gotten ready, it was too late to go to Hyde Beach. We stayed in and drank while listening to music and talking, it was still good times.



Saturday we went to the Shelbourne pool party. The event staff... oh my goodness they were all idiots. They didn't know how to look up names on the will-call list and it took forever to get in..for no reason. Once we finally got in the pool was smaller than expected. I guess it doesn't live up to Las Vegas pool party expectations. The deejays were amazing though, so that made everything worthwhile. There were tons of nasty beach balls getting kicked around. Actually they were fun when they first came out, but quickly became sticky and dirty. Carnage was my fave DJ from the pool party. After his set we stopped by the beach and then headed back to the condo to get ready. UMF the second night was also short, which I didn't mind at all! We got to see Kaskade and then Infected Mushroom which were my 2nd and 3rd top priorities of the lineup. So I was happy! The Live stage reminded me of Shoreline Amphitheatre back home where I first fell in love with Kaskade at ID. After the rave, a bunch of the group went to see Diplo at Grand Central. Andy, Victor, Andrey, and I had sold our tickets so we hung out with Kim and Shnell. I fell asleep pretty early that night, I was beat.




Sunday a bunch of the group went to hang out on the beach. Victor, Charles, and I went to get delicioso Peruvian food! I wish I wasn't so hungover that day, so I could have eaten more of the food. I think we were delirious at this point, I couldn't stop laughing at Charles about something he said when I pointed out an HIV Testing banner. Andy met us up at the condo so we could head to UMF first, we wanted to get in early because it was the last day. We made it for Krewella and the end of Flosstradamus (awesome), and then Major Lazer (even more awesome), and finally SNOOP DOGG (THE MOST AWESOME)!!! Man I almost lost my voice rapping along with Snoop. I was so happy because when I went to Rock the Bells last year I was sorely disappointed when I found out Snoop couldn't perform in SF. But YES! YES YES YES! Ugh, so good. ANd I got a turkey leg for dinner that night, which was also really good. Mmmm turkey leg!




After the rave, we went back to the condo to get ready for Zedd at Mansion. Zedd was good, Skrillex came out, but the best part was Funk Agenda. OMG he was better than both of them! Super bassy high energy beats, loved it. Kept me dancing until 5 AM. Sober. That's insanity. And by the time we left and were struggling to get a cab, I was seriously beat. Monday we woke up, packed, and flew back home. I wish I had stayed the extra days like the others because it would have been nice to relax before leaving. Soak up some more of that Miami sun. But in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't because I had so much work to do!




Anyway, truly an amazing trip. I'd do it all over again if I could.

Salad Days

Miami is just one week from today! With a 64-hour work week, TONS shopping to do, and no time to hit the gym.... two weeks of salads it is!



Good thing I got my salmon and taco salads recipes right. Salsa and smoked sockeye salmon are saving my salads. :)

Gearing up for UMF Miami

I've been having trouble getting my diet/workout routine going for Miami! I had planned to get serious beginning last week, but I've been pigging out on the weekends. I've only gone to the gym twice in two weeks, which is very sad. Speaking of the gym, since when do cardio machines have tablet screens, play music/TV for you, give you virtual running modes, and email you your workout summaries? SINCE NOW! Since 2013. And it's insane. I was so shocked when I first saw the treadmill.. it kind of made me wish I had an iPhone still because then I could sync my phone and charge it. The Wi-Fi is a nice added bonus, and the USB port seems handy but I doubt I'd ever bring a thumb drive. If I did, I doubt I'd remember to pull it out of the machine, haha.



I am pretty excited about my Nike+ Fuelband still though, it definitely encourages me to take the stairs. I like to count my steps and match it up with the step counter function... I'm such a nerd. I just upped my daily goal from 2000 to 2500, which is basically taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator... and about 30 minutes of cardio. I think that could actually work if I stuck to it on a daily basis, I only want to lose 5-10 lbs. And during the week I've been successful at keeping my caloric intake below 1100 per day.

I'm starting to assemble my Superwoman costume for our superhero UMF theme. Hopefully the cutting and weaving goes well (it looks so easy on YouTube, LOL) and I already found red shorts. Next items on the list are... heels comfy enough to dance in until 6am, sneakers I can rave in for 3 days straight, and outfits to wear during the day/clubbing. Yeesh, I'm going to have tons of baggage.

Valentine's Day

Every year for the past decade I've been disappointed, infuriated, or distraught by Valentine's Day. This year, I genuinely did not care. And it just so happens that this year is when things changed for the better.

First of all, Victor gave me a Nike+ Fuel Band!!! This is perfect motivation to get me ready for Miami, and I JUST got a new membership to 24 hour fitness so I can go to the new Totem Lake location! The brand new machines are enticing, and with the Fuel Band I've never been more excited to work out. Best piece of jewelry ever.

Second, dinner at my fave Seattle restaurant! Seastar in Bellevue =) Two glasses of wine, my fave oyster sampler, pesto clams, dungeness crab cakes, scallop entrée, molten chocolate cake, creme brulee, lemon crisps, and one moscato dondarello later I am a spoiled and happy girl. I was so excited for the food that I forgot to take pictures of the first few courses, HAHA.

I'm in heaven.

I also sent my mom a card and chocolates for Valentine's Day but the cursed USPS lost it. I worked so hard on my calligraphy to make it!! Oh well, at least I took a picture of it so I can email it to her.

Clean Closets & Taking Tumbles

Two weeks ago, I thought how nice it would be to finally have some time off! Today, I am SO READY to start the new job. Being at home with nothing to do has allowed me time to catch up on my favorite TV shows like Downton Abbey, watch all of the Sharks games thus far, and play with my new Hamilton Beach Blender, but I've simply run out of things to do. Thank goodness that the lockout ended though, because THE SHARKS ARE ON FIRE THIS SEASON!!!!

Anyway, one thing I'm proud of is that I finally got the chance to try on all of my clothes and clean out my closet. I didn't take a "before" picture but here is the "after":

Imagine that none of the clothes up top were folded before, and they were piled into the ceiling in the corners. I also got to go through my storage boxes and I definitely have enough warm weather clothing that I don't really need to shop for the Miami trip. Finding old faves is so fun, and a relief on the budget (especially after not working for a few weeks).

After I loaded up my giant box of clothing, I was grumbling about how I didn't want to carry it downstairs to my car. I knew I had no choice, so I lugged it to the elevator, and then to the parking lot stairs. And of course, my clumsy self misjudged the first step and tumbled down the flight. And I got serious booboos.

My hip (above), my right knee, and my left ankle got the worst of it. Luckily I had my North Face down jacket on and my arms were heavily padded. I'm also lucky that I didn't hit my head. Still, I was SO MAD that I fell! And I had to stuff the clothing back into the box, the same items that I had so carefully folded for the donation people. Ugh!

Then today I was walking up those same steps, for the first time since the tumble and I saw Hi-Chews on the floor. The same Hi-Chews that I keep in my purse! This reminded me of Sonic the Hedgehog games where Sonic would lose rings whenever he bumped into something bad. Except I don't lose rings, I lose candy!