Project Kona

Over a month ago, my husband got us those tickets to Hawaii using his frequent flyer miles. In return, I told him I was going to tone up and lose some weight. Nine pounds in 30 days was my goal. I called it Project Kona.

I decided to use the South Beach diet, since it had worked well with me before. Plus, it allows me to eat stuff I like and not feel like I'm depriving myself so much. I looked at this as a no-holds barred, all out war and equipped myself with any weapon possible. I shopped for my South Beach Phase I approved foods, downloaded a weight loss hypnosis tape from iTunes and set myself up on a free Health Tracker on Prevention.com. I also continued to run about 11 miles a week.

Tomorrow we take off to Kona, and no, I didn't reach my goal. I'm short by two pounds. After 30 days, I lost 7 pounds. But you know what, I'm not bummed about that. How could I be disappointed?! I'm actually so proud of myself that I committed to lose weight and I did it. I've been trying to lose at least 5 lbs for the past two years, but I only ended up gaining three. I can't believe after two years, all I really needed was a little motivation, a lot of commitment and 30 days.

So, Project Kona is a success! Aloha Hawai'i! Can't wait to see you!

Spontaneous Generation is alive

Yep, I swear those little flying bugs weren't there on my run yesterday. But this morning, bright and early, on the same exact trail, I ran into swarms of them.

It was only 79 degrees at 6:30 this morning, but with 60% humidity I was drenched. During the run, I looked down and found I had spots of little black flies that had died a merciless death on my sweaty skin. I think I probably swallowed one or two that might have flew in my mouth, too. Yuck! Oh well, it's all protein, right? So I haven't violated my South Beach diet.

The Running Anthem

You are in a relationship with running...
a love hate relationship.
Running kicks you out of a warm cozy bed
And into a cold hard world.
Running calls you at all hours of the night.
Running gets you up at the crack of dawn
And keeps you at practice
Long after play has left the building.

Everyday with running is a question of your commitment
that running's not afraid to ask.
Yes, my friend it is a complex and torrid affair.
It is a constant balance.
A balance between joy and pain
work and play.
A balance between
Love and hate.


-- from New Balance

Scottsdale Haters

No, I'm not a native, but I've seen my share of the "Dirty Scottsdale" that is portrayed in different media - the $30K millionaires and the cougars hopped up on restylane.



My friend was at a cougar hang out, Ely's, chatting with some older ladies when one of them talked about how she loves that she never gets mosquito bites in Arizona. He answered, nonchalantly, "Well, that's because they're allergic to botox." Ahh, I don't know why he didn't get slapped right there.

Really, you do see your shares of DBs in the club scene and it does get crazy out there. But c'mon, is it Scottsdale's fault? Half the people going to those clubs aren't even from Scottsdale.

Anyway, so what if people have a little more money out here?! So what if the way you can tell the difference between the student and teacher parking lot at the high school is by the number of Hummers, Beamers and Mercedes in the lot. We're not all like that. We have the same problems like everyone else in the valley. Like the traffic to drop of my kids at the elementary school. I still have to line up in that long trail of Range Rovers and wait...and wait...and wait...and I keep waiting, but that damn valet never comes.

We're not all raising "Scottsdale Brats" out here either. My kids work hard for their stuff. If they want an ipod or an x-box, they use their own hard earned money.

This article asks "Why does Scottsdale Hate Itself?"

My answer, it doesn't. I love it out here. It's beautiful. It's laid back. It's safe. My neighbors are friendly. The schools are great. Even our freakin' new library is awesome! (How geeky am I? But really, it's awesome.) I think the real Scottsdale haters are the people who probably aren't from Scottsdale anyway and buy into the Scottsdale stereotype.

So, go ahead, listen to the Scottsdale stereotypes. I laugh at them, too. But that's just what it is, a stereotype. I know what type of "Scottsdale Mom" I am, and it's not the stereotype, nor are all the other "Scottsdale Mom's" I've come to know.

I gotta get going. My nanny has to leave and I've still got to call "Waiters on Wheels" for dinner before I head out to my friends Wine, Cheese, and Botox party.

City slogans need an update

How often do cities update their slogans? Maybe they can no longer afford the marketing dollars for people to come up with campaigns like, "San Diego: 365 Days of Ahhhhhhh!" But really, I'm sure you cities can come up with something as good as Colma's, a town where the dead outnumber the living, "It's Good to be Alive in Colma".

read more | digg story

Run, Lola, Run

Not only a great movie, but also my Nike plus screen name. Funny, that Lola means "grandma" in filipino. I sometimes feel like one when I get up in the morning, drag myself out of bed, try to put my shoes on the right foot and stumble out of the house before the sun rises. Today, I felt exceptionally Lola-ish because my lower back has been bugging me for the past few weeks. 90 minutes of yoga yesterday didn't seem to help. In fact, all that stretching made me so sore this morning.

This morning, my ritual got me out there at 5:30 AM. It's insane, but it's either that or don't run at all. The temperature is already 86 degrees out side, and that's BEFORE the sun is up. As soon as Mr. Sunshine is over the McDowell's, you're toast(ing). Today we should hit 105 again. I have no other option. I either run or do some exercise video at home. I prefer the former. In order to cut corners, we've had to forgo our gym membership. Believe me, I'm still mourning that loss. But at least it's not as bad as these kids in this story: Angry Kids Protest Gas Prices After Losing Cable TV

Their signs said "All of my mom's monny goes to the gas tank!" and "Honk to Lower Gas Prices! My mom had to cut cabel" Nice comment by Eddypotrero..."Now they are going to be forced to read. learn to spell and probably exercise. They won't become fat, ignorant and a burden to tax payers, bring on $7 a gallon, looking better by the moment."

Anyway, now I'm just rambling. But guess what! This month, I've rambled enough to reach goal! Yay!

I'm actually at 42 miles now, with 5 more days left in the month. As long as it's still under 90 degrees at dawn and I can still drag myself out of bed at 5 AM , regardless of feeling like a Lola, I'm gonna still run. Run, Lola, Run.

US Air is forgiven

We have 55,000 US Air miles expiring in the next month and need to book some travel before it expires. Really, where does 55K get you on US Air nowadays, with so many black out dates? Sure enough, first thing this morning just for sh*ts and giggles we checked out flights to Hawaii, and you know what? There were only a couple dates available in July and August, but it works out for us!! So Aloha, Kona and Maui!