if i win the lottery :: snowflakes

formfireglassworks

Not a single snowflake sighting in the DC metro area,
but one can always hope!

It's a good thing none of these are real,
because then I'd just be left with a puddle of water!

sugarcookiecouture



beads2nuts

Yobittles

lilysattic



bubbletub



ButtonBliss

coming clean :: day fifteen :: two

Workout: evening @ outdoor jog (approx. 2 miles)

How is it possible to be over-dressed in sub-zero temps?


Coming Clean:

face: 'Complexion Zen' Soap by Bunny Butt Apothecary

hair: Wild Strawberry Fields Salty Dawg Creme Shampoo & Intense Hair Conditioner by GudonyaToo

I was going to hold off using any homemade shampoo & conditioner until the new year, but apparently, I was having a strawberry-kind-of-day! It was my first time using a salt-based shampoo. It comes out of the tub gritty (like a body scrub), but as soon as you add water, it lathers beautifully!

The conditioner worked surprisingly well. Surprising in the sense that I am always skeptical about conditioners. But this left my hair silky-smooth. And it smells fantastic!

body: Guilt Free Strawberry Cheesecake Soap by mybirch

How can one resist guilt-free strawberry cheesecake soap?!!


Naughty Points: ZERO!!

There was no need to partake in any Naughty Points tonight; I just fell asleep to Willie Wonka and dreamt of prancing in strawberry fields :: hee-hee ::

coming clean :: day fifteen :: one

Workout: lunch @ gym (1.5 mile jog, 3.6 mile bike)

To avoid running outside in sub-zero temps, I was hoping to get a good treadmill session in. I felt like crap, though, so I did a bit of stationary bike instead.


Coming Clean:
face: pink clay complexion soap by Country Heart Gifts


Naughty Points: ZERO!

But it hasn't been easy... People keep delivering holiday yummies to my desk!

coming clean :: week two

My target weight loss is 20 ~ 25 lbs. (approx. 9 ~ 11 kgs.) by May 2009. But à la "The Biggest Loser", instead of going by overall weight lost, I'll be posting it as percentage of body weight lost. The results are... :: drum roll please ::

target % weight loss : 13.16% ~ 16.45%
week one % weight loss: 2.30%
week two % weight loss: 0%
total % weight loss: 2.30%

I'm not gonna get hung up on this. I've been exercising regularly. But I can definitely cut down on Naughty Points!

flavor of the day :: Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson

Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson - Winter Song

Mull over a cuppa!

coming clean :: day fourteen

Workout: evening @ pool (approx. 3,200 SCM)

My once-a-week group workout. Supposedly, this was a "Happy Holidays!" workout. Our main set was 6 x 300. Need I say more?!! Okay, to be fair, this was about 500 SCM less than what we normally do.


Coming Clean:

face: 'Complexion Zen' Vegan Clarifying Charcoal Soap with Tea Tree Oil by Bunny Butt Apothecary

body: Christmas 2008 Limited Edition Gingerbread soap by Spotted Cow Soaps

I'm so excited to try a new facial soap! As if their cute store name wasn't enough, Bunny Butt Apothecary sold me with "As a finishing touch, we spruced it up with a decorative white stripe down the middle - think of it as soap in a tux."

You can use this soap with their other 'Complexion Zen' line products -- facial cream & body butter!


Naughty Points: 4 homemade sugar cookies

They were a gift! And so buttery good! There are still four left... probably not for long...

coming clean :: day thirteen :: two

Workout: evening @ pool (2,900 SCM)

I wasn't planning on exercising again, but felt guilty after downing a cupcake @ Baked & Wired. (see explanation in Naughty Points below)


Coming Clean:

face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works

body: Vegan Fruitcake Soap by Savannah Soap Kitchen

I included this soap in "If I Won the Lottery :: Fruitcake" and had to give it a whirl. I bet fruitcake would be a lot more popular if it smelled this good!


Naughty Points: 1 + 1 = 2

I was so proud of myself for only getting an unsalted pretzel at the Hoyas vs. Mt. St. Mary's b-ball game, but alas... Making a trip to Baked & Wired would prove that I wasn't so strong after all. Please note that I was there to buy gifts for others! I had a second cupcake while delivering the cupcakes after my swim -- oops.

coming clean :: day thirteen :: one

Workouts: morning @ outdoor jog & plyo

Surprise, surprise -- I didn't make it to the running group! But I jogged a little on my own before plyo. Mapmyworkout.com was just as sleepy as I was. It was much too cold to be standing there and waiting for it to find my location, so I gave up and jogged without it.


Coming Clean:

face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works

body: Goat's Milk Gardener's Soap with Cranberry and Strawberry Seeds by KBShimmer

Isn't this a fun, colorful gardener's soap?

KBShimmer's Etsy store is full of beautiful & unique soaps. I have a few of them waiting in the wings, and can't wait to share them with y'all!

Naughty Points: ZERO!

Unfortunately, this would change as the day went on...

if i win the lottery :: bacon & eggs

AlienBacon

This IIWtL has been inspired by the results of my most recent bloodwork. As with my previous installation on fruitcake, none of these bacon & eggs are the real thing. In other words, they're all cholesterol-free!

sunbasilgarden



magicbeanbuyer



inhope



mermaidglass



Concertina3



tiffanybeanefineart



FiercePixy

coming clean :: day twelve

Workout: evening @ outdoor jog (approx. 3 miles)

Mapmyworkout.com worked a lot better this time. Not sure why, as was running the exact same route as before. It threw me off-course once, but that was about it. And the nice lady even told me my time and pace every half a mile. Now, if only I could get her to hand me some water...!

In retrospect, I really should've gone swimming tonight. I forgot that my plyo instructor invited us to join his running group an hour before our class tomorrow. Eek! It's going to add up to be a lot of mileage for a non-runner like me :P


Coming Clean:

face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works

body: Snow Cat by Savor

I chose this soap because I'm jealous that we seem to be the only place in the world that didn't get snow this week!


Naughty Points: ZERO!

coming clean :: and the winner is...

Oh, we have a tie! What do we have for the winners, (borderline) Anemia and (you better watch it!) Cholesterol? How does an eight-week 1,200 calories/day diet sound at the most wonderful time of the year?!!

Thanks a lot, bloodwork results! Better get crackin'. It's going to be a rough eight weeks... :: weeps ::

flavor of the day :: Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Mull over a cuppa!

coming clean :: day eleven

Workout:
intended: evening @ gym
actual: evening of vegging

I had had an early morning AND had to get up early again!

Coming Clean:
face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works
body: Christmas 2008 Limited Edition Gingerbread soap by Spotted Cow Soaps

This seasonal scent was included with my order, and I couldn't resist after yesterday's feasting! It is available in bar soap & whipped sugar scrub (pictured). Scrumptious!

Naughty Points: 8 sugar cookie dough squares

coming clean :: day ten

Workout: evening @ pool (3,600 SCY)

The pool was deserted. Was everyone at home watching "A Muppets Christmas"? It obviously slipped my mind... :: boo ::


Coming Clean:
face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works
body: Java Jolt by InseineCreations

After yesterday's post-workout success, I wanted to see how well this soap would hold up after I had been pickling in chlorine for an hour. Survey says, "Yah!"


Naughty Points:

1 gingerbread cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake

1 lemon blossom cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake

Oh puleez, like I'm the only one who couldn't resist that cute little gingerfella?

coming clean :: day nine

Workout: lunch @ gym

I really didn't even want to be there, but I was gearing up for a night of... well, read on.

Coming Clean:

face: clean cotton-scented charcoal soap by aBreathofFrenchAir

body: Java Jolt by InseineCreations

Espresso soap, you say? Yes! With the natural scents of coffee and cocoa butter, InseineCreations didn't have to add any fragrance to this soap.

It's been recommended to be used around the kitchen / after gardening / tinkering with autos, but I'm adding post-workout to the list. The lather is ah-may-zing!

Naughty Points: 1 red velvet cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake

We're going to disregard the 17 wings I had for dinner, okay?

coming clean :: cherry blossom 10 miler

I got in! Last year, online registration filled up in four hours or something ridiculous like that. So grab a cuppa (you're gonna need it; it took almost half an hour to register successfully) and log on to the official Cherry Blossom 10 Miler website. It's a scenic course at one of the most beautiful times of the year.

I've already gotten a head-start, but my training program officially begins on 26 Jan 2009. I'm gonna stick to the plan this year. :: pinky promise ::

coming clean :: day eight

Workout: evening @ outdoor jog (approx. 2.75 miles)

I tried to use mapmyworkout.com, but it was giving me all sorts of crazy stats. First it was telling me I was running 2 miles an hour. Um, okay... So I started over, and then the GPS tracked 3.5 miles at a 6:00/mile pace. Don't I wish! I'll have to give it another go, though, because the application does look promising.

Coming Clean:

face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works

body: raspberry exfoliating soap by The Soap Buffet


This just arrived today, and I dug right in. I really liked the subtle raspberry yogurty scent, and the raspberry seeds were a nice touch. "Fruit at bottom!"

The Soap Buffet offers the raspberry exfoliating soap in bars and cute mini muffin-shaped sample sizes!


Naughty Points: ZERO!!

If only I had enough energy left to raid the fridge...!

coming clean :: week one

My target weight loss is 20 ~ 25 lbs. by May 2009. But à la "The Biggest Loser", instead of going by overall weight lost, I'll be posting it as percentage of body weight lost. The results are... :: drum roll please ::

target % weight loss : 13.16% ~ 16.45%

week one % weight loss: 2.30%

total % weight loss: 2.30%

Somehow that doesn't seem right. But let's go with it for now.

UPDATE @ 13:29: I found these very helpful spreadsheets in a thread in the TBL forums. It's EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thanks, LIBMRPIGS!

I linked the above spreadsheets with my 'coming clean' spreadsheet, and my calculations were correct! :: happy dance ::

coming clean :: day seven

Workout: evening @ pool (at least 3,800 SCM)

It was my first organized swim practice since before Halloween. Soooo not cool to start off the workout with 4 x 400!


Coming Clean:
face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works
body: clean cotton-scented charcoal soap by aBreathofFrenchAir

This soap smells AMAZING! I wonder if fresh-out-the-dryer towels feel as happy as I did...?

For a limited time only, aBreathofFrenchAir is offering these darling Naughty or Nice Charcoal Soap Cubes.

Naughty Points: 1 Cà phê sữa đá
I didn't take Vietnamese classes for 'nuthin!

it's really not *that* hard to say goodbye

I recently had to bid adieu to my beloved Clementine. As I was looking for her replacement, I also considered my 4+ year phone... and how convenient it would be to carry around one less thing... and you know exactly where this is going!

Welcome, Olivier! Finding a permanent home for him was more difficult than I thought it'd be. I got this über cute polar bear pouch by dickespaulinchen. Olivier fit snugly, but there was no room for his accessories (earbuds, metro card, timetables, etc.).

So the search continued. On Cyber Monday, I found out that two pouches (both by stelabird) in my Etsy favorites were on sale. :: happy dance :: I wanted to keep the same mushroom theme, but couldn't resist the cute woodgrain fabric. So I got both!

Can I just say that stelabird is a total sweetie! I inquired about her owl snugglies, and she made me an owl magnet with the mushroom fabric to hold me over until I custom-ordered one. Thanks, stelabird!

coming clean :: day six

Workout: morning @ gym

Getting through an entire hour of plyo after a double was ROUGH! No more crazy, last-minute Friday PM workouts!


Coming Clean:
face: tea tree soap by Two Strands Soap Works
body: pink clay complexion soap by Country Heart Gifts

I had no energy to pick out one of my newly-acquired soaps :P


Naughty Points: 1 frosted sugar cookie + 8 sugar cookie dough squares

I should probably give myself 16 naughty points for eating that much raw cookie dough!

coming clean :: day five (cont'd)

I'm not sure what got into me...

Workout: evening @ pool
(2,700 SCY - the pool was closing!)

Coming Clean:
face: Tea Tree by Two Strands Soap Works

body: Tropicalia by Long Winter Farm

Naughty Points: ZERO!!

if i win the lottery :: fruitcake

It's that time of year! And, believe it or not, none of these are the real thing!

Cara Mia Cakes

Isabell's Umbrella

Savannah Soap Kitchen

FLYoung Studio

coming clean :: day five

Workout: lunch @ gym

Coming Clean:
face: Neutrogena Deep Clean® Invigorating Foaming Scrub

Naughty Points: 0
(as of 15:00 and subject to change)

Source

UPDATE @ 21:56: I need to add my evening workout to this entry. In case you were wondering, I am still at zero naughty points -- yah!

flavor of the day :: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin - A Song for Sorry Angel

Mull over a cuppa!

coming clean :: day four

Four days in, and I'm already behind!

Workout:
intended: evening @ gym
actual: evening of vegging
excuse: I had an early morning!

I assure you, this is going to be the first of many. Excuses, that is.


Coming Clean:

face: Rhubarb Al Fresco by RachelRene

It was included as a freebie, but my golly ~ a yummy one at that! (Stay tuned; I'm planning on doing a proper write-up on RachelRene's soaps. They smell divine!)

Naughty Points: 4 - Hanukkah sugar cookies from Marvelous Market

They sure were maaahhhvelous!

if i win the lottery :: honeysuckle

Creating Etsy treasuries seem like a lot of fun. But you have to be at your computer at the right moment, and that moment always seems to pass me by. So here are my own, a series I'm calling "If I Win the Lottery". I'd happily rename it if there are any Etsy sugahpeeps (equal opportunity!) out there :: hee ::

ModernClassicsPaper

The first IIWtL showcased two pieces from StudioÉLAN. This one is based on a theme -- honeysuckle. I may not be a girly-girl, but I can appreciate pretty flowers!

pumpkinsputnik

YouStinkSoap

ElementLux

sherrisscentsandsoys

coming clean :: day three

Workout: evening @ pool (3,500 SCY)

Coming Clean:

body: Apple Mint by MyBirch
face: Tea Tree by Two Strands Soap Works

Naughty Points:
1 - strawberry cupcake from Baked & Wired

flavor of the day :: Boyz II Men

Boyz II Men - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

Mull over a cuppa!

it's so hard to say goodbye

I'm not gonna lie and say that I'm moping over the fact that my 4+ year old iPod, Clementine, is on its last leg. Sure, I am going to miss her and her 9,269 tunes. But that's about it. She is big and bulky and crashes for no apparent reason, oftentimes right in the middle of a good tune!

But this is a post to honor Clementine for an overall job well done. R.I.P. Clementine. This next FotD's for you!

coming clean :: day two

Workout:
intended: evening @ pool
actual: dinner with friends
The drunken noodles were delish!

Coming Clean:
face: Earl Grey Tea w Lemon Peel
Savor

Naughty Points:
1 - taro bubble tea during "workout"

if i win the lottery :: StudioÉLAN

...these two wheel-thrown beauties from StudioÉLAN are on "the list"!

Snowflake Platter in Evening Storm

Apple Bowl - Large

eye candy :: Coconut Mini Cupcake Bath Bombs

Wait, what? They aren't edible?!! Unfortunately not. But thanks to Sweet Tush Yummy Bath Treats, you can indulge in the tub... calorie-free!

coming clean :: day one

Workout: evening @ gym

Coming Clean:

face:
tea tree soap
Two Strands Soap Works

body:
pink clay complexion soap
Country Heart Gifts

Naughty Points: 3 (is rather unfair because these were "bite-sized" Pumpkin Spice Sure is Nice / Itty Bitty Bites!)

coming clean :: intro

I've been avoiding getting my yearly physical (usually done in February), but due to certain circumstances, got talked into getting one... TOMORROW! I have to stop eating in 1:23 for my 12 hour fast. :: waah ::

Source

I already know the results aren't going to be good. So, before my doc tells me that I need to cut down on cupcakes and exercise more, I am starting a new, two-part online project called "Coming Clean". It will not only chronologize (chronicle + analyze) my weight, naughty points and workouts, but will also include my post-workout "coming clean" where I share my love of handmade face & body products with y'all. It's a win-win situation!

I know it's a little early for New Year's Resolutions, but since I'm already here... I'd like to:

(a) In April, run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in around 1:30. I plan to use Hal Higdon's 15k Training Guide for Novice Runners as a guide.

(b) In May, get down to 130-135 lbs. It works out to an average of 4-5 lbs. a month. You do the math :)

That's it for now. Oh, now we're down to 1:05 until the fast begins...

flavor of the day :: Metric

Metric - The Police and the Private

Mull over a cuppa!

is this what you're looking for? :: 8 ~ 12 Dec 2008

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flavor of the day :: Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers - Such a Way

Mull over a cuppa!