Let the Games Begin

It’s been a long week for me. Not quite sure how that works out considering I only worked 3 days of it. Those three days felt like long torture ridden days. But like every other week, Friday comes and today had an added bonus because it was pay day and the day Hunger Games comes out. Yes I read the books five three times and I read the first one in less than 24 hours about a year ago. I’m sad I know but I embrace it. I’ve been waiting for this movie forEVER. It’s finally here and I have tickets to see it Sunday with friends. I may or may not be dragging Darren to see it tonight with me and it’s already decided I’m seeing it with my mom in the next two weeks. Is three times in the theater too much? I think not.I LOVED the books, the story, and the characters. The movie looks to be great – not a disastrous, terribly cast, mess like Twilight another popular series I enjoyed reading. So wish me luck as I take to the crowds and squealing girls for not one but three times seeing this movie. If we’re being real I’ll probably squeal, cry and see it more times than three. Not ashamed.

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Onto my Five for Friday. Here are 5 things I’m currently obsessed with.

1. Europe – I’ve never been and am in the midst of finalizing all the details of my trip in September to Ireland and Italy. SO EXCITED! I’ve been making lists and checking them 100 times and hoping my excitement will make September come faster.
2. Chevron pattern – I don’t know why but after seeing it a few weeks ago I want to decorate my entire house in it. Literally if they had chevron patterned carpet I’d probably want it. Is that weird? Probably but I’m OK with it.
   

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3. Hunger games – DUH. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the 5 million articles about the movie since it did come out TODAY. I think i’ve read every article posted about Hunger Games. I can’t confirm that I may have read some twice.
4. Bad Girl Lash mascara – I’m always looking for new make up but hate paying full price to find that I hate something. Lucky for me I’m a part of House Party and they picked me to do a party for Benefit make up. They sent me an absolutely AMAZING box of goodies to give to my friends to try at the party I’m throwing Sunday. This mascara is AMAZING so far. Once the sample is gone will I shell out 20 bucks for the real deal? It will be painful but I just might do it.
   

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5. Cadbury Dark Chocolate Mini Eggs – These mini eggs are the devil that somehow finds it way into my life every year around this time. Usually the regular ones I can somewhat resist probably only because after a few they make my tummy hurt. But hot damn they have dark chocolate ones and Darren’s mom gave me a bag. Holy cow they are delicious and not even the slightest bit healthy for me. Good thing I started working out again.

That’s all for Five for Friday this week. I’m off to go read more articles and reviews of the Hunger Games. I’m obsessed – I know. Have a fantastic weekend everyone and check in tomorrow for my Chicken Adobo recipe. It turned out so well and was way easier than I remembered.

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Ravioli Workout

So you know when I said yesterday I was going to kick my butt back into shape. I never imagined It would feel like I really got kicked in the butt. I did some cardio and then some strength training. Holy cow my legs act like they have never done squats or lunges before. What’s up with that? Due to my hitting the snooze button mixed with no desire to trudge to the gym at 5:30 am I skipped morning boot camp and have opted to move my run to today. It’s supposed to rain Saturday when I had it planned so this is the perfect opportunity to get it out of the way and see how awful I do.

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This was me this morning.

I’m not sure if I mentioned that I LOVE Vampire Diaries but I do. Most Thursday’s I spend it on the couch with my friend Elisabeth after a few week break we will be commencing our dinner and a show dates. Good thing because I have about half a dozen cupcakes left over that have her name on them because I want them out of the house. Hope you’re bringing your appetite my friend.

A traditional Filipino dish is on the menu tonight. Not sure I mentioned I’m a quarter Filipino so clearly that makes me a culinary expert in Filipino food. Not really but a simple search for the recipe will make me a 5 star chef. Right? My mom has tried to ‘share’ the recipe with me but she’s like pour some of this and pour some of that and see if it tastes or smells right. With dishes I make all the time I can employ that method but with things like this that’s like speaking another language to me. The language of the experiment that could end very badly for Jillian. So in me fashion I’ve employed my superior Google abilities and found an easy recipe that even I don’t think I could screw up. Maybe next time I’ll get more fancy and try my mom’s method but since I’m feeding someone other than Darren I like to play it safe. I don’t want to kill the few friends I have. 😉

 

But before I skip ahead to the deliciousness you will feast your eyes on tomorrow.  I made crunchy baked raviolis last night loosely based off this recipe. I would share how I did mine but I didn’t measure anything and kind of haphazardly threw things together. It was good – but lets be real Jessica’s looked better, probably tasted better and she actually has measurements and such. You go girl! I’m no where near that organized most nights. Many times I simply look in the kitchen to see what I have and throw things together and do a dance hoping it turns out edible.

I do promise to step up my cooking game and share some recipe creations I make. I can cook and enjoy it but haven’t had the time, energy or desire to get creative or document it lately. I’ll get there.

 

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Butt Kickin Snow Time

After a long baking session a vacation was much needed. OK not really but I did take a nice and way too short vacation. Darren’s birthday was yesterday so on Sunday-Tuesday we joined his family in Tahoe for snow, relaxation and a little gambling. I thought the lucky 14 dollars I found in a parking lot a few days ago would win me millions – it in fact did not. I lost it all in a few short minutes. Lame. However, I did try my first game of Blackjack. I was up $10 but in true gambling fashion I got greedy and tried to make more. Can anyone guess what happened?

 

While our trip was short it was still nice to get away, play in some snow, eat cupcakes and enjoy a few glasses of wine in good company. However – I need to get my butt in gear. As you can imagine working out has been one of the last things on my mind as of late. I have gone a few weeks with minimal not so great workouts mixed with some not so great food choices and being thrown off my normal day to day schedule. I can tell I feel lethargic and exhausted which could be a combination of dealing with things as well as food and exercise choices. So it’s time I kick my own butt and get back into gear.

So in order to get myself back into gear I planned a workout schedule for the rest of this week and am making myself stick to them unless I physically can’t move. I’m going to give myself a break for a few days of running and ramp up the cardio and weights. I tried a few runs the past few days and have been disappointed. So a few days off may rejuvenate me. Here is what I have planned.

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Wednesday – Cardio and Strength 60+ minutes (combined)

Thursday – AM Boot camp 60 minutes

Friday – Spin 60 Minutes

Saturday – Run 60 minutes + Bike Ride 60 minutes + (leisurely with Darren)

Sunday – Cardio and Strength 60+ minutes (combined)

Monday – Evening Boot camp 60 Minutes

Tuesday – Off

Wish me luck and if you don’t see me posting about what I’ve been up to in the workout department I give you permission to send me nasty comments and/or kick me if you see me around town. I’m off to finish up some work then head to the gym for my evening Cardio and Strength workout. Also stay tuned this week for some tasty recipes I’ve been hoarding

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Drowning in Cupcakes

Sheesh this is  a late post but I was a crazy baker, movie watcher and a terrible runner today. All in a days work folks.

I attempted to go for a run this morning after almost a week break. I don’t usually take breaks but considering the past few weeks I took time to deal with other things and focus on those rather than run. In all honesty running probably would have been good for me to allow me to clear my head, etc. But finding the motivation has been my problem.

This morning run did not help my confidence or motivation. Holy cow the elevation change between at home in San Francisco and at my mom’s in Redding practically killed me. My lungs burned and it took every ounce of me not to turn around after a quarter or a mile. I pushed through and finished 2 miles with a lot of walk breaks. Not normal for me or very motivating but I did it and plan to go back out tomorrow. There are always good workout days and bad days.

So I decided to put the bad run behind me and go see a movie with my mom. We saw This Means War with Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and the other guy whose name I don’t recall. It was OK – nothing earth shattering. I laughed and cursed Reese for the hot boys throwing themselves at her. She has all the luck.

After venturing back to my mom’s house I began the real work. I started baking. Tuesday is Darren’s (my boyfriend) birthday. We’re heading to Tahoe tomorrow with his family till Tuesday and I wanted to make him a cake but couldn’t decide on one. So when my indecisiveness comes into play I make the executive decision to do them all.

I should probably win for world’s best girlfriend for making 4 dozen cupcakes in 3 flavors he loves. I made Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies and Creme and a Red Velvet for everyone to enjoy. I haven’t tried them all but can attest the peanut butter cup one is DELISH. I would share the recipes but am embarrassed by how I totally didn’t make my healthy substitutions. Some times you just have to go with the recipes especially when it’s a celebration.

 

This was my first attempt at trying to decorate them fancy. They make it look SO much easier on baking shows. It is so not as easy as I was anticipating and these are not the beautiful cupcakes you see at fancy schmancy cupcake shops. It’s the thought that counts – right? I didn’t get any pictures of the red velvet ones but they have little honey teddy grahams on the top.

I’m off to finish up some laundry and pack for Tahoe. Enjoy some more pictures of cupcakes and please don’t attempt to make 4 dozen at a time – it’s not an easy feat. Not sure I’ll be doing this again. I should stick to cakes. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

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First Friday Five

Yesterdays post is still so new and raw I didn’t want to gloss over it – however I don’t want to dwell on it each and every post. I didn’t post it for attention or sympathy or anything of that nature. I posted it because this blog is about me and my life and the events that unfolded in the past 13 days are very much a part of my life – in a big way. I have no doubt that they will continue to be a struggle each day. I don’t know if the pain will ever go away or if I’ll simply learn to deal with it. So while you may see mentions of it  I will try to steer clear of another heavy post about my father’s passing for the time being. Who knows how I’ll feel a few months or years from now. But for now I will take each day as it comes and grieve in my own way –  privately.

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So in hopes of a much lighter  post today. I wanted to start a Friday tradition on the blog. Five for Friday. Each Friday I will post five things I like, dislike, facts, and a myriad of other things. Pretty much it gives me an excuse to list or show five things of my choosing. 5 if my favorite number and it just so happens it starts with an F just like Friday. I think the stars aligned on that one, haha. I kid, I kid. This Friday I decided to do five shows I’m loving now.This does not include my favorites of all time (ahem – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.) but only current ones. Maybe I’ll do my favorite of all time at a later date.

Are these genius works of television? I would guess not. Are they mind bogglingly critically acclaimed pieces of art? I highly doubt it. I never said I had fantastic taste in things but hey it’s my taste and I enjoy it. I may or may not be a teenage girl trapped in a 27 year old body. So without further ado here are my five favorite shows.

The Walking Dead

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I’m obsessed. Me, Darren and our friend Ryan usually have viewing parties and dinner every Sunday to watch this. I just wish they would leave that damn farm already. I’m getting bored – I want some more zombies. A great show that throws us for crazy loops all the time. They are definitely not afraid to leave you hanging or off cast members.

Vampire Diaries

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One of my guilty pleasures. I read the books (which were AWFUL) and gave the show a chance. The show is MUCH better than the books – it’s hard to believe they can even go by the same name. Another show not afraid to take crazy twists and turn. Plus it probably helps that Ian Somerholder plays sexy the epitome of bad boy Damon Salvatore so well. Those beautiful blues win me over every time even if he just ate your grandma.

Dexter

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Do you see a theme? I like crazy, pretty unrealistic, dark shows? Dexter is seriously one of the best shows I’ve seen. Is it weird I love a serial killer? Probably but I don’t care. This show is interesting and gripping. Good thing we invested in the movie channels so I can get my fill every summer.

True Blood

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Another vampire show – I do love me some vampires, especially when they look like Alexander Skaarsgard as Eric Northman. Mmmmm. I read these books and really enjoyed them and have to admit the show is turning out to be better than the books. I like that they are expanding story lines, creating new ones and that I don’t know what happens every week. Again – the sexy cast is quite the eye candy bonus.

Sons of Anarchy

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This gritty portrayal of a motorcycle club is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. Fantastic acting, gripping and interesting stories make this a must watch. I’m sad that people like Katy Segal don’t get more recognition for their superb acting. She literally is one of the best characters I’ve seen portrayed on TV and is so realistic.

Stay tuned this weekend for some snow in Tahoe with Darren’s family, lots of cupcakes baking for Darren’s birthday and some quality time with my mom. I’m off to enjoy another cup of coffee before getting down to some work. Isn’t working from home so exciting? Cheers.

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