The Most Depressing Book I've Ever Read

I'm always one to finish what I've started. My husband recently brought home two books from an author that spoke at one of his work events. The author was Jeannette Walls. The two books are "The Glass Castle" and "Half Broke Horses." I wasn't sure what to read first since "The Glass Castle" was actually written first, but "Half Broke Horses" took place prior to "The Glass Cactus" according to the time periods.

I really enjoyed reading "Half Broke Horses," as it was adventurous and different from something that I might normally chose to read. This book is a novel that's about Lily, Jeannette Walls' grandmother, and tells her story as handed down through the years. About the main character: "Lily is a spirited heroine, fiercely outspoken against hypocrisy and prejudice, a rodeo rider and fearless breaker of horses, and a ruthless poker player. Assailed by flash floods, tornados and droughts, Lily never gets far from hardscrabble drudgery in several states—New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois—but hers is one of those heartwarming stories about indomitable women that will always find an audience."

"The Glass Castle" is a New York Times Best Seller, so my expectations were a little high. Although reality can be wicked, and people can make the best of really horrible times within their lives, I was very disappointed with this book. It is a real eye-opener to how bad some people have it in this thing called life. I found myself hoping to find just one good thing that would happen to this girl, and it just never really happened. So it was VERY depressing. I'm glad that Jeannette is obviously doing well for herself despite the circumstances of her upbringing, but reading that book was literally painful. Honestly, I felt worse after reading it.

What's the worst book you've ever read?

Please let me know so that I can avoid it.

60 Degrees???

I made it to Cali! Landed in San Jose, staying in Cupertino and ate dinner in Saratoga. I went from a 104 degrees in Dallas to 60 degrees in Cali. How crazy is that? It's like a shock to the body, but in a good way! I never thought that San Jose/Silicon Valley would be so pretty, but it really is! The weather, the trees, the mountains, the price of housing... Oops, forget the last comment. It's gorgeous to visit, but just couldn't bring myself to pay 5 times more $$$ for the cost of living.

Dinner: The Basin in Saratoga, CA. For starts, Saratoga is SO cute! I loved it!!! It's a very quaint town with only 30,000 people. To learn more about Saratoga, click here. The Basin is a Spanish inspired, organic, no hormone restaurant with gluten free options. It was really yummy, local produce, fish and meat. I typically don't drink wine, I'm more of a sangria/martini/margarita kind of girl, but they served an awesome Spanish wine that I actually enjoyed. I had a stuffed heirloom tomato as an appetizer, and seared ahi tuna with pistachio basmati rice and arugula salad- Awesome stuff! And very fresh!

Tomorrow I'm taking my customers to our first Apple EBC and am so EXCITED!!! I'm wearing this top:

It wasn't the best deal, but professional.

$24.99 @Charlotte Russe

With a Jacket similar to this, but that I got for $21 at a store called Image.

This one is from Charlotte Russe.

 I have black slacks and will pair it with these shoes (Yep, I decided!)

Have you ever been to or even heard of Saratoga, CA?



California Here I Come!

I'm taking my customers out to San Jose/Cupertino for a briefing today and tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked about it. Praying for divine favor for sure! This trip gave me the perfect excuse to shop for new work clothes :) I try and find any reason to shop. I just love it so much!!!

Here's the outfit that I will wear on the plane and throughout the day tomorrow:

$18.90 @Forever21 (navy/peach)

Navy slacks that I got on sale @Target for $17.48

Tan, skinny belt. $3.80 @Forever21

Necklance. $7.80 @Forever21

Gold Flower Earrings. $1.50 @Forever21

Gold Flower Ring. $3.80 @Forever21

I got Jessica Simpson heels that look similar to these,
but I have them in slingbacks and got them @Ross for $22.99

Happy Monday!!!

What the Plank is Owling???

Am I so far behind times that this is completely insane to me??? Have you heard of this Planking or Owling nonsense? If you're like me, I hadn't either until a friend of mine posted "what is owl-ing?" on Facebook the other day, and I googled it. Then my husband, in all of his resourcefulness was like, "haven't you heard of planking?" No BFlo! He's the one that I should be able to count on to keep me up to date, and he's failed me!

According to Wikipedia....

Planking (fad)

Not to be confused with Plank (exercise).

The lying down game or planking is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking is described as the practice of lying down flat with arms to the side, to mimic a wooden plank. Many participants of planking since 2011 have photographed the activity on unusual locations such as atop poles, roofs and vehicles, while some "plankers" engage in the activity by planking only their upper body and feet while leaving the back suspended.

 I have found pictures from CBS Sports to help you understand:

(Source)

Owling

Owling is a variation on planking in which a person squats "like an owl". It was first documented on 11 July 2011 in a post on the social news website reddit.

My Gimnasio Amigo that's so freaking awesome to Owl for me!

Who has time to think to do this, yet let alone do it??? Where did my education fail me? I should've left after kindergarten! Heck, even babies know how to plank! They do it all day!

Because all of this is just so ridiculous that I can't stop laughing at it, I found you a video of yet the newest innovation-

WalMart Tops and Boat Surfing

I think I've managed to stay away from WalMart for at least a month by now, which makes me happy :) It's such a madhouse in there, and always provides me of yet another reason why I need to thank God for creating the person that created birth control!!! However, I did find a couple of cute tops that I am very thankful for.

Belted Ruffle Neck Top- $12

Belted Ruffle Top- $12

Both are totally work appropriate! I plan to pair the Hot PiNK top with black dress pants and heels, and the second with white dress pants and these wedges-

Or Maybe with these...

And while I was online getting the links for you, I saw these two dresses on walmart.com-only. I think they're super cute, and even come in plus sizes!

One Shoulder Woven Dress- $15

One Shoulder in PLUS Size- $16 (up to 3x)

I also learned to surf on the lake! Our amazing friends took us out on their boat and taught me how.

My goal is to look as awesome as Kristin (yes, same board shorts. Kristin was so kind to let me borrow them).

Tip for next time- Waterproof mascara! Any suggestions? (I don't normally wear waterproof)

I Love Cheap Accessories!

While picking my Mac up from the Apple store, I had to stop at Forever21, because it's like right next door. Unfortunately the Willowbend Forever21 is terrible, they never have the latest product, the store is trashed and the people that work there are unwilling to help. Lovely!

So I just shop the jewelry counter because I LOVE me some cute, cheap jewelry!

Spring Elements Necklace- $2.80

I got it in both colors, silver with turquoise and gold with dusty PiNK-

And some Earrings

Shimmering Beaded Earrings, also $2.80

With an almost matching necklace

Nature Inspiration Necklace- $6.80

For my Mommie (I didn't get them yet but thought of you)

Reading Glasses- $6.80, aren't they cute?

My Shoe Dilemma

I get my iMac back tomorrow!!! WooHoo! Praise Jesus! So, it's been at the Apple Hospital for the last week. Apparently the operating system update that Apple told me to do, crashed my hard drive. That's awesome! I apologize for not posting much. I really don't like to use my work pc for personal stuff.... BUT I have to share something that I need help with!

I have a shoe dilemma. I know, sounds like a personal problem right? I couldn't decide between two pairs of shoes, so I bought both pairs so that I could bring them home and think about it. I've been thinking about it and still can't decide. I put the pics on Facebook, asked for advice, and still can't decide... Both were only $34.90 at Nordstrom Rack. I think that's a great price for dress shoes, and would be willing to keep them both, but only if they were $10 a piece, bc I'm cheap like that.

Here they are:

Enzo Angiolini's

Steve Madden's

These are for work, and I feel like the Enzo's are more work-appropriate and the Steve Madden's are more sophisticated/dressy. But I can't seem to part with either. And since I haven't made my million dollar commission check yet, I should probably take a pair back. Let me know which ones you like best.

On a side note. It finally happened.

Princess Sofia fell from the second floor today. Our new house is very open with 25ft high ceilings, and we have iron spindled railings throughout the second floor. Apparently they are safe for children, but not cats. And our little dare devil is constantly acting either suicidal, or like she thinks she's a tightrope walker. She followed me upstairs to my office, and then I had to run back downstairs real quick. I was sitting on the floor sending a quick email when I hear some weird scratching noise. I look to my right, and Sofia was suddenly standing next to me. It took both her and I a second to figure out what had just happened. When she realized she fell, she started freaking out by running all over the place, which told me that she was uninjured, so I started laughing hysterically. She got very upset with me laughing at her, and started cussing me out. Her ego was so damaged that she went and hid under the bed for several moments. I felt bad for her and gave her some treats, (even though she really didn't deserve any after opening up the bottle of treats and eating ALL of them yesterday, she's a little heifer). Anyways, The End. I thought it was a funny story and wanted to share.

Kate Middleton's Booty & Horrible Bosses Come out on the Same Day!

Well, if you haven't all seen it already, Kate Middleton had a wardrobe malfunction yesterday while doing a good deed and visiting soldiers.

(source)

We also saw Horrible Bosses with some friends tonight. If you can get past all of the deragatory language, it's HILIARIOUS!!! I totally recommend it. And Jennifer Aniston? OMGoodness!!!

Jennifer was sexy, hilarious, and totally not the part that you would typically see her playing. Very smart move Girl!

What are your weekend plans? 

I need to work on my tan and iMac

"Qin-Wah"

Quinoa pronounced "qin-wah" is one of my favorite ingredients to a meatless, nutritional meal. In the case that you may not have heard of quinoa before, it kind of looks like couscous, but it's actually a grain. Some of the benefits include- quinoa is gluten-free, easy to digest, a complete protein source, a great dietary fiber and also high in iron.

(Source)

My favorite Quinoa recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs: Gluten-free goddess. The recipe is called Quinoa Taco Salad and can be found here. I'll also list the recipe below.

Quinoa Taco Salad Recipe

You'll need:

1 cup quinoa cooked in two cups water

Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. Scoop into a bowl.

Salad ingredients:

Juice from 2 juicy limes

Sea salt, to taste

2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

1 half small red onion, diced fine

1 small yellow/red/green bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced fine

1 cup roasted corn kernels (I used frozen, that I defrosted and warmed up in a pan)

1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, diced
*optional can of drained black or pinto beans

Squeeze on fresh lime juice and toss cooked quinoa. Season with sea salt, to taste.

Add in the fresh chopped cilantro, diced red onion, diced pepper, warmed beans (optional), and roasted corn kernels. Stir lightly to distribute. Taste test for seasoning adjustments.

Serve by itself or over fresh spinach.

 I added pinto beans to mine to add some extra heartiness to it. This was a perfect dinner after my 2hr evening workout. It's a really great summer combination for something that's got great flavor and it light but filling with plenty of nutritious benefits!

Do you have any good Quinoa Recipes to share?

I would love to try some new ones out!

From Zero to Hero

And that is the slogan of a sales professional! Fortunately, this week I've been a HERO, which makes me forget about feeling like a Zero last week. 2 claps for that! =) I'm in technology sales, it's a very tough and competitive biz. I'm going to have to blame my dad, because somehow, the 'sales' DNA is what's in my blood. It seems like I'm always promoting/sellling businesses, stores or restaurants that I love, people try them out, and love them- these businesses and whatnot should totally hire ME! And Yes, I'm the person that asks for a discount every single time that I'm standing in front of a register, it doesn't matter if I'm at Costco, Nordstrom, Ross or Fiesta- I totally ask for a discount. My teachers always told me, "It doesn't hurt to ask." And since sales is my profession, needless to say, I'm used to rejection, and the worst that they can tell me is no ;) So anyways, today was a good day, I felt like a Rockstar! Just trying to keep things rolling in a positive way.

Maybe I feel like a Rockstar bc I drank a Rockstar PiNK?

It made me feel even more Rockstar-ish! Hire Me Rockstar! I wanna be your PiNK spokesperson!!! I'm in love with this energetic beverage!

On an annoying note... I upgraded my OS (operating system) on my iMac 3 weeks ago. 2.5 weeks ago it crashed. I called Apple, they told me to buy more RAM aka memory, so I did. FedEx took 2 weeks to find my house to deliver the memory. I installed the memory. It's not working! Shoot me! I need to upload all of our ARUBA pics man! Crucial (brand of memory)- I want to do a TKB punch in your gut right now!!!

All. Done.

Tootles!

Congrats and Exercise Advice

 I forgot to mention in my PiNK post yesterday that I also made PiNK cookies for the newest engaged couple- My best friend David and his gorgeous fiancé Valerie! Felicidades! We are so happy for you both and cannot wait for the special day to come so that we can visit your beautiful country of Puerto Rico!!!

My mom sent me this excise advice from DailySpark.com:

Question: I heard that when you exercise on an empty stomach (such as first thing in the morning) you'll burn more fat. Is this true?

Expert Answer:
In the morning, your body has gone 8+ hours since eating or drinking anything. Your blood sugar levels are lower at this point, and your body doesn't have adequate fuel to workout optimally. Usually, experts recommend eating something--even if it's just a small snack--within 2 hours before working out. When your body doesn't have proper fuel in it, many problems can result, the lesser being that your workout performance suffers, and the greater being something like passing out during exercise.

However, everybody is different. Some people can work out on an empty stomach with no problems, while others would end up very sick and feel the negative effects of it. When I workout in the morning, I always eat (and drink) something first thing after I wake up. Usually by the time I start my workout it doesn't hurt my stomach to exercise with a bit of food on it.

Also, I think there might have been a bit of confusion here about metabolic rates in the morning. Eating breakfast in the morning has a positive effect on your metabolism, but exercising on an empty stomach does not. Some people say that it will burn fat stores, but overall, the number of calories your burn during a workout (regardless of where they come from) is much more important. Plus, fat burns in the carbohydrate flame. This means that exercising without eating (such as after "fasting" during sleep) your body does not burn fat efficiently, or sometimes at all.

Red, White & PiNK!

I'm pretty sure that I wear PiNK during most of the holidays that I have experienced throughout my life. So why would 4th of July weekend be any different? I started out the weekend with the purchase of some Barbie Pink Wedges! The start of a 3-day weekend can't get much better than this-

I found these Jessica Simpson wedges at Nordstrom Rack for $34.90, orginally $89, marked down to $49, and then $43.20 and then $34.90 (you have to peel off all of the stickers to make FOR SURE that you got a good deal). Plus I found a Nordstrom giftcard that BFlo gave me for Christmas. It had $12 left on it. Merry Christmas in July to me!!! Score!

We ended up going to an impromptu soccer game (FC Dallas) after church Saturday night. Needless to say, I was not dressed appropriately to watch a soccer game with a heat index of 105. But I do think my new shoes did look cute with this dress that I wore to church (and the game)-

I got the dress at Ross for $16. And the belt at Forever21 for $3.50.

I also tried out a new PiNK drink-

This was so ridiculously refreshing!!! It's a carbonated, flavored water. MASH Grapefruit + Citrus Zing. Delish!

How was your holiday weekend?

Did you get to see any awesome fireworks?