Eureka...I have found her!

After years of searching for a stylist and trying salon after salon, I've finally found a stylist that I'm in love with :) Her name is Sabrina and she works at The Den Salon in Chino Hills. If you know me, you know that I'm a sucker for signs...not like "Stop" or "Slow Down"...but signs from the powers that be that tell me I'm making the right choice or I'm headed in the right direction.

One Friday afternoon in January, after driving all over what seemed like every freeway in Southern California, I decided to go straight home after my last meeting instead of back to the office. As I was driving home, I took a look at myself in the mirror and decided that I've put up with my yucky hair for the last day. I found myself at The Shoppes in Chino Hills. I knew there were two salons there: Vicara Salon and The Den. Vicara is an Aveda salon. I used to use Aveda products but stopped a couple years ago because they weren't giving the volume I wanted. I saw that new clients get 50% off their first visit. Great. Fine. Solid. But I couldn't help but go and check out The Den.

The New Client Discount was only 25%, but they had Bumble & Bumble products everywhere and had a very cool, hip, edgy vibe to the place. I asked if anyone was available to do a short cut since I didn't have an appointment. The receptionist looked over to the girl sitting in one of their neat rattan armchairs and asked her if she wanted to take me. She took one look at me and my hair, stood up and said, "Hi! My name is Sabrina...what would you like to drink: tea....water...white wine...sangria?" I happily replied, "Sangria, please!" and have been in Hair Honeymoon ever since.

After the first cut, I was SO happy with how it turned out that I knew I would be coming back for a second appointment to make sure she can cut it just how she did the first time (I'm also a sucker for consistency). I went back 2 weeks ago. She was running late, but called to let me know so I had some time to go shopping. You think she cut my hair just how I want it twice in a row? HELL YES!

Those are pics taken a couple hours after the second cut and it looks just like the first cut. SO happy I finally found someone who can actually do an awesome short cut. I told her I'm thinking of doing some color for the Summer. I usually go red, which she said would be cute but I feel like I should step out of the box a little more and play with other colors (other than black and red). Sabrina suggested lightening my hair a bit and then adding some blond in. I've always wanted blond highlights...but with black hair, so I gotta think about going light. I'm not a very light-colored person...although I've been using a lot more pinks lately - I'll probably get over that soon.

Anyways...it costs a lot to see Sabrina...as it would for any good stylist, but I'm happy to fork out the money. One thing I've learned about myself, if my hair doesn't look good, I don't feel as confident about my look in general. A good stylist that you get along with is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Crime Fiction at its Finest.

It's been a couple weeks since I finished this book, but I definitely wanted to share it with you as a "must-read" if you're a book worm...who is into thrillers or crime mysteries or sex or sexual deviance because this book definitely has all of that and more.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo centers around two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Salander is a young Private Investigator often hired to dig up dirt on high-profile executives. Blomkvist is a veteran financial reporter who was recently found guilty of libel and sentenced to three months in prison. The two characters cross paths when Blomkvist is hired by a very rich, very old business man to investigate the disappearance of his niece over 40 years ago.

This is also the first book in the trilogy written by Stieg Larsson, referred to as the "Millenium series". The book was originally written in Swedish and translated into English. At first, it's a little difficult to get past all the Swedish names and locations, but you eventually get used to it since the story is so engaging. We follow Blomkvist as he and Salander uncover the ugly truth behind one of Sweden's most powerful families. There's a healthy dose of crime and sex in the story, which definitely grabbed my attention, but the way the story is written just grabs hold of you and refuses to let go. Every page seemed to raise more questions about the mystery at hand, but also gave you just enough clues to keep you satisfied until you reach the end of the book.

An interesting tid-bit about Stieg Larsson...these books were written to express his disgust for sex crimes and violence against women. Apparently, he had witnessed the gang rape of young girl (also named Lisbeth) when he was a teen, but failed to stop the crime. He spent the rest of his life living in guilt from that experience and it essentially became the inspiration for this series.

I would highly recommend reading this book, especially since it's being made into an American movie (the Swedish adaptation was released in 2009). Rooney Mara plays Salander and Daniel Craig plays Blomkvist in the American adaptation, which is set to be released in December of this year. I'm hoping to read the second book this month so you can bet I'll be posting my reviews of that in a couple weeks. As a tiny warning, I read part of this book while I was in Tampa...alone...in a hotel room...very late at night...it pretty much freaked me out.

Losing My Bearings

Yesterday, I concluded  two things: 1) I am probably not cut out to be an FBI agent or do any type of work that would require discretion or guarding of top-secret information and 2) I think God likes sending my signs because it's comic relief. Why, you ask? Well because I've been leaving important crap everywhere.

Yesterday morning, I got to work and realized that my work laptop was not in the van I was driving. After shitting a brick and triple-checking the van, I tried to remember when I last had it with me. The day before (this past Wednesday), I was in Downtown LA at Ernst & Young Plaza doing a vanpool outreach event. I had brought my laptop with me just in case potential vanpoolers wanted to take a look at our new ridesharing online community. I wasn't even going to demo the website, but the client had requested it so I brought the laptop. Turns out, there wasn't an electrical outlet for me to use so I packed the laptop under my table. Ironically, I didn't want to leave it in the van because someone might take it since the van was on display and all kinds of people were going to be crawling in and out of it.  Long story short, someone came up to me while I was closing up shop and we started talking about public transportation. After our talk, I quickly grabbed everything else I could see and jammed out of there. I didn't even know I had left my laptop under the table until the next morning! Once I finally realized what I had done, I called my contact at the building and a couple hours later, they located my laptop and I was able to pick it up yesterday afternoon.

I thought my absent-mindedness was done for the day...but it wasn't...

Yesterday night, after getting my laptop back, I headed home and decided to join my mom and brother for the nightly Mass at our church. Everything was great: I paid attention to the readings and homily, thanked God for all my blessings, and asked for a shitload of new blessings (hahaha...NOT kidding). Feeling good about spending some quality time at church, we all headed home to get dinner started. Once I had parked my car in the garage and turned the engine off, I realized that my purse wasn't in the car. Where was it??? Back at church, under the freakin' pew. I let my mom and brother out of the car and zoomed over to church to find my purse waiting for me where I had left it.

I sat down in the empty church and just took a minute to breathe. I looked at all the pictures of the Saints surrounding me and then looked at Jesus on the crucifix (btw, my Jesus has INSANE abs! Does yours?!). Somehow, I think me losing my shit and finding it again was a sign. Of what? Not sure, exactly, but God probably wants me to calm the fuck down and refocus my energy because I'm too preoccupied on a particularly negative aspect (read: work) of my life and it's only temporary.

Got it...Messaged received....Copy that.

God sure does work in strange ways, but I'm thankful for it and it reminds me not to take things so seriously.

P.S. I HAVE been taking pictures for the blog, but getting the pictures from camera to blog is another story. I'll get pictures up this month ;)

To San Francisco and Back and then some

The other week, I drove from Diamond Bar to San Diego and back home to Diamond Bar. The following day, I drove from Diamond Bar to San Luis Obispo to Downtown LA then back home. The next week (which was last week), I drove from Diamond Bar to Downtown LA to Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc and back home. All that adds up to at least 1,033 miles driven (it's actually more because I stopped for bathroom breaks, breakfast and/or lunch, and to stretch at Vista Points) in 3 working days.

This week, I have two trips: one to Woodland Hills and the other to Pasadena. I have never looked forward to two-hour commutes during rush hour in my life...until now.

All this driving will be worth it if I can just get 20+ vans on the road this year, preferably before June...eeks!

Tampa and Talents.

Finally settled into my hotel room after a red-eye flight to Tampa. Already, I can tell you it's hard to eat healthy while on the road. Once in Tampa, I had lunch at this place called EVOS, which claims to be healthy fast food because they airbake everything instead of deep frying. This cuts the fat content in half. I orded airbaked chicken strips and airbaked fries.Still tasted unhealthy and I know it was probably loaded with carbs. I would say nothing special about this place. However, they had a wide choice of iced tea and ketchup (yes, ketchup) flavors. I, of course, had green tea. I tried all the ketchup flavors: cayenne fire, garlic gravity, mesquite, and americana (aka original flavor). The garlic ketchup was surprisingly good :) Anyways, EVOS is definitely a Floridian restaurant, but there is one located in San Luis Obispo too. Like I said, it's not anything special and I don't think it's as healthy as they want you to think. If I had to re-do lunch knowing what I know about EVOS, I probably would have gone to the Panera Bread next door...hahaha...just had to try something local.

I have about 3 hours to kill until the leadership academy officially starts. I thought it would be good to list a summary of my talent themes based on our "textbook" for this leadership program I'm participating in, that way you'll know what I'm talking about when I refer to them over the year.

This is the order that was given to me by the assessment in the book. I don't know if it means one talent theme is more predominant than the other, but it's probably best to stay consistent. By the way, Talent, as defined by the book, means "a natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving."

Harmony: You look for areas of agreement...You can't quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their view on others... When others are sounding off about their goals, their claims, and their fervently held opinions, you hold your peace...In your view, we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show that you can.

Restorative: You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution...You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones...Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences...You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phasing it the way you might, you saved it. 

Deliberative: You are careful. You are vigilant. You are a private person. You know that the world is an unpredictable place...Rather than denying these risks, you draw each one out into the open. Then each risk can be identified, assessed, and ultimately reduced. Thus, you are a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certain reserve...You select your friends cautiously and keep your own counsel when the conversation turns to personal matters...If some people don't like you because you are not as effusive as others, then so be it...Life is something of a minefield...You walk with care.

Intellection: The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think...You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection...This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives...this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.

Consistency: Balance is important to you...you do not want to see the scales tipped too far in any one person's favor. In your view this leads to selfishness and individualism. It leads to a world where some people gain an unfair advantage because of their connections or their background or their greasing of the wheels. This is truly offensive to you...In direct contrast to this world of special favors, you believe that people function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally...each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.

I obviously gave you the abridged description of each talent theme. For better or worse, I think it's fairly accurate (especially the stuff in purple). I'm kinda afraid it paints me as a more serious person than I really am, but maybe that's something about me I haven't really noticed or that's become more evident as I get older. I'm definitely introspective, but does that mean I'm an Introvert? I took the Myers-Briggs test in high school and it said I was an introvert, which would have been fine if one of my high school teachers didn't blurt out to the class that I would end up as a Librarian. That was a sad day.

So what do you think? Does that sound like an accurate description of me?

Good God, It's Tough To Be A Die-Hard Fan Sometimes

I'm not the type of person to like people or things immediately. Most people assume I fell in love with Tom Brady at first sight, but I didn't. After the Joe Montana years (Montana was my first QB crush until I started crushing on my classmates who were QBs...hahah), I actually stopped watching pro football all together. I was a cheerleader from 5th grade to about 9th grade, but gave up cheerleading for ASB. Football (and sports in general) was still very much part of my formative years since I was always at games and football players often got elected into ASB positions (that WAS a popularity contest). Fast forward to graduating from college (UCI did NOT have a football team, so I spent my time mastering the art of failing classes) and...BAM! My beloved Albert reintroduces me to pro football.

Albert thinks it's weird to call yourself a football fan without claiming a team (I think he'll give you a pass if you're a gambler because you need to stay partial). He asked what my team was and I said the 49ers, but I wasn't able to name one player on that team at the time (2007). He suggested that if I claim a team, I should probably know some players. Made sense to me, so that's how I got hooked every Sunday into watching football trying to learn teams, players, coaches, etc.

The names coming out of every sports commentator's mouth...Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots. That season, there was the whole Spygate scandal and the Patriots going undefeated in the regular season. Being the deliberative person that I am, I didn't want to claim to be a Tom Brady fan that whole season for fear of being called a band-wagoner and I didn't know much about him other than people either really loved him or really hated him. To make a long story short, the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season only to lose to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. That was a heartbreaker....but I officially became a Tom Brady fan that night. Sure, it's easy to be a fan when the team wins...not so much when they lose.

2007: Lose to the NY Giants in the Super Bowl

2008: Tom Brady has a season-ending injury in the FIRST EFFING WEEK.

2009: Patriots are one and out in the Wildcard playoffs

2010 (aka this past Sunday): Patriots are one and out in the Divisional playoffs

Fmylife. I think everyone and their momma knew how much I wanted Brady to get to the Super Bowl and win. I watched in horror as that turned to shit at the hands of (who else?) my protege Mark Sanchez. The feeling I've had all week is indescribable. I'm doing all my best to shake it off, but I feel like I'm somewhere worse than Sad & Disappointed and not as severe as Depressed. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED??? Now that I'm a couple days removed from the game, I can accept that the Jets' defense rocked the shit out of the Patriots (the Pats have a young defense who ranked 24th out of 32 teams). And, probably the hardest to admit, the Pats were out coached.

Monday morning, I got pity looks from coworkers who know about my Tom Brady obsession. I even got an email from Pam, who moved back to Louisiana, urging me to "get of bed...brush it off...life goes on". She's a Saints fan, so I knew she could genuinely relate. Monday and Tuesday I could barely eat. Yesterday, tears started welling up out of nowhere. Was I really crying over football? Yes. Well, Sunday definitely over football. Yesterday was a combination of fasting, being tired, and thinking about going to Vegas for the Super Bowl. I could barely even utter the word football or anything having to do football until this morning when my mom asked why I took my Brady jersey down (it was hanging on my door as motivation to get in shape). I didn't go to the gym at all week because all I could think was, "What's the point? Brady isn't going to be in the Super Bowl."

I took to this blog to help write this crazy sadness out of my system because I do want to be more positive this year. But I am so, so heartbroken by Tom Brady not getting to and winning a Super Bowl. 2011 will be his 12th season and he'll be 34 years old by the time the season starts. People are already questioning whether he has it in him to win another ring. My answer...hell yes he has it in him, but the rest of the team needs to get with the program...especially the defense. No more being man-handled by other teams, especially the Jets!

...and with that my friends, for better or worse, I've already put most of my football eggs in the Brady Basket for 2011.

P.S. Officially, the 49ers are still my team. I can name players and even tell you a bit about their new Head Coach. I'll put a few football eggs in that basket as well. However, until they listen to me and get a good-looking, outrageously talented poster boy of a QB, then Tom Brady will be covered more. FYI...Tom Brady is from San Mateo and was also a 49er fan :)

Social Experiments 2011 in 3....2....1!

Last year, I applied for this Leadership Program offered by one of the transportation organizations I'm involved with. I found out before the holidays that I was accepted into the program (I'll tell you more about the program itself in another blog) and included with my acceptance letter was the first assignment.

The assignment was to read the first 30 pages, take the online assessment, and submit the results to the Director (of the organization). My guess is they're going to split the class into work groups based on our strengths.

This book is a really quick read and the assessment is just as quick, if not quicker. What the book says, in a nutshell, is that most people are SO focused on overcoming their weaknesses that they forget (or neglect) their strengths. This was particularly insightful to me because (to quote Kanye West), "I'm so gifted at findin' what I don't like the most." The book was right...I'm definitely one of those people who give 150% into trying to compensate for a weakness that I completely overlook what I'm actually good at. In fact, if you asked me, "What are your strengths?" or "What do you think you're good at?" I would give you some smart ass answer like, "Blow jobs" or some canned answer I read in a book about how to succeed in an interview.

The "reading" part of the book is really about 30 pages, the rest of the book describes the different talent themes you would fall into based on the online assessment. After taking the assessment and reading through the descriptions, I felt that I had a better idea of what my strengths are or a better way to articulate them. If you're one of those people who like to read and like the idea of broadening your perspective through books, then StrengthsFinder 2.0 is worth the $25.

Thanks to the book, I'm going to do little social experiments throughout the year to test out the author's theories. My first social experiment is actually one of my resolutions for 2011 - Focus on what I'm good at instead of trying to make up for what I'm not so good at. This has led to a lot of reevaluating where I'm at in all aspects of my life: family, love, career. With this new perspective, I feel great about where I'm at in everything  except for career...how ironic, since this book landed on my lap because of my job. LOL.

Stay tuned...

Missing the Holidays

Happy New Year to everyone! I started a post about the New Year and my goals for 2011, but got Writer's Block since I wasn't very inspired by the topic. This morning, as I was driving into work, I suddenly realized how much I missed the holidays and how fast that time of the year seems to go. I have a feeling my January blogs will mostly be about December. Maybe I'll be ready to talk about 2011 next month. LOL.

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is bake. I bake goodies for my office, my mom's staff, the rest of my family, some of my friends, and potluck/holiday parties. When T.J. was still in school, I would bake for his class too. Usually, it's the funfetti cupcakes for whatever holiday (they sell them for July 4th, Halloween, and Christmas). This year, I've been adding to my baking repertoire (e.g. Red Velvet Cake Pops/Truffles, Cookies & Cream Cupcakes) and have been adding the new items to the funfetti cupcakes.

For the holidays, my mom asked me to try a "new" recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops/Truffles. I was game since I was somewhat familiar with the process and wanted to see if I can handle the Pop/Truffles a little better the second time around.

If you want the full recipe, let me know and I can email it to you. Otherwise, I'm giving you the abridged version. The filling for these pops is peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and rice crispies. Once you mix all that up, shape into balls the size of walnuts, then let them set in the fridge for at least an hour. You want the peanut butter to be hard enough to withstand a coating of melted chocolate, so I recommend having them sit in the fridge overnight if possible. If you have lollipop sticks, then stick those in before putting the batch into the fridge. If you don't have the sticks, you can just leave them as is (that's how you get truffles).

I haven't seen an actual walnut since I was little, so these turned out a bit bigger than they're supposed to. But, yeah, these are the peanut butter balls that are being "set" in the fridge.

After the peanut butter balls have set or hardened, you can start coating them in chocolate (I used a mixture of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate morsels). Take the ball, coat in chocolate, let the excess chocolate drip off, then coat in crushed peanuts.

Again, let the coated Pops/Truffles set, either in the fridge or at room temp. If you're leaving them out at room temp, do so overnight. And....ta-da...Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops/Truffles!

Lots o' Pops

Pretty Truffles :)

I don't know if it's because it's the peanut butter or the fact that I've already tried to make this type of treat before, but it was A LOT easier making these Pop/Truffles. I still ran into problems with mixing the inner ingredients and properly coating everything, but it's more so because of the lack of tools than anything else. Also, I've been trying cake balls from other places (both homemade and from a bakery) and the cake filling has been too moist for my liking. So the Peanut Butter filling is the kind of texture I prefer...until I find a cake ball that isn't all mushy.

For the most part, everyone that tried them liked them. Then again, I doubt people would tell me they tasted like shit to my face. I tried a couple and they were pretty good, especially with hot unsweetened/unflavored tea. If you want me to make some for the next time we get together or want the recipe to try on your own, holla at your girl :)

Holiday Treats 2010