How To Deal With: Introverted VS Extroverted Time

Being and extrovert in a relationship with an introvert is truly strange. 

I can be in a room filled with people, 7 days a week, working by butt off throughout that week, and only maybe needing a bit of along time. My boyfriend/fiance is the complete opposite. He can work hard for a solid day or go out somewhere new with me, but will desperately need a few hours each day to decompress and be alone. We have lovingly called this time "Introverted Time": Time where we can do whatever we need to feel grounded and happy. Whether that means being in one's own space, or out doing things. 

People have asked, "how can you deal with those kinds of fundamental differences in the relationship?" Honestly, and trust me I know how much of fool I sound for saying this but here goes, because we really do love and respect each other. Yes, we have different approaches, but we are actually excited by the same things and enjoy trying new things. You can only push someone so far, and as long as you respect that, then there is very little friction. Every now and again I'll want to go out, do something, and he would rather stay in. So? Who really cares? If it is not absolutely important to the other person that we go, we can just talk about it. I have friends I can go out with if he really needs the time to recharge, and he can go out with his when I need space too. These should help you, because the truly do help the opposite to understand.

VS

How would I spend introverted time, seeing as how I am the opposite? 

I'd rather spend my Me time doing something. I don't know, maybe it is the Disney princess in me, but give me a task to do! I absolutely hate down time and having nothing to do. I love being busy! I crave somewhere to go each day, dancing all night meeting strangers and having spontaneous adventures with my friends! When I am stressed, worried, or upset, the desperation for distractions is dire. I will clean like a fiend; every room, every surface, every item will be spotless and organized. One time I reorganized every drawer and cabinet in my flat, washed all the tiled floors by hand, and vacuumed so much that our home looked like a hotel. Sadly I always forget to document those moments in photographs to prove to my mother I know how to clean. 

• 

Other times, for instance after the rooms are clean but I have not expelled my emotional funkiness, I will head out the door to do something in the world. I'll head to the gym and kick my ass that way. I go for long walks, in no particular direction, and explore the city where I live. Back in New York I would head to the canals or the beach so I could watch the water. Anything at all really, so long as I am active. And then there are those rare occasion, those scant instances, where I pamper myself.
I'll get all girly and break out the tools. I'll set up a nails station, run a bath, get my hair cutting scissors, put on some relaxing music or an audio book I've listened to a million times before and relax. I'll read magazines - the tabloids, the intellectuals, and the Cosmos I've been neglecting due to preoccupation - I'll drink detox water (3 pints of cool water, 3 table sppons of cranberry juice, mint leaves, 2 lemons sliced, and 3 slices of cucumber), the works. I call them the girly spa days, where nothing on earth will make me feel happier than to stop the world and feel all clean and groomed. I save these days out of true need. And today I need it. I have been feeling icky lately, mostly my stomach. I have a super big audition tomorrow, and that means that I have to be feeling great, looking pretty and be confidant. Prepared as always! The outfit is set aside, the bag packed, the directions to the place written down, all alarms set for tomorrow morning, and packing a lunch later on today! The first half of the spa day, the setting up, is underway! I'm cleaning the flat as much as possible, before heading off to the gym for at least an hour. Then, after a final cleaning sweep, will my pampering truly begin. Nails, brows, hair, facial, and my absolute favorite bath salts in a warm bubble bath!

Yeah...She wishes she could go home with this bath...

But how would you cope without introverted time?

I'm a complete and utter extrovert, but even I need some time alone. Reading for me is an escape into another world, a conversation with new people and new topics. Revisiting old books is like reconnecting with old friends, but I'm not alone when I read. What do introverts, who are not video-gamers, like to do for their introverted time? What do other extroverts do for that matter? I am completely curious but not many people have answered this question.

Well, for now that might be all. Cause it is time for my Me time!

Bye For Now X

Summer Reading List 2013

*  Summer Reading List  *

*  2013  *

Welcome girls and boys to another list of books to read during your summer break!

But look how pretty the day is?

It's June 23, and you may have started your summer vacations. Mine must be lost in the mail! Have y'all been lying under the sun, getting sand in all your shoes and clothes, jumping into swimming pools or the sea, eating watermelon and pop sickles? Made you believe we had nothing up our sleeves huh? Oh, you thought you were free from this year's homework, didn't you? Liberated this year from your summer assignments since you didn't receive it in the mail 2 weeks ago, huh? Well too bad! We are just not an efficient school mailer. We got caught up in paperwork and a general lack of free time, but you have it now!

Damn I envy you all. I mean, I may have always looked forward to the reading assignments summer would bring, but that was mostly because I loved reading in between the fun moments of sunshine! I've been in England, where it feels like early spring in NY. All clouds, wind, awkward rain, and always needing a sweater! Come on weather Gods, what gives?! I didn't move to the Bay area! I'm not hunting for glittering bastards up in the pacific northwest! I miss the heat, the sunshine, the coconut oil! Even the stench of Manhattan in Mid July!

    

The Summer of Experimenting! 

Since the weather is driving me indoors most of the time, and my paint-by-numbers habit costs money, I needed something to do that will entertain without breaking the bank. I really want to broadening my recipe horizons. Last year, one of the books required some pretty pricey tools. And even though I borrowed most of 'em, I will never get another 'parts sold separately' toy again. I searched for new volumes that had minimal fancy tools, cheap/healthy ingredients and could all be created in a minuscule kitchen like mine. Seriously, Harry Potter's under the stairs bedroom was roomier!

"I have to get up, someone's keeping my past relevant"

The tricky factor was the ingredients. I have to read all the labels meticulously, not just for calorie obsession or salt intake. Did you know all those 'heart healthy' cheerios are actually high in sodium? I have some dietary limitations now (new food allergies replacing old ones and food sensitivities) and strong vigilance over what passes my lips is ever more vital. Nothing like being a trypanophobic who carries an Epi-pen to make you remember to be careful! Stocking my pantry with all safe yet delicious ingredients my body wont try to kill on sight is a start. But not all of the recipes I have now exclude those now deadly, or gaseous, fixings."Replace them then, Ashley! Just switch that ingredient for something you can eat." Well, thanks but sometimes that means the recipe wont taste the same or something will go wrong. Looking for recipes without alternations needed has been my task!

1. The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making by Alana Chernila 
This book was mentioned to me a few times over the course of my perusals. I love making things from scratch, and I'd rather earn my tasty unhealthy treats. A book promising to have a healthier recipe than the store bought original, sounded way too good to be true. It has some great ideologies: make it yourself and you'll know what is in it, and a shoestring budget never has to sacrifice delicious food and fun times. Alana, our culinary guide, is a woman who has done just that. She discusses the theories her cover advertises, the gadgets she uses throughout the pages, and how to properly use your freezer! Now, my freezer can hold about 1 ice cub tray and some frozen meat/fish. This section might not help me until I can upgrade to a bigger kitchen.

2. The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman
Any time I need some kitchen inspiration on the quick, I always jump to The Smitten Kitchen online. Every recipe from the website I have tried has been amaz-balls! Hopefully, this book will not just be a compilation of the website directory. I am sure that Deb won't let me down. This beautiful, witty, travel obsessed lady is someone I would love to meet in person - to give her the biggest hug in the world! She is one of my cooking idols, a woman who travels the world, cooks, and makes a living by her wit and talents! If you cannot tell, I find her amazing. Not only have these recipes caught my eye, but I am hoping to add this book to my permanent collections.

3. Honestly Healthy: Eat with your body in mind, the alkaline way by Natasha Corrett
As previously stated, I need me some Star Veggie dishes. And where else would I find these amazing recipes, but among the Vegetarians and Vegans? I respect the veg heads who are dedicated to the cause out of true need or belief, not the 'occasional' veggie. I tried going V once and it turned into a family joke how I lasted two weeks before I realised I needed some fish. But I truly don't know how to make a main meal out of 'em unless it is a salad, a stir fry, a curry, or stick nibbles. Honestly Healthy seems like a good place to start.   

4. The Green Kitchen: Delicious and Healthy Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day by David Frenkiel
I have heard nothing but amazing things about this book. Apparently, veg heads and carnivores alike would love these unique and delicious plates. There are even desserts in this one! I love finding out how to make new soups and stews, but vegan chocolate truffles will be a new adventure entirely. This 'cooking with the seasons' theme might make the table a little less leafy green come winter, but some root veg mains will be an amazing addition to stew season!

5. Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with Over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes by Deborah Madison
Veggies are always needed in your meals, or so I have been told. Don't like 'em? Well, sorry, but we are not little kids anymore. Brussels sprouts are always gonna get the yuck face from me. I will never force veggies down, but why not make them delicious? Make them the main attraction and not the side salad? All these vegetarians have something I like, veggie recipes. I like meat but ever since my sad day of rabbit stew murder fest '13 I could stay on a break from critters for a while. Well, maybe not chicken breast or tuna in cans, but no faces for awhile!!! 

6. Healthy Breakfast Recipes by Alissa Carter
I am hoping for this breakfast encyclopedia to help me. Almost all the foods I cannot have are first meal orientated. I mean, come on! The most important meal of the day, especially for weight loss, and it is trying to kill me from the inside. Mutiny on your own time breakfast foods. . . like when I'm 90 and begging for jello! Basically, I need to find foods for that meal. So far when people see me munch on a tomato like an apple on the early morning transport, I get a lot of advice on eating regular meals. From strangers! IN LONDON!?! Really odd reactions, trust me, for not being in the states. SOS food Gods, a meal is missing. May this red checkered bible show me the word of . . . BREAKFAST!

But sometimes I will just grab that toast and say:



 

Enjoy your summer of reading and adventure!!

Bye For Now X

What Would Be Your Movie Chase Theme Song?

What would you want to have playing as your soundtrack when you are running from the bad guys or fighting in an action scene? It has to have crossed your mind at least once. Otherwise, how would all these movies keep that tradition alive? Music completely influences us a species. Drums, for me, no matter what bring out this primal physicality equal to a Dothraki Dance circle. Oooow! Wind chimes and chanting too! Those are always goosebump inducing!
Lately I have been making running playlists, trying to inspire my body to be able to run. It helps sometimes. Does anybody else make a playlist like this? One that would make a perfect soundtrack to any movie or action sci-fi show? At the end of a workout now I can feel every cell in my body saying

Since I can never load the songs up for you, my fun audience, here is the latest list. Take a listen when you get the chance. These are so good, they ran off the web page!!! Enjoy! xx  

Bye For Now xx

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1	I Love It (feat. Charli XCX)		2:37	Icona Pop	Iconic - EP
2	It's Time		4:00	Imagine Dragons	Night Visions
3	My Mama's Broken Heart		2:58	Miranda Lambert	Four the Record (Deluxe Edition)
4	Let Me Be Your Star (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty] [Extended Intro]		3:43	SMASH Cast	Bombshell (Music from the TV Series "SMASH")
5	The 20th Century Fox Mambo (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Katharine McPhee]		2:42	SMASH Cast	Bombshell (Music from the TV Series "SMASH")
6	Cut, Print... Moving On (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Katharine McPhee]		3:06	SMASH Cast	Bombshell (Music from the TV Series "SMASH")
7	Let's Be Bad (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Megan Hilty]		3:02	SMASH Cast	Bombshell (Music from the TV Series "SMASH")
8	Don't Forget Me (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Katharine McPhee]		3:15	SMASH Cast	Bombshell (Music from the TV Series "SMASH")
9	100$ Bill		3:21	JAY Z	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
10	Back to Black		3:21	Beyoncé & André 3000	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
11	Young and Beautiful		3:56	Lana Del Rey	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
12	Love Is Blindness		3:18	Jack White	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
13	Crazy In Love (Kid Koala Version)		3:08	Emeli Sandé & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
14	Bang Bang		4:39	will.i.am	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
15	A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)		4:01	Fergie, Q-Tip & GoonRock	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
16	Love Is the Drug		2:42	Bryan Ferry & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
17	Hearts a Mess		6:04	Gotye	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
18	Where the Wind Blows		3:51	Coco O.	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
19	No Church In the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean & The-Dream)		4:33	JAY Z & Kanye West	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
20	Over the Love		4:21	Florence + The Machine	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
21	Together		5:26	The xx	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
22	Into the Past		5:17	Nero	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
23	Kill and Run		3:36	Sia	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
24	Over the Love (Of You)		2:59	Florence + The Machine & SBTRKT	The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film) [Deluxe Edition]
25	Titanium (Extended)		5:13	David Guetta & Sia	NOW That's What I Call a Workout 2
26	Cinema (feat. Gary Go) [Laidback Luke Remix]		6:07	Benny Benassi	NOW That's What I Call a Workout 2
27	Hello (Razor N Guido Radio Edit)		3:37	Karmin	NOW That's What I Call a Workout 2
28	Shake It Out		4:38	Florence + The Machine	Ceremonials
29	Take a Walk		4:24	Passion Pit	Gossamer
30	Spectrum (feat. Matthew Koma) [Extended Mix]		6:01	Zedd	Spectrum EP
31	Snow White		3:24	James Newton Howard	Snow White & The Huntsman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
32	Still Into You		3:36	Paramore	Paramore

How To Deal With : Sleep Deprivation and Ramblings

After a night of insatiable insomnia, still have absolutely no idea as to the why or how of it BTW, and sleeping all throughout the day I am now wired near 1:30 in the frackin morning. Should I grab that sleeping pill by my bedside and drift the night away, or try to stay awake all night again in the hopes that my hours will revert back to daytime creature soon? I miss my morning routine! You know, wake up at 5 am all bright eyed and bushy tailed, head off to the gym for an intense 2 hours of sweat and smiles, and hit the ground running for the rest of the day. Maybe take in a show after a 10 hour day, or go out dancing til 3 am and start all over again.

But lately it feels like I am in a rut...a schedule one.

Do those exist? 

With not much to do during my days, unemployed and out of school for now, you'd think my apartment would be a bit cleaner. But cleaning is usually what I do when I am agitated or angry or worried or stressed...let's just say that you see me in a clean version on my room means I've been beating it up. But is this usual? Once out of school, waiting for someone, anyone really, to higher you for any one of the thousands of jobs you've applied for is kinda just a waiting game. I've heard the joke all my life about how actors are just waiter who struck luck, but honestly are we not all just waiters? Not the food server people, they seriously are amazing and I don't know how they can stay chipper in the face of ass-hole customers. I mean, are we not all just waiting?

Think about it. When you are a kid, you are waiting to be grown up. When you are a teenager, you are waiting for college. In college, you are waiting for that dream career to start. And then you graduate...and you work, but its not the dream job. Not this job, no, this one's my 'money-to-survive' job. I specifically remember hearing when I was a kiddie in the park from my dad that there was this path. A success and life path. You start in childhood, got through the school system and get good grades, get into a good college/university to receive a high degree, and then get the job that is the stepping stone to the career you always wanted. Then you work in your career, making money to support yourself and have enough money in the bank to own outright your own house somewhere. Throughout this time you date people, but never get into anything serious. Find someone you love who loves you back, marry them, and buy a house to live in with your kids. During all this time you must also save up for when you get old, and will have medical bills and stuff.

Wasn't this a great movie ? ! ? !

I know, a lot to tell a kid, right? But this path stuff was shoved down my throat for years until I believed it was my own belief. Worse than crazy catholic nuns with left handed people, my hand to God...Oops. God pun.
Kids are constantly told that, until they are 18, their lives belong to their parents. Their social lives happens underneath and in between the scheduled world of the adults around them. We are always waiting for our lives to begin, in our bedrooms or in the hallways of some a-typical high school. So much so that when it is our turn we have no idea. We can spend our whole lives waiting for our chance, that fleeting tiny flash of perfection that is truly ours, but we could miss it in a New York minute. 

Boom! 

Snap!

Poof!

Now you are in charge of other people, making sure that they have everything they need. The focus is on them, making sure they come first instead of ourselves. Oh adulthood, what a perfect trap you are.

Anyways, maybe I should pop that NyQuil ZZZ pill. Non-addictive or habit forming, I swear! No itchy wrists or drug addiction here. I'm nowhere near that interesting. I know they say sex and pain sells, but that is not on the menu here on this 'health and ranting' blog I am running.
Sleep well to those of you who can.

I am off! But before I beg my pillows for a sweet dream, here is a list of some of the stuff I have done to occupy the hours I was meant to be silent and sleeping.

How To Occupy the Silent Hours when Sheep Just Wont Do It!

1. Silent workout (mostly yoga, crunches, leg lifts, and stretches)
2. Sketch, Draw, Creative yet Silent stuff (paint it out, or doodle)
3. Write (blog stuff, correspondence, to do lists for the rest of the week)
4. Fold clothes
5. Listen to music (tried unsuccessfully not to dance around)
6. Watch Buffy, Archer, and Victor/Victoria on the TV
7. Pamper Myself (nails, trim hair, tweezers brows)
8. Down a HUGE water bottle

What do ya'll do to get through bad nights like these? Please tell me. Totally willing to try anything just short of bad for my health or tattooing myself in the face. 

Bye for Now x

Summer Reading List 2012

*  Summer Reading List  *

*  2012  *

REVIEWED 

"Wait, you gotta be kidding me! I have to read this summer?!?!"

- the majority of kids, in schools all over the world.

[from the ages of 9 -18 (and sometimes thru to 24)]

Remember when our schools would hand out the summer readings lists, five days before the end of term? And even if we wanted to hide it from our parents, the schools sent out lists to them too, making avoidance impossible. One time, my brother actually waited by the door every morning for three days, Bart Simpson style, hoping to run interference for all three of us...Unfortunately for us, our parents had gotten the list straight from the school about two weeks before we did.

But no, I am not saying that by reading this blog you must buy all the recipe books to understand anything I will write. This is supposed to be a helpful guide, a resource of genuine and practical advise, not homework.

The following are the books I have received as early birthday gifts from friends and relatives in 2012. I have combed through them, and have finished writing reviews on each. I can honestly say that I have been using some of these recipes to help create my daily and weekly menus. In a few weeks, I will post some of the recipes that are my favorites, with reviews form people who have eaten them.

(A NEW reading list will also be added)

1. The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano

* * * * *  2013

A few years back, I saw this book being discussed on Oprah. I tried a small recipe from it, a granny smith apple and goat cheese sandwich (1 apple, halved, and 1 slice of goats cheese in the middle), and that was my lunch for two weeks. But I completely forgot about this book even being around. Thanks to my parents, this was the first new book to hit my desk. So far, I have only skimmed through it ( I have had it only for 53 minutes and I have no highlighter or post-its!!!) but it is very intriguing. In other discussions for this blog, I will most likely reference this witty and insightful woman's words.
Well, that top paragraph was from last summer! I have to say I love this book. Mirelle Guiliano is such a delight within these pages. It is a great read, informative yet entertaining, with wonderfully delicious recipes. There were moments, not in the recipes of course, where I genuinely thought, "I have always known that, but now I get it!" It even has menus - from the every day to the fantastical - which I have used for parties and my day to day. My favorite recipe has to be the zucchini and leek salad. I incorporate it in all the time. And now that it is summer again, and salads are all my body craves, I can mix it up. There are also some great chicken and fish recipes, but I love this book for all its veggie idea goodness!

2a & 2b. The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go by & Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Conventional Japanese Meals on the Go by Joie Staff 
I have always loved anime, and bento boxes were always such a nifty idea. I could never fully master the techniques and recipes I would find throughout the countless Internet searches and anime shows over the years. But with these lovely new books, which I will crack into as soon as I can, I am sure I can create a beautiful bento box for my summer lunches. 

These two books are actually amazing, especially for beginners! I know how to cook rice. I'm Hispanic, it is in my blood. The way tea is in the blood of the British or salty meat foods are in the arteries of the Germans. But the way these ladies teach you how to cook rice, the way it needs washing and steaming before it get any seasoning at all, makes the rice not just mind blowing, but good for days. I truly recommend eating it fresh if you make Onigiri or sushi (just for that orgasmic taste alone), but the rice itself, when stored properly, is good for 2 or 3 days. The pictures help you plan out a proper bento box, or set meal. The recipes are easy, and the instructions are clear to boot. All in all I would say that if you want fresh bento, get these books . . . Just be prepared to go hunting for the ingredients! 


3. The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional by Glenn Rinsky
Recently, there was this worry about the future that was tugging at me. My soul screams for theatre, for performing, for anything creative!! But my mind...now, as Peter Pan warned me to fight against, worries about money and being able to sustain myself away from the poverty line took hold. With the yen for more training in acting (mainly classes until I can apply for grad.schools in 2013), and returning to where my heart feels free ( London ), there was a nightmare clouding my mind. What if I had to do something other than acting? Would I teach? Or is there something else I would love to do, that would make me feel as alive as theatre does, while still getting paid and not become a prostitute? A DAY JOB, if you will?
I came up with one, and only one. It is a private dream that only three people in the entire world know about, and I am afraid, no offense y'all, the idea is too good to share and get stolen by someone else. Sorry, no way on earth I'm spilling this juicy secret. But I will say this for all you curious kittens out there. It made me think of becoming a Chef. A proper food and pastry one! After the idea was shot down by a certain someone, who shall be spared the humiliation of having their name put on the web as a dream killer (DREAM KILLER, I SAY!), I decided to buy this book for my birthday.
The best gifts come from the people who know us best, right? And who better to get me a heartfelt and meaningful gift, than me? So, Happy Early Birthday me! This book will hopefully teach me all those little tricks of the trade, and maybe someday that small dream may come true. To be an Actor + Chef sounds like a delectable dream, if I do say so myself! 
This was an exceptionally thick book, that made me feel thick too. Not for gaining weight! But the book itself could kill someone in a Giffie! Well, for training this book was bad for me. The instructions were clear if you were already a chef that is. The recipes were beautiful and sinfully delicious, but the tools for creating them were all far from me. I don't own a french pastry kitchen. It came with no set tools, or a note saying you will need shit tons of money and a kitchen that is not inside a closet to create these beautiful and taste delights. 

My kitchen is smaller than your thumb!

Recommended for advanced cooks/bakers, not the kind who have Thumbelina kitchens.


4. The Weeknight Cook: Fresh and Simple Recipes for Good Food Every Day by Brigit Binns
When your day starts at 4 am, and doesn't end until sometime around 8 pm, who has the energy to start a long, drawn out cooking process? For years, I skipped breakfasts and dinners, sometimes forgetting to eat for days due to the rushing and hectic days. Getting to sit and eat anything was a luxury, and a rare one at that. In college, most of my meals, if any, were between classes in 5 minute spats - God forbid you ate in a class room! - or worse, at 3 am while trying to study for a test or finish papers/reading plays. Every one said, " eating is important, make the time!" But honestly there wasn't any, and I'm sorry but a girls bathroom time cannot be compensated!
During my year abroad, however, things changed. I was walking more, I had to compensate for a much longer walking and tube commute, and I was so physically active that not eating resulted in dizzy spells and falling asleep during lectures. As we get older, there seems to be more time to have an hour for grocery shopping, making your meals ahead of time, and storing them for future lunches and dinners. With this book, I hope to find some recipes that will help all of us busy bees eat healthy, and have something to look forward to when we get home, or even when we hit the cafeteria brown-baggin' it!
This is one of the few books I can honestly state was a hit and miss. Some of the recipes are good, some are healthy, but some are actually not. Delicious or healthy. It helps the busy person, yes. It keeps a good idea throughout all the pages: Have something ready in your fridge so you don't binge on junk late at night. Otherwise, my actual least favorite of the bunch.  

5. Cook This Not That! Easy & Awesome 350-Calorie Meals by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding!
This book has fantastically quick and tasty meals. I always recommend their recipe books.

If any other books come across my desk?

I will update you all, pinkie swear!

If you have any books you think would be helpful for the rest of us?

Shoot me an email or post it below, and I will try to review it as soon as I can.

The 12 Week Workout. An Introduction.

Hello again you gym rats, you lazy couch surfers, or whomever my audience is today.

From beginner to master, we all hit a wall with our workouts. We try new routines, new popular methods, a class here or there, but a new plateau or a wall springs up on us anyway.

I'm just so exausted...

I Just..I Just...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I for one am tired of feeling like quitting!

If you are anything like me, the plateau is a test. A test of your will to keep going on this healthy path, or giving into the temptation of that comfy sofa of your old familiar and perhaps somewhat lazy lifestyle. But then again, not everyone is like me. My friend, let's call her Buete, only really hits walls when old injuries come into play. What are our injuries, you new comers might be pondering? My foot, her knees. She is a complete health nut, and a nutter (she's British, so a Brit phrase is appropriate) in general about her body image. But hey, most of us gals are. If you are looking for a fun rant on confidence check it out here, but this is about something better. 

It is about a new plan, a new idea in the fitness world that possibly some 
people have thought of before me but I am putting it out there for the 
benefit of not only myself and my goal, but for you. All those women, 
and the handful of men in my audience too, who were never taught 
the right way to workout, who were never taught how to workout best 
for their own bodies. This idea came to me a while back, while lost in 
the labyrinth addiction that is Pinterest, browsing through the Health 
and Fitness section. After a few dozen hours searching workout routine 
ideas I finally came up with one of my own. If all these people, mostly 
girls, could create their own physical challenges with cut off dates 
(ie. Fab Ab February, Tough Butt April, Melt the Muffin May) 
why not me? 

I'm real!!

I have always wanted someone to help me create a plan for working out (A Doctor/Actor buddy of mine and Buete are the only two who ever have), so I decided I need to be the one who is the helper. 

There are some in this world who have strength all on their own, even if they are not in touch with it themselves. Being able to admit you are strong enough to do something on your own, that was the penny in the air. And when the penny dropped, I grabbed my arts and crafts supplies and began my work.

Overall Notes on 12WW

• This program is for 12 solid weeks. During these weeks you will see and feel a change in your body and state of mind.
• This is a workout for you, for anytime during the day. Devote 30 minutes minimum, use a playlist, watch an episode of Archer or Buffy while you do it.
• Keep at it, it is only for 3 months. The time will pass anyway, so why not spend it how you want?
•  You can stay at level 1 throughout the 12 weeks, however that plateau might make you feel bored. The levels progress so that you can as well. If you are under the weather, take it easy. If you feel you can push yourself further, then hit the throttle, tilt the bottle and go! ( In no way do I mean drink booze before your workout. You are not Ke$ha.)

You might have noticed that there is a color coding system...
Oh, you didn't. 
Well, bellow is another one, explaining it!  

 Level 1 :  Orange square only + A  (Sun)
 Level 2 :  Orange +  Green Squares  + B (Sun)                                           
 Level 3 :  O +  G + Yellow Squares + C (Sun)            
 Level 4 :  O +  G (increase intensity) + Y+ D (Sun)


Confused?

Okay, it is intensive.

And yes, those places that say "page 1 /1 pic @ a time" only really apply to me.

I have printed pictures from Pinterest that are workout routines I incorporated into the 12WW. There are varied levels and each page I have made is for focused sections of the human body. I have a page for legs, arms, abs, and even specific muscles. I highly recommend that you make your own, since I will have different body image goals than ya'll would have as well as a different physical history. Some of you might take a gym class, or a dance class, or go running like wild animals in the streets of your town. Anything you want, as long as you do it!

And of course tell me of your progress. I am by no means an expert, I am a fellow flubber fighter and no more. I love to see progress, even if my own is slower than a turtle in a race. Have a great night, and possibly work this into your morning routine?

 

                                                                     

Bye for Now XX

23: The Year of Challenge & Changes

So, as you all can probably tell, I have been off the grid again. 

And for that, well . . . 

I, um, uhh . . . 

Hmmm . . . 

sorry is a pitiful word but here it sort of applies. 

I have been busy with the bullshit of adulthood, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. 
. . . Right . . . ? 

However I am a bit ashamed. Well more than a bit to be completely honest.
Not for choosing my career and personal life pursuits away from the realm of computers, but for settling into laziness when the real world work was done. Granted, I have gone through a lot in the past few months which I will get into later. Is that any excuse though? To throw away the hard worked earned on the slower path, by taking the easy road with the quick fixes that last about as long as this run on sentence?

Oh God, Get on with it already!!

Okay okay! Here goes nothing.

It has been a crazy few months for dear old blogger and tortured artist Ashley. First, let's cover the updates on the life end. After getting ill and injured at a specific place I will not mention, loosing my visa, gaining a new visa sponsor, facing death and the grief aftermath, sticking to my diet and workout plans and actually loosing weight, landing jobs that made it too difficult to stick to that lifestyle change. My career was at a complete stand still. I got a few bits and bobs here and there, mostly helping friends with their work for free. I finally got a theatre job, then a film one, then another theater gig. Now I am auditioning, looking for more work and trying to get back into a routine to not only get some mental clarity, but to build a routine back up. 

Not having a routine has started making me question a hell of a lot of things. 
Not just about myself, but about my up-bringing, my school routines...
It feels like I have been on a treadmill for 22 odd years with headphones and blinders on, and at 23 the headphones and blinders were finally taken off, and I was told "Hey, Ash. You know there is a whole gym, not just this treadmill right? Oh and we are closing in five. So you will have to head outside soon."

Can you see why I have been away from the keyboard, yet??

Now I am back...again...no really, I swear! 
We've got so much new material for ya'll to read about not only my life, which I am sure you have been dying for, but more HTDW's and other interesting articles one health, goofiness, and reviews on every topic under the sky! See you tomorrow for more adventures.

 Bye for Now Lovelies xx