San Francisco (day 1)

Hi hi,

I have traveled a good amount over the years, but I have never planned, paid, and followed through with a trip without any family. Recently I have been feeling like I am doing nothing with my life. I do a decent enough job when it comes to saving money and I decided it was time I do something. My new friend and I had talked about maybe going to San Diego for a night or two (later in our relationship), but I had a better idea. He received some bad news and I decided to attempt to be spontaneous. I asked him to go to San Francisco with me at the end of the week. I thought he would be hesitant for a few reasons, but he agreed.

While we were planning the trip I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't happening. I asked him on September 6th if he wanted to go and September 7th I booked the hotel. September 9th came and we went to rent a car for the trip. We rented it under his name since I am not 25 years or older and didn't feel like paying an extra $10 a day.

Luckily he agreed to do most of the driving. Wasn't sure how being stuck in a car with him for over six hours, but it was all good. Once we got into the city I realized how living in my city is nothing like the city city. Super tall buildings, crazy traffic, tons of people, etc.

After a long day being on the road we unpacked a bit and headed to Japan town. This bridge reminded me of the bridge in the movie Spirited Away.



We walked around some stores, and stopped at a small place for dinner. Can't say it was the roomiest place, but I did enjoy my dinner.

We both curry for dinner. Although, I will admit that his looked a lot more fancy than mine. We've never seen someone put parm on curry.

Pretty interesting place. So many bottles, books, and small figurines/toys.

It was kind of surreal being in a city when on any normal day I would probably be in home clothes on the couch watching Family Feud. We headed back to the hotel to plan for our first full day in the city.

-ALG

Woah . . . Mermaid Hair?

Hey guys,

Following up the last post, here is what my bright hair looked like. I was not wanting or expecting the end result to be so bright, but there was no going back. I loved how it matched my new bikini top though! 

As we all know, colored hair fades and mine faded to a funky green color. My coworkers at the salon I work at asked to play with my hair and here's what she did.

The color wasn't terrible for four weeks. Plus I wash my hair at least once a day in hot water.


When the four weeks were up I got tired of the color and decided to do an ombre of three colors. I was honestly too lazy to pull the color from my hair prior to the next coloring session so I layered it over the green hair.

The results were a bit different than expected, but I loved it. I love the dark look and it went well with my favorite black lipstick. I thought it was kind of cool how I went from feeling younger, nicer, happier, ect to a more serious, dark, mysterious look.

Of course my other coworker wanted to play with my hair. Interesting braid.

Now that it has been exactly five weeks (today is 9/25/16), my hair is one big mess of ugly colors. I've got a wedding to go to in a couple of weeks so I need to pull the color from my hair and color it again. Kind of nervous about pulling the color, but we will see how it goes. Any suggestions for the next times?

-ALG

Korean Lunch Lady

Hey,

I decided I would bleach and color my whole head. I have been considering the change for a few months, but I was never brave enough to go through with the change. I may have also thought that the boyfriend at the time would dislike the hair change so I put it off. It was time though! I did some research and asked around for any tips for bleaching and coloring. I found that to help prevent some of the damage I could apply coconut oil to my hair prior to the bleaching process. It was also supposed to help protect my scalp from burning. Luckily my mom helped rub coconut oil into my hair and scalp. Having such a large amount of coconut oil in my hair was funky feeling. Bye bye black hair.

My aunt helped me by applying the bleach to my hair to make sure I didn't miss any spots. It took a little over an hour! Since my hair has been messed with for so many years the result was not pretty at all. All the new growth near my scalp was a bright orange color, I still had that gross green color, some parts were still black, and some of the tips were almost see through/creamy looking.





I know I am supposed to wait a few days if not weeks before another bleaching session but I was impatient and could not go long with my hair looking like a hot mess. So my aunt and I went back to bleaching my hair. This time we put a shower cap on my head while we waited for my hair to lighten. We were busting up though because we thought I looked like a Korean lunch lady lol Not a bad color though.

May have left it in for a bit longer than I wanted, but here's the end result! Not the best job, but it was better than before. The hair near my roots were still a bit dark orange/copper and the rest was light blond/yellow.










I disliked the color at first, but when I had to go to the gym the next morning I was starting to get used to the new look. I actually thought about being a blond for a while. I think if the coloring on the top was a bit smoother I would have embraced the blond for a week or more.

Even as I sit here typing this post I kind of regret not leaving my hair blond.

-ALG

Thrifting + Casa Jimenez

I'm bloated,

Today my mom and I decided we would be adventurous and visit a few thrift stores, eat at one of our old favorite restaurants, and try a new drink/ice cream place. Our first stop was a place called 2nd Chance. This thrift store had photos of dogs and cats that are up for adoption on the wall and they donate to the shelter. We were relieved when we walked in and felt cool. It was almost 100 degrees outside! This store had clothes, books, purses, household items, jewelry
, a room of art, etc. Out of all the items I looked through I bought a pair of skirt overalls. He used to tease/make fun of me for wanting to wear overalls, but I found a pair that look stylish so I don't look anything like a farmer. If anything I look like a school girl.


Off to the second thrift store, Deeluxe. I have actually been in this store before, but only doing my summer job so I haven't had a chance to look around. They had a sale rack outside along with cute blue star balloons. This store has less of a thrift store vibe and more of a department store vibe. Also for being a thrift store their clothes are a bit pricey. Either that or I am cheap when it comes to buying clothes for myself... Anyhow I did buy this pair of shorts. I never ever have liked the ripped denim look, but I figured now is a good time for changes. I like that this pair of shorts is long so I can feel comfortable about the amount of skin showing.


I tried on this dress just for fun after putting it back on the rack. It was a bit difficult putting my head through the neck hole because it was so tiny! I rarely if ever wear tight clothing so when I saw myself in the mirror I did not like how I looked. I am always upset when I see the pudge of fat at the lower half of my tummy area. After wearing the dress for a minute I decided I actually looked really good (opinion of course)! Silly me didn't buy it though. My thoughts were it was too tight to be practical for me, I wouldn't be able to sit and look thin, and I wouldn't be able to eat which is probably most important. Now that I am looking at the photo I realize I should have bought that dress even though I have nothing and nowhere to wear it to and it will probably sit in my closet for months.

Our third and final thrift store was huge. We parked in a strangle little parking lot in the back with barbed wire, and when we entered the store we both felt overwhelmed. There were people, clothes, junk everywhere! We walked the perimeter of the store because the amount of disorganized clothing was stressing us out. I did find this rather interestingly titled book. We decided it was time we go eat instead of trying to tackle the mess.

Many years ago we used to have a Casa Jimenez Mexican restaurant down the street from our home. We would go almost once a week and the waitress knew our names, drink orders, and could usually predict our meal orders as well. Unfortunately they closed down a few years ago and we were so sad. A city or two over we found another one and we were so excited to have the yummy Mexican food once again!

Most people know I order the same thing at all Mexican restaurants, rice, beans, and flour tortillas. This time I changed it up! I went with the all you can eat option. I can't eat THAT much, but I did want variety. We started off with chips and the BEST salsa ever! My mom got enchiladas with beans and rice. I got a small salad, beef taquitos, a bean and cheese burrito, a cheese enchilada, rice, and beans. I love my rice so I ordered another serving of rice. I can't say I finished it all but I did eat most of the enchilada, my burrito, the rice, a taquito, and some of that sour cream! My mouth is watering thinking of that food. I want to go back already!

Can you believe after all that food I still wanted more?? My mom and I drove back toward home and tried a new drink/ice cream place we had recently learned about. Most places that carry these types of drinks they carry boba as an option to add to the drink. Oddly enough this place didn't offer boba! Instead they had something called crystal bits. They are so bizarre! A cross between boba and lychee jellies but with a taste of brown sugar. We got a sample and I honestly couldn't tell if I liked them or not. My mom on the other hand seems to be in love with these crystal bits. I still don't know if I like them or not! I got this beauty which is a mix of matcha and horchata. It had a stronger cinnamon flavor than matcha, but not bad. They have a lot of choices on their menu so we will definitely have to go back and try them again! Not to mention they even spelled my name right!!

-ALG

Lash Extensions Second Try

Hey,

Not sure who reads these, if anyone does, but if you've been here a while you know I have tried lash extensions in the past. If you didn't know, no worries, you can check it all out here. I decided to give lash extensions another try. It's been on my mind for a month or two, but the most recent unfortunate events have convinced me to treat myself. I did buy a Living Social deal so after tip I spent $50 on what was supposed to be $70 for new clients and $150 for others. The $50 sounds like a lot until put next to those prices. Although I will admit I had a hard time justifying spending that much money on lash extensions.

This is my before. They are hard to see and I even curled them so they should be more visible.

Here's the after! At first, like in most of my beauty type services, I was not sure if I was happy with the look. I felt that the lashes were too long and too full for my every day natural look aka no makeup and home clothes. Now that it is a day later as I type this I have had time to look at them and get a better feel for the newest additions to my face. I love how they make me look! I haven't been the happiest camper lately and I feel that having the lash extensions open my eyes and make me appear more friendly and happy. I am considering going back in two weeks for a fill which is priced at $40. Living Social did send me a $5 voucher to use if I go back though, and I just received an email from the owner saying I will be given 10% off my next service. Both are great because I get to save some money and not feel as guilty or crazy for spending that kind of money.

The downs to having these lash extensions would be not being able to wash my face like normal, no oil based makeup remover, not able to rub/itch my eyes, wearing glasses/sunglasses feels awkward, my eyes felt very irritated the hours following the service and a bit the following day, and they are pricey. I do like that I can look like I put a lot of effort into getting ready to face the day by taking less than five minutes to apply natural eye shadows. I've got a lot of thinking to do before I go back. I'll let you guys know if I go back though so keep an eye out!

On a tangent I had this almost rainbow colored lunch! In an attempt to be healthier and more conscious of my food choices I had banana chips, cherry tomatoes, mango, blueberries, edamame, asparagus, and baked yam. Isn't it pretty?? Too bad I stuffed my face with chips and chocolate later that night to try to prevent myself from reaching out to him. Plus I didn't even workout! I'll be back on track soon.

-ALG

Back At It

Hey guys,

I had an emotional day and an extremely rough morning. Yet again, I woke up shortly after six in a sweat, in pain, and emotional. I keep having this bad dream where the same scene keeps replaying itself. In this dream he and I are driving and arrive at the airport, both exit the car, hug for a minute, I cry, he says something, and I either watch him drive away as I stand frozen like a statue or I turn and walk away forever into the airport. I mean it was difficult enough experiencing this in real life, but to have to keep reliving and facing that event is a lot to deal with when you first wake up. I wish I had control over my dreams. If I could I would dream about food because food is always fun to try and usually yummy. Food makes me happy. After sitting on my bed a good while after the dream I broke down and ended up telling him about the dream. Why? I have no clue. I knew what he would most likely say/do and not say/do. I should be content with him responding at this point.

After getting over that as best I could, I got myself ready for my meeting at the gym. My membership is up for renewal so I had to go to the gym to discuss prices and pay for my new higher tier membership. It has been at least two and a half months since I last stepped foot into the gym so I was feeling vulnerable, nervous, and lost. The gentleman that went over the information with me was very helpful and even set me up with a trainer for an assessment this Friday. I will admit to a small emotional breakdown at the gym when the gentleman asked why I was so down. I recovered and made my way around the gym floor from the stair climber to the free weights to the bathroom (of course right?) etc. My thighs were burning at a mere minute and a half into my time on the stair climber but I pushed myself. The gym was packed compared to what I was used to and because of that I felt extremely self conscious lifting such light weights considering I was sweating, shaking, and almost struggling. I haven't lifted weights like that in over a month though. I was ready to call it quits after the weights, but I finished up with some core exercises to help out my very pathetic weak core. When I got home I hopped on to the treadmill and pushed myself to run at a 5mph speed for three miles. I was incredibly sweaty after to the point of my mom commenting that I sweat as much as a guy. I hope that just means I am getting a good workout in and not that there is something wrong with me. I was pretty much covered in sweat from my head to my toes.

For lunch I had edamame, blueberries, asparagus, a kind bar, and a handful of banana chips. Although I was trying to be healthy I did have some boba tea. I watched some TV with my mom and off I went to European Wax Center for my usual underarm wax session. I was bad and stopped by the boba place after. In my defense I had a 50% coupon that was going to expire soon.

Back to the car and down the road I went for a last minute scheduled massage. More like an hour therapy/venting session. I started face down and that's when I did most of my crying. Crying in itself is not comfortable or graceful in any means, but try crying on your face in a hole plus not really being able to wipe your nose when you want to. My massage therapist was a good ear and had some good advice and comments. Thank goodness I stopped crying half way into my massage so I could breathe again. I can't, but I can, believe that I broke down at the spa.


For dinner my dad made a yummy version of the Panera Strawberry and poppy seed chicken salad. Very delicious and light salad. I did give in to a half a bread, and to nobody's surprise I bloated a bit. Any time I have sodium, sugar, or carbs I bloat. I am drinking a lot more than 8 cups of water though so I could also be water logged. Regardless it has gone down since then. My parents and I ended the night with a few very funny episodes of Family Feud which helped bring my spirits back up and keep my mind off reality. But now I am faced with going to sleep here soon. I really do hope that I don't have to endure that dream again tonight.

-ALG

Salmon

Evening,

The day didn't start very well. I woke shortly after 6 from bad dreams and when I got up I got to clean up dirty pads (my dog) in the restroom. My room was already extemely bright from the sun coming through my blinds so falling back asleep didn't sound appealing at all. I lay there for a good while and luckily I knocked back out for about an hour. I wish I could say the second time waking up was better than the first, but I woke again from bad dreams in a sweat, in a pain that is very difficult to describe (one from emotions almost like a ton of bricks on your chest and whole body I suppose), which was shortly followed by a nosebleed. Good times.

This is nothing like what I grew used to, but here it is. We looked out the window and cuddled. I bet she would love to be in that yard his dog has.

I spend half the day cleaning and the other half watching TV with my mom. I decided that I would run before dinner because I got some heart wrenching information. I was a mess of emotions so instead of crawling into a ball on my bed to cry I ran 3.5 miles at a 5mph speed. I was drenched in sweat. Even after sitting for over an hour after my run, my shirt was still wet. My dad made one of my favorite dishes, salmon with angel hair pasta, for dinner. I ate the whole piece of salmon which is usually twice as much as I would normally eat, but I am trying to get more protein into my diet. After sitting a bit after dinner I hopped back onto the treadmill for a short 1.5 mile jog at 4.5 to make today a whole five miles done. If only the results reflected how much I sweat and the pain I feel the next day. Upstairs I went to do a few floor exercises. You can't see too well in this photo, but if you look closely you can see the sweat dripping down my face. Pretty disgusting when I have my shirt plastered to my back, arms, shoulders, and chest as well as sweat dripping down my whole face into my eyes nose and mouth.


I am honestly surprised I made it through the day. My high school teacher reached out to me to see how I was doing and ask what had happened. It is tough to handle all the emotions I am feeling and the reality I am faced with, but to make things more difficult I am not back at work for another two weeks, my only friend I spent time with has moved up north ironically, and I feel alone. I can't believe it has only been a short period of time since he has done a 180. I mean I am glad that he is getting over everything so quickly, but at the same time I wish he wouldn't so I know I meant more to him. I'm off to sleep soon, but I am scared of what my sleep holds for me, but I can't stay awake forever.

-ALG

Dishes?

What a day,

I woke up this morning at 6am from some nightmares. Not the best way to wake up, but guess I am glad the nightmare was over. I was in physical pain actually. My chest hurt, my body hurt, I was having trouble breathing as well. Eventually I fell back asleep, but woke feeling restless and tired. Can't say it's the same view as up there, but I tried.

I was also starving to the point of feeling sick and on the verge of vomiting. I managed to get myself up and made a big breakfast. I honestly wasn't sure if I could finish it all but I ate it all and then some.










Then something strange happened. I did all the morning dishes and swept. This may sound normal, but I don't usually do dishes at home. I guess it followed me back from NorCal. When I was up there I would do dishes, sweep, and clean a lot. I am going to try to keep all that up down here for as long as I can. I bet my family will be fond of the change. Not only will it be good in general but it will help to keep me busy.

Along the same lines as the previous paragraph, I went with my dad to the grocery store. I actually like going grocery shopping. I think for the moment it makes me feel a bit more grown up and useful. I like to look at all the different brands, fruits, veggies, junk food, etc. I also find it interesting to compare prices. While walking up and down the aisles this caught my eye. I honestly forgot to look for them, but I just so happened to look up at the right moment.

I got lazy for the second half of my day so I watched TV with my mom for a few hours. By that time it was dinner and we watched Spy which was a really funny movie. Had to convince myself to get my lazy bum on the treadmill, but I am glad I got on the treadmill. Now I am exhausted, but still not tired enough to be able to fall asleep. Soon hopefully since it's 1am.

-ALG

Updated Sushi Bar

Hey guys,

I woke up today at 6:15. 6:15! That is so early for old me. I did manage to fall back asleep for about an hours worth of sleep. When I finally got up I felt exhausted which is not how you want to feel when you first wake up in the morning. I was excited enough about going to revolving sushi with my mom that I got my lazy sad butt moving.

Wow the restaurant has changed quite a bit! The sushi comes around on the belt in domes that look slightly space age. There are actually two belts, one where the sushi constantly moves through the restaurant and one that delivers your order right to your table. Pretty cool improvement!

Once done with our plates we slid them into a slot in the table for the system to count toward our bill. My mom did point out that it gets dirty easily and it's probably difficult to clean in the slot and slide.

Just a few of the plates we snagged off the belt. I think I always get the same plates. I grab the fish eggs, tamago, manju, iniri, and sesame balls.

We decided to try an item both new to us and their menu. This is soy donuts! I think they were fried fresh because they were crisp and warm. Not bad actually! Not sure if it was worth $3.50 but glad we tried the new item. When we were done and ready to pay the gentleman had charged us wrong. My mom and I looked at the receipt and did the math in our heads for the items we had consumed. The guy basically was charging us an extra ten dollars. We brought it to his attention and he quickly fixed the receipt. A lady brought the new receipt back to our table and turns out they took the soy donuts off our check for the inconvenience! I'm not one to demand free food but I can definitely admit free food is pretty awesome in these situations.

Since we were at the mall we went to Godiva to redeem our monthly piece and see if there was anything new out. We got to try a sample of this raspberry rose chocolate. I love the detail on the top of the small piece of chocolate. This may be one of my new favorite pieces, next to the raspberry star of course.

Oh right I said I would tell you guys how the movie was! I really enjoyed the movie. I think my go to movies are romantic comedies, but I also enjoy action type movies. London Has Fallen held my attention and made me jump in my seats quite a few times. Well worth the $2.16 I spent to rent the DVD. I did get bummed after the movie because I thought about how he and I could have watched that movie and I think he would have enjoyed it as well.

I have been reminded of him all day. The scent of my clothes that we washed up there before I left remind me of him, my Fitbit, certain hours of the day, a lot of things. So after my dad and I returned the movie I got on the treadmill. My legs do feel a tad bit sore and I am proud of myself for reaching 15,000 steps for today. I didn't have any energy left for any other exercise so I called it a night. I won't be terribly surprised if I find myself staying up till 2am out of routine for him to come home from work and enjoy his company.

-ALG

Stay Busy

Hi,

Can't say I was feeling terribly happy when I woke this morning at 6:47. Not unhappy because of the time, but for obvious reasons. I think for a while I will continue to wake between 6:30 and 7 then fall back asleep till 7:30-8 and then be up for the rest of the day with a not so happy feeling tummy.

I knew that I had to keep myself busy to try to keep my mind of off what is going on in my life right now. Once up I changed my sheets, started laundry, and got decent looking. Mimi's groomer could take her early so I got her in the car and took her to her spa day (I felt like nauseous the whole way there). She always try to run out the door when she's waiting to be taken back to be groomed. It was difficult to try to photograph her when she wouldn't quit moving.

On the way home I realized people around here stop close to the back end of the car in front of them. A bit too close for my comfort now after two weeks of more room. I also found that any time I put the car into reverse I looked here for the back up camera that his car had.

I ran to Target for a few items. I am proud of myself for choosing blueberries over chips! I did give in to the Kind bars. Once I returned home I put together a lunch and folded and rotated the laundry.

I had a bit of time before I had to pick up the baby so I made a lot of phone calls. I scheduled my doctor appointment, massage appointment, I checked on my gym membership, and I scheduled a lash appointment. Thank goodness I called about my gym membership because tomorrow will be a year since I purchased my membership. The gentleman on the phone was very patient and explained the monthly fee vs paying in full as well as the option to upgrade my membership. Come Monday I will be $150 poorer, but I will have access to all fitness classes, the machines/equipment, tanning, hydro massage, and other locations. Not bad for only $50 more than the base membership I had. After all those phone calls it was time to get the baby. She was so soft and had cute blue bows!

I got some much needed boba, and went to Walmart to rent a movie from RedBox. I thought this one may look good when I was visiting up north, but we didn't get a chance to watch the movie. I did get the Blu-ray version so after tax it was $2.16. I'll let you know how the movie is tomorrow.

Can't say I was hungry for dinner so I hopped on the treadmill and did a short weight session. I don't know how successful I will be, but I want to continue working out. Wish me luck guys. On everything.

-ALG