Vacuity

My apologies for dropping off.

I blame:

1. workout/health mania

2. twitter's beguiling 140 character limit-o-fun

3. heat

4. summer

5. my fierce yearning for home ownership

6. bunnies



:)

This is Sean...

...my personal trainer at CrossFit Seattle.

He makes me lift weights (like the kind in the Olympics dude), row like a maniac, squat waaaaaaaay too much, swing kettlebells, throw medicine balls, do farmer effin' walks and some other crazy stuff I never heard of that makes me sore.

He is nice.

I still hate him during workouts.
Hate's a bit strong but I am not in the middle of a circuit right now either.


This is what the goals look like:


I am at Level Negative I.

What's been going on...

Last week was pretty darn amazing.
First off, the fact that I was able to deadlift 134.4 lbs. and back squat 95 lbs.

Deadlift

*that's not me ;)

Back Squat
*still not me

was something I could not have even imagined I would do, ever. I was very proud! I am still way far from my goal but I do notice more strength and stamina just in my day to day life. During my CrossFit training, however, I'm still dying at only the halfway point of the circuits!

Also, not only did my Late necklace for Wonderland Dreams make it to the Etsy Storque Spotlight but my Aqua and Black earrings were included in Angela's (Pickles on Pizza) Cyber Friends treasury! The treasury is now over but you can see the items that were included below:Please check out Angela's wonderful shop CutNGlue which is full of her wonderful collages!

I am still getting used to the way my new iPhone takes photos but here are some shots taken in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle this past weekend. It was a beautiful day!

Gorgeous flowers outside of Burnt Sugar


and the infamous Rocket.

This guy was in the teensie coffee shop where I got a cherry Italian soda, sadly I can't remember the name of the place but they had a working vintage cash register!!!

Kitty, snoozy in the bookstore :)

I think these are apartments. Reminds me of a building that has since been revamped in Berkeley, CA.

It was my first time in Fremont and I definitely will be going back.

Here's hoping this week is full of more cool things.

I am officially a Twit...

...terer.

Been fighting it but have given in. Since I am mostly on the iPhone nowadays I figure this might be a good thing. I do admit it really was the Iran situation that convinced me that this Twitter thing could be a good thing. If it's good enough to get the news out of an otherwise shutdown country it's good enough for me.

I am still trying to get the hang of it all so bear with me :P

If you are on the Twitter and want to follow me I am on there as: creativecoquett

It really chaps my hide that the last 'e' is cut off because it's one letter too long for the username, grrrrrr.

Toodles!

Air Hockey, SYTYCD and Torture, O My!!

Air Hockey:

We recently became iPhone users and so far it is pretty darn groove-a-delic! Beyond all the cool features, GPS has already saved me 4 times and I don't know how I can ever live without it ever again, I have acquired a portable air hockey table for a mere 99¢! As some of you know I looooooooooove air hockey and I have always wanted my own table. Now I have one I can carry anywhere and play anytime I so desire. This is something I did not expect and I am discovering more and more I can do with this awesome gadget! W00t!

SYTYCD:

OMG, So You Think You Can Dance is as awesome as ever!!!! This is definitely my all time favorite TV show and I can never get enough! I am so excited there is going to be a Fall Season this year as well, YAYs!!!!! I dunno who is going to get cut this coming week but all I do know is that from here on out, it has got to be the hardest competition in the show's 5 seasons.


Torture:

As mentioned previously we have joined Level 4: CrossFit Seattle. Last time I mentioned this was just after our first full session with Sean, our trainer. Since then we have moved on from just learning some of the moves and practicing our form to actually doing CrossFit Workout Circuits. Oh-My-Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd! They are intense! We are basically dying and it's only half way through the circuit, gaaaaaaah. Sean is nice to us so we do 20 seconds on and 20 seconds rest, normally you would only get 10 seconds rest. We do not look forward to Tuesday and Thursday but luckily since we are both going, it motivates us to go anyway. Wednesday and Friday are now basically "Holy cow, I am friggin' sore and don't want to do anything!" day. After each workout we shlump home and feast on my homemade all fruit smoothie and make sure we eat a hunk of lean protein. I no longer can stay up past 11 pm and wake up naturally before the alarm each morning.

O My:

Since we are going to maintain this schedule through the entire summer, I expect my online presence to slack off majorly. We are basically dead after working out Tuesday and Thursday, SYTYCD takes over on Wednesday and Thursday night, and Friday we are just plain dead and glad it is the weekend. Add to that the 80+ temps we have been experiencing even at night, no air conditioning to speak of, making the house let alone my attic office/studio pretty much unbearable, and it all equals little to no time in front of my computer upstairs or the hot laptop downstairs. Also, I can no longer pull those late nights like I used to since the workout schedule has me zombified by 11 pm on a regular basis. Luckily the iPhone keeps me in touch with emails and I can surf the Internet pretty easily with it but other than that, I will be sporadic with anything other than focusing on getting in shape this summer. I do have a wedding coming up so there go my priorities :P

Pant, Pant, Huff, Huff! How pancakes got us fit!

Since moving from San Francisco two years ago, we have switched from a naturally active life, walking to and from work (up/down killer SF hills), to clients and just to have fun in the city, to a life where we drive everywhere and I work from home. Needless to say, out of shape came fast. Finding the right workout is hard. One we can do together and both benefit, stay interested, focused and challenged is even harder.

Pancakes. Yes, pancakes and actually bacon, at least for Y, turned out to be our salvation. Our favorite breakfast place here in Seattle is The Dish. What I thought was just an automotive repair shop/garage behind the restaurant where we occasionally devour yummy pancakes on the weekend, is actually Level 4: CrossFit Seattle. Y spotted the sidewalk sign one day as we sat by the window and it piqued our interest. We checked out the website and thought it sounded perfect for us and our goals.

We had our free one hour get-to-know/session last Friday with our trainer Sean and I won't lie, my thighs were annihilated and I basically moaned on every stair this past weekend, lol. It was the good kind of sore though and the kind you know is mostly due to having been a Mirra chair potato for the last two years and that my booty basically did not wish to defy gravity as part of our challenge included a circuit that ended with hopping on and off a wooden box. I had to do the baby height and could only hop 10 times and had to step up the last 10 [tisk tisk].

Tonight was our first full on session with our trainer Sean. OMG, this workout rocks! We are so happy we found this place. We were both challenged and the workouts are varied and interesting, not the same repetitive zombie stuff as at most gyms. We did 500 meters on the Concept 2 rowing machines, worked with kettlebells (which is a great cardio workout and tons of fun), push presses and pull-ups. Okay, Y did some pull-ups (he went to 11), I have never been able to even hang on and today was no different, so I got to start building my strength by using the gymnastic rings and pulling myself up from an angled position with my feet on the floor. Everything is tailored to our ability level and frankly it's the best workout ever!

So I am excited AND we get to do it together, even better, YAYs!!! I'll keep you all posted on our progress.

:)

Taaaaah-Daaaaaaah!!!!!

I have been MIA for a bit now and I know you all know I am getting married but that is pretty much under control at the moment, YAYs!!! What has been keeping me super busy is that beyond attempting to launch my own website, all by myself (which is still a major focus and time consumer), I also have decided to launch not one but TWO new shops on Etsy!

Introducing:

Wonderland Dreams
Dreamy Alice in Wonderland Jewelry

and

Superfly Delicious
Superfly Gifts and Delicious Paraphernalia

I started populating my shop this week and will be adding to the inventory, so keep checking in for new items.

There are so many wonderful little goodies I wish to get out there into your wonderful hands to make you feel beautiful, unique and giggly and I wish to do the same for your surroundings. These kind of items bring joy to my life and I just want to share :) It's all about the details in life and I really want to become known as the purveyor of beautiful little details. Throughout my career as an interior designer I was fortunate to do this on a much larger scale, entire rooms, houses, restaurants, buildings, shops, offices, car dealerships and even some magic at airports. I have just tuned my focus upon the individual. All I know is I am enjoying it immensely and I am pleased that I seem to be resonating out there with some kindred spirits.

Here is a look at some of the items recently listed:





and here is a look at the packaging:

I would love to know what you think! Feel free to leave comments, email me directly or even add me to your favorites (Oooooooooooo!).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Do yourself a favor.

If you like brilliant, smart and interesting movies, go and rent The Man from Earth written by Jerome Bixby.




We watched it last night and it's now one of my all time favorite movies. Since I prefer not to know too much about a good movie, I'm not going to tell you anything about the storyline. You can always clicky the link above for the info if you really want to know.

How I envy you, for you are in for a treat!

My Elph is wonky!

Arrrrrgh! My Canon Digital Elph camera is on the fritz, boo, sniff :(
Of course it decides to start to wonk out on both weekends my niece had her first piano and first ballet recitals. Crapness to the extreme! This is the camera I usually take out of the house as it is compact and even though it's 5 years old (I received it as part of my bonus at my old firm in SF back in 2004), it takes, or took, decent sized photos and video. Y's comparable camera died last Christmas. So we are now down to my camera phone which sucks and my super amazing Nikon D80 (a gift from Y back on Christmas 2006 <3) which I am still too scared of wandering outside with, lol. It's big and inconspicuous for just snapping a random shot here or there and with all the rain in Seattle I don't want to ruin it. I know I am a worry-puss and need to get over it especially since I have fantasies of taking real professional photos.


[scrunched up nose smirky smile]

Project 365: Days 052-058

I have been MIA for a week, first due to
being busy then due to injury.
Thanks to those who expressed concern :)
you make me feel warm and fuzzy.
Follow my week to see what happened:

Day 052:

I found my wedding shoes! All the rest went back for FREE!
The shoes I settled on are a tad higher than I really wanted but for now they are the best choice. Since Zappos gives you 365 days to return, if I do find a better pair over the next few months I can still return them, YAYs!!

Day 053:

I love avocados and lately Amazon Fresh has been delivering the best avocados I can find. I order non-ripe ones and they are perfect each and every time. Yum!!

Day 054:

Lemons and limes are a staple in my kitchen. I love the smell and the flavor. I am addicted to S.Pellegrino mineral water with a squeeze of fresh lime. Totally refreshing and waaaaaaaaaaaaay better for me than regular soda.

Day 055:

I had to do a ton of research on Tuesday and Wednesday. I opted to do it in front of the TV with my laptop. Very bad move. I usually do my work on my iMac with a normal mouse. The laptop has a built in scrolly area that you need to use two fingers to scroll. I took this photo as I realized what had caused my pain. As you can see, I have very bad form and combined with too many hours of continuous scrolling, I gave myself a repetitive stress injury afftecting my right pinky and ring finger. Such a dork! It hurt all the time from Thursday through Saturday and I could not hold a mouse or type and even petting Zira hurt. Hence my MIA status last week. Please do not try this at home.

Day 056:

Here I am in what I call my Black Spidey glove. I have one for each hand. When I first started creating jewelry pieces, I was a bit of a mad woman going on for hours on end with the excitement. Well that's not such a great thing for your hands when you are not used to these new positions and holding pliers. I started to get carpal tunnel and had to get these gloves to help keep my hands warm and train them to be in a good position (there is a stiff metal brace inside of these from the palm to the wrist). Between the gloves, training myself to only do so much at a time and making sure I take breaks, I haven't had to use the gloves in ages. Until now. My right hand hurt so much after my scrolly injury, even when not doing anything, I figured I would try the magic glove.

Day 057:

Rocky Road ice cream makes me happy.
I had this bowl and I seriously think it cured my hand :P
At least to the point where I could mouse and type a wee bit
and that is the only time it feels sore now.

Day 058:

I can only work on the computer in short stints, so it has taken me all day to get this post up. Luckily it no longer hurts to pet Zira. But at this point, I do feel the soreness coming back so I will be laying off blogging for awhile again until I am fully recovered. I'll be back eventually and I wish you all a wonderful week!

Yo!

I seem to be saying 'Yo' alot lately.

[snicker snicker]

Meep Meep!!

I am sort of back! Sorry to have been gone so long but I have been crazy busy. I am trying to catch up with emails and posts. I still have alot on my plate but should be able to keep up a bit better in the coming weeks. I did find a dress! You can see the Day 033 post for more on that :) Still much to do and figure out wedding wise. Taxes of course are making me a bit crazy. I have a couple of projects that need my immediate attention and I still hope to accomplish my goals for my line sooner than later.

I will be catching up with your blogs this week and can't wait to see what all you lovelies have been up to!

xo-z

Hectic

Things will be hectic in my world through the end of the month. Loads of stuff I seriously need to accomplish. I will try to keep up with my Project 365 and sprinkle in a regular post when possible. I will also stop by all your wonderful blogs, as I always do, but it will probably be sporadic. Please bear with me and stay tuned :P

xo-z

Project 365: Day 001

Once again I am playing along with Smilemonsters, what can I say, she's fun to play with! Today is the first day of Project 365, where we are taking a photo every day for one year.

Today we went to The Container Store to pick up a few things for the house. I was so excited to score this compartmentalized container for my sassy D&D dice. This month we begin hosting a bi-monthly game night. Y is the DM (Dungeon Master) and I am a total n00b. I've read "Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress (Girl's Guide to Dungeons and Dragons)" in preparation. Having never played, I still don't get it but when I found these pink sparkly dice I was all, Dude, I'm in!

Stiletto Races Around the Globe

O MY!
Back in the day,
I would have been a contender.
I ran everywhere in 4" heels.
Up and down the
San Francisco hills
for 20 years.
Today,
the docs ban me from wearing such beauties.
Just special occasion wear now,
that does not involve much walking or standing, LOL.
Girls,
be kind to yourselves.
Everything in moderation.
Including heels.
[sigh]

Amsterdam:


Berlin:

Models Race in Stilettos @ Yahoo! Video

Moscow:


Sydney:



Worthing:


Georgia:


New York:

Quick Update...

Whoooooo, been super busy since last week. FINALLY finishing up the homestead. YAYs!!! By early March we should be done! Moving twice (long distance) in two years kinda makes you drag your feet.

Been working on some neglected paperwork and all those business things that we wished we had at least an intern for, hee hee.

I'll have more on our WTJs for you this week and I hope to get some more items listed in my Etsy shop. I also need to work on my Zazzle shop, especially this hat I started that all the boys are clamoring me for :) Time just goes by so quick!

Hope you all are happy and well.

xo-z

Seven

I was tagged by cottoncolors and the rules are to tell seven things about yourself and then tag seven others.

1. I HATE milk. As in drinking it. According to my mom, she had to put Nestle's Chocolate in my bottle for me to drink it as a baby. As I grew up, only chocolate milk could cross my lips if it was ice cold and I could never drink the last bit in the glass. This forced milk drinking went down to only at breakfast and then stopped completely in high school. However, I have to add milk to hot coffee along with tons of sugar if I am to manage to drink coffee, never cold. O and please don't drink milk in front of me, ick, major gag reflex. I do loooooooooooove ice cream but not melted ice cream and cheese is way yum. I don't like milkshakes either, it's definitely a texture thing as well as a taste thing.

2. I LOVE the show So You Think You Can Dance and will watch episodes over and over because it makes me soooooooo happy. Sometimes I shed tears because I am moved so by the dance. I actually got to attend one of the shows in season 3 and it was awesomeness!

3. I have not been beaten at air hockey in over 25 years. OK, I probably haven't played a game in maybe 5 years and haven't had a major challenge in 0ver 8 but in the last major challenge I beat 12 people in a row, mostly male and some female, as in one right after another in games of 2 out of three. The next day I had a long bruise across the front of my thighs (where the table hit me) and my arms were sore for days.

4. When I arrived in Tokyo, for the first time ever, I was immediately whisked away to Costco and I had free sashimi samples (my neice's birthday was coming up and Costco was close to the airpost so the family took advantage of the trip, lol). It was a bit of a surreal and unexpected experience especially after the long flight.

5. I have a system for surviving long air flights like 14 hours Los Angeles to Sydney: get a window seat, stay up for the first meal if it's within 3 hours, then take a couple of NyQuil liquid gels, insert earplugs, put on eye mask, and crash under a blanket with a couple of pillows (one under my head and one between me and the hard arm rest next to the window). I can usually get a good 4 hours of sleep, at least. I have done this way too many times.

6. I am a hermit. I prefer to stay home doing my thang, working on projects, hanging with my beau (he's a hermit too) and our indoor kitty, Zira, ruler of our universe.

7. I play alot of video games with my man :P






Now for my seven tagged victims, er, bloggers:

http://picklesonpizza.blogspot.com
http://stelabird.blogspot.com
http://anastasiac.blogspot.com
http://gladysgladrags.blogspot.com
http://paprikasperch.blogspot.com
http://nontrendy.blogspot.com
http://bedlamcountrycrafts.blogspot.com


Go check them all out!

ugh....

I have this awful head cold thingy
with a tickle in my nose that is making
me friggin' c-r-a-z-y!!!

I've been trying to fight it off but it has taken over
and I need to rest. I'll be back to regularly scheduled blogging
when I can think straight again [sniffle sniffle].

Meanwhile my wonderful fiancé
gave me Mochi for valentine's day!

I was so surprised as I thought Mochi was gone forever when he sold so quick after I blogged about him. I guess I had cooed so much (I suppose petting Mochi on my screen didn't hurt, yes I did, lol) that he figured out that I was really in love with the little guy.

Mochi is even better in person<3!!
Visit Violet Pie for other wonderful luvs.

OK, I pass out nows. :P

Ocular Glitter Mondays: My Life

all photos taken by me

wtf? here

I just discovered Photo Booth on my iMac...

OMG! This is fun!
Check out a couple of the groovy effects you can use.

POP-Z

Comic Book-Z

I prolly should have brushed my hair, heh heh.

I still haven't figured out how to record a video, however.