Insanity Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I'm sitting here after completing my second ever Insanity workout and I'm not sure if I have the will to get up ever again. I'M SO SORE.


I was sore this morning from previous day's routine, and I'm not gonna lie, it's the good kind of sore, but to a degree I've never felt before :|. I had to work eight hours and I was hobbling around like a grandma. A proud grandma who holds her chin high for starting on an epic journey of fitness!

Anyway, onto today's workout. It was my first ever "routine" since the first day was more of just counting how many of each exercise you can do in a minute. Today was madness. I need to work on my mental block because a lot of times I wouldn't move just because I knew it would hurt when I started and I also assumed I was too tuckered out to do a lot of it, so I just lay in child's pose trying to coax myself into doing more. Also, in the last minute or so, sweat was pouring into my eyes, and apparently my sweat is acidic coz it was burning my corneas out. I had to do the whole last part squinting to look at the screen and then shutting my eyes completely until I could mop my face with a square of Bounty paper towel :P.

I am a little disappointed because I'm sure I could have pushed harder, but at the same time it's only my second day and I realize this is new to my body; I've pretty much strapped on jet packs to my muscles and asked them to go along with it to Mars, haha.

Hopefully I will have more perseverance next time, i.e. tomorrow. I can't believe I have to go through it all over again tomorrow. Thankfully, a different routine so hopefully the variety will keep me motivated.

I really like how I'm feeling, though. In more technical issues, my floor is really slippery to exercise on (it's laminate) so with the sweat and my cross-trainers on, I can't seem to get a good grip when I'm doing stretches, which is a little annoying. But hopefully it isn't a detriment to the effectiveness of the moves.

Alright, I'll keep updating as I go along. Oh Lord, have mercy on me for Day 3...

Insanity Day 1: Fit Test of Doom

I couldn't wait to start the Insanity workout (technically the schedule starts on Monday), but I got excited, so I did!

In good news, Day 1 of Insanity has been completed :D. In bad news, I feel horribly unfit :P.

It's the shortest workout of the series and it actually didn't feel that long, but half the time I was on the ground in pain so maybe that's why... I even paused the DVD three quarters of the way through and lied on my back on the floor for a good five minutes coz I thought my appendix was gonna explode (yeah, don't know what that's about...).

Now that it's over, I'm feeling the endorphin rush (i.e. runner's high) and I'm pretty pumped to go through the madness again tomorrow. It's going to be brutal but you gotta play the game to win!

I most definitely need to stretch, eat, and nap. I'mma do that... right now :).

I See You, Baby!

Oh man, Groove Armada (Fatboy Slim Remix!) is stuck in my head like no other. Yes, I am a fob, and I heard the song for the first time today as the score to a Nike ad. As much as I am neutral on Nike (although I've heard some terrible things about sweatshops...), I was in support of the message, which was, "Life is a sport. Make it count."

On Monday, I'm going to start the infamous Insanity workout by Shaun T and the BeachBody team. I decided I would state this out into cyberspace so that I can be held accountable by someone out there and so that I actually start it and stick with it! Not gonna lie, I'm terrified. Half the reason I'm doing this is to teach myself willpower, not just for physical exertion, but for other areas of life, too. It's so easy to just lie on the ground when life knocks you down, and hopefully this will force me to get back up and face any future rut I get stuck in.

I heard Insanity is some scary business. I watched one DVD just to get accustomed to the moves and it definitely looks intense. I can do this!! (Yay for self-motivation!)

So I'll post my fit test results on here and write about my progress; I'm determined to stay on track! I bought three tubs of hummus to cover my post-workout meal requirements! Haha!

Onward bound.

One Day

Hello, fellow earthlings.
I'm in a particularly lovey dovey mood at the moment. This Sunday is my parents' 26th wedding anniversary and I am just filled with an overwhelming sense of awe and admiration at how their relationship stays strong while still evolving. Between them, I see a very deep friendship and a sense of mutual respect and pride for each other.
I often question monogamy and if humans as animals are even meant to be with one person for most of their adult lives.
But then I realize that the complexity of human love is what defines us as not just animals. And I sincerely hope that one day I will be blessed with a companion who I can share my triumphs and sorrows with; someone I can be an individual with while still living out the phrase, "Two is better than one."
I partially blame this current mind frame on my Justin Bieber playlist. No one does romance better.
Also, acne is the devil :(. But I shall prevail!

Dalmatian Cupcakes!

I think I have a newly formed obsession blossoming within me.

It was my friend's birthday (Happy Birthday, Scott!), and him being of the male persuasion, I was having trouble thinking of an appropriate gift. Clothes, cologne - all so overdone!

Then it hit me that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach (as if that's not an overdone cliche, haha). So I decided to make him cupcakes! The entire process, from choosing a recipe to collecting the ingredients, making them, and garnishing for the final presentation, got me hooked onto this baking business.

So I thought I'd share my first adventure in cupcake-making. Before this, I'd only ever baked simple cookies, but I was about to become a trailblazer in my family's legacy of non-baking culinary traditions (like, we don't even own a spatula, I had to go out and get one).

(Read the following blurb if you want to know how I made them, otherwise, feel free to ignore and skip down to the pictures!)

The recipe I used is from the Betty Crocker website, although I made my own cream cheese frosting using this recipe, because the icing in a tub scares me. The modifications I made were:

1. I used light cream cheese and No Name cake mix. Worked great and I felt less guilty feeding them to my dear ones :P.
2. The cupcake recipe calls for one teaspoon of the cream cheese filling per cupcake. I used one tablespoon by accident (TEEHEE), but they turned out great that way.
3. I added the filling after filling the liners halfway with cake batter, whereas the website says to fill the liner to the top and then add the scoop of filling. I wanted to play it safe and make sure the filling sank to the centre. Which it did. Yay!
4. For the frosting, I doubled the ingredient quantities, but used 3 cups of confection sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract for the double batch. I didn't want the icing too sweet or too cream cheesy...
5. I used mini chocolate chips (semisweet).

I also had some filling and frosting left over (probably enough for a dozen more cupcakes), which I stored in the freezer. K, I'm done.

My experience is summed up in the following pictures. Enjoy!

Yes, I confess, I used cake mix from a box (No Name variety, at that), but they were still my little babies. And I was a proud mommy.

I pretty much had to buy everything in this picture (except the toaster oven :P) because my family has no sense of owning baking supplies, haha.

Added the frosting (used a piping bag with star tip).

Final product! Ended up with 24 cupcakes, and I only got to eat one. That, too, my friend sacrificed one of the ones meant for her so I could try my own product. These were definitely gobbled up. *Tears of joy and gratitude.*

I put the ones meant for Scott in a cake box with cupcake insert and topped it off with manly candles.

I know, he is totally spoiled.

Last but not least, a HUGE shout out to Miriam for pretty much showing me the ropes of what I need to bake and providing me with the essentials.

Loving Yourself First

I'm totally mooching off today's topic from a comment posted on a YouTube video, which is paraphrased as follows: You cannot truly love someone else if you do not love yourself first. I don't remember the username/author of the comment... don't hate me :).

I think it's a bad idea to feed off of someone else for self-worth. It's definitely important that your partner makes you feel wanted and beautiful, but I think the only way you can develop a healthy relationship is to understand that you are someone worthy of being wanted and beautiful. YA KNOW? And this takes time and energy. You do have to invest in yourself and learn to love yourself. It's almost like a skill to shut down the negative thoughts circling in your mind. I also believe that someone who has embraced themselves is hella more attractive and just more open/willing to experience the ups and downs that any relationship brings (even friendships, family, etc.).

That's all I have to say on that. I'm proud to say that I'm in a happy place with myself and although I don't think I can ever stop growing, I am truly blessed to be all that I am right now. AWWW.

Speaking of which, I looked through my Gr. 11 yearbook in an exercise of accepting my dorkiness back then. OH MY. A highly difficult task. We needed certified professional stylists to host an intervention. Seriously :P. Which I suppose goes to show you that outer beauty is subjective and changes with time. But inner beauty is pretty much rock solid throughout life. That's pretty damn awesome!

... *Some time later* I've actually been sitting here for ten minutes trying to think of how to conclude this entry.

K, bai.

Art in All its Glory!

Hello all,

You may or may not know that my mom is an incredibly gifted artist.
I would love it if you could check out her brand new website at http://www.fariart.com and better yet if you could "Like" us on our Facebook page. There is a prominent fb icon on the fariart website. I don't want to put a direct link to our fb page because I think it's only fair that you see my mom's work before deciding whether or not to give it a thumbs up.

It would mean a lot if you could take a look and even comment :). Thanks a whole bunch!!!