Why can't people doing a distance relationship still have dates?

I'm talking about physical dates.  Not sitting and talking on the phone.

I'm thinking the usual getting dolled up for your man, putting on your heels, and heading out to the local coffee shop for a date over coffee or cooking up a homemade meal, lighting a candle and opening a bottle of wine.  

Who cares that you'll be talking via Skype. 

(that's the catch)

Why can that not be a real date and why shouldn't it be treated as such at times?

Now ladies, if he lives within a 100 mile radius (Yes! 100 miles) then this is not acceptable.  He can get off his lazy ass and take you out on a proper date.

And boys, don't go driving down the street to the local Starbucks to put you 101 miles away.  That's cheating

Ladies, if he does go the extra mile in order to make him eligible for the Skype date, then he's not worth it anyways.

I think i'm going to give this Skype "date" a try.  I believe it should be special talking to that special person.

And that's my random thought for the day.

New York

How can you say anything negative?

I want to move there.

Not only is a fun place but just living there requires daily exercise walking up and down the streets just to window shop or eat.

The food is better, the people are in better shape, the shopping is the best, the lights are brighter, and the days are far more exciting.

I mean com'on

You really can't go wrong, unless of course you want to be able to stop in the streets and have a friendly conversation.  Probably not the ideal place to do that.  But nonetheless, there is something for EVERYONE there.

I'm in love.

My assistant and I spent day one wandering the streets while waiting for our room to be ready at the beautiful Essex House hotel on 59th near Central Park South.  We stopped at a cute little french restaurant for breakfast and then did a little window shopping before scooting off to our meeting with CAA.

Day two was spent doing much of the same around Rockefeller Center and then hailed one of those infamous NYC taxis over to my Uncle Kenny's restaurant, Patroon's, to help him celebrate Christmas at his Christmas tree lighting party.

If you're ever in NYC, you MUST go eat there.

46 and Lex

The service is fantastic and the food is AHHHHMAZING.  Oh oh, and for all you singles looking to mingle, his rooftop bar is great for meeting those suit and tie types who spend their post work hours grabbing a quick drink.

The highlight of day three was a meeting that took place 42 stories above Times Sqaure.  The view was breathtaking and I have now decided that a New Years Eve party in the lobby of this office is a must.  The floor to ceiling windows provide prime seating to watch the ball drop far above all the chaos on the streets.

So I tried Bikram Yoga last night.

I hate it.

I never want to go again.

It hurt.

I got dizzy.

I couldn't breathe.

I'm going again tonight.

I'm sorry, but someone my size (height and width) was not made to be twisted into every which way and then have your breathing constricted.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is for blood to travel the distance between my little baby pinky toe and my brain?  It ain't no sprint ladies and gentlemen....that's a freaking marathon.  Oh, and did I mention that lifting weights is a part of my job so the only long lean muscle in my entire body is probably in my foot (the right one- if i'm lucky) which makes me the least flexible person on the planet. 

 So when this tiny, little man of an instructor asked me to put my head between my legs and then hold on to my heels and straighten my legs, I couldn't help but laugh.

enjoy that visual

Now here's the catch...

I felt so good this morning!

Damnit!  

I was convinced I would never set foot in that hot, sticky torture room again.

And what's the deal with not being allowed to leave the room for the entire class?

Nonsense.

It's like i'm in preschool again and I'm not allowed to go potty until class is up.

Can you tell this stupid yoga nonsense makes me mad?

I'm am praying I grow to love it.

Lately...

I have made the commitment to training the next five years to get me ready to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

I signed with Creative Artist's Agency (CAA) to represent me on my journey to the Olympics along with  my manager, Jejuan Guillory who just so happens to be an Emmy Award winning producer, along with my pain the ass personal assistant, Kaylee Aizenstadt.

I have been eating a lot more veggies and tofu.  I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.  Makes me feel like I should move back to Berkeley.

I went back up to San Francisco for Camilla's bridal shower and actually enjoyed Northern California for once.  It didn't hold that typical morbid/depressing feeling I am usually greeted with upon my arrival.

Have slowly moved away from my usual coffee and more towards tea.  I'm not sure why but I think it's because someone told me tea was better for me.

I have been getting more into dressing up and looking cute on a daily basis.  It's hard to move away from my lulu's but I think it's time to grow up.

But the fact that my skin breaking out like that of a 15 year old little boy who refuses to shower after football practice is not helping!

I have been really really happy

 

I know I might get punched for saying this, but I do wish we had seasons.

I just need some excuse to dress cute like those fashion forward New Yorkers.

Hermosa Beach may be known for it's insane partying lifestyle.  There is always something going on down on Pier ave.  But one of the things that is overlooked is the amazing restaurants here.  Everything is fresh, flavorful and festive in design.

One of my favorite spots is called Silvio's Brazilian BBQ

The ambiance is definitely more of the beachy, flip flop vibe but the food gives most 5 star restaurants a run for their money.

If you go, make sure you try the Bahia Bowl, Neto's Seafood Salad, and the Shrimp.

By far top 3 items on the list.

I love rainy days where you get to post up on the sofa with a clean, makeup-less face, comfy clothes, an oversized furry blanket and a hot cup of tea.  

These days are even better if you were smart enough to get an L shaped sofa which provides you with that perfect corner pocket to curl up into.

Pillows on both sides....brilliant!

If you do have an L shaped sofa (like me) pat yourself on the back.  Best purchase you've probably ever made.

Now, if karma is playing in your favor because of your honorable act of reluctantly returning that $100 dollar bill you found on the sidewalk or keeping your promise to go back to the yogurt store later that same evening and buy an actual cup of yogurt after gorging on free samples a few hours earlier (hmmmm which one sounds more like Morgan?), then this rainy day comes on a Sunday when there is nothing other than football plastered all over your television screen.

It's like my dream date.  

I'm just missing a shirtless, sexy man rubbing my feet and a chef slaving away in the kitchen making my house smell delicious.

I certainly don't think that's too much to ask.

Top to bottom

Left to right

1. Pacific Brand Organic Creamy Tomato Soup, Shirataki Tofu Noodles, and Steamed Stir-Fry Veggies

2. Pink Grapefruit

3. Turkey Burger topped with an Egg White, Grilled Onions, Black Beans, and Avocado with Sweet Potato Fries

4. Apples with Greek Yogurt and Pomegranate Seeds

5. Açai Bowl topped with Strawberries

Weeeeee

I'm Happy!

I am not normally into astrology or horoscopes or anything of the sort.  I find them interesting but usually a bunch of bologna (to put it nicely)

In my every day vocabulary, I would so eloquently refer to it as
"a crock-o-shit"

(sorry mom)

However, my November horoscope has been spot on thus far.  And the best part....my horoscope reading for this month is AHHHMAZING!  

Thanks to Camilla (who turned me onto this nonsense), I will now be pulling up my horoscope every day, printing it out, highlighting important dates, and reading it many times through just to make sure I don't miss a single thing.

I'm not taking things to an extreme at all

Needless to say, I am now telepathic (even though most of you may think crazy is a better term after seeing the picture above) and can pretty much predict my future thanks to Astrology Zone and I can tell all of you that there will be some seriously exciting action coming soon!

Stay tuned!

Last night I got a really cool opportunity to attend the anti-bullying event hosted by MMA fighter, Daniel Puder.  Those of you who have followed my blog may remember a post on the bullying that I experienced and what it's like facing those hateful messages on a daily basis.  

{This being one of the many reasons as to why I chose to attend Daniel's event}

I couldn't have felt more honored to be a part of something that I believe so strongly in.

So I leave you with this message that I received today on Facebook which made me smile and inspired me even more to take a stand and support anti-bullying.

"I heard about a study that a teacher in New York did where she gave each student a piece of paper. She had them crumple it up and stomp on it repeatedly. Then she instructed them to try and smooth the paper out. The students noticed that the scars and fractures would not come out no matter how much they apologized or smoothed it out. Bullying is a huge deal and it often spawns from parents shaming the child at home. It is a transference of the father figure and an internalization of such. Thanks for standing up for such a noble cause."

Happy Halloween!  

I am looking forward to a day consisting of pumpkin carving and passing out candy to mischievous costumed trick-o-treaters while snacking on fun size chocolate bars and fresh roasted pumpkin seeds... so yummy!!! 

It's sad to bode October farewell, but the changing of colors from those bright summer pinks and yellows to those deep reds and oranges has me yearning for some leggings and boots all while snuggling up by the fire with a pumpkin latte in hand.

I know a lot of you already have gotten to indulge in those little pleasures, some even snow, but we Californians are late bloomers.

So here's to November!

Week's Munchies via iPhone

Left to right

-Keurig coffee con almond milk

-Turkey sandwiches with green apples and brie

-Sautéed apples with cinnamon and honey

-Yogurtland coconut yogurt with raspberries and chocolate chips

-Bison steak, maple steak and asparagus

-Dutch baby

I crave sweet.

You name it, I will put sugar on it.

If I could have one cuisine for every meal, it would be dessert...

....is dessert even a cuisine?

That's beside the point.

What i'm trying to say is that I should be 900 pounds.

Thankfully I have taken on life as an athlete which has prevented me from becoming morbidly obese.  However, the other day (on my half birthday) I had a revelation.  I won't be in my 20's forever and the likelihood of me maintaining my insanely active lifestyle is about as probable as me squeezing into a size 5 shoe.

Not going to happen.

And all this talk about dieting, I'm done with it.  It's time to change my lifestyle and what I put in my body because when my volleyball days are over, I WILL be 900 pounds and morbidly obese if I don't alter my ways.

My bestest friend Camilla could not be anymore perfect of an example.

She changed her life and is now inspiring others to do the same....even me.

I have started by finding ways to make dessert a bit more, sayyyy.....fresh?

Try this one.

Slice up an apple.

Drizzle it with honey.

Sprinkle it with cinnamon.

And pop it in the microwave for 1 minute.

AMAZING!

Next step:

Portion Control

That's going to be a tough one.

I have 4 days to get photo shoot ready.

Luckily my friend Michael just drove out here from New Jersey and he just so happens to be a stud and a workout fanatic.

{Remember that shoot I did in Portland? Well this is him taking charge on set and putting the rest of us to shame}
This morning he took me to school with the workout from H-E-Double Hockey Stick

Circuits and running and squats and lunges.....all in the sand!

This workout had nothing to do with targeting problem areas or firming up.  The point of our torture hour, which I learned much later, was about mental toughness.

He kept telling me that my mind would give out before my body and me being my naive self considered them to be erroneous claims.

Guess what....

he was right.

(It pains me to say that)

Don't get me wrong, my body is aching in muscles I didn't even know I had, but my mind is even more tired.

I think once we find a happy medium where I don't want to drug myself with pain killers before the following day's workout and Michael can still run me into the ground, I will share some of the things he is having me do so you guys can participate (possibly event join).

So, you know how I was telling you guys about how I would be sharing with everyone all the fun things I have been doing???

Yeah, well.....oddly enough I was on TMZ last night.

Not sure what to say about it yet.

Maybe a bow or curtsy is in order?

However I'm more of a high five, chest bump kinda girl myself.

2011 is finally winding down and it's been an absolutely crazy year.  I have been up and down and in circles and every which way trying to redefine my life and figure out which path I am supposed to be taking.  It has all been so confusing.  Before, I loved blogging and talking about all my great adventures and the direction my life was going.  I was confident in where I was and thought I knew exactly which road I was running down.  Little did I realize, what I was doing was not what was going to ultimately make me happy and to be quite honest, I am still not sure what it is that is going to make me happy.  Now I struggle to find the words to share via blog because there is no coherent thoughts that calm the uneasy nerves racing through my body due to the vast amount of uncertainty that sits in my foggy future.  But through all the chaos and confusion, I have learned that it's going to be tough, but the best thing I can do is enjoy the ride and always take the risks.  At this age, none of us have anything to lose and I know my path with slowly get clearer as long as I don't give up and I keep doing what I love.  So here, today, now I try to do what is going to make me happy. 

I spend time with people I love and don't waste time on those I don't.

I eat when I am hungry.

I exercise daily.

And I am learning to love me and finding out what makes me tick.

So now that everyone is caught up on why my blog has been abandoned for the past month, I now get to share with you the exciting things I have been doing to fulfill my life and occupy the last 30 days.

Here's to new beginnings!

Cayley and I had to cut our trip short.  I have been feeling severely under the weather and bed ridden for the past 48 hours.  I am a little bummed out because there was so much I wanted to see and do in Puerto Rico before we were scheduled to head back to Miami.  Luckily, the first two days were awesome. We got to see a good friend and spend a ton of time with him and witness one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. We also got in a few really good practices with the Puerto Rican Beach National Team and some how managed to log a few solid hours at the Blackjack table. Unfortunately, my body decided to throw a monkey wrench into the rest of our plans. So now, instead of spending the weekend in Miami for the Cuervo Open, we are headed back to Los Angeles so I can get healthy again.

We just arrived in Puerto Rico after a long weekend in Miami. 

The tournament setting was tough to beat (minus the billion degree weather) and the competition was the toughest we faced all year. Getting to watch Kerri Walsh play was unbelievable. Seeing how talented she is makes me so excited to work towards that level. The way she moves with such ease and sees open shots on the court all while running, jumping, turning, and barely sweating in the energy vacuum we call sun is beyond impressive. She looks so graceful. 

I can only imagine my heavy feet pounding the sand, limbs spinning every which way, and ricocheting every ball coming in my direction like a rock being sprayed from under a speeding 18 wheeler's tires when I imagine myself trying to replicate something remotely similar to what she was doing so flawlessly. 

Keep in mind that I am also drenched in sweat and sucking in oxygen like it's the last ounce left in all of Miami Beach. And with every fleeting breath, the hot, molten sand looked more and more like a comfortable place to keel over and pass out. 

The bright side: there's room for improvement….LOTS of it.

"Building an empire requires a blueprint."

I have decided that the best way to proceed with my life is to start holding myself accountable. I mean like really accountable.

I know I take myself seriously, sometimes, and if you sat me down and asked me what my dreams and goals were I would list off a pretty hefty list of them. However, I have recently become painfully aware that I don't hold myself accountable ENOUGH in pursuing these dreams. Like really taking steps (daily) towards making them happen. Yes, I travel the world to play volleyball and yes, I go to meetings to try to get sponsors, but I haven't yet fully dived into putting myself out there and going after my dreams without any reservations. I recently read a book by Steve Harvey, which had nothing to do with what I am talking about now, but, he kept mentioning that people were too scared to put themselves out there due to fear of failure.

So simple yet SO TRUE!

After this self reflection, I have decided that I need to make a weekly goal list to help me be productive and help create movement forward in what it is I am trying to accomplish. My lists can range from money to health all the way to good deeds. Whatever it is I feel like will help propel me and my happiness/sense of self worth forward, then that is exactly what my goals will be for that week.

So taking charge, here's my list.

1. Today is Sunday. I will be down in Puerto Rico for the week. I have really been struggling with my eating but far exceed my necessary and required workouts to stay healthy and fit. So this week I am going to log everything I eat and limit myself to only one dessert item (most likely being a milkshake) until next Sunday so I can kick start my healthy eating plan. I am going to focus on a lower carb, higher protein diet and drop 5 pounds by next Sunday so I can move faster and jump higher for my tournament in Hermosa next weekend.

2. I will respond to all emails within an hour of receiving them. I have been letting too many must-dos become will-get-around-tos. 

3. I am going to improve this week making game time decisions in volleyball. (For those of you who do understand beach volleyball lingo, I am talking about dropping, stopping and moving to dig. Pulling line instead of middle and practicing my jump serve.

4. Do something nice for someone that doesn't involve money. I LOVE doing things for people. Like seriously, LOVE. Giving makes me the happiest kid alive. But I want to do something that takes more effort on my part than just thought and cash. I want to physically put in effort to help someone whether it's coaching a kid or helping someone move or even helping someone with a ride to the airport.

5. I am going to stretch! I know this goal seems so silly but it falls in line with my eating habits. I know what to do and I know what I should do but I don't do it and I can feel it taking a toll on my body. My right ass cheek has been in perma-cramp for 2 weeks because I am too lazy to stretch. My knees feel like they are going to explode because I am too lazy to stretch. My shoulders are so far forward that I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame because I am too lazy to stretch. So, this week, I am taking at least 30 minutes a day to stretch. It can be one long stretch session or six, five minute sessions for all I care, as long as it's 30 minutes a day.

I really encourage everyone to try doing weekly goal lists. I can't vouch for this system because I have not yet tried it. But I am so excited about putting these goals down on paper and out into the universe that I am almost positive it's going to make it nearly impossible to fail.

Today is a day that will forever be remembered throughout the history of the world.

This national tragedy makes me want to do better, be better for the sake of those who have suffered from the loss of family, friends, opportunities, life.

My heart will always ache in memory of 9/11

Never Forget

My past weekend was spent in Aspen, Colorado participating in the National Volleyball League tournament.

The volleyball courts were a cool little set up with a low key, organic, grass roots vibe right at the base of the Aspen mountains.  Spectators lounged in lawn chairs while enjoying their Labor Day weekend BBQ and players got to explore the town of Aspen in between matches.

So not only did we get to visit this incredibly gorgeous place full of corner cafes, great farmers markets, and participate in the local's granola lifestyle, but the best part of our weekend was that the NVL tournament fell on the same dates as the Jazz Festival in Snowmass.

This festival was such a popular event that tickets were sold-out and impossible to get.

Thankfully a group of friends that road-tripped out to Aspen in a 1982 Airstream RV (that was lacking much of it's once silver luster and sitting on severely undersized tires) were sponsored by Rockstar and had roughly 60 cases of this crack in a can energy drink.  Because (at the risk of sounding overly confident and conceited) we are all brilliant and wildly creative, we pulled up to the Zac Brown Band concert all sporting Rockstar hats and proceeded to tell security we had "cases and cases of Rockstar Energy Drink to unload."

We were quickly escorted to the vendor parking lot, each grabbed two cases of Rockstar and walked right through the vendor entrance, single file, free of charge.

High fives, rolling laughter, and jumping chest bumps were only a few of the ways we chose to celebrate our group collaboration to crash the concert.

Within minutes of our entrance, all cases of Rockstar were distributed amongst many excited consumers, all hats were sitting proudly on many concert goers heads, and we were standing stage front just yards from the Zac Brown Band.

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel super smart and cooler than usual at this point.

More importantly, the concert was amazing!  I'm a little bummed I didn't have a cool pair of cowboy boots or a cowboy hat so I could fully embrace the culture of the country genre, but I still managed to have a blast regardless of my lack of crowd coordinating threads.

We ended the night with a quick stop at the local fire station to unload a few more cases of Rockstar for those hardworking, muscular, brave, dedicated firemen (who just so happened to be gorgeous).  We felt it was our duty to help them stay awake on their long shifts.  Not to mention, my parents always taught me to give back so clearly it was for the greater good of the Aspen community.   And just because I happened to come away with a few pictures surrounded by a group of them doesn't mean my heart wasn't in the right place.  I just felt it necessary to document my community service for the week.

Don't act surprised.  I know you're not.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

The view from my bed

 The travel bug always shows up at the most random times.

My mover and shaker personality starts to show up and I feel the need to GO.  It doesn't matter where, but I just need a change.

It helps that the next couple of weekends we have stops in Aspen and then two consecutive stops in South Beach, Miami.

It's such a bummer that they pick the most undesirable places to visit.  Psych!

So with that, I depart this Friday for Aspen and return home Monday.  Then I shoot off to Miami on the 8th, down to Puerto Rico on the 11th, and then back to Miami on the 15th.  I should be back in LA sometime around the 18th....that is unless I decide to make some other stops.  However, I am sure I will be ready to come home to my new little apartment in Hermosa.  The view from my room puts a smile on my face every day.

There's nothing like finishing a day, laying in bed, watching the sunset light up your bedroom with a cool ocean breeze blowing on your face.

I must have done something right in a past life to get this lucky.

I think it's safe to say that I live in the most incredible place in the world.

Nights like these make me want to curl up with a warm blanket, my best friend, and a great glass of wine or a Cinnamon Dulce Latte from Starbucks and just talk.

I don't think it's possible to sound like more of a girl after that statement

...."and just talk."

I even want to throw sand in my mouth after saying that....but I meant it.

My mother is such a peach..

...Literally...

Every year she always manages to do some silly/unusual things.

One of those things consistently being the adoption of a peach tree in Fresno.

She even names the tree.

The countdown in our household is not in preparation for a great family gathering to celebrate Christmas or for the celebration of a birthday.  The countdown in our household is in preparation for my parents to drive to Fresno and pick peaches in the sticky heat with their peach team "Peach Esprit De Corp" (self-proclaimed) which they have assembled.

I poke fun because it's so out of the ordinary yet such a Cindy Beck thing to do, but when it comes down to reaping the benefits of the peach themed feast that shortly follows her peach picking outing, I couldn't be more thrilled.

My mother usually sticks to the basics such as the standard peach cobbler and her legendary spiced peach preserves, however, this year she explored the realm of peachiness via peach salsa, peach chutney, spiced peaches, peach crumble, and spiced peach preserves.

All 700 pieces of fruit have been consumed.

Now that's impressive.

Chelsea and I have been trying to mix up practice a little to make things interesting and keep our job fun.

Luckily, we have made some new friends who play volleyball and BBQ every Friday and Sunday up in the Hollywood Hills.  This house just so happens to have the most ridiculous view I have ever seen.  We are so high up overlooking all of LA that we have helicopters flying below us.  Not to mention that walking into this backyard, without fail, has been like walking onto a movie set portraying the stereotypical idea of Southern California: big house filled with incredibly muscular attractive men and petite little models playing beach volleyball and laying by the pool.

I have never loved beach volleyball more than I do on Fridays and Sundays.

Chelsea and I ended up having to forfeit our semi final match to Norway.  The heat ended up being far too much to handle.

At the beginning of set two, I turn off the net only to see Chelsea dive for a ball and start convulsing on the spot due to a heat stroke.  In full on panic, I ran over and hoisted her into my arms to get her out of the sun. After an afternoon in the hospital, we somehow managed to help her have a full recovery.

It was a terrifying way to end our tournament but luckily we got on a flight that night and headed back to America.  

With a pretty terrible start to our day, we were both pleasantly surprised with an absolutely successful day of traveling.  We lucked out with our flight from Ulsan to Seoul with not only the ability to change the flight without paying a change fee but the plane was also completely empty.  Once in Seoul, Chelsea and I batted our eyelashes and flashed a little leg to an upgrade to first class on our flight from Seoul to LAX.

12 hour flight?  In a chair that reclines into a bed?

NO PROBLEM!

So maybe our day didn't start off too well, but a near death experience surely isn't anything that can't be fixed with a reclining lazy boy chair, gourmet meals, and little fuzzy slippers to use when going to the little girls room.

Oh, and most importantly, even with the forfeit under our belts, we managed to pull off our best finish yet and little bit of green in our wallets.

Here are a couple action shots from the tournament thus far.

We are slowly improving and gaining confidence.  Facing Korea today in a few hours.

WISH US LUCK!