One Busy Bee

I lost TWO pounds in one week! That's pretty good when I'm trying to lose 10 in total. My body fat percentage, BMI and body measurements decreased but my muscle mass has increased. I have been dedicated to working out every day, hitting my 10,000 steps, eating better and limiting myself to one drink per week. I am ready to take on Week 2. But this is what it took. Sunday I took my measurements in the morning before I hit the gym and met up with friends to check out wedding venues and wine taste in Sonoma County. I am scoping out venues for my cousin's June 2018 wedding and gaining my knowledge of local venues. I indulged in cheese and charcuterie, wine, pasta and dessert. I had plans to wake up by 4:30 or 4:45 AM the next day so I can start the challenge and my day off right. I was glad to be home by 8 PM so I could meal prep steak, brown rice and stuffed mushrooms and in bed at a reasonable hour. Monday I used to wake up early to hit the gym so I know I could do i

"Cash me outside" when I don't have to be at work to run an event. It was my first day of me letting go and I didn't give it a second thought as soon as I was outside, in the sun, heading over to meet my #Instafriend, Julia , at a new bar, Hazel . Upon arrival, I was greeted with a familiar face that I have known for over 10 years, Yabari. He was working the door and has been my favorite security crew since. He gave me a big hug, a kiss on top of my head and like the gentleman that he is, he opened the door. In the dim room, I was greeted by a good-looking male, introduced myself like he should have been expecting me and apparently he was. Julia must've mentioned she was waiting for me and that I told her to meet me there. To the left were pool tables, a floor to ceiling head shot of a woman with an afro plus tables and seating. To my right, there were booths with communal tables jutting out and televisions everywhere. Sixteen to be exact. I found my #Instafr

I have to thank my friend, Megan, for recommending this show to me. I was in the middle of watching The Man in the High Castle when she came up from LA to visit late last year. She's an actress so I took her advice. She also turned me onto Orange is the New Black , but I'm saving myself the $7.99 a month and sticking to Amazon Prime. I haven't watched since that lady got hit by the van at the end of one season. Shhh! I never really check in on Facebook when I am watching a show. However, when I felt like I had done a second ab workout after within the first 10 minutes of the first episode, I was hooked and had to thank her publicly for bringing joy to my day while I got ready for work. The story is about a couple that had a one night stand and end up getting pregnant and how they deal with it. Shocker, right? Practice safe sex, People! The writing is straight out of conversations that I do have with my best friend, my family and hopefully my significant other. It&

I have been a Stella & Dot Stylist since 2011. I have definitely taken a step back since opening an ambitious new business in San Francisco but I am now back! I have goals to reach and I could take advantage of the #UltimateSideHustle as they call it. That's the beauty of this business. You can make it fit into your schedule. It's flexible and the jewelry really do sell themselves. I constantly get compliments. I respond with " It's Stella & Dot. Can I give you my card? " Easy peasy. My upline and coach, Sandy, posted that 81% of her entire team of Stylists under her are Virtual Stylists. In the world of blogs and Instagram, just sharing the style via social media is so easy. Make some extra money by sharing what you're wearing today with which pieces or with images and promotional items that Stella & Dot provide and link it to your personal web page like MINE . Thru April 30th, purchase one of these bracelets to benefit the Hollyrod Found

Remember that day in Maui at one of my father's favorite places to go for Happy Hour? The spot was called the Kaanapali Grille & Tap Room . As a regular there, my father introduced me to one of the managers there. After declaring that I am also in the restaurant industry, the conversation went along the lines of this: " I'll be going to Oahu to help open a brewery there ." - Gary. " No way! I'm opening a brewery as well! " - Me. " You should come out. I'll be there over Labor Day weekend and it's my birthday. " - Gary. " OK! " - Me. When we left the restaurant, I was thinking there's no way my business partner would be OK with me leaving again for Hawaii the following week. He freaks out, " Oh, everyone is taking vacation except me. " Boo hoo. Can you hear the fiddle play the saddest song? BUT, what if I asked him for both us, both beer lovers, to go to check it out. The thought of both Operati

I won $5 from the Monopoly game thru Safeway ! It came in one game piece too. Are they all like that? There are 800,000 $5.00 prizes. I'll take it. Along with Monopoly, I have redeemed other Instant Winner game pieces for extra game pieces but have also gotten Pop-Tarts , Open Nature Greek yogurt, Signature branded whole kernel corn, an avocado and french bread from their bakery. Free food? Yes, please! I also attended a seminar at the Yelp office in San Francisco where they were raffling off a food photo shoot for restaurants. I didn't win the shoot but I did win a swag bag with pint glasses. A lady's name was drawn before me. She was able to choose from the swag bags with coffee mugs or pint glasses. I joked with Rachel that she was crazy and that I still had a chance! And I won! I continue to enter contests. While listening to the radio, they mention keywords you text to a certain number to win $1,000. I could definitely put that money to good use. To

In this day and age of three-year-olds asking their parents for their iPhones when they're bored and movies available via Amazon Prime , Netflix or Hulu within weeks of it being pulled from movie theaters, I get pretty excited when I receive personal snail mail. I enjoy sending post cards at random to friends and family and I love receiving them in return. My male roommate gets more personal mail than I do! I may be just a little jelly. Though not snail mail, a card was hand-delivered by a client, thanking me for making her sister-in-law's bridal shower a wonderful event. I checked on the table every so often and they were very happy. My client was sweet, friendly and so appreciative. The card put me in a good mood.   Do you send personal snail mail? How do you show your appreciation? See more raves on my work as an Event Planner HERE . See my endorsements and recommendations via LinkedIn . -------- This is #19 of 30 daily blog posts to hit 10,000 hits in one month. I did the

#Stillinit17 starts tomorrow and I have declared the below goals. 1) Lose 10 pounds 2) Have ONE alcoholic beverage per week. 3) Eat healthier - no carbs after 5 PM, track what I eat and drink more water 4) Reach 10,000 Fitbit steps 5) Hit the gym HAAAARD What are your goals for the next 8 weeks? 2015's Still In It 8-week challenge showed little improvement. This year, I am ten pounds heavier, therefore the weight goal. The #250KChallenge was a failure as well. I have had some major changes occur in the last few weeks. I would like to believe they were for a reason and it has lead me to where I am today. Tomorrow, I will continue to adjust to those changes and make the effort to turn them around that benefits me. A little sweat and hard work has never frightened me away. I will raise tomorrow's morning protein shake to those also on this fitness journey, to my supporters and friends and to those haters that want to see me fail. Thank you for the motivat

We only have one earth just as we only have one body. Let's take care of them, shall we? Tomorrow, April 22nd, is Earth Day. What are you doing to decrease your carbon footprint? For one day, try to take it a step further and do more than you would any normal day. I recycle, reuse what I can, don't buy bottled water unless I don't have my Camelbak and I will now be taking BART more. Every little bit helps. Here are some tips. -------- This is #17 of 30 daily blog posts to hit 10,000 hits in one month. I did the same challenge in  April 2016 . Thank you for visiting and please check back tomorrow and share anything you like!

There's no doubt that my Boston Terrier is spoiled. He is insured, gets pineapple and cheese every now and then and gets to travel with me as often as I can. If we're driving, he's most likely coming with me. Before he got big, he has been to Pennsylvania and New Jersey via a plane. He's been to Los Angeles, Yosemite , Bodega Bay , Fallbrook and Lake Tahoe. However, this One Busy Bee works a lot, is very social and is often on her phone and her laptop blogging like so. I am giving him a belly rub with my foot as we speak. Bevo is often in the bathroom boarded up by a baby gate and/or in my room with me. It's nice for him to have some space to run around in every so often. He used to have a yard but let's not get into that! ( I AM SINGLE! ) On this past quick trip to Boulder Creek, CA to have an overnighter with my best friend and my niece and nephew, the Beeves came with. It was nice to get him out of the condo, let him poop in nature and roam free.

We have done quite a bit together in the year and a half that we have known each other. #BernNCourt adventures continue. She asked me, ' What are we doing for my birthday? " "When's your birthday?" "April 11th." "I'm, I mean guess we're going to see Black Swan." "OK!" And just like that, plans were made. It was a similar, quick conversation when I asked her if she wanted to go to Italy or France. I fell in love with the ballet when Cristen and I decided to go see The Nutcracker. I know people that make it an annual tradition. I have never seen it. Up on the balcony with our $40 tickets, I was captivated. The next week, I bought a 3-pack of tickets for the upcoming season AND even donated a pretty amount. Worth it? Perhaps as we were got to seat orchestra level this time. I was so excited. But it was Court's birthday. I met her in the lobby of the Twitter building and we walked towards Cafe Delle Stelle