One Busy Bee

October is upon us and it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is a very important month to my family and I because we continue to honor our sweet, smart, beautiful cousin, Natalie Nobida , who was taken from this world too soon. We miss you, Coz. Our beautiful aunt, Virginia S., is thankfully in remission. And I also would like to honor Maureen Withrow, a strong woman, a single mother and quite the spitfire. Your son has grown up to be a loving husband and father and basketball coach. Congratulations. I have done the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk every year since 2000. This year, I will be doing the walk in Stockton, CA.  Please join me if you can. Sponsor me! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Bernadette  It is so important to first off, live healthy lives. There are so many studies that link just about anything to cancer such as talking on your cell phone, leaving the dry cleaners plastic on your clothes for too long or even enjoying a day at the beach. Th...

Get ready to pre-order your copy of the Los Lonely Boys ' new album, Revelation, in mid-October! The expected release date is January 21, 2014. Stay tuned here, their website or on Twitter . Onda By the Bay, the San Francisco Bay and Northern California chapter of their street team, La Onda are looking for more dedicated fans to join our group. We create and pass out swag at concerts, promote the Boys and their music, build long-lasting friendships and do many activities together. If you would like to get 'lonely' with us, read more about my adventures here on my blog or feel free to email me. UPDATE - Their show at The Independent on February 4, 2014 goes on sale tomorrow, 10/3 at 10 am. Go to their site and enter the keyword "revelation" to get pre-sale tickets. PRESS: Los Lonely Boys Take on 2014 - Pollstar 11/12/13

My sister is currently awaiting training to begin in Missouri as a soldier with the National Guard. I have my Warrior Dash event on October 26, 2013 with my team and family, We R Pamily. I did that 11-day Isagenix cleanse to prep my body to get back to eating healthy and to the gym routine after my super fun-filled birthday last weekend, AND all the traveling I've been doing since April. The birthday week in itself needs its own post because it was one of the best birthday weeks I've had. After the cleanse I lost 8 lbs and have been able to keep majority of the weight loss off. My appetite has completely changed and my taste buds are not enjoying certain foods as much as they used to. Sarah says, "I'd hate to say I told you so but..."  She's my Isagenix sponsor and sweet friend of mine. I trusted her and tried out these products. Now I do shake days when I can. The cleanse has really saved me money too. As part of the Panera loyalty program , I got a ...

I'm done!!! Oh, I cannot wait to eat today. Oh, the possibilities! I am ecstatic. Yesterday wasn't nearly as hard as Sunday with being around food. I was so busy at work with an 11-hour day that I didn't have an appetite. When my stomach growled, I had an Isagenix wafer. I stopped on my way home to the gym just to use their scale and I lost 8 pounds! Average weight loss is 7 pounds. With barely working out, perhaps I lost some muscle mass because I only went once during this cleanse and felt like I have lost some strength. But I'll get it back.  When I got home, I took my measurements and after photos. Inches lost were mostly in my midsection and my after photos could be better in my opinion but that means I have more work to do and stick with a routine, which I still need to figure out. But the cleanse was definitely a success! Are you ready to do this cleanse?

Just a reminder, this cleanse has two per-cleanse days so its's actually 11 days.  Today is my second to last day so I'm very excited to see how I feel and look as of Tuesday morning. Yesterday was pretty good. It was my last shake day on this cleanse and will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of more shake packets next week. They're that good. I spent most of the day at home attempting to be productive, but I did make it to the gym finally. I haven't had that much energy lately so I kind of have to work back up to my usual cardio level. I also got to do some weightlifting which I prefer so that felt good. I feel I definitely have lost some strength. I have to get back in the routine. I was able to weigh myself and I lost 4 pounds. I'll take it. I headed to the peninsula to get my brows done at Ziba , pick up food for Christy and the family and visit with Arya and Nate. They wanted Burgermeister and I love their double pepper aioli and burgers that my Yelp ...

Niner fans!! I have two tix for sale for the Niners game on 9/22 with my bday group of 9. $126/ea. UB 53, Row 7 Let me know ASAP. Will post on stubhub tomorrow. Get 'em now. Email me at bappletree@gmail.com if you want them! I don't know who that guy is. UPDATE 9/19/13 - Tickets are sold! GO NINERS !

It was a shake day. I do look forward to the shakes. Water and the shakes definitely keep me full until about 12:30 and then I start to think about food. Today, the office went to Wally's in Emeryville. I so wanted a gyro. They're soo good. I did have both of my snacks today, had a chimichanga for lunch to save money and walked quite a few dogs. I started with a new old lady but she got around alright. She's super tiny so it wasn't that much of a walk for me. I had to turn down two pups because I just can't fit it into my schedule. But good thing I can refer them to someone else. My newest client I started thinking last night about how I was going to maintain how I feel and what I've lost with this cleanse. I posted on a Facebook group that Sarah had me join and had some great feedback. Like I said, the shakes really do keep my body satisfied so I ordered another pack of the shakes with a goal in mind to keep my eating in check and get back to the gym. ...

The Press Club, April 2013 I am so proud of my very good friend, Kristian. I met him while working at City Beach in Fremont, CA when I was a bartender back in 2006 and he became my boss. He and I started the UFC PPV showings there, built this unbreakable relationship, have since parted ways professionally but we have always supported each other in everything the other sought out to do. I am so glad he is finally going to have his own spot because every restaurant he has touched exponentially improved.  I cannot wait to walk through the doors of Dirty Water and be one of its best customers, regulars and supporters. Congratulations on the below article on Eater.com that is brought to you by Rose Garrett. Kristian Cosentino  knows his stuff, and the former  Press Club  GM and self-described beverage geek is looking to flex his knowledge with an ambitious new project. After plotting a new space for years, Cosentino is in the process of establishing  Dirty...

Shake Days! They really aren't bad. I really look forward to them. I do crave food and the taste of certain things but I can have a taste of it (400-600 calories worth) as long as it's not overkill. I am actually not really eating my snacks unless I really need them. I asked Sarah if it was weird and she said no and to save them if needed. On Wednesdays near City Hall in Emeryville they have Off the Grid . And lately they've always had Hapa SF  there. They have this amazing Topsilog Burrito for $8. My mouth just watered. I thought the trucks were there until 3 pm but I guess 2:30 pm is when they shut down. My coworker, Fiona, the Frenchie and I took a stroll down there but we were too late. I had no shame, the truck was still there and I knocked on their door to see if they could make us something. I was denied but hey, if you don't ask, the worst you can get is a no, right? So I ended up getting the tofu salad at Can't Fail Cafe . It's pretty good but today, li...

Ah, Monday. It always feels good when you’re not breaking a sweat putting on a pair of jeans that fit JUST fine a few days ago. Yesterday was great. I slipped on some jeans that were much more comfortable than they had recently been. Could it be? I lost some weight? In the mirror, I could definitely see a difference. It’s really exciting. But I also wonder how I am going to maintain it and if I’m only half way thru with this cleanse, am I going to be rail thin by the end? I gotta hit the gym then. I really haven’t had any time in last few days. I was so pleased to have a shake that morning that I lasted until almost 1:30 pm without lunch. I ate my 6 almonds around 12:30. It was odd just how excited I was to eat solid food after two whole days that I kinda wanted to splurge. I searched PF Chang’s website for a meal that was 600 calories or below and I selected the Shrimp in Lobster Sauce with brown rice. It also came with Hot & Sour Soup at 70 calories but I didn't e...

Yesterday as a second Cleanse day in a row wasn't bad at all. I didn't have a piece of solid food. Work was extremely busy so it kept me occupied. The wafers really do wonders in suppressing my appetite for an hour or so and the Cleanse for Life has a berry taste so it's a fruity tea really. My friend on Sunday night said it smelled like Kool-Aid to him. Sarah checked up on me as a good sponsor does. We talked about how I am thinking about food and my second set of measurements I had to take. I said I noticed that my will power is stronger than I thought it would be. I thought I would definitely cave in and sneak an extra almond or a delicious morsel of something solid but I didn't. I just think that eating something so small and not being entirely committed to the program will be a waste. I am definitely committed. I made these amazing Cookies & Cream Cookies last week to help fundraise for my Warrior Dash next month and had a bag of them in my drawer with i...

Let me introduce to you my new, beautiful niece, Arya Alexis. Born this morning, Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 2:55 am, 7lbs. 4 oz. in San Francisco, CA. Auntie B cannot wait to meet you! I arrived at the hospital before 6:30 pm to find Arya in the arms of her Aunt Leilani, a close friend of Christy, and her grandparents nearby.  Leilani has two children so she's much more experienced with newborns. I didn't ask to hold Arya immediately. I thought I should wait for my turn, not knowing how long she has held her already. I made my hellos, congratulated Christy on giving life to another beautiful baby and just watched Arya. I listened to Christy's labor story which was much different from her experience with her first born. I am so proud of her. I couldn't imagine what she was going thru but women do it every day, even more than once so it can be done. My grandmother had twelve! But Christy did an amazing job. Arya is perfect. Eventually Leilani gave Arya to ...

I got up at 6 am yesterday to do my first cleanse. I decided to turn it into a tea. I warmed up water in a tea cup in the microwave for 30 seconds, added two scoops of Cleanse for Life, stirred and drank. It didn't taste so bad. I can handle that better than chugging two big glasses of water. It has some flavor to it. Then I went back to bed and wrote the end of the previous post, then fell back asleep. My girlfriend and her friend were going to pick me up for the Niners/Packers game at 9:45 am. Kick off was at 1:25 pm. I packed my snack wafers and added my scoops to my water bottle to stay on schedule. We stopped off at a market in San Mateo and the first thing I see? Doughnuts. Mmmmmmm. I felt like Homer Simpson. We went to the deli. Christy got a football sized vegetarian sandwich and Karla got some rotisserie chicken. Me? A bottle of water. Today was going to be tough. I love food. Then we were on the way to find parking. The lot I parked in last time was $50 and full. T...

6:30 am Good morning. I am on 4 hours of sleep and will be headed to the Martinez Marina for the Support4Recovery Walk where I will be having a Stella & Dot sample sale. I am exhausted and am nervous about how many times I will have to use the restroom from drinking all this water. I can't really leave my table unattended and have asked friends if they can help out but they declined. Maybe I'll meet a nice vendor next to me and will keep an eye out for me on my table. But we will see! Two glasses of water, 1 shake and an Accelerator is down the hatch. To avoid too many potty breaks I am going to drink water throughout this 6-hour event but not as much and make up for it when it's all done with. Hope that helps and hope the results will still be awesome.  Martinez bound just before sunrise. 12:51 pm It is in the 90s here and I am at this event for two more hours. This event had a great turnout. I have made some sales, handed out a lot of marketing...

8:30 AM Woke up before 6 AM and had my two glasses of water before taking the dog out. Showered and then made my shake. A packet of the Creamy Vanilla powder and water. I don't have a shaker bottle and first tried to mix in a glass, thinking it wouldn't be so thick. That didn't work so I transferred it to the blender and added a few pieces of frozen mango. It was definitely thicker than my usual protein shake that I use with Muscle Milk. At first the taste wasn't too pleasant but I just chugged it down. No need to taste it. Just get it down and done. And finished it off with one Accelerator. So far it's not so bad. I had a dream last night that I was well into my first day of my cleanse and it was easy-peasy. Then I woke up.  It's fine so far. It just sucks when you have to use the restroom while on your commute into work and traffic slows down. Not fun. I usually have green tea in the morning since coffee makes me jittery. For awhile, I cannot so it'll...

Majority of this past holiday weekend was a GIRLS weekend. And of course, my girlfriends are always modeling Stella & Dot jewelry whenever we go out. I wouldn't have it any other way. Ahh, the benefits of being a Stylist and friends with a Stylist, eh? Friday night, my newest partner-in-crime and I went back to the scene of the crime, Kingfish , in San Mateo to blow off some steam and see my Cugino. He is a bartender there and I always give him free reigns to make whatever concoction for me. And it's always good. Of course I have no problem talking to strangers and ended up getting free beignets from the couple to my left and a stash of fries from the guys behind us. They offered! Free is good. Why I didn't Tweet about that, I don't know. Wearing the Palamino Necklace ($138) & Pegasus ($198) The next night we went to Texas Roadhouse where my P-I-C used to work for five years. We sat at the bar and her friend, the bartender, Michelle, was a beaut...