Day 5 of Master Cleanse

Day 5
151.4 lbs!!

It's pretty incredible that I've dropped 7.6 lbs in 5 days. I've been seriously tired lately though and have been going to bed really early all this week. Work has been good and busy but not too stressful or anything. I only was mildly irritated today by Sang b/c she asked me to print her stuff out b/c she said she had no time. Well, I was v. busy myself but I did it anyway. I suppose my mood has been pretty level all week. I've been upset with Dave twice this week though but for valid reasons.

Day 2 was the last day of my real bowel movements. Ever since then it's been liquid. I didn't have very much of one today so I did a salt water flush twice and not much is happening. My tummy is rumbling now and I'm hoping that means I will go. I didn't lose any weight this morning which was surprising b/c every single day since day 1 I've been losing about 2lbs.

The lemonade got boring with lemons so I've switched to limes. The directions say they're interchangeable so I hope that's not the cause of my non-weight loss today.

Ok so the salt water flush worked...lol! On a slightly gross side-note, it's really only liquid now and I've never experienced that. My lower intestine has never been this clean before. The directions say there might be several eliminations and my tummy is still rumbling a little bit so we'll see. Dave is coming over in less than an hour for a movie so I hope I'm all done by then!!

Focusing hasn't been a problem since day 2 either and I've been getting the hang of when to drink the lemonade in order to stave off bad feelings of light-headedness. Today was interesting in the fact that it was the first day where I was unable to finish 8 servings of lemonade in 8 hours. In fact, I'm still working on the 8th serving and it's 8pm as I write this.

It is interesting to not eat for days and not feel like I'm going to die. Or even miss chewing. My jaw actually feels pretty great. The things that do bother me are my back and sides. I feel very achey there and I have no idea why. The instructions did say I might feel some aches and pains but I wonder what is causing it. I wonder if it's for good, or for bad reasons?

I have noticed that my sense of smell has sharpened and my toothpaste tastes much stronger. Dave's breath smells terrible to me now and so does most strong-smelling stuff.

Ok I'm going to make more lemonade to get me thru the movie. See you later!

Master Cleanse day 1

Day 1
158 lbs

My main goal with this is to lose the weight I've gained in the past 3 years, which I know I will eventually gain back, but I am just sick of varying 2 pounds up and down. I started last night with the laxative tea like they told me and nothing much has happened so far with that (I guess that's a good thing?). I hate laxatives so I'm glad I haven't had horrible cramps or diarrhea. I was a bit depressed this morning when I was lying in bed thinking about how I wasn't going to be eating today but not enough to deter me.

So I got up, and juiced 4 lemons and put in a total of 16 T of pure organic grade b maple syrup and some cayenne pepper. That made 8 servings of the lemonade. It actually IS tasty. A little syruppy but overall, not bad. I think the cayenne was a little much but I can adjust. Tomorrow I am also going to make one with lemons and the other with limes since the recipe said I could use either.

Anyway, went to work and drank some on my way in. I was pretty spacey all day. It was difficult for me to focus on people when they were talking to me. My mind wanted to wander. I did manage to do good work today though even with the most stupid styleguide for Skelanimals.

I felt like I had to ration myself since I only had the 8 servings to last me 8 hours, and it worked out pretty great. I drank water in between drinking the lemonade and I wasn't even hungry. I felt more like I was high.

I had a few stomach cramps today too but nothing horrible. The worst thing today was that my tongue was coated in white gunk! It wouldn't come off either even though I rubbed it with a paper towel in the bathroom. I was so grossed out that I was embarrassed to even talk to anyone lest they see it. Once I got home I brushed my teeth (toothpaste tasted really weird and strong) and my tongue and I managed to get most of it off.

I had to buy more maple syrup too, so I got the 25oz bottle from the Trader Joe's. I only got 1 of the bottles instead of two just in case I wimp out and can't make it the full 14 days that I want to try for. I think the minimum is 10 days but I want to see if I can go for 14.

The lady next to me at work, Qing, was curious and also alternately sympathetic and teasing. She told me I was going to lose a lot of weight. I said I'd just gain it all back and she said that no, I wouldn't, because I wouldn't want to eat anymore. She said her friend did it for a month and it took her another month to go back to eating normally. I doubt that will happen to me.

Now I'm home and Dave is coming over in about an hour or so. I guess I'll watch Unico or something till then. Tonight is more laxative tea. I'm curious how tomorrow will go. Qing said tomorrow and the 3rd day are the worst but after that it gets easier.

new job!

I started at Evy on Wednesday. My first day there was better than my first day at MF by a clear mile. First of all, Lydia (my boss) greeted me with the biggest smile. She seemed genuinely happy and excited by my being there!

We got my desk all set up (well sort of) and I was introduced to everybody again. I don't remember everyone's names, of course, but as I plan on being at Evy for awhile, I'm sure I'll learn them all. There's another Katie there from London, and that sort of makes things awkward. Lol they're starting to call her Other Katie. It's only a minor irritation though. I can forgive LOTS of things for the salary they're paying me.

So basically the artists at Evy do everything in Illustrator and stick to their style guides pretty exclusively. I am not used to doing that. I'm so much more of a hands-on person so I hope that if I am forced to back off of that, that I don't forget how to create things by hand! I am hoping that I can get more of the artists to create things by hand or at least get away from the style guides a bit more.

I do not have my own personal scanner, so I have to use the one by the printers. I guess that'll be ok. Another thing I'll be getting used to is not having iChat or iTunes. I'm getting by listening to Pandora and DNR right now. The bathrooms smell weird like pee and if it were my company I'd make somebody get in there with a bucket of bleach and really clean that place over the weekend. Again, all things I can forgive for the salary.

I'm working harder now that there's no iChat. So I'm pretty much done with computers and stuff by the time I get home.

My first day, like I said, was great. They gave me a couple things to do and they LOVED them. Then today I spent mostly trying to get a handle on their non-lic "faith" themed tees and I think I did a good job and have more direction now for tomorrow.

The girls are very nice and friendly and talky, which I like. I do not forsee any problems with any of them, unlike w/ Alice or Unfriendly Girl.

Ok time to get ready to go to karaoke! I gotta keep it cool tonight so I'm not all hungover for tomorrow. :) Yay new job!

xoxox
Me

Evy Wins!

I'm starting at Evy tomorrow!!!! Can't wait. :) It's gonna be so cool to work there. I am excited.

Evy vs. JF

Evy
Pros:

1. amazingly large salary
   
2. full benefits/401K
3. vacation time!
4. closer to LB
5. can carpool w/ Kim
6. more laid back feeling from interview
7. room for growth!!
8. liked the VP
9. ppl seemed happy there
10. open office floor
11. brand new macs
12. more creative freedom b/c of no art director
13. smart business plan
14. introduced to everyone in office - felt welcomed
    

Cons:

1. less well-known - may not open doors in future like JF could
2. less creative licenses
3. possible less network potential
4. uglier office/cluttered
5. in downtown LA
6. worry about new format on how to create art w/o art director
7. less status

JF
Pros:

1. Very well-known
2. Network potential
3. beautiful offices - no clutter as far as i could see
4. successful company
   
5. successful art directors
6. little turnover (as far as i know)
7. liked the art director
8. they seem very focused
9. creatively challenging - possible artistic contentment

Cons:

1. in Santa Monica - further from LB
2. no carpool buddy option as of now
3. weird stressful interview in jan
4. not much room for growth in company
5. scary owners - intense and stressful
6. didn't get introduced to anybody in office during interview - felt less welcoming.
7. dogs in office.
8. feel like i would have to pay my dues all over again
9. they're making me wait on hearing about salary/benefits/vacation
   

shit in my brain

Hello Internet World

Just wanted to check in and let y'all know what's been going on.

I got hit by a car while jogging a couple of weeks ago and was VERY lucky and didn't seriously get injured. My ankle was twisted a bit and it still hurts though so I'm trying to be careful. It's a little frustrating though to feel pain when I turn it too much one way or the other.

I've been looking through the p90x message boards on facebook and looks like all the very successful people are on the no-alcohol kick. Kinda sucks but that's what worked for me before. I just talked to Dave and he said if I wanted to cut back on the drinking he'd do it with me. So I suppose (excluding this weekend) I will begin limiting my drinking a lot. There was this woman who showed her before/after pix of 8 months and she looked unrecognizable. She said she ate 1 complex carb/day and did p90x and turbo jam, and cut out alcohol pretty much completely. I, however, don't want to lead the sober life like I did a few years ago. There are so many social attachments to alcohol that it makes me feel alienated when I don't participate. That might sound lame or whatever, but it's true.

Another frustrating thing is that perhaps because of my vegetarian diet, alcohol-consumption, and sweet-tooth, I'm not seeing weight-loss on the scale. I really really don't want to go back to eating meat. It hurts my soul to think of doing that. I have noticed more strength, stamina, and energy since starting the regimen. Starting on Monday I will really commit to the CEA-HOW diet (w/ moderation on the alcohol) for 30 days to see if that makes a difference now that I'm vegetarian.

My contract is almost up with americanidol.com. I'm glad, in a way. I've been working there for 4 months and it's been frustrating to deal with people who don't want to try anything new, graphics-wise. Not everybody is stuck in their own rut there, but the ones who do approvals are, which keeps me from having fun and really enjoying my time. The money is really good over there and I'm hoping that when I go freelance again that I can continue to make as good, if not better, money. I'm also a bit disappointed in my failure to establish contacts outside of americanidol.com. I was hoping that the art director there would be more of a networking sort of guy, who could introduce me to other art directors of other shows, but that's not the kind of person he is. My solution as of now, is to ask the guy who runs the entire site to please keep me in mind when other jobs of similar ilk come along. I suppose I could email him and copy the art director my resume and my accomplishments.

I'm considering taking some refresher courses in Photoshop and looking into what options the government can give me to do that w/o having to pay the entire class fees alone. I feel like if I want to make more money in the corporate world I definitely need to brush up my skill-set even if it isn't in the area I really want to go foward in, which is portraiture.

When I am done with my contract for AI I am going to start posting ads on CL for my portrait painting skills. Luckily I've got a few I can use for examples now and I can probably get my friends to pose for me and maybe even chip in a little bit for the cost of canvas. It'd be awesome to never have to go into an office again and paint for a living, like I've dreamed of doing my entire life. Who knows, maybe I CAN achieve that goal.

I'm going to Santa Barbara this weekend with some friends. I hope it will be fun. I'm a little worried about my money situation but if all goes well I won't spend over 150.

Ok guys, I think that's about it for now. I feel better and have some ideas for what I can get started on when I'm done at AI. :)

More of my sorta boring repetitive life

Ok I guess it's not totally boring...but might be to you. :)

I don't really like talking about my days because right now I'm working at a job that is pretty mindless for the most money I've made as a freelance contractor ever. I don't want to complain, as I like my co-workers and everybody is pretty cool. They give me a lot of freedom for the little work I do, and seem to love practically everything I do. Downside is that most of the time there isn't anything to do but surf the net. I'm willing to continue working there if they want to renew my contract somewhere at Fox.com but truthfully I would rather work a little closer to home and be a lot busier...so I don't think I will be heartbroken if I don't stay there. My agent over at CC told me soon as I get done with American Idol that she was ready to get me back out into doing more varied freelance. Hope those opportunities keep on coming.

SO you guys get to hear about what I do when I get home, which probably isn't much better! I got home today and immediately got into my p90x workout, which was Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X. Shoulders and Arms isn't too tough because it's not cardio. I can lift weights and stuff for a long time, no biggie. My arms are pretty sore and my lats feel stretched so I'm hoping everything starts looking tighter. Ab Ripper X is still way difficult. I couldn't do a lot of the workout b/c my abs wanted to die.

I still wish there was more cardio in this whole thing and I'm not too sure what to do about it. I get home around 7:30 or 8 and by the time I'm done w/ the workout and dinner it's around 10! I was thinking about going for a quick run before doing my workout tonight but it got late and I knew that my little snack of soynuts wasn't going to get me thru both a run and the weight lifting so I just stuck with the p90x. No where on the site does it say that I ought to be supplementing my p90x workouts w/ extra cardio though I've seen other people complain about the lack as well. Tomorrow is Yoga X, which I failed at last week. It is a 90 min workout. I might skip it and do a run as soon as I get home because I think I might be going to karaoke. If karaoke gets cancelled then I'll do the Yoga X instead.

My entire reason for starting p90x has vanished also. The trip I was going to go on in May was cancelled but I going to continue working out just to see if there is any transformation. My friend said that after 2 or 3 weeks I ought to be seeing some difference. Hope he's right!

Ok now for a shower and then beddybye.

About P90X

Goooooood morning everybodyyyy

So I'm on week 2 of p90x and so far I haven't lost any weight yet. Granted, I started with the Classic version not knowing that there was a Lean version so last week, there was barely any cardio. This week however I'm doing the Lean version so yesterday was Core Synergistics X and today is Cardio X. I hope I can start seeing some results by Friday. I'm trying to have some patience.

Core Synergistics was alright. Since it was the first time I've ever done it I feel like I didn't quite perform that well since it was a learning experience. Today with Cardio X might be the same. I think the things I had the most trouble with were all the push ups. My upper body strength is poor but I am sure that just continuing on with this program will help me in that area. I was looking at my arms this morning and I think they are starting to firm up just a little bit. Hard to tell.

I definitely feel a difference in my overall mood and energy. I'm much more bright-eyed in the mornings. I look forward to the workouts at night too. I'm just happy this Lean version doesn't include the Plyometrics X dvd! Maybe it does later but for now it's all about cardio, strength training, and yoga.

As for the nutrition part, I'm going to bring the p90x shopping list to the Trader Joe's this weekend and will try to make a bigger effort to eat the way they say to. If those people look that way because they follow that eating plan, I might as well try it to instead of doing my own plan, which is to basically follow the no-sugar, no-flour, no-alcohol menu (almost impossible w/o a support group!!). I think the biggest help to me would be to just plan out all the meals ahead of time and eat left-overs all week or something instead of trying to make each meal at a time. I sort of wish they had a more vegetarian friendly menu but I am used to substituting things now.

That's it for now on the fitness trip.

the weekend

I had a pretty rad weekend, for the most part!

I received the Hogfather in the mail earlier in the week and waited and waited till Dave could watch it with me. On Friday we got to watch part of it. It's pretty close to the actual book by Terry Pratchett too.

Saturday I woke up and did the p90x Kenpo X dvd and then Dave and I drove up to Leo Carrillo to meet up with Joe and Erina and some of her other friends to do some beach camping! The campsite is really well-kept and had big shady sycamore trees all over. It was really sunny and cool and the tide pools were full of little hermit crabs and sea anemones so Dave and I took pictures. I found this little baby crab and picked it up and it totally pinched my fingers. When Dave uploads his pix I'll post some of them for you here. After all that we went on a hike which was ALL uphill. Totally kicked my butt! I thought I wasn't THAT out of shape but I was bringing up the rear in most of the way. After that was the big ole communal dinner and going back to the beach to look at the stars. It was very nice.

Sunday Dave and I took off pretty early. I spent the remainder of the day doing laundry and running a few errands. I planned on painting the portrait of Ingrid but I was too sore from sleeping on the ground and wasn't motivated. I will work on it this week though. I wish I could bring it here to Fox to work on it since I spend lots of time just sitting here looking at the internet.

That's about all for now! xoxo

first blog in a long ole time

Hi everybody!

I haven't blogged in oh-so-long and I've missed it! So I created this blog place for me so I can get all my thoughts out again. :) I'm going to be putting my art up here too as I complete it.

So! Here we go again. Yay!