Review Edition: O Spa - Los Gatos, CA

As we get older we tend to become more cautious about things compared to when you were teens. One main thing I am trying to give up is going to the tanning beds. Now we all know that these can be very harmful to your skin but so many of us make the choice to do it anyway. Everyone that uses these beds know that the side effects can range anywhere from leathery skin as you age to the worst case, the dreaded C word.  We all like to think “That would never happen to me” but the truth it is very could.  

In an attempt to be nicer to my body I have decided to check out my alternatives. Please understand that I am not an active tanner year-round. I only tan when spring is in the air and my nice Italian glow has hibernated for the winter and has yet to reappear. I actually only tan about three times before I can get a color I love and that my body will hold onto. Still, it’s not a habit I want to keep because of the harm to my skin and my pocketbook. ;)

With a good friends wedding coming up rapidly and finding a nice knee length dress to wear I knew this was the time to start exploring my options. I thought about trying to get just a tad of a natural glow by tanning normally by the pool, but with this extended winter California has been having that option was out. I then looked into spray tans which I have heard horror stories about. I decided to give spray tanning a chance. (And no I am not talking about the kind of spray tan when you walk into a box, pose like your doing the running man, and the machine sprays stuff at you where it thinks you are.) I called the spa where I get my facials (O Spa salon in Los Gatos) and to my surprise they actually offered the airbrush spray tan I was looking for. So I went to the this morning the before the wedding I am attending got sprayed and hoped for the best. I forgot to get a before picture but I am not sure I would want to share that anyway, but here is the result:

I love the way it turned out. This options works is much safer, and way cheaper. ($35) Any thoughts?

Big Changes & Little Setbacks

And married life begins ;)

Joe came to me a couple months ago and wanted to discuss a possible career change for him. I was shocked and excited at the same time. He then began to tell me that he would like continue on the path and he has started as a freshmen in college… this path consisted of law school! After many discussions and going over what must be done to have him reach this goal we decided we were going to take the leap. Not only did we decide that he was going to quit his current job within a month and begin the process of returning to school, we decided it was best for him to pick up exactly where he left off… in New York! This decision did not come easily but because my husband has always wanted to attend law school we will be packing up all of our things and moving on into the unknown. We are currently waiting for little details to come together before we can jump on a plane and go.

Life can be strange sometimes and this is no exception. While trying to make the decision to stay or go little things in my life started to give-way showing me the right decision. These little things are both good and bad but really helped me feel that we were 100% making the right decision. I know its going to be hard and I know I will have my sad moments but I will have my husband by my side and thats all that matters. I have to say I am a very proud wife!

It’s going to be a long hard road but I can not wait to experience it will my best friend.

PE Update: One Month

It’s been about a month sense I began my PE class and I can’t say that it’s not getting a little bland. I usually try to workout on a regular basis anyway but have to journal all my workouts and how they make me feel is a little time consuming. You would think I like to write about anything because I blog but the truth is things really have to interest me for me to get completely into them. I did find a way to keep track of all the calories I consume in one day. My Fitness Pal is an app you can download (for free) to enter or scan (the best part!) in all the food you’ve eaten in one day. Usually I am not one to record or add up all my calories for the day but this app has a feature where you can scan the bar-code of whatever you are eating with your phone and it enters it into you food diary automatically! With the new knowledge from the textbook that I thought was going to be useless, working out, and counting calories I’ve lost a total of 4 pounds without even trying! Now I just need to start loving to journal about fitness. :)

Bakers Edition: Saint Patty's Day

As some of you may know I am a BIG baker. I am attempting to work on my cooking skills but my baking skills are remarkable. I love baking anything and giving it away. I think I get this trait from my grandmother who still bakes for my whole family.

This Saint Patty's Day I wanted to attempt to make something green. I choose to see what my chocolate chip cookies would look like green. I added some drops of green food coloring into the dough and wished for the best. After baking I realized that the longer you baked them the lighter green they became. In result whoever ate my Saint Patty's Day cookies got a cookie that was nearly dough in the middle to preserve the color. (Some people like them undercooked anyway.) They were a hit but the cookies that I choose to bake longer turned out somewhat of a mold green which did not appeal to all.

Happy Saint Patty's Day!!!

When was the Last Time You took PE?!

In order for me to finally get out of my junior college I need to take a physical education course. After realizing that working full time and trying to take a night class (PE night classes start at 4pm) was just not going to happen I decided to take an online course. My first thoughts are probably along the line of yours as well. “How in the heck do you take a PE course online?” After some more research I learned that you have to take a fitness appraisal at the beginning and at the end of the course. I can’t lie, I was interested because it seemed easy and did not include taking my exhausted self to class a couple nights a week. I signed up and attended the first fitness appraisal.

It actually was enjoyable and got me out of a half of day of work to be outside in the nice weather. In the class we have to complete work out journals that total five hours of physical activity every two weeks and complete small quizzes about general health and fitness. The teacher would like us to have a variety of different workouts to find the one that works best and interests us the most. I plan on taking full advantage of the class and seeing what I can get out of it.

Will update more as the class goes on…

Our 1st Valentine's Day as a Married Couple

We tried to keep it simple this year because we plan on buying a house in the near future. Luckily the hotel we were married at The Hilton Scotts Valley offered us a free night stay in one of their suites. We checked in on the evening of February 11th and planned to enjoy a nice dinner at The Crows Nest in Santa Cruz. 

To our surprise the Hilton had sent up a present for us upon arrival.

We very much enjoyed our weekend away but in our opinion it was a little too short! ;)

Bringing in 2012

To celebrate the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 we went to a friends house and enjoyed great food, cold drinks, a warm bonfire, and even better company. The end of 2011 is a little bittersweet to us because it was such an important and great year. On the other hand we are very excited to see what 2012 has in store for us. We are planning on moving during summer and buying our first home... and maybe just maybe expanding our family! :)

Happy New Year!!!