Merry holidays!!

My weekend!

USC game on Saturday (even though we lost, booooooooooooo hooooooooo) with friends and bf then shopping on rodeo drive Sunday with my lovely friend lea! Got some awesome X-mas shopping done and picked up a favorite new lipgloss at Barney's. BRIGHT holiday red. Yes im excited about it. haha Monday tomorrow back to the grind, but super excited for my birthday next weekend in Las Vegas!

My turkey day!

Rose bowl and Book of Mormon kind of weekend

Backwards Waterfall Braid

Backwards WaterFall Braid

So this starts out as a normal french side braid. Take three pieces from the upper portion of the left or right side. Split into three sections. Begin Dutch braiding two or three times. Dutch braiding is the same as french braiding except the strands go under everytime you braid instead of over. Then When you have done a normal dutch braid for about two cycles through all the hair pieces start taking the piece nearest your face and put it in your mouth and take a new piece for your front section. Then instead of incorporating that into your braid put it in your mouth. Collecting all the front pieces until the braid is behind your ear, then pin with a bobby pin and let the front strands fall. Lightly brush them out and your ready to go. For a more polished look (less hippie bohemian) straighten or loosely curl hair first.

This is a great YOUTUBE tutorial on it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JSuiZwJL4g
**Note: She does a regular french braid in this tutorial, remember to dutch braid as it stands out more and has a more intricate look. Much cooler looking.

Easy to do and I love the look! 

Juice Diet Progress and Notes

Day three! Hello!

Well I can surely say I am in a better mood and have lots of energy. Afternoons are the hardest for me not to snack as well as late, late at night. 11 pm-ish. But dinne time has been just fine with my 300 calorie Almond Milk. Really not very  much cravings at all.

I will shamelessly divulge my cheats--> I made dinner for my boyfriend and "tested it" to make sure the flavors were right far too many times. I also made homemade ricotta gnocchi last night and "tested" it to make sure the consistency was right. Other than that I've been pretty good.

I haven't been very hungry at all and my waistline is definitely trim at this point, it is so nice when you see results. Nothing more motivating than that.

Here are my notes for the flavors of Pressed Juicery so far, this is mainly for myself so I know what to order next time but I thought I would share as it may be helpful.

Greens 2: OK tasting
Do NOT like Roots 2
Do NOT love Roots 1
Pineapple pear ginger mint-OK for Desert
Pineapple green apple lemon mint-very sweet
Green Alkalizer-good, spicy, watery
Roots 3: Really really like
Greens 1: Palatable but little flavor. Very good for you. Low calories.
Almond Milk: Delicious. Love it for dinner
Watermelon, Lemon, Cayenne: SO SO GOOD. A favorite
Greens 4: Better than other greens, but not sweet.

Two more days to go!

JUICE CLEANSE DAY 1

My juices just arrived...anyone taking on this challenge with me?

Recipe to Impress! TO DIE FOR RICOTTA PANCAKES

If you want to impress your boyfriend, your friends or even yourself here is an easy and UNBELIEVABLY delicious pancake recipe to try. Don't take my word for it get out your apron and get cooking!!!!!!

5 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup whole milk or half and half
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 large egg yolks (no whites)
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup ricotta cheese

First heat on low the milk and butter in a pan to melt together. Pour that in with everything and whisk for ~2 mins. Grease the pan with butter and put apx a large spoonful of batter. Cook till slightly browned. VOILA!!! Taste!!!

I made it this morning because my boyfriend, Taylor, had a big exam for his surgical residency and I got up early and made him this along with the a proscuitto, mozzarella  arugula and onion scramble. (seasoned with a drop of truffle oil, tapatio, salt and a dash of cayenne). Accompanied with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and coffee. It was a hit! But, the pancakes were definitely the star of the show so I thought I would share.

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think below xo. 

Sharing!

If you could share my blog on your twitter or facebook and comment in the comment section that would help. thanks guys! 

Health Hair Tricks and Tips

I keep going back and forth on this. I want my hair to be its healthiest but I also don't want to spend a ton of money on shampoo...So I figured out a secret. Buy the kersastase treatment vials (usually 25$-30$) on ebay or on amazon for ~10$ each. It will change your life. You spray it on in the shower let it sit for five minutes and you have literally virgin hair again. It lasts for up to 3 weeks. I then just use drugstore shampoo--I like the pomegranate Dove Shampoo combined with the weightless conditioner from Neutrogena.

After the shower I use KÉRASTASE ELIXIR ULTIME serum.

I then spray some detangle spray and Voila! I do not heat style my hair after a shower unless I have to go somewhere quickly and can't have wet hair...In terms of hair care I also take pre-natal vitamins which keep my hair thick and shiny (and my nails). I get these from Whole Foods. :) 

JUICE CLEANSE

Hey :) I am starting a juice cleanse on Monday and will be blogging about my progress. Hopefully this will help me be held accountable!!! I used Pressed Juicery and my cleanse  is getting delivered on Monday. I chose juices including Green vegetable, beet, carrot and some citrus juices for when I'm really craving sugar. I also ordered Almond Milk for "dinner" drinks. I am going to complement this diet with soups and take an iron supplement as well because I won't be eating any meat. I am going to be doing this cleanse starting Sunday evening and mostly likely ending Thursday. I usually do straight Juice for the first three days and then incorporate healthy solids back in on my fourth day. It really isn't THAT bad, but sometimes the first day can be pretty tricky. It helps if you start the night before though because then your stomach has time to shrink for your first day--so when I say start the night before I mean have your last meal at 4 pm and then juice for dinner. This makes it much more bearable throughout the cleanse. Also, make sure your last meal is not carbs because this will spark far more cravings then if you have lean protein and vegetables. Things like Quinoa are okay too. I am probably going to go with a sunday meal of fish and kale salad. Let me know what you think or if you want to join me for this and we can help each other out. #Motivation in numbers.

Oh and by the way the goal of a juice cleanse (for me at least) is not to lose weight, its to get healthy and to restart your cravings-I like craving salads not pizza and this is what this juice cleanse (when you start eating solid foods again of course) does. During my juice diet I cut out all alcohol and pills--advil, tylenol etc...I try to keep only very natural things going into my body so it can heal and rejuvenate to its utmost ability. You will initially be more tired and sleep deeper, this is a good sign, your body is repairing. At the end of the cleanse you will notice more energy. I keep cardio to a minimum but still engage in strength training (light weights), resistance training (pilates), and stretching. I usually notice a better sleep, more energy towards the end of my cleanse, happier moods, "lighter feeling", clearer mind, shinier hair and better skin condition. A key to juice cleansing is to drink tons of water in addition to your juices so your body can continue to flush out toxins and keep blood volume high. Sometimes your blood pressure can drop without the kind of calorie intake you are used to so drinking water is key so you don't feel dizzy if you are not used to this type of calorie restriction.

Happy Cleansing! Or at least wish me luck and watch from the sidelines while you have a delicious bowl of pasta haha :) 

Weekend/StolenPhone

Hey Guys,

Sorry I haven't answered your questions yet this week. I was studying for a big exam I had on Thursday for a certification in regulatory. Then I moved up to LA , and got my iphone 5 stolen at a club in hollywood (Greystone manor) for their halloween party. The part I am most pissed about is that I had such awesome pictures on that phone that I hadn't posted yet, and was going to post to my blog!!! I did "find my iphone" but the person who stole is obviously smarter than the average bear because they are keeping it off...That or they don't have an iphone 5 charger and my battery died. Either way--it was a big bummer. I am now using a craptastic blackberry and the little scrolling button doesn't even work. Ordered a new one, which cost me a FORTUNE, and have to wait till late November for it to come. Anyway..that was my weekend. Here are about 2 of 100 pics that survived....

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Blonde or Brunette...?

My Halloween Costumes 4 years in a row :)

                                             

Halloween 3 years ago--Fairy

Halloween 2 years ago--Mermaid/Creature, Mermaid Creature?

Last Year--Kitty Cat PURRRRr

This year.....Cavewoman?!!!!!!!!!!!! Pictures soon ! 

How to make a Cute,Hippie, Daisy headband

Pick Daisy's at a nearby park (or neighbors), make sure you get really long stems

Use a small sharp object (or fingernail) to poke a hole near the end of the stem of the daisy, but leave a little bit of room in case the hole "bleeds" and get larger. You want it to remain a hole not a slit that goes to the end of the flower so it can hold the next flower.

Weave next daisy through the hole by its stem till it stops itself with the flower, then have a friend tie the remaining stem into a double knot in the back

Have a cute, fun, hippie-esque daisy headband for the day to spice things up :) 

My Favorite Healthy Dinner---

One of my favorite things to do for dinner is to boil or steam (steaming is better), cauliflower, broccoli , asparagus or carrots. Then put them in my blender (like the one below) till they are pureed.

I add salt to taste, pepper, about a half cup of water from the boiling water, Cayenne pepper (don't be shy), and the winning ingredient truffle oil. (the nice kind from the farmers market, not from the grocery store, a drop goes a long way) and have pureed soups for dinner. These soups are only like 80 calories, super satisfying, very healthy, and have basically nothing but veggies and water but taste AMAZING. When I am "cleansing" I have a new vegetable every night. Asparagus and cauliflower are probably favs. And another perk...dinner is SUPER cheap ~apx $3 for a package or fresh bundle of veggies. #yesplease.

How to study and A-lways get A's!

I am going to write a HOW TO STUDY Guide, because I have gotten tons and tons of requests on this..If this doesn't apply to you feel free to ignore.

1. Go over all the material and really pay attention to what you reading, imagine it is a story with a plot. Beginning, Middle and End. Don't read it just to read while you are thinking about what's for dinner, because that will do NOTHING for you. In that case its better to just watch TV and do something else until you ready to concentrate. Pretending to study is not going to get you an A.

2. Once you have read over it, read it over again. This time take notes in your own words. The key to this is to consolidate. If you have 10 pages try to take 1 page of notes only writing down what you think is important in your OWN words. Draw pictures, make up rhymes, Acronyms. Make mini stories, if there are people in what you are studying make them characters. You can make characters out of molecules and events as well.  It also helps to make things dirty or outrageous. The dirtier and more outrageous the easier is it is to remember.

3. Then just remember your notes. They shouldn't be very long because you have condensed things in your own words. Make each topic or chapter in your notes a "memory bucket" or "memory room" . Once you start remembering what the basic "rooms" are--topics, you can start inserting details. You will find it SO SO  much easier to remember your own  notes than the book--as long as you have written them creatively and in your own words. Then you can go back to the text book or whatever it is your studying and add detail upon detail into your rooms. If you forget something new that's okay because you have the basic general topic or "memory bucket" memorized very well as your foundation from your notes. You can also add the details slowly into your notes. I find that if I memorize this way I can remember an extraordinary amount of things which usually impresses others.

3. Study in GROUPS! This will keep you engaged, have fun with it. Test each other , make up games with rewards whatever it takes to keep the topic of conversation on the study material while keeping things exciting. Go into the group with your basic notes that you have written already memorized. Use groups to insert details into what you already know not to memorize things in the first place (just FYI). It will be a lot more fun this way too. This also will give you an opportunity to teach others in your group which helps you learn things EVEN better.

Good Luck and Happy Studying! 

Getting SKINNY..Tips, Tricks and the Truth

I'm writing this post, because I always, always get questions about this, and in my opinion there is SO much false information there so I thought I would blog about the rules I follow.

First of all being "skinny" for lack of a better adjective is :
~50% whats in your genes
~10-15% your age
and ~40-50% diet and exercise

So out of these factors we really only have at best 50% to work with. But, dont worry that is probably the most depressing thing I'm going to say so I wanted to get it over with.

Now, I dont know what it is with people these days (do they not read current research?!), but many think weight loss is (out of the 50% we are working with) half diet and half exercise. NO NO NO. That is soooo wrong!! Recent studies show now that is actually about 80% diet to 20% exercise (sorry about all the percentages but stay with me here). So I used to run 6 miles a day and eat like I always did (not more) and could NOT figure out why the lbs weren't just dropping off. I already had accounted for muscle weighing more btw...I am sure everyone has had a similar experience where you are cardio'ing your ass off and still not losing lbs. The reason is that exercise in a calorie context does not directly translate to weight loss. Before you get confused let me explain this with an analogy. If you reduce your diet by 1000 calories, and you exercise and burn off 1000 calories, these are NOT equal in relation to weight loss. In fact studies are now finding its about 80% to 20% or 1:4. So if you burned 1000 calories a day with exercise it would only be 1/4 as effective in losing weight as eating 1000 calories less.

Now before we get carried away , let me say exercise is EXTREMELY important. For heart health, longevity, to prevent many diseases including cancer and diabetes, inflammation, promote better psychological health in addition to many, many more reasons. But, I never look at exercise as a means to lose weight, its just not efficient enough.  In short, calorie restriction is how you lose weight and THAT is what people don't know! This leads to much frustration which ultimately begets loss of motivation and in my opinion that leads to the unhealthy habits. Trying and not being able to achieve results leads people to rely on desperate methods that are unhealthy like diet pills, and yo-yo dieting.

Speaking of yo-yo dieting, don't do it. Not only because its bad for your body , but because if you lose weight on a yo-yo diet subsequent attempts to lose weight will only become harder---and you don't want to get your body to that point.

So now that we have established that exercise isn't the solution for weight loss, lets focus on what is. CALORIE RESTRICTION.

In regards to calorie restriction, many studies suggest that it leads to a longer life. This is not unhealthy, it is actually just the opposite. The main objectives for your meals should be: Variety, Nutrients, and making sure you are getting all of the amino acids your body can't make itself. Aside from this I try  not to eat rice, white bread, pasta or any simple carbohydrate. I often feel like society has an obsession with mindless over eating, and when someone doesn't finish their HUGE plate of whatever they are "starving themselves." If you are healthy a very small portion of vegetables + proteins and iron three times a day is enough. You will sleep better, feel "cleaner", have more energy , and of course lose weight. Basically this is my rule of thumb for calorie restriction--I am not going to throw out numbers bc its totally different for everyone--Eat until you feel ALMOST satisfied, not hungry, but not full. Thats enough. Drink of a huge glass of water before every meal. This is important because half the time we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty, so people just eat more when all they needed was some water...Eat slowly --it takes 20 minutes for the receptors in your brain to register the "full feeling" (For people that may be sick from a condition or have other special needs this doesn't apply. )

Of course I exercise... for all the reasons I listed above and because I like to stay toned. I prefer pilates (40 minutes) 5-6 times a week. My heart rate is up, I'm sweating, but I'm not so exhausted that I crave sugar and carbs afterwards (like I would after intense cardio), also its a very low impact exercise for joints. This is more than enough with intermittent jogs or swimming once a week. The AMA suggest 30-40 minutes of light exercise a day.  Not only am I not STARVING after but I feel rested and energetic enough to engage in other activities during the day like walks and bike rides. I prefer this because I feel like I'm challenging my body by strengthening all of my muscle groups but can still curb calories.

Society doesn't want you to be skinny: They just don't. It's cheaper, easier, and more convenient to be overweight. I truly believe this and therefore suggest always being on the defense. Don't believe me, look around: I will...Down the street is a Taco Bell, KFC , and Jack in the Box. Most menu's in the restaurants are full of very processed starches like rice and bread and pasta. Not to mention tons of dairy processed and hormone ridden diary products: cream and cheese and more cheese smothered in cheese. Go to the grocery store, mac and cheese is 99cents, ramon noodle 1$. But an organic tomato 3.99 lb. WTF?! Be proactive, don't let our screwed up society tell you what to eat. Say , --you know what I'm not going to order pizza because its easy. I am going to go down to the farmers market get local and fresh vegetables and make dinner. It takes a little bit of effort at first, but once you realize how bad for your body what is being shoved in our faces everyday is, it will be so easy. And when you start rejecting, society sort of rebounds a little bit. People look at you like oh you are only ordering that, or you need to eat more!, or your not even eating those nachos?! It's almost a little shocking how offended others get when you want to eat healthy. But its time to break the cycle, if not for yourself then for the next generation. Make it NOT normal to order pizza instead of spinach. Once you start eating this way, losing weight will be easier and natural. If exercising is what is making you not want to get on a diet/exercise routine, then hold off on the exercise until you do the "healthy" diet (basically any whole fresh foods, nothing processed) for a week, and then slowly incorporate an easy exercise routine into your daily life. I find it much more palatable this way, b/c you are already seeing results at this point and nothing is more motivating than actual results. Now before I end this post, splurging on your favorite meal IS ok, but have it be the exception, not the rule....The more you eat healthy the more you will see how much you actually want to( have you ever stopped drinking coke a cola for a few months and then gone back and its disgusting...well its like that).

Anyway, please feel free to comment. This is my opinion only--disclaimer. But I do a lot of research and if you don't believe give it a go...and then tell me its not true :) 

My actual life right now--the Vegas coffee mug is totally taunting me...

Thanks Guys

Hey Everyone,

I just started posting on this blog yesterday and I want to thank everyone for all your support. I looked at it today and was shocked to see I was getting over 3000 views a day--its very encouraging and I will continue to post about my life as well as answer any of your questions. Please remember to ask me questions via the comment section under the relevant section at the top of my blog. Or under specific posts... Hope everyone is having a productive and relaxing sunday. 

TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE AN ITALIAN DINNER

I am going to be making homemade Cannolini tonight...I will make a short tutorial and post it after dinner:) Its perfect for dinner parties with friends. Especially when complimented with my award winning mojitos...(my boyfriend gave me the "award", but still).

MISSY!!!

My pup when she was a little nugget

QUESTIONS

Please ask any questions in the "comment" section under the appropriate tab on top. I'll read them all xo

Cancer

So I've been thinking a lot about Cancer. THE disease. The more I learn the more I realize how interesting it is to have a disease on our hands that is bound to become the #1 killer in our nation. It is second now only to Cardiovascular diseases. The rates of cancer have increased dramatically over the last decade. No doubt the reasons behind this prevalence rate is two-fold
1. We are living longer and therefore it gives the cells a larger window for a mistake. Not to mention our cellular machinery is somewhat run down in old age less likely to catch a mistake, halt a cell cycle into G2, or prevent abnormal cell replication.
2. The amount of chemicals, radiation, and toxins that are now in our environment. Not only are they are increasing but we are exposed to them longer.
Enough about these causes, because we are clearly stuck with them, we aren't going to die younger to prevent cancer, and we certainly aren't going to stop using microwaves, getting X-rays, talking on cell phones etc...anytime soon.

The interesting thing about cancer is that it is our own body attacking us. Its almost like an autoimmune disease of the cells. The trick is to kill the cancer without killing the person. What substance, chemical, therapy , treatment can we administer that will only "detonate" upon the abnormal cancer cell. And what defines an abnormal cancer cell from a normal cancer cell. Aren't they one and the same except that one is more desperate for survival, bent on reproducing itself magnificently, veracious for blood nutrients and any other substances that will proliferate its growth? In a sense isn't a cancer cell just a better adapted normal cell?

So how do we define this cell, what is a recognizable marker, or tag that differentiates a cancer cell from a normal cell. And how can we target this difference enough to exploit it. Shouldn't a huge portion of our anti-cancer efforts be focused on developing these exact differences, so that we can kill the disease without killing the individual.

I think we will look back on radiation and chemotherapy as an extremely primitive method of treating patients. Analogous to lobotomies in the early 20th century or curing the plague with purging the blood of the patients. Sure you might get some effect, but look what are you doing to the healthy parts of the body. It is pure hit or miss, a game of can we kill the cancer cell before we destroy what life is left. How...1900's.

Targeted Therapy to me is the clear direction of cancer advancement. Sure they have lots of things in the works, but none of these has been a major breakthrough or it would be provided to dying cancer patients throughout the country right now. A tidal wave of heroic therapy to be mass produced and given to patients as quickly as possible. This clearly has not arrived. I am not saying there is a magical bullet we haven't discovered yet, just that there must be a better way of attacking cancer out there.

The first cancer therapy started with the discovery of anti-folates, folic acid which facilitates normal cell growth does the same for cancer cells. So if you stop the production of folic acid, boom,  you stop the growth of cancer cells as well. Metabolic rates, cell turnover, anything that helps a healthy body grow and thrive will do the same for cancer! But, its clear you can't starve the patient. Kill the darker evil and bring the patient back from the bring of death. So from a preliminary thought process I see two possible solutions.
1. Find a therapy targeted enough to seek know the difference between a normal and cancerous cell, bind and attack. This hinges on scientists and researchers being able to recognize these subtle yet possibly life-saving discrepancies between the two.
2. Preventative medicine in which we find a way to bolster the natural cell protection process cycle and halt cell production.

-What if in a 100 years we look back on cancer research as a huge oversight. How could we have possible thought that black bile inside a person was possible for depression. Clearly its an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain...
-How could we have thought that diseases were once caused by the "gods"  in the sky back in Socrates's era
It is the essence of science to make mistakes. Big ones. But, if we have historically and up to this day continue to make these monumental mis-calculations what is stopping us from making one now, with cancer.
One thing is sure--if we have not found a cure or even progressive therapeutic solutions to cancer in over 20 years, we are not operating with the correct paradigm. We are not thinking outside the box. We have the wrong classifications , and most likely incorrect assumptions upon which we are basing all of our theories and hypothesis. Lets take a step back and remember when we thought that all psychological illnesses were a reaction to child trauma. Oh Freud, how far we have come. And Oh, cancer how far we must go.

A book begins with a single word

I guess the best way to get started is just to start. I didn't want to start this blog for the public, for my friends, for my family or anyone else but my personal, intellectual development. I actually want it to be quite private. At this point, I am not sure if I will share this "blog" or online diary with anyone. The reasoning behind me starting this blog is because I think there are some essential skills that you have to hone in order to be effective. One of those skills is reading, good, proven, education and historical literature, the other is writing about what you have learned. It is important not only because it aids you in further cementing the new things you have learned but it helps you develop and create ideas. Not to mention the benefit of improving writing skills, vocabulary and communication. So, in short, I hope that this blog does not focus on the subjects my past blogs did such as beauty advice, fashion and boyfriend problems, but my wish is that it helps connect with deeper and more intellectual components of my thought processes. I am talking about, biotechnology, biochemistry, disease therapies, the future of medicine, what I can do to contribute and any fledgling ideas I develop as I learn more about different molecules...So that is my introductory post. :) Not to mention I do not think most of my "twitter" followers will find much of this of great interest either....

FIRST POST

This is just a test lets see what happens! Here is a picture from a recent wedding I attended.