Christian

This morning, I was late, really late for work so I pulled the oldest trick in the book by leaving my purse in my trunk and walking into the office with just my laptop so it would appear as though I was coming from a meeting.  When I got to my desk, I realized that I left my key fob in my purse (and trunk), so I went back to the garage to retrieve it.  There's a hidden button on my trunk that always allows me to open it once it beeps to let me know my key is inside (because I always accidentally close my trunk with my key in it!), but this time, it wouldn't budge.  Panic set in.

I Googled solutions online and the more I did, the more discouraged I felt.  No pass through to the trunk from the back seat because my car doesn't have that feature built in.  I would have to tow my car to the nearest dealership where I would have to buy a new key for $60-90.  I called the the dealership and they told me a similar story.  I was screwed.

I called AAA and they arrived within 5 mins.  Our plan was for me to quickly press the trunk release button once he got the door open (because my trunk automatically locks once the alarm is activated).  If that didn't work, he would disconnect the battery and then as he reconnected it, I would have a small window to press the release button again. We tried both and neither worked.

He then tried to bring my back seats down which of course, wouldn't go down except for the middle console.  Once the console was down, he saw that there was no opening to the trunk except for a thick piece of plastic between the back seat and the trunk that wouldn't budge.  I told him that all the Lexus forums said that there is no pass-through to the trunk.

My heart started to sink, and as he searched for a tool to pick my glove compartment lock (I had read there may be a trunk release in there and that I had experience picking locks in the past...er...my office desk drawer locks, that is), I said defeated, "Should we just tow my car to the nearest dealership?".  He responded by saying that if I wanted to do that, he could call a tow truck for me, but he believed that there had to be a way.  He just wasn't ready to give up even though I was.  And I really didn't know what he was talking about because there was no other way.  Everyone in the Lexus forums online would totally agree with me!

I went back to my desk to grab a paperclip to pick the lock, and when I came back down, my car was running and my trunk was open!  I ran over and asked him how he did it.  

Apparently, the plastic barrier in the back did open if you pushed it up then out!  He then proceeded to reach in and pull the latch in the trunk to pop it open.  I didn't know what to say.  He saved me so much trouble and so much money.  I asked him how I could ever thank him enough and he asked me to give me a good review when I received a survey for his services.  And then he said to me "See?  You just got to keep believing".  Then I asked him what his name was and he said "Christian".

I knew this was no coincidence.

Everything led me to this encounter and it was a reminder to stay in faith and keep believing because even when there doesn't seem to be a way, there is always a way through God.

I gave him a $40 tip which he reluctantly accepted and we both went our separate ways.  I hope for everything awesome in his life and that he knows that he was a blessing to me today in more ways than one.

Skinny Fat No More

For the past year and a half, I have been attending Fitbody Boot Camp.  What drove me there was when I started to plateau in my workouts and results.  To clarify, I never thought of myself as fat because on the outside, I was skinny, but did you know that there is such a thing as skinny fat?  Here is the body fat % breakdown:

Classification	Women (% Fat)	Men (% Fat)
Essential Fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-25%
Obese	32%+	25%+

It is entirely possible for a "skinny girl" to come in at over 31% body fat and be considered overweight because she has such little lean mass.  When I started Fitcamp, I was weighed 98 lbs and at approximately 21-24% body fat per calipers testing.  I was already in the Fitness zone probably because I was active with Pilates and ran regularly, but I needed more.

Fitcamp is basically high intensity interval training.  There are 5 stations, 2 exercises each stations, rotating between each exercise at 30 second increments, and 3 minutes each station.  The only weights we use are light weights, the heaviest being 20lbs. 

Today, I took the hydrostatic test, which is supposed to be one of the most accurate tests out there.  Here are my results:

9.6% puts me in the 99% percentile!!!  I was shocked and had one of those rub your eyes for clarity moments because I was hoping for 18%, but expected 20%.  Circuit training seriously works!  In the past year and a half, I have consistently worked out 3-5 times a week and had zero cheat days.  I don't think I even had a cheat meal, but would sneak in a few chips or a birthday cake here and there.  I love fries and ice cream, but probably only had those a handful of times throughout.  It means a lot when your hard work and sacrifice finally pay off.  The best part is that I don't even feel deprived because eating healthy and exercising has become a part of my lifestyle - almost second nature!

Now, if you Google women who are at about 10% body fat like me, you will notice that they are shredded to the point where it is kind of gross.  Am I?  You would think so, but no way!  This was the best illustration I could find online that made sense of this disconnect:

Both individuals are at 10% body fat but one weighs 175 lbs (left) and the other 150 lbs (right).  In other words, the guy on the left has 158 lbs of lean mass and the one on the right 135 lbs.  What a difference and additional 23 lbs of muscle makes!

I think I have done a great job at getting rid of my excess fat, but now I need to focus on gaining muscle in order to gain more definition.  The light weights at Fitcamp ain't cutting it anymore.  This will mean more protein and heavier weight training at the gym.  Do I want to look like a huge body builder?  Heck no - I don't even have the frame for that!  But do I want definition and abs like Emily Skye's?  Heck ya!! 

Here's to my next goal!

Balayage

I have been thinking about coloring my hair for a couple years, but didn't have the courage to execute on that thought because I was happy with my virgin hair that hadn't been colored in 10+ years.  Plus, I didn't want to get trapped in the maintenance of having to return to the salon once every few months to touch up my roots since I have only been visiting the salon once a year for my routine cut.  But, with first the hombre trend, then the balayage trend following, my desire to change things up increased a little bit more since both these hair styles would not require a lot of maintenance.  I finally took the plunge today at Bebe Salon in Garden Grove, CA.  With a 4.5 star rating and over 500 reviews, it seemed promising.

This is what I had asked for.  A reddish/brownish undertone with a hint of blonde highlights.

Here is my before.  Good-bye virgin hair!

Here is my after

And this is how I feel about my new hair color - MEH!

While I don't think that she did a bad job, I have to admit that I had to stop myself from crying because it turned out nothing like the photo I showed her.  Where is the red undertone?  Why is it so blonde?  Kelly informed me that because my hair had never been colored before, she had to bleach, then dye, etc... but what upsets me is that I would have appreciated her telling me that the color I wanted would not be achievable the first time around.  But then again, scrolling through the photos on Yelp, it looks like her specialty is this copper/blonde color, so maybe I should have researched a little more before taking the plunge.

Hopefully this color will grow on me and may even be more appropriate during the summertime since it is lighter in shade.  Wish me luck!