P90X Mike Check

Hi everyone,

I started P90X last month, wrote about it here and there and then went completely quiet about it. And you thought I quit, didn't you? Well, for once I didn't, although there were some moments that came very close. But then, I snapped out of it and told myself, "Dao, you're going this far, why do you want to stop now?"

The truth is, I'm on week 8 of P90X, which means there are only 5 weeks left after this and I'm done with this round. While phase 1 (aka the first 4 weeks) was a delight, phase 2 has been a drag. Out of 6 workouts a week, only 1 is new. The other 5 I remember like they are the back of my hand now. On top of that, I find Cardio-X to be easy now. I can do it for the whole time and feel underwhelm. I can't believe I just said it. A P90X workout is not enough for me. On top of that, Yoga-X is just waaaay too long. And the weather has been hot and Aunt Flo was bothering me. Since I had a whole list of complaints, I skipped a few workouts here and there.

This makes me realize why I did not stick to other workout schedules before: the monotony kills me. I guess I am one of those who needs to have a new workout routine every month. Since I consider doing another round of P90X after this, I am going to do a different module instead of Lean. I need the switch-up ;)

Weight-wise, I did lose about 2lbs. Not a lot for 3 weeks but I take it. Surprisingly, during the whole time, I was bloating. The bloat was terrible and I had a hard time contracting my stomach. Then, my period arrived and brought me some relief. Immediately after Aunt Flo left, I weighed myself and I was delighted to find myself 2lbs lighter! Therefore, weighing myself everyday or even every week is not an option anymore since I know how much I can bloat. There was a 5lb difference before and after those days. From now on, I am going to weigh myself right after it stops and then compare it to the next event.

From the beginning of P90X until now, I think I lost about 6 lbs. It's not a huge number but I do gain quite a bit of muscles. Therefore, the fat loss may be even higher (probably 10 lbs.) A shirt that I wasn't able to button in is now loose and right now, the only pair of jeans that I can wear properly is my dark wash skinny jeans. By the end of this round, I aim for a 10lb net loss and that is going to make my day.

That's all for now, folks! Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Love,
Dao xoxo

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Appearances

Hi everyone,

Lately, I have been busy writing left and right. I have nothing to complain here as all my blogging life I have living up for this moment: the moment to be published in a magazine. I guess it is legitimate to say it is every blogger's dream to graduate to the big league. I was lucky enough to have my articles in three different magazines this month: two in paper and one online.

One funny thing when I thought about all this: when I started this blog, I did not tell anybody. It was a way for me to let go of my own frustration about the lack of progress at grad school. Gradually, a couple of friends knew and then a couple of faculty members. It was not a big deal but a lot of them thought I should quit this and concentrate on my research, etc, etc. Little did they know of the real reason why this blog existed and I kept it up as much as I could until now.

And then, bam! Dao got published! Had I listen to what people said back then, this would not have happened now. So, the morality of this story is to listen to your heart and follow your dream. It may take a while but you'll get there. In the mean time, you need to enjoy the journey and be thankful about it.

Ok, now that I'm done with the moral lesson of the day, here are some snap shots of my published articles. They are in Vietnamese so please bear with me :)

 First of, we have Saigon Tiep Thi ("Saigon Marketing" in English, I guess.) They have the tri-weekly newspapers and then the monthly issue which is more about beauty, fashion, and entertainment. I was commissioned to write 1 article, which then turned into 2. I submitted it and didn't hear about it for weeks until I was told that both of them got published in the same issue!

 First article is about olive oil. It's actually a translation to Vietnamese of this article that I wrote for the blog a while ago.

Second article is about green beauty and why you need to read the ingredient list. It was more technical than the first and took a lot longer to write. I was surprised that it actually got a 2-page spread, which is really awesome!

Then, we have Bep Gia Dinh ("Family Kitchen.") This magazine is going to become "Woman's Day" next year as they are in the process of buying the rights (at least that's what I heard from their people.) I wrote 1 article, didn't hear anything, and then went to the newsstand to see it in the newest issue. Right then and there, I had to buy the magazine to show to my folks :D

It's about sunscreen, a topic I'm passionate about since I started writing about makeup and beauty. Like the one about reading ingredient list, this one is also technical and I was so afraid that the audience might tune out. Luckily, the editor did a good job to edit it and made it look even more awesome.

Last but not least, this came today: I made my first appearance at Elle.vn! I was asked to write about beauty innovations and I decided to write about hot makeup products that have make huge buzzes lately. The article is here and Stephanie was kind enough to point out that you can use Google Translate to read it in case you don't know Vietnamese. Thanks, Steph!

There you have it, my published articles. I still have a couple more to write for the month and they are a lot of fun. Just believe in your dream and work hard on it, it will pay off in the end, trust me ;)

Love,
Dao xoxo

P.S: Can I have some blog following and  subscription love, please?

My Inner Martha Stewart Unleashed

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was kinda crazy the moment I took a look around my room and realized how messy it was. Stuff were piling on top of my desk, the night stand, and the vanity table. Yikes! I have assignments to do and I could not work in that condition. The mess blocked my qi. After analyzing the situation, I came to a conclusion that my makeup needed some sort of division. The cookie tins don't cut it anymore. I had a hard time finding things from them. I needed a centralize unit.

I decided right then and there that I would put the things I use frequently on the vanity table while the rest of the stuff is systematically stored in the drawer. I found a wooden tray that was small enough to fit the area near the wall and after sorting things out, I came up with a pile! I thought hard and fast and finally decided to use EnKore's lipstick organizer method to construct boxes with dividers. I didn't realize he already made something for the compacts when I did the measuring and cutting. I just winged it myself. All was well, back-breaking well, and now I have a much, much more organized environment within my vanity table.

Here are some pictures. My inner Martha Stewart is awesome but if you ask me, I would prefer someone to do it. This is some really meticulous work that I don't wish to do again anytime soon!

All the essential things I use are on the table. It's amazing how 2 organizer boxes can make everything look nicer.
Before, it was just a pile laying at that exact corner but spread through 1/3 of the table

Aerial view

I reused a wine box and made dividers for my eye shadows, palettes, lipsticks, pigments, and even false lashes

Lipsticks, cream blushes, falsies, and blush pigments

Eye shadow and eyeshadow palettes

Paint pots, pigments, and mineral makeup

The whole drawer with other stuff.
Before, it was full to the rim and I had a hard time pulling it out. Now, everything is fine!

A much neater vanity table

After I finished putting things together in my room, I felt like I could breath better. Moreover, the makeup now belongs to a system where I can find easily. While I hope to have more makeup, expanding and archiving them is not fun. Right now, space in the storage system is as expensive as Manhattan real estate.

That's all for today, folks! Have you unleashed your inner Martha recently?

Love,
Dao xoxo

P.S: Please support my blog by following and  subscribing to my feed. Thanks a lot!

Ze Laptop Iz Alive!

Hi everyone,

I was very nervous last week with my laptop going blank and a due date inching closer and closer. On top of that, I have a whole bunch of pictures in my computer that I would like not to be gone forever. I prayed long and hard before taking the laptop to the repair shop. A day and $150 bucks later, my laptop was revived! Thank you, Baby Jesus! It's a Saturnalia miracle!

Also, thankfully, my brother's desktop was alive and well so I was using it for work. Surprisingly, I was more productive while working with a different computer for a day or two before I slacked off again :) Oh social websites, thou are time suckers!

But on the other note, I am officially a published author now. Two of my articles were picked up by a magazine and published last week in the April issue. I was ecstatic and I'm going to post a couple of pictures of them soon! On top of that, I have a few articles commissioned already for the rest of the month. Which means I am going to be busy writing them and adding them to my portfolio.

That's all for now, folks! Thank you for all the support while I was AFK ("away from keyboard" as in The Big Bang Theory season 2, haha!)

Love you all,
Dao xoxo

P.S: Please continue supporting me by following my blog and  subscribing to my feed. Thanks a lot!

A Quick, Quick Note about My Laptop

Hi everyone,

I'm really sorry for the lack of posts lately. My laptop, the one I've been using since the end of 2009, decided to give me a finger by not working. It just does not turn on despite how hard I press the button. This is the first time I've had a problem with it as it has always been a good laptop to me. Right now, I'm worried because I do have a lot of stuff stored in that laptop. Even if it decides to die, I hope there's a way to retrieve all of my files. They may not cost anything but they do store a lot of my memories inside. Just think about all the pictures, documents, music files, and short video clips I have. I thought about not being able to see some of Belly's pictures again and it made me sad.

Anyways, I hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If the worst case scenario happens, my D-SLR funding is going bye bye soon T_T And I do want a new camera!

So everyone, I wish you the best. Until my laptop scenario works for the better, I guess there will be no updates for a while. Or there will be entries without pictures. We shall see!

With love,
Dao xoxo

P.S: Please show your support by following my blog and  subscribing to my feed. Thanks a lot!