Day 16: Halfway There

OakMonster.com - Brandon's x-ray

5 Thoughts It’s the halfway point, you guys! We’re almost through with the challenge. Are you all hanging in there with me? Good. My day of appointments was planned a week ago but it worked out beautifully after the two week of craziness I just had. I spent half a day running errands and the other half working from home. Working from home is super productive and kind of therapeutic after the past two days…except when it’s a million degree in my home office. But I survived. And then we some news that pretty much trumped any other thought I...
Continue reading...

Day 15: Ready for My Close Up

OakMonster.com Rambutans

5 Thoughts Tomorrow is a less busy day. Tomorrow you’re working from home. Tomorrow is Friday. You can survive this. You can survive this. I sat at the computer for only about 3 hours total and spent the rest of the time in the test kitchen. Surprised I actually ate all seven meals! I should probably log all of these running up and down the stairs as calorie deficit. LOTS of running up and downstairs today. Roasted fennel smells like roasted chicken. It’s really weird. I’ve always cooked fennel with something else so I never notice that before! After a...
Continue reading...

Unconditional Love of YOU

OakMonster.com - Love Yourself

I was hanging out with my friends in Sacramento this weekend. After a few glasses of wine, and the conversation turned Sex and the City-esque.  My love history–or lack thereof–surprised the hell out of everyone. And I heard myself said this. “It wasn’t like I had a self image issue. I was perfectly happy with who I was and I knew who I was. I was content that guys aren’t attracted to any of this [pointing around myself]…” At which point, as good girl friends do, my friends chimed in, “”Aww! Stop it. You’re totally hot!” “Oh, I know I’m...
Continue reading...

10 Goals for 2014

OakMonster.com - Brandon and Oakley with the Endeavor

Let’s do a quick recap of 2013 first. 2013 Goals: kind of 7 out of 10 Find a job I love? Check! Oh my god, check! Don’t finish last at Race on the Base? Totally check. What I didn’t expect is that I would stick with running and continue to run 5K races around the neighborhood. This year’s Race on the Base is my one year anniversary race, and also my last race in a series of 3 to receive my first ever series medal! Be able to do 20 burpees in a row? I wouldn’t say in a CONTINUOUS...
Continue reading...

Counting my 2013 Blessings

OakMonster - Team Wicket and Animal

I know I usually do a 2013 recap here with all of my high points and low points of the year. 2013 has been a year of great things. You could say it might have been one of the best years of my life. So, instead of the usual recap, I’d like to actually, literally, count my blessings. Blessing #1: A Permanent Job Since I moved on from the last permanent job in 2011, I was freelancing for about 12 months of the 24 years of being unemployed.  My last temp assignment was to Frieda’s Specialty Produce.  It was supposed...
Continue reading...

Raced On the Base

OakMonster ran a race!

This is my final original article as the Face of the Race for the Los Alamitos Race on the Base. It’s been fun writing for them!  Please give the Race’s blog some traffic and click here to see the original post.  Also, I was interviewed pre-race with both the Race on the Base blog AND the Orange County Register. Check them out! After all this time of having shared with you about my journey and struggle with running, I almost didn’t make it to the Race this past Saturday. Tuesday night before the Race, I was clutching the toilet bowl...
Continue reading...