Clipless Spin Shoes

I finally got around to taking some photos of my new spin shoes. So here they are...

...oops, I mean here!

This is what they look like on the bottom. The red part that looks like an electrical socket is the part that clips. I have to say that spinning with these feel so different than spinning with regular shoes. It feels more secure and you have more control. Kinda makes you feel one with the bike. These can also be used on a road bike should I feel inclined some where down the line. ;) I purchased these from Performance Bike. They are really knowledgeable, so even if you don't know much, they can help you figure it out.

Teddy wanted me to let you all know that he got a new green harness that he loves. I think he looks cute in it too!

What do you all have planned for the weekend? As for me, I think I've mentioned that next week is taper week so I am going to be taking it easy this weekend with the running. I might go out for a 4 mile run on Saturday. I think I failed to mention that I will be running the Laguna Hills Half Marathon on Memorial Day Monday. I ran this race last year and wanted to come back to see if I can do better. I guess I will consider this race my long run for this weekend. Things that I am looking forward to this weekend...farmers market, themed birthday party, half marathon and the start of my week-long vacation. Yay! I hope to be able to blog from the road during my vacation so stay tuned for that. Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

My Skin Routine or Lack of

I have to admit I am somewhat of a tomboy when it comes to cosmetics, clothes, shoes, etc. It is an extremely rare day when my clothes match or I have makeup on or am having a good hair day. I am always on the look out for the next big thing to make getting "prettied-up" easier. I guess for the most part, I care very little about how I present myself on the outside. I know, what a terrible thing to say but it is true. A few things comes to mind as to why I am this way.

First, growing up, my mom was really strict when it came to us girls putting on makeup and wearing anything short or low cut. She was of the school of thought that proper girls did not wear cosmetics, perfume or anything that showed skin. This is understandable, except by the time I went off to college, I still didn't know how to put on my own makeup. I barely knew how to properly dress myself for class without my mom being there telling me what was appropriate and what was not to wear in public. I must find that photo of me where I did my own makeup for the first time for a college dance. Travesty. You should know that I currently own tons of perfume, cosmetics and clothes. Why? I don't know, because I am an adult now and I can. It doesn't matter that I still don't really know how to put on makeup. Details!

Second, this one is not as good as the first reason but for the most part, I am lazy! That's right, I am too lazy to blow dry my hair, put on mascara or even match my clothes on any given day. Sure I could spend an extra 5-10 minutes getting ready so that I could look more put together but I find that tedious and unnecessary. To be honest, I wish I could live in my workout clothes and never have to put on makeup again. If you ask my sisters, they will tell you that for the most part, I already do this, whenever I can get away with it. Every new year, I would vow to change my ways and spend more time grooming myself only to fail a month into it. This year, I didn't even try. See? It wasn't even on my resolutions list.

Yet despite all this, I was looking at my bathroom the other day and noticed that I had a lot of beauty products in there. For someone who didn't really care about the way I looked, I could easily open a store with all the beauty products I had in there. I guess you can say that I am more concerned about the bathing process than the makeup/getting dress process. Because I exercise almost everyday, I bathe at least twice a day. So I know a lot when it comes to getting squeaky clean. Here are some of the things that I am currently using and love.

Let's start with the face. This is the face cleanser that I've been using for a year now. I actually discovered it while packing for a trip. I had to go to Target to buy travel size products and this was one of the few options they had in the travel size bottle, so I decided to give it a try. It is a nice inexpensive face wash. It has these tiny orange beads mixed into the gel and I love how they gently massage my face. It will provide a gentle exfoliation. If you are looking for something more...

 ...this is what you want! St. Ives Apricot Scrub is a cult favorite. I like the one formulated for blemished skin because my skin still thinks I am a teenager. It is heavy duty on exfoliation so use with care if you have sensitive skin.

This is currently my favorite face cream. It's oil-free and works great if you tend to break out often like me. It is very moisturizing without being heavy or greasy. I really like Clinique products.

Another item from Clinique that I am currently loving is this Pore Refining Solutions. It is great if you have an oily T-zone like me. I've been using this for two weeks now and I think it is amazing! I am so much less oily in the T-zone. It's a keeper for sure.

In regards to eye cream, this is my all time favorite one but it is on the expensive side. I think it is $30. Ouch! Sister J got me a jar for Christmas so I am a happy girl!

Because I am cheap sometimes...I use this Garnier eye cream that you can find at any drugstore or Target. It works pretty good. Just remember to be gentle when you are putting on eye cream and not tag at the skin near the eye since it is delicate.

I've also used this L'Oreal Skin Genesis eye cream before and it is another good mid range price one that you can find at the drugstore or Target.

If you are looking for a mask, Epicuren makes a good one. I purchased this Chai Soy mask after they used it on me once when I got a facial at a nice spa. It is very soothing and leaves your skin really soft. It is green in color.

I am currently in love with the Country Apple body wash from Bath and body Works. Smells like Spring to me.

That's it for now. I have a ton of beauty products that I can comment on but I will have to break them up in different segments since as I mentioned before, I have a ton of beauty products at my place.

Sushi Koto - Fountain Valley, CA

So remember the other day when I went to archery with my family? Well they all came down around late lunch time on a Sunday and we were scrambling to find a place to eat that was open. They wanted Japanese food, which I also love but apparently some Japanese restaurants are only opened for dinner. Who knew!

Of course I immediately went on Yelp and found Sushi Koto. This is the place where the giant sushi structure can be found.

Sister S and I ordered the Nabeyaki Udon...

...which came with a side of sushi (tuna, shrimp and salmon). This combo was tasty. It was nothing extraordinary about it but it was good.

I got to the restaurant late so I'm actually not sure what this roll is.

Photo credit to Sister K

House salad

Photo credit to Sister K

Miso Soup

Photo credit to Sister K

This may well have been the star of the meal. Their Special Chirashi combo that comes with dessert. Sister K ordered this and it looks amazing! I need to go back and try it as she tells me that it is very good.

Photo credit to Sister K

This is the dessert that comes with the Chirashi. I believe it is a black bean pudding/soup. Sister K remarked that it was tasty!

Photo credit to Sister K

My honey ordered this Teriyaki beef and Tempura combo. I had a couple bites of the tempura and I didn't like it much.

Overall, this place is good! I will likely come back to try the chirashi bowl and it is very close to the Archery place.

Sushi Koto

18225 Brookhurst St, Ste 7
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

(714) 964-0988

Tatsunoya Ramen @Japanese Gourmet Fair 2011

I went to Mitsuwa tonight for dinner. All the food booths were set up and in full swing but I didn't find anything I liked and everything was really expensive. I think the one they have during Autumn is better.

Potato Apple Pie - I've never had this but it looked so good but I'm trying to restrain myself from over indulging since I have a couple of races coming up very soon and I don't want to feel heavy on race day.

Sweet Potato and Strawberry cakes

Tatsunoya Ramen!!! So excited to try it.

Does this seem expensive for ramen? It is to me.

Tonkotsu Ramen - this was actually really good. The noodles were thin but cooked perfectly. I don't like this more than Santouka. I'm glad I got to try this. The portion may be small for some people but it was the perfect size for me.

Maizuru Japanese Restaurant - Irvine, CA

Maizuru is one of those places I go to frequently because of proximity. At first, I didn't like the food here but somehow the quality of the food got better so I started coming here again. This is over the span of many years. They serve the same stuff that you may find at other restaurants. I took a photo of the menu because you may have seen the same menu at other Japaneses restaurants. If I had to rate this place on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest, I would give this place a 3.

Nothing unique about these complimentary edamames here.

I order Salmon Roe sushi pretty often and it is good here but as I mentioned before, this dish is pretty difficult to mess up. I like to snack on this with a side of pickled burdock (looks like carrots to me).

Tuna Cut Roll - sometimes I like to keep it simple.

Spicy Tuna Hand Roll - other times I like some varity.

Tako (Octopus) Sashimi - this is done well here because some places cut the octopus too thick which makes it almost impossible to eat since it is a very chewy meat. The thinner, the better when it comes to slicing octopus.

Shrimp and Vegetarian Tempura

Nabeyaki Udon - they are not much for presentation at this place. The Nabeyaki always comes out looking like this and not nicely presented like almost everywhere else I get this. This is is just okay but I order this sometimes because I am lazy to drive further for a better version.

Sharing is caring! I almost always mooch some from whoever orders this udon soup. :D

Sansei (mountatin vegetables) Udon

Chirashi - beautiful right?

Oysters on the half shell. These are 6 for $12, not a bad price. I think they use a sweet ponzu sauce or add wine to the sauce because it has this sweet taste that I am not very fond of. I like a more sour ponzu taste. The oysters were still good, they were fresh at least.

Honeymoon Roll - this is a low carb roll. Instead of being wrapped in seaweed, it is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber and instead of rice, they use crab as the main filling. The roll also has avocado, tuna and shrimp tempura. Amazing!

Baby Lobster Roll - Craziness on a plate. This is really delicious but don't remember to share because this dish is really rich. It is basically a baby lobster roll topped with more baby lobster meat. Then drizzled with teriyaki and avocado sauce. This is obviously not a dieting dish. Ha!

Maizuru Japanese Restaurant
5623 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA
(949) 551-6802