Virginia "The Food" D.'s Profile

Forget water boarding or solitary confinement. Put me in a hot room (95-105 degrees), force me to do yoga poses and I will tell you anything - family secrets, cooperate secrets, dirty little secrets! Anything at all!  I'm weak and can't handle the heat!

I bought Hot 8's deal on Groupon for 10 classes for $30 dollar.  After consulting the receptionist I decided to take Hot 8 Yoga from Lady Yoga.  

As I first entered the room, it felt like a nice heated sauna.  I set my yoga gear down, sat down and waited for the class to start. After 5 minutes, my black cotton leggings and dark green cotton tank top felt like it was starting to stick to my skin.    Class finally started with a few breathing exercises followed by a series of poses.  Each pose was held 2x on each side for 1 minute.  After 15 minutes, I was dripping in sweat and started counting down the minutes.   The class couldn't end soon enough; it was 90 minutes of torture!!!!   Even the stretches after the standing series was hard for me to bare. It was hot!  Sweat was dripping everywhere and the instructor made us feel bad for toweling off and drinking water when it wasn't the toweling off/water break.  

Lady, this is yoga, we're suppose to listen to our bodies!  I felt dehydrated and I could barely see because sweat was dripping into my eyes!

Hot Yoga is not for me. I have been practicing Vineyasa Flow/ Power Yoga for 4 years. I continue to practice because it strikes a good balance between a good sweaty work out and a relaxing spiritual/mental exercise.   I find the classes at Hot 8 Yoga to be a good workout, but it does not satisfy me spiritually. I can't concentrate on the spiritual aspect because I can't stop thinking about how much I want to strip my clothes off and run out of the studio and jump into the ocean!

Useful Information:
*Bring a change of clothes
*Drink water before, drink water during, and drink water after or else you'll end with with a horrible migraine like me and cancel your plans for the rest of the day!
*Bring an extra hand towel to wipe sweat. My Yogi Toes was soaked during class! It would have been nice to have an extra towel to wipe the sweat dripping down my eyes.
*Wear close to nothing.  If you need to wear something, be sure it's Dri-Fit.(Wicker). I wore long black leggings, and I felt like i was trapping in heat!  
*Hot date after class?  Not to worry, showers are available!

Other classes I've tried:
Hot 8 Yoga Barre on Monday at 8:00: Classes tend to be packed!  Sign up ahead of time.   Because the class is so full, it is extremely difficult to see the instructor.  To me, this was a half assed Pure Barre class. Every time I got to Pure Barre, I am so sore that I can barely laugh.  I was sweaty in the Yoga Barre class, but it was because of the heat and not so much of the class.

Hot 8 Yoga Pilates on Monday at 8:15:  Combination of Pilates and Yoga Flow. This is my favorite class so far! The instructor is awesome!

I've been a loyal member of QuikPark since 2006.  But with my recent shopping impulses, I decided to cut down on my airport parking expenses.

QuikPark - 13.45 + tax
AirPark LAX - 7.95 + tax for covered parking and 6.95 for rooftop!

AirPark it is!

I was visiting my parents on a Holiday less weekend night.

Parking Reservations Check
Boarding Pass Check
Luggage Check

7:00 pm: HH at Busby's.   The night was young! I decided to join my HH group for nachoes and red wine at Busby's before my 9:30 flight. Liquored up is the only way to fly.

7:30 pm: When I was supposed to leave Busby's,

8:00 pm: When I actually left Busby's.
After a few sips, I lost track of time and now, it was 8! I rushed down to LAX like a crazy driver, swerving in and out of CRAZY Thursday night traffic.

8:30 PM: Arrived at AirPark LAX.  It was now 1 hour before take off!  I quickly drove into AirPark LAX.  I drove into the parking structure, going up, level by level, only seeing a few scattered compact spots!  

8:40 PM: Still driving up and down the lot! Attempted to fix in a few spots, but my car is TOOO big! NOoooooo

8:45 PM:  Wishing that there was valet and that my car would just go away!

8:47 PM:  Score! Found a tiny compact spot next to the wall (but it was bigger than the other spots), between a tiny white BMV and a cement wall.

8:48 PM: I drove up next to the white BMV, and slowly backed in the spot!  F!  THE SPOT is small!

8:49 PM:  I realigned and tried again.   I turned my wheel all the way around and angled my car slowly into the spot.

BAMB!   CRAP!

8:50 PM: I get out of my car and see a BIG dent on the bumper. I had hit a huge pole that was sticking out of the wall!!!  NOoooooooooooooooo

8:51 PM: Oh well, no time to count loses; I need to get to San Jose!

I ran downstairs and as I got there, the shuttle had just left!!!! NOoooooooo

9:10 PM I got into the shuttle and ran through the airport, with shoes in hand. I get to the gate, and the gates just closed! NOooooooooo

I cheat on my airport parking structure and what happens, I go thought stress, dent my car and missed my flight.  Lesson learned!  Stick to what works!

Useful Tips

*If you drive big cars, fork out a few extra bucks and park somewhere else!
*Book online and bring your print out!
*Arrive about 30 minutes before the time you want to be at the airport (10 minutes to find a spot, 20 minutes to wait for a shuttle)

I do most of my shopping online. I buy Pilot 3G pens, recycled notebooks, pink pepper sprays, Asian American book club books, natural bug sprays and etc on Amazon with free 2 day shipping.   With the convenience of online shopping, I rarely go to stores.  Not only am I lazy, but also stores are DANGEROUS for the well being of my checking account. Especially, when I walk into my love, Target.

The thing is, I have a problem - A BIG problem.  I'm attracted to the word SALE.   This problem is controlled when I buy what I need online because I can close the page before I encounter the world "Sale," but at Target, it's EVEY WHERE! So, when I walk into Target for toilet bowl cleaner, I walk out with literally every item in the store that is marked with the pretty red sale sticker.  

I can't help it, I can't pass up a good deal!

But, after picking up Glee b/c it's on sale for 14.99, new socks b/c it's 1.00 each, grey hang out v neck T-Shirts b/c it's 8.99, 500 Days of Summer b/c it's on sale for 5.00, a basket full of Christmas plates, cookie cutters, cards, wrapping paper and doggie chew toys because it's 75% off, I end up spending my weight in gold!!  Target is amazing and has everything, but please help my checkbook and make me stay away.

Useful Information:
*Look at end caps for random sale items
*Christmas stuff goes on sale for 50% off the day after Xmas, but don't be suckered into buying wrapping paper, Xmas cards or holiday plates! Those can wait until the Christmas stuff goes on sale for 75% off a week later!  
*BIG parking lot!  Awesome for parking SUVs ;)
*Target was open till midnight during the holidays
*There's a pharmacy and they give flu shots!
*This Target offer groceries
*Hungry? McDonalds in the parking lot
*Tired? Starbucks is inside!

Tire Rotation Quote - 30 dollars for 1997 4 Runner.

I have had my fill of McDonalds for a lifetime.  It was my Saturday family bonding time, my in between dance class (not on a pole!  ballet, jazz and modern) and swim practice snack, my sneak off campus for McNugget adventures,  and my to go to food for road trips.  

With all that McDonalds, I am mostly likely made of high fructose corn syrup, growth hormones, pesticides and hydrogenated/trans fats!

Now, in order to prevent further damage to my body, so I am strong enough to fight off a possible alien invasion, I have stopped eating fast food.

But... but... I do have weak moments. Moments when I go running to McDonalds for McNuggets or when I go running to McDonalds, actually 6 McDonalds in 72 hours for Happy Meals because they are giving away the BEST Happy Meal Toy EVER - Hello Kitty Watches! At first I was obsessed with finding Hello Kitty, but now I am obsessed with ALL OF THEM!  Well except the bunny. meh!  

No Hello Kitty at this McDonalds, but I did score a Keroppi watch!

Useful Information:
Don't be lazy; get out of your car, it's faster than the drive thru.
You can buy the Happy Meal Toy for $1.85
You can switch around the sides for the Happy meal. I ordered Coffee instead of soda and Apple Dippers instead of fries
Free Wii Fi

A typical week of eating out for lunch when I visit my family consists of:

Saturday: Dim Sun @ Kim Son
Sunday: Temple Chinese Vegetarian food @ a Buddhist Temple in Bellaire
Monday: Pho : Vietnamese Beef Noodles @ Pho An 2
Tuesday: Banh Cuan: Vietnamese Rice Noodles @ Banh Cuan Hoa

This may sound like meals for my China/Vietnam trip, but it wasn't!  My foodist family only eats Chinese and Vietnam food, depriving me of Texas BBQ, Tex Mex and crawfish!   I've been tempted to steal their car in the middle of the night to get my fix on local cuisine. But, it's scary because they might send their friends NRA friends after me!  So, no thanks.

On this trip, I was determined to score myself some local Texan cuisine. Luckily my cousin was able to sweet-talk her husband into taking me to BBQ after refusing his first offer of pho. No offense, but Pho is better in Los Angeles!

My cousin in law took me to Larry's.  Larry's is decked with Texan swag filled with mostly men wearing their name branded work shirt filling up on all you can eat bbq. Larry's may not be mind blowing BBQ, but it was well worth the low price of 8.99 per person for AYCE BBQ.  There was a great selection of food - BBQ(wings, pork, 3 different types of chicken, brisket), salad bar, sides(potato salad, beans, mac and cheese, baked potato), assorted Tex Mex ( chips and salsa, fajita meat) and dessert ( cookies, cakes, fruit, pies). The meats were all well seasoned and could stand on it's own without the overly smoky, high fructose corn syrup tasting BBQ sauce.  I was a fan of the meat. I got seconds and even thirds!

I was happy for my BBQ fix. Although, I did it did pain me to use styrofoam plates while dinning in the restaurant.  In fact, Mother Nature is crying over the millions of plastic silverware and Styrofoam plates that are used in this restaurant.

I've visited Houston every year since I was a kid and not once have I had crawfish.  But, Boy, have I been missing out!!! After eating the crawfish swimming in red sauce at the Boiling Crab in Los Angeles and the barely seasoned crawfish at the Crawfish Festival in Long Beach, I've always thought that the mini pieces of meat in each piece of crawfish was NOT worth the trouble.  

After finding out that I was in Houston this year during the beginning of crawfish season, I was determined to try the real thing. My cousin took me to the Seafood Shoppe on Westheminer. We ordered 8 lbs @ 7.99 per lb of crawfish with 6 pieces of corns and 6 pieces of potatoes. The crawfish seasoning was awesome!  It was complex with the perfect amount of heat and garlic.  We actually started out with only 3 lbs of crawfish and wanted to try the gumbo or jambalaya, but I liked the crawfish so much that we had to order 5 more lbs!  It was so good. The corns and potatoes were also awesome with the crawfish seasoning. The potato was soft and flavorful and the corn was so sweet!  In fact,  I enjoyed my meal at the Seafood Shoppe so much that I started looking for flights for another trip to Houston to come back during crawfish season!   I have been missing out!  Thank you Seafood Shoppe for showing me how crawfish should be done!

cuatro leche round cake (evaporated milk, condense milk, heavy cream with DULCE DE LECHCE) = 28.50 serves 10-15 people (22 siice if you cut it small)

It was an awesome yummy cake that was nicely absorbed with the 4 types of milk.   You don't need to call in advance. They have cakes prepared and ready to be decorated!

If no one tells you that you over salt your cooking, you will always serve salty food, die of high blood pressure and kill those that eat your cooking.

If no one calls you out for writing intense, mean and hurtful emails that are projecting the stress from work, arguments with other friends and frustration of built up miss-commutations, you'll do it again, be hated by those people too and end up a big fat loner.

If no one tells you that you are wearing your shoulders as earrings in your downward dog, it will commit to muscle memory and you will walk around shrugging your shoulders 24/7.

In everyday life including on your yoga mat, constructive criticism is essential for personal growth.   Since becoming a Westsider, I have taken a long hiatus from practicing at U Studio.  After taking Andrea's class this Sunday, it reminded that it is necessary not only to practice yoga weekly, but to know what I am doing wrong, so I can fix it.   At U Studio, the individualize alignment and pose corrections you get from Andrea will help you grow as a yogi and change your yoga practice forever!

For years, I hated the bridge pose.  And guess what, for 5 years I have been doing the bridge pose wrong!! With a minor correction of my elbow position, my bridge pose now feels 1000x better!  Maybe one day, I could have figured it out, but it was awesome that Andrea corrected me, so I didn't have to go on for the next 5 years doing it wrong.    Sometimes, it takes that person to make you aware of your mistakes, so you can further your growth as a yogi and most importantly as a person.

As much as I find the donation yoga around Santa Monica convenient with a great environment for practicing yoga, I have decided to trek out to Mid-Wilshire from the Westside for a monthly tune up. A challenging class and individualized attention is necessary to grow as a yogi. Plus the drive is worth it to practice with a hilarious teacher who knows your name and in a studio located in a historic building with a beautiful serene view of the Hollywood hills

Useful information:
Andrea's classes are $15
Community classes are Tuesday and Thursday @ 7, Saturday @ 4 for $10
There's plenty of street parking
Parking is free on Sunday @ the lot in the back
Bring a towel and a bottle of water

As I was driving on Pico, I noticed that there were a fair number of Chinese restaurants.  But, it's not the type of restaurants you will find in Monterey Park or Alhambra.   It is full of Chinese American restaurants. You know, restaurants that serve Chop Suey, Almond Chicken, Egg Fu Young, and Tangerine Beef.  All of which, I have not had until today.

Until a few weeks ago, I have always turned my nose up towards "Chinese American" food.   My parents have brained washed me to think that Chinese American food was bad food. But,  after reading the Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food for my book club, I have learned that it is just a different type of Chinese food. It is not authentic Chinese and definitely not American - it is Chinese American.  Now, I have a whole new appreciation for Chinese American Restaurants and their work staff.

I even enjoyed my lunch and book club at Fu's Palace, a Chinese American restaurant.  It was the perfect place for our book club meeting. The food was decent, cheap and plentiful!  The wait staff and management were nice. TMy favorite was the Egg Fu Young.  I might have to come back for more and try the General's Tso Chicken, but shh don't tell the parentals.

Useful Information
*No wait for lunch on weekends
*Lunch Specials are available everyday from 11:30 to 2:30.
*Lunch Specials are really cheap. It ranges from 5.95 to 7.95 and comes with rice, soup, 1 egg roll and a main dish.
*Parking is available in the back (Yay!)