BACK TO THE US of A

IT IS OFFICIAL.

KP RETURNS TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (for a limited time only)

SEPTEMBER 30th- OCTOBER 21st

In celebration of the monumental occassion, here is a top ten list of

"MOST AWESOME THINGS ABOUT AMERICA"

1. SEPERATION OF CHURCH & STATE
• This is a concept taught to all kids in US History classes, but it is something that I never fully appreciated until I lived in a society where religion strictly dictates the laws - regardless of the religion (or absense-thereof) you choose to practice.  America wins because it supports freedom of practice & while beliefs may play influence on certain legislature - they are never founded on the sole basis of "because the Bible/Qu'ran/Vedas/ETC says so"
• Example A: The entire country does not literally shut down for religious observances & prohibits a person from conducting their life as they choose - AKA it is not ILLEGAL to eat food or drink beverages in public during daylight hours during the holy month of Ramadan.  If you choose to practice fasting; it is your choice to do so- it is not forced on you.  While the US does close certain businesses & give holiday time off for Christmas it is not ILLEGAL to work.
• Example B:  You have the right to wear whatever you please in public - so long as it is not indecent exposure.  You can proudly show your hair, face, knees, & shoulders without a problem.
• Example C:  As long as you are of age (or are in the privacy of your own home) you have the right to drink & purchase alcoholic beverages.
2. FREEDOM
3. NO UNJUST CENSORSHIP OF PIGS
•  Pigs & pork products are not illegal and/or banned from the country
• Depictions of pigs are not deliberately removed in media & even children's books
• 
• 
  
  
4. STARBUCKS ICED CHAI LATTE
• 
  
  
5. THERE ARE FOUR (4, count them) SEASONS - as opposed to HOT & HOTTER posing as two seperate seasons.
6. DOES NOT SHARE A BORDER WITH SAUDI ARABIA
• Instead it shares borders with 2 rad on their own accord Countries:
• CANADA - home of Maple leaves, Mounties, & nearly legalized Marajuana.
• MEXICO - home of mexican food & cerveza. Yum.
7. DARREN CRISS
• 
• If you are not already a fan - please watch "A Very Potter Musical" or "A Very Potter Sequel" & then get back to me. Ok? Thanks.

  
  
8. LAND CRUISERS & A-HOLE DRIVERS DO NOT DOMINATE THE ROADWAYS
9. TAMPONS
• America, my ovaries thank you!
10. MANY OF THE PEOPLE I LOVE & MISS LIVE THERE

• 
  
• Nephew Cayden & the "Devil Dog" Brody; just to name a few...You know who you all are :-)

AMERICA - I can't wait. See you soon!

XOXOX, KP

New Sports To Try...

1. Street Surfing (Istanbul, Turkey)

 2. Community Park-ercizing (Vientianne, Laos)

3.  Sand Dune Sailing (Sealine, Qatar)

4.  Snow Ski Hang Gliding (Courchevel, France)

5. Jungle Court Basketball (Luang Prabang, Laos)

100th Post Celebration & Giveaway!

I DID IT! 

 

I am not quite sure how, but I managed to turn my incoherent ramblings into 100 blog posts!!  Also, I am 98% positive I used the word AWESOME over 5,000 times therein. 

 

I think that is a pretty flippin big accomplishment, don't you?

 

OH HELLS YES.

 

In celebration of such a momentous occasion and obscene over usage of the word AWESOME, I am going to host my very first ever GIVEAWAY!!!

 

What's that you say; I'm going to give something away??  HECK YES. You heard that right. 

 

CHECK.IT.OUT

 

 

What is it??

 

It is a 14"x11" mixed media print from one of my favorite Etsy sellers.

 

Awesome, right? (It says the word ADVENTURE on it!!!)

 

So how can you enter to win this lovely little giveaway?

 

Three simple ways:

• Leave a comment (1 entry)
• Become a Follower of "Be Awesome Instead" (2 entries)
• Post a link to this blog post on your blog or facebook & let me know (2 entries)

Entering the giveaway will end midnight (West Coast Time, USA) on 6/24 and the winner will be selected randomly thereafter.

Best of luck! Thanks for helping me celebrate!

Latest Obsession: MyPlate at Livestrong.com

Being that I am a cyclist, one might think that I knew about this ages ago since Lance Armstrong and his Livestrong mantra is like the most mainstream cycle thing there is. Truth be told I only "discovered" the amazingness of this website last week by total accident.

Livestrong.com acts as a complete epicenter for healthy living. It is designed for everyone; from the seasoned athlete trying to get the competitive edge to the average jane/joe looking to lose a few.  I have been playing around on this site for a few days now and there are so many awesome features; I just really feel the compelled to share (also, of course I find this site during the week I am not allowed to do any physical activity...but I guess it is a good thing I found it now).

The majority of the features on this website are FREE (don't you love that word?!); however, if you want some more seriously advanced fitness & health tracking features you will have to shell out a whopping $45/year.  (How much does Weight Watchers cost?? I am thinking this is a steal)  The first step is to figure out your daily calorie goal.  This goal is based on your basic stats (age, height, weight, gender, etc), your activity level, and your health goal (maintain weight, lose weight at x lbs per week, etc.).  The next step is to start tracking.

Ok, so I like adventure sports and outdoor activities, but honestly I am not a health nut.  Anyone who knows me (or reads my blog) knows that I LOVE food, especially in the form of cupcakes.  I would say that in my quest for a healthy figure and fitness level eating well is my BIGGEST challenge.  Especially with a fiance like mine who is extremely athletic, skinny as a rail, and can eat like one of those Asian competitive food eaters without gaining a pound. Constantly being around someone who eats that much and does not have to worry about his food choices can be extremely difficult; temptation is a wicked beast.  So for me, I find the myplate food tracker to be amazing.  First, it has practically everything you can think of stored in there with a full nutritional breakdown.  I am a huge nerd and fully enjoy looking things up that I plan to eat or have eaten. 

The myplate is an extremely easy way to keep a food journal and it does all sorts of cool analysis for you.  All you have to do is enter in your food ...how easy is that?!

It will point out to you areas in your diet where you need to improve and areas where you are doing well.  As you can see, I have been consuming too much sugar and too little fiber.  No wonder I am always hungry!  The tracker is great because it keeps records of foods you eat often so you can select them more easily, but you can also create meals (groups of things you may eat on a daily basis like cereal and milk) and add recipes of things you cook at home.

While you track you food intake, you can also track your fitness and calorie deficit from normal everyday tasks.  Did you know desk work burns 119 cal/hr?? Go figure.  The last feature (probably my favorite) is the My Loops function.  Here you can map out running, walking, and cycling routes (linked through google maps) and based on your weight, distance, & speed it can calculate the calories expended on that route.  Again, I am a huge dork and had the best time mapping out two of my most common biking routes on it...you can also find other user's loops in your area (there are none in Doha unfortunately, except mine now).

There are a ton of more features to this site, like articles about healthy weight loss, fun exercises to do at home, etc. but I'm sure I've already bored you to death so I am just going to let you go and explore on your own.  Don't blame me if you get addicted though!

B is for Bad @ss and for BOY

Hello blog world! I would like to introduce you to my *first* ever nephew:

CAYDEN ROBERT

I absolutely L-O-V-E the name Cayden.  It reminds me of the place my brother & his wife first met - the Cayman Islands.  I don't think this has anything to do with why they choose this name, but I like it.  His middle name; Robert, is my dad's name. Good old Bob-O!

They just found out they were having a boy a few days ago and I could not be more thrilled for them.  If this little bundle of joy turned out to be a girl they were planning on naming her Evelyn Pilar.  Evelyn is the name of my sister-in-law's good friend who passed away and Pilar is her Mother's family name.  I like that this name has sentimental value.

Baby names are hard in my opinion.  Not that I am anywhere close to the point in my life when I am ready for a child (sorry mom!),  but I have thought about baby names in an anticodotal fashion. As in, "oh, that is a cool name"...or "oh god, whoever named their child that is deranged!".  If I actually had to come up with a list of names I liked or would consider for my future unborns the paper would be completely blank.  Now, if I had to come up with ridiculous names I would name my unborns as a joke...I could do that in a heartbeat:

Girl Names

1. Trashawanda - seriously I met a girl with this name once and I tried VERY hard not to laugh everytime I saw her

2. Anita Lai - self explanatory

3. Bertha - just screams "fat girl" to me

4. Gertrude - your child is now an 80 year old grandma

5. Krystal Oceania - I named one of my Barbie's this as a child, I have issues...ahaha

6. Apple, Blossom, Rainbow, Pearl - (or anything that is an actual object)

7. Neveah - (or anything this actually something else backwards)

Boy Names

1. Harry - I had a friend with this name, his last name was unfortunately Wiener (dead serious)

2. Ralph - to vomit or manparts...take your pick

3. Scooter, Skipper, Skipp - this is supposed to be a baby, not a boat

4. Thor - your child now must grow up to be on American Gladiators...(I think I may seriously have to name a future dog this though, preferably a smaller one..haha)

5. Seymour - your child is now an old pervy grandpa or vice principal

6. Sancho or Sanchez - as in dirty sanchez..haha

7. Prince - (put princess up for girls names as well oh, and precious for that matter..VOMIT)

Anyone else have any brillantly ridiculous names??  I could use some good ones for my future pets...(I highly agree with giving animals ridiculous names or wait, does that border on animal cruelty??)

Why I am completely changing my ENTIRE Wedding

Over the past 24 hours, I have had a total change of heart.  It all happened when my Dad (who is totally rad btw) sent me the below e-mail that totally rocked my world....

So wait, you guys didn't know I have a "thing" for pirates?!

Ok, BFF/Maid-of-Honor, you totally knew.  (and you are down for this right??)

So instead of having an outdoor garden, simple-chic wedding in New Jersey, I am now going to have an

AWESOME SQUASH BUCKLING, PIRATE ADVENTURE AT SEA WEDDING

This is going to be the most FANTABULOUS wedding EVVERRRRR!!!  I am practically having a seisure of pure joy over this. And these are the wonderful people that are going to make it all happen:

Here are all the AMAZING details:

Here is what me and my future captian of my heart and life (aka fiance) have to look forward to:

Seriously, I am pretty sure you all are entirely jealous of how super rad, fantastically, awesome-riffic my new wedding is going to be.  I am sorry, but your glamorous ballroom, black-tie wedding just does not compare.  I mean come on, Pirates!  Arghhhhh!!!

So you guys are all totally coming right??

PS- Pirate or wench costume required.

instead

i was supposed to go to the gym tonight after work.

instead i am at home eating chicken tacos and watching 90210.

i probably should be feeling guilty about skipping my workout,

but these tacos are damn good.

so it is hard to feel guilt; instead I feel this:

90210 + tacos > healthy lifestyle choices

and this

90210 + tacos = win * awesome

Awesome Innovations - Austrian Drink Stirrers

Check out this gem of a drink stirrer we found at a slope-side bar in St. Anton. Prost!

An Open Letter to my Best Friend on her BIRTHDAY

Dear BEST FRIEND (aka my beautiful maid of honor),

You are now TWENTY-FREAKING-SIX. Officially, you are no longer in the 20 to 25 years age range. Binge drinking, tabletop dancing, streaking the quad, & promiscuous sex are no longer acceptable "after-school" activities for you to partake in (bummer). The Glory Days of college are far, FAR behind you. You are now on your downward slide into your THIRTIES. God. Seriously, you might want to start considering Botox now. And being that you are almost 30 (yes, that is appropriate to say at your age), why haven't you married and spawned at least 3 little ones by now!?! You know that biological clock of yours just keeps ticking away; you've haven't got much time left!!!
 So on the wonderous occassion of your birthday, I have compiled a list of sage advice for you as you progress just this much closer to your menopausal years:

 1. Never go bra-less. Sorry babe, but the days of perky tits are long over and now your "supple breasts" probably sag down about to your knees.

2. Don't forget to dye. Seriously, nobody wants to bang a grandma with a head full of greys.

3. Your new beauty word is RESTORE. In your youth it was PREVENTION, but now you are old and time has already done its damage.

4. Don't get offended when bartenders and restuarants no longer ask for your ID when you order a drink. Sorry sweetie, no one is going to confuse you for an 18 year old anymore.
 5. Mini skirts, skimpy tops, low-rise jeans, hooker shoes, and anything sparkly should be removed from your wadrobe ASAP and replaced with the following: turtlenecks, girtles, any kind of sweater-set, mom-jeans, and orthopedic shoes. Dress your AGE lady!

And finally,

6. Don't hate me because I am younger than you!


Wishing you all the best on your birthday. Oh and I almost forgot, (sheesh, I must be getting almost as old as you!) for your birthday I am gifting you with this: a lifetime membership to the Red Hat Society, , as the slogan says, "Where you BELONG".

XOXO

All My Love,
KP

sos - send cupcakes

While in Dubai this past weekend, we stoped into Magnolia's Bakery (yes, THE Magnolia Bakery as in the NYC chain) in the Bloomingdales at the Dubai Mall.  Holy Cupcake, I was in HEAVEN.  Seriously. Maybe it is because my life has been devoid of quality baked goods containing *real* vanilla since relocating to Qatar or maybe it is because I am a chocolate fiend, but let me tell you this cupcake I had was good.  REAL.GOOD.  It was a melt-in-your-mouth convergence of moist cakey goodness and creamy dark chocolate decadence.  A true cupcake-gasm if you will.

That single cupcake has left me dreaming of cupcakes all week long.  I've become obsessed and drooling at my computer desk at pictures of all the cupcakes I can't have.  I have started to secretly make plans in my head to turn my kitchen into a cupcake factory so that I can have these delicious treats all the time.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to smuggle some vanilla extract over here...