YELP EVENT and Sac Burger Battle

Guilty! I've been really behind in blogging, but it happens when your busy with work and trying to keep up with the house and other responsibilities. 

On Thursday 17th and Saturday 19th, I finally went to Sac Burger Battle and another fun Yelp event in Folsom, a town just up the highway from Sacramento. 

Sac Burger Battle was fun! All you can eat burgers from restaurants around the Sacramento area and local breweries. We got to cast our votes for our favorite burgers. 

Comparing to the other Yelp event I went to last year in Sacramento, this one in Folsom was smaller. Just at the square of the shopping mall there. 

The Yelp event had Chicago Pizza and other local restaurants and shops that are located in the outdoor mall.  

They had outdoor entertainment and some local wineries offering tastings. There was not anything special with this location's event and the crowed was small too. Should not compare locations since Folsom is located in the suburbs and Sacramento a city, but can’t help not to.

Non the less I still enjoyed myself. 

Are you a Yelper? Check out events, they are fun and it's a great community to be apart of. I'm not an Elite, but you don't have to be to go to some gatherings. 

That's all for a post on the go! I love food events!

Thanks for reading! 

Summer 2015

Hello internet friends!!

GAH! Some time has past and I haven't been posting any blogs.

Since starting work life I've lost the time in the day to sit and write new products and share fun trips and events in my life. ( I'm blogging during my lunch)

But I can now say I have a nice adult job, only took me 1 year after Uni to get, and I'm learning so much!

Lets roll some photos of what I have been doing, just to get something started.

I do have products to share with you! They are Lush and I am working on getting it up and I am planning to share my summer 1/2 marathon training for the Napa to Sonoma Destination Race! Spoiler: I did run the whole thing :)

Okay, Now some photos for interest!

 

Trip to Pyramid Brewery Restaurant

Better Late than Never

Better late than never I guess. Leading up to the fall months, I had quiet the welcoming. I finally saw David Guetta on my first trip to Las Vegas, Kings of Leon, Walk the Moon and went with my sister to the Halloween Hunt at Universal Studios. 

It was a busy September and October but now that Thanksgiving is coming up, I don't know what to expect what experiences will come my way. 

Oh YES! and the first week of October marks the Scandinavian Festival and International Festival in Davis. The pictures were of our Finnish booth at the International Festival in Davis. 

Love sharing my heritage and nationality. 

I'm happy that I finally posted a blog post, lets hope I can keep up with all my activities and start sharing some recipes and products again :)  

Yelp Farm to Handle Sacramento

**excuse any misspelling and picture sizing, this is a true post on the go done on my phone. Will fix sizing once access to computer! Thank you friends! 

Wow! First post on the go! Literally, I'm in the car back home from my first yelp event!

I'll start off by saying WOW! I was taken away about how many people came today during the peek of the heat during the day!  Free food and drinks will bring out the yelpers! (There was a $10 donation for Saint Johns Program for Real Change which handed out yummy cookies!)

Over all it was so much fun, trying the local restaurants and wineries. My favorite winery I tried was called Viaggio on the River from Acampo, they had a great Zinfandel. Also my mom and I liked Ironestone Vineyard from Murphys, CA.  

Then the food I tried, Buckhorn Grill had a sample of their Char-Roasted Sirloin Tri-Tip, YUM! Paesanos also had a great sample, sadly I do not remember what it was. 

I guess I'll just share this much since I'm almost home! But I really enjoyed my day there. Also thank you to giggle & riot fun booth for the great pictures! Also to Capitol Dime for the Honey whiskey and Margarita drinks!

Thanks for reading! 

Graduation

Wow! 3 years and 11 months went by and look I finally graduated!

Monday June 9th I officially graduated from my University in Finland. I finished my thesis back in April and the wait is over!

What's next? I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to enjoy my freedom before I make anymore big decisions. 

Living in Finland has taught me a lot and comparing both US and Finland, both places have their own special something, though my life has been much easier in Finland. 

Graduation Present:  Kalevala Necklace

Living here, I see how easy it is to travel to neighboring countries and having the urge to live in one of them. Maybe my future lays in the UK, Spain, Netherlands or even Finland. Why not? What I thought my life would be like after graduating, it has changed, and now I know not expect things to stay as they are. 

Let the job search begin and summer to start! 

Thanks for reading! 

Week of Achievements

Hello! Hello! Thought I'll take a break from my thesis writing and share to the internet world my achievements this week. :D

MY THESIS IS NEARLY DONE! This week I've been coming to school early in the mornings and staying until 6/7pm. That's real dedication to finish and graduate this spring. I now have a total of 11,668 words, which is 29 pages, not including the 2 page of references, title and table of contents. I still need an abstract and conclusion page, along with my appendixes. But I’m so proud of myself. :D

Moving on to running. This Friday I ran 11 miles in 1hr 43mins. It felt awesome. I now know I have it in me to run the half marathon next month. :) and I will survive. Still having my bowl of oatmeal before my long runs and my energy drink that I shared in a previous post.

I also have been making spinach and cheese egg omelette in the morning with cucumbers on top... why not! hahahaha! So good after my running days. Never skimp on the cheese and spinach... can never have enough ;)

Well I guess that’s all. Keep your eyes peeled for a new polish I bought, I’ll be reviewing it once I find some more free time. :)

Thanks for reading! 

Master Cleanse & Training

This week was totally life changing! For the first time I ran 9 miles and I felt great! On top of that I did and survived the Master Cleanse, even though it was for 3 days. More on that a little later. 

From my previous post, I've been training for the Helsinki City Half Marathon Run which is in May. I've been using the Nike+ running app and I'm so glad I am. It's so motivating and forcing me to run the distance... Literally. This Friday called for 9 miles... 9 miles!!! I didn't know how well I would be but I did it and my time was 1:23 WHOAH! I was so proud of myself! I was even more surprised when the app told me my pace and I was able to kept it up for the whole run. I've never felt so great! I didn't even feel like I was going to pass out! I felt like a CHAMP! I rocked that run! 

Now I think I rocked it because the pass 3 days I was doing the master cleanse. Lemon, Cayenne Pepper and Maple Syrup with a Salt Water Flush... Yummy. I had major fantasy about food and cravings but I stuck to it. Normally you would cleanse for 10 days but since I was running my short runs Tuesday and Thursday PLUS it makes you lose a lot of weight, which wasn't my goal, 3 days was just perfect. 

Click HERE for the site

What I noticed from doing the cleanse was my pooch left and my tummy was smaller, and with the salt water flush... Let's just say everything is all cleared out :p I never felt so light or looked so flat. It was a little scary looking at myself in the mirror. I feel for myself, this would make for a nice monthly cleanse, to take 3 days  and just cleanse and clean out my body. I did drop to 122lbs, I'm normally 125/126lbs.  Since it was mostly water weight and the lack of solid foods that dropped me so low, once I start eating again and continue to train it'll be back to my normal weight. Lets see if my tummy would stay flat :P Here's Hoping!

To me the master cleanse is pressing the restart button so I can have a fresh start from zero.

***

Well there you have it, my update on my training and my mini cleanse experience that is keeping me fit and happy. :) 

Now let's start week 6!!! 

Thanks for reading! 

Half Marathon Training

WOW! I've been training for the Helsinki City Race Half Marathon for 2 weeks already. I can't believe it! So I thought I would write down my thoughts and what I'm doing to prepare.

My Goal:

2hrs 30mins or JUST FINISH.

What I'm Doing:

 

I'm using the Nike+ app on my iphone. I'm really liking how the coaching program works. I have a lady that tells me when I reach a mile and tells me my time and speed, when I've hit the half way point and when I'm almost to the finish-line.The app also prep-plans the run days, rest days and cross training days which is great.  I find this helps me pace myself during my runs.

As for extra energy for long runs I've been drinking Zipfizz. I find it kicks in at my half way point on my 5-6 mile runs, which is great. I do only use 1/2 a tube with a glass of water. :)

How Do I Feel:

During my runs I've been feeling great. I run normally, so running long distances is not bad for me. However, I did a 7 mile run 2 weeks ago, and ever since I've been having knee problems. Also, with the longer runs, my feet have been sore, but luckily I have rest days :)

 I'm just taking is easy with my knee, but today's 3 mile run went pain free until the end.

I think this was a good short 2 week up date. :) here's to week 3!

Thanks for reading! 

Gel Nails in Finland

Back in December my friends talked me into getting gel nails, and thus my addiction begins. Some friends eh? :)

ANYWAY... So being back in Finland, gel nails are a little more than back home. I paid $25 and in Finland they can range from €35-€60. I know, it hurts the wallet. 

It was coming up 4 weeks since I had gotten them first done and my nails had grew and the bed was showing, it was time to take action. So I hoped on Groupon.

Before

I was lucky to have found a Groupon for gel nails in Helsinki. It had cost me €20 for the Groupon and the normal price was €60. What an offer!!

So I did some research of the place and they had a Facebook page, good, nice reviews, also good, and I had a friend that had worked there before, triple good. Done deal!

What was this place????  It is called Fabulous. They are in Helsinki on Fabianinkatu. Very cute shop. Appointment only.

The customer service was great and the lady that did my nails was very gentle when filing away the old gel from my nails. Down side, it was €10 for the removal since the Groupon did not cover it, which is common in other salons to charge for removal I guess. But when I had asked for next time, this is included with the service. But the plus side, she used a nail file not a machine.

There weren't many colors to choose from, which was a downer, but the ones they had, it was tough for me to choose still. The brand they use is Cuccio.

After

In all so far I'm pleased with the outcome, though I've noticed a big difference from my first ones, the gel I had before was thicker whereas this time it's thin. However, they said if something was to happen within a week I can come back and they'll fix it.

So I'll recommend Fabulous. I also encourage checking out Groupon and do your research, I've read some horror reviews and great ones. Good Luck!

Thanks for reading!  

Back in Finland

I'm back! It has been a week now and I'm all settled in my apartment. I have some jet lag and troubles sleeping, but other than that, I'm transitioning just fine. 

I had a great send off from my girlfriends on my last night home. We went to the new casino in Sonoma County called the Graton. Oh what a night! I love them so much and from what I said in my last post, very grateful that they are in my life. <3

Then I was off for my 10hr flight to London, then my connection to Finland.

So now my blog will be taking a turn and I'll be writing about my experiences here. Sharing my last semester living in a country that I've called home for the past 3 years. 

So let my adventures here begin! 

Thanks for reading! :)