The Dailey (or 2 Times a Week) Method

Memorial Day Weekend -- a time for consuming calories in any form -- booze, treats, grub. None of it counts this weekend. 

Alyssa's birthday cake featuring 4 sticks of butter -- just one player in the all-you-can-eat Memorial Day festivities.

Well, if you're like me and your good morning greeting on this Wednesday came in the form of snug jeans and an overpowering craving for vegetables, I have just the thing for you: a workout that will make your thighs scream, your posture erect, and your triceps pinch. 

It's called The Dailey Method -- a fitness potpourri with a Pilates base, a ballet flair, and a reputation for building long and lean bodies -- and it's the only strength workout that I've ever stuck with. In the hour-long class you'll squat and stretch at the bar like a ballerina (a tired and sweaty ballerina), you'll hold plank longer than you want to...like way longer than you want to, and you'll even experience the dichotomy of hilariousness and misery from the trademark thigh dancing.*

Aside from feeling stronger in my arms and abs, I credit TDM with improving my posture and lengthening my running stride. But my favorite part of TDM is that each class challenges you with different and new exercises, so it keeps my interest. Kudos to all of you who touted strength training as essential and efficient long before I did. I get it now. 

I even bought the $10 socks. #Sucker.

If you too want to feel like a wannabe ballerina, here's a list of TDM studios. Note, if you don't live near a studio, TDM is very similar to The Bar Method and other barre workouts. I stuck with TDM studio in Santa Barbara because it's closer to my house than The Bar Method and it has free parking. Amen to that. 

*You'll have to try it to find out. 

My Thoughts on Mountain Biking (or Sliding Down a Mountain in Padded Spandex Shorts)

Jordan exemplifying real mountain biking.

One of the things I initiated during my year-long blogging intermission was my mountain biking career. The use of the word "career" is funnier if you know that I've been mountain biking a number of times that I can count on one hand, and also if you could hear the "woahs" and screams I let out as I "mountain bike" down the trail. 

After a recent mountain bike excursion in San Luis Obsipo, I put together a collection of my thoughts and learnings about the sport, but first let's start with the basics.

The Basics

Okay, Anatomy of a Mountain Bike, Volume 1: Mountain bikes are built to go over rocks and logs and annoying small children. 

They prefer to do so at a quicker speed. 

Left brake slows down the front wheel = death trap. Right brake slows down the back wheel = your friend.

I have also heard mountain bikers use these words: pedals, handlebars, thirsty, Idaho, gears and breakfast. 

Now that you know everything there is to know about mountain biking, I give to you... 

Ramblings of Spandex-Clad Jedi in Training

Montaña de Oro State Park

Montaña de Oro is a one of a few confident peaks on the south tip of a small bay near San Luis Obispo (SLO), in a state park boasting a two lane road covered in arches of eucalyptus trees, stunning ocean views and an excellent beginner mountain biking trail. As you get started on the namesake trail, the incline is gradual and surrounded on both sides by stubby bushes. Toward the top you're challenged by sharper turns, rocky obstacles and rides along steep ledges. To get over and through all of these challenges, the trick is to...

1) Look Where You Want to Go

The best advice Jordan has given me about mountain biking thus far is that you want to look where you want to go, about 10 feet in front of you. When it works, you not only end up where you meant to (yay!), but you also feel like you're a Jedi using The Force to control the bike. At the path you look and continue safely you will; off the cliff you look and die you will. I will admit, however, that when you have a boulder garden* beneath you, this concept is harder in practice than in theory. But I have found that when I am able to completely ignore said boulder garden, I will likely go right over it!, which makes me wish that this look-where-you-want-to-go concept was applicable in other areas -- mainly traffic jams, work days/weeks, and airline seat assignments, among other things. 

*Something that real mountain bikers may refer to as "a single rock." 

2) Embrace Speed as Your Friend (the pushy, show-off kind)

Another thing to keep in mind is that the quicker you go, the more stable you will be. I haven't seen the equation that proves this math, but I have experienced firsthand the slow and inevitable fall a single rock can cause when you so much as touch your brakes before going over it. It's like the rocks on mountain bike trails have a personal vendetta against slow cyclists. So people like me who prefer snail mail speed -- I may get down the mountain in 3-5 business days -- are wise to suit up, sit down and hang on. It's like that scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Chuck (Paul Rudd) is trying to explain to Peter (Jason Segel) how to pop up on a surfboard: The less you do the better. Ya gotta pop down, and never, ever, touch your brakes. 

3) Never Use Your Brakes (Ever)

This tip might confuse some of you, but seriously the brakes on a mountain bike are one of the most dangerous features. They are known to cause flipping, sliding, falling, bloating, headache, dizziness, vertigo, and sometimes death. My advice, just take them off. Waste of space. All you have to do is look where you want to go. 

On my way down Montaña de Oro last November.

What are your newest or favorite adventure sports? Any other ideas where the look-where-you-want-to-go rule should apply? 

The D Club (and Welcome Back!)

I like dogs as much as Ron Swanson likes bacon, maybe more. So naturally I like taking pictures of dogs, to savor the excitement and revisit them later. And don't even get me started on dog parks. Best invention ever. I'd like to thank Leslie Knope for that idea. Who else could it be?

So as an intro to my revamped blog, I wanted to introduce you to my favorite dogs. I will tell you ahead of time that I do indeed know of some these dogs in real life. (Collective inhale.) With some, I'm on nickname basis. Others are dogs I have socialized with, near or around. No matter my relation, however, I hope you enjoy what I'm calling...

The D Club 

Bella Lucinda/Louis Speilberg 

I start with the pup dearest to my heart, Bella Lu (Louis Speilberg, Belly, Lucinda, Lulu). Bella is sassy and cuddly and quite laid back for being a Little Dog, all of which makes up for the fact that her face is squished and her eyes look like they might pop out of her skull if she sneezes too hard. My favorite thing Bella does is the way she greets you when you walk in the door. When she sees you, she starts to charge your way in an excited gait, and then, right before she gets to you, she flips over onto her back mid-stride, sliding beneath you in perfect belly rub position, as if saying "You're home! And, I know you've been waiting all day to pet my belly." 

Bella in proper belly rub form. 

Coco & Woofy Komaiko 

Coco and Woofy Komaiko are sisters by association, not by biology, and man what a ruckus these two make. The Komaiko family (Jordan's sister, her husband and two darling kiddos) rescued Coco last year and brought her home to Woofy, the mini Schnauzer. Like something out of a rom-com, these two were best dog friends since first sight. Together they've eaten bags of Halloween candy (and subsequently gotten their stomaches pumped), and made a habit out of snuggling on the couch. But the best thing these two have contributed to our weekly Wednesday night dinners is entertainment in the form of what we call Wrestlemania. Woofy and Coco rarely tire of wrestling with each other, and when they're wrestling, it's hard to tell tail from head. Like a blonde and gray yin and yang tumbleweed, they make their way around the house growling and biting each other (with love). 

Coco & Woofy Komaiko

Working dogs

An outstanding job perk for a dogless girl like me is a dog-friendly office like the one I work in. In the interest of savoring my professional relationships by not going into detail about how much satisfaction I get when other people bring their dogs to work, I will let this photo of Noe the Labradoodle and Riley the Lab mix speak for itself.

Chewbacca the (Crazy/Happy) Golden Retriever

This smiley golden ball of love came into my life last weekend. I won't say we know each other well, but we did snuggle on the couch (read: Chewbacca jumped on my lap, attempted to lick my chapstick off my lips and then hastily made his way to his owner) at a birthday party last weekend. I didn't say he was a gentlemen, but I had to include him on the list, because look at his face! And because Golden Retrievers are my favorite. 

Neighbor dogs

These three King Charles Cavaliers live a few houses down from me and they can be admired laying out on their driveway sunbathing while their retired parents garden and enjoy their yard. I had the pleasure of meeting them one morning when Bella was in town. I only remember that one of them is named Pollyanna. 

Bella meeting the Canon Drive King Charles Cavalier posse.

Pippa Kimball

My mom will kill me if I don't include a blurb on her other dog, Pippa (Bella's roommate.) I say roommate, because unlike Woofy and Coco Komaiko, Bella and Pippa do not have a happily ever after-themed friendship story. In short, they're not friends. And while Pippa has a mind of her own, she can be quite snuggly and cute when she wants to be, so we love her all the same.

Pippa Kimball at work.

Dogs I Don't Know But Have Seen (or Pictures of Dogs Sent to Me Electronically)

I'm fortunate to have two dog-crazy sisters and a sweet boyfriend, all of whom send me pictures of dogs on the reg. Here's a collage of my favorite ones from the last week. 

As a full-time dog obsessor, I'd love to see pictures and read stories about your favorite furry things! Twitter: @kmdediego