Too INSPIRED to be TIRED!

I've been absent for a bit. I've had alot going on, but I wanted to stop for a moment and share one of the most amazing experiences of my life....

I JUST WALKED 60 MILES. IN 3 DAYS. FOR A CURE.

Yes, I am in bed, with huge blisters, and the warmest feeling ever. Yesterday, I completed the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk in Tampa Bay to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. It actually started out by Clearwater Beach and we wandered our way all down through St. Petersburg, ending at the St. Pete Pier yesterday. I would encourage ANYONE AND EVERYONE to consider doing this event once in there life.

For years, doing countless endurance events, I'd heard of this 3 Day Walk and considered doing it, but never found anyone to do it with. My grandmother and aunt are both survivors, so it has touched our family. It's a large commitment- every participant must raise $2300 on top of the $90 entry fee. I was out with my friend Barry one night, about 6 months ago, and after talking, he agreed to do it with me. Great! I now have a partner.

We were slow in our fundraising, we didn't really get momentum with it until August (the event was held over Halloween weekend). We of course sent out emails, posted postings on Facebook, sent out letters, sold baked goods, and even contributed to a garage sale. The day before the event, I raised over 100% of my goal- $2,332! It felt so great...now on to the physical part.

It was very difficult for me to train for this event. As a runner at heart, it's hard to just walk. For hours. Lots of hours. I have to admit, and much to my dismay now, I didn't train like I should have. The Walk organizers were kind enough to send a weekly training schedule. I would follow the Tuesday and Thursday walks, typically between 4-6 miles at a time, but the weekends would call for up to 18 and 15 mile consecutive walks on Saturday and Sunday. I never completed ones those long. One weekend I walked 14 miles on Saturday and 7 miles on Sunday. I was sore on Monday, but I felt good that I accomplished that much. The time commitment on a weekend was the difficult part of the training. They ask you to train at a 3 mile/hour pace. Do the math. That means 12 miles=4 hours. I did most of my training, especially with my long walks, via treadmill so I could at least read magazines and watch tv.

I also did alot of internet research, and followed blogs of people who had completed them in the past. I learned things about packing (like put each day's clothes in a separate ziploc to keep them organized and dry in case of rain at camp), petroleum jelly (to keep you feet moist to avoid unnecessary rubbing), and moleskin (a flannel like bandaid used to protect blisters).

Finally the big day came!

Barry picked me up at 4:30 am and we drove out to Clearwater to begin our adventure. The local news crews were out, so we got on some live shots, stretched, mingled with other walkers, and waited for Opening Ceremony. Opening Ceremony is the event kick-off...with an emotional procession of flag waving survivors, some motivational words, and tears for all. We were there for a common purpose and the journey was about to begin.

We started walking as a large pack up the beach and then over the long causeway over to the city of Clearwater. About every 3 miles or so is a Pit Stop, with snacks (everything from fruit and string cheese to bagels and Uncrustable PB&J sandwiches), drinks (water and Gatorade), and medical crew. You are also encouraged to stop at the Pit Stops to stretch.

Barry and I had lots of conversation leading up to lunch the first day, which was an easy shady walk through beautiful mansion neighborhoods of Bellair. We finally arrived at lunch in a park to chicken sandwiches, chips, apples, etc. From lunch (which was about mile 11 or so), the road got much tougher. We walked down a long stretch of bicycle trail in 91 degree sunny, unforgiving heat. We were miserable. We were going 22 miles the first day to give us less miles the last day, and we were a long way from camp. The worst part of that day, and possibly the worst part of the whole walk, was a stretch of bridge on the trail that crossed the intracoastal. It would be a pretty walk if it wasn't at mile 19-21 and there was shade and some fan support. I will always remember that lonely, miserable moment...

In the meantime of all of this, the public support was so touching. As we would pass houses and street corners, crowds of supporters would gather with sings and decorations of inspiration, cold water, candy, ice pops, cold washcloths, giant fans, etc.! It was so amazing! But this is why the trail and that bridge was also so miserable. Since the trail does not have areas for people to pull cars up and there is limited access, there were miles and miles of nothing but trees and sidewalk. We really needed our Cheer-ios!!

BUT there was nothing better that day than to come to landmarks in chalk on the pavement...150 feet to go...100 feet to go...50 more steps! Crowds cheering! Music blaring! Pink everywhere! All the sudden, we weren't so tired anymore!

Camp was nothing short of amazing. The second we got there, the crew was carrying our bags, and Tent Angels were setting up our tent. From there, we had shopping to do (New Balance and the 3 Day Tents), mail to check (at our camp post office), free massages to get, and all the food you could want. Then at night there was entertainment, like karaoke contests and dance parties! For a somber moment, there was a memorial area. They had white tents that were from every city, with messages written on them lit from underneath at night. Next to this memorial, was a room set up with pictures lining the walls of former Walkers who had lost the battle to breast cancer and the walks listed that they participated in. There was a long table for people to inscribe messages in memory books to those whose lives were lost. And in the middle of the room was the white tent for the Tampa walkers to inscribe their messages. It was a very emotional area.

(the emotional Memorial Tent)

Lights were out at 9pm and we were back to the grind...

(just a few of the hundreds of pink tents)

Day 2 was Halloween and Barry and I had geared up by getting giant pink whoopie cushion costumes. The second we stepped out of our tent, we were instant celebrities. We were even interviewed by the camp radio station that was blaring as we left for our 19 mile walk that day.

Day 2 started with a cheering station about 3 miles into the route. My hubby was there to cheer me on, as well as a co-worker of Barry and I. They brought us Coke and Snickers bars. We stopped to chat for a bit and then we were on again! It was another hot day, and this time it was along the beach. The crowds were out in support again and boy were they appreciated! There was these 2 groups that followed us alot- these 2 girls in pink cowgirl hats driving a white convertible decked out in pink boas. They seemed to be at 4 or 5 different points on the route. There was also a group of guys in jacked up Jeeps and trucks with the slogan "Mudding for a Cure". They would play really loud country music and hoot and holler at us and flash us their bellies with giant pink ribbons painted on them. They were a fun group.

We hit the beach and were ready for St. John's Pass, a shopping/restaurant area, where the next cheering station was at. That was one of the highlights of the walk. There was an overwhelming crowd there and it choked up most of the people walking. To have that many people screaming and cheering you on is amazing. We, dressed as whoopie cushions, were stopped every 4 feet for a photo. I felt bad for the people behind us, but it was a true JLO moment. Also, we had friends who met us there and had cold beers waiting for us. Beyond the Pass, the road got rough. We walked along a stretch of Madeira Beach that was brutally hot. Some people were carted off in an ambulance for dehydration...it was a little scary.

(Us as whoopie cushions at camp)

Through this, I have failed to mention the sweeper vans. These are vans that drive alongside the route, filled with goodies, to pick you up if you need to be driven to the next stop. They each had a different theme, and they played lots of Black Eyed Peas and Britney Spears tunes really loud as they passed. The music really helped. Barry and I vowed to never have to get in one of those vans, and we never did...

(walking through the cheering section of St. John's Pass)

We completed Day 2 finally, after a long boring road with not so many Cheer-ios (I swear I will be there next year people!) and we had a better lay of the land with camp, so we scheduled our massages immediately and got to organizing/packing up what we could for morning when we would need to de-construct the tent. Barry found more letters at the camp post office! We ended the night with a DJ and a dance party. My highlight of that night was dancing on stage to the cha-cha slide in our pajamas, next to 2 crew members dressed as Where's Waldo and another guy walker wearing a sparkly bra. I suddenly forgot my aching pains and shook my tail feathers!

Day 3 began early. It was the last day, so we had to break down camp and say goodbye to our neighbor friends we had made. We left camp and made STEADY PROGRESS. We were on track to finish the day faster than any other. We HAULED butt. The morning was a Sunday, and the day the time changed, so we set out at 6:45 am. What this meant was that there was virtually NOONE out there to cheer us on. BUT the clouds had given us a break and we had a MUCH cooler morning than the rest of the trek. I think the high was 82 that day. We made it to lunch at 10:30 and it wasn't supposed to open until 10:45...they let us eat anyways. We were walkers #120 and #121 out of 1600! Nice pace!

(one of the few groups we saw on Sunday morning, the St. Leo University Swim Team. I was so impressed because St. Leo is at least 1.5 hours north from where we were and this was about 8am, the morning after a time change and Halloween.)

At lunch, I realized things were BAD. My toes were tore up. Blisters everywhere. The medics allowed me to "self medicate", but that didn't do much good. Thank god we had only 5 more miles. At the 3 miles left mark, I was done. DONE. My toes hurt, my feet were swollen, I was miserable, but I had less than a 5k. I hobbled slowly and we managed to make it, with a friend from Atlanta we met along the way. We placed #249, #250, and #251. It was surreal walking up to the finish. People were cheering crazy, dressed in costume, but it was like a daze. We immediately went to go drink some Sangria at a bar about 200 feet from the finish and kill the 3 hours we had to wait for closing ceremony...all in air conditioning!

(I'm almost done, I swear!)

At 4:30, 2 sangrias in, they lined us up to walk to the Closing Ceremonies. The crowd of onlookers awaited us. We marched as a group, up the St. Pete Pier, to Spa Beach where the stage was. They welcomed us, and then came in the SO SUPPORTIVE crew. We went wild over the crew. Those people worked tirelessly, for 4 days to make this event happen. They were AMAZING in spirit and kindness. I'm getting choked up typing about them and I would love to crew the event some day.

THEN walked in the survivors who walked with us, all in pink shirt to differentiate themselves. As they were announced, we all kneeled and raised a shoot to salute them. There was not a dry eye in the crowd. The people chosen to hold flags, were joined by their family members, and finally together, they raised the final flag to signify the ending of the event. SO EMOTIONAL. If you weren't touched by it, then shame on you. I will never, ever forget that moment.

(the shoe salute at closing ceremonies for the survivors)

I finally got to join my hubby, family, and friends that chose to come to the ceremony. We went off, enjoyed an ultra fabulous homecooked meal (yay for stuffing, mac n chese and sweet potatoes!)...life was grand. I was treated as if I was a hero. But THEY were the heros, those survivors that we honored through our walk and at that ceremony.

I'll never forget the people. Like Leora, a young girl from Philly that we met who was not even old enough to drink. Because the Philly walk was cancelled for 2 days due to a Noreaster, she transferred to Tampa, flew by herself, to complete by herself. So brave at that age. Or Allison, our friend from Atlanta that walked with us our last day. She too, walking by herself, this being her 7th walk. Or the lady at camp, that lived across the grass from us...she was hospitalized for dehydration on Friday, and came back out, walking again on Sunday. And finally, the survivor we met who had gone through chemo on Thursday, only to start walking on Friday....

I share this story, in hopes that someone, maybe searching for their next adventure, searching for inspiration, or searching for information (like I was) reads this. Maybe you read this regularly, or maybe you search 3 Day on google and find this entry. I would do this event 100 times over. It was probably the single best thing that I could say I have done in my life towards making a difference in the world, in regards to truly feeling like you are making a real impact.

And I'll finally leave you with this- We met one man, named Barry (ironically the same as my walking partner). He lost his wife to breast cancer. And this event, the Tampa 3 Day, was his 55th event. He walked 55 3 Days in her honor. Well, as he told me, 54 and 1/3 because of the quasi-cancelled Philly event. But I would count that as 55. That was a true love story there. You couldn't help but get emotional when you met the guy. He finished yesterday. On Friday, he will be off in Dallas, walking another 3 Day, again in her honor. He has walked or crewed in every 3 Day event, since his first one in 2006. He is currently 59 years old and is at 3,300-ish miles walked.

I only hope that some day I will have 1 iota of strength that he has.

(walking along the Gulf)

Top 10 Worst Restaurant Salads!

This was released in Men's Health Magazine. I love the Chili's Quesadilla Explosion salad but not anymore!!!

***Here is a top 10 list of some of the worst restaurant salads!***

ALL OF THESE SALADS ARE OVER 1,000 CALORIES!!!

Number 10 Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Florentine Salad – 1,020 calories/17 grams/2,830 mg sodium

Number 9 Quiznos Chicken Caesar Flatbread Salad – 1,020 calories/69 grams fat/2,120 mg sodium

Number 8 Quiznos Roasted Chicken Flatbread Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing – 1,070 calories/71 grams fat/1,770 mg sodium

Number 7 Chili's Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad – 1,070 calories/77 grams fat/4,380 mg sodium

Number 6 Chili's Southwestern Cobb Salad – 1,080 calories/71 grams/2,650 mg sodium

Number 5 Ruby Tuesday's Carolina Chicken Salad – 1,129 calories/71 grams fat

Number 4 Baja Fresh Charbroiled Steak Tostada Salad – 1,230 calories/63 grams fat/2,380 mg sodium

Number 3 Chili's Quesadilla Explosion Salad – 1,390 calories/89 grams fat/2,710 mg sodium

Number 2 Chevy's Fresh Mex Grilled Fajita Salad made with Chicken, Carnitas, Shrimp or Steak - 1,450-1,620 calories/27-37 grams fat/1,570-2,530 mg sodium

And the Number 1 worst restaurant salad you may be eating is…. Chevy's Fresh Mex Tostada Salad with Chicken, Carnitas or Steak - 1,550-1,720 calories/37-47 grams fat/2,480-3,310 mg sodium

I Love Fall Football!!

College Football Time...

Planning for the fall football season in the South is radically different than up North.

For those who are planning a football trip South, here are some helpful hints.

Women's Accessories:
NORTH: Chap Stick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.

Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:
NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America .

Heroes:
NORTH: Rudy Giuliani
SOUTH: Archie, Eli, and Peyton Manning

Getting Tickets:
NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus, make a large financial contribution and put name on a waiting list for tickets.

Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:
NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game, because they have classes on Friday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking. SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

Game Day:
NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting "Game Day Live" to get on camera and wave to the idiots up north who wonder why "Game Day Live" is never Broadcast from their campus.

Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance from the Dave Matthews Band,... who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.

Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask "Where's the stadium?" When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it is the state's third largest city.

Concessions:
NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's mascot on it, filled less than half way with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH : Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

The Smell in the Air After the First Score:
NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of bourbon.

Commentary (Male):
NORTH: "Nice play."
SOUTH: "Dangit, you slow idiot - tackle him and break his legs."

Commentary (Female):
NORTH: "My, this certainly is a violent sport."
SOUTH: "Dangit, you slow idiot - tackle him and break his legs."

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.

After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker, while somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, and planning begins for next week's game. Nothing else in the universe comes even halfway close to the glories of Southern football!

And for SEC Fans:
HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.
At GEORGIA : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to phone an engineer at Georgia Tech for instructions.
At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one.
At ALABAMA : it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator.
At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.
At LSU: it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours.
At KENTUCKY : it takes eight, one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.
At TENNESSEE : it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama . At MISSISSIPPI STATE : it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, "GO TO HELL, OLE MISS".
At AUBURN: it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama, and fifty to get drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished.
At SOUTH CAROLINA : it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.
At ARKANSAS : None. There is no electricity in Arkansas

Magazine Revival!

I'm a magazine junkie. I receive so many that my mailman- no joke- asked me to get a larger mailbox...Okay, not the standard side of the road mailbox. In our neighborhood, the mailboxes are on the houses and the mailmen walk, but still!

So living in my bungalow, I have been going through withdrawal ever since I got the fateful letter that Cottage Living would no longer be publishing issues. Stupid economy! They honored the rest of my subscription with Coastal Living, which is fine, but my decor is not so coastal even though we are only 25 minutes from the beach. So alas, I collected every single coveted copy of Cottage Living I could find and have held vigil...dramatic, I know. I was seriously sad though.

But- GOOD NEWS! I found a new magazine that is like Cottage Living and Domino combined in one! It also includes some items and articles associated with fashion and the environment...It's an online mag too...even better! The inaugural issue of Lonny!

It's at http://www.lonnymag.com/ and so far I'm thoroughly impressed!

Soles 4 Souls!

Soles 4 Souls is going on at Cole Haan Stores nationwide!

Donate your new or delicately worn shoes (any brand) at a Cole Haan retail store and ENJOY 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE...September 10th- September 20th.

If you go on their website, other stores are participating like Nine West and Shoe Carnival!

Soles4Souls is a shoe charity dedicated to helping those in need. As a shoe charity they collect gently worn shoes to donate them to those in need. The donation of shoes gives someone the hope for a better tomorrow. As a shoe charity they collect gently worn shoes to donate them to those in need — it is a great way to recycle shoes. Donate shoes today. They are presently working in over 45 states and 61 countries.

www.soles4souls.org

Show Me the Money!!!

Super excited. I just got a check from the state of Florida with "unclaimed property". Cash money!

Here's how it happened...
I was watching Dateline or 20/20 or some show one day and they had a whole show dedicated to apparently all this unclaimed money that the government is holding for us. Dateline reporters were going to different people around the country that they had identified, with one man in Iowa I think receiving over 1 million bucks! So I thought, hey I'll check it out...and low and behold, after I went to the CFO of Florida's website, I searched my name and found almost $300 of what was listed as "unclaimed wages" from my former employer. They were listed under my maiden name with an address I haven't lived at in over 4 years.

My husband was really skeptical. He's had his identity stolen several times and thought this was another "scam". In the information you needed to send the state, I had to include a copy of a social security card showing that I was the same person with the same social (since it was in my old name). Call me naive, but I believed that a .org website from the state of Florida, the CFO at that, would keep my personal information private.

So I went ahead, sent the info, and low and behold...just maybe 3 weeks later, I got a check from the state of Florida with my "unclaimed wages"! Yes!!! My husband gave me the "you were right again" speech! Yes!!!

I'll let you know if suddenly my identity is stolen, but otherwise, I'm a fan!

The website is www.fltreasurehunt.org for the state of Florida, but if you google your state and unclaimed property, it should direct you in the right direction.

Happy Treasure Hunting! :)

Rev Run's Words of Wisdom

I have to admit. I'm a fan of all reality tv, which includes the different series on Rev Run's family. And being the nut that I am, I receive his daily Words of Wisdom. They are mainly inspirational quotes about attitude, persistence, religion, etc.

Thought I would share today's message, titled "Where Are You":

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Good morning. If things around you don't change, change the things you're around.
God is Love, Rev Run

I thought it was a good message- no excuses, make the changes necessary!

Leaving for the Atlantis tomorrow in the Bahamas! Pray we don't get hit by Tropical Storm Erica!!!

Back to MAC!

I'm not a HUGE MAC make-up fan. I don't wear much make-up to begin with. My roommate in college taught me that MAC is used alot of television and stage make-up and I find it to be a little heavy, especially in Florida.

All this said, I still do you some of it (love their eye shadow and lipglass products), and I have now accumulated enough "throw aways" (6 to be exact) to get myself a free lipglass through their "Back to MAC" program. I love freebies! Off to the mall I go!


From their website:

Back to MAC
Because we share your commitment to the environment, M·A·C accepts returns of its primary packaging through the Back to M·A·C Program. By returning six [6] M·A·C primary packaging containers to a M·A·C counter or M·A·C Cosmetics online, you’ll receive a free M·A·C lipstick of your choice as our thanks to you.

Counting Cals!

Alright...our Biggest Loser Diet Challenge at work fizzled. It was fun while it lasted, but alot of work to prepare food for 3 others, and vacations and life got in the way of some of the others.

So alas, I'm back on my own... But I have a new gimmick! :)

I was referred to a website- http://www.sparkpeople.com/. It is a free site that gives you a free profile with a very extensive food diary and fitness diary. I've tried to do the food diary thing before, carrying around a little notebook, and lost interest after 2 or 3 days...forgetting it basically.

The site analyzes your day, your protein/carbs/fat/calories in. It tells you where you are deficient, gives you graphs...it's pretty much amazing. Oh and it already has the nutritional facts for most products in it's database! So for example, this morning I had Kashi GoLEAN Crunch Cereal with 1 cup of non fat milk and it tells me I had 286 total calories, 48 carbs, 4 grams of fat, 18 g of protein...pretty cool! It evens has a tracker that for every 8 oz of water you drink, it fills a virtual jug. I'm a sucker for progress shown through cool visuals!

I plan to test out the fitness tracker tonight after Pilates!

Happy Counting!

Puppy Pampering

I made some REALLY EASY homemade dog biscuits on my lazy Sunday (the weather was blah to say the least). They were fun not only to make, but also to take to work and share with some of my other dog loving co-workers! It's amazing how people respond when you bring them a little ziploc baggie of homemade dog treats :) !

DOG BISCUITS BAKED WITH LOVE:

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

Pinch of salt

1 egg

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

3/4 cup chicken broth

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2) Mix the flour, salt, and cornmeal in one bowl

3) In a separate, but larger bowl, whip the egg with the oil, parsley, and chicken broth. Add the

flour mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.

4) Knead the dough and roll it into 1/2 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out cute shapes!

5) Bake for 15 minutes and let cool before serving to the pups!

See? Easy!!! And of course, Walker and Manny loved them!

(Walker- And yes, he is in a little letterman sweater with a W on it...)

(This is Me with Walker the bulldog and Manny our Greyhound + friend Kelly and her golden Marley at the Jingle Bell Run 5k last December!)

It's All About Me!

Random Questions that Noone Ever Asks Me!

What is your salad dressing of choice? It's this organic honey mustard vinegarette by Annie's or something like that. Or the Brianna's Chipotle Cheddar or Poppyseed...

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Probably Armani's on the top of the Hyatt here in Tampa where my husband proposed for the memory and Lobster bisque, Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa for the food and history, and favorite out of town restaurant would be maybe The Big Pink on South Beach for the spirit.

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? maybe Kashi GoLean cereal...or some yummy raviolis.

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Currently it's odd- buffalo chicken pizza toppings

What do you like to put on your toast? Some flavor of cream cheese or regular American cheese if it's cuban toast here in Tampa :) .

How many televisions are in your house? 5. That's pretty sad!

What color cell phone do you have? Red Blackberry World Phone

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Nope!

What is the last heavy item you lifted? An old cabinet of my grandparents.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? I've passed out, but never by being knocked out...I'm hypoglycemic.

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? HECK NO!

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Hmmm maybe something cute like Lily or Payton?

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? No way.

Last run-in with a cop? 6/17/09. I was pulled over on the way to the library drop box!

Last person you talked to? My co-worker Sara

Last person you hugged? My hubby

Favorite Season? Fall – cool front porch weather and college football parties!

Holiday? Thanksgiving.

Day of the week? Saturday. Duh.

Month? December...so cozy and usually some time off built in!

First place you went this morning? The kitchen? I haven't left the house :)

What's the last movie you saw? The Hangover – sooooooooo funny!

Do you smile often? ALL THE TIME...maybe to a fault!

Do you always answer your phone? Ha! Never! I get in trouble for it all the time!

If you could change your eye color what would it be? I'd keep mine. They change from blue to green.

What flavor drink do you get at Sonic? some flavored unsweet tea I think. I'm not a big Sonic fan.

Do you own a digital camera? Oh yes.

Have you ever had a pet fish? State fair fish

Favorite Christmas song? "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey or "Ave Maria"

What's on your wish list for your birthday? ummm I'm pretty good at spoiling myself. I'd probably say a watch and I'm going to go out on a limb because I know he's been considering getting me one and say...ROLEX. :) ...Either that or a really big Yurman bracelet, though the last Yurman ring my hubby bought me, I managed to lose in the gym locker room :( .

Can you do push ups? I did 9 the other day at Pilates...on a Bosu ball.

Can you do a chin up? Nope!

Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Excited

Do you have any saved texts? Yes – I’m too lazy to delete

Ever been in a car wreck? Fender bender only.

Do you have an accent? I lost my southern accent when I moved from Atlanta to Florida 13 years ago...my parents still have them.

What is the last song to make you cry? Hmmm I was just at that wedding...Probably "Baby You Saved Me" by Kenny Chesney, which is coincidentally my sister's first dance song for her wedding in December.

Plans tonight? It's Thursday night. Probably the gym and dinner at home.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? YES! And my mantra: “Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright!"- Thanks Bob Marley!

Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Bottle of water at the gym and $5 of Powerball tickets to go in with my co-workers

Have you ever been given roses? Yup, though my husband knows I hate roses. After teaching Floral Arranging lab class at UF for 3 years, I'm a flower snob.

Current worry? That a hurricane will come during our anniversary trip to the Atlantis in the Bahamas over Labor Day weekend.

Current hate right now? That it is so freaking hot out these days!

Met someone who changed your life? My husband!

How did you bring in the New Year? OMG! I haven't the foggiest idea! I know we went to a party our friend's were holding at their condo clubhouse...oh and then we went to this restaurant/club downtown! Wheww!

What were you doing 12 AM last night? Snoring.

What was the first thing you thought when you woke up? Yay- It's Thursday! Work from home day!

Now you know a few more things about me, so post this on your blog and I will know more about you!

Easy Breezy!

Finally the traveling is done for the immediate time being.
I do have to report, the wedding that I was at in Miami turned out FABULOUS. The centerpieces were these giant tree structures laced with orchids and dangling crystals. The tables were lit from underneath with pinkish purple lights (the colors were pink and brown). As seen above and below. Cake was really cute and good too...so I've included an additional pic of that. (Not doing so hot with my layout though here :) ... )

The wedding was at the Mayfair Hotel and Spa in Coconut Grove (Miami area).

Additionally, my final post about the wedding, I would like to retract my original opinion of dancing down the aisle would be terrible. They danced back to the Michael Frank "I Love You" song and it was after the wedding was over, so it was joyous and very appropriate. It was filmed by the videography crew and was released as a trailer... and ended with a clip from above of everyone attending the wedding blowing a kiss to the video crew, and then finally a drunk groomsmen singing "Let's Get It On" to the camera. Cute, hysterical, and makes a great memory!

Sister's pottery painting bridal shower is this Saturday! Hope all goes well...

Not So Cruel Summer

I'm back from Chi-town!

I'm proud of myself. I still have the swagger to navigate a large city, as well as entertain myself and HAVE FUN by myself. I would love to return- my work is already talking about next trip- either back to Chicago or a new one for me- Detroit. Eh. But I would love the hubby to join in the fun in Chicago!



We're off to Miami this weekend. We have a wedding and my husband is a groomsman. It's going to be at the Mayfair Hotel in Cocoanut Grove, which is the hotel that the chic Cabana One is. That's the rooftop pool lounge/club. I'll be very excited to report back on the nuptials next week. The colors are chocolate and pink with the guys in white Miami Vice suits, the wedding party has a choreographed dance they are performing, the bride will have a wardrobe change...it's very MIAMI. It's either going to be terribly awesome or go terribly tacky. Either way, I hope to post some great pics. The bride, Holly, is a head promoter for Barnum and Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, and many other crazy events, so I'm sure it will be quite the show! Apparently her centerpieces are trees...For attire- I'm wearing another Ruelala purchase- a 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent dress in Popsicle (see pic, though the color is brighter in person) for the rehearsal dinner, and a magenta Elie Tahari number to the wedding. Still searching for the kicks to pair up...trip to the mall tomorrow! Muy bueno!
















Last Musing- Ran a 5k today with the Four Green Fields Running Club. Genius idea. Start a running club out of your Irish pub, get people to run a 5k and return there for post-run brews. Do it on a Tuesday night at 6pm and you are sure to draw a crowd. Each week the crowd has grown by at least 30 people and last week's count was 187. That's alot of people running in the 93 degree sun here in Florida. Today it was BRUTALLY HOT. The ultimate goal is after you log 10 runs with the club, you earn your FGFRC t-shirt. And as always- it's all about the t-shirt!

This happened to me once on my run today, as well as once on my run last Thursday along Lake Michigan in Chicago. I'm bopping along on my Ipod to my running mix and this song that I have liked, not loved comes on. It's by Seal and it's called "If It's In My Mind, It's On My Face". Lame name, I know. I'm not even a big Seal fan, more so of the Us Weekly I know with his uber cute family with my fave Heidi Klum. It's kind of pop/techno-ish. There is this point that comes in the song...it kind of climaxes to this chorus of "The Time is Now!" and it goes into this driving beat. It's nuts. I get sooo unbelievably pumped and this has now happened twice. The second wind kicks in and you just start cruising to the new beat. I even find myself smiling at other joggers. I changed it to my new power song. Sooo good, please download it!

AMF! :)

The Long and Winding Road

Alas, again I'm on the road. You know it's bad when with each location update I post on Facebook, I get comments of "Again?" and "Are you ever home?". This week I'm in Chicago for work. I've never been to Chicago. Tonight is night #2 of 5. So far I love it and I'm just super impressed with how the trip has run so far. Minus the scary driving. I wish I didn't have a car here, but since I'm doing client visits all over Chicago-land, I must drive my trusty rented red Jetta.

So here I am tonight- in my apple green Juicy Couture pants, my Tory Burch sandals that are not nearly casual enough for the pants, and a pale blue tshirt that says "Dick Brewers Surf Boards- Hawaii" that I distinctly remember purchasing at Marshall's in 7th grade. It is my favorite, softest tshirt. My point is, I'm quite the site...sitting here in the lobby of the Millenium Knickerbocker (boo no wifi in the rooms), drinking my split of Chandon on an old couch. Side note- I'm a champagne snob. Not for it's pretentious or elitist reputation, but because it's good, doesn't give me a headache, and averages around 60 calories a glass.

Traveling alone is interesting and I'm really finding myself interested to see how I do in this scenario. Having been in a relationship and living with someone for 11 years now (not the same someones, but I was never single for long), I haven't done this before. Been in a big city all alone. Left to travel alone, sightsee alone, shop alone, eat alone...I am intrigued with the choices I'm making. Like last night for dinner, I ate at a Thai restaurant. I NEVER eat Thai food. I can't say I've been to a Thai restaurant since high school. But I did last night because I could. Another example- Today I took a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright house here in Oak Park. That would never have happened on a girls trip...and the hubby says he would have been interested to go if he was here, but I wonder how true that would be if we were cramming everything into a weekend. I find myself going outside the realm of "normal" for me, which is exciting. This is an interesting experiment.

I also find myself craving companionship, even though I'm having at least 3 client meetings a day. My hotel is next to Bloomingdale's on Michigan Avenue and I stopped in to the Benefit Brow Bar to get a much neglected touchup. I really liked the girl and she and I gabbed for an hour and played with makeup and she made me up. Fun! She suggested I come back tomorrow to play with another look and I'm actually considering it. I wonder though, is it because I am a makeup dunce and someone showing me how to update my look excites me? Or do I want to go hang with my new makeup buddy again for another hour so I don't have to spend it alone?

Tonight I did the Hancock Observatory, tomorrow night is the Museum of Contemporary Art (free on Tuesdays!), and Wednesday night is a bike tour around the city that ends with the fireworks at Navy Pier. I'll try to update again on how the Lonely Girl trip is going.

Signing off from the bar...

On the Road Again!

I feel like life hasn't stopped for 6 weeks. Pretty much because it hasn't.

I returned from my Euro trip 2 weeks ago. It seems so long ago now...which is sad. That's how quickly life can pass you by.

Had a terrific time though with my college roomie. Logged alot of girl time between 10 days and 3 countries.

Our favorite place we went- out of Switzerland, Munich, Prague, and Berlin, was Munich. We had the BEST TIME THERE. In the absolute worst weather too. I highly recommend the Mike's Bike Tour there. It's a tour where you stop at all the historical sites, with intermittent stops in these huge beer gardens there. One held up to 10,000 people. All sitting in this garden, 4 times the size of Central Park, drinking liters of beer. Not just pints, liters. We also did a bar crawl, the Insomniac Bar Crawl, that was pretty great too. Everyone there was very friendly, and just the whole vibe was very...jolly. That's the best word I can think of. Like a good time, good people, good nature, and good beer. Even the oompa bands with the band players in lederhosen...everything about Munich made us smile.

Prague was gorgeous. The architecture was just absolutely ridiculous, and the history was very very interesting. 20 years ago, they were still stuck in the Communist world. But I think that other previous travelers had built it up too much. One friend told me "Prague is life changing." I wouldn't go that far. It was the one place we actually did the hostel thing...but it was named Top 10 in the world by various publications, so you probably couldn't count it as a hostel. It was not located in the most convenient location, but it was super cool. It's called the Czech Inn. I encourage anyone to stay there in Prague if they want to stay in a really really cool hostel and feel like they may be too old for the typical hostel crowd. Cool bar inside too...

Berlin was a fave stop too. We were very glad we went to Sachsenhausen, the concentration camp outside of Berlin, the first day we were there. We were pretty melancholy afterwards. Interestingly, on the way to the concentration camp is when we found out Michael Jackson died. We couldn't read the newspapers, but could see something major happened to him, so I had to call my husband back home in the States for an update. So crazy. That night, every bar we went to in Berlin played MJ. Another highlight of Berlin was a crazy night out...we were trying to find this wine bar that you apparently taste a bunch of wines, and then pay what you think you should owe. We didn't find it, but we did find this little wine cellar of maybe 6 tables with a sweet older German couple who spoke very very little English running it. We somehow managed to order 2 glasses of really good wine and the best beef stew I've had in my life. But the touching thing was when we left- we were leaving the restaurant and the wife came running after us. She grabbed my friends arm and managed to stammer out "Good...Luck...to you...and...OBAMA!". Now I'm by no means a Democrat, but it was so sweet for some reason. I loved her :) . And then we made our way to Dr. Pong, a ping pong bar- not beer pong, ping pong- and then on to an absynthe bar called Druide. That's a whole other post for another time.

Same for Switzerland. I can't start now into the canyoning adventure, ie 4 hours of terror and death defying heights, but I promise I will get to it very soon. PROMISE!

Cheers!

Way Down Upon the Suwanee River...

My last weekend before my big Euro trip and we're going camping...in tents. I just thought I'd specify in tents because so many people camp in cabins or really nice campers and consider it camping.

We're heading to the Ichnetucknee River. When I was doing research for the trip, I found out that one of the top 40 things to do in Florida is take a house boat down the Ichnetucknee.

Our houseboat = a bunch of rafts tied together + beer...

So me, the typical person who likes to "over prepare", I bought anything that looked like it could be a camping accessory. Because I'm definitely going to use the egg carrier again, versus keeping the eggs in their carton. Sarcastic.

I'll update post trip! Especially after Bob's River Extravaganza which is some guy's house on the side of Dixie Highway in north central Florida. Per another blog:

We finally made it and our first stop was a place called: Bob’s River Extravaganza.
Bob’s was right on the Suwannee River. It was the coolest place I’ve ever seen! Bob is about 70 years old and in his backyard is where the extravaganza is. There are two water slides, rope swings, zip lines, tree houses and docks to lay out on. I was in awe that this 70 year old man built all of this. There were a ton of people there and everyone was going nuts...

There is very little information on the web about Bob's, so I hope to come back with a full report and pictures!

Ciao for now!

Diet Schmiet

Today is Sunday Funday and I'm about to prepare my lunch tomorrow for me and 3 of my team members.

I think I failed to mention that we bought the Biggest Loser 30 Day Jumpstart Challenge diet book. It's pretty awesome, frankly. The diet consists of lots of protein and fiber...eating 6 mini meals per day.

4 of us got in on it and it's been pretty fun. We are about to start week 4 and I'm proud to say we are all still avidly participating. It involves exercise too of course...

For example- Tomorrow's Food:

Breakfast:
Kashi GoLean Cereal (1 cup- we keep a measuring cup at work!)
1 hardboiled egg
1 peach
Green Tea, Water, or Coffee

Snack:
Celery Sticks and Hummus

Lunch:
Tuna Melts (sans mayo) on whole grain bread

Snack:
Apple and Peanut Butter

I don't recall the dinner, but I usually just eat what the hubby cooks. Tomorrow's dinner is grilled salmon, salad, fruit, and some green vegetable I'm sure. That's what we've eaten forever and we didn't really change that piece.

So far in the 3 completed weeks, I'm down 4.5-5 pounds. Not bad! We think we are even going to continue beyond because we like it so much...I'll post my final 30 day results upon completion...inches lost included!

Workout note for today- 4 miles- 12 min/mile avg- running intervals ranging from 3.8-7.0 on the treadmill

Hooked on HGTV...

I don't know what it is about HGTV that is so addicting. I love the fact that the things they "make" are so cheap and darn cute or what. I don't know if it's that I live in this funky little bungalow and everytime someone comes in they coo and say they have always wanted to live in a bungalow- am I striving to have one of those homes like on the local home tours?

Well my newest obsession is an untouched room...our master bedroom. It's really like (like 25 x 12) which my dad, an architect, says is a big no-no. Apparently rooms are supposed to be 1 x 1.4 when looking at space. More square. Well we are switching that up, opening up the 2 side closets and creating a walk-in with some of the length.

So of course I'm looking fast forwards past the week of demolition to the decorating stage. I think I want 3 walls painted, with one wall wallpapered- the wall with the headboard. Sounds awful, I know. But I found this website- www.flavorpaper.com. They have the COOLEST paper in the world. I think when I have kids, I will do my baby's room in it too. I couldn't even tell you my favorite, but I know it's going to be a fun battle with the hubby to get him to agree to me putting it up!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I'm a creature of habit and here are a few of my favorite things!

Cole Haan Nike Air Heels

I'm not a "heels" girl. I live in flats, and I'm such a baby when I'm out all night and on my toes. These shoes have Nike Air technology and walking in them feels like walking on pillows!

Tom Ford FT0040 Margaux sunglasses

I love these. They are a super flattering shape, I get alot of compliments, and I see lot of famous people in USWeekly wearing them. Mine are more brown then gold...

lululemon Boogie Crops!

I'm such a lululemon freak. I have 3pairs of these crops for Pilates or running sometimes. They are so comfortable and they make your butt loo amazing!

JCrew Bathing Suits
It' pretty much all I wear and living by the beach, I have more than a few. I have DD boobies, so I'm big on support and these just work. I also got a few of the bottoms monogrammed on the hip and I get a ton of compliments on them.

Sue London Flats

I live in these shoes. They come in all sorts of cute colors and I have them in chocolate, bronze, black, silver, shimmery purple...I won't bore you with the rest :) . They fold up tiny to travel with you and they are the SOFTEST leather.

Nicole Miller Dresses

I've had such good luck with Nicole Miller dresses lately. Especially with wedding after wedding these days. I have one similar to this one in more of a slate color (this style is called 'stretch metal') and it great for your curves- hides all trouble spots!

Kicking Butt and Taking Names!

Spent last weekend (Mother's Day Weekend) at Walt Disney World in Orlando. We don't live very far from there, less than a hour, so it's not that big of a trip for us. We stayed at the Contemporary Resort (I love the room and proximity to the Magic Kingdom) and spent Saturday at Animal Kingdom (10pm-11pm we hopped over to Magic Kingdom-rode 4 rides) and then we spent Sunday at Magic Kingdom again with our fam.

Primary reason was for the trip was the Danskin SheRox Triathlon I competed in. I love these races and highly recommend them to anyone, no matter your athletic ability, shape, size, or age. They are women-only events and they raise money for Susan G. Komen's Breast Cancer charity. I met women of all ages, from California, Wisconsin, South Carolina...And all ages! I met one women competing- 75 years old! I couldn't believe it. So when people say "Wow I can't believe you do those races!", I encourage them to bring out the inner-triathlete in them. Over 2000 women were registered. All these kids were there with signs saying "My Mom Rox!". I always get emotional, like "that's so sweet" emotional when I see that stuff. Jut like when I cry during "Extreme Home Makeover".

There is another event in Miami in a few weeks with the same race series, but I think the hubby needs a break from dragging my bike all over creation, waking up at 5:30am on a weekend, etc. The website is http://www.danskinwomenstri.com/.

Side note- I heart RueLala. Got my Lilly Pulitzer green seer sucker skirt in the mail today. Sure enough, the retail price wa $148 and I to it for $48!

Side note x 2- Getting psyched for my girl trip with my college roommate to Europe next month! June 19th marks my arrival in Switzerland! Sooo excited!!!

auf Wiedersehen!

Absence Makes the Hair Go Blonder...

It's been way too long since my last post...and I feel like so many things have happened that I don't even know where to start!

1) Went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Pre-swine flu pandemic. Had a fab time. Wish I could return, but that doesn't seem likely in the near future. I would highly recommend a trip to Cabo to anyone. I recommend the Hilton Los Cabos and the Westin out there. Maybe next time we will be rich enough to book at the One and Only :P.

2) Had a niece- Hannah Victoria. Doesn't fit in Crewcuts at J. Crew yet, but someday...

3) Spent lots of money on Hautelook.com and Ruelala.com. Saved lot of money on these sites too. Added a considerable amount of DVF and Vera Wang Lavendar Label dresses to my expanding wedding wear section of my closet :) . We've had at least a wedding every month and with the amount of pictures taken...it's hard to repeat looks!

4) Went to the Master's- the Final Round! Earned wife of the year award with the hubby. If you ever want to be in the full Southern preppy element, this is the center of the universe. Ate a pimiento cheese sandwich as I watched Tiger tee off 4 feet in front of me. Went googly eyed over some Lilly wear...I loved every second of it!!!

5) Got sponsored for Junior League. Yay me and yay my sponsor! I'm about to start my provisional year. The girls in my Pilates class (JL drop outs) are strongly advising me against this move, but I'm carrying on with all intentions that I will love it and they were obviously drop outs for a reason. Haters.

6) Little sis got engaged to her beau of 8 years. She's been with him her whole dating life, so it was pretty much expected at this point and he really is the sweetest guy ever next to the hubby. But what this brings is the knowledge of the art of wedding planning from moi. I'm dying for her to do a navy and kelly green color combo. She already wants a "marina or yacht club look". So this is a new hobby of mine too!

So that's the last several months in a nut shell.

Next on the agenda is a triathlon at Disney World on Mother's Day. Hence the blonder hair. We joined a country club and now I can swim in an outdoor pool, which I bike through downtown Tampa to get to. I've been running, literally running, errands at lunch. How green of me! Ha.

:)