Pack a bag and let's go...

...is basically what the husband said to me a couple of weeks ago. I believe it was a Thursday when he told me that he was whisking me away for an overnight on Sunday. He wouldn't spill the details. All he would give me was that I needed to dress casually on Sunday, wearing shoes I can walk in (this was of great importance, as I have a serious love of heels) and bring something fancier for dinner. He also said we were going someplace near water, which, being in upstate NY could've meant a number of places. "Oh, and don't worry about work the next day because I called your boss and said you'd be late." Too bad he can't do that everyday ;)

Anyway. Sunday rolls around and off we go. We start heading north and ideas start popping into my head. First stop: The Chocolate Mill in Glens Falls for brunch.

Let's stop right here for a moment, shall we? See this picture below?

Does. Not. Do. Justice. to the deliciousness that were these apple-filled "pancakes". I also had the most perfect white hot chocolate. Where's the picture? Nope, didn't get one... I was far too busy guzzling it to stop and snap a pic. And aside from the fantastic meals this place offers, they make gourmet chocolates, selling for something ridiculous like $35/lb. We bought some anyway.

So now that we've got full bellies we can continue our journey north.

Per usual, I'm babbling away in the car... something about wanting to go to the outlet mall in St. Louis on my trip the following week when (I kid you not) we pull into the Adirondack Outlet Mall. I must be psychic.

And can I tell you? My husband is way too generous. Not that I'm complaining. What girl wouldn't want these beautiful Kenneth Cole boots purchased for her? That's right, no one. And if there is someone who would turn them down, pick up a size 8.5 and send them to me. Please and thanks.

I was also the lucky recipient of a new Coach wallet, a pair of skanky-sexy knee-high ivory Nine West boots and a few new articles of clothing from Banana Republic. Love.

What about my poor (now in the literal and figurative sense) husband? No worries, he left with some new boxer shorts. That's enough to keep any man happy, right?

Onward.

Continuing north, I now have a damn good idea of where we're headed and I am SO glad I was right.

Behold the gorgeous Sagamore Resort on Lake George.

Doesn't it remind you of kind of a cross between the resort from Dirty Dancing and the hotel from The Shining? Love it.

After checking into our deluxe king room with lake views,

we had a drink at a quite cliched bar in the resort. Definitely wouldn't know we're in the Adirondacks, would ya? ;)

From there, we went outside to walk the grounds and enjoy the beautiful early fall weather.

Then we stopped on the veranda for another drink. Sensing a theme yet? While seated, we even got to watch a wedding take place. See all the little people behind me? Wedding guests.

After the latest round of drinks, we retired to our room to rest up and change before more drinks. I mean dinner. Well, in actuality it was bottle after bottle of wine with a cocktail or two thrown in, served with a side of dinner ;)

What can I say? It was vacation!

And it was fabulous :)

A tale of three 5Ks.

Never again will I attempt what I did this weekend. Back to back 5K races. One Saturday morning and another Sunday morning. So much fun but so incredibly exhausting!

My foray into 5Ks began in May when I signed up for the Freihofer's Run for Women... a wildly popular race with over 4,000 runners. It was a great way to break into races because there were so many women there, at all different fitness levels. I half-heartedly trained for about 3 weeks prior to the race and set a goal to simply finish. No time restraints this time. I ended up doing fairly well for my first run, only stopping to walk twice for about 30 seconds each time. I finished with a time of 33:54. Not great, but I did it. And here's the icky, sweaty proof.



I am not one of those pretty girls after a workout. I sweat. It's disgusting ;)

Anyway.

Shortly after that race was when I began my Boot Camp Challenge classes. I also continued running on days in between boot camp. Over the summer, I became much more fit (imagine that, ha!) and dramatically increased my pace and became more and more confident in my running abilities.

About a month ago, I decided to sign up for a couple more 5Ks. There are a TON of them this fall in my area. After signing up for one for Sept. 12 and one for Oct. 2, my boot camp instructor approached me about doing another one. On Sept. 11. I couldn't say no, even though I'd now be running two races in one weekend. I figured at least I wouldn't have to put in an actual workout that weekend now ;)

Now it's Sept. 15 and I finished both races. My goals going into them were to finish sub 30 minutes. I've been running pretty consistently lately at about a pace of about 9:30. So I figured depending on how hilly the courses were, finishing under 30 minutes was do-able.

I started the race on Saturday at a pace a little faster than I'm normally comfortable with but I felt okay, so I kept going. When I reached the mile #1 marker, I looked at my watch and saw that it read 8:24. What??! Continuing on, I reached mile #2 at 16:28... I shaved 10 seconds off my pace! Mile 3 was tough... uphill ALL. THE. WAY. I want to know who the cruel person is who set the course to finish on an uphill! Ugh! Even though I slowed down for that awful mile, I never once stopped to walk and crossed the finish line at 26:28. I seriously can't even tell you how proud I was. I blew my goal time out of the water! Here's an oh-so-lovely picture of me crossing the finish line.



I look stunned. Maybe it's because I don't know how the hell I managed to run so fast... 8:31/mile average! Or maybe it's because I was dumbfounded that I came in second in my age group. Second, people! Perks of crossing that 3-0 threshold, ha!

So after my impressive run on Saturday, I set a goal for Sunday to beat that time. I knew the course wouldn't be nearly as hilly so I figured I could do it. Sunday morning came and I was pretty sore... I started to doubt myself but stretched and stretched and began the run! I hit mile #1 at 8:44... normally I'd be ecstatic with that, but I knew if I didn't speed up, I wouldn't beat Saturday's time.



So I set my sights on the two chatty-Cathy college girls ahead of me who honestly hadn't even broken a sweat and picked up my pace and finished at 25:57!!! As I was rounding the corner toward the finish line, I saw the clock approaching 26:00 and sprinted across the line just before it hit.



I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging but I am so incredibly proud of myself. My pace for this race was 8:22. A few short months ago, that didn't seem even kinda possible.



What a truly great weekend I had. As I said earlier, running two races in one weekend was tough, but in the end, I'm glad I did it. Now to rest up and prepare for my final 5K of the season on Oct. 2!

New me?

So I'm in desperate need of an update here...

I was just scrolling through my archives. And laughing at myself as I scrolled. I can't believe some of the crap I've written over the past 9 months or so.

As evidenced by my last post, I've made a pretty drastic life-style change recently. And I'm happy to say that it truly has become a life-style change and I can't imagine going back to the way I was before.

It all started a few weeks before I began Boot Camp Challenge in June. I'd just finished running my first 5K (did I even post my results? I'll have to check...) and I was prepping myself for Boot Camp... i.e. running at least 4 days a week and starting to cut calories. Any normal person probably would've just waited til the class started but I wanted a "good" mile time during testing at the first class. God forbid I show up and show them all how horribly out of shape I really was.

Anyway, a BIG part of Boot Camp Challenge is nutrition. My fabulous instructor really focused on the fact that you cannot make a big change to your body with fitness alone. I've really embraced this theory, and holy shit, it worked! To track my nutrition, I've been using an amazing site called SparkPeople . I cannot even describe how helpful it's been to my transformation.

It's really easy to track my food intake on the site and I've found that it's become kind of a game to me... it's fun to see how much food (wine!) I can squeeze into a day while staying within my calorie limits. I'm also having a blast discovering new low-cal foods and healthier versions of recipes I've made in the past.

SparkPeople also has some pretty great articles and features. I've made even made a few online friends through the site who help keep me in check using things like a daily accountability message board.

On top of my nutrition make-over, I think completely differently now about exercise. Boot Camp has been AMAZING, to say the least. I've learned that I can push myself to limits I never thought I'd reach. I used to be such a lazy worker-outer... I'd go to the gym, get on a treadmill for 20 minutes, think to myself "eh, at least I did something" and leave, probably having burned only 150 calories. Then I'd go home and eat a bowl of pasta, wondering why I wasn't losing weight. I'm a smart one, I am.

I'm now seriously in love with exercise. I even dragged myself out for a tranquil run through the Hamptons while on vacation last weekend. I've NEVER worked out on vacation before. And I honestly think I'm in better shape than I ever have been. It's a nice feeling.

Ok, now that I feel like I've updated the blog-world on who I've become (am becomming?), I feel better. Looking at my old posts is almost embarassing. Here's hoping I continue this upward battle towards life-style improvement!

Progress.

Kinda can't believe I'm doing this.

But I'm proud of myself.

6 weeks of Boot Camp Challenge, running and healthy eating actually worked! Imagine that!

So to completely embarrass myself, I'm putting my before and after pictures out there for the world to see. Maybe it'll keep me accountable. There's no way in hell I'm going back to the way I looked before. I didn't realize I had a back roll until I saw the picture. How do you miss an entire, foldy, pudgy backroll?? Seriously.

Today was the last day of boot camp for a few weeks. We tested and were measured, the same as we were on day 1. I knew I'd improved my endurance and strength and I lost about 5% of my weight but I had no idea I'd improved this much. I lost a total of 5.75 inches. Amazing. And I really increased my strength and endurance.

And just so you don't think I'm making all this up, here are my stats:

Measurements: (first number listed is from 6/19/10, second is from today, 7/29/10)

• weight: 145 - 138.5 (first time under 140 in over 3 years... YAY!!!!!)
• bicep: 11.25" - 10.5"
• chest: 36.75" - 36" (At first I thought my boobs were shrinking... then I realized it was actually the back fat!!)
• waist: 30" - 28.5" (Only an inch and a half, but I'm completely out of my tens and almost back into sixes!)
• hips: 39" - 37.25"
• thigh: 21" - 20" (They do, however, still touch in the middle. Ick.)
  

Endurance/Strength:

• mile run: 8:52 - 7:57 (7:57?!! That's faster than I ran during track in high school. This surprised the hell out of me.)
• 2 minutes of full sit-ups: 43 - 59 (Abs of steel, baby, abs of steel)
• 2 minutes of push-ups: 9 - 16 (I seriously suck at push ups)

Not so bad, huh? I was pretty impressed with myself. Feeling a bit smug today ;)

Stats aside, I feel so much healthier. I have more energy and I'm happier. I ran most of the days in between boot camp classes and am consistently running 10 minute miles and I'm up to about 3.5 miles per run. Not to mention that I don't drink as much wine (GASP!) so when I do, I get drunk pretty much immediately. Bonus! haha

Seriously though, I'm so glad I did this. It's such a motivation to see results. Classes start again in 3 weeks and I can't wait!

Now here's what you've been waiting for. Prepare yourselves. I wasn't lying about the back fat.

(Befores on the left, afters on the right.)





So there you have it.

And just so no one gets the wrong idea, 'cause we all know I put way too much emphasis on what others think about me, I didn't post this to brag. I'm seriously proud of myself. I worked my ASS off over the past 6 weeks and it paid off.

Now for a relaxing weekend away in Montreal. Here's hoping I don't gain all the weight back ;)

Remember that little post-script...

that went something like this? (From this post)

PS... My lovely mommy called me from the 'lou at exactly 10:38am, New York time (my birth minute!) to wish me a happy birthday. Made my day :)


Well. I never thought I'd say this.

My lovely mommy is a LIAR!!!

In the nicest way, of course.

I present to you, Exhibit A:


If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this looks like me and my parents. At my 30th birthday party. In New York. While they were supposed to be in the 'lou. Because they TOLD me that they were still in the 'lou.

Husband pulled a good one on me. I have seriously never been more surprised in my life.

Here's the short version:

A week or so before my birthday, husband starts asking what I want to do on the night of my birthday (Friday, the night before the party).

Me: "Nothing"

I'm a die hard boot-camper now, remember? I wanted to be a good thirty year old and start my new decade off with a healthy dinner and good night's rest to prep for boot camp the following morning.

Husband insisted, so I caved. Then he insisted that we do dinner early, like 6:00 early. Weird. Then he insisted on leaving the restaurant to come home and pick me up.

Me: "No, it's okay, I can drive, I'm not drinking."

Him: "Well maybe I want to get hammered. Then you can drive me home."

Whatever. I'm an agreeable sort.

Fast forward to Friday, 5:45pm. Husband arrives at the house, on time, scoops me up and off we go. He took the strangest route there and mid-trip made a hasty stop at a gas station to put a whole $5 into the tank. In the 3 1/2 years I've known my husband, I've never seen him NOT fill up at a gas station. Still not catching on, we carry on with our trip. Then when we get to about a block of our destination, he calls the restaurant. I remember asking him why the hell he was calling when we'd literally be there in 30 seconds, but I still didn't think anything was up.

Then we get there. In we walk, per usual, and he stops in front of his office door, which was closed, per, um, not usual. I thought he locked himself out or something or closed it because of a rash of employee thievery. Yes, this is how my mind works.

Anyway, when he finally opens the door, I see my parents standing there. I honestly don't think I've ever been speechless in my life but I definitely was then. I vaguely recall spitting out an exaggerated "You're here!???" and crying. Husband said the look on my face was priceless.


Ah. Now all of the continual insistence on dinner plans that night made sense. As did the phone call to the restaurant (to warn them) and the gas thing (he was so anxious he didn't want to waste time filling the tank).


It turns out that my loved ones had been conspiring for months. My poor mother. She's never lied to me so much before. I think that seriously every phone conversation we had over the past 6 months included lots of guilt-trippy "you really should come to my party, I only turn 30 once". Not sure how they kept it in for so long...


What can I say. They got me.


More on the most fabulous birthday weekend ever at a later date :)

The reason for my absense.

I'm sure the 5 of you who read my blog were desperately wishing for more posts during my hiatus. A girl can dream, right?

The reason behind my slacking?

Simple. I've been busy.

I know, I know, that's a lame excuse.

But seriously, it's the truth.

About 2 months ago I found myself in a bad place, work-wise. I enjoyed the company I worked for and loved the people I worked with but I just wasn't happy anymore. So after scouring the want-ads for a week or so to no avail, the lightbulb went off. I can go back to Nikki! i.e. Hart Real Estate, the company I started with when I moved back to NY.

I was never unhappy working for Hart and Nikki and I had remained friends after I so abruptly left her, so I approached her and was welcomed back with open arms. Seriously, why the hell did I leave in the first place???

I've been back at Hart for about a month now and I AM SO HAPPY. At Trinity, my job duties really started to fall away from the real estate part of it that I love so much. Since the day I returned to Hart, I've been immersed back in it, showing and listing houses and having contact with clients almost daily. It's been amazing.

And my stress is GONE.

There's definitely a truth to the saying "money isn't everything". I definitely took a pay cut to come back to Hart, but you know what? Totally worth it.

So you're probably thinking, "ok, so she changed jobs, that's not all that time consuming", right? In this case though, it has been. I'm still filling in at Trinity a day or two a week, which is totally draining, but they pay me, so why not? Right? Aside from the extra at-work hours, I've jumped full force into my Boot Camp Challenge class.

I feel like all I do lately is eat, sleep, workout and work. But I couldn't be happier. Go figure.

Wow. I'm a slacker. And I'm old!

So. I'm back. Let's see how long it lasts.

I thought today was a fitting day to rejoin the blog-world as it is... GASP... my 30th birthday!

EEK!!

Seriously though, I'm so looking forward to my 30s. I finally feel settled in life. I know who I am, I'm happy with who I am and I love everything about my life. I truly haven't been this happy in ages. For appearances though, I've been doing the whole "woe-is-me-I'm-turning-old" thing for a week or so. 'Cause you know, I like attention ;)

Onto the good stuff. Presents and parties!!

Last year, on the day of my 29th birthday, the Husband began planning my 30th birthday party. Long story short, I've been left out of the "birthday party" crowd since I was little. To make up for the fact that I haven't had a party thrown in honor of my bday in my entire adult life, he set out to throw the awesomest (yes, I made that up) party ever.

So tomorrow night we are having a fabulous 80s costume bash! Can't really think of a more appropriate theme, since you know, I was born in 1980. I'll be making an appearance as Debbie Gibson. Pictures to follow.*

Husband gave me my gift last night. Love how excited he was watching me open it. And I love how I excited I got when I saw what it was!!! See for yourself and get excited with me!!
Sorry for the totally blurry picture... if my damn crackberry would function as it should, I would have a lovely picture of the actual pair of Christian Louboutin black patent leather 5" platform stillettos that are currently residing in my living room.

Did you catch that?

Yes, I said Christian Louboutins. Eat your heart out Meredith Vieira.

Manolos? check

Louboutins? check

Life is good.

PS... My lovely mommy called me from the 'lou at exactly 10:38am, New York time (my birth minute!) to wish me a happy birthday. Made my day :)

*If I ever remember to blog again ;)