Shopping, etc.

Hello all!

My back is a lot better now, it's only really sore when I get up in the morning and then it's fine all day. Today, I go back to the gym for some cardio. I will be avoiding lifting and yoga for at least another week so that I can fully heal. I am going back to Pilates tonight to see how everything feels.

Anyway, because I cannot control myself, I have done some shopping recently. Let me start at the beginning. I found Rue La La from Amy's blog. It's this lovely little invite only site that hosts 48 hour sample sales from awesome designers. The stuff is at least 50% off for the most part. I got a Tommy Bahama bathing suit a few months ago for less then half of the normal price and it was glorious. And because I love you all, you can consider yourself invited to join by clicking here. Just a word of advice though - don't dawdle. Sales generally open at 11am and the good stuff sells out FAST...so you have to be on top of your game.

Anyway, I noticed that lululemon athletica was one of the sales that they were hosting, and I've frequently noticed my pilates instructors wearing that label, so I decided to check it out. The prices were good and I got some capri pants. And I received them last week and OH MY GOD THEY ARE AWESOME. They are so comfortable I wish to never wear anything else. I checked out their website, and noted that most of the pants are around $100 full price. FOR GYM PANTS. Which is clearly ridiculous, but you get what you pay for I guess. Anyway, I found the sale section of their site and ordered a couple more pairs of pants...but it would be difficult to convince me to pay full price for anything. Here's a link to the sale "loot" section. Enjoy. And here are some examples of the pants I've ordered and want to live inside of.

Now that I'm going back to the gym, and I know I have to travel again for two weeks in September, it's time to pull my shit under control. I've started a damn food journal today. I know, I know, it's the best way to keep track of what you're doing and it's proven really effective, blah blah blah, but it's kind of annoying. Both because I have to remember to write everything down and because I don't want to really see how much I'm eating some days. But I can definitely suck it up and do it for at least a month. Maybe it'll become habit and then I'll continue it. Who knows. First entry: egg and cheese bagel, 500 calories (I had an extra bagel on hand from the weekend, sue me). Not starting out too well. Ugh.

Of course it's my back!

...and anyone who gets the reference in the title of this post is awesome.

So I woke up Saturday morning feeling like I slept a little weird...like I couldn't move my neck too swiftly in any direction without feeling a shooting pain in my right shoulder blade area. Sunday morning was much of the same. And then the situation escalated on Sunday night to "OH MY GOD SOMEONE KILL ME I CAN BARELY MOVE."

Some Tylenol PM forced me to sleep, but I woke up at 5am yesterday in excruciating pain and needed to wait it out until Urgent Care opened at 8 (damn you, Urgent Care. It's URGENT for God's sake, you should be open by 6). Apparently, I have a severe muscle pull in my right upper back/shoulder area from lifting on Friday. Excellent.

Time to hand down a life lesson: I was all pumped up that I got my fat ass back into my exercise regimen of old last week, going to the gym 4 times, lifting twice, yoga once, pilates twice, but apparently my body wasn't really up for that. I didn't lift especially hard on Friday, but my shoulder apparently would rather be a lazy fatty. And now its wish has come true, because the doctor suggested that I avoid the gym for at least a week (maybe two). UGH. So I guess the moral of the story is to slowly work up to the full workout regimen, don't just start it up out of nowhere.

I have pain killers and muscle relaxers now. But I can't take the muscle relaxers at work, and I have to wait another hour to take my next pain killer and I AM IN PAIN. Work today is going to be AWESOME. I did have a fairly eventful morning though...while I was walking to work (with my damn computer bag), our office manager drove past me and offered me a ride...apparently I was "walking funny." Of course I was. I currently walk like an old lady.

Italy Updates

Today I finished getting the hotel reservations under control for my trip to Italy in October. Also, last weekend, I finished my Rosetta Stone Level 1 program, and am planning to start level 2 tonight. Io parlo Italiano meno di una bambina. But soon enough, I hope to be somewhere around third-grader level. I can already say "This is my mother" so as to avoid any confusion, as well as "Can I pay by credit card?" and "I need the keys." And I know all of the vocabulary for types of clothing and colors, and how to say that I like the blue dress better than the black one and the like, so it's going pretty well. :)

After multiple discussions with my mom (most of which involve me begging her to not overpack because we will be staying in 7 different hotels in 13 nights, so we'll be moving around a lot; "They DO have the capacity to launder clothing in Italy, you know" "For the love of God, Mom, you don't need to bring your straightening iron. Who are you trying to impress exactly?"), I've made a list of items that I'll need to buy before the trip.

Not to sound like a broken record here, but I really am trying to save some money before the trip since I'm sure I'll be spending some cash - I got 8 hotel nights for free using various points, so Mom has offered to pay for the other 6 nights, provided that I pick up the train tickets. And though she'll probably be picking up more of the food expenses than I will, I fully expect to shop my brains out (Note to Self: Make Sure You Find a UPS Store Before You Leave Rome). I'd like some leather goods from Florence, and of course we're also hitting up the designer outlets. So currently, I'm trying to only buy bare minimum necessities until October.

But that doesn't mean that I won't be splurging on my Italy supplies. You all know me better than that. So, without further ado, to keep you entertained, here's some of the stuff I'm planning to purchase.

First, and I have no picture of this, I will be getting the Italy/Greece street maps for my Garmin. I have no doubt that we'll be getting lost a lot, and throwing the Garmin into "pedestrian mode" and typing in "colosseum" or "gelato" is going to be very helpful. We will, of course, look like complete tourists when we need to use it, but I figured we wouldn't fit in anyway. Our walking shoes, general attire, and my pale skin and blond hair are going to scream "WE'RE AMERICANS!" regardless. But I'm hoping by then, my Italian will be solid enough that I can garner at least some respect among the locals.

Speaking of walking shoes, clearly I'm going to need a new pair for the trip, as I am expecting to walk many many miles every day...both for exploring as well as "I need to try to work off this pasta" purposes. I'm always partial to New Balance (what with my fatty feet) and from my research, I'm thinking these will be the winner. Extra support and cushioning, lightning-dry technology, and specifically designed for speed (Marge and I tend to be speed-walkers). Also, of course, they are pink. Yay!

This is probably another tourist give away, but from my reading and discussions with friends, it would seem that I should buy an across the shoulder purse. We'll be screaming tourist, and most thievery goes on at the major tourist sites, so this is probably a safe bet. I will of course need something big enough to hold the GPS, my guidebook, water, sunscreen, and my wallet. So it needs to be pretty large. And, naturally, it needs to be from Coach. I really like this one - the color seems good for fall, and it's quite large. And, when I get back to the CLT, I can remove the shoulder strap and use the regular handle. Score.

This is a purchase that will be good for Italy, but also that I will likely use for a very very long time. I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling, mostly by train, over there (I'm not concerned about the flights because first class comes with free on-demand movies and TV), so I'm going to need reading material. And because books take up space, I refuse to bring any. Enter the Amazon Kindle. I've only heard good things, AND books are all $9.99 or less to download which makes it cheaper than Borders. And bonus: I have no more room for books in my house, so this is going to be very helpful. And also cause me to spend a lot of money on books. Oh well.

Other than the above (and perhaps a solid pair of khakis) I'll be good to go! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Thanks, HOA

Last night after the regular Wednesday night dinner and line dancing lessons with the ladies, it began to rain (right as I was running from my car to the building of course). And then the lightning came, and it was all around us. We live in the only high rise in about a 4 block radius, so we could see a lot of action. And then lightning struck back behind us, and everywhere outside around us went black.

Our electric clicked off for about a half second, and then clicked back on...because our building has a generator. Score one for the Homeowners Association. Actually, score two because they pay for the building's water bill every month (and since one of our cats will only drink out of the faucet, we use a fair amount of water. Sorry, Environment.)

Recently, I've been getting bored of the condo because it's done being decorated, and I've been wanting to buy a house (which would be impossible, given that there's no way we could sell the condo right now, but still). And then I remember that houses come with lots of extra space to clean, and yard work to do; and if I lived in a house last night, I wouldn't have had electricity. And it would have been hotter than hell while I was trying to sleep. So I guess I'm pretty pleased with the condo after all. :)

Restaurant Week's Here, Bitches!

As you probably all know, there is nothing that I love more than food, generally speaking. Not even shoes. I mean I like Stuart Weitzman better than red meat, but if we're speaking in generalities, food always wins. Which is why I'm always attempting and subsequently failing to diet (read on for more about the failing). That is why this is the greatest week of my existence thus far.

Every summer (and sometimes again in the fall/winter, but that seems to happen only when I am out of town), a bunch of delicious and usually expensive restaurants around Charlotte band together and offer 3-4 course $30 fixed menus for a week. This is that glorious week. If you live in Charlotte, go here to sample the offerings. And always make reservations.

This week, I will be eating at the following venues:
Mimosa Grill: You had me at mini grilled cheeses with tomato bisque.
300 East: I can't even decide what sounds the most delicious here. Probably the peanut butter ice cream sandwich.
Black Finn: My frienemy spinach and artichoke dip awaits me.
Sonoma: Combining lobster with both risotto AND mac and cheese makes me sad I can only pick one.

I will say this now, because I don't want to start feeling fat before I even start eating this deliciousness, I will be in Charlotte for the immediate future and will be eating and exercising accordingly aside from this mess. I will repent for my sins this week on the elliptical, and pray that weight maintenance under the circumstances is possible.

Happy Eating!

Fourth of July Vacation

Because of having some extra vacation time, I headed up to NJ for a week for the 4th, with AJ in tow because she also wanted a vacation. While there, we shopped (see awesome purple sunglasses below), ate more than I ever thought possible, saw the Red Bank fireworks, and did a number of other awesome things. I have added pictures below. Read the captions for a vacation summary.

Sunglasses, courtesy of the Kate Spade outlet.

Being pasty white does not deter me from the beach.

My first trip to the new stadium!

That's a big screen.

Yes, we had those tickets where all of the food was free. This is a sampling of the free buffet food that AJ ate prior to the game. Amazing. Billy Joel's wife was the "celebrity" chef for the day, and she served AJ that grilled cheese/hamburger thing. Crazy.

In addition to the buffet, all food on this menu was free. Also, you could order off-menu, as AJ and I did when we got a pint of ice cream to share. What? It was hot outside.

AJ tries to avoid ball-to-face related broken nose #3, while wearing her sweet new aviators.

AJ and I at the Yankees Museum with a catcher wearing the facemask she herself should have sported a month ago.

Jackie and I in the Yankees Museum model locker. Apparently it's what the current lockers look like. Every player has an internet enabled computer in there. Because how would they prepare for a game without twitter access?

Blake feeding Buddy the Goat (can you tell that we've moved on to Pennsylvania now?)

AJ and Banchee the Barn Kitty

Blake and I posing at the mini-golf hole that he designed

Aah, Dairy Swirl...if Blake ever decides to go home and take over the family business, I am going to weigh 1000 pounds.

And that's about it. Good times. Now I somehow have to convince myself to get back into the work mindset. Lame. We did however go back to line dancing lessons last night, and I was able to successfully complete all of the dances we were taught...a significant upgrade from my last performance. Yay!

OH HAPPY DAY!

THE STUART WEITZMAN SHOES I HAVE BEEN STALKING FOR MONTHS ARE FINALLY ON SALE AND I HAVE ORDERED THEM. I'm mildly nervous about the size, because the 7's i tried on were REALLY big and they were out of 6's so I went with my regular 6.5, BUT I AM PUMPED.

I'll update soon regarding my week long NJ vacay, I promise.