Operation Batwing

When you reach a certain age (and, don't spend enough time at the gym toning your arms, obviously), you can sometimes develop batwings. You know, arm flab that moves when you wave? Never a good look, my friends. This became a problem when M & I planned a spontaneous, last-minute trip to Las Vegas next Sunday & I'm 100% not ready to rock the small dresses I normally sport.

I have a two-pronged approach to remedying my batwing situation.

1) I'm actually focusing on my arms at the gym, and not just doing cardio & blaming my short lunch hour on my strength-training-avoidance. I've done 4 arm workouts this month alone, so I'm making progress on that front.

2) I searched & searched for a fun, sexy (but not, getting off work as an escort) dress that covers the batwings. Today, I finally had dress success!

I picked this baby up at White House/Black Market. The one at my store was on sale for $50, but I see this one is full-price online. Anyway, cute, sexy, fun, but not too much. My flab arms won't be scaring anyone!

And, if you are on a quest for the perfect skinny jeans, I may have a solution for you. I'm a huge fan of the Gap Always Skinny, in the dark wash. Great fit, slimming, rocks with boots, etc. But, I hate their lighter wash, and I don't like the color of the dark wash with black tops. Given that 92.87% of my wardrobe is black, I needed a lighter colored skinny jean. Still good coverage (no jeggings), nice fit, etc. I did some research, and ended up at American Eagle. Color me surprised, but these jeans were awesome! (Skinny jeans - worn dark is their official name).

Working out:

I mastered my 1.5 mile run on the treadmill today. I'm back at my desk, but still a little sweaty. Keepin' it sexy.

And, in honor of HHR, I'm going to try & convince M to share his pomegranate martini recipe, so stay tuned. If I can't get him to share, I'll just take secret pictures and post them when he's not looking. :-)

Best pre-run meal

Yesterday was one of those crazy days. I didn't get a chance to work out at lunch (my preferred time), and planned to squeeze in a quick treadmill session around 6:30 or so. I forgot that it was Nick's swimming day,which delays our dinner by an hour, and I had to take Sam to the mall for new shoes. Because a huge chunk was missing out of his shoe. How does this happen to a $60 pair of shoes? Perhaps it's using the shoes as brakes on his bike, sliding all over as though he's playing baseball & coming into home, and generally kicking everything in his path.

After the mall, I corralled myself into throwing something together for dinner, which meant taquitos that I made & froze over the weekend. This was a decision I would later come to regret. Genius move. Because we had a later dinner & all, I had to run about 45 minutes after I finished eating. That taquito was showing me no love on the treadmill. At all. At all. Nausea-city. Let that be a lesson to you. However, if you're looking for a yummy taquito recipe, I highly recommend this one! (I know, the near-barf on the treadmill story really built it up & made you want to try it, didn't it?) I make a few small tweaks - I cook my chicken before I put it in the food processor, because dealing with chicken germs isn't for me. I also don't do the dip like they recommend. I keep it easy & mix together a bit of Greek yogurt with salsa as my dip. YUM. Healthy, & easy.

Here's what I'm wearing today. I have a feeling I'll be cold, but I love this sweater & had nothing to layer under it. I apparently don't own a single black or white long-sleeved tshirt.

Outfit details:

• Black & silver necklace - Tiffany & Co, gift from M
• Black tank - Express
• Cranberry sweater - Aritzia
• Jeans - 7FAM, from Costco
• Black boots - Anne Klein, Macy's
• Surprised expression - courtesy of my awesome camera skills + non-photogenic face

Workout details:
I'm slowly building up my mileage again, and ran 1.25 miles without stopping yesterday. I could have gone a bit farther, but I felt like collapsing on the treadmill would be poor form. Today I'm aiming for 1.5 miles + an arm workout (operation bat wing) at the gym. My gym is having a holiday beauty product giveaway each day in December, so it's a nice motivation to come & get my prize. Oh, and work out too. ;-)I'm easily bribed.

Questions for you:
What's a reasonable amount of miles to add each week? I'm going to spend December just getting back to the basics, and hope to be up to 5K range by mid-January. I'd like to find a 5K for mid-January, a 10Kish for February, and if all goes well, a 1/2 for the April time frame. I'd like it to be somewhere warm & vacation-y (willing to travel!) as it will be a combined girls vacation & run. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of doing the Mercer Island race, but not sure if I'll be ready for a half in March. May just do the 10K. Anyway, please send me any recommendations you have for races. I love the motivation of having something to train for!

And, what are you up to this weekend? Any races or fun holiday plans? I think M is taking our oldest skiing, we have our normal swimming practice & soccer games + we're having a holiday get together with my BFF & her kids this weekend. A pizza party, and I do believe M is busting out the pomegranate martinis again. You know, to perfect his recipe for Christmas. And, maybe a little because I begged. ;-)

Return of the plaid

I ran again! I did an entire mile (without stopping) on Tuesday. Impressive for several reasons. 1) I had a craptastic day at work, and wanted to blow the entire workout off, sit on my sofa, & eat pirate's booty while watching Burn Notice. 2) It took me a month to build up to running a mile without stopping last winter when I started to run.

Summary of my workouts:
Monday - no workout, signing the refinance papers on our house.
Tuesday - Didn't want to work out (had to skip lunch due to work crisis), but squeezed in a quick walk/run on the treadmill after the kids were in bed.
Wednesday - 35 minutes on the bike + .25 miles on the treadmill + working on my bat wings (aka flabby arms)

Plan for today - keep my calories under 1500, eat well (lots of fruits & vegetables), & run for 1.25 miles without stopping. Also, a leg workout.

Ugly Bathroom Photos:
Yesterday

• Plaid scarf (hence the post title) - Burberry, circa 2001. My office is cold, & I've cycled through all of my scarves. I have no shame, and the Burberry may no longer be a *trend*, but it's still warm & snuggly.
• Tan sweater - Loft
• Jeans - Gap, Always Skinny
• Boots - Vince Camutto (Nordstrom), gift from M
• Dorky face & security badge - keeping it real

And, without the scarf. The sweater is new

Today's outfit of the day. I was bored with jeans & boots, so opted for a skirt. Of course, this skirt is pre-kids (you know, back in the day when I had disposable income), so it's a bit shorter than I would pick these days. Oh well. Hopefully I won't scar anyone at the office.

Sweater - Gap
Silver necklace - Macy's
Gray & black striped skirt - Banana Republic, circa 2001 or so
Black tights - Loft?
Black boots - Anne Klein, Macy's

I'm also having a hair crisis. As I've mentioned (and, likely bored you to tears with) before, I'm trying to grow out my color. I'm about a year in, and here's where I'm at:

I hate my hair short. HATE. When you have huge cheeks, short hair is not your friend. But, the giant blonde streaks are not doing me any favors. I'm worried about getting a few inches trimmed off, and leaving just another inch or so of blonde roots at the bottom. Will that look worse than it does now, or better? I need input! :-) Please advise.

Progress

Guess who ran 3/4 of a mile on Sunday? Yes, that would be me! So very, very excited that I'm not feeling pain (the swelling & pain in my foot is reduced to the point of a slight nagging feeling every now & again - not the distracting, "ouch" pain that it was a few weeks ago.) Bless you, orthopedic trauma guy!

And, this is why I run. Nothing gets me quite as sweaty (and red, with crazy awesome fly aways) as running. I have no idea why my shirt is so low in the picture. I promise that I had a sports bra on, and the ladies were covered, despite what the picture shows.

Life is good! Over the weekend, M experimented with pomegranate martinis, and we are mastering our holiday drink. Best.Drink.Ever. I think I might tell him that it needs more work, just so he'll make up another batch.

My office is still cold, & I am still forced to wear flats. Hence the scarves. And boots.

Yesterday's look:
Too dark to see the details. Photography fail. I was wearing my new Grandma sweater from the Gap, and it was ridiculously warm. And, apparently not very cute, according to my husband. ;-) That's okay, I'll take warmth over style these days.

Today's look:

Here's what I'm wearing:

• Gray & white scarf - Jcrew
• Black long cardigan - Loft
• Gray jeweled tank - Jcrew
• Jeans - Seven FAM. Not meant to be tucked into boots, but my jean choices are limited these days.
• Black boots - Anne Klein/Macy's
• Dorky face & bad photography skills - still here! :-)

I'm working hard to get my eating back in check. Yesterday was a pretty good day - I came in at 1430 calories, but wasn't able to work out. We closed on the refinance of our house, so I spent my workout time signing a stack of papers.

Here's what I ate:

• Breakfast - 1/2 of an English muffin + egg + fruit & coffee
• Lunch (met M for lunch before our signing) - 1/2 piece of bread, 1/2 of a panini, handful of fries. So pleased that I took the other half of my lunch to go, rather than inhaling it as usual. :-)
• Snack - celery sticks with taziki sauce & an apple.
• Dinner - roasted brussel sprouts & butternut squash + 2 bistro sized burgers (no buns)

I was pleased that I resisted the holiday beer that M was drinking last night. Now, I need to keep it up! It's getting to that time of year when there is food EVERYWHERE at work, at home, at gatherings, etc. I need to pick my splurges, and focus on good eating habits the majority of the time. So I can make room for my planned indulgences. You know, like pomegranate martinis!

For you: what's your favorite holiday food/splurge/drink (if you partake)? Do you wear scarves?

Phone vs pool

This is what happens when you're five year old accidentally knocks your cell phone into the pool during swimming practice.

Sadly, my job requires the phone, so I'm going to have to replace it. Sigh. I think it's
going to be $450 for a new one, which is a total heartbreaker. Christmas gift to myself, anyone?

Do you like my outfit? ;-) We'll just pretend:

• Camel flats - Aerosoles (I'm all about comfort these days)
• Jeans - Seven, Dojo
• Coral sweater - Loft

Anyway, I did manage a workout today! I did a light elliptical workout + arms. My arms are very jiggly, so it's time to tone up! My goal is to keep the calories under control, because I know I'll be having wine while I make dinner. *wine, how I love you*

Here's one of the pictures I used in our Christmas cards. Getting the boys to cooperate for pictures is a huge challenge, but I liked this one.

What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun? We're hoping to take the boys to a holiday parade, they both have soccer practice, one has swimming lessons, & I need to get to the gym a few times to fend off my bat wings. I also want to finish my Christmas wrapping & getting the holiday cards in the mail!

Yes! Yes! Yes! My fracture is gone

I went in for a follow up xray & appointment with the orthopedic trauma specialist yesterday, & my foot fracture is entirely healed! Seriously, I cried. That's how happy I am. Six months later, & the fracture is finally, finally healed. That 5th metatarsal break can be wily, but the tendon has successfully pulled the bone back into place. (And, other details of anatomy that were way over my head, because I was too giddy about the news.)

I do have some wicked tendinitis right along the same spot (likely a result of some sort of pressure from the injury/recovery/what have you.) However, the treatment for the tendinitis is a two week regimen of Extra Strength Tylenol & Alleve to eliminate swelling. That, I can handle!

In six months, I've run once. I've gained six pounds. I've been miserable without the hit of cardio. My clothes don't fit as well. I can't eat all the fun stuff I used to. And, I just miss it. BUT, I'm on my way back!!!

My plan is to take it easy & focus on weights (limited cardio) for the next two weeks while I'm taking the Tylenol/Alleve. After that, I'll be walking, then *running*. I'm thinking of signing up for a 10K in March, depending on how I feel in the next month. YES!!!!!!!!!

And, just for giggles, and to demonstrate my extremely, extremely round hips that I developed during this six month hiatus, a return of ugly bathroom photos!

Outfit:

• Scarf (my office is super chilly) - Laurie B? It's 10ish years old
• Camel sweater - Loft
• Cream tank - Loft
• Jeans - Always Skinny (ha, ha, ha!), Gap
• Boots - Vince Camuto? Gift from the husband

Life is good today, friends! :-)

Long time!

Sweet lord, has it really been 2 months since my last post? Slacker! The sad news is that I am still not running. It's been six months since my injury & my foot is not healed. It's depressing & haven't been motivated to write any "I'm still not running, but I am gaining weight like it's my job" posts.

Okay, enough fooling around. I've gained 6.5 pounds since July. *gulp* It's hard to be motivated, and I don't even feel like a runner anymore. *insert sad face*

I was planning on running the Las Vegas 1/2, but clearly that's out. I'm hoping to be run/walking again by the first of the year, but I don't know what to expect for recovery time any more. Certain things hurt my foot more than others - driving is one of the biggest.

I also desperately need to get my weight back under control & lose the 6.5 pounds I've gained. That's my goal - by the end of the year to be back at 142. I can do this, even if it's slowly & with a slight limp. ;-)

And, because what fun would a post be without any pictures?!

Here's me rockin' the fashion don'ts at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. YUM - cheese! Why yes, I am wearing a faded black zippered jacked I scored at Costco, rolled jeans, my old running shoes, & beach hair. I'm like a model!

And, me + my favorite boys on a hike this weekend. And no, it wasn't raining, but the umbrellas & rain boots were new & the boys insisted. . . ;-)

And, because the entire family struggles with looking natural in pictures. . . this one kills me. Sam has the most random facial expressions going on. Love it!

Okay, I'm back, ready to focus on my weight & getting into shape again, even if it's not running right now. How are all of YOU Lovely ladies? I need to catch up!

Off track

I'm off track with my workouts lately, & need to vent. My work schedule has changed, and I can no longer work out at lunch. Finding an alternate time to work out has proven to be a huge problem. My choices are either: 5:00 am or after the boys go to bed - around 8:00 pm. I have to be up by 6:00 am either way, so working out at 8:00 means I'm not going to be falling asleep until 10 pm at the earliest. . . I know I need to just suck it up and choose one of the non-appealing options, but I'm in denial at the moment. :-) I get grouchy & anxious when I can't work out, so I need to get this figured out ASAP.

I can't run (still injured), but when my foot is feeling better, I should be able to sneak in runs a bit easier than making a full-fledged trip to the gym. I'm hoping to be at least up to a walk/run combo by October.

Weight:
I'd like to lose a total of 15 more pounds. I'm *just* under the BMI mark for being overweight, & want to be a little thinner. My anniversary is quickly approaching (third week in October) & Michael & I are going away to a lodge for a kid-free evening. Massages, dinner with wine, and a relaxing evening. Can't wait. I'd like to lose the first five pounds by my anniversary.

Outfit:
I'm back with the ugly bathroom pictures! Here's my look for today & yesterday.

Details:
Coral sweater - Loft
White tank top - Martin & Osa
Dark wash jeans - Dojo/Seven For All Mankind
Ballet flats - Nordstrom/Me Too

Details:

Black sweater - Loft

Black & gold necklace - Jcrew

Black tweed pants - Banana Republic

Black flats - Nordstrom/Me Too

Food:
Eating has not been stellar, & I need to get back into the habit of regularly tracking my calories & making healthier choices.

Summary:
I feel like I'm still evolving to my new schedule, life with a school-aged kid, the ongoing injury - and I need to adapt. How do you deal with flux and change in your life & adapt, from a fitness & nutrition perspective?

The First Day

I can't believe Sam is ready for Kindergarten! He was thrilled to ride the bus this morning. :-)

I was emotional. :-)

My baby attended his first day of "big boy preschool", and was less than thrilled. He was devastated that he couldn't ride the school bus, or have a backpack full of school supplies. Sometimes it's hard to be the younger sibling.

Me with Sam at the crazy school bus stop. He loved the excitement & energy, and of course, being with the "big kids". ;-)

My pants are a little tight, so I can tell that summer vacation is officially over, & it's time to focus on my fitness, losing the final 15 pounds, and getting back into the groove! :-)

Final Hurrah

I've been noticeably absent, & I come bearing an explanation. ;-) I re injured my foot recently, & I've been in a bit of a funk about it. It was hard to even think about coming to my "running blog" & pretending to post with any optimism about potential runs or reading about all of your runs & getting inexplicably jealous. I know - I'm lame. I'm working my way through the funk, and I think I'm ready to not be an entirely depressive Debbie Downer. :-)

Things we've been up to over the past few weeks

• Multiple trips to the beach. Fantastic weather on the Oregon coast (80 degrees!) which is rare & so much fun.
• Tire blow out on one of the beach trips that involved me + 2 kids stranded on the side of the highway for several hours in an extremely scary area (no room to pull over, not crime-related). I ended up having to climb over my car & pull the kids out of the window, which is how I re injured my foot.
• Preparing for my big boy's first day of Kindergarten! I'm getting teary just typing this. He starts on Tuesday & I'm anxious & excited at the same time. Nick is going to big kid preschool this year, and I'm crossing my fingers that it goes well. He's not a huge fan of change.
• A cousins trip to an indoor water park (Great Wolf Lodge). Great times were had by all.
• A fantastic family beach trip with my immediate family (Michael, parents, sister, nephews) - SUPER fun.
• A trip to the zoo with my favorite little ladies.
• A major fall off the monkey bars resulting in a split lip & chipped front tooth
• My dad in the ICU due to a mountain biking injury. (He's recovering nicely).

I promise to become a more regular blogger again. The summer was crazy getting the boys where they need to go each day for camps, & it cut into my blogging time. But, I'm continuing to try & stay in shape, and keep a positive attitude as I work through my injury.

Here's a photo dump of the summer fun. :-)

Cousins beach trip:

My beach bunnies on a (rare!) sunny day at the coast

The offending monkey bars + two of my best friends kids on a play date:

My grown up boy at his Kindergarten orientation meeting:

Two of my favorite little ladies + Sam at the zoo, in their "explorer" outfits:

My dad, on the beach, two days after leaving the ICU & the day after having his chest tube removed. Dude is hardcore:

We're at the beach this weekend for one final summer hurrah before school starts & the madness of soccer practice, swimming & carpools begins. And, it's supposed to be 82 tomorrow. Beach picnic!

I hope all of you have fabulous Labor Day weekends. :-)

Things I love

I'm in a great mood today, so here's a little list of things I'm loving right now:

1. The smell of grass on a sunny day.
2. The taste of a tart margarita. Michael is a wicked bartender!
3. I'm going to an indoor waterpark with my sister + our four boys on Friday, & can't wait. The cousins love each other. ;-)
4. I'm taking an entire week of off work - next week! That hasn't happened in a very long time.
5. This mozzarella, peach, & basil salad. It's the perfect summer salad.
6. Oh, and this little thing called running. I alternated running/walking on the treadmill yesterday & although it was slow, I ran for 1.25 miles total. (Doctor approved, and no foot pain afterward.) I can't tell you how amazing it felt to run again!
7. And of course, I couldn't let it go without a few leftover pictures from my fabulous Las Vegas girls trip!

My sister & I, on the plane. . . Giddy with excitement.

This slightly blurry picture of my sister in the elevator at the Encore, because I think she looks amazing!

And, this picture becuase I love my hair, which is rare for me. ;-)

Here's a lovely bathroom shot from this morning.

Outfit details:
Black wrap sweater - Nordstrom
Fuchsia top - Loft
Silver necklace - Macy's
Dark denim skirt - BCBG
Black wedge sandals - Alfani/Macy's

What are you loving right now?

All you party rockers in the house. . .

The current favorite song of summer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8 :-)

The boys have possibly been listening to too much music in the car. Top 5 favorite songs are:

• Afrojack - Take over control
• Adele - Rolling in the deep
• LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
• Jessie J - It's all about the money
• Katy Perry - TGIF

And yes, I've been a huge slacker. The boys summer program was moved to a different location, & my commute is now triple the time each way, which has interfered with my blogging time. ;-)

But, in awesome news. . . the doctor thinks I'll be able to slowly start running again (think run/walk combos) in September! I'm thrilled.

Weight:
In weighty news, I'm up a few pounds after my latest vacation to Las Vegas with the girls. However, it was an epic trip, so I'll deal with the fall out. :-)

Outfit:
Scary bathroom photos are back!

Details:
White sheer sweater - Loft
White tank top - Loft
Peach skirt - Forever 21
Sandals - American Eagle
Dorky face - still here

I bought the skirt for a party this weekend - my nephew had a Mario themed birthday party, & I was supposed to be Princess Peach. Of course, it ended up being hot on Saturday, so I wore a sun dress instead. I decided to rock it today, as the sun is actually shining. Summer has finally arrived in Seattle, it seems. :-)

Food:
My eating has been pretty good, punctuated by wild days of summer barbecues (umm, Saturday), vacations (lots of champagne & steak). I'm committed to dropping the couple of pounds I've picked up, and hitting my summer goal - I'm about 4.4 pounds away, which seems doable.

More to come, but here a few vacation pictures!

Can you guess which one is my sister?

Running: help me get back in the groove! Any tips for someone starting fresh and/or coming back after a long break?

The great closet cleanout

Last night I tried on every item in my closet that I haven't worn in the last month, & pulled out everything that didn't fit, I don't wear, etc. Mostly, things were too big & I have a huge stack to donate. I'm a little embarrassed to even share how much I got rid of, but we're all friends here, right? ;-)

• 31 tops
• 7 dresses
• 8 pair of pants
• 4 skirts

My closet is now remarkably pared down, & I can easily find things. Wow! Love that. But, given that this is the lowest weight I've been at since before I had kids, most of the clothes I have left are pretty old (7-8 years, I would guesstimate.) I'd like to lose 10-12 more pounds, so I'm not clamoring to shop at the moment. Also, I'm trying to save most of my fun money to continue to pay for my trainer (albeit much less frequently than I'm going now), so we'll see how I do on not replacing everything I ditched. :-) It's pretty embarrassing how much I had in the closet.

Outfit:

• Coral sweater - Forever 21
• Coral tank (underneath) - Loft
• Silver necklace - Macy's
• Jeans - Rock & Republic, courtesy of Costco
• Silver shoes - Chinese Laundry (Ross)

Workout:
I worked out with my trainer yesterday, & it was another killer workout. I warmed up on the elliptical for 10 minutes before she got there, & then we did 50 minutes of punishing circuit trainer. Ouch. I can tell I'll be very sore tomorrow. :-)

Food:
Yesterday was a pretty good day - I was a little over my calorie goal, but was pretty pleased with my choices overall.

Breakfast - homemade waffle + coffee & fruit
Snack - mini Clif bar
Lunch - protein smoothie & salad
Snack - nuts
Dinner - leftover barbecued chicken dipped in hummus
Snack - fruit + handful of Pirate's Booty

Do you clean out your closet with any regularity? Are you a clothes hoarder like me? :-)

Return of the ugly bathroom photos

I know you've missed these gems, so it's back!

Here's my outfit for today. Yes, I cheated & wore sandals. We're having one sunny day this week, so I busted out my sandals. And, not that I don't have sympathy for those of you dealing with the intense heat. . . but this has been the most terrible summer ever in Seattle. Rain. Rain. Cold. Rain. Ick.

Details:

• Lilac sheer top - Express
• Nude tank top - Loft
• Amethyst necklace - Tiffany & Co
• Jeans - Chip & Pepper, circa 2002
• Sandals - Jeffrey Cambell, Ibiza

Workouts:
I squeezed in an extra workout in preparation of my next (and sadly, last) trip to Las Vegas this summer. Let's just say that my glutes were so sore from my trainer workout on Thursday, that going up & down stairs was ridiculously painful. Ouch. Yesterday I closed the week with 60 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minutes on the bike, & a bunch of stretching/foam rolling.

Food:
My eating was great yesterday, until I went out for dinner with the boys. We went to a laser tag/bouncy house party at our gym, and went to the gym cafe afterward. Problem 1 - I let myself get crazy hungry. Problem 2 - I had a huge workout that day. Anyway, I ate my healthy pizza (love this cafe, they publish the nutritional information for their entire menu - awesome!) & after the boys were done, I snacked on their fries, 1/2 a leftover chicken strip, & part of Nick's frozen yogurt. Fail. The scale punished me this morning as a result. Double fail. :-(

• Breakfast - 2 homemade waffles with 1 tsp butter + fresh berries & coffee
• Snack - protein smoothie
• Lunch - peanut butter & jelly sandwich, nectarine, pistachios
• Snack - berries
• Dinner - healthy barbecued chicken pizza, followed by french fries, 1/2 a chicken strip, & frozen yogurt

The semi-awesome news is that normally, when I've blown it, I continue to shovel additional food in my face. Last night, as soon as we got home from the gym, I brushed my teeth & put whitening strips on my teeth - a sure fire way to guarantee that I'm not going to be eating anything else. It helped limit the caloric damage. :-)

And, in semi-related running news, yesterday was supposed to be the big 1/2 marathon that I trained months & months for. It was terrible weather (rainy & cold), so I had a lot of sympathy for my fellow runners, but when I was at the gym yesterday, thinking about how it was supposed to be my big day, I was totally & completely jealous of a woman on the treadmill. She put in 8 miles & made it look so entirely effortless. She was speedy, totally in shape, & enjoying her run. My foot is starting to feel better, but it's been so long since I've run, I feel like I'm going to be starting from scratch when I do finally get cleared by the doctor.

What's made you jealous lately?

The blue dress

I'm in love with this dress. I saw it at Nordstrom over Memorial Day weekend, & fell in love.

The hair is courtesy of the Encore salon - we all know I can't achieve that on my own.
My dress - Nordstrom
Shoes - Ivanka Trump (I only  have one pair of dressy shoes that I can wear at the moment)
Necklace - Jcrew

My mom's dress - Express
Shoes - Michael Kors

And, a close up of the hair, which I'll be trying to convince my sister to recreate next weekend. A girl can only afford so many salon visits, you know. ;-)

In this picture, it looks a little bit like the dress is holding on to my chest for dear life. . . it's not normally that low, I promise.

Fitness
I've been sticking to my 5x/week workouts, & my trainer is kicking my trash all over the place. I bought a trainer package a month ago, and have about two weeks of workouts left with her. It's been amazing to have someone push me so hard. We're currently meeting two times/week (one in the pool, one more focused on weights) & I've noticed a huge difference. I hope I can push myself as hard as she does once I'm on my own.

Food
Food has been good lately. I know I'm going to be wearing my bikini next weekend surrounded by a sea of hot 25 year olds. (Seriously, I swear every young woman with a 10 out of 10 body heads to the Encore pool in the summers).

Here's my recap from yesterday
Breakfast - fruit, coffee, spinach + egg on a bagel thin
Snack - dried fruit/nuts
Lunch - salad + protein smoothie
Snack - mini Luna bar
Dinner - Greek salad (ate just under 1/2) with gyro meat on it (heaven) + 7 fries. Seriously, I counted, because the Greek fries have shredded feta, lemon juice, & oregano on top, & I can eat the entire plate by myself. It's all about containment with those fries.

My weight is up about a half pound from my last trip, so I'm hoping to bring that down by next week's trip, which is totally doable!

What about you lovely peeps? Any big fun summer plans this weekend? We're taking the boys to soccer practice & a Star Wars themed birthday party. :-)

Anniversary Trip with the parents

I'm back, with pictures! We took my parents to Las Vegas for their 40th anniversary, & it was an excellent time all around. We stayed at the Encore, had amazing rooms, spent a day by the pool in the cabana, shopped (just the girls), did a full spa day (my parents first time!), & wined & dined our way through Las Vegas. Yummmmm. . .

Can you believe this beautiful couple has been married for 40 years?!

And, yes, my mom is wearing zipper heels . . . she's very trendy. :-)
Here are a few other pictures

My dad, mom, myself, & Michael. I'm wearing a black bandage dress (Express) + a Jcrew necklace & black Ivanka Trump heels. I have a BCBG clutch. My adorable mother is wearing BCBG & Michael Kors. I'm sure you're dying to know that both of the guys are wearing Hugo Boss suits.

The ladies, at the Wynn before dinner at SW.

More to come tomorrow, but I'm back and hitting the gym hard to unwind the damage from the trip. I did manage to work out 2 of the 3 days we were there, so it wasn't all bad. And, of course, I have my last Las Vegas trip coming up next week (a girls trip - absolutely cannot wait!), so I still have heavy bikini incentive.

Question for you:
What is the best meal you've ever had? Be specific!

For me: we had the most amazing meal at SW. Steak, seafood tower (see slightly awkward picture, below), beet salad, asparagus, and a chocolate souffle. Add in a fabulous bottle of wine, & it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. . .

And, the dessert at Botero? Died & gone to heaven. . . those are ice cream cake pops & a chocolate mousse "ice cream" bar

Or, if martinis are more your speed, I highly recommend the blue cheese-olive stuffed massive martini at Olives. It will knock you off your feet. ;-)

Viva Las Vegas! More pictures tomorrow. . .