And Seattle photos (finally!)

Just a few not to bore you, but here are my Seattle photos!

Me & My Coffee addiction
The Original $$$ Latte
Drive thru Espresso?!

Me & Food
Wedding Buffet Line
Amazing donuts at Lola
Sampling Oil & Vinegar @ Pike's Place with Mom
The incredibly fresh & yummy produce

Me Being Silly
Dahlia Dreams
Pink Elephant Car Wash

I conquered the Fremont Troll!

Me Looking Fabulous
Wedding attire
Ferryboat Love

Have I mentioned I adore this city??

This little piggy went to market...

I'm back! Well, I've been back. But I've been waiting to get photos from my mom's camera so I could blog. Well I still dont' have them, but I'm blogging anyway. Ah Seattle. My new favorite city. I could seriously see myself living there at some point.

I have three things that summarize my long weekend in Seattle: Food, Shopping, and coffee.

You could seriously get caffeinated walking down the street past the insane amount of coffee shops in Seattle, and I made it my mission to try as many different brands as possible--and the only Starbucks coffee I would get would be from the flagship store in Pike's Place Market. I managed to try the brews of three different chains as well as a couple of individual cafes and restaurants. Not to mention a drive through Espresso Bar built in an old 1950s car service station--I was waiting for the Greasers to come out singing & serving...The amount of coffee I had correlated to the amount of activity I did each day. Needless to say...I did a lot while I was there. :)

Highlights:
-Pike's Place Market: Spent at least a couple of hours there every day. Ate my way through, taste-testing everything from fruit to nuts, to cheese, to pasta. Flowers were incredible, fish market was entertaining, fruit & veggies were unlike anything I've ever tasted.
-Ferryboat to Bainbridge Island: Total Grey's Anatomy experience. Did not find McDreamy.
-Pioneer Square: Historical section of Seattle. Didn't get to take underground city tour, but loved walking around the old parts with beautifully preserved buildings. More coffee shops. Lots of bookshops.
-All of Tom Douglas' restaurants. Had amazing breakfast two days in a row at Lola (homemade doughnuts sprinkled w/cinnamon & sugar and served w/vanilla marscapone and huckleberry jam--OMG) and tried his famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie at Dahlia Bakery. Next time will try his other places.
-Adorable Vintage clothing shop Diva Dollz where I found this incredible pair of shoes which I ended up completely rearranging my outfit for the wedding around. Got SO many compliments. Made my legs look amazing. :-D
-My cousin's wedding: a compilation of all the different family backgrounds of the bride & groom--Italian, English/Protestant, Jewish & Korean. Such a lovely ceremony & celebration of a couple that is truly a happy & well paired match. They had such a personal element to the reception and it was great to see the happy beginning to their new chapter.
-City vs. Nature: One of the things about the northern West Coast cities that I rarely get to enjoy is the fact that you have the best of both worlds--you have the benefits of a big city and then turn around and see mountains and ocean and incredible views. It was a more laid back version of NYC and I was just in awe of all it had to offer. Seattle also seems to incorporate so much local color and culture into its everyday. It was such a great walking city too! I haven't done that much walking in ages. It felt great--I was exhausted by the end! Did I mention I'd really consider moving here at some point?
-The Japanese Bongo Drum game at an arcade: Think Rock Band drums. But Bongos. And in Japanese. It was a phenomenal workout. Mostly from laughing.
-The Fremont Troll. I can't even begin to explain why I found this so fascinating as it was merely a stone structure of a giant Troll under the Aurora Bridge in the Fremont section of Seattle. It clutches a Volkswagen Beetle. It has a silver globe as an eye. It's ugly as hell. It was my mission to find it. Drove my family crazy. So worth it. I'll post the picture later in the week.

All in all--it was a one of a kind, highly entertaining, highly enjoyable trip. I did get to the gym twice, in addition to all the walking I did. I loved being on NY time so I could get up early and feel super productive. It helped balance out all the tasty food I had--although I tried to have healthy choices for the most part--lots of fish & I couldn't say no to all the fresh fruits & veggies--there were certainly some indulgences. I enjoyed every bite.

It took me a while to readjust back to normal last week--I did a lot of sleeping yesterday and I definitely needed it. I also have been eating nonstop and getting no exercise since I got back and am sort of dreading tonight's weigh in, but I need to go since I've missed two weeks. I'm devising a new fall plan now that I'll be getting back to a routine.

Well, now this little piggy's going to go have lunch :)

Until next time!

Seattle ahoy!!

Well I am at work today basically just biding my time until I leave for Seattle this evening. I'm so excited! I've been there once about 18 years ago but remember nothing so I'm planning on fully taking advantage of the city and all it has to offer. And that includes exercise!

One thing I love about traveling is all the extra exercise I get from being a tourist. Wandering the cities endlessly on foot, strength training from carrying bags of goodies which I've bought at the interesting little shops, and taking advantage of the hotel fitness center equipment which I wouldn't normally have access to being too broke to pay a gym membership. Yay.

Of course the reason we're going is a family wedding and being Italian, that definitely includes food--but my aunt isn't one of those "cook so much food that it could feed a small village" people so I think the obstacle will be more about making good food choices while eating out. I think I can handle that. Plus there's a lot of seafood out there, and from what I know, a lot of vegetarian/organic/earthy-crunchy focused people so I expect to have pretty healthy options.

Since I did not weigh in this week, I can't really estimate how I'll do when I come back, but as I said, I expect to do well--and even if I don't, I'll know I enjoyed my time away. But my goals for the week:

• Lots of walking...find the Freemont Troll under the bridge
  
• Take advantage of the time difference & spend those early waking hours at the fitness center or going for a run outdoors
• Don't go Starbucks crazy
  
• Make healthy food choices as often as possible.
• Enjoy the wedding!
  

West Coast here I come!

Until next time

Return to Reality

Hi All--

Yes, I've been MIA for a month--but it was a crazy month filled with drama, adventure, and absolutely no regard to holding up my plans for boot camp or minding my food routine.

Right after my last post, I managed to come down with a horrible case of tonsillitis and mono (of all things!) and spent the next two weeks in bed. Once I began to feel better, I got back to walking, but not regularly, and although I made mostly healthy food choices, I didn't track anything. As of my last weigh in I was down to 181.6 (from 184.2).

Then I went on a road trip which was ever so slightly detrimental to that, filled with lots of drinking, tasting some very rich southern food, sporadic exercise, and a highly emotional visit to a friend. Returning home this week has proven no better and I have knowingly overindulged in all those taste-so-good-but-so-bad-for-you foods. I have yet to weigh in since then. Tonight I will find out the damage.

This week is my return to work, and my return to routine. Whatever the scale says tonight, I once again am returning to my quest for health. My body needs it. So does my mind.

I missed being in touch with the blogger world and I hope to regain some of the spirit and motivation I had before all hell broke loose in my life.

Wish me luck!
Until next time

Cold and thin

It's cold. And when I say cold I dont mean like, I need an extra blanket cold. I mean like shiver me timbers-I can't feel my body parts-why are my eyes randomly tearing up even though I"m not crying-cold.

But on the other hand, since I am in a city I want to explore, it's a good thing. It encourages me to walk fast.

During my time in Providence and the conference, somehow I managed to go over my daily and even WEEKLY points. I am not really sure how. I wasn't by any means gorging in food, I was passing on (most of) the high-fat or sweet snacks they had with meals. And I flocked to the healthier options of vegetables, lean meat and I even passed on eating (most of) some REALLY yummy Creme Brulee. Twice! Just a taste to get the sweet satisfaction. I can't say that I was all good...I did drink (quite a bit of) hearty beer when out with the after-party crew. Go Guinness. And I also couldn't pass down the very creamy Rhode Island Clam Chowder. Though I just ate half the serving. So my points were a little out of control.

On the other hand--I rocked my plan to exercise while I was there. Both Wednesday and Thursday after meetings I headed straight for the fitness center and walked and ran for at least a half an hour each day. I also stepped outside for a couple walks while I was there to get a breath of very fresh and very cold air between meetings. And anywhere we went, we walked. On top of that, I spent my free day yesterday walking. I went on my own Providence walking adventure, hitting up a Museum, the Brown University campus, and lots of shops. Mind you this was mostly UPHILL and I was walking fast to keep my blood warm.

Then yesterday evening I arrived in Boston and did even MORE walking. Walking to the convenience store with my friend, walking the 10-minutes to the train to get into Boston proper, and walking between locations. And our frigid walks were even speedier than normal to cut down on the wind chill--or rather merely to arrive at our destination quicker.

If I had a pedometer (I don't because I don't want to be that person), I would have probably clocked anywhere between five and 10 miles yesterday. Rock on.

Which is why I didn't feel a bit guilty when I had the very hearty burger and fries for dinner last night. Bacon and cheese included.

So as I sit here typing away, I'm prepping myself for another really cold day of walking. While my body is telling me "NO!! Stay in bed and stay warm! You're too tired to walk around the city another day!" Alas--that will not be so. There is too much I want to see and do - nothing will stop me. Not cold nor rain nor sleet nor snow. No wait--that's the Post Office. Well--Call me Postal, but it will be so.

Until next time.

Road trip=Weight Loss

So next week I will be traveling to Providence, RI for a work conference. I am excited about it.

Except not for the reasons why I should be excited about it.

I could care less about the networking, the informational meetings or the workshops. I am excited to be traveling to a city I don't know too much about, a mini-vacation, and most oddly, access to a gym!

We are staying at the Providence Biltmore Hotel. If the actual hotel is as impressive as their website, then WOW. Plus I am über excited that this hotel will have a fitness center so I can hit the treadmill, the free weights, and maybe even the pool (or maybe not) for no fee! Plus hopefully I'll be doing lots of walking around the city to make up for the ridiculously boring ass meetings I'll be sitting in all day.

Maybe it'll give me the chance to make up for this crappy week.