Summertime Beach Bum

I decided to go on a little weekend getaway to Newport RI. We are staying at the quality inn and suits in Middletown. They have a pool, fitness center, full hot breakfast and the rooms with the jacuzzi suits. We decided to take this limo service into town for our first night instead of driving ourself.  We went to dinner at the Brick Ally Pub. When you choose an entree, they include their soup, salad and bread buffet which is nice because you can fill up on the salad and have meals to take home!  Pic of Mark at the restaurant.  Mark and I  I got the chicken piccata with a side of garlic broccoli.  Mark got the lobster Mac and cheese with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.  After dinner we took a long walk downtown exploring.  Pic overlooking one of the harbors.  We walked all the way to the cliff walk by the college salve Regina. We walked the shorter part of the cliff walk to the main road. Once we got to the main road we called for our ride and waited to go back to the hotel. Oh! And

This week i had two training sessions with Mandy. I met on Monday, and Wednesday. At the end of each session, she will figure out all my numbers such as: BMI, weight in fat, and weight in pounds. My number have been awesome! It is def positive reinforcement. After Wednesdays workout, i was so dehydrated that i actually started to feel dizzy. But i pushed through, and then when i was done, i sat down. It was such a tough workout. On Wednesday she sent me home with a TRX band that i can mount in a closed door. I am hoping to use that this holiday weekend when i don't necessarily want to go in the gym. This is the one week mark. I have already lost 9 pounds, and i can not wait until the next training session. Monday (memorial day) Mandy is holding a 1 hr boot camp, so that will be great to go to. Stay tuned for more progress :)

I read this book by Mary Alice Monroe called The Beach House. It is a wonderful story! It takes place in South Carolina at the shoreline. A mother who is growing more and more sick as the days pass, writes to her 30 something year old daughter who had left home at 18 to make something of herself in Chicago. The letter she writes asks her to come and visit and to help "clear out the beach house." The daughter doesn't know her mom is sick, but happens to have just been laid off from her job. So she reluctantly goes down to South Carolina to visit. This story is about a girl finding her way back home and discovering the truths of her family. She meets up with old friends, makes new ones, and of course, finds love at the beach :) This was a very touching story to read, and at the end (if i hadn't finished the book at the gym) i probably would have been crying. I would like to read more by this author, and certainly recommend this book!

Today i had my first personal training session. I am really hoping for this to be the push that i need. It was cool, we sat and talked about a lot, and then we also did some workout together. I learned a lot of helpful things that i would like to share... 1. Post workout it is important to have something with pure protein. (Duh) But you want to have it within 40 minutes after your workout, and that can be the only thing you eat for the first hour. What happens when you are working out is you tear apart your muscles, and the fat that is stored in there leaves. So if you eat something other than protein after your workout (such as fat) it will go right back into the muscle. Where if you eat protein, you are just building more muscle. 2. My body currently has 135 lbs of lean muscle! Holy cow! That is why i will never weigh 120 or less. That is why i had a hard time maintaing 156. I am better at maintaining 160/170. 3. For me right now it is important to eat around 2,200 calories. T

Meet the Bridesmaids: The First Four Julie So the first person i asked to be my bridesmaid was actually my maid of honor. Julie. Julie and i have been friends since the 6th grade and first met in club soccer. A sport that neither of us actually continued on with. We didnt stay in contact from soccer, until we magically ended up in the same babysitters course. Through thick and thin, its always been her. Lauren  I met Lauren junior year in college. We were both RA's in our building on campus. We bonded over the joys of college, and continued the friendship when we were both done and i rented an apartment right down the road from her. This friend actually s the first one of my friends to meet my fiance.  Ashley Ashley i met Freshman year in college. The night we met was when we both walked through the door accepting our bid into the sorority of sigma sigma sigma. Our bond grew stronger during the "pledging" process for the sorority, and soon we were spend

People say that people who are in healthcare should be the healthy ones, because "we know best". We give the advice, which it turns out that more often then not, we don't listen to. We tell the patients about healthy diets, and staying active. So frequently that it is embedded in our minds...but yet when we come home from a long shift...we sit on the couch with a meal or snack food, and do our work, not the least bit healthy or active. We tell our patients the importance on following up with MD appointments, however we will go years without following up with ours. Why? Simply because we don't have the time to call and schedule the appointments let alone actually make it to the appointments. We talk to our patients on fluid intact, and the importance of drinking 40-48oz a day. I cringe when my patient asks how much i drink. The answer: very little. Why? Simply because i don't have the time in my day to stop and go to the bathroom, therefore i drink less. We

When I moved in to my house this little old, rotted bench was left behind in my front garden. Here is a picture of it below.  So I decided I would sand it down and make it look cute again for my front garden! Here are all the pics of my progress.  All sanded down by the power sander Mark got for me :)  All primed and ready for a color!  Painted and back in my garden area. I don't have too much planted yet but I have the bench and the tree.  Here is a pic from a little further away :)