Willkommen nachhause! (Welcome Home!)

Ah Austria.  It's so hard to hold back from posting the 840 photos I took on our trip.  I'll restrain myself and only post a few :-)

My husband had to travel to Vienna for work two weeks ago.  We found out he was being sent in June, and budgeted for me to go.  After all, his work paid for EVERYTHING except my ticket...flight, lodging, parking, meals, the whole kit and kaboodle.  It made sense to take advantage of the opportunity since with the economy, job situation, and our budgets it was not likely to get an opportunity for such a trip anytime in the next 5 years or so (and sadly i'm not exaggerating here).  So Grandma found an awesome ticket to come to FL at the same time and keep little Mimicans for us while we went.

Sadly the day we left, Franco's grandfather passed away.  Thank you to all of you who sent me supportive messages when I mentioned this in an earlier post, our family truly appreciated them.  So the trip started off badly.  I'm not going to dwell on this, but it made for a difficult week for my husband.

Trying Tafelspitz, a traditional meal in Austria

We got there Saturday morning and got to our  hotel who wouldn't let us check in earlier than 2pm, so we stowed our luggage and enjoyed some delish pizza from a Italian restaurant.  There are TONS of Italian restaurants in Vienna, good ones at that.  Ones that rivaled some of the food we ate in Rome 2 years ago.  We check into to the hotel and crashed.  We crashed hard.  Normally we aren't travelors her waste our time in a new city sleeping off jet lag, but either we're getting old or the stress of the weeks happenings hit us, we slept 4 or 5 hours and woke up refreshed.  We went out that night and explored and got a bite.  We tried the Sacher Torte, and enjoyed more pizzas and schnitzel.

Belvedere Palace

The next day we went the Belvedere palace and explored the gardens and the upper museum. If you ever go to Europe and you have an old student ID (or you're a crazy old grad student like me) bring it! You save 3-4 Euro at every museum and on railway tickets.

Me at the Belvedere

Monday and Tuesday my husband was at his conference fulltime 8-5, so I ate breakfast with him and explored on my own.  Armed with my Canon Rebel, snacks and my travel book I set out to find funky museums (like the Sisi Museum) and cafes to explore on my own.  At night my husband and I would explore the busy city center and get dinner and coffee and take night photos.

Wednesday his conference ended at 11 so we ventured to the Schronbrunn, the imperial summer home.  I picture having a summer home someday, I think cottage, they think elaborate palace with grounds the size of Monaco! lol.  We didn't have time to really explore the inside, but we spent HOURS exploring the grounds and hiking to the Glorietta.

Thursday we traveled home almost missing our flight in Brussels because in Europe you have to go through security at EVERY FRICKIN airport when you transfer.  A little ridiculous.  Alas, we made it home safe to our little Mimi, who seemed very happy to see Mommy and Daddy.

Now I've had my European travel fix for the next few years.  It wasn't my favorite trip to Europe, but it's up there towards the top of my list!

Weight Loss Update-Week 13 of the Christmas Challenge

So how am I doing? Well I'm on the right track, my weight is going down.  This morning I was 188.4, which is awesome considering I was just on vacation the last week and half, which usually means weightgain.  Can you believe I'm only 18.4 lbs from my next goal?! That doesn't seem like a lot at all.  I mean when  you remember that I was once 250 lbs, getting down to 18 lbs above my goal is pretty frickin cool.

I really need to go to the grocery store and get some healthy snacks and lunch stuff.  Eating at the hospital food court for lunch will kill your wallet and your waistline.

I have been enjoying wearing clothes from when I as in my early twenties. This photo sucks cause it's from my iphone and it was foggy, but my husband insisted on taking a photo of me this outfit.  He LOVES this skirt. I bought it at the limited when I was 13! Yes, junior high.  It was gloomy and rainy today so I felt like dressing a little "fall like." Well as fall as Florida can get!

So my goals over the next few weeks are to finish training for the 5K which is on Oct 23rd! Yeah! and to clean up my diet and start taking my supplements again.  I've been really bad about my vitamins.

Sometimes I wonder how I can sustain continued loss over the holiday season.  But I know that chasing my daughter at holiday parties will keep me from the buffet table!

I wish everyone else out there that is on a journey to get health and lose weight my continued support and encouragment.  I am starting to get happy with the way I look for the first time in a long time.  I told Courtney on our recent visit I want to be able to go out and run in just a sports bra and shorts and not scare the neighborhood children.  Next summer my goal is to wear a two piece swimsuit before I try to have another baby!

Cheers!

So Much To Update On

I am back from my whirlwind two weeks of craziness!!

So I'll put a few quicks notes now but I'll do proper updates later!

My husband and I traveled to Vienna from Sept 17 to 23, sadly his grandfather passed away the day we left so my husband spent the first 3 days of our trip horribly depressed (understandably).  It was really hard to force ourselves to enjoy the trip, but we tried.  I'll post photos and tell you some of the highlights from the trip once I clean off the camera and sort through them all.  I ate a ton of streudal and sausage and schnitzel and didn't gain a pound! I walked a lot and ran once while I was there!  More on my trip later...

A day after I got home I emptied my suitcase, re-washed some stuff and packed back up for a weekend trip to Houston with Mimicans.  Despite my friends thinking I'm a weirdo--I flew to Texas to finally meet a girl I've been "friends" with for about a 1 and a half years on youtube and blogger.  Go ahead and judge.  We don't care.  We had a great time.  I "met" Courtney when I was pregnant with Mimi through blogging and her youtube channel.  We kept in touch by exchanging comments and later exchanged some phone calls and video chats.  Over the summer I found a GREAT deal on a plane ticket to Houston so I took Mimi and away we went to meet Courtney and her family.  Our daughters are a little over a month apart and had a great time playing together.  I can't wait to do it all again.  Go ahead and judge me my "IRL" friends, I could care less!  I'm post some photos and tell you more about our trip later, including the nightmare it was travelling alone with my 1 year old on an airplane. GAH.

My running you ask? Did I keep up with my running program through all these travels and distractions!? You bet your butt I did.  I am on week 6 with 4 weeks until the 5K.  I am now running 12-minute intervals and LOVING IT.  I highly recommend the 5K101.com training program.  DO IT.  Stop thinking about doing it someday and just do it.  It's free and it works.

So no photos today.  Are you sad? I am, I love posting photos for you all.  Alas, they are not uploaded off the camera yet.

Some posts to come:
1.  Photos and news from Vienna trip
2.  Photos and news from our Houston Trip
3.  Weightloss and 5K program update.
4.  My opinions, links, and resources concerning the chicken pox vaccine.
5.  My 2 year wedding anniversary is approaching :-) What will we do to celebrate?
6.  Mimi's 15 Month Dr. Apt coming up
7.  Do I miss nursing?

Thanks for reading!
Later Gators!

I like this quote

Here I am in Vienna, with my husband snoozing after a long day at his conference, me letting my poor blistered feet rest after tramping around museums all day and the busy streets this evening, reading blogs on my macbook with free wifi.  Don't judge--I am enjoying my vacation!  Just cause I dash into my email account and slap a post on facebook about the delicious chocolate I enjoyed in the Imperial rose gardens today does not mean I'm not having a good time!!!


Anyway---


I came accross this quote from a women's blog I read, so true, so lovely, I had to repost it


Women can be hard on each other. We have insecurities and we say things and we hold standards for each other that sometimes aren't fair. We can talk about things we shouldn't talk about and do things we shouldn't do or maybe not help each other when we really should be doing more. But I believe in women and the amazing power we give each other. There are millions of amazing, inspiring, genuine women out there doing their best. And spending my week with this passionate, fearless, rallying woman has fueled my soul.



More later this week when I return from the city of Wienersnitzel and home to my humid Florida.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Hey ladies!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Austria with my husband!  People at work are saying "why aren't you more excited!?"

STRESS

Travelling is really stressful to me.  This week has been especially stressful.  I'll give some incite into why this is.

So Monday afternoon my husband calls me to tell me his 90 year-old grandparents had an explosion at their home (which is 4 hours away from us).  His grandfather was vacuuming out the trunk of his car and had a gas tank in there for the lawnmower and BOOM. It exploded and burned down their garage.  He is okay, he sustained some 2nd degree burns on his face, arms, mouth and throat and is in a burn  unit.  His wife, my husband's grandmother also almost 90 years olds, suffers from dementia, and refused medical treatment and the neighbors kept her until my husband got in his car and drove 4 hours there and back to bring her to our home.  She is also somewhat limited mobility wise and can't be left alone.  So here we are getting ready for our trip, having a crazy week at work, and BOOM life throws us this curve ball.  So I spent Tuesday evening doing 5 loads of laundry while his grandmother asked me the same questions 20 times (dementia).  Yesterday we put her on a direct flight to California with an escort so that my husband's parents can take care of her until the house is repaired and his grandfather is out of the hospital.

Work has been crazy this week too.  Having been gone last week to a conference, I had a weeks' worth of crap piled on my desk, plus our office manger is on vacation, plus my boss leaves for Romania for a month, plus all the invoices and grants to process AHHHH!  

Yesterday evening, even though I was exhausted beyond belief, I went running.  I hadn't run since Sunday because Monday and Tuesday I was too exhausted to even put on gym shorts.  I ran outdoors to this nice wooded trail near my house.  I'm on week 5 of my running program and getting nervous about my 5K next month.  am bringing my running stuff on all my trips this month! I had a great run and went home and took a nice bath with Mimi.  I love my little girl so much I will miss her so much this next week while i'm gone!  She'll be having so much fun with Grandma she probably wont' even miss a beat.

My weight is good, I lost the 5 LBS I GAINED at the conference! and now I can continue to strive to my goal.

Tonight I'm going to go pick up my mom at the airport, tomorrow Austria, next weekend Texas and then some breath time until Halloween (brother in law's wedding in CA GRRR)!

Holy Heck Conferences Make You Fat

Riverwalk, Tampa FL

So this past week I was sent to a conference as part of work from Sunday to Thursday.  Picture me, on my butt at a registration desk 11 hours a day being fed cookies, pastries, snackies, jimmy jon's sammy's, you name it.  I knew this week was going to be diet trouble.  I was careful--I did drink two sodas and have the occasional cookie, i'm not going to lie.  BUT  I tried to be really careful with portions at the banquet dinner, alcohol, etc.  I even brought my running stuff and ran TWICE while at the conference (more on that later).  And guess what? I gained 5 friggin' lbs.  Jesus.  When i'm eating restaurant foods and surrounded by snack foods all day, I cannot maintain my weight even with the normal amount of exercise that helps me lose weight at home. Crazy. Just Crazy.  I 'm not going to get upset. I'm going to accept it and work that much harder to stay on track.  I'm not going to post my little chart, cause it is crazy off.  But I'm not readjusting it. I 'm not readjusting my goal because I know where this weight came from.  It is no mystery.  Even though I've technically gained, I still fit in clothes from 6 years ago. This photo above i've wearing a pair of blue twill shorts I last wore in 2004.  They fit better now than they did then.  So this is what I have to say to those 5 lbs I gained..."I'll get you 5lbs! You are not staying!"

I'm in week 5 of teh 5 k running program. I advanced to running 8 minute intervals.  So basically, you go from running 5 4-minute intervals to 3 8-minute ones.  I was like "no f'ing way, I can barely finish my 4 minutes intervals and Todd thinks I can run 8!?" Todd is the creator of the program, you start to talk about him as if he's your friend because he talks to you over your ipod while you run.  Anyway--I friggin did it. I ran them all and didn't have to stop once.  I did it outside in Tampa because the river was so beautiful.    I'm excited to do it on a treadmill because then I can see my pace and mileage.    I'll have to let you guys know.  I HIGHLY recommend this program to anyone that wants to get into running.  It starts out slow and builds you up.  You can do it, if I can do it as an overweight person in the Florida heat after two knee surgeries, so can you.

Well I leave you with another photo of the day from my work bathroom, lol.  Say goodbye highlights, you are getting fixed today at 3pm! I'll have to post a photo of my new hair color after today. I"m thinking I'll go dark for Fall.

I still can't belive I'm leaving for Europe  a week from today.  Crazy.

Blast From the Past-New Adventures in Closet Shopping

After yesterday embarrassing no-belt saggy pants I decided to do a little closet shopping this morning.  If you don’t’ know what I mean by closet shopping, see my previous post.  Anyway—my husband must be  a “leg man” because he is ALWAYS nagging me to wear more skirts and tights.  So today I decided to try on an ol’ fav, a skirt blast from the past.  The last time I wore this skirt was the summer my husband I began dating.  Summer of 2003—oh those were the days.  I was 172 lbs, 21 years old, wore a size 12 or 14 and a two piece swim suit.  Flash forward—I’m 28 years old, 1 baby, 191 lbs and a size 14.  But you know what!? That denim skirt fits perfect, infact it’s a little big. Someone explain this to me—how can I be 20 lbs heavier but fit into the same size as I did when I was 172 lbs?  Who cares right?

I think my friends are sick of me complaining about how my pants are too big for me.  I read yah friends—it’s seriously not me being conceited trying to brag about weightloss—I’m seriously frustrated with the fact that all my work clothes and casual favs are saggy and ridiculous looking.  I don’t have the funds right now to replace my work clothes.  With two weddings this fall and a trip to Europe, $$ for new dress pants is not just kicking around ready to blow at the outlets.   

I shamelessly took this photo of me today in the bathroom at work—I’m that weirdo with my Iphone walking into the bathroom---yes.  But how else to show you guys how this skirt actually fits!?

Love to all my supporters!!

PS-my husband decided to “diet” and now weighs less than me again! GRRR must keep working harder to drop below him again! He was 189 yesterday!  We’re both 5’10”, I think he’s aiming for 185 and I’m aiming for 170 (well for  now atleast!).