Fit Fearless Love

The last few months have been an absolute whirlwind in our household.  We bought a new house, sold our old house, moved, got married and then went on our honeymoon.  We also, as I indicated in my last post, lived in a hotel for over a week while our floors were being redone in our old home.  Did I mention I also quit my job?  Life has been completely crazy, to say the least.  

Fortunately, the last two weeks have been MUCH more normal.  Unfortunately, after all of that madness it has been really hard to get back on track and stick to any type of schedule.  Here are the things I’ve been doing to get back on track:

1.  Making lists (lots and lots of lists!)  Lists about what kind of job I want, what to clean, what to put away, what we need to buy for the new house, what we need to get rid of, what to blog about.  Lists galore!

2. Setting an alarm and (mostly) getting up when it goes off.  This is REALLY hard for me to do.  When I’m working it is one of the worst things ever.  However, I’ve noticed that now that I don’t have to go do something I hate it is so much easier to get up in the morning.  

3.  Keeping up with my workouts.  OK, I have been slacking here.  Last week I went to yoga twice and one 4 mile run.  We also bought road bikes (woo!) and we rode 15 miles on Saturday and 18 on Sunday in addition to riding two horses on Saturday.  This week has not been nearly as good.  I’ve only gone to yoga twice.  I need to get on some sort of lifting schedule as well.  

4.  Not watching too much TV.  This is hard for me because I love all of the daytime shows.  Kelly and Michael and Dr. Oz in particular.  Instead of sitting and doing nothing while watching them I try to have them on and actually accomplish something.  For example, Dr. Oz is on right now in the back ground.  

Mainly, I feel getting back on track after a few months of insanity really involves giving yourself a break.  Yes, I have things to do.  Yes, I have to come up with a career plan ASAP.  That being said I do not need to be so hard on myself all of the time.  Things are happening.  I want and need to enjoy my life.  Not many people get to take this time off to relax and figure out their lives.  I’m really fortunate and I fully realize this!  Now, off to deal with the repair man for our oven!

How do you all get back on track if you’ve been totally mixed up for a while?

Workouts:

Today:  Ran 4.33 miles, 48 min, 11:31 pace.

Yesterday:  One hour w/ trainer.

The last week I have been staying only in hotels.  Granted, over the last weekend I was in Vegas for my bachelorette party (WAY too much fun, btw) and then the past several days because we are having our floors redone.  What a cluster.  The guy we hired didn’t know what he was doing, screwed everything up and now our floors look like complete shit.  We have to redo the entire thing so I’ll be stuck here for at least another three nights.  Thank god for the Residence Inn.  As my girlfriend’s say “Leslie problems.”  I’m pretty sure it is a play on “first world problems.”  The EXCITING news is that we are having our hardwoods redone because we are listing our house!  We recently bought a new house in the ‘burbs and are SO excited to still live somewhat in the middle of everything but actually have space.  Not share a driveway, not have drunks waking us up at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday, and actually having a yard!  Who knew?!?  I’m also really excited to decorate.

I have the hardest time being healthy when I’m staying in hotels.  I try to eat fruit, yogurt, etc.  It is just really difficult.  All I want is a piece of baked salmon and some asperagus.  Simple, yummy, no added oil or other crap.  So, I ordered pizza tonight.  WTF is wrong with me?  I’ve actually been super healthy for the most part and I know I’ll get right back on track as soon as I’m able to eat at home again…. whenever that occurs.

My workouts have been much better in the past few weeks.  I hardly miss a day.  Really, as a Real Housewife of Seattle, I don’t have much of an excuse to not workout.  How much longer can I remain in my…. current position?!?  Gotta stay lean though because the wedding in in THREE WEEKS.  Seriously, how crazy is that?

How do ya’ll stay healthy when your entire life is turned upside down?

Me and the man in Waikiki going to dinner at Nobu:

 

Wonk eye.  What else is new?

 

The party starts…

Vegas!

 

 

One of the ‘maids.

 

Classy.

I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled posts soon.

Wait! I’ve totally not been posting at all! Expect more of me in the future. Lots of things in the works, including how to deal with unprofessional and unethical people, Oahu, and maybe even a post on this upcoming weekend! It’s my bachelorette party in Vegas!!!

In the mean time, here are some photos to tide ya’ll over.

Beau dog looking dapper.

 

Last morning in Oahu.

 

Pink champagne at the pink hotel.

I admit it.  I HATE working out.  Well, that isn’t true exactly, but I hate most forms of weight lifting.  I know, I know, I’m supposed to do it b/c it increases metabolism, builds muscle, builds bone strength, and all of that.  I don’t care if I never do another lunge to biceps curl again.  Ever.  I HATE IT.  I like being strong.  I like being toned.  I hate lunges.  So, what’s a girl to do?  I’ll get back to you on that one.  I really am a cardio girl.  Let me run outside, put me on an elliptical, hell, even a treadmill.  Just don’t make me do lunges.  Actually, there are certain types of weight lifting that I like.  I’ll happily do squats, Romanian dead lifts, bench press, military press…. Maybe it is just lunges?  WTF is with them?  

(me, doing my travel workout on our deck overlooking Positano, Italy last May)

I also admit ….. I am taking some contract work.  Why not?  I could use some organization in my life.  And wedding planning is driving me bat-shit cray cray.  I’ve probably spent 50 hours planning the honeymoon.  OK, let’s be real.  100 hours.  CRAY!  

Last week my fiancé’s law firm had it’s firm retreat in Monterey, California. I have dreamed of going my entire life (I’m a huge Steinbeck and Kerouac fan and clearly have the time) so I tagged along.

Day 1: Flew from SEA to SFO. We were supposed to change planes in SFO and take a small commuter flight down to Monterey but instead got off of the plane and rented a car in San Francisco. We had plans to head up there for one night at the end of the trip so decided the drive was worth it. Turns out it was. Wow, Cali, why do you have In and Out and we don’t? What’s that? To keep me from gaining a million pounds?

Anyway, the weather was nice but chilly when we arrived in Monterey. We stayed at the Monterey Plaza and it was amazing. We had a fantastic view and the rooms were clean, large and the service at the hotel was superb. After we arrived we weren’t sure what to do. Let’s be honest, I basically didn’t want to start drinking wine at 2:00 p.m., so we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is (from what I have heard) one of the best on the West Coast. I’m always game to check out some animals so we walked the short walk from the hotel. (terrible pun….)

Apparently I was in quite a mood that day because not only did I physically restrain a crowd of people from getting off the plane before me (you know the rule, the rows before you get off before you, don’t be a dick) but I also managed to tell some idiot with a gigantic camera to stop using her flash on the octopus. I’m generally pretty calm about not following rules EXCEPT when it comes to animals and lines. Bitch please. And don’t give me that look when I tell you what everyone in the crowd has been whispering. Maybe I just miss the adversary part of lawyering? I digress, the aquarium was really amazing and I highly recommend it on any trip to Monterey.

That night we met LB’s co-workers for drinks and aps. We were both pretty tired so we headed back to the room early. I watched Breaking Dawn Part 2 on my iPad while LB snored. Pretty much my life.

Day 2: LB had to get up to attend his firm meeting so I decided to sleep in a bit. After showering and eating I headed out to explore. I only wore lulu capris and a rain jacket. What was I thinking? It was freezing! Didn’t detour me and I felt like I needed to get some exercise. I’m apparently too lazy to go to the gym so I went on a three mile walk. The coolest part? Harbor seals! They look like little sausages! OMG, so cute! That afternoon we headed back to the aquarium. Turns out LB’s firm had arranged for us to go on a behind the scenes tour that we didn’t know about the day before! It was informative but if I hadn’t been at the aquarium the day before I would have been bored. Too few animals.

That night we headed to dinner at the Fish Hopper with the entire firm. Because it was a large group we had a pre-set menu. We started off with an appetizer (either a crab wonton or spring roll.) I asked if the wonton was fried. It was so I ordered the spring roll. Turns out the spring roll was really more of an egg roll so it was fried also. Fail. We then had a salad and I ordered the steak. Too much sauce for my taste but a decent cut of meat. We headed back to the hotel, had a couple glasses of wine and then called it a night.

Day 3: LB once again got up early while I slept in. I ordered a bagel from room service and made coffee from the Keurig (cheap-o but I’m on a budget!) The weather was amazing so while LB was in meetings I decided to go shopping, have lunch and sit in the sun. I ate at Bubba Gumps. Um, NOT the healthiest choice but it was sure yummy. After LB got out of his meetings we drove up to San Francisco. Ahhh, SF, how I love you. I pretty much love everything about SF. Except the crackheads. Not a fan of crackheads. We went to walk around and I decided I needed new jeans so we went to the BEST jeans store ever…. Bloomingdales in Union Square! So. Many. Jeans. I ended up getting two pair but I wanted about five.

That night we headed to dinner at La Folie. We didn’t really know what we were getting into so I, of course, had a snack ahead of time. Well, four courses later that snack was a big mistake. Food coma. But, well worth it. I didn’t document what we ate but I wish I had.

Day 4: Got up and headed home. Flew Virgin, the best airline ever, and the flight was a breeze. I’m not a huge fan of flying so being entertained the entire flight helps.

Three days ago I quit my job. Well, let me back up. I actually quit over two weeks ago, but last Friday was my last day. I did what any God fearing American would do when faced with this new and exciting chapter in my life: I got wasted. Sorry mom. It was totally by accident, I swear. Teaches me for drinking cheap white wine on an empty stomach. So that was Saturday night. Today is Tuesday. No worries people, I haven’t been drinking for five days, just the one night. What have I been doing, you ask? The truth is I HAVE NO IDEA. Well, I have a pretty good idea of where my time has gone (working out, sleeping, wedding planning) but what am I doing with my life? How am I possibly prepared for a life where I’m not working (at least for a little while)? I’ve been a slave to the high stress, low reward system for years. Essentially all of my life.

So, welcome. I am here to tell my story. I’m here to become a better person, to get fit, stay in love, post some food pictures (duh) and to possibly teach you something along the way.