An Emotional Few Days…

I apologize for the lack of posts over the last 3 days. Wednesday morning, I enjoyed an intense workout session at the Westin gym. This gym didn’t disappoint though it did feel like a sauna due to the pool area. I did a 4 mile hill workout on the treadmill before Heather and I did a 30 minute lifting session together. She shared some of the tips her trainer has given her along with some exercises. We did a number of arm and leg workouts including squats, calf raises, step ups, lat raises, bicep curls, and pushups.

Afterwards we were able to enjoy a lovely brekfast from the Westin continental breakfast buffet included with our room. There were huge strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. In addition I was suprised by their delicious egg whites and asparagus dish. Heather and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and worked outside near the pool in the sunshine for 2 hours before we had get ready for an afternoon of management store tours.

My trip to Dallas and week was going wonderfully until I returned to my room at 11:30 to shower and get ready for the afternoon. As I was heading down my Backberry rang and I saw that it was my brother. He told me to sit down before he’d continue. He shared with me the unfortunate news that my Uncle Carl had passed that morning. I felt like I was hit with a ton of blocks as this was my dad’s oldest brother but still only in his mid 60s. He’d died of a major heart attack and had passed before the ambulance even arrived. My mind went into shock as I realized that my father had suddenly lost his mother and father within a short month time period. After immediately calling my father and other relatives I immediately started reseraching airfares in hopes to be with my family during their period of difficulty. Unfortunately, airlines are not very understanding unless an immediate (mother, father, husband, or wife) has died and therefore all flights were over $1500! During all of this all I could focus on was how happy I was that these people were all together along with the rest of my dad’s extended family for our wedding on November 21st!

My father and his siblings decided to have a delayed memorial service since other family members were out of the country and wouldn’t be able to attend this week. Therefore, May 8th my family and I will all come together in South Bend, Indiana to celebrate two wonderful people: my Grandma Hazel who died at the age of 102 and my Uncle Carl who died at the all too young age of 67. This memorial weekend to celebrate both their lives is unfortunately the same weekend as my dear friend’s wedding. As you may recall, I was down in Atlanta celebrating Meg’s bachelorette just last month. I am so glad I was able to spend that weekend with her but also very sad that i’ll be in South Bend instead of celebrating her wedding in Macon. While it will be a very sad weekend it will also be a wonderful weekend of remembrance in the town where my father and his siblings grew up. I haven’t been to South Bend since I spent a prospectus weekend at University of Notre Dame during senior year. I’m sure our weekend will include dinner at Roccos and Little Italy, walks through campus, and maybe even a trip to the lake.

The rest of the week in Dallas was a blur because I was trying to keep my emotions together while also focusing on the business. Oh and yes, I forgot to tell you that the below is my BROKEN computer. I somehow stuck my thumb completely through my screen when I was trying to adjust the screen. You see that thumb mark at the top. Oh yes, I kid you not, I can’t make these things up! To make matters worse, this happened on Wednesday morning right after my phone call with my brother. The screen went from this (below) to completely black in about 3 minutes. Needless to say, I have never been happier to arrive back home than I was last night! All I wanted was a big hug from Bo.

Luckily, he was also able to greet me with wonderful news. We’re officially moving into our new apartment next Friday! After sleeping over 12 hours, we headed to the apartment to take measurements, tape off furniture ideas, and take pictures.

Bathroom #1

Living room (the previous tenant left the lights but we’ll be removing them when we move in)

100 square foot walk in bedroom closet. Oh yes, I kid you not!

Bedroom view #1

Front hallway closet

Kitchen

Guest bathroom

Dining nook and living room

This is one of the benefits to having a husband with an architecture background. Sketches, measurements, and plans.

We’re spending the rest of the evening posting ads on Craigslist (need a Pottery Barn entertainment console? Patio furniture? Pottery barn Bedford desk?), watching a very odd moving called A Serious Man, and relaxing. I still feel a bit off both physically and emotionally even though I worked out daily and ate well in Dallas. I think part of it is the emotional stress paired with the fact that my team was out at the Ghost Bar until nearly 3am on Thursday night! Three hours sleep is NOT enough for this gal!


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The Bears Wedding Day in Pictures

November 21st, 2009 was the happiest day of my life. Never before have I had the pleasure to have my closest friends and family members together. It was amazing to celebrate with them, watch them interact together, and marry my best friend. We finally received our wedding photographs yesterday in the mail from Bo’s mother. Our moms were sent the two sets of wedding cd’s and forgot to send them up to NYC for our viewing pleasure. Imagine my elation when I opened the mail to find a package of cd’s. I’ve posted over 200 of them on Facebook if you wish to view more. In addition, if you have any questions about a Savannah wedding or any of our vendors please let me know. They were each a pleasure and delivered fabulous quality and attention to detail on the day that mattered most!














P.S If anyone knows how I can organize these better in Blogger i’ll be forever grateful. 🙂

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It’s not fitness, it’s life and other changes

Where do I even begin? It has been six months since my last post and quite a bit has changed! The biggest of which is that I enjoyed the most wonderful day of my life on November 21, 2009! Bo and I were finally married after six years of dating! The wedding was gorgeous, our friends and family flew in from all over the country to celebrate, and the honeymoon was a week of warm and sunny bliss. We chose Cap Juluca, on Anguilla, as our honeymoon destination after months of research and contemplation. We knew we wanted a destination which would allow for water sports, excursions, luxurious treatment and service, while also answering the needs of two foodies! The restaurants on Anguilla took us completely by surprise. Each one, filled with it’s own unique atmosphere, was very different but also allowed us to taste some of the freshest red snapper, goat stew, and plenty of caribbean influenced dishes. I will definitely dedicate a post in the near future to our honeymoon food.
Since returning, we have been going non-stop with work, holiday parties, traveling back to our home in Georgia for Christmas, hosting Bo’s best friend for New Years, and now this weekend we have two friends coming into the city for their first taste of New York! Living in a “destination” city is definitely one of my favorite parts about New York City! 
One of our big decisions upon returning was whether or not we’d finally join a “real gym.” My friend Lauren had been pestering me for the past three months to join Equinox. She insisted we’d be able to work out together, motivate each other to leave our desks at a reasonable time, and get to spend quality time at the gym. The price tag was definitely hard to swallow, but in the end, Bo and I chose to join on December 31st! We were able to take advantage of their awesome New Year’s program which meant no initiation fees! Bo even received one free month since he “referred” me. 
The gym has been incredible thus far. It has allowed Bo and I to finally enjoy classes together that challenge our bodies while also keeping our workout fresh. Last week, our first week as members, we enjoyed three spinning classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Each instructor has a very different motto for their class. For example, Dave M makes you happy you woke up and braved the cold for a 6:45 Monday morning workout. His motto is, “You have 23 other hours to recover so make this one your hardest.” His class pushes you with hill workouts, “dumbell sets”, and great music. Danielle, tomorrow’s instructor, has a more moderate paced class, but it serves as a wonderful recovery. In addition, she teaches a treadmill running class from 7:15-7:45 which i’m dying to try tomorrow. It combines speed and hills with the added benefit of having someone their to coach and inspire you. Last week I was amazed that over half our class joined her afterwards. I wonder if I can at least give it a try tomorrow? In addition to spinning, i’ve resolved to enjoy at least two yoga classes each week. Lauren and I were blessed with last Thursday’s Power Vinyasa class at 54th street. The teacher’s voice was young and calming but she also walked around during class ensuring that everyone was in the right posture. I yearn for teacher’s correction during class as that is the primary difference from using a DVD. On Saturday, I took a risk and enjoyed a yoga class on my own after my Equifit evaluation. I was intimidated when I saw people practicing headstands before class. While I enjoy yoga and hope to improve my practice this year, this bear is no Jenna from Eat Live Run. But, I put my worries aside and left my thoughts on the door’s threshold. An hour later I had attempted crow, one leg at a time, been assisted into an inversion, and released the week’s tension with four bridge poses! 
While I haven’t truly figured out what the role of this blog will be in my life, I have realized that I miss the community and the experience to capture my adventures. It will always include food adventures because as Julia Child’s character in Julia and Julia said, “oh I eat so well!”  In addition, I hope to capture some of the fitness experiences that a membership to both Equinox and New York Road Runners will allow this year.
So, that being said, i’m exhausted and have to be ready for another great spin class tomorrow morning. But, until then, if you have any thoughts or suggestions on returning to a blog please provide. As well, remember that i’ve been out of the blog world for 6 months and haven’t been reading during that time either. So if you’ve discovered a great new blog please send the site my way!
 
 
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