Mood:  a-ok

As I promised, I'm going to keep updating until I finally get to present time....

On our second day in Prague, our first full day actually, we woke pretty late.  We were all so jet-lagged from being on a plane for so long, and from going out to that bar the night prior.  I think we woke up around 11 a.m.

After showering and dressing for the chilly temps (it was strangely in the upper 60s for those few days in Prague), Mom, Dad, D, Walt, and I headed out to grab some food and explore a little.  We walked right around the corner to enjoy a crepe (aka palichinky, in czech) at a delicious creperie.  I had one with apples and walnuts, and DeShaun had one too.  Our first time ordering from a totally Czech menu- kind of tough.  For the most part, all waitresses and waiters were very friendly and bilingual.  This particular one was pretty impatient with us and we weren't yet confident with our "prosims" and "dekujis."

I enjoyed my 7-up.  For some reason, the sodas are teeny tiny over there. 

We walked all over Old Town Square, which is absolutely beautiful and full of amazing architecture.

That crowd is gathering to see the astronomical clock, kind of a large coo-coo clock that has its 'show" every hour.  We watched it once, but it was amazing to see how many people would show up for each mini-show. 

All over the city there were beautiful buildings, amazing churches, gorgeous synagogues, and fascinating stores.  Most common were crystal shops, glass shops, shops that sold stacking dolls, and teeshirt/trinket shops. 

Oh- and money exchange shops.  Those were huge.  The Czech Republic still has the Czech crown, or koruna, and plan to go to the Euro in a few years, which will make everything drastically more expensive for travelers and citizens alike.

We did wander into this amazing marionette shop, and this was Walter's favorite:

We didn't have very much time to wander because we had an amazing dinner awaiting us at a restaurant in honor or Sarah and Petr's wedding.  Petr's parents treated us all to a fantastic "Prague Reception," where we were lucky enough to meet Petr's paternal grandmother and revisit with Petr's cousins and aunts and uncles.  Here's his adorable Grammy:

I had Beef Goulash with dumplings- probably my favorite meal of the whole trip- it was fantastic!

Sarah and Petr opened some presents, and we all ate and drank until we were pretty much ready to burst!  Afterwards, Petr and Sarah went off with the cousins for more drinking and hanging out, but most of us were pretty darn tired. 

The next day we had a HUGE day planned- Cesky Krumlov!

Posted by Jamie at 5:13 PM EST

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Mood:  incredulous

Can you believe?  I'm back!  I've been extremely remiss with updating this blog, especially considering the amazing summer that I had that I still haven't written about here.  I swear I'm going to remedy that starting with this entry.

The day after Sarah's wedding, after having a nice family brunch at the hotel, we all drove back to Mom's house and crashed, then repacked our stuff for the big adventure in Europe.  DeShaun, Walter, and I were all pretty exhausted, so I think there were naps involved.  THe following day we woke slowly, cleaned everything and got ready for our trek to the airport.

Mom and Dad had rented a big party bus to take us to the airport so no one had to figure out parking for 14 days.  The bus came a few minutes late, but we still made it over to the Liska's in plenty of time.  THe ride was really smooth and a lot of fun.  We sang and danced all the way into Boston!

At the airport, the line was abysmal, but we made it  through fairly well.  Since we flew at 9 p.m., we were already exhausted just by the time we made it through the line!

Once on the plane for the first leg of our flight, Boston to Frankfurt, Germany, we tried to make ourselves as comfortable as possible.  Those planes are absolutely enormous!  Think 11-12 people across, with three cabins, and two levels!  It felt like riding on a giant bus, and Walter was very uncomfortable.  Those plane seats were even tighter than usual, and would probably only accomodate comfortably a 5'3" woman who weighed 120 pounds.  Walter at 6'2" and over 250 was pinned in one position for hours.

Here Sarah takes a moment to educate us on proper hygiene:

In Frankfurt, the airport is very crowded and has many odd places to eat.  We found a fairly normal seeming sandwich shop, and ordered a bsiac turkey sandwich.  Only it was made with turkey, cheese, butter, and cucumbers.  Kind of an odd combination for us Americans, but it was food.  Then we rounded a corner and saw a Starbucks! We all hung out there for a few hours of our layover, then headed to the terminal for the second leg of our flight, Frankfurt to Prague.

You can tell Walter is not too stoked about his sandwich.

Here he is, happily working a crossword puzzle:

The flight went well, and we were picked up by two vans at the airport and taken to the apartment we were renting right in the heart of Prague.  Prague immediately struck me as the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

We shared an apartment with three bedrooms: one for my parents, one for Walter, DeShaun, and I, and one for Chris and Julia.  sarah and Petr shared with Tom and Annie upstairs, and Petr's parents stayed somewhere else entirely.  Here was our room:

This room was really comfprtable, and the windows overlooked the most amazing street full of great shops, bistros, bars, and even a bordello.  I loved looking out the windows and watching the people passs by.

Right below us was the best chocolate gelato in the world.  It was almost like mousse.  We immediately dumped our bags and headed into the Old Town Square to meet up with Petr's family members for the first time.  We stopped and grabbed the Czech version of hotdogs, which they serve with rye bread and mustard.  They tasted delicious!

After that, we ended up in the basement of a great pub, with our first try of Czech beer- the best in the world, according to Petr.  I normally don't like beer, but I have to admit that I liked it a lot!

After a bunch of beer, about half of us headed home to crash.  Big day the next day- exploring Prague and the Prague family wedding reception!  Stay tuned!

Posted by Jamie at 9:08 PM EST

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Mood:  energetic

Well, for all those who have linked to and read my blog for its fitness information (and other random tidbits), I'm sorry I have been so distant.  Not for nothing, though...

Walter and I are expecting our first child in May of 2008!  I just had an ultrasound today and here she/he is:

I am super excited, obviously, and have been putting everything but this baby on a back burner since I found out.  I started a new blog just about the baby at:

Hello Belly!

Come and check it out at your leisure.. I have entries dating way back to the beginning :)

In the meantime, keep checking back for trip reports about Prague, Brno, Vienna, and Frankfurt.  I have plenty to say now that all my photos have been appropriately edited!

Posted by Jamie at 7:20 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, February 3, 2008 5:12 PM EST

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Mood:  a-ok

Obviously this is ridiculously overdue, but I had to share at some point.  (I promise to be better about updating this blog, but I've had other projects in the works and can't seem to find time for everything!)

Sarah's wedding morning started with us dressing lesiurely and heading out for a quick bite to eat before our hair needed to be done.  Sarah's friend Maria stopped us with free bagels from the downstairs buffet and juices, so we skeddadled with them, stopped at the ATM for tip money, and headed to the salon.  We got there with plenty of time to spare, and I went in the chair first.  Sarah next, followed by Julia, Melissa, and Jana.  All of our hair came out beautifully!  Sarah and I grabbed turkey clubs and headed back to the hotel to do our makeup and get dressed. 

Seeing Sarah get into her wedding dress was a surreal experience!  She looked so gorgeous, but I kept all my tears inside so the old makeup would stay put. 

My mom and I laced her up, then we all walked downstairs to meet up with the girls.  Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I drove to the wedding, singing "Going to the Chapel."  Got Sarah over the nervousness and emotions of the moment just for a few minutes.

We arrived with plenty of time at the church, which was easily 100+ degrees inside!  THe ceremony was gorgeous- my cousin, uncle, and several others sang a beautiful song, the minister spoke some nice words, and my poor sister sweated in rivers down her arms.  I tried to surruptisiously wipe it off.  DeShaun had a near accident- he blacked out, and Walter got him sitting in a pew just in time!

After the ceremony, we all headed towards Plimouth Plantation for the reception, after waiting close to 30 minutes for Walter to get the car ready.  Apparently he was decorating with ribbon, but the ribbon had wire in it.  He had no scissors, so he cut the ribbon with his teeth.  My husband has some sharp teeth I guess!  While waiting, I dropped my digital camera, loosening the casing (I went to Best Buy the next day and bought another).

We tried to take a few photos at a gorgeous garden by the reception hall, but got rained out after just a few minutes.  Sarah and Petr mostly stayed dry!

At the start of the recption, Sarah and Petr were announced directly after completing a Czech tradition of breaking a plate and sweeping up the shards together... very touching, symbolizing cooperation in marriage.

The whole night was a blast- great food, fun music, funnier dancing, and polka dancing!  Polka dancing is a good workout, let me tell you!

I was so happy for my sister, and there were so many beautiful moments that one single blog post cannot express my happiness or how gorgeous the whole event was.  All I can say is that two months later, I am still happy.

Posted by Jamie at 6:26 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 7:35 PM EDT

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Mood:  incredulous

Shopping in Stop n Shop today, a cute little old man was bagging my cake mix, frozen pot pie, chips, and ginger ale (yes, it was one of THOSE days), and he made this coment:

"Wow, look at those shoes!  Pretty sexy!" 

Random moment of the day.

Posted by Jamie at 6:25 PM EDT

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Mood:  loud

Today saw me eating carrot cake at 8:30 a.m., chocolate covered graham crackers at 4, and cookie batter just 5 minutes ago.  Don't know why, but now I feel so bloated!  Oh well... a passing thing :)

I tried to edit photos from my sister's rehearsal dinner to add to this blog, but had some trouble with my editing software... suffice it to say, we all had a fantastic time and it can pretty much be summed up with this photo:

I stayed in the hotel room with Sarah that night, watching very weird shit on HBO (shocking to my newly married eyes), and listening to Sarah toss and turn all night... poor thing!  We woke up the next morning and Maria stole us both bagels for our trip to the hair salon.  Luigi's Hair Salon in Plymouth is an awesome place for an updo, let me tell you!  All of our hair was like art.  Here I am before and after:

Sarah of course looked amazing!

Of course, after the hair was all said and done, we rushed back to the hotel to don the dress!

(Not pleased about the side shot of my double chin, but hey- I wasn't the photog)

Doesn't my mom look beautiful?  My sister too, of course!  That's my mom's new diamond necklace.  Dad bought her jewelry for each child's wedding.  Not sure if she'll ever get jewelry again, but I'm sure someway, somehow there will be an occasion :)

On our way to the car, Sarah held it together so well, until she saw Jana, Petr's mom.  It was a beautiful moment.

No more little girl!  She's a married woman now!

Posted by Jamie at 9:38 PM EDT

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Mood:  energetic

First of all, so sorry to my dear friend Heather, who I had inavertantly left off my list of frequent readers.  Forgive me!

 Secondly, I am going to try and recollect all the goings on around Sarah's wedding to the best of my ability.  Forgive me (again) if I leave something out or "mis"remember a detail or two.

July 4th, the eve of Sarah's Bachelorette

Sarah and I drove into Boston on July 4th, to the Residence Inn on Tudor Wharf, and conveniently found free parking behind the hotel.  What luck, because parking was running $28/day!  We settled in, grabbed a quick (and also free due to a long wait for it) turkey club sandwich, then changed for our evening out.  We were headed to the waterfront for a special edition Salsa Cruise, which was going to be 3 hours of dancing and fireworks over the harbour from the boat at the end!  For such a special event, we had to get all dolled up.  I found a cute little faux wedding veil for Sarah to wear, and we had some fun with it.

We walked downstairs to the other girls' rooms, and met up for a few laughs and final touches on everyone's hair and makeup.  Fortunately, we grabbed two cabs very quickly to the Long Wharf, however, one cab driver was a bit more knowledgeable about the area and dropped half of us off right near where we needed to be, and Sarah and I and assorted others 3 blocks away.  Poor Jamie Jump had to walk in mile-high stilettos to the correct location, and just then... it started to sprinkle.  Fortunately, the cruise was rain or shine, so we knew we were getting on that boat no matter what.  While some of us took the dance lesson...

The rest of us tried to get drunk!  There was a cool little bar on the pier with some interesting characters around it.  Jamie asked this guy for his picture and he obliged!

After the lesson ended, we waited in a pretty short line to get one the boat.  Immediately I headed right to the buffet line- I was starving, as usual.  It was your typical Puerto Rican fare, pork, chicken, empanadas, rice with beans, plaintains, etc.  It was just like the food I ate in Guavate, Puerto Rico... remember the food that made me violently ill on my honeymoon?  Let's just say, uh, I should have known better.

Right away we started dancing.  The first floor was merengue, bachata, reggae, reggaeton, and some pop and regular hip hop.  I knew almost every song.  Upstairs was the hardcore salsa crowd, dancing on a piece of cardboard... wet cardboard at that.  I briefly put on my suede-bottomed salsa shoes, but changed just as quickly when I saw how fast they were going to be ruined! 

We all had some fun dances that night, but my most memorable might have been when Maria asked Johnny Giraldo from Salsa Y Control to dance.  He swung her around like a rag doll and made her look good doing it!  Pretty amazing! 

Later, Olaf from SalsaBoston.com spun Sarah and I gracefully around the floor, showing us both such a good time that I could have gladly danced with him all night!

The least enjoyable dance must go to this random guy, who was wearing Playboy Bunny PJ pants and a tank top.  I kid you not.  Our interaction went something like this:

• Him: You want to dance?
• Me: Okay, sure.
• Him: Do you remember me?
• Me: No, should I?
• Him: Yeah, you should.  I've met you before.
• Me: Ok, what was your name again?
• Him: Jose.
• Me: (thinking) Jose?  Such a generic name.  Do you know how many Joses I meet every time I go out?

However, what I said was, "Uh, okay." and danced out my song with him.  He was a kind of fresh dancer, so I made my move away from him as quickly as possible.

After the mishap with Mr. Playboy Bunny, we watched the fireworks (obviously amazing) and got off the boat to try and head towards Mojitos for the free afterparty.  On our slow and meandering walk there, we came across the Black Rose, a famous Irish bar.  We just couldn't resist taking a nice long rest... and ended up staying there instead of moving on to Mojitos.  It wasn't my choice of final destinations, but everyone needed a break and a beer, so that's what we did. 

What a fantastic evening!  I loved every moment, and I am pretty sure Sarah did too!

(One unpleasant side effect- while shopping in Marshalls the day after the party, 8+ trips to the bathroom did nothing to soothe the sweating, nauseous mess that I was.  I have never been so sick in my life- including that most horrible evening in Puerto Rico.  I will never eat comida criola again!)

Next time, the wedding day!

Posted by Jamie at 8:51 PM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Okay, I'm finally back after a long hiatus.  Sorry to the 5 people who read me regularly- Mom, Chuck, the Michelles, and Joana

 I have had a crazy month and of course, in typical Jamie style, here is what I've been up to:

1. My little sister got married!  Yes, we had an amazing wedding at Plymouth Plantation on July 8th.  I finally finished editing those photos a week ago (there were about 700), and will post a few in the coming days.
2. The Europe Trip!  We went on an amazing journey to the Czech Republic, Austria, and German from July 9th through the 23rd.  I loved every second, but again, glad to be home and in my own bed.
3. Baby making!  I officially stopped taking the pill in July, and while we are not exactly trying yet, we're not, NOT trying.  Aiming for a summer 2008 baby... girl, if I have my wish.  Prenatal vitamins are really not too bad, you know.
4. 1 year wedding anniversay 8/11/07!  Yeah!  Walt and I spent the weekend in Boston dancing and eating out, shopping, and napping.  It was fantastic!
5. Salsa dancing- I'm still taking my weekly lesson, and averaging 1-2 nights/week social dancing.  I am steadily improving, and am feeling really comfortable dancing with people of all levels now.  Still hate dancing with much shorter guys, but that's part of the deal unfortunately.

I promise to post lots of details about the wedding, the trip, and the other myriad events in my life... now that my head is finally above water!  Glad to be back

Posted by Jamie at 2:43 PM EDT

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Mood:  lazy

This Friday, I repeated my salsa outing from last week, but this time, I hit Havana Club alone.  Yes, I said alone.  I am so proud of myself... I couldn't imagine going to a club alone, but I did it and had a great time.

Unfortunately, no dances with the famous Andres, although he did say hi to me in passing, but I did dance with some very interesting characters, including one guy wearing a tight sweatshirt unzipped to nearly his navel (ew!), a very petite man wearing glowing blue contacts (he was an awful dancer to boot), and one guy who nearly ripped my arms out of their sockets.  I got a lot of compliments on my dancing, and I dished them out too.  If a guy was even remotely good, I made sure to say, "Hey, you are great!  This is really fun!"  That way the remotely good people will come back around and ask me to dance again.  I only felt like a wallflower once, and then I turned to the closest guy near me and asked him to dance.  Turned out to be a very strange dance... he kept doing this highstepping, prancing like a horse move with me in a circle.  I'll stick to being a wallflower next time if he's the only choice   I did learn that to dance with the better people you have to position yourself closer to the front of the room, where all the more advanced dancers hang out.  That's where you'll see me next time!

Saturday Sarah had her hair trial.  I can't post too many pictures but here were her ideas:

And here she is after taking out hundreds of bobby pins!

Saturday night I almost went to a ballroom dance social with my friend Heather, but chickened out when I heard that they don' play many salsa songs.  Turns out they didn't play any, but I was happy to hear that Heather had the "Viennese waltz" of her life.  That is a funny thing to hear from a friend, isn't it?

Sunday I laid out in the sun and got nice and bronze, then drove back home, eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new salsa shoes. which are, sadly, too big, and now I have to send them back and exchange them for a smaller size

Oh, I'm so sad... I hope them come in time for my sister's salsa bachelorette party on the 4th of July!

Posted by Jamie at 8:31 PM EDT

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Mood:  lazy

I had such a busy weekend... Friday night was Salsa night again.  Thsi time, Sarah and I headed to the Havana Club for a lessona and a night of dancing.  We were photographed coming in and tahnkfully had not had a chance to get gross and sweaty yet.

I think we look pretty damn cute... anyways.  Here's what the club looked like with the lesson that particular night:

We stood in the back for a while, and when the big group split into two smaller groups- one for intermediates, and one for beginners, we joined the intermediates.  You can only learn the basics so many times, after all.  Anyways, the lesson was taught by Andres and Johnny Giraldo of Salsa Y Control, creators of my DVD, and damn fine dancers.  Here is Andres that night:

Anyhoo, right after the lesson finished, I turned to walk away from the floor and immediately felt a hand on my arm.  I turned, and there was Andres!  Asking me to dance!  I must have looked totally shocked.  People, this is like pitching during batting practice with Nomar Garcia Parra or playing one-on-one with Rebecca Lobo. He is internationally known!

Well, the dance went as good as it could considering that he's a professional and I have attended three classes.  He hugged and thanked me at the end, and I barely had time to register this before a constant stream of guys were asking me to dance.  I had guys literally saying to me, "Oh good, you are finally free!  I have been waiting to dance with you all night."

That Andres has the golden touch, I guess.  Did I really look that cute?  lol...

Those red shoes were magical apparently

Saturday I woke WAY too early and headed to my best friend Jaime's place to pick her up for a shopping excursion.  Her husband had planned a surprise party and I was the diversion.  It was a hard job, and I'm not sure I ever want that responsibility again.  I had knots in my stomach all day!  Anyways, we eventually got back to the apartment where everyone shouted "Surprise!" when we got out of her Jeep.  Does she look surprised?

This cake was delicious.  I ate a huge piece while everyone else did karaoke.  I know what really matters in life!  :)

Sunday was Daddy Day.  We had brunch outside with Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine with homefries on the side- yum!  My dad got two canoe seats.  He was very excited :)

This week will also be a blur:

1. Monday: UBWO, tanning, cooking, making a grocery list
2. Tuesday: cardio, salsa lesson, salsa dance party
3. Wednesday: LBWO, cooking some more
4. Thursday: cardio, tanning again, packing for the weekend
5. Friday: UBWO and salsa party again at Havana Club!
6. Saturday: Hair trial with my sister :)
7. Sunday: collapse

Stay tuned....

Posted by Jamie at 9:38 PM EDT

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Mood:  loud

A couple of friends and I were emailing back and forth the other day about fitting into bridesmaid dresses, engagement party dresses, etc. this summer.  We are all experiencing a very slow period of weight loss currently, and sharing our mutual frustration.  I made a recommendation, one that I thought was an obvious choice- kind of a no-brainer.

Spanx!

Who doesn't own a pair of these, right?  They make every summer dress hang just right, they prevent thigh-rubbage, they give you that "smooth silhouette."  What's not to love?

 One friend apparently was caught in the act of trying them on in front of her boyfriend, who made an unfriendly comment.  The Spanx went back to the store, never to be attempted again.  The other friend wears them in secret, never showing her husband her spanx-only clad body.

Me- I embrace the Spanx.  Not like I wear them around the house for fun, but heck- I wore them under my wedding gown!  Not the most romantic choice, but a girl's gotta do...

I say- wear 'em proud!  To hell with panty lines and love handles!  Although, I must admit... this looks a little uncomfortable:

And what's with the hooker heels, mama?

Posted by Jamie at 7:56 PM EDT

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Mood:  irritated

Okay, so the other day I wrote out this elaborate, beautiful blog entry, and Tripod ate it!  So here I am, finally over the frustration, trying to rewrite...

 Sarah's Wedding Update:

Well, we had her tea-party themed shower on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.  A whole bunch of her teacher friends came out, as well as the usual suspects.  The menu included:

1. tea sandwiches: cucumber mint, curried chicken salad, egg salad, and PB+J
2. scones (bluberry, raisin, and chocolate chip) with clotted cream, butter, and strawberry jam
3. Czech sandwiches (aka chlebíèky)
4. fruit with yogurt dip
5. mini appetizers (bunch of yummy varieties)
6. Champagne punch! (the best thing on the menu, actually)
7. Italian cookies/pastries

Sarah was glowing, I was glowing, we were all glowing- it was HOT! 

Here she is practicing for W day with her ribbon bouquet.

So beautiful, this girl... anyways, things are well on their way to readiness now.  Our dresses are all in (sorry- can't post Sarah's dress on here!) and the invitations are out.  Only 5 more weeks!

Salsa Dancing:

My new "obsession" as Walter likes to refer to it... I have taken a class now (dragged Walt and D with me and they liked it!) in Northampton with a great teacher.  I'm sure I will learn a ton from her as the weeks go along, but there's nothing like getting out there and social dancing.  Sarah, Petr, and I took an on2 (different style) class in Boston at Ryles and then were seriously outclassed when these amazing. amazing dancers took the floor at the end of the evening.  Wow!  I want to dance just like that, and hopefully I'll get there.

I bought myself one indulgence though... salsa shoes.  They were dyed black to match most of my clothes, and now, well, now they dye my feet black!  Very irritating.

They are super comfortable though.

Exercise/Nutrition/Europe Preparation:

Okay, been semi-good, semi-notsogood in this area.  For instance, ate 3 cookies today and some chips.  Um, yeah.  I have mostly been hitting the gym, but not with my usual flair and not while I was sunburned this past weekend.  Sunburned to the point of peeling, blistering, and lying in the bed shivering with pain.  Its over now, but ugh.  Yuck!

I really am trying to get myself in gear with this and I think the trick is to mix it up more.  More different cardio, more stuff outside, more Pilates and yoga, and for God's Sake, look up some new recipes!

 (Less baking too).

Posted by Jamie at 5:53 PM EDT

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Mood:  energetic

Okay, interesting day today...

Water: 16 cups

Food: (here's where it gets interesting)

1. eggs with broccoli, cheese
2. almonds
3. 1/2 salad (felt the old gag reflex kick in), cookie
4. bar, sliver of chocolate cake
5. 2 spa wafers (divinity- let me tell you!)
6. chicken, broccoli

So not exactly low carb, eh?  lol...

Exercise: 20 min HIIT on precor, 10 min on wave, 10 min on virtual reality bike (thank goodness for the workout!)

On top of that, I found these for my sister's wedding!  They are so hot!!!

Posted by Jamie at 8:52 PM EDT

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Mood:  hungry

Backtracking to yesterday:

Water: 16 cups

Food:

1. eggs with mushrooms
2. bar
3. salad with CC and feta
4. chicken, asparagus, a couple of strawberries
5. cheddar cheese, apple ( I was starving)

Exercise: none, because I missed my meal 4,. leaving me without food from noon until 6:30, at which time I wolfed down a piece of chicken, asparagus, and those few strawberries like it was my first meal in months.  I then ran off to get a pedi at a day spa near me.  Love it!  I'm walkin' on the wild side!

Today

Water: 16 cups

Food:

1. oatmeal
2. protein pancakes
3. roast beef sandwich on WW, apple, small piece dark chocolate
4. bar
5. 2 oatmeal cookies
6. chicken, apple with PB, broccoli

Exercise: 25 min a.m. HIIT, 20 min p.m. elliptical, LBWO

Thoughts: Damn, I've been hungry today.  Even with the extra carbs, my belly is growling!  I did a great job today... even with the cookies :)  A+!

Posted by Jamie at 9:57 PM EDT

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Mood:  party time!

Heroes is on!!!  I love this show!!!

Friday, the 18th

Food:

1. eggs with mushrooms
2. small scone
3. almonds
4. salad, cottage cheese, 1/2 small veggie soup
5. trail mix
6. chicken sausages, spinach, apple with PB

Exercise: 30 min Wave, 45 min salsa dancing in kitchen with Walt, kick butt LBWO

Thoughts: Solid B+ day!

Saturday, the 19th

Food:

1. blueberry cereal
2. bar
3. sausage, spinach, piece of dark chocolate
4. 2 cookies
5. cheese and crackers
6. PB and fluff sandwich on WW bread
7. pretzel fish

(okay, WTF?)

Exercise: 20 min HIIT on Precot plus 10 min on bike

Thoughts: Despite the weird food choices, it was an A- day

Sunday, the 20th

Food:

1. eggs and cereal
2. chicken sausage, spinach, apple
3. bar
4. 1 piece chocolate mint candy
5. chicken, spinach, graham crackers (lol- nice carb, eh?)

Exercise: 30 min a.m. cardio on Precor, mod to high intensity

Thoughts: I give myself a "B+"  :)

Monday, the 21st (Today!)

Food:

1. eggs with mushrooms and cheese
2. pecans (3 lite GScout cookies?  why, Jamie, why?)
3. salad, cottage cheese, feta
4. shake
5. chicken, 2 ears corn ( i may regret that later!), asparagus

Exercise: 25 min a.m. cardio, 20 min p.m. cardio on wave, UBWO

Thoughts: Excellent day!  I am loving this surge of energy from taking Lipo 6 again.  Clearly its useful intermittently, but if taken for more than 4-6 weeks, it definitely doesn't have the same benefits.  An "A-" day :)

Posted by Jamie at 10:11 PM EDT

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Mood:  incredulous

Okay, weird day.  Not sure if I should give the long story or the short.  All screwed up because first Walter and I were going to drive to Boston to get our passports (a discount available through Walter's city hall) and dinner out... and then, well, after thinking about it, I thought it was kind of silly to drive 3 hours and spend $50+ on dinner to save $90.  So- no workout, but at least I wasn't tempted by the nectar that is clam chowder at Legal Seafood.

Clearly someone else has this affliction because I stole it from their blog.  Anyways...

Water: 15 cups

Food:

1. eggs with mushrooms
2. shake with 1 TB instant coffee (jesus- I was so jumpy all day!!!)
3. salad with cottage cheese and feta
4. bar ( I couldn't do another lethal shake)
5. chicken sausage and spinach
6. 1/2 of a raisin scone - test drive for my sister's shower... hey, it needed to be done.  And might I say, they were delicioso!

Exercise: none.  Oh boy.

Thoughts:  Need to up the ante tomorrow.  Moving on...

Posted by Jamie at 9:00 PM EDT

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Mood:  special

Today was a "carb-up" day.  I just couldn't do another "quasi" low carb day on today- my double cardio and upper body day.  It was a far more relaxed day just with the addition of a few choice carbs.  However, a couple of my choices were not the best... still- not quite a full on freeday either.

Water: 14 cups

Food:

1. eggs with spinach and feta, oatmeal
2. bar
3. salad with cottage cheese, dried cranberries, sprinkling of sunflower seeds (unsalted, unroasted)
4. small piece of crumb cake (like literally 2 inches by 2 inches- can you believe I beat myself up about that?!  lol...)
5. bar again (you see, I made a shake with peppermint extract and it was too pepperminty- like drinking toothpaste!  Blech!)
6. oatmeal cookie- oh dear!
7. 2 oz steak, chicken sausage (all natural, lowfat), spinach
8. apple with smear of PB

Grazing was the name of the game again today, but I think I did okay.

Exercise:

25 min a.m. cardio on elliptical, 20 min cardio in p.m. followed by UBWO

So... overall not a horrible day, not an exceptional day, but if I had to grade myself, I'd still give myself a B.  Tomorrow... back to lower carb again for two days.  I can do it :)

Posted by Jamie at 9:04 PM EDT

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Mood:  hungry

Okay, so I'm sitting here eating a very carb-filled apple.  If you tried to take it away, you might find yourself missing a finger or two.  Today did go reasonably well... I think I may try for one more day and then cycle back to regular food for a day.

Water: 15 cups

Food:

1. eggbeaters with onion, asparagus, cheese
2. shake
3. the equivalent of one oatmeal cookie's worth of crumbs picked at slowly over the course of 3 hours (eh hem)
4. salad with cottage cheese, small bit of feta
5. shake
6. shrimp, broccoli, asparagus, 1/2 oz cheddar cheese
7. apple with 1 tsp PB

Exercise: exemplary!  20 min HIIT on treadmill and 20 extra minutes on the Wave

Thoughts:

I feel like I'm getting my "mojo" back!

Posted by Jamie at 8:16 PM EDT

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Mood:  lucky

Well, Friday-Sunday was nothing to write home about.  I skipped my UBWO on Friday and did it instead on Saturday.  I ate very randomly all weekend long.  Chocolate chip cookie pie capped off my Mother's day (damn, it was good too!).  So today I came up with the brilliant idea of going low carb for a week.

Today was the first day of that and it was pure hell.  I was hungry about 20 minutes after each meal.  I had a raging headache all day and felt sort of light headed too.

Water: 14 cups

Food:

1. eggbeaters, broccoli, cheese
2. 20 almonds
3. salad with 15 medium sized grilled shrimp
4. shake
5. bar (I couldn't take it any more!), 1/2 oz cheddar cheese
6. lean steak, asparagus, apple (enuf was enuf)

Exercise:

30 minutes a.m. cardio

20 min. p.m. cardio plus LBWO- really killed my abs!!!

Thoughts:

Well, not exactly low carb, but not a cheating free-for-all either.  I am fairly proud of myself for making it through.  The ned is going to feel great tonight though...

Posted by Jamie at 7:24 PM EDT

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Mood:  lazy

Well, today didn't go as planned, but that's life.  I modified.

Water: 13 cups

Food:

1. Myoplex lite shake
2. 1/2 bagel with cream cheese (the beginning of the descent)
3. Bar
4. sausage, broccoli, apple- and a wee bit of a quiche mr friend brought in for me - delicious!
5. 1 PB/Special K/chocolate frosted treat
6. pancakes
7. 3 cups popcorn
8. crackers and cheddar cheese (~1 oz.)
9. a few chocolate chips
10. 1 chicken breast from Popeye's and a biscuit

Okay, god knows how many calories that is- and I'm not going to try and figure it out!

Exercise: zilch, except chewing

Thoughts: Okay, here is where I tell you how I will modify to make up for this "mess" of a day.

1. Clean eating all day Saturday and Sunday (Mother's Day meal I am cooking and it will be moderately healthy- shish kabobs on the grill)
2. Exercise at the gym both Saturday and Sunday morning
3. Take time to play outside tomorrow with my boys after we go see Spiderman 3.

Stay tuned

Posted by Jamie at 9:24 PM EDT

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