Trip to Vancouver

I really love Vancouver, (despite the Cunucks!). So, when I had to choose a place to go away for a mini-vacation to de-stress on short notice and on the cheap, this was an easy choice!

I drove up and check into the lovely Hotel Le Soilel. We stayed here before and loved its charm, so I decided to stay here again. It is in a good location, has great service, and is just an all-around lovely hotel. Of course, I forgot to take photos again, so here is one from the web:

I arrived at a decent hour (probably around 7:00 pm), but decided to stay in and relax. So, I ordered take out and watched TV and just enjoyed the quiet. I am amazed at how noisy my husband can be! I don't always notice it when I am at home, but I sure do when I am away!

I also picked up a book, so I spent some time reading in bed. Not a bad way to spend the evening!!

The next day I woke up late and lounged around a bit. I finally got up and ready and headed out to Robson Street. I had breakfast at Cafe Crepe (which has excellent coffee, but not so excellent eggs benedict) and wrote a bit. Then I went and did a little shopping (mostly window shopping, but I did stop into lululemon and got a couple of cute water bottles). Back to the hotel and I got ready for a walk to Stanley Park.

Stanely Park is about a mile from the hotel, so I packed up my book, camera, and some water and set out.

It was a pretty warm, sunny day, especially by Vancouver standards. On the way I snapped a few photos of some art:

Stanley Park is beautiful. And because it as such a beautiful day, it was pretty busy. I decided to walk along the seawall, which makes a 8.8 km (or 5.5 mile) loop around the entire park. The views from the seawall are absolutely beautiful!!

I think that next time I go to Vancouver I will bring my bike and also my swimming attire. Stanley Park has beautiful beaches and also a gorgeous salt-water public swimming pool. I was really hot by the time I finished the 5.5 mile walk and really wanted to jump in :)

After I finished with Stanley Park, I walked a little around English Bay and then headed back to the hotel. After about 8 miles of walking, I was ready for a shower and a nap. I ended up waking up rather late, so ordered room service and relaxed in the room. You will be disappointed if you are looking for great night-life stories...it just didn't happen!

The next day I slept in again (I love vacations!) and ordered room service for breakfast (I really love breakfast in bed after sleeping in!). I took my time getting ready and then decided to head over to Granville Island. There I walked around, had lunch, and just enjoyed another beautiful day!

That night I actually ventured out to dinner and had a great time sitting on the patio, eating, drinking, reading a book, and watching people. I love that I can have such a good time alone!!

The next day, Gess came into town. I decided to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery before he got there. They had a nice Rembrant exhibit, but otherwise I was rather disappointed in the collection.

When Gess arrived we went and had a lovely dinner at Joeys and then walked around downtown a little before going back and relaxing at the hotel.

The next day, Gess and I decided to venture over to Yaletown before heading back home.

We had a nice lunch, did a bit of shopping, and just enjoyed the city. Overall, it was a very nice trip!! I really needed the down time!!

Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Is if August 14th yet??

I just found out that one of my all-time favorite books (or maybe THE all-time favorite), The Time Traveler's Wife, is coming out in film...and the trailer actually looks good.  If you haven't read the book...read it, it is great!

See the trailer HERE.

Engagement

Wow, this month has flown by! I can't believe that June is almost over. We got engaged in June, so I often like to celebrate, but because of all of the stuff happening, we really didn't get to do anything. Our engagement story is great. Gess tricked me and planned out this elaborate scheme, which included the rose garden at Boise State U, flying from Boise (where we lived at the time) to Seattle, meeting some of Gess's family, dinner at a beautiful restaurant on the water, and the flying back home. He also had a friend videotape the engagement. I will have to dig up that tape sometime...but for now, here are a couple of pictures from that day (11 years ago!!)! Aren't we cute?? :)

Tulip Festival

We went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April...the flowers were beautiful. Here are a few pictures that Gess took.

Outrageous Outfit

While walking through the Tulip Festival in March, we saw this woman...and I can't resist posting this picture. Where would one actually buy a floral denim outfit like this??? Yikes!

July Fit Camp

Bummed and Shin Update

I just cancelled my registration for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon.  I have known for a long time that I wouldn't be able to do it because of my shins, but for some reason have put off officially canceling.  I am disappointed.  And the disappointment is generally directed at myself--but I know that it shouldn't be.  I cannot run with my shins this way.  It is just hard.  I want to do it darn it!

But...the good news is that we may have an answer for the shins--Chronic Compartment Syndrome.  Basically the muscles in the shins swell with exercise and the fascia that surrounds the compartment is too small to accommodate the swelling. So, the muscles push on nerves and cause lots of pain.  I went to a specialist and she wanted to rule over thing else out before doing the "official" test for compartment syndrome (since it is painful).  The ruling out has been done, so the only thing left is the painful testing.  I have the test on July 23rd.  I wish that I could have it earlier but the specialist is going to be out of the country serving as the team doctor for some summer games in Belgrade.  

The testing sounds pretty uncomfortable.  Needles are put in the shins to measure pressure.  The doctor tests at rest and then will have me run to make my shins hurt and test again. Sounds fun huh?  Apparently the test is painful, which is why the doctor likes to rule out everything before doing it.  She said that since she is so thorough in the ruling out procedure that she has only had 2 patients that were tested for compartment syndrome and did not have it.  So...changes are, I have compartment syndrome.

The good news is that it is treatable.  The bad news is that the treatment is surgery.  It seems like a relatively simple procedure, so at least that is good.  I assume that I will have the surgery as soon as I can after the diagnosis so that I can get on with training!  Whewww....frustrating!!

Struggling

As much as I hate to admit it (and I HATE to admit it), I am struggling. The past few months have really taken a toll on me and it seems that it just keeps coming.  I want to figure out stuff about me and what I want to do with my life, etc., but right now I can't do much beyond the very basics, like sleep, food, doctor's appointments.  I haven't started to look for a job yet, and that kind of freaks me out.  What is every scarier, is that I don't know what I want to do!  My suspicion is that if I were really honest with myself I would want to branch out and do something creative.  But how does one do that?  Especially after spending all of that time going to law school?  And don't get me wrong, I actually like being an attorney most of the time.  **sigh**  Maybe this is a early mid-life crisis 

Update...

I was reminded (in a non-stalker way) that I haven't updated my blog in awhile, so here is an update.

Things are going alright.  It is weird not going to work everyday, but a welcome weird way.  I feel like I am super busy, just with catching up on sleep, talking to friends, and organizing stuff, etc.  I haven't done much on the job searching front, but that's okay.  I am thinking about what I want to do next.  

It has been really great to spend time with friends and catch up. It is hard to have 3 hour coffee dates when you work full-time, so I am taking advantage of this!

Training is basically non-existent for me right now, and I won't be participating in the marathon later this month.  The good news is that we may have discovered what is wrong with my shins--chronic compartment syndrome.  It is fixable, so that is great. The bad thing is that the likely fix is surgery. I am going to a specialist later this month. In the meantime, I am also trying some magnesium cream and cupping.  

I have also been working with my naturopath on just overall health stuff and am taking some supplements that really seem to be helping with overall energy levels and feeling better.   Also, switching to soy milk has been a good thing for my stomach!

It has been HOT in Seattle, which I do like (please take note Mother Nature).  It is supposed to be more mild this weekend, which I am looking forward to!

I am still working on my MBA...nothing exciting with that.  I am finishing up my Quantitative Business Analysis class.  I only have 1 group project to finish.  Next up, Economics.  Oh joy!

Beauty is as cute and sweet as ever. She is lounging on the bed right now, looking at me as if my typing is keeping her awake :)  Must be a rough life!

I guess that is about it...I will promise to update more often, and put something fun in...this is a boring post!!

Ciao for now :)

Jealous

I am reading about friends and their great fitness accomplishments lately (and I am SO proud of them) and if I am honest with myself, I am jealous. I had such high hopes for this season and now it has come to a stand still. Even IF my shins were cooperating (which they aren't), with all of the hospital stays and my pure exhaustion I doubt that I would be doing much better. Ughhh...it is so frustrating!!! I just want things to be "normal" for once. Okay...end of whining rant...I'll try to come up with a happy post for later :)

June Fit Camp

Cute invites

I just made some baby shower invites, and I must say, they are darn cute :)  It's a boy (obviously) and robots was listed as a theme on the registry.  I found the robot images here.

 

Be careful what you wish for...

I have been wanting change--something big--and today it got thrust upon me. So...I am looking for a new job. This is a good thing, I haven't been happy at my current job for quite some time, but at the same time, it freaks me out that I have to look for a new one right now.

I still have to work out the logistics, so I am not sure when I will actually be finished, but it will probably be soon. So, I will be pounding the pavement and trying to figure out what I want to do. Ideas??? Send any leads my way!!

Training non-existent

I am so frustrated. I had great plans for this summer. I was going to finish my first marathon. Yes, you heard me right, a marathon. But I haven't been able to run for months because of my shins. As far as the doctor, coach, and acupuncturist can tell my shin muscles are incredibly tight and that is causing this horrible pain. I am on strict instructions to stop running/walking as soon as it start to hurt. Which means I get in about 10 minutes. **makes an ugly face** I am trying to be okay with this development and focus on some other issues (managing stress mostly), but there are times when I just want to scream and/or cry. Right now it is a combo of the two. Okay, whining over for now :)

Attention any Seattle-dwellers...

Boot camp!! You know you want to join!! (P.S.--I designed this awesome flyer :) )

Some graphic designer is getting a laugh...

or is just clueless. Look at the banner from evite. Check out the second figure on the left. Looks like he is "happy" to be at that party :) (click on the image below to make it larger).

Home Alone

And no, I don't mean that silly movie...I am actually home alone.  Well, Beauty is here, but no hubby.  He is having a sleep test tonight, so he gets to spend the night at the sleep clinic.  He was so whiny about it today, but having had 3 sleep tests myself, I wasn't overly sympathetic :)  

I had all of these grand ideas about how I would spend my "free time" but I find myself sitting her watching TV and blogging :)  I thought that I would clean and do a bit of crafting...but I guess that isn't in the cards for me today.  Oh well, it is nice to have some downtime.  I need it more often!

Banana Blossom Press

A friend told me about Banana Blossom Press and I absolutely love their designs! Exercise and fitness oriented cards and t-shirts. Simple. Love them! And...they are having a SALE right now, 20% off your order. Use coupon code: SPRING 2009 at checkout. I just ordered this Find Your Inner Athlete tee...I can't wait for it to get here!

Lessons for Today

Lesson #1: If you are going to work out for 2 hours, eat more than a 90 calorie piece of toast for breakfast

Man, I wanted to sleep in this morning. But, I had a session with my trainer and if I missed it, I would still have to pay...so I got up at 5:30 a.m. The latest possible time I could get up and still make it to my 6:00 a.m. session (okay, so I was a little late). Ran around the house to find clothes for work and the gym (of course, I know that I COULD pack my bag the night before, but for some reason I can never actually seem to do this--I don't know. It was save me a lot of grief. Especially on those days when my attempt to get an entire outfit into my bag fail--and that happens more often that I would like to admit). I make a piece of toast (yummy cinnamon raisin kind) and run out the door.

The workout is good. I didn't whine that much and there wasn't too much eye rolling this morning :) All signs of success!

So, after an hour with Scott the trainer, I hop into my car and head out to the gym (Scott is training me at this little gym that doesn't have good cardio equipment). I get there and start my workout around 7:30--an hour on the elliptical. At first I am feeling good, rocking through the "hills" and watching random TV. Then, my legs decide that they just want to stop. This was probably around the 25 minute mark. I convinced myself that it was just because I was on a particularly big "hill", but no, that wasn't it. The little ones were hard too. I kept pushing, but noticed that I was slower and the time seemed to be dragging on and on and on. I thought that the last 15 minutes would never end. And then the cool down. And stretching. By the time I hit the shower it was nearing 9:00 a.m, so a good 3 hours since my 90 calorie piece of toast. Then it hit me...90 calories of fuel does not equal 2 hours of output. Duh!

That leads to lesson number 2: Recovery is imperative (especially if you fail lesson #1 above). After a typical gym workout I have a routine. Hit the locker room and chug about half a bottle of this drink mix that has a good mix of carbs and protein to help my body recover from what I just did to it. I shower, and then drink the rest. If I am doing long sessions of strength and cardio, I will sometimes drink something between them, to keep the body going. Well, today, I didn't even think about my recovery drink. I am blaming it on the effects of #1.

So, I am crashing right now as I type. I need a nap. But it is 10:00 a.m., so no naps for me. I get to work instead! Hopefully my post post-workout attempts at fuel will help and I will be somewhat awake before too long. If not, at least it's Friday!