Tuesday

I'm sitting here listening to the thunder. I can't see the rain because it's so dark outside it looks like it's the middle of the night. I'm tired of rain. I think it's rained every day for like 2 weeks.

Awhile back we ordered shirts for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon at Disney. We got the shirts last week.

This is the back

and the front

Do you see the wine glass? I think they turned out so cute! Since we don't know what the weather will be like in Nov. and it was cheaper to order multiple shirts I got a short sleeve, a long sleeve in blue & the half zip pullover (grey). 

I've recently starting doing some shopping on Nordstrom's website. It's always free shipping with no minimum purchase. I love that! They have a lot of sales too. I got this Kendra Scott bracelet half price last week.

The picture isn't great but the bracelet is gold & the ends are a bronzey color. 

I ended up skipping some runs last week but Friday I managed 5 miles before work. 

We had a pretty boring weekend. We went to Caliente Friday night with some of the normal crew & Saturday after Mass we went to Digiulio Brothers. It's so good & we don't go often because it's tiny & very popular which means a long wait for a table. We got lucky Sat. & beat the crowd.

Sunday I ran errands. I stopped at the Nursery to pick up a few plants for some pots that I have. This was the first thing I saw when I walked in.

It was like a peacock walking around. Interesting. 

It rained a lot over the weekend & there was talk of a cold front. Well, that didn't happen. At 4:45 am Monday it was 77 degrees, 96% humidity & a heat index of 84. Just another reason to run before work.

I got in another 5 miles. On the days I run I like to do squats & things when I get home from work. I was tired yesterday & that didn't happen. I did some this morning along with arms.

Aside from eating out twice over the weekend I've been doing good with food. Even at Caliente, I got fish tacos on corn tortilla's with veggies & I ate very few chips & salsa. I've been craving a Dr. Pepper the last few days but I haven't caved. It seems to get increasingly harder though. 

Like I said, a boring weekend which lead to boring blog post. Ha!

Toodles!

St. Lucia & Barbados

This wraps up the cruise posts. Thursday we were in St. Lucia to zip line. I LOVED IT! I've been wanting to do this for years. We had plans to do it in Honduras on another cruise but there was some sort of problem & they wouldn't let us off the ship that day. 

We were in the rain forest & it was really pretty.

This is the only picture I have at the moment. Our group was split into 2 groups & we each had 2 guides. They were hilarious! Went on a bunch of different zip lines & there was a tarzan swing & then this rope drop thing which was my favorite. It reminded me of Tower of Terror at Disney which is my favorite ride! 

Friday we were in Barbados. We spend the day on a catamaran & we went swimming with turtles & snorkeling.

 A-A, Allie, Hilary & Maddy

Maddy with the guide & a turtle.

Again, these are all the pics I have at the moment. Cliff had an underwater camera & he took pics of us but I haven't gotten those yet. 

Me & Dean with the ship in the background. I like this pic because I actually look like I have a tan!

This was such an awesome trip! I wasn't ready to come home. I loved getting to see new places. 

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!

Happy Father's Day!

I went to the lakes with Cindy, Renee & Dianne Sunday morning. We're all running the Half at the Disney Wine & Dine Festival in November. They all love to do triathlons but the running is their least favorite part so generally if they aren't training for a tri they don't run. There's a tri in August that they're doing so they have to run. We did run/walk intervals for 4 miles. It was nice to actually have someone to talk to! 

Our parents & Scott, Lydia & Logan were all coming over for lunch & to swim.

Logan wanted to have a cannonball contest with his dad.

He always wants someone to throw him in the air.

When his Nonke throws him he goes upside down. He'd come up from under water grinning from ear to ear telling him to throw him higher. 

Dean & I were on our cruise for Logan's birthday so we didn't get to go to his party.I got him a cookie cake.

He's obsessed with baseball & he kept telling me "thanks for my cake Tante. I really like it". 

We all had to play baseball in the pool. 

His dad laid down for a bit so of course he had to do the same thing. 

Dean grilled burgers & hot dogs & we had way too much dessert. FYI - the Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mix makes really good brownies!!!

After everyone left I did a leg workout to try & make up for some the dessert. This morning I was up early for arm day.  

Tomorrow, I run. It's definitely summer here. It's going to be close to 100 this week. Not looking forward to that at all. 

Toodles!

Camera Ready!

Allison's birthday was Tuesday. To celebrate her birthday she wanted to go to brunch in New Orleans. This wasn't your regular brunch. This was brunch with a show included. A Drag Show. When I first heard this I was not on board. It's just not my thing. But then she said there would be 12 or 13 of us so I was good with it. 

In keeping with Allison's personality, it was decided that wigs would be worn. The email I got asked "how do you feel about wigs?". She knew exactly how I felt about it. Not to mention it's June in South Louisiana so that means it's in the 90's & the humidity is awful. Wigs are hot! At least that's what I hear. I've never worn one. My real hair is hot enough. Lucky for me a couple of other girls weren't wearing them.

This was what I saw when we arrived. 

This was a dude dressed completely normal in shorts & a polo & boat shoes. While standing on the steps he changed into his heels & told us he wasn't sure they were going to be the correct white when he bought them but they're perfect. (insert an eye roll from me here).

Part of our group.

That would be Allison in front with the white wig. She decided if all of her hair turned white when she gets old, she's ok with it.

The rest of the crew got there. 

I even managed to make good food choices.

The grits were amazing.

I wasn't planning to eat the bacon but it just kinda happened. 

Then the show started. The "ladies" sang popular songs & danced while collecting $1 bills from some of the patrons. (Not me).

I was disappointed with the quality of the drag queens. I was expecting Caitlyn Jenner. You know, good makeup, good hair? That's not what this was.

Me with Allison's younger sisters. 

This one had the most flamboyant costumes.

This one had the most amazing legs ever! "She" said it's from going up & down stairs. 

Seriously, the tops of "her" legs were solid muscle!

In case you can't tell, Allison had the time of her life. 

We've been friends for 20 years. We met at an LSU baseball game.

The wig less wonders.

You never know what you're going to get with Allison's cousin Emily.

Today it was Joe Dirt. We were laughing at her wig & one of the "ladies" told her it was a hot mess & they needed to do something. Next thing you know, "she" had a comb, bobby pins & hairspray & she went to town teasing. Sadly, there's now a lot you can do with Joe Dirt hair.

Lucky for us, they were filming the performance for a new reality show. Something about "Drag Queens of New Orleans". We were told by the cameraman that we were the "liveliest bunch so they were going to film around us".  They kept making announcements to get "show ready" & "camera ready" - "No shiny noses allowed!". 

Afterwards, we were all in need of something sweet so we found a place for froyo.

Yellow Cake Batter is delicious!!!  This is also where my food choices took a turn for the worse. 

It was really a lot of fun. Definitely something different. It's not often you can say you spent your Sat. watching Drag Queens prance around?!

Toodles!

Antigua

This was my least favorite place. It just looked dirty. People have told us that they love Antigua. I'm guessing they love the all inclusive resorts in Antigua!

This was the view from our balcony when we woke up Tuesday morning.

I had high hopes. It looks like a pretty place. 

There weren't a lot of options for things to do in Antigua so we chose a beach day. A bus - when I say bus I basically mean a van/taxi thingy - brought us to the beach. We drove through what looked to be a really bad area but the beach was pretty & it wasn't crowded at all.  

There was a bar area that served rum punch of course & pretty much any other drink you wanted. Our excursion included lunch. It was good. There was chicken, ribs, salad (great salad) & now I don't even remember what else.

It was cloudy & rained a couple of times which was a bummer but it didn't last too long.

A-A relaxed. Her motto this trip was Sleep, Eat, Fun. She took it very seriously & slept more than I did. 

There was a masseuse on the beach.  When she first approached us she immediately started massaging my shoulders which was a little creepy. I must look like the sucker because this sort of thing is not completely unusual.  Then she started with "Oh, you have knots, you need a massage". Yes, well, I don't doubt that I have knots since a stranger is touching me but ok. Besides I needed something to do since I was currently not in the water. She was very nice & she did give a good massage. $15 for 15 mins. Some of the others had them too. 

There were horses on the beach that you could ride.

 These aren't our peeps. The pictures are strictly for the story.

Here's our group enjoying the water. It was cold but pretty.

Then there's this.

 Again, not our peeps. Luckily for us & not so lucky for Dean he witnessed the horses taking care of their business. Gross, I know. There's more. They were taking care of their business IN THE OCEAN. GROSS. We immediately got out due to the direction of the current. That would be when I decided on the massage. 

 Maddy & her dad Scott looking wistfully at the water. 

Antigua did have some good shopping. I got a Longchamps bag that was actually less expensive than what it is in the States plus no tax. That would also be when the storm started. 

We'd gotten into a little routine once we got back on the ship after our excursions. There was snack time in the buffet area that included a nacho & taco bar. That was really good. There was pizza & all sorts of other stuff too. 

Several days we took naps too. 

My days & nights are confused as to when we were on the ship. We laid out by the pool a couple of afternoons, we went & listened to music a couple of nights after dinner, we saw an ice skating show one night & went to Guess the Lyrics one night. 

Most nights we came back to the room to a cute little animal. 

More later.

Toodles!

Catching Up!

About a week ago I had routine blood work done. Checking cholesterol, thyroid, all that stuff. I haven't had it checked in years. When my mom had her heart cath, the Cardiologist said that me & my brother needed to have our cholesterol checked since it's hereditary & my mom suffers with it. 

I got the results last week. Not happy. My cholesterol is high. I know there are much worse things that could be wrong. When the nurse gave me the results she said to "increase your exercise & watch your diet & we'll check it again in 3 months". Um, ok. I thought that's what I'd been doing for the last 4 years. One of my friends said it was a good thing I didn't have it checked before I started doing those things. 

I've gotten the same response from everyone that I've told. They're surprised & don't see how I can exercise more. Well, I'm going to try. Granted I can definitely eat better. I don't seem to have much of a problem on that end during the week. The weekends prove to be more difficult. We will not stop going out to eat but I will try to make better choices. I didn't eat nearly as much chips & salsa as I normally do at Caliente Friday night! So "Operation Lower Cholesterol" is in effect. 

Aside from running, my workouts could be a little more intense. That's the one thing I find about working out at home versus taking a class (like when I took Yoglates). I'm not nearly as intense as the class is. Must change that. 

Last week I ran 3.5 miles Mon. & Wed. & did some squats & lunges on those days too. 

 Fri. I ran 3.1 so I'd have time to do more leg work. I also did a few intervals. 

Somehow I managed to forget to put on my heart rate strap so the calorie count isn't accurate. 

Saturday morning was arm day.

That calorie burn is much better than normal. I threw in some burpees too. As much as I hate them, they really do get your heart rate up. 

Me, Vicki & Allison had lunch at Newk's for Allison's birthday. We're celebrating Saturday but Vicki isn't able to join us so we had lunch.

 Newk's is new to Baton Rouge & this was our first time there. I really liked it.

I had the Greek salad. It was really good. 

Saturday night we had a couple's shower to go to. Dean's cousin is getting married.  It was a Mexican theme & I knew there would be cake which is why I ate salad for lunch. Not only was there amazing cake there were these!

The best cookies ever! Our friend makes them & seriously, they're better than any bakery cookies I've ever had. So amazing!

After the party we visited some friends that live in the same neighborhood as the party. It had been awhile so it was good to see them.

Yesterday morning I ran. These two were just hanging out in someone's front yard.

See that thing on the one in fronts head? At first glance I thought it was some sort of tumor! Once I got a closer look, it was like a plume of fur? Feathers? Not sure what you call it.  So I just stopped to google it & it seems this is a White Crested Duck  & the thing on its head is a genetic mutation that causes a deformed skull. Interesting. I thought it might mean that it was a female. It kinda looks like a hairdo or a little hat. 

This little guy ran right in front of me. 

So, I ran 4 miles. I would've like to run 5 but it was hot & I wasn't going to push myself too much. I ran far enough from my house that I would have to walk a little ways to get home. It was another 1.5 miles. Not bad for about an hours work.

Sunday afternoon was the highly anticipated LSU/TCU Baseball game at the College World Series. It DID NOT live up to the hype. It was awful. Embarrassing. Horrible. Pick a negative adjective & it'll fit. Let's hope tomorrow's game is better. If not, LSU will be on their way back to Baton Rouge. 

This morning was arm day. 

Not as good a workout as Saturday but it's better than my normal arm days. I fully expect to do all of this work & be hungry & my cholesterol to still be high but I'm trying. It's only 3 months right?

Toodles!