The Big Apple

Be the “start” of something positive for yourself and everyone you connect with today.

I saw that quote today and really liked it. Gonna try harder.

Hello! I can’t believe it is already Wednesday! I’ve been horribly neglecting my blog and my thousands of readers! I apologize – but I’ve been busy.

Last weekend I went with a good friend to NYC! She has always wanted to see the New York Yankees play in Yankee Stadium, AND I love to travel AND its only an hour and a half flight for me AND it has been too long since we’ve done anything together…SO it worked out perfectly! It was nice to re-connect with a bestie from college. Our trip was fun and we spent it sober?!!! What the? Spring Break ‘96, this would not have been the case, I guess we’re growing up. Crap.

We had a great time! We went on several tours – saw all the sights – became subway experts – ate lots of street meat - walked about 100 miles - and went to a couple of baseball games….

This was one of my friend's 'Bucket List' items(back in the day we called it "things to do before we die" list...but that is a whole other post) and it was really fun to see her so excited! She barely took her eyes off of the game and even withstood the 'Bleacher Creatures' yelling at her while I left to go get a bag of popcorn and a beer. (and a pretzel and a beer and and look for a Nathans hotdog)

Have you ever heard of the “Bleacher Creatures”?
I hadn’t either. Until…
…we sat in section 203 in Yankee Stadium. They are a group of fans of the New York Yankees who are known for their strict allegiance to the team and their merciless attitude to opposing fans (as quoted from Wiki).
They are very entertaining!! They do a roll-call at every single home game where they get every single player on the field (except the pitcher and catcher) to acknowledge them, they will actually continue chanting until they are acknowledged. Some players wave - some nod - and one flexed! That.was.way.cool. and we got to be a part of it! (except I didn’t know all of the players’ names and had to pretend to yell for them) They have all of these great traditions and cheers. One even polished her bleacher seat before she sat down, another spent most of his time flipping off the scoreboard because the Yanks were down substantially. (and he hated A-Rod) Bald Vinnie led the cheers and you could hear him across the stadium.

Side note: Miller Lites at Yankee Stadium cost $10! BUT, you get this awesome souvenir cup.

$10 will get you this sweet-ass cup. Half full of foam and half full of flat Miller Lite. I was in Heaven.

Next we went on an awesome Night on the Town tour! I highly recommend it. We went all over the city, by bus, then caught a Water Taxi and cruised around the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and got a fantastic view of the NYC Skyline..oh and spent most of the night chasing our super-fast tour guide, Bonnie. It seemed like she was trying to ditch us. We ended the night with dinner in Little Italy and a trip to the "Top of the Rock"! (where both of our cameras promptly ran out of batteries!)

We also took a double-decker bus tour around Manahttan & Harlem. It was interesting, but we had a tough time understanding our tour guides, so we mainly hung out in Central Park. It is a beautiful place and New Yorkers are lucky to have a nice getaway from the chaos!

The Subway was a whole new world all in itself! We only took Taxis a couple of times and took the subway the rest of the time. With our trusty maps in hand - we easily navigated the bowels of NYC. (and, yes, that's how it smelled)

Nope - no tourists here.

A few other highlights of our trip:

Thousands of tourists flock to this guy every day....so...I made the most of it!

 To: Me

With Love From: Me

FAO Swartz Was Awesome!

We had a great trip! It was especially nice to spend time with a great friend and have an adventure together.

BUT - after being around all of those people for a couple of days, it was really nice to get back to the backwoods of the 'Tucky and take in the countryside.

Cheers to Big Cities, small towns, stinky subways, baseball, and most of all Good Friends!

And - Oh Yah - shopping in China Town = an Authentic Fake Louis Vitton bag!

I call it my 'Screwey-Lewey'

Selfy Sunday

OK - Everyone fall in love with yourselves and show off your best selfie!! It't that time again...Exciting - huh?

[caption id="attachment_135" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Standard Selfie[/caption]

Yep - pretty exciting.

I am so pleased that my friends are getting into selfies and, if I must say, some of them are really quite good at it. I have left their names and identities out of this post to protect their innocence, but wanted to share their talents!

[caption id="attachment_136" align="aligncenter" width="200"] She really does have 'duck lips' down.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_138" align="aligncenter" width="200"] #Iwishtherewasanakedpersoninthebackground[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="200"] The "hey everyone, I'm at the gym" selfie. Nice work, hun.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_142" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Probably one of the most creative selfies I've seen yet. [/caption]

Thanks friends for getting involved in this important selfie-discovery journey! I am amazed by your creativity and am excited to continue down 'Selfie Road' with y'all.

[caption id="attachment_147" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Well said, Jack.[/caption]

Have a great Sunday, and cheers to making the most of it and loving every moment of your life!

Product Review - Brady Bands

I am in the process of growing out my hair - especially my bangs. They don't quite fit into my mini pony tail. So, in lieu of bobby pins, I wear little headbands when I work out (or am too lazy to fix my hair) and I LOVE EM'...except for the fact that most of them slip back on my big Swedish head.

I had read about Brady Bands online and decided to give them a try. I got them in the mail on Tuesday and have been wearing them ever since! They are great and really stay in place. I have worn them for 2 sweat-filled workouts and 2 full days at work and can honestly say that I am impressed. They are lined with soft velvet and keep the hair in place withoug pulling.

I bought 2 skinny bands and 2 of the thicker bands. I like the thicker bands a little better than the skinny ones - but that's just me. They have a ton to choose from as well as bands for kids. AND for those of you with small heads - they offer Sm-Med-Lg sizes.

Check them out at www.bradybands.com

The best part is...10% of every sale goes to childhood cancer research.

Have a great weekend and make the most of it!

Kentucky Hot Browns

Choices.

Daily we are faced with them.

My first choice of the day is. "Do I push snooze, or just get up?"
Is it really time to get up? I just went to bed. Push Snooze.
Second Choice of the day: "Do I push snooze, or just get up?"
Push Snooze.
Third Choice of the day: "Do I push snooze, or just get up?"
Push snooze. Oh Shit, just get up!! Wait, I have to check my FB and email and Instagram (hmm, maybe I can call in sick)
Fourth Choice: "Do I shower or go to work looking like a hot mess?"
Shower you greaser! You will never wake up if you don't - don't worry about blow drying your hair (it is finally long enough for a tiny pony tail and 500 bobby pins to hold it in) and you can put on makeup in the car on the way to work while drinking a smoothie that took 5 extra minutes to make.
Fifth Choice: "How do I handle the first person at work who gives me crap for being exactly on time and not early?"
Tell them to suck it. Duck in the back door and BS with the smokers for a few minutes act like you've been there for 15 minutes - no one will see you walk into your office.

These are all easy choices to make.
The hardest choices for me are when it comes to food. I have a tough time choosing the healthy option over the yummy bad for you option. I like just about everything that is put in front of me, but sometimes wish I was a little picky, especially when it comes to food that I know is bad for me....which brings us to....
Kentucky Hot Browns
They are so good.
And so bad for you!

I ain't never heard of no 'Hot Brown' sammich until I moved to Kentucky, and it is dreamy! Here is the wikipedia link if you are interested in learning more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Brown
Basically its an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. OtotheMtotheGoodness

I am very lucky to work for a company that caters lunch in often. Yesterday a Hot Brown Casserole was the main dish.

[caption id="attachment_109" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hot Brown Heaven[/caption]

I helped myself to a small serving and avoided the mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. (loaded up on salad) How do people make the right choices when it comes to food every day??! How do I change my mindset? The crappy part of the deal is...I had to go home and run extra hard in the heat and humidity and sweat my ass off...and the calorie burn probably barely scratched the surface of what I did to my body! It doesn't seem fair. (kick and scream) And my size 8 is slipping away one hot brown at a time.

It's reality though.

Time to step it up. Tomorrow starts a cleanse. Time to get rid of the vacation toxins and the hot brown mess that is me.
Check out www.findingmyweigh.com all of the cleanse details are listed there, my good friend is blogging about her progress and gave me the idea to do this with her. I am a couple of days behind, but and really excited to see her progress. It sounds doable and it is all fruits, veggies and some meat. No pills or drinking some weird combo of cayenne pepper and lemon water. - Don't worry, I'll keep you posted. It is 7 days long and tomorrow starts with all fruits and lots of water! I'm excited for this and ready to get back to eating clean and gettin' my mind right.

[caption id="attachment_110" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I hope my stomach is ready for this mess.[/caption]

On a side note - I ordered this little gem while I was on vacation. It showed up in the mail today and it made.my.day!



I ordered it on etsy.com from HomeStateApparel. They so cute! Better get you one.

Make your day and make the most of it!

Sometimes you Just Need a Break!

[caption id="attachment_89" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Post Vacation & Pre Go Back to Work. 'I'm not ready for socks selfie'[/caption]

I just returned from almost 12 days of vacay! I'm feeling happy and re-charged ....except....my waistline took a hit. I'm scared to stand on the scale, but I can tell by the feel of my jeans (after spending a week in proper vacation clothing - loose fitting shorts & flip flops)

I am a routine girl - plain and simple. When it's out of whack - I lose my mind.

I didn't necessarily over do it but didn't really 'watch' what I ate and definitely didn't follow my "nothing from a bag, can, or box" rule guideline.

*Side Note: before I get into all of the crapola that I ate, I want to start by saying that I managed to either walk, jog, or hike at least every other day of my trip. So it totally balanced everything out. Right?

Lets start with eating from a 'bag'.....lots of chips and crackers...AND.....There is a whole lotta Mexican goin' on - goin' on at Taco Johns! (twice) it was so good. I would travel 1500 miles to get my hands on some Super Potato Oles! Clean eating lifestyle or not-I don't think I will ever give them up. (My stomach did hurt like a mutha after-totally worth it though)
Next.... Lets talk The 'Dash Inn' (twice also) the first time I was good and had a salad....but the 2nd time I wasn't so good and had a cheese wagon wheel with the works. For you non Central MT folk- a Wagon Wheel is nothing more than a pre-made cardboard-like hamburger patty with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard squished between two pieces of toasted cheap white bread. (it's cut round - hence, Wagon Wheel) Delightful!! The Dash Inn also has the BEST flavored pops! My fave is a 'diet hot-n-tot'. It is sort of like a cinnamon coke - but so.much.better.

Moving onto 'Can'. I steered clear of my first true love...Miller Lite - in a can - but drank several cans of regular old Coke. Why why why? I haven't had a regular Coke since I was skinny and hot in 8th grade! And have definitely not consumed several. (way too many calories that I try to save for beer)

Anywho - forgot to mention that he Coke was mixed with Segrams VO? Shit that stuff is good. Im really just a plain ole beer and wine drinker, but have a new found love for whiskey-cokes. Crap. bar hag Also...Gramps had some Shasta Cola in the fridge. I managed to down a couple of cans of that too. (without whiskey-it was lunch - and Grampa was running low on Pendleton, I didn't want to drink his stash. It's a long way to town to buy more.)

Finally 'Box'. I did ok in this department except for a few granola bars and one slip up with a box of hamburger helper at Grampa's. (His food selection is limited) I hadn't had it in a long time and can honestly say it tasted like paste. Don't worry though....I managed to have 2 servings.

[caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="300"] No Regrets.[/caption]

Fatty is now back to her routine- it's back to my old habits of clean eating and exercise!

This brings us to my current mission.... Size 8.
Uh oh.
I forgot about that mission.
My 10's are still fitting (snug) thank goodness. It's is a good thing that my Sis and I spent countless hours getting ready for high school between scrunching our perms, finding the best BUM Equipment over-sized hot pink sweatshirts AND stretching out our very stylish - but tight as hell - Rocky Mountain Jeans. There is a real fine art to jean stretching - and thankfully I have it mastered.
And dang it, I'm wearing a 10.

For all y'all who didn't grow up in the height of 90's Montana fashion - these are Rockys:

[caption id="attachment_93" align="aligncenter" width="155"] Rocky Mountain Jeans. Painted on to perfection. I miss 1994.[/caption]

Vacation eating is fun to talk about and I know I didn't make the healthiest of choices, but I got to spend time with my family and the special people in my life. More importantly, I got to be 'home' and that's where I feel the most at peace with myself and my life.

Now it's back on! Hello southern heat and humidity! It's time for Big K to sweat it out. Cardio, here I come! I am also going to change things up this month.....I found a workout on Pinterest that should cure my flabby 'old lady bus driver arms' I need to show them a little love - starting - TOMORROW.

Cheers to making the most if it!!! *clink* (if you weren't sure, that's a cheers with a whiskey-coke)

Take time for yourself and take a vacation! Spend time with the people who are the most important to you-your battery will automatically recharge!

Have a great week!!