Surviving NJ

Hilton Head Island Visit

March 17, 2010

Written by Deb

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On the way back from our trip to Orlando, we decided to make a pit stop in South Carolina. My husband booked us a beautiful suite on Hilton Head Island…what a magnificent view, and I also got an incredible hot stone massage while at the resort….something my body desperately needed. Here are a few of the pics from our HHI portion of our trip:

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We have so much fun together, so to mix in great locations just adds to the treasure of great company.

Here’s our room with a view. It was a beautiful suite on the 5th floor with a large balcony overlooking the ocean (gorgeous!):

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And look at the special treat we got – a rainbow forming right before our eyes! Truly a special moment…

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Disney & Travel

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Catch Slow Running Fever!

March 1, 2010

Written by Deb

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Some of my favorite running phrases are ones that have to do with speed….since I have a lack of speed!

“Some girls chase boys, I pass them!” —- ha, not so much. I’m slow.

“Slow is the new fast.” — only because I can’t be fast.

“Thanks to me you have someone to pass!” — a truer statement will never be spoken.

“I run like a girl, try to keep up.” — yeah, I can’t wear this one either.

** by the way, these great sayings can be found at OneMoreMileRunning.com, along with a bunch of others.

Who knew when I took up running I’d actually stick with it. Go figure — how did that happen? I had a lot of excuses to bow out…and somehow I didn’t. I’m not used to that, and I’m left scratching my head. I fell down some stairs (and YES! I’m STILL having tailbone issues, but I run anyway)…I had 3 colds, a stomach flu – and I keep going. I’m not really sure who I’ve become – other than – a runner. Hmmmm, not sure why or how – but I’m still moving.

I’m heading down to participate in my first 1/2 marathon soon and I have to say – I am not sure what I’m more excited about. Reaching for my goal, or the fact that I haven’t given up yet. It’s a neat place to be in and one I’m not used to seeing. I like this new me….the one who doesn’t give up.

By the way, my race is in Disney. Glad I won’t be running THIS race…it had to be about the worst run race I’ve ever read about!

Anyway, I’ll see you on the flip side and let you know how it goes. All things willing, I’ll have access and be able to toss a post up somewhere along the way. See you on the flip-side!

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Finding Myself

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Snowy Days and Snacks

February 25, 2010

Written by Deb

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We’re about to be buried under another foot of snow – yet again. Oh joy! Anyway, we did our classic go out to dinner and hit the store like most of those around us. First off – we needed to go out since we knew we’d be in the house for the next day or two…hence dinner out.

It was at the grocery store that I saw the reality. While people grab bread off the shelves – it was all about the snacks. People don’t want to be trapped indoors without their sweet or savory snacks. It wasn’t chicken and vegetables that people were stocking up on, but chips and cookies.

You could hear crickets in the produce aisle, but it was a battle to make it down the soda and pretzel lane.

Let’s be honest – who wants to be stuck without their favorites….why is it our minds go right to snacks when we know snow is coming? Think about it…when the weather calls for bright and sunny skies, 70 degrees- we aren’t rushing to the store for goodies – we’re itching to be outside – but tell someone there may be a few inches of snow and we’ll face crazy crowds to get those cookies we don’t want to be stuck without.

Don’t worry about me, I have plenty of Diet Coke – life is good for myself and anyone stuck around me!

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Lifestyle

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White Bread is Evil

February 21, 2010

Written by Deb

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There- I said it….somebody had to! Okay, maybe evil is the wrong word, but dear goodness – does it make an impact on my body.

I’m very careful with what I eat and put into my body these days. I have to be. I’ve been on a pretty strict program – both with food and on a training schedule for running. The thing is – when I started to do some bigger runs 8 miles, 10 miles – I got hungrier!

I added in some extra calories (okay), and last night had some white bread (not okay). Generally, when it comes to bread I go with multi-grain – I have a nice loaf of 12 grain, multi-grain waiting on me. Sadly, my brain went – ooh, there’s a fresh kaiser roll on the counter and maybe I’ll have that…..

Yeah, it was good. It tasted great….this morning my face is all puffy, I could barely drag myself out of bed – and once again (it’s not the first time it’s happened) I remind myself white bread is evil to my body. Why don’t I learn these lessons? Why do I always go back to the doughey lure of goodness?

One day I shall learn my lesson. Last night wasn’t it. My face looks like a marshmallow this morning – all puffed up…and I’m so tired…as someone who has to watch certain starchy carbs and stuff – you’d think I’d have this automatic message in my head that says, “Warning, this will make you feel like crap”…All right, fine – I do. I just chose to ignore it. Bad choice!

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Finding Myself

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Shedding Some Weight – Down 34 Pounds

January 26, 2010

Written by Deb

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I’m down 34 pounds at this point, and am on course to keep going. I’ve really been surprised at how well I’ve been doing when it comes to following my plan. I’m satisfied with my choices in food, as well as being able to make it work around my lifestyle.

As for exercise, I’m still running. I put in a 4 mile run last night, and have a 7 miler tomorrow. That’s a long run – but if I’m going to keep going, I need to push myself like this. I’ve signed up for multiple 1/2 marathons at this point, and am looking at training for a full marathon come January.

Endurance running is an interesting thing — and I’m finding a big part of it is a mental game you play with yourself. You feel like you’ve done enough, but you need to keep going. I’m happy I’m still pushing, because by now I’ve usually quit the process.

It’s nice to say I’m proud of myself, and I can honestly say that I am proud of the time and effort I’m putting in this process. It’s a nice feeling.

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Finding Myself

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Vacation Mode

January 10, 2010

Written by Deb

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I’ve been booking our vacations and travel this week. I’m excited to start the process, because we’ve had it planned out for a bit. I finally got to dig in and pull all the details together. I have a couple of runs this year down in Florida, so I’m excited to combine a couple of 1/2 marathons with extended trips to Disney.

The other thing I’ll be doing this year is — are you sitting down for this? I’m taking my son and his friend to Florida for about 10 days. Am I crazy? I may well be….but eh, I’m willing to give it a try. We just booked this fab house, and pulled the details of our transportation together.

I love when this time of year comes around. I put all the pieces together in my head – and iron out lots of details, since I’m a total planner on these things, so when I’m given the “go ahead”, I’m always thrilled, but also relieved to get everything in place.

One of the things that’s different about most the trips I’ve done – say, down the shore – versus Disney – is the planning involved.

I’ve rented Jersey Shore Homes before through a local realtor. You pick a place and you’re done. With Disney – it doesn’t work like that. Not only do you have to book your accommodations, but now you’ve got travel and other things to deal with. Want to eat at a sit down restaurant at the park? You’d better make reservations WAY ahead of time if you want to get in! It’s an entirely different system and world. At LBI, you show up at the restaurant you want and you eat. In Disney – you make reservations 3+ months in advance, sometimes more to hot spots, or they won’t even let you wait to be seated at times. They pack on a schedule to capacity, and there are no walk-ups for many places! There is PLANNING involved. I love it though – I love doing the details, so it feeds a need I have.

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Disney & Travel

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Merry Christmas

December 25, 2009

Written by Deb

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Merry Christmas! I hope you get the opportunity to share time with family or loved ones, and that your day is full of great memories and joy and laughter.

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Family

The Mind as a Weapon

December 9, 2009

Written by Deb

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We do it to ourselves you know…build up or shoot down our confidence levels…it’s all some twisted game our brain plays with us. We can have one tiny glance in a mirror or a comment we hear take us down a notch or two….and yet build ourselves up if we like how we’re feeling at the moment.

Let’s look at some rational here, and why I consider the mind as a weapon…one that is used against you.

- ever had a fat day? yeah…feeling icky, bloated, funky — but in reality, you weigh exactly the same as you did the day before. MIND GAMES we play with ourselves.

- ever love your outfit, get ready to go out, feeling all happy, then catch an odd angle in a window or mirror – and suddenly feel deflated? MIND GAMES we play with ourselves

- ever feeling lifted because someone says something complimentary to us? Almost like that reality didn’t exist until we heard it from another? MIND GAMES we play with ourselves

- ever feeling pumped up until someone said something less than flattering — there go the winds out of your sails… defeated. MIND GAMES we play with ourselves.

We are what we THINK we are.

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Finding Myself

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Jersey Girl Down 23 Pounds

December 7, 2009

Written by Deb

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This Jersey girl is proud to say I’ve now lost 23 pounds. I noticed something yesterday that felt like a small victory. I have a running skirt I bought a few weeks ago (online) and it didn’t quite fit yet. I knew I was going to be right on the border, but knew I’d want the skirt when I could lose more weight. I got a great deal on it, so I grabbed it a few weeks before I’d fit in it…

As of last night, I fit in it! I’m not saying I look great, but it fit! WOOHOO…that felt like such an achievement. When I first got it 3 weeks ago, I wanted to see how far I had to go. I honestly thought it would take much longer, but apparently not. It slid right up over my hips, and was awesome.

A running skirt is a skirt over compression shorts, so you don’t see any ride-ups. They were recommended to me, so I thought I’d give them a try. I also have two from C9 at Target, but each is cut a little differently. One from C9 I love, the other – not so much. This RunningSkirt.com skirt is awesome though, and there’s much less ride up of the shorts between your thighs. I think this will end up being my brand of choice.

As I’m continuing my weight journey, I can’t buy too many, because my size will hopefully continue to change. I think I can wear this one for a good 20 pounds though…so maybe a few weeks before my first 1/2 marathon I’ll treat myself to a new size (hoping I keep losing here, obviously!) and a new color!

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Finding Myself

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Surviving Disney World

December 2, 2009

Written by Deb

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Here I am in all my glory. While I’m smiling- and yes I had a good time, notice that I’m wearing a jacket. BOOOO! It was mid 60′s that day, and not my ideal mid 70′s, though we did get a few of those days in there too!

Honestly, it was fabulous. A sinus infection slowed me down, but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. A crappy day in Disney is still better than a great day in NJ!

We kept a low profile, and kept it at a relaxed pace. We also added some mid day breaks in on the days we didn’t sleep in half the day! Hey, I needed extra rest since my head was clogged.

We did our favorites, and saw some cool stuff as usual, but I think my favorite was Cinderella’s castle lit up in lights. It was fabulous…the purple/blue and white lights against the dark night just was illuminating….and just well, gorgeous. I was like a little girl smiling when I saw it…Not sure how I haven’t seen it like that before. We must have done Magic Kingdom during the daylight hours in the past at this time of year, because this was the first time in 4 years I’ve seen the castle this way…

I did try to snap a pic on my cell phone, but I haven’t checked to see if it’s clear or blurry uploaded yet. I’ll hope to get to that later in the week.

The best news for me was coming home at the same weight I started at. In the process I gained some muscle, lost some fat and my BMI is down, even though the scale looks the same. Have faith that your body is doing what it needs to do if you work at it. Just happy it went well on that front…

Great trip, and can’t wait to go back again!

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Disney & Travel

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