Kid-Free Vacation!

I'll try and refrain from using ALL CAPS and shouting at you, but I went on a kid-free vacation with Dina!! IT WAS GLORIOUS! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

My friend Dina and I decided to celebrate our big 35th birthdays together by leaving our kids and husbands at home. Fortunately for us, our husbands are amazing and both agreed to our plan. Since the cruise left out of Florida, I actually took Zahara with me so that she could get some quality time with her grandparents and Dan would only have Asher. Win-win!

Dina and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Miami to Coco Cay, Nassau, and Key West. It was four nights, which was a perfect length for us. The entire goal of our trip was just to relax. We wanted to sit by the pool, sit on the beach, drink fruity drinks, and eat good food. I'm happy to report we were successful on all fronts!

The only planned activity we had was a glass bottom boat tour in Coco Cay that we booked through the ship. It was amazing! Our guides, Quick Draw McGraw and Cardinal, were fantastic! I thought we would just be seeing the sea creatures from the boat; but Quick Draw would spot something, then dive in the water and go get it for us to view on the boat. We held star fish, lobsters, conch, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers*! We saw sting rays too! It was awesome!

To be honest, Coco Cay itself wasn't that fantastic. It still was super relaxing as we hung out by the hammocks, but they were doing some construction on the island, so the view wasn't that nice--nothing a pina colada couldn't fix!

It was kind of the same thing in Nassau. We opted to go to the public beach that was only a 15 minute walk from the port. Junkanoo Beach is easily accessible and was exactly what we were looking for. It had soft white sand and warm turquoise water. As we were right by the port, the view left something to be desired, but who cares? I grabbed my book and a local beer and suddenly everything was right in the world.

Key West was really relaxing as well. We had a nice leisurely breakfast on the ship and then just walked down the main street (Duval) until we hit the water. We stopped for a drink at the southern-most point in the Continental United States at a cafe appropriately named Southernmost Beach Cafe. The drinks were delicious, and the fries were incredible! The seasoning has a little sugar in it, which was is unusual and tasty. Later, Dina grabbed a chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. So refreshing on a hot, sticky day!

We had just as much fun on the ship as we did off it. We sat by the pool and read--I read 3 books in 5 days! We played trivia and Scrabble--they only had the Spanish version, but we played in English anyway. We drank delicious drinks and ate great food. I even worked out a couple of times. And, we gambled, and won! We played craps every night and had an absolute blast.

I definitely came home feeling refreshed and relaxed. Thank you Dina for an awesome birthday trip! And thank you, Dan, for being the best, most understanding husband ever! Love you!

*Here's an interesting/gross story about sea cucumbers. Did you know that when they get stressed (like when they're out of the water being passed around by a bunch of tourists), they throw up their intestines? Yeah, that happened.

Read more about my adventures with Dina: 

Quick Trip to Philly
Dina's Wedding
Dina and Ed Come to England

Read about my other cruises here:

Baltic Cruise
Mediterranean Cruise 
Caribbean Cruise

Read about our past birthday celebrations:
2016
2014
2013
2012

Color Me Rad

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of running. I completed one 5K last year, and ran a bit through my pregnancy, but it's generally not my go-to exercise. However, there was always one type of race that looked so fun that even I wanted to join. I'm sure you've seen these too...color runs! This is a race that is purely about having fun. It's not even timed.

Participants wear white shirts to start, and through the course of the race get pelted with various color bombs so that by the end they are covered in a rainbow of colors. The bombs are made from cornstarch, and are completely safe for all ages. Since the race is just for fun, we decided to bring along Zahara and make it a family outing.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day on the spectacular grounds of the Harewood House. We put on our brightly-colored sunglasses and temporary tattoos and made our way to the starting line. The plan was to have Zoey in the stroller with the rain cover on. Around 1K into the race, she decided she did not want to be in the stroller but wanted to be held instead. Good thing the race wasn't timed! There was very little running while carrying our 20-pound baby up giant, grassy hills!

The color stations were set up so that you could avoid the color if you wanted. Dan and I took turns running through the gauntlets, and then bringing Zoey to the edge of the color station so she could get a little bit without it getting in her face. She loved it!

By the end of the race, we were covered in purple, orange, green, yellow and pink. At the finish line, we got blue and red color bombs to throw on ourselves or each other. That was pure chaos! It was an orgy of colors, and we were covered head to toe. 

It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again when I'm back in the States.

I'm a Pushy Mum

On Monday I officially became a pushy mother. Those who know me may not be surprised, but I don't mean it in the sense you think I do. I joined an exercise group known as "Pushy Mothers Fitness." It's a free workout class designed for women with young babies. Their philosophy:

The moment your baby arrived into the world you became a Pushy Mother. You’ll always want what’s best for your child and you’ll push as hard as you can to get it. But it’s all too easy to forget about yourself in the process. Our aim is to empower and educate, so that you have the correct advice to give your mind and body the strength to cope with the challenge of motherhood.

Every week nearly twenty women gather in Valley Gardens in Harrogate to participate in an hour-long workout session. It mostly involves fast walking with your stroller up and down the hills of the park. We also stopped at several points to do various exercises on park benches, including triceps dips and push-ups.

This was my first post-natal workout, and I have to say it was pretty difficult. In a few weeks I'm sure it won't be nearly as strenuous, but by the end of the session I was definitely sweating. Actually, I didn't even make it the whole session because, of course, Zoey was hungry. Luckily I was able to catch back up to the group when I finished feeding her.

I went with friend Lena whose baby Olivia is only a few days older than Zoey. Olivia and Zoey were the youngest babies by several weeks; most babies were more than four months old. In fact the instructor came up to me afterwards and said she was impressed I was out there at only seven weeks postpartum.

This group operates through rain and shine. It seems like a great way to meet other mums while getting fresh air and exercise. There's no class next week and I'm out of town the week after that, but I'm looking forward to doing it again soon!

Do you have any fun, alternative exercise routines you do? Tell me about it!

Running Milestone!

Today was a big day. It is 39 degrees (with a wind chill of 30 degrees), and is pouring rain. Yet, I still went running! This is what I look like after 2.6 miles in the rain. Thanks for getting me out there, Rachel!

Soaking wet but still smiling

My First 5K!

Well, it happened. It was only a matter of time before the Badass Brigade, a.k.a. my S.O.S. crew convinced me to run a race with them.

Every year cities all over America host Turkey Trots. The races vary in length, but they all take place on or near Thanksgiving day. The base hosted a 5K version on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was doing my best to stand up to the peer pressure of joining when Dan blind-sided me, saying that he was planning on running it. That sealed my fate. I agreed to run too.

[source]

Since I started running a few weeks ago, I've only run three miles twice. A few people told me that if I feel comfortable running two miles, I shouldn't have a problem running 3.1 in a race. Marathoners often train the same way, running only 20 miles for a 26.2 mile race. I guess they were right. I did it!

It was a very hard race for me. The weather was terrible: cold, windy and wet. The course was very hilly; in fact it ended on a massive uphill. But, I did it! And I did it in great time. I crossed the finish line in just over 32 minutes. Dan did amazing too. His time clocked in at 30:44. Not bad for a first timer, right?

I couldn't have done it without my girls. Katie was awesome and ran with me most of the way until I forced her to leave me. And Rachel provided great moral support before jetting off for her super speedy under-30 minutes finish. I'm not sure that this is the start of a great running career, but I'm proud of myself for doing it.

Guest Post: Running... or Something Like It, Part 2

While I'm in Florida not exercising at all, Rachel's here to tell us about how she's completely transformed into an actual runner!  

It has been a while since my last post on Calli’s blog, but she asked me to write a quick follow up on my last blog post which you can see here.

The last time I was here, the longest run I had completed was around five miles. I am happy to say that since then, I have completed two half marathons! I am more of a tortoise than a hare, but I am over the moon about the progress I have made since day one.  

My first race was the Great North Run, it is a half-marathon in Newcastle and is one of the largest half marathons in the world.  Katie, Karen, and I participated, and we all started the race together.  Karen had to sneak back to Katie and my starting section. She is super-speedy and had been placed with a quicker group. I was amazed when I looked around and saw many people of varying ages, sizes, and fitness levels. We were all there for one cause... to finish the race. There was a lady named Gladys who started with us. She was 81 years old, and she finished in style. Like I said, if I can do this, anyone can! At the start line, it was raining, but we all felt excited for the start of the race. Because there were so many entrants, our group started nearly an hour after  the elite runners.

Since we were all running our own race: Katie, Karen, and I separated not long after the start.  Along the route, I saw people in costumes (Shrek, a Jamaican Bobsled Team, a person in a full Guide Dog mascot costume, etc.). I stopped to walk a few times, but as a whole, I was able to jog for most of the race. All three of us finished with personal records (mine was a PR because it was my first race). It was a beautiful finish!  There was even a rainbow at the end. 

I don't know if I could be more proud of us.

I felt so encouraged by our performance, that just a few weeks after the race I somehow convinced our crew to run another. The next race was just one month later and is called the Great Birmingham Run. I was excited that our team would be able to do another race together before Katie moves back to the states. Also, Alisha committed to running this one with us. As you may remember from my last post, she had trained with us for the last one but was unable to run with us because she was out of town. In fact, on the day of the Great North Run, she ran 8.5 miles on her own... on vacation!  We all signed up. Because of the shorter notice, we all elected to run for ourselves rather than for a charity. We saw it as a celebration of our ability to run. I felt an enormous sense of camaraderie. We felt like such a group of badasses, that we actually put that on our shirt.  I mentioned in the last post about Calli being our biggest cheerleader. In fact, she was. She and Dan came all the way to Birmingham to cheer us on.  

This race was colder, but it was a beautiful autumn run. We all started together again. Katie and Alisha had a mission to see how fast they could go, but Karen opted to run the race with pokey old me! What a great friend. Running this race with another person was more motivating, and even though my feet were killing me, I had a blast! The leaves were changing and there was a lot of music along the race path. We ran by Cadbury World (tempting right?). Karen and I had a lot of bystanders cheer for us and call out our names specifically. And... we hammed it up for the race cameras. At the finish line, the commentator actually called out our names. Also, I shaved nearly 10 minutes off of my previous time and couldn’t have felt more proud. It was such an emotional experience that I actually teared up a little after the finish. Katie, Alisha, Karen, and I shared a unique bonding experience with running, and I would never want to give up the memory of that day. And guess what... Calli and Dan decided to start running!  It was a win for everyone.

After the race with Calli's sign!

In the course of a few months, I feel transformed. Also, for the first race, my friends, family, and other kind people in my life helped me raise £442 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. That is over $700 US dollars and nearly 150% of my goal. I feel humbled by and grateful for everyone’s generosity. There were so many times that I wanted to quit, but knowing that I was running for a charity and that I had so much support from my friends kept me moving. 

The best and most supportive team ever!

Isn't she inspiring? Rachel really is a changed woman. She used to HATE running (almost as much as I did/do). But her positive energy is infectious. Dare I say I'm starting to enjoy our morning runs? Thanks for stopping by, Rachel! 

Picking Up A New Hobby

As you know, my S.O.S. friends have been on quite the running kick lately. Fresh off the thrill of watching them complete another half-marathon, Dan shocked me by announcing he'd like to start running. Once he said he would, I knew it was only a matter of time before I caved too. If I'm going to start running, I might as well be pro-active about it and do it on my terms.

The crew after their half-marathon

I really believe that attitude makes such a difference in day-to-day experiences. If you choose to be happy, generally you will be. So, with that in mind, I decided to have a positive attitude about running. After all, it's my choice. No one is forcing me to run (except maybe Karen).

The day after agreeing to go on a trial run, Karen, Alisha and Rachel all showed up at my front door at 9:00 a.m. sharp. I've never seen these girls so on-time. I'm pretty sure they thought if they didn't show up right away I might lose my nerve...ha!

We did two miles around my neighborhood, and it went so much better than expected! We ran at around a 10-minute/mile pace. I definitely was not going for speed; I just wanted to make it through the run without throwing up! This pace felt pretty good for me though. I was shocked to see that I actually did the whole run without stopping. I guess all my Jillian Michaels workouts are paying off!

The run went so well that I thought I'd press my luck. I actually scheduled a second, third and fourth run! I did the second run on Saturday and it was definitely harder than the first run. Partly because I was still sore from the first run, and partly because it was much colder--there was snow on the ground! I still did it though.

Snow for my second run

I'm not sure that I'll become a runner, but I'm proud of myself for trying something new. I'll keep you posted on how this goes. Thanks for the motivation S.O.S. girls!

New Workout

I saw this on pinterest and decided to stop browsing and start doing. I got right off the couch and followed this plan.

from here

It took me about 20 minutes and I was definitely huffing and puffing by the end of it. The hardest part were the pushups, but that's also the exercise I need the most. My friend used to motivate me to work out by asking how my chicken wings were. (Sounds cruel, but I asked him to do that.)

I feel really good now, so I'd like to keep this up. I'm going to try and do this a few times a week in addition to my cardio. I'll let you know how it goes!