Rock Star Skinny Part 7

Ahhh...three day hiatus.... sorry blogosphere. I was procrastinating and procrastinating on writing my last blog post (not sure why... it's a super fun post) and well... Karma's a little (insert expletive here) because, I kid you not...I was about to press 'post' Wednesday night and a giant lightning bolt zapped my internet and cable. I just got it back today so I'm saving my cute little post for next week, and giving you (insert Hulk Hogan voice) FITNESS FRIDAY...

^It's like a game of mad libs up there ^

After two full weeks on the SELF VIP diet, I am 3lbs down...baby steps people! What I am super excited about is that I cannot remember EVER weighing less than my current weight. I'd imagine that of course I weighed less for a large portion of my childhood, but we are talking my lowest weight since I started caring about health, fitness and what the scale said - like circa 2002 (the dreaded Middle School years)! Even better than actually losing the rest of this weight is that from this point on, it's unchartered territory....dun dun dun.

That being said, I'm feeling like I'm in a bit of a funk so far for week three. I've been weighing in on Mondays and the last four days have been pretty rainy and gross. It has been such a mind game to get myself to stick to the diet this week. This is why I am so glad I decided to share the ups and downs via blog (and hopefully via SELF Mag) because normally this is where I would decide to quit. But no... I have goals to reach, magazines to get into, bathing suites to wear (ugh) and my most supportive Fitness Friday fan to update (Hi, Vanessa!). So....TAKE THAT stubborn mindset... get your derriere off the damn couch and do some sit ups.

I'm glad we had this chat. I leave you with this weeks FF motivation...

Oh, someecards ...you get me every time!

Want to catch up on Fitness Friday?

Rock Star Skinny 1

Rock Star Skinny 2

Rock Star Skinny 3

Rock Star Skinny 4

Rock Star Skinny 5

Rock Star Skinny 6

Fair Game

This doesn't come close to topping last weekend's shenanigans, but here's what went on during a very low key, rainy New York Saturday and Sunday...

Before it started pouring I headed over to Old Salem Farm's annual horse show in Westchester. I used to hate the fact that my hometown had more horses than people. Despite being so close to NYC, there were not a lot of options growing up.  Now that I've had a chance to live in a city, it's actually quite charming.  Anyway, this horse show hosts the best of the best horse enthusiasts from around the world, including many celebs and their kids...it's basically a parade of wealth and Barbour coats.

I gave up horseback riding back in the day...so this was my chance to wear my Kate Middleton does the country look...

 My Vintage Equestrian Look

 

Polo Hat, Faux Barbour Coat, Hunter Boots, Accessorized by Land Rover

 

It was actually a lot of fun, there were tons of shops and boutiques represented at the show, but it soon started to pour, and even my beautiful Hunter Boots couldn't keep me dry.

I headed home to continue demolishing my bathroom (I'm remodeling! Before and after pics coming soon!). Note: DO NOT under any circumstance decide to remove wallpaper on your own. This weekend marked days 5 and 6 of removal...and it's awful.

To top it off, I did a little shopping, visited some relatives, and stuck to the SELF VIP diet. All-in-all a great low key weekend. Very excited for what looks like an upcoming hot and sunny week!

Rock Star Skinny Part 6

Wow...already up to Rock Star Skinny 6! In case you've missed any Fitness Friday updates, here's an easy reference for ya...

Rock Star Skinny 1
Rock Star Skinny 2
Rock Star Skinny 3
Rock Star Skinny 4
Rock Star Skinny 5

I'm happy to announce that the SELF mag diet went according to plan for week one... 2 pounds down! Wahoo! I definitely find myself feeling more content between meals and less eager to snack! My pants are also feeling a bit looser which is quite frankly the best feeling ever.

While I still can't reveal the SELF diet secrets, I did add one day of my own strength training this week just for fun (what...fun?? I know, I'm becoming one of those crazy fitness people). I wanted to do a little more lower body since my arms and shoulders were still sore from a previous workout. I had read about a Carrie Underwood strength training session in Cosmo a very long time ago and had never tried it. It resurfaced in another form on Pinterest, and I sort of combined the two. Basically, you use a deck of cards and assign each suite to a muscle group or exercise like so...

So, for example, when you pull a 9 of spades, you do 9 squats. It kept me  very entertained and you can adjust the game to meet any fitness need (for example, I think in Carrie's workout, a joker was a mile run).  Just a fun and quick way to get in some strength training.

Speaking of runs, I'm off for mine (by far, my least favorite part of the SELF workout)... I leave you with this Fitness Friday motivation:

Source

No Place Like Chrome

Well, I did a terrible thing folks. I promised a Marine a care package back in April, and I only sent it this weekend. I feel awful...who does that? Better late than never I suppose? Anyway...my friend is currently stationed in Afghanistan and I wanted to send over some fun loot to remind him of home. Of course I got the 'I don't care what you send, we appreciate anything' message, so I was at a loss for what to include.

 

After polling my friends about what a Marine might enjoy receiving in the mail, the general consensus was- porn.  Umm 1. No 2. It's technically not allowed and 3. Coming from me, it would be awfully awkward. So I settled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and the following (excuse the terrible picture quality)...

 



 

Included in my care package:

1. Magazines

2. A Football - I also bought a wiffle ball bat, but it didn't fit in the box :(

3. Wet Ones - apparently desert sand is hard to clean off

4. Big League Chew - A throwback to our intramural Softball days

5. Beef Jerkey...it's manly and wont melt (be careful sending perishable food to the desert)

6. Chewing Tobacco - gross! But hey, he deserves it!

7. USA Swag

8. A long letter of thanks (not pictured)

 

 

 

After wrapping and stuffing my goodies into the box, it was time to ship this baby out. The USPS sells an APO/FPO special flat rate Priority Mail box specifically for our troops (above) and they cover a portion of the shipping. It only cost me $15 to mail by the time we were all done! The pain in the butt part comes when you have to fill out the customs form. I found a great tutorial on this blog which helped me quickly fill in the info needed.  Hopefully it will make it abroad without any issues!

There is no better way to give thanks to our military than actually saying it. On my hunt across the internet I found a bunch of great websites devoted to sending letters, care packages, and even thank you emails. Even if you don't know a particular member of the armed forces, you can send a package to troops through different organizations. Here are some sites offering to help. Also, make sure you check the regulations or your package wont make it (for example no pork products are allowed in Afghanistan because it's forbidden to Muslims, and porn is illegal as well...although you're sending it to our American troops, it still has to get through customs).

1. Support Our Troops
2. Any Soldier
3. USPS Guidelines

Depending on if my package makes it (fingers crossed), I definitely plan to do this again. If you'd like to contribute to my next care package with either a letter of thanks, or a fun gift, please shoot me an email (you can find my email icon on the right toolbar).

If anyone out there reading this is a member of our armed forces, THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting your life on the line to protect our freedoms. This small tokens of thanks can barely begin to explain the gratitude for your service.  

Lilacism

As you may have already gathered from some previous posts (Smooth Sailing, Island Hopping, and Bouncer, It's Me!), my friend Christina tends to be my partner in crime for a lot of crazy adventures. Christina is a friend of mine from High School so when we both found ourselves in our hometown in Westchester, NY for Mother's Day this year, we decided to hit up an old tradition....I give you: The Tale of The Midnight Florists...



It all began the night before Mother's Day of our Junior year of High School (2006). We were cruising around town in The Grey Goose (our clever name for her SUV) when we realized Mother's Day was upon us and we had both forgotten to get our darling Mommy's a gift. It was about 10pm and we figured we had a chance to score some flowers from a supermarket so we beelined it to the closest one (which just so happened to be a good twenty minute drive). When we arrived, the store was closed.

Feeling defeated, we headed back home to prepare for a present-less Mother's Day. As we were driving along (probably singing at the top of our lungs) it happened. We were stopped at a stop sign and The Grey Goose's headlights illuminated the most beautiful sight we could have seen. A voluptuous purple bush of florally goodness - a lilac tree. We looked at each other, we looked at the tree, we looked at each other...and the rest is history. The Midnight Florists were born.

Christina and I spent the rest of the evening running onto front lawns, and sticking our heads out the sunroof, plucking lilacs from yards across town.  Our Mother's were greeted with beautiful bouquets when they woke up in their respective homes the next morning...albeit very surprised to hear that they were a compilation of the neighbors lilacs (they were also happy to hear we didn't get ourselves arrested).

We took an oath that if we both so happened to be in the same area on Mother's Day Eve, we'd repeat the heist. This was one of those years. We grabbed our supplies and hit the road...

 

Although our hometown is a quick 45 minute train ride from Manhattan, it is extremely rural. There are more horses than people, no stop-lights, and about one police officer on duty at a time. Many homes are situated on a few acres of land, making the lilac hunt that much more fun, running across front yards and hopping over stone walls...

 

 

 Bleeding Heart jackpot on the side of the road!

 

 

 Evil grins all around...

 

 

 

The bigger the risk the bigger the reward....this year we found a jackpot of Tulips, as well as some other botanical beauties...hopefully the deer will take the blame.  Our bag soon bloomed (do you like what I did there) to quadruple it's size...

Before

 

After

After many fits of gut-wrenching belly laughter, a soaking wet back seat, and a shoe casualty for Christina...

...we completed another successful night as the Midnight Florists. After a few lectures about theft and felonies, our Mother's were very pleased to receive multiple bouquets today. Here is my portion of the loot...

 

Stolen with Love <3 The Midnight Florists

 

Happy Mother's Day!