Brie Fit

Happy Halloween, everyone!

We started the day with church.  As much as I loathe getting up early on Sundays, I usually enjoy church once we’re there.   (Subtext: thank you, Tim, for dragging my ass out of bed.)

Since I work Saturday this week and next (and then get one full weekend, and then another half-weekend), I decided to do a little shopping to bolster my fall/winter work wardrobe.  When I first got a job last fall, I raided the Ann Taylor outlet and got tons of stuff for dirt cheap…but now it’s all falling apart.  Sad.

I wound up with 2 cardigans ($15 each, and they seem pretty substantial!) from Old Navy, and a camisole and necklace from Loft.  Hooray!

Then I spent the rest of the morning running various errands (and NOT cleaning my house, like I told myself I would.  Ugh).

Around 3:30, I got home and thought, “Man, I wish I’d had time for a run today.”  And then I realized I was being an idiot, because 3:30 is perfectly acceptable running time.

And then I performed the greatest multitask of my life.

I really, really hate getting my oil changed.  I know it’s necessary, but it always feels like I’m flushing my money down the toilet because I don’t GET anything out of it!   The waiting rooms are always boring and dirty and smell like gas (both human and car varieties).

So, I dropped my car off.

And then I investigated the brand new trail (okay, paved path, but whatever) that runs right by the oil change place.

Literally, this trail came out of nowhere…conveniently, AFTER my marathon.  It’s not exactly scenic, but it’s safe, paved, well-lit, and in an area where I don’t feel isolated.  Score!  It’s super hilly, but fun.  I’ll definitely go back in the future.

I ran a mile and a half out and then back again.   My goal today was to run for fun.  Honestly, the idea of running hasn’t appealed to me much in the last few weeks.  I’ve been enjoying other forms of exercise and focusing on work, which has been nice.  I think I achieved my goal—I saw lots of fall leaves, enjoyed the cool weather, and generally had a great time!

And by the time I was finished, my car was ready and all I had to do was pay.  Perfect!

Unfortunately, the tendon in my foot that was bothering me post-marathon is a bit achy tonight.  Boo.  Also, I took off my toenail polish to realize that my right big toenail (which felt bruised after the marathon, but looked normal) is dangerously purpley-black and will probably continue to blacken and fall off again.  Double boo.

We’ve had a steady stream of trick-or treaters all night and about half of our candy is gone—and all the kids were polite, said thank you, and were in costume!

Anyway, I’m off.  I’m baking a French Silk Pie from scratch in honor of Hangry Pants Macaron Monday!

Do you believe in giving out healthy treats on Thanksgiving or do you espouse the “it’s a holiday, enjoy it” view?

A day in the life of a traveling recruiter.  Go.

Breakfast is hastily cobbled together from whatever mini-mart-cafe-thing is in your hotel lobby.  Coffee is a must, so you can be appropriately perky, even though you aren’t quite certain exactly what city you’re in.

Eat yogurt parfait without spoon, thanking God that you had the foresight to go get breakfast BEFORE putting on your makeup, because yes, I had blueberry yogurt up my nose and on my upper lip. 

Wash blueberry yogurt off face.  Brush teeth, eradicating coffee breath.  Pack, check luggage with the concierge, scuttle off to fair.  Pray you are not stationed next to someone overly talkative or completely boring.

Shake lots of hands.  Answer the same questions over and over.  Blink at the girls wearing thigh-high boots.  More caffeine, nibble a bit of a cold hotel catered lunch, repeat.

Head to the airport with a cabbie that smells like he bathed in Old Spice.  Tactfully crack the window and stick your nose out, beagle-style.

Change out of fancy business clothes in a tiny airport bathroom, being careful never to touch your feet to the germy floor.  Head through security barefoot and ashamed of your four missing toenails.

Procure airport dinner, do some position jockeying to score one of the squishy chairs with outlets (I love you Southwest), crack your book, stretch out and wait for departure.

Fly home (“yes, it’s a Nook, hold about a thousand books, yes it’s great, I love it,”), realize they upped the price of terminal parking and hope your boss doesn’t kill you for spending $40 to park (oops), arrive home to happy husband and a rowdy beagle.

And Halloween candy.  Lots of Halloween candy.

Tim and I are engaged in a debate as to which of the six varieties of candy we should give out first (in other words, which is worst).  We have Almond Joy, Reese’s, 3 Musketeers, Kit Kats, Snickers, Milky Ways, and Hershey’s bars.  Please leave a comment ranking the candies from 1-6, 1 being the first you give away, 6 being the one you keep, with your rationale.  Go!

Today I am doing a quick 24 hour long trip to Chicago for work.  I flew out of he airport, and enjoyed the adorable decorations and costumed employees at my favorite airline’s  ticketing desk.

I really do like Kansas City quite a bit.  People are friendly, the weather is fairly moderate, the cost of living is cheap, the arts are abundant, and lord knows we know how to barbecue a cow.  It’s home for me, because that’s where Tim and our furry kids are.  I get excited when my plane lands I know my bed is nearby.

But God, Chicago has my heart. 

I can’t explain it.  I’ll never be able to say, “I’m from Kansas City.”  I am a Chicagoan, through and through.  I love the Daley family despite their obvious shortcomings.  I eat wet Italian beef sandwiches and slices of pizza that feel like bricks.  I call it pop and root for the Sox.  I’m a Northwestern alum.  I remember Comiskey Park and sticky summers filled with trips to the Taste and Rainbow Cones.  I am mildly obsessed with Mark Suppelsa.  I watched Bozo the Clown and remember the original Empire Carpet and Eagleman commercials.

Perhaps I’m a sentimental fool, but running the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago (it feels like much longer!) has made me fall head over heels once again.  As I walked through the crisp Chicago evening with my mom and sister, my stomach felt different.  This is my town.  I ran these streets.  These people, these random strangers picked me up, fed me, cheered me on when I needed them most.

You can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take the Chicago out of the girl, I guess.

On the exercise front, I didn’t get as much in this week as I’d hoped—just one cardio workout and two awesome weights days.  You win some, you lose some, I suppose.  I’m going to do some running next week since my angry tendon is feeling great lately.

Also, I joined Strands and will be using it to track my workouts from now on.  I like that I can track both running mileage and other types of workouts, and that it has kind of a fun, Facebook-y vibe.  Follow me there!  It’s a great tool.

Time to go conk out in my hotel bed, order room service, and watch bad TV!

Rep your city in the comments.  South SIDE!

Awhile back I asked if you were interested in knowing what I’m reading and enjoying lately.  None of this is too far out there, but here’s what I’ve been tackling on planes and for half an hour before I go to sleep every night. 

I read the first two books of the Stieg Larsson trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest) back in January, and finished the series in June.  The first 100 or so pages of the trilogy drag like ass, but it picks up quickly.  I’m not big on books with tons of characters, and sometimes I had issues confusing the many, many characters who all have names that end in –son, but overall I would give this series 3.5/5 stars.  It was entertaining and kept me on the edge of my seat, though I don’t think I’d be interested in re-reading.

I finished The 19th Wife back in January as well.  I have something of an academic interest in polygamy and will read whatever I can get my hands on about it.  This book is a bit soapy for my tastes, but is an easy, interesting read.  3/5 stars!

Since I love polygamy so much, I also finished two memoirs of people who were completely abused by the system.  Neither is particularly ground-breaking or well-written, but they are interesting reads.

 Stolen Innocence is about…well, read the subtitle.  It’s an interesting insight into the polygamist lifestyle, but was a bit self-indulgent at times.  I’d go with 2.5/5 stars. 

I will just ditto the above review for Lost Boy.

If you are interested in the history of polygamy, check out No Man Knows my History (or e-mail me and I’ll send you a link to my published paper on the topic)!

Like every twentysomething woman in America, I read The Help.  To be fair, it’s a really excellent book, but it’s pretty ubiquitous these days so I doubt my review is all that helpful.  (No pun intended.)  I’d give it 4.5/5 stars.

You will notice that sometimes I go on reading streaks where I read several books about one topic in a row.  This year so far, I’ve had streaks on polygamy, the Holocaust, Hawaii, and true crime.  Weird.

So…the short Holocaust novel streak.

First, I read The Book Thief.  This is an amazing and powerful book.  It is beautifully written, and even though I think it technically falls into the Young Adult category, it is worth reading.  I cried.  5 stars.

Then I read Sarah’s Key.  I liked the first 3/4 of this book quite a bit, but loathed the ending, a lot.  It was trite and cheesy and that’s all I have to say about that.  3 stars.

Later this summer, I read The Hunger Games trilogy.  Again, young adult books, but a pretty fun read.  It was kind of Harry Potter meets The Handmaid’s Tale.  4/5 stars for sheer entertainment value.

Water for Elephants was just okay.  For some reason, it kind of reminded me of that Tim Burton movie, Big Fish, so maybe if you like that movie you’ll like this book.  3 stars.

Last month, I read Honolulu and Moloka’i by Alan Brennert.   I really like long books, provided they don’t completely suck, because I like getting to follow a character for a long span of time.  Both of these books do that and I very much enjoyed them both.  4/5 stars for both.

Most recently, I’ve been on a journalistic true crime streak.

In Cold Blood is a classic of the genre, and though it drags in places, is a very thorough and interesting work.  4/5 stars.

Last night, I finished Columbine,  and despite the horrific subject matter, this was one of the best books I’ve read this year.  It is riveting, sensitive, and respectful, and incredibly well-written.  5/5 stars.

A few others I’ve read this year:

1. Shanghai Girls, which was good in the beginning but devolved into random cliche drivel by the end. 2.5/5 stars
2. Olive Kitteridge, which is a nice little book but didn’t leave much of an impact on me one way or the other. 3.5/5 stars
3. Home Safe, which I read because it was free.  Nice piece of fluff for light reading, not as bad as I thought it would be.  3/5 stars.
4. Admission, which made my job seem more glamorous and powerful than it actually is, but had some good points.  3/5 stars.
5. Never Let Me Go, which is kind of creepy and doesn’t have much resolution but is a kind of cool and haunting book.  4/5 stars.
6. The Secret Life of Bees, because I am the last person on the planet to read this book.  Lovely.  4.5/5 stars.
7. One L.  Law school is really different these days, but the gunners and competition remains the same.  3/5 stars.
8. Let the Great World Spin.   I fucking hated this book and I’m not sorry.  1/5 stars.

What have you been reading?  Anything I need to check out?

So…just as a warning, these next few weeks are going to be crazy.  I have to work weird hours, including a 10 hour day the next 3 out of 4 Saturdays.  I’ll be flying to random places, driving to the middle of nowhere, and racking up the Holiday Inn Express points like it’s my job.  It’s travel season!

Today, I visited my favorite blogging personal trainer Susan yet again for workout inspiration.  If I’ve learned anything these last few weeks, it’s that I need to have a written-out plan when I hit the weights—otherwise I wind up making a mess of things.  Today I decided to do do her Full Body Workout #3 with a few modifications.  Like so:

Squats: 3 sets of 10 at 95 pounds, 105 pounds, and 115 pounds

Superset, 3 sets of 10

Wide grip lat pulldown: 36 pounds, 41 pounds, 46 pounds

Bulgarian split squats: 30 pounds X 3

Superset, 3 sets of 10

Barbell bench press: 45 pounds, 55 pounds, 55 pounds  (sidenote: is anyone else absolutely terrified of being crushed by the bar?  Just me?)

Good morning: 45 pounds X 3

Superset, 3 sets of 10

Dumbbell shoulder press: 20 pounds X  3

Reverse lunge w/ forward reach: 20 pounds X 3

Superset, 3 sets of 10

Dumbbell bicep curl: 20 pounds X 3

Plie squat: 20 pounds X 3

I can already tell my legs are going to feel appropriately wobbly tomorrow!

A few random observations:

1. College dudes just don’t know what to do with a woman in the weight room who is clearly not a  fellow college student trying to flirt with them.
2. Dude, I was using the squat rack first.  Wait your turn.  And don’t stare at me while you do so.
3. I didn’t realize how mismatched my body was, but my left side is much weaker than my right.  It feels weird to have the same weight in each hand, but feel the left shoulder struggle to push it up and the right shoulder pop it up with no trouble.  I wonder why that is?
4. My gym actually plays good music. 
5. The German version of 99 Luftballoons is much better than the English version.  (No, I don’t speak German.)
6. I’m okay with grunting in public.  Always have been, always will be.  I am also apparently missing the “afraid of the weight room” chip that so many females have.  I don’t get the BFD.
7. I am kind of terrified of exercises where I feel like I could drop the bar on a vital body part.  I had small panic attacks while doing the barbell bench press and had the weight much lighter than I could probably handle because I kept envisioning dropping the bar and crushing my chest.  That is also why I omitted the skull crushers in the third superset.
8. I will do anything to get out of ab work.  Anything.  I hate it.  A lot.
9. I don’t rest between sets.  I have places to go, people to see.
10. I love Zappos.  I ordered a pair of shoes from them last night at 8 pm and they were delivered, free, this afternoon.  Best customer service ever.

I’m off.  I have to be at work an hour early (UGGGG) tomorrow.

What random observations have you made lately?

Today at the gym I felt like I was back in college.

Here’s the thing—I’ve pretty much always worked out.  Okay, I stopped for a year or so in law school, but in college, I’d usually head over to the campus gym, in ugly plaid flannel pajama pants and a sorority t-shirt, and leisurely chill on the elliptical or recumbent bike for about half an hour while flipping through a magazine or book. 

Then I’d go back to my sorority house and eat a gigantic dinner cooked by our amazing chef, topped off with a huge bowl of fudgy cake or Alpha Chi Pie, and then go pound Jungle Juice all night at the frats.

True story.  (Spoiler alert!  That was not a sound plan.)

Today, I just browsed through a magazine while on the elliptical.

I actually upped the resistance quite a bit and got a decent workout. 

Oddly enough, though,  I think the reading+ellipticaling combo made me motion sick.  After about 25 minutes, I started feeling nauseous, so I stopped.  I decided to run a quick mile on the treadmill (9:00 flat) and then head home (I was hungry!).  I’m still holding off on longer runs because my foot still doesn’t feel 100% better yet.

Can I mention again how much I am loving the flexibility of going to the gym and saying, “Hmm, I think I’ll do THIS today?”

Speaking of flashbacks, please tell me someone else remembers the greater moments of Full House as well as I do.  Like this:

What were you like in college?  Did you exercise?

Complaining over.  Big girl panties firmly in place.   Counting my blessings of health, family and friends, and so much more instead.

Like this precious guy:

I got him that hat from Etsy for being in our wedding (in utero—his mom was a reader).  I also got one for my pregnant BFF who is due next month.  Secretly, I’m hoping she has a girl, so I can buy all the other adorable stuff I’ve found in my Etsy travails the last week!

Moving right along.  Today I decided to stop being a sad sack and throw myself back into everything.  I worked hard at work (not that I don’t always, but I was especially vigorous today) and then worked it out hard at the gym.

I did another Susan-inspired cardio weights combo:

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Lat pulldown at 48 pounds

Dumbbell row with 10 pound dumbbells (should be able to go up to 15s next time!)

5 minutes of cardio

Ran on the treadmill at an 8:20 pace and it felt awesome!

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Dumbbell bench press with 15 pound dumbbells

YTWL with 5 pound dumbbells

5 minutes ofcardio

Elliptical, incline 10, resistance 15

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Cable bicep curl at 29 pounds

Cable tricep pushdown at 29 pounds

5 minutes of cardio

Rowing machine, alternating overhand and underhand grips

Superset (2 sets, 12 reps)

Swiss ball crunch

Prone jackknife

All in all, it was a fun sweat session.  I am really enjoying going to the gym and doing what sounds like fun, rather than just hopping on the treadmill day in, day out, and just putting up with it.

I came home to find this adorable card from my other, non-pregnant BFF Lindsey!

She wrote a sweet note congratulating me on finishing the marathon and wishing me luck as I train for Disney Princess.  I love it!  I think this might have to go on my giant corkboard at work.

 What are you thankful for lately?

Complaining over.  Big girl panties firmly in place.   Counting my blessings of health, family and friends, and so much more instead.

Like this precious guy:

I got him that hat from Etsy for being in our wedding (in utero—his mom was a reader).  I also got one for my pregnant BFF who is due next month.  Secretly, I’m hoping she has a girl, so I can buy all the other adorable stuff I’ve found in my Etsy travails the last week!

Moving right along.  Today I decided to stop being a sad sack and throw myself back into everything.  I worked hard at work (not that I don’t always, but I was especially vigorous today) and then worked it out hard at the gym.

I did another Susan-inspired cardio weights combo:

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Lat pulldown at 48 pounds

Dumbbell row with 10 pound dumbbells (should be able to go up to 15s next time!)

5 minutes of cardio

Ran on the treadmill at an 8:20 pace and it felt awesome!

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Dumbbell bench press with 15 pound dumbbells

YTWL with 5 pound dumbbells

5 minutes ofcardio

Elliptical, incline 10, resistance 15

Superset (3 sets, 12 reps)

Cable bicep curl at 29 pounds

Cable tricep pushdown at 29 pounds

5 minutes of cardio

Rowing machine, alternating overhand and underhand grips

Superset (2 sets, 12 reps)

Swiss ball crunch

Prone jackknife

All in all, it was a fun sweat session.  I am really enjoying going to the gym and doing what sounds like fun, rather than just hopping on the treadmill day in, day out, and just putting up with it.

I came home to find this adorable card from my other, non-pregnant BFF Lindsey!

She wrote a sweet note congratulating me on finishing the marathon and wishing me luck as I train for Disney Princess.  I love it!  I think this might have to go on my giant corkboard at work.

 What are you thankful for lately?

Sorry for the brief hiatus.  I just kind of needed to take a couple days away from…stuff, you know?

I wish I could say it was a fantastic weekend, but it wasn’t.  I suspect I might just be experiencing my first-ever ovulation in the last ten years, which has turned me into a pizza-faced emotional mess. 

I spent much of Saturday being a hormonal brat, sobbing to my wonderful husband about how annoyed I am that I can’t have everything I want exactly when I want it.  (Annoying, right?)  I can’t log in to Facebook without being assaulted with pictures of pregnant women or ultrasounds or cute babies.  My secretary keeps making not-at-all funny jokes about “hey Brie, you’ve been married 5 months, time to pop out a baby!” It’s.  Everywhere.  And I kind of feel like I’m drowning in it.

The breakdown was kind of productive, though, because I think I’ve kind of realized that partially at the heart of this intense, all-consuming baby fever is that I’ve never done anything just because I wanted to, consequences be damned.  I’ve always done what I think I’m supposed to do, and I feel like now, the expectation is that I will do the following things in proper order:

1. Enjoy 2 or so years of young, fun married couple time.  Go on adult vacations to places like Sonoma or whatever.  I will run marathons, Tim will play golf, and on Saturdays we will sleep late and make fancy brunches.
2. Establish satisfying career.  Get promoted; get raises; pay off student loans.
3. Buy a house.  Bonus points for any DIY renovations or upgrades or restorations. 
4. Toy with the idea of a baby.  Go for it.  Have baby.

But…that doesn’t feel natural to me.   We’ve done the crazy road trips and inadvisable partying (hello, law school) thing.  I don’t really have any desire to buy a house, even though I know it’s probably not the most responsible decision to keep flushing money down the toilet in the form of rent.  Seriously, Home Depot makes me shudder.  And God knows my student loans will not be paid off before I hit menopause. 

Something deep in my craw is just telling me to have a fucking baby, and I want to listen to it because I have always ignored that voice in favor of the responsible decision.

Thankfully, my husband is NOT riddled with hormones, and does want to be responsible, so no babies.  Which is probably for the best anyway.  But I’ve still been a crazy woman this weekend.  I attribute this at least 60% to hormones.

Anyway.  To cheer us both up, I bought a pumpkin, and we carved it to look like Buckley.

It worked, actually.

I am hoping to run a little this week—my foot has been feeling somewhat better.  I’m also hoping for a few good weightlifting sessions, and mostly, I am hoping to get rid of this hormonal fog that’s consumed me since Friday.

Please leave your best suggestions for ridding my body of these crazy-making hormones as quickly as possible in the comments.

I’m coming clean.

I have baby fever.  Or, to borrow a term from a funny blog I read, I have baby rabies.

Here’s my problem: we can’t have a baby right now.  We have student loans to pay off.  Tim’s job is scheduled to end (we’ve known this from day one) next summer.  We don’t own a home.  Breast pumps frighten the bejeezus out of me.   Neither Tim nor I have ever changed a diaper.   We’re only 26.5, for God’s sake—shouldn’t we be traveling and going to cool concerts and snorting coke off hookers and stuff still?

This has been the single worst side effect of going off birth control.  (I mean, if they’re even linked, but the timing was pretty spot on.)  I finally got a period on my own after 90 days, and it was so problem-free that I didn’t regret the decision to stop taking the pill AT ALL.  I had none of my usual awful side effects—intense bloating, nausea, headaches—and it was great.

But now…all I can think about is babies.  And I HATE myself for this.  Every logical fiber in my brain KNOWS we need to wait for so many somewhat compelling reasons, and yet my ovaries are on the floor throwing a three-year-old-esque temper tantrum.   I know we need to wait.  But I don’t wanna.

So that’s why I’m in a funk, largely.  Trust me, I feel like kind of an ass about all of this, and no, we’re not going to actually procreate until we’re good n’ ready. 

(The adorable pictures of our new nephew filtering in my inbox are only making the problem more urgent.  And when my best friend has her baby next month…we’re approaching critical mass, people.)  I don’t think this is a jealousy thing at all—I am nothing but happy for all the awesome babies coming into my life these days, and this has all been brewing for awhile. 

But, I mean COME ON:

(I am so glad my sister-in-law also has awesome taste in nail polish.  No wonder we get along so well.)

Anyway.  Today I drove around Nebraska.  I got back to work and was able to leave early for more weightlifting fun!  (I am still super sore from Susan’s upper body cardio workout on Tuesday.  Yikes.)

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!  Today I did a slightly tweaked version of Susan’s Full Body Workout 1.  I did…

Superset x 3 (12 reps each)

Lat pulldown at 48 pounds

Barbell sumo squats at 45 pounds

Superset x 3 (12 reps each)

Dumbbell bench press with 10 pound dumbbells (still sore from Tuesday!)

Dumbbell split squat with 20 pound dumbbells

Superset X 3 (12 reps each)

Arnold press with 10 pound dumbbells

Stiff leg deadlift—1 set with 20 pound dumbbells, 2 sets with 25 pound dumbbells

Superset X 3 (12 reps each)

Cable pushdown (36 pounds)

Cable bicep curl (24 pounds)

Superset X 2 (12 reps each)

Swiss ball crunches

Prone jackknife

So, that’s that.  I hope my butt is as sore tomorrow as she says it will be! 

Have you dealt with the dreaded baby fever?  If you’re a parent…how did you know you were ready?