If you suddenly just had 83 items appear in your RSS reader, my apologies.  I am finally getting around to exporting Lovin’ Losing into AdMeyeringLife.  I was able to import what I originally had on the WordPress.com site, but I’ll have to do the self-hosted site from home.  I may even get around to buying a domain for the new blog, too.

So…don’t be surprised if you get a nother influx into your RSS reader.  You can always “Mark all as Read,” or if you’re new to AdMeyeringLife then you can catch up on the old blog.

Here’s hoping those of you with e-mail subscriptions don’t get 83 e-mails.

Here I am at 15 weeks!!

So…what do you think? Am I popping, yet? I think so!!

Baby

What Baby Center has to say about 15 weeks…

“Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She’s busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby’s a boy or a girl! (Don’t be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby’s sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby’s position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to “hide the goods.)”

This Week

So what’s been going on this week?  We spent last weekend at my in-laws down in Charleston, SC.  It was a nice relaxing time including Shrimp & Grits at Shem Creek Bar and Grill, massages at Aqua Spa, baby shopping at the flea market, and down time spent hanging out with the family.

The only negative was getting our windshield cracked by a flying rock (thank you semi with no mud flaps).  My car is currently at the glass shop getting a new windshield (because we had nothing better to do with $200.)  Today I drove Josh’s “new car” to work.  It’s an former police car, Crown Victoria of  course, and I felt like an old lady driving that boat around. Fun, though, because people do get out of your way. LOL

The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful. Mostly just going to work, going home, and being in bed at 9PM.  Last night our big outing was a trip to the mall for an errand.  My mom bought me some tops at the Motherhood outlet (Thanks, Mom!!) and mailed them to me.  Unfortunately, only one of them fit, so I went to the mall to exchange them.

I ended up getting the top you see in my 15 week photo as well as some Palmers lotion/oil and some undies (sooooo comfy).

This time I couldn’t resist trying on the bump!

According to the sales lady this adds 3 months…so this is what I’ll look like at 6 months!!! Um….let’s hope not.  That had better what I look like at 9.5 months!

How I’m Feeling

Pretty well except for having to go to the bathroom every15 minutes.  I WAS sleeping better until last night.  I couldn’t even tell you why I was waking up. I just couldn’t get comfortable because of a stiff lower back. Poor Goliath even left the bed in a huff and slept on a pillow on the floor.

This morning I’m feeling pretty tired and I was feeling a little nauseous earlier.  I guess an apple with peanut butter wasn’t enough breakfast. Either that or my pre-natal didn’t sit well. Nothing a little oatmeal couldn’t fix, though I’m still hungry.  Perhaps baby’s going through a growth spurt? Let’s hope it’s not going to be another one of those ravenous weeks!!!

So, that’s about it! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and enjoys a nice, relaxing weekend.

Today marks week 14 of this pregnancy and the beginning of the second trimester.  My, how time flies.  This week hasn’t really brought anything new unless you count pimples. 

Josh and I had a wonderful dinner out for Valentine’s Day and I made sure not to eat too much so I could be allowed in proper company (re: burping).  Lucky for me that meant leftovers!

I worked out on Sunday and Wednesday.  Wednesday was a 2 mile run/walk.  It wasn’t terribly comfortable as I had to pee about halfway through and that prompted a little cramping.  I did get to wear my awesome new t-shirt that says “Rock the Bump,” though.  My way of saying, “I’m pregnant, not fat.”

I’m pretty much exclusively in maternity clothes now (found the jackpot at Burlington Coat Factory last weekend).  My regular pants are uncomfortable and at this point probably don’t fit at all.  My tops are also not cute so maternity clothes it is.

We’re going out of town to visit my in-laws today and I can’t wait.   I love going to visit them.   By the time we get back on Monday we’ll be almost exactly one week out from our next appointment where we’ll hopefully get to HEAR the heartbeat for the first time (we’ve seen it twice).

One thing this week as brought is some anxiety.  Earlier in the week I felt skinnier.  And then Josh mentioned my belly felt smaller. And then I proceeded to freak out.  Again last night he mentioned how funny it was that my belly seemed to go up and down. This time he made sure to add that it went back and forth not just down (laying on my back).  I’m sure it’s normal, but I’ll feel better after our next appointment.  Why do I think I’ll say that every time??

What I really need to do is stay off the internet (not going to happen).  I logged onto The Bump this morning and there were two women announcing their (late-ish) miscarriages (at exactly 14 weeks  & then almost 19).  So here I was sitting at my desk crying. Seriously…internet = devil.

I’m really tempted to get once of those fetal dopplers, but  I’ll wait until after our next appointment when I know what it should sound like.  No point in stressing myself out.

• Total Weight Gained:  6-7 lbs
• Workouts:  2 (wish I’d gotten another in yesterday since we’re going out of town)
• Nesting Urges:  Increasing…have to get up the energy to clean next week because the house is a mess.
• Cravings:  Sour candy
• Nicest Moment:  Husband talking to my belly

So that’s what’s going on at the beginning of week 14.  Have a wonderful weekend and if it’s a 3 (or 4) day for you…enjoy!!

I’ve been wondering how I’d feel once work picked back up over the holidays and travel started again.  I think I did pretty well, though I was definitely losing steam last night before I boarded the plane home. 

My eats weren’t too bad as most meals were provided during the meeting.  After my three breakfast on Monday I had catered Panera for lunch (sandwich, Greek salad) and saved the sides for the afternoon (chips, cookie).  I ended up eating a $4 mini can of Pringles from the hotel mini bar before dinner (and the delta Biscoff cookies).

Dinner was also provided and we ate at STK Atlanta, an upscale steak house.  I had the shrimp rice krispies as an appetizer, which is kind’ve hard to describe. Two shrimp over something similar to fried pork skin (only lighter) and topped with shrimp bisque that made the Krispies crackle. Tasty, but not very filling.

It took a while for the entrees to come out, but it was worth it.  I had the Beef filet cooked medium over mashed potatoes and asparagus.  I ate every bite and it was delicious.  They also brought out sides of macaroni and cheese, mushroom pot pie, and more mashed potatoes.  Unfortunately, I get very uncomfortable in the evenings (burping is not ladylike when at a business dinner…or ever) if I eat too much so I didn’t even try the sides, though everyone was raving about them.

For dessert I chose the pecan tart with a side of ice cream.  I only had a few bites because it was too sweet for me.  That’s kind’ve been a running theme in this pregnancy.  Most of the time I can give or take sweets (who am I?), except for my random craving of Drumsticks over the weekend. Remember these?

Well, I bought a box of 8 and ate 3 I think.  This morning I noticed the box was empty. I know the husband didn’t eat them because he’s trying to win this Biggest Loser competition at work.  Hmmm….the roommate ate the pregnant lady’s Drumsticks!!!  (With the husband’s permission) I think I’m going to have to give him a hard time about that one.

Yesterday’s eats again started with whatever I could scrounge at the hotel: animal crackers and fruit punch out of the vending machine.  I knew breakfast would be waiting for me in the meeting room but I was SO hungry and I had a big hill to walkup to get there. Once I arrived there was fruit and pastries, along with yogurt and granola.  I had a little bit of everything (not the pastries) and saved a bowl of fruit for later. I was still ravenous by the time lunch came.  Oh, and it was SO good! Mexican food!  Rice, black beans, queso, chicken, tortillas, toppings, tortilla chips.  I think I ate about three plates.

While I was the only woman at this meeting most of the time (some of the presenters were women) I felt really comfortable and the whole pregnancy thing wasn’t a big deal because THREE of the men there had pregnant wives (38 wks, 30 wks, and 9 wks) so they were actually asking me all kinds of questions and relating their wives’ experiences. Too funny.

Lunch kept me over pretty well until we made it to the airport and I had dinner. Popeye’s chicken! OMG! Can’t remember the last time I had that!  With a biscuit and some cole slaw. Yum!

So that’s how I survived my first trip of the pregnancy.  Here’s another bump pic for you.  A little cuter than the last one.  

My weight’s still holding at about 5-6 lbs over pre-pregnancy and I’m planning on getting back to the gym tomorrow. I’m taking today to recover from the trip.

Talk to you soon!!

Week 4

So week 4 actually started last Friday.  Crazily enough I actually knew I was pregnant when I was about 3 wks and 6 days.  That’s what happens when you’re TRYING to have a baby and you have shorter cycles.

To be honest, I kind’ve wish I didn’t know so early.  It’s pretty nerve-wracking and being an internet junkie like myself doesn’t help.

Symptoms:

• mild cramping
• sore hips (should this be starting so early?!)
• clearer skin (Yay!)
• REDUCED appetite (we’ll see how long that lasts)
• occasional VERY mild nausea (mostly when I’m hungry)
• fatigue

Yesterday I went to the gynecologist for confirmation.  They didn’t do a blood test, just their own urine test and gave me some OBGYN recommendations since my GYN no longer delivers babies.

This morning I called and made an appointment with one of the OB practices and was thrilled that they gave me an appointment for January 4th.  I’ll be 7 wks and 5 days at that point and hopefully I’ll get to hear the heartbeat. I’m not sure what to expect, though.  The Office Manager at the OB office said we should be able to hear the heartbeat but not to expect an ultrasound.  I assumed that meant they’d be using the doppler to hear the heartbeat, but after inquiring on The Bump they say you can’t hear the HB that early with a doppler.

I’m excited about this OB practice because they have a Certified Nurse Midwife on staff and she’s who I’ll be seeing at my first appointment.

Baby is the size of a poppyseed!

Week 5

There wasn’t a whole lot to report this week.  No morning sickness, but my stomach did start to protest if I got hungry.

Baby is the size of a sesame seed!

Week 6

The beginning of this week was rough.  They say week 6 can often bring the onset of nausea, but mostly what I experience was extreme hunger.  I ended up buying mini Clif bars to keep in the bedside table so I could eat one before I get out of bed.  If I let the hunger get out of control it was accompanied by nausea.

The last couple of days I tried my best to keep the hunger at bay and mostly succeeded.  Unfortunately, I saw the effects on the scale.  Going to spend the next 5 days trying to eat better and get to the gym more.   I’d like to shoot for at least maintaining my pre-preg weight through the first tri since I was on the high end of a normal BMI to start out with.  Fingers crossed.

Baby is the size of a sweet pea or lentil!

Week 7

It’s 2PM on Friday and I just had to unbutton my pants. I’m thinking of going to Target and getting a Belly Band.  I’ve done pretty well today with eating healthier:  Clif bar, water, Greek yogurt blackberries, cheerios, BBQ chix pizza from CPK & roasted veg salad.

Hard to believe it, but it’s time to start thinking about daycare.  We’re hoping Josh’s cousin can be our nanny, but there’s a lot of logistics so we need to have a daycare back-up or for short-term until she sorts stuff out.  There are waiting lists at daycares, especially for infants, so we really need to get on it ASAP.  Hard to believe how early it needs to done!!

…later in Week 7

We saw our baby for the first time! He/she had a heartbeat!

Everything was measuring on track and I can’t wait until it looks more like a baby. If you’re wondering, it was too early to HEAR the heartbeat so they did an internal ultrasound and we could see it flickering.

Weeks 8-11

I didn’t do that great with journaling during these weeks.  The extreme hunger has been off and on. I’m not cooking as much as I should, eating out WAY too much.  We still haven’t looked at backup daycares but have had multiple conversations with Josh’s cousin about being our nanny.

In week 9 I did a 3 mile run and felt fantastic! I ran the whole time, no walking!  No idea how fast, but I don’t care. My Garmin is in retirement for the next 10 months.

In week 10 I did yoga one day, quickly realizing that regular yoga is not in the cards for much longer. Too much lying on your back/stomach.  The next day I went for another run, but did a lot of walking. Just wasn’t feeling it and didn’t see the point in pushing it.

Week 11 brought a nasty cold and really sore hips.  Not being able to take anything really kicked my butt.  I took some tylenol, but Dr. Google scared us away from Sudafed. Of course at my OB appointment at 11w4d, the doctor said I could have taken it. Oh, well!!  Better safe than sorry.

Here’s a new pick of the baby!! Look…feet!!!

I was actually down 3 pounds since my last appointment! Yay! Trying to keep the weight in check since I started at the high end of a normal BMI.

Still a tad too early to hear the heartbeat (next time!), but the OB (I really liked him!) had some students with him and it was late in the afternoon so he gave us a free, “for fun” ultrasound and we saw the heartbeat flickering again and could even see the umbilical cord pulsing.

Our next appointment is on the 28th and we already have an appointment scheduled on the 21st of March to find our the gender!!

Week 12

Still sick!!  Cannot believe I’m still sick. Mostly just runny nose and coughing, but also some exhaustion thrown in. Seriously. Must be in bed by 9PM.

Today and tomorrow I’m in Atlanta for a meeting.  I’ve been up since 4am, had three breakfasts (cereal, granola bar, grits/biscuit/eggs/ham) and am still looking forward to lunch with great anticipation.

I cannot wait to be home tomorrow night in my own bed.  Too bad Josh will be at work by the time I get there.  Oh, well! At least I’ll get the Snoogle to myself (he’s totally a Snoogle stealer).

If you want to see a belly pic I’ve got one for you that I just took in my hotel room.  Be warned…it’s not a cute bump. It’s a gut. I’m in maternity pants now b/c mine are uncomfortable and maternity full panel pants rock!

I’ve always had a lower ab “pooch” (my womb as Josh calls it), but my waist is now filling out.  Hoping this cold is gone by the time I get back and I can hit the gym/running again. Would love it if the rest of my body didn’t expand with my belly. Considering getting a button that says “I’m not fat, I’m pregnant.”

Oh, and that “clearer” skin I mentioned in Week 4. Gone. My skin is now the worst it’s been in years.  I look like a 14 year old boy. Thank God for makeup.

Okay, I’m going to try to get some rest before my meetings start at noon (with lunch thank God). Catch you later!

More info soon…

To celebrate the holiday season in my own crazy way, I participated in Frosty’s 5K last weekend (Dec. 3rd).  They just started the Surf n’ Santa 10 miler last year, but I haven’t been trained for it either year.   Luckily they added the 5k this year so I did get to participate.

In our reusable race bags, we got this technical t-shirt and a Santa hat.

I got to the race early enough to pick up my race packet and drop it back at my car with enough time so I wasn’t stressed, but not so much that I got anxious or cold.

I took some time to snap photos…

I wanted to PR this race so I made sure everything was in order the night before.  Garmin charging, clothes laid out, etc., etc.

Despite this, my Garmin died just a couple of minutes in, and with it my hopes of PR’ing.  I guess it got knocked off the charger at some point during the night.

Look! Both feet off the ground!!

There wasn’t anything too exciting about the race course.  It started outside the convention center and ended INSIDE the convention center.  It was at the oceanfront, but we never went on the boardwalk, which was fine with me.  It would have been windy and chilly this time of year.

Towards the end, I focused on a girl with a t-shirt that said “ODU Crew Team” and focused on staying with her and maybe passing her.  I didn’t think it was going to happen, but she ended up stopping to walk with just over a tenth of a mile to go!!!  I win, I win!!

I ended up finishing in 30:15…only about 20 seconds shy of a PR.  If only I’d had my Garmin.

Sweet race medal, though!!!!

Saturday ended up being a day filled with all kind of Christmas fun because after resting up post-race, I met the girls at Sara’s for a Lia Sophia party and then headed to Amore for dinner and an ornament exchange.

Check out the awesome ornament I got from Betsy!!  A flapper girl!  I’ll show a closeup soon when I post pics of our Christmas tree and my favorite ornaments.

And, of course, a group shot with Santa who also happened to be having dinner that evening.

All in all, a great start to the holiday season!! Can’t wait for more parties and celebrations!

How about you? What are you looking forward to this holiday season?

]]> http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/frostys-5k-surf-n-santa-10-miler/feed/ 0 Carolyn @ lovinlosing.com image image image image image image .facebook_29744 me .facebook_29745 http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/a-race-a-turkey-and-a-trip/ http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/a-race-a-turkey-and-a-trip/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:21:22 +0000 Carolyn @ AdMEYERing Life http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/?p=78 ]]> Good afternoon!!  Long time no “see.”  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  Ours was pretty fantastic.

Kim and Keenan came down to stay with us for Thanksgiving, which I really appreciated given that otherwise I wouldn’t have had much of a reason to cook a full-on Thanksgiving meal.

But before the cooking  could begin, we had to burn some calories!!

Josh, myself, Kim, and Keenan were all registered for the OneLife Fitness Turkey Derby 5k. Josh ended up not doing it because I had screwed up and thought he was off the night before.  Not so.  He worked until 6:30AM and hit the hay as soon as he got home so he could enjoy Thanksgiving before going back to work at 10PM.

Kim and Keenan registered online, but I’m cheap so I mailed mine in on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Considering it was only going one city over I wasn’t too worried about it getting there in time, and then wasn’t all worried about it because I got a confirmation e-mail from a different race in the same city, that I mailed at the same time. (P.S. I really appreciate races that provide mail-in registration rather than having to pay the online fees).

Apparently, I SHOULD have been worried, though, because they didn’t have my registration and the whole set-up was completely disorganized.  They ended up giving me some random leftover race bibs and having me fill out and sign the waiver again.

So, that was resolved fairly easily and then we just had a little time kill while trying to stay warm before the race started. Eventually it did start and I went out with a vague goal to try and PR.  I was a little worried about this goal when I realized it was a trail race.  Guess I should’ve looked at the course map.

I was doing pretty well and thinking I might be able to do it when disaster struck… in the form of the finish line.  I crossed it with a distance of 2.74 miles on my Garmin.  Yes, they had managed to make the course short by .36 miles or more than 10% short of the distance it should have been.  I was more than a little ticked off.  HOW do you screw it up that badly??

Though stewing over the crappy-ness of the race, I still managed to get picture of Keenan and Kim crossing the finish line.

In addition to all the other ineptness associated with this race, I noticed today that in the race results my age is listed as 35 (I’m 31) and Josh has a finishing time of 25:07.  Odd since he was at home in bed.

My official time is 26:57 and it ticks me off that this is going to show up in AthLinks as a PR for FOREVER, because I will never truly run a 5K that fast.

You can be sure I’ve sent along a nice, long e-mail to the race director.

Anywho…back to Turkey day… {I don’t have a lot of pictures because the lighting in my house is awful. )

When we got back to the house after the race it was cooking time!!  Keenan was in charge of pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, and the turkey.  I was in charge of pecan pie, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy.  Josh was in charge of deviled eggs.  Kim was in charge of alcoholic beverages. LOL

We started on the pies first thing so we could get them done and get the turkey in the oven.  I found this pecan pie recipe online: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-pie-v/ and it turned out great!!  Interestingly, I realized halfway through making it, that it doesn’t require corn syrup.    I couldn’t taste any difference in the finished product.  Surely it’s got to be better for you this way, right?

Again, I don’t have any other pictures, which is a shame because it was a fantastic spread and the house looked lovely with the fireplace lit (for ambiance, it was 70 degrees on Thanksgiving and I was dying!), candles on the table, and good friends all around.  In addition to Kim and Keenan we had two other friends Ken and Jordan (our roommate) and after dinner Betsy and James stopped by which was a lovely surprise.

Josh chillin’ by the fireplace

With the arrival of Betsy and James, thus began a weekend of this:

Cards Against Humanity is apparently a more adult, fun version of Apples to Apples.  I’ve never played A2A, but had a blast playing CAH all weekend.

After a weekend of lazing about and relaxing with friends, I had to pack up and head to Orlando for a conference.  My flight left at 6:30AM on Sunday, which got me in before 9AM.  Luckily that was prefect timing for my friend Catherine (my maid of honor) to come up and show me a good time around Disney.

We didn’t actually go to any of the parks, but we did have brunch at one of the resorts.  I didn’t take pictures of all my food (because I don’t do that anymore), but I had to share this waffle.

In order to justify the $30 pp (!!!) cost, they send around some of the characters for photo ops.

Goofy and I

Catherine and Minnie

After brunch we walked around the boardwalk for a little shopping and sightseeing.  I don’t know if you know this or not, but I lived in Florida for 11 years (Naples 1994-1998 and Pensacola 1998-2003).  I kind’ve miss scenery like this.

After our walk we headed to the outlet mall because we couldn’t think of what else to do.  In retrospect I shouldn’t have been so cheap and we should have gone to the Harry Potter Theme Park.  Oh, well.  Hindsight and all that.

Random skywriting

Around 3PM, Catherine and I parted ways and I headed to my aunt and uncle’s house about an hour outside of Orlando in Geneva.    They live in the boonies in a long cabin with a pond.  It’s awesome!! I hadn’t seen or spoken to them much since the last time I was out that way which was 6 or 7 years ago.  I forgot how much I loved being around them.  They are such genuinely warm and caring people.

I hung around with them until a little after 7PM and enjoyed a fantastic dinner of homemade chicken and dumplings and key lime pie.  After saying good bye I drove back to my hotel and zonked out.  I’d been up since 4AM!!

The rest of the week isn’t particularly interesting and I don’t have any pictures.  Just day after day of the conference.  I did have dinner with a couple of former bosses who were also attending the conference, but that’s about it.  I’m happy to report that I went for a run one morning and a gym workout another evening.

Speaking of gym…that’s where I need to be headed right now! Talk to you later!

]]> http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/a-race-a-turkey-and-a-trip/feed/ 2 Carolyn @ lovinlosing.com Keenan Finish Linw Kim Finish Line Pecan pie Josh Cards Against Humanity Mickey Mouse Waffle IMG_0211 IMG_0210 Crane Sky Writing http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/wounded-warrior-5k/ http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/wounded-warrior-5k/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:35:12 +0000 Carolyn @ AdMEYERing Life http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/?p=72 ]]> Just wanted to give a quick recap of the Wounded Warrior 5k that Josh and I ran on Sunday before I left for New York.  We woke up around 5:45 or so so we could get my bags packed in the car and make it down to the race.

Of course, as soon as we parked I realized I needed to go to the bathroom.  Luckily, Josh knew a secret spot where I could use a nice, warm indoor bathroom instead of the porta potty.

We arrived just as the half marathoners took off at 7AM and still had 30 minutes to kill.  Luckily we ran into Todd, one of Josh’s co-workers, and hung out with him until the race started.

BTW: I know they look like tough guys, but they were shivering.  It was cold!!!

Not my most flattering running outfit ever.

I know this is a terrible photo, but the woman on the podium is Anne Audain, a New Zealander and world record setter who was born with deformities in both her feet.  She gave us a pep talk before the race.

Right on time at 7:30AM we set off.  I kept telling Josh to slow down and not wear himself out because for some reason I didn’t wear my Garmin so I had no idea what our pace was.

Turns out, Josh didn’t need my advice.  LOL  I think this was the perfect first race for him because all his police co-workers were directing traffic so every time he saw one (and they were everywhere!) he picked up his pace and was showing off.  He had SO much energy!!

This was not my best race ever.  I was struggling a little bit and wasn’t really trying to push it.  To be honest, I think if Josh hadn’t had me there with him he would have finished a lot f aster.

He tried to hold my hand as we  ”neared” the finish line, but I was a total beyotch and shook him off.  I really DID want to hold hands as we crossed, but he grabbed my hand a good tenth of a mile out and I couldn’t run that far like that.  He ended up sprinting ahead of me and finishing in 31:49!!

I finished four seconds later at 31:53.

Best part of this race??? Awesome medals!

My collection is growing!!!

We’re doing a Turkey Trot Thursday morning at 9:45AM.  Poor Josh! I thought he was off the night before, but he actually has to work until 6:30 AM and OF COURSE the race us a late starter. Boo!!

I’ve also just signed up for the Surf & Santa 5K.  Well, it’s actually a 10 miler, but they added a 5k this year and they give out medals!!! I LOVE MEDALS!!

P.S. Thanks Todd for stick around and cheering us on at the Finish line!!

]]> http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/wounded-warrior-5k/feed/ 0 Carolyn @ lovinlosing.com WW5k me&Josh 5k World record holder 11-21-2011 11-59-44 AM 11-21-2011 11-58-25 AM wounded warrior 5k medal race medals http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/new-york-new-york/ http://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/new-york-new-york/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:34:44 +0000 Carolyn @ AdMEYERing Life https://admeyeringlife.wordpress.com/?p=69 ]]> So I’ve been back from New York for a couple of days now, but I’m just now getting around to compiling the photos for a post.

Sunday

Sunday morning Josh and I got up early to run the Wounded Warrior 5K.  That’s a story for another post, but let’s just say he did fantastic and I’m super proud!  I was worried I was being crazy for running a 5k at 7:30 and needing to be on a plane at 10:15, but it worked out perfectly.  I brought a change of clothes to the airport and was perfectly presentable when I made it to the Big Apple.

I met my mom at the hotel and we immediately found some grub and then hightailed it to the Seaport to get on the ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  Of course it turned out we were supposed to be in Battery Park instead so we had a short walk back the way we came.  We had no problems getting on the ferry and were soon on our way to see some awesome history.

We chose not to get off at Liberty Island because the monument wasn’t open to the public.  The photo op was enough so we just rode on through to Ellis Island.

I’m not one for museums, but there is a lot of wonderful exhibits and information at Ellis Island.  I highly recommend stopping there next time you’re in New York.  The ferry ride to both islands is only $13 per person.

When we arrived back in Battery Park we had a hard time getting a cab and ended up walking straight into Occupy Wall Street. 

We eventually found a cab and were able to grab our bags and officially check into the hotel.  Check out the view!

Not sure what that is? How about now…?

Monday

I had training scheduled every day until 4:30 so it was always dark by the time we could do anything together.  Since there isn’t a whole lot of sightseeing to be done safely in the dark we schedule shows for every night.  Monday night we went to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular.

The lobby was decorated beautifully for Christmas!! LOVED the Christmas tree chandelier.

Here’s a quick video of one of my favorite parts, the toy soldiers!

The iconic dance!!

I definitely suggest going to see the Rockettes just once in your life!! It was a fun, family friendly show and I loved saying I saw the Rockettes and sat in Radio City Music Hall.

After the show we walked around a bit.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral

The Christmas windows at Henri Bendels

Trees lit up around Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center skating rink

Tuesday

Tuesday night my friend Tanya came in to the city and met us at Artisinal Bistro.  Of course, my camera died the night before and I forgot to pack an extra battery or charger so I don’t have many photos of the rest of the trip except what I took with my phone.

After dinner we went to the Shubert Theater to see Memphis.  OMG!! It was SO good! I absolutely loved it!  The music was upbeat and the acting was wonderful.  The were plenty of hilarious moments, as well as unexpected *gasp* ones.

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Seriously people…if you get a chance to see it…DO!!

After the show we wandered around in Times Square a little before heading back to the hotel.

We passed the Top of the Rock (where you can look out over the whole city) and decided since the weather was supposed to turn ugly the next night that we had better take advantage.  It was pricey (about $50 for both of us), but definitely a once in a lifetime thing.

The weather was so nice that I was perfectly comfortable in my blazer, jeans, and boots. No jacket necessary.

Wednesday

Wednesday night was our last night in the city.  My mom was leaving the next morning and I was flying out the next evening after my training.  We were contemplating seeing another show, but weren’t sure we wanted to spend the money.

As luck would have it, my brother called that morning wanting to gift us tickets to a show as our Christmas presents.

And that’s how we got to see….WICKED!!

My brother recommended it and we took his advice. I’m so glad we did! It was totally different than Memphis or Rock of Ages (which I saw a couple of years ago) in that the music is quieter and more about telling the story.  My mom appreciated being able to better understand what they were singing.

After Wicked we pretty much went back to the hotel and crashed.  We had walked all the way to the theater in the rain (it took us a while to find someone selling umbrellas) trying to find a restaurant that turned out to be closed.  We ended up at the next Italian restaurant we could find and noshed on our meals while we dried out.  Luckily for us it turned out the theater was one block straight in front of us when we came out of the restaurant.

Thursday

Thursday was fairly uneventful.  My mom left around 8AM for the airport and I headed to training around 9:30AM.  I left directly after training via town car because I was told there was zero chance I’d get a cab to take me to the airport during rush hour (it was 5PM).  It took about 90 minutes to get to the airport and another 30 minute or so to get checked in an through security.  I then played with the iPads at Croque Madame (JFK airport) while waiting for my flight.

I was SO happy to see Josh waiting for me at the airport.  He was supposed to work that night, but took it off to be with me since he was leaving the next morning to road trip with his dad.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have seen him for more than 5 minutes before tomorrow night!!

So that’s my Big Apple trip!! Loved seeing it all decorated for Christmas.