Tuesday, April 17, 2012

HIATUS & VACATION OVER! Back and Ready to Go!

Where the heck does time go????  Poof! Right out the door and before I was able to blink has been 2 months since I last posted.  Well, it is time for that to change!  So here is a summary of how the last two months have gone……first, the End of Case Study….next, the start of a new full time job…. then, work, sleep, teach, work, sleep, teach, (repeat)....and finally, to an AWESOME cruise vacation on one of the largest ships on the sea with some great friends!  I know that Chelle addressed some of the most common questions being asked and so I will give my side of the story also on the same ones ;)….

Q.  Did you come back with a tan? 
A.  I did not come back with a tan either!   In all fairness I don’t tan mostly because unlike my “Armenian, I can almost think about tanning and make it happen” friend (Chelle/Ethel) I am German and English which leaves me with a very pale complexion.  I don’t get to tan; I get to BURN and endure lots of freckles.  As a result, my daily morning cruise ritual included an intimate relationship with my 115 SPF tube of sunblock.  It is ok though, I have gotten very used to walking into a room and having people put their sunglasses on when they see me in shorts ;)

Q. Did you gain weight? 
A. Yes I did gain a little.  (SIDE NOTE: the average person will gain anywhere from 7-14 pounds during a one week cruise)   The grand total weight gain I had was……2.2 pounds!  Phew…Nothing really to worry about and I am calling that a V*I*C*T*O*R*Y!

Q. Did you work out on the boat? 
A.  I DID workout on the boat, yes….I couldn’t help it.  I made it into the gym on our at sea days.  That amounted to three days total.  The equipment in the gym was plentiful and amazing.   The only thing that I didn’t see enough of was a larger selection of group fitness classes.  The only thing they really had was a couple of yoga/stretch classes, a couple of spin classes, and one or two bootcamps.  No ZUMBA (WHAT?!?!?!), no Step Aerobics, no Kickboxing!  I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed, but not disappointed enough to leave and stay away.  I focused mostly on cardio (elliptical, stepper, and rowing), and came up with a very creative workout with the rowing machine that actually ended up doubling as an awesome upper body workout also (oooooowwwwcccchhhh)!  I am positive that the trainers on the ship either thought I was really creative or completely out of my mind.  As I got into the zone and kicked my own rear-end, I was able to look out over the ocean.  As I rowed, I couldn’t help but imagine that the faster and harder I moved, the faster the ship was going to move.  In addition, I have to say.... the stairs on a ship are your friend!!!!  Use them often if not always!  I LOVE the stairs (and I mean that sincerely!)

Q.  Were you tempted by all the food on the boat?
A.  All the food????  Nope.  H O W E V E R, I did have two vices…….Pretzel rolls! And Caramel! (not at the same time of course)  They had amazing pretzel bread EVERYDAY and I think I ate some every day!  In addition, they made homemade caramel on the ship which was great on ice cream, brownies, and even on its own (DARN YOU STUPID SWEET TOOTH)!  Yes, Yes, I might have had a spoonful or two (*shrug*, it’s a weakness).  The rest of the time though, I really watched portions and kept migrating towards as many healthy options and portion sizes as I could.  Once all the healthy options were scoped out, they were not very difficult to put together while still being able to get treated to good food.  ;)  It is important to realize that even though you are on a cruise you can ask for food the way you want it, you can balance out your choices, and as long as you do not just blindly shove food in your mouth at every turn you can treat yourself without going “overboard” (pun intended).

and finally....check it out....these people had a good time!!!!!!

















Coming soon....more Cruise Highlights, Weekly Top 10 Lists, and Workout Ideas!
Ciao for now!!!!!

4 comments:

  1. Welcome home! Love the pic of you leaning on the side of the boat! Really pretty! Glad you guys had fun. :)

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  2. So glad you are back!! Sound like you all had a great time and love the pictures! :)

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  3. Ahhhh, forgot about the caramel! It was it's own food group! :-) YUMMMMMMM!!!!!

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  4. Wow there are boot camp programs at a cruise ship?! (sorry if I sound ignorant) It the first time I heard of it, i though a cruise ships only have parties after parties.

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