A little later than promised, but here they are!! Chicago is a really awesome city, and I definitely plan to go back.
fun Posts
2010 Olympics
Ok I’ll get to Chicago later. Something waaaaay more important is around the corner kids – the 2010 Winter Olympics!
I’m absolutely in love with the Olympics, and while the Summer games are definitely my favorite of the two, the Winter Olympics never fail to provide me with joy. I mean what’s not to like about sports such as the Biathlon? Cross-country skiing + target shooting, two things that clearly go together. Or Curling – pushing a giant tea kettle down an icy path and sweeping ice out of its way. What a novel idea! LOL. Actually though, much to my surprise the 2006 US Women’s Curling Team was pretty attractive. I’m not sure where they find these people, but apparently attractive curlers do exist!
Seriously though, there’s tons of great winter sports, both random (see above) and high profile (skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, etc). The one sport that bores the crap out of me is simple cross-country skiing. I mean yeah, it takes incredible skill and athleticism to ski cross-country. But why watch this when you can watch people ski AND shoot in the biathlon? I’m also personally not into hockey. I’m sure I’ll catch a game or two, but I definitely don’t plan to make a habit of watching all the games.
As always I’ll be cheering for the red, white and blue of the US and the green and gold of the land down under.
The full schedule can be found here, but these are the highlights as I see them:
I want to post Chicago pictures…
…But I feel like crap 
One blog is enough for the day. I can say that Chicago was absolutely spectacular though. I ate too much, shopped a bit, drank a little, and saw not nearly enough. I got to wear all my warm clothes and had a great time in the freezing cold. It snowed too!
Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and put up a picture or two. If not, Monday for sure!
I’m A Rah-Tard
So I’m headed out to Chicago this weekend. I planned this trip about a month or so ago, and wasn’t really thinking about anything else. My friend is going to be out there during this one particular weekend, and I decided to go too. I booked my flights there and back so as to allow myself the most time for sightseeing with the least amount of time off work (1 day max), while still returning Sunday night in time to get some sleep and be up for work.
My flight home was scheduled to leave Chi-town at 6:30pm on Sunday February 7.
Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you. Or maybe you’re aware that February 7 is Superbowl Sunday, and the Big Game starts at 5pm Illinois time. (more…)
Viva Italia!
Or maybe that’s Spanish. Whatever. I’m going to Italy!!!!
J and I found an amazing airfare deal a couple of weeks ago, so we pounced on it. We’ll be gone a total of 15 days, and plan to hit up Rome, Florence, and Naples. Naples is really only on the list cuz we want to hit up Pompeii. I am obsessed with ancient ruins afterall 
J has enough hotel points to stay at a SUPER nice hotel for 6 nights for free! We’ll be spending an extra day in Rome just to take advantage of the spa and whatnot. When in Rome… lol
A more detailed itinerary will come, whenever it is that we create it The trip isn’t til the end of summer, so we have time!
Chicago
I totally forgot to post about my upcoming travels. Trip #1: Chicago!
A friend of mine has to be out there for 2 weeks for work, so her company is paying for her hotel over the weekend in between. When she initially invited me for the weekend, I was hesitant since I’m trying to start up a savings account again. Luckily my boss gave me (another) free plane ticket anywhere in the US this year for the holidays! Free flight + free lodging = recipe for a wonderful girls trip in the Windy City!
One hitch: We’re going in February, which is notoriously frigid in Chicago. Keep in mind also that I am a cold-blooded creature, and require constant heating. I mean seriously, 55 degrees is COLD. 45 – well it might as well just snow. So looking at the weather forecast indicating temps in the high 20’s/low 30’s minus windchill, I’d bet a 30% chance I would freeze to death.
Winter Wonderland
This is the current state of the G-B household:
A couple of days after Thanksgiving J and I went to Target and came home with our very first Chrismakkah tree! It had been chillin, naked, in our living room ever since. We decided to decorate and realized that we still needed a string of white lights. In addition, a single string of blue lights wasn’t gonna cut it. Who knew blue lights were so popular? I had an easy time finding them around Thanksgiving, but had to go on a major hunt this week. The second set of blue lights are on a white string, which isn’t ideal, but it works well enough for this year. So on Sunday night Jeremy and I put on the Christmas Carole cable station, lit 3 Hanukkah candles, and did some major tree decorating:
I absolutely love it!! When I get home from work I’ve been turning off all the lights in the house and turning on the tree. I love the tree lights + that fresh pine smell!
Strength
I’ve resumed going to the gym. It’s soooooooo overdue. It’s more than a number on the scale. It’s more than just looking kick-ass. This time it’s legitimately mostly (well at least 65% of it) about actually being healthy and in shape. No more getting winded walking up the stairs! lol seriously though.
The problem is time. And I have none. But with stuff coming up this summer (starting in April – yikes!!), I’ve become motivated to get back to the land of sweat and hard work.
I’m still struggling to find time for cardio, but I’ve been managing about 2 days a week. I’d like 4, but that’s a luxury my 60+ hour work week just won’t afford. I go to the gym at work on my lunch break 2 days a week and lift. I haven’t seen any results on the scale (hi frustration!), nor have I seen much in the mirror, but I have finally started to notice that I’m actually getting stronger! I can handle heavier weights and I don’t get sore anymore. At least if nothing else is happening I can see results when I go. It’s a start.
Anyway the point of this blog is for motivation. Anyone have any tips on how to increase my cardio on a VERY limited time-frame? Anyone want to go with me to the gym? Having someone to workout with definitely decreases the chance I flake and go lay on my couch.
Thanks guys
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