Costa Rica - Pura Vida

I'm backkkk! Yes, that's right. Back in the good 'ole U.S. of A. After a week in paradise (minus humidity and some bug bites), hubs and I have arrived safely back in MD. How was Costa Rica? Amazing. Should you go? Yes. I survived the plane ride (which was shorter than I thought.) 1.5 hours to Hotlanta, 3.5 hours to Liberia, Costa Rica. And the Liberia Airport? One gate. No joke. And no AC. Also no joke. 


Some pics, you ask? Why, yes, I took plenty. We had some adventures. Some relaxation. Lots of people watching (including nicknames we had for several groups...more on that later.) There were monkeys, ziplines, sun, sand, water, lots of food (hello, 5 pounds - oof) and frozen cocktails (and unfrozen cocktails.) 


To start, here are some scenes from the resort and beyond. I'll be posting pics over several days (only the best ones) because I have too many for one post! 

The Costa Rican motto: Pura Vida (Pure Life) - So true of this country!

Next post? Costa Rican adventures. Complete with monkeys (!!!) 

Worry is for Weiners...Like Me

Tomorrow, we finally leave for Costa Rica! Am I excited? Yes. Nervous? Yes. Why? Because...


1. I hate to fly. It gives me anxiety for several reasons that you don't even want me to go into. But thank God I'm loaded up with Ativan. 


2. Hubs and I have separate seats on the way back, which makes me sad face. Though I traveled alone a lot for my last job, if hubs is with me, I'd really like to be sitting next to him. 


3. Foreign travel gives me anxiety. I've only ever been to Mexico, which was like an extension of the US. 


4. I'm worried about the weather. It rains every day in Costa Rica between April and November. Some people say it's only for an hour or two. Others say it can be all day. But we really wanted to take vacation now because we never know where hubs' job will take him next and when. 


I sound like an effing crazy person, eh? I'm a worrier. That's just who I am. And I'll worry until we're landed, at the resort, sipping cocktails by the pool. 

Source: pedlars.co.uk via Heather on Pinterest

At any rate, I'll be MIA for the next week. Unless of course, I get the urge to blog while I'm there. But there's only WIFI in the lobby, so that chances of that happening are slim to none. 

Wish me luck and sunshine!

A Refreshing Dip in the Pool

This weekend, the temperature dropped to a brisk 96 degrees here in the great state of Maryland. High humidity and a 100 percent chance of me sitting my rear in the AC. I'm not made for outdoor activities, unless there's something to significantly cool me down. Like, say, a pool.


Hubs and I made the executive decision this weekend that it was high time we got one of our very own. So we did. 

See! Our pool! Do you love the rainbow and ladybug as much as I do? This cost us a whole $10 at our local Walmart. We thought for some reason it was smaller. But turns out, it was big enough to fit the whole family. Hubs, me, Peanut and a reluctant Wiggles. We all hung out on the deck, sitting in our pool. What do you suppose the neighbors thought?

It was just a warm up to the real pools we'll be lounging next to in Costa Rica in t-minus 3 days! 

Winner!

Happy freaking Friday!


Thank you to everyone who entered my very first giveaway! I put together a little spreadsheet of names, then went to www.random.org to generate a number for the winner....Number 3 was...

Aly! 

Aly's getting ready to get hitched in just over 2 months and has been documenting her journey on her blog, Snapshot of Us. Here's why she said she needs the Bondiband:

Why I need a Bondiband?
I probably sweat more than your husband. Sadly. I used to have a shirt for soccer practice that said, "I'm not sweating, I'm SPARKLING." That's how much I sweat.
And my wedding is in 65 days, so the Bondiband would jump-start my need for serious motivation to exercise more. And I like free stuff. 

I wish I had more to giveaway to everyone. But I'm hoping I'll be able to have another giveaway in the near future. 


As promised, I do have a few sweet coupon codes to use if you order from www.bondiband.com: 


Buy 3, Get 1 Free - Code: ONE
Five for $25 - Code: FIVE


I took advantage of the 5 for $25. I probably need more because as soon as my order came in, hubs promptly stole half. Greedy much? 

Fitness Friday

It's been a big week in fitness for me. Why? Because this week, I ran an entire mile without walking! 


Many of you might say "So what? It's only a mile." True. It is only a mile. But it's a mile I haven't been able to run since say, my freshman year of college. And it means I'm one step closer to being able to run the 5K on August 27th.

And honestly, I haven't figured out why all of the sudden I could run a mile. I've been doing the run/walk intervals from Couch to 5K for about 5 weeks and I was kind of sucking. But I'd also been running in the heat and humidity. Wednesday was a morning run. Lovely temps. 0% humidity. Perhaps that's it? Whatever it was, I like it. And I'll be trying for another tomorrow morning. 


Here's my workout breakdown for this week:

Sunday: 30 Day Shred with Jillian
Monday: 2 mile run/walk intervals, squats, lunges, abs
Tuesday: Cardio kickboxing at home (because the martial arts classes are booked for another 2 weeks) Upper body strength exercises.
Wednesday: 1 mile RUN and .5 mile walk. I clocked my mile at about 9:15...which I'm not sure where that came from either. 6 Week, 6 Pack with Jillian in the evening.
Thursday: Rest day - because damn if my legs didn't feel like they were on fire.
Today? I was supposed to get up to run, but sleep won. I think I'll be doing 30 Day Shred and then getting up to run tomorrow morning before the heat hits. 


How'd you do this week?


PS - Stay tuned for the announcement of the Bondiband giveaway winner this afternoon! 

Why Don't You Make Me Pies?

Yesterday, hubs and I were hanging out in the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner, singing kitchen songs, and all of the sudden he says:


"You've never made me a pie." 


**stunned silence**


Me: "No, but you've never asked me to."
Him: "Well, I just assumed that's something you'd do. Bake pies for your husband."
Me: "HA! I don't just 'bake' pies for no reason. I'm not a baker. I'm not your mother."
Him: "That's a shame. My mother's a great baker."
Me: "Maybe you should have married your mother."
Him: "Maybe I should've."


Silence. 


Me: "Fine, I'll make you a pie. Just to prove to you that I can."
Him: *claps* "Yay! Pie!"


And today, I made a pie. But I cheated. A lot. He doesn't know that though. He thinks I can make a decent pie. From scratch. Who has time for that shit? Not this girl. 


I made him this. Still delicious. WAY less work. And it's light, because we're watching our girlish figures around these parts.

Light Banana Cream Pie - A La Heather

1 container, light whipped topping
1 box, instant vanilla pudding mix
1 3/4 milk (I made it with skim, but I think 2% is probably better for setting purposes)
3 bananas, sliced
1 ready-made pie crust


Mix pudding, milk and half of the whipped topping. Put sliced bananas into the pie crust. Cover with pudding mix. Top with the rest of the whipped topping. Garnish with bananas. Chill for 4-6 hours.


*Note: We did not chill for 4-6 hours as directed. So it was soupy. But still delicious. 


PS - There's still time to enter the Bondiband giveaway! Do it! I'm trying to be generous here. 

Rave Reviews and Giveaway!

Have you heard I've been running lately? No? I didn't mention it? Psychhhh. You're probably sick of hearing about it and how awful it is I'm trying to do a 5K in a month. 


And while I run, I need some gear. My iPod, iPod arm strap, proper attire, comfy kicks, watch (for timing intervals), and now? My Bondiband. Never heard of it? I hadn't either until I read a review of one on another blog. I knew I needed to have one (or several.) I sweat when I run. Yep. And not the "glistening" kind. The gross kind. Drippy, stingy, in my eyes kind. 


Enter Bondiband. Not only does this thing keep my hairs out of my face, but it also keeps the runny sweat off of it. Here's me and my schweaty self with my Bondiband. And I even put arrows pointing to it....for extra emphasis:

Want one? I know you do. Well, the fine folks at Bondiband have one for me to give to one of you lucky readers. Here's what you've got to do to win:

First, you must be a follower of my blog, but you don't have to be a blogger to enter. 

• Comment on this post telling me why you need yourself a Bondiband. 
• For one additional entry, tweet about this giveaway including the link. Come back and comment letting me know you did. 
• For one additional entry, post this on Facebook, including the link. Come back and comment letting me know you did. 
• For two additional entries, blog about this giveaway, including the link. Come back and post a comment (with your blog link) letting me know you did. 

You have until Friday at noon to enter. I'll post the winner and some AWESOME coupon codes on this week's Fitness Friday! 

Good luck!