Vacation September 9, 2008

On Sunday night, the Mr. and I returned from a wonderful vacation to San Francisco and our families’ homes.  In total, I was away from my house for two weeks…starting from the beginning:

Seattle for 4 days for work

San Francisco for 6 days for FUN!

Kansas City for a day to visit my husband’s family

Omaha for about a day and half to visit my family and go to a wedding…then we left the reception at 10 pm and…

back to Kansas City to sleep and go to our nephew’s baptism the next day

We finally returned home on Sunday night around 6 pm.  Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of laundry, getting the house back in order, and generally getting our lives back together.

This was my first visit to San Francisco and northern CA in general and I think I’m in love!  Everything was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  The whole area seemed to focus on a healthier lifestyle than I see in the Midwest- healthy options at every restaurant, people hiking, walking, and just spending time outside.  We stayed with my childhood friend Beth for the first couple nights and I loved getting to spend so much time with her!  We grew up together and I always miss her.

Here are some highlights from our trip…the Mr. took about 300 pictures, so it was hard to pick.

Hiking and visiting towns in Marin County on our first day:

Sonoma Wine Country on the second day:

The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and other fun things in the city on the last few days:

I think one of the neatest things about the city of San Francisco itself is the architecture of the homes.  Even though they are very close together, they are each unique and most of them are fun colors…I have a feeling if I painted my white and gray house peach like some of the homes in SF, it wouldn’t really fit in here in Midwestern suburbia

This vacation was a much-needed break from work and life, but after being away for two weeks, it’s nice to be home and get back into my normal routine!

Bon jour August 13, 2008

I’m in Montreal this week for work, a city I’ve never been to before.  It’s a beautiful city that feels much more diverse than a lot of places I have been to in the U.S.  It has a European-feel due to some of the older architecture and I’m sure all the people speaking French and the street signs in French contribute to that, too.

We went to a delicious restaurant tonight and I had creme brulee for dessert!  It was DELICIOUS.

I’ve lived in the Midwest for most of my life and in suburbia for the great majority of that and I always wonder- would I like living in a city?  I love having lots of space in my house and a nice backyard, but I also think I would enjoy being able to walk out my front door and go to dinner, work, shopping, etc.  Would that wear off, though, and then I would just feel crowded and claustrophobic?  Maybe someday we’ll make the move and see what city-life would be like.

Hopefully I’ll get to see more of Montreal tomorrow, unfortunately the co-workers I travel with are all males, are much older than I am, and I have very little in common with any of them, so I don’t really have a ‘buddy’ to go exploring around the city with.  I’m a little down right now- I always miss the Mr. and the puppy when I’m away and I’m really not loving (or liking) my job too much right now.  I know that a job is always going to be ‘work’ and I have no idea what I really want to do, but I just don’t think this is it

Sorry for being a downer…maybe I had too much wine at dinner!

I was too tired to workout this morning, so I’m going to hit the sack and be up early for a workout tomorrow.  Hopefully that puts me in better spirits tomorrow!

Tour de Midwest July 28, 2008

Today marks another stop on my Tour de Midwest…Tulsa, Oklahoma. After being in Kansas City all weekend to visit my in-laws, then 24 hours at home in St. Louis, I am in Tulsa for a couple days for work. Which basically boils down to…I guess last week wasn’t the best time for me to start a blog because I haven’t had time to do much posting!! Anyways, I’ll be back at it regularly on Wednesday evening.

For now, here are some of my favorite business-travel tips for staying healthy:

• Don’t sit in the airport. Get a laptop bag that can attach to your rolling carry-on and drag that sucker up and down the terminal while you’re waiting for a flight. Burns calories, beats boredom, and you’re actually ready to sit and rest for a while when you get on the plane.
• Bring your workout gear, no matter how short the trip! Try to squeeze in a walk or hit the hotel fitness center.
• The hotel’s fitness center is the BEST place to snag some freebies in the morning- bottled water and fresh fruit. Almost every hotel will offer these things complementary in the fitness center, but charge you for them everywhere else.
• Pack healthy snacks so that you never miss a meal/snack or have to eat something unhealthy that you don’t enjoy just because it’s there. It also really helps to have a little snackie so you don’t arrive somewhere hungry. Today on the plane, I snacked on a trail mix made of: dried apricots, Quaker oatmeal square cereal, almonds, and dark chocolate trips. I have a variety of bars and a couple apples (because they are a ’sturdy’ fruit that can hold up in my suitcase) packed for the next couple days.

Sorry for no photos, like I said, I’ll be making some major upgrades in the next couple days.
Gotta get to sleep- there is a park with a 3.2 mile jogging trail around it across the street from the hotel that is calling my name for a morning jog!

~B.