Thursday, October 20, 2016

Catching Up from Ohio

Wow!

Time has flown by since my last blog post.

mrC finished his work in Connecticut and we wrapped up our stay in New England with a weekend visit to the girls in Portsmouth, NH.

The weather was great on Saturday for a day of hiking and exploring in Maine with D. We hiked Mount Agamenticus in Ogunquit and had lunch (we brown-bagged yummy sandwiches from Backyard Coffeehouse and Eatery off the main street) at the summit. We stopped to view Cape Neddick Lighthouse and then browsed Stonewall Kitchen in York. Later, back in Portsmouth, we met up with G for dinner. After brunch at Popovers on Sunday, we escaped the rain at the movie theater and watched Girl on the Train (just as good as the book!) and then went out for lunch before saying goodbye to the girls.


We spent one more evening with Booney and mrC's family before flying to Ohio for one more week of work for mrC.


The great thing about mrC working in Ohio is that we can see my family while we are here (we really are blessed that he gets to work in both places when we return to the US). We came to Ohio a couple of days early and spent time in Cincinnati at my mom's. We met up with my aunt at Howl at the Moon downtown and had a blast bowling after a great meal. While mrC works in Columbus, we get to visit with the BFF! We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (little O's choice) and then met up for a free yoga session at the Athleta store the next morning.


After sticking to low intensity workouts (or no workouts 😳) for a couple of weeks, it feels good to use the fitness room here at the hotel for some HIIT cardio on the elliptical and cool down walks on the treadmill. I was feeling a little unmotivated doing the same at-home workouts and getting back on the elliptical is helping bring back my workout HAPPY.

Sprint Workout ---> 10 minute warm up on elliptical, 15 sprints: 20:20 seconds intervals, and 30 minute cool down on treadmill.

The fitness room at the Residence Inn Easton is TINY compared to what we had in Montreal, but it will do the trick while we are here. The room is steps away from the dining room making it super easy to grab some breakfast to-go.


It's a bit rainy here today, but the weekend promises to be beautiful and everything we love: cool temps and sunny, blue skies. It will be our last weekend in the US for about 6 months, so we are trying to soak up everything fall before we leave on Sunday morning.

Do you ever get in a fitness rut and feel unmotivated? How do you break out?
Tell me something you've been up to lately!






Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Scenes from our Newport Weekend

I know it's Wednesday, but I still wanted to share a little from our trip to Newport, RI over the weekend. 

It was a little rainy Saturday morning when we crossed over the Pell Bridge into Newport. Crossing that bridge will always bring back fun memories.



We killed some time indoors at the Navy Exchange until the drizzly weather had passed. Wanting to soak up as much of fall as I can before we go back to China, I took mrC to the Newport Harvest Fair. It was the perfect place to pick up some gifts from the arts and crafts vendors while enjoying little tastes of autumn.



After a late lunch/early dinner at The Red Parrot and dessert at Kilwin's, we did the traditional Ten Mile drive and checked out the Newport mansions at night.


On Sunday, instead of going to mass at Chapel of Hope on base (where we were married), we decided to go into town and attend mass at St Mary's. It's a beautiful church. JFK and Jackie were married there, so a lot of people visit. I've walked by MANY times, but this was my first time going inside.







Fun fact ---> mrC and I met in church in Ohio (true story) and pew 42 has special meaning for us. We noticed that we were sitting across the aisle from it during mass.

After church we walked to The Franklin Spa, an old-school diner popular with the locals, for some off the grill breakfast. It's moments like this that make Newport one of my favorite places.



mrC promised to take me to the top of Newport, so we climbed up to the Miantonomi Park Memorial Tower. The 100 foot tower was built in 1929 as a memorial to veterans of WWI and is located on the highest natural point in Newport. The tower is only open twice a year (Memorial Day and Veteran's Day) so we did not get to climb to the observation deck...this time.



On our way out of town, we saw a sign for an Open House and played House Hunters. It was fun to see the inside of the old Victorian and check out the renovations. It was a cute house with a nice front porch, a great deck and backyard, but it wasn't OUR HOUSE. Needless to say, it was easy to drive away and start thinking about our immediate future of apartment hunting in Hong Kong in just a couple of weeks. 



So far this week, I've been sticking to low intensity workouts. After another relaxing weekend, I was just getting the feeling that my body needs a little break. 

Instead of fast paced HIIT workouts, I've been enjoying some restorative yoga sessions. My darn heel is still bugging me, but I can stay on my toes and get through most of the poses without aggravating it.



 And daily walks. Every morning feels colder than the last, but my hilly route still feels amazing when I'm done. I only walk my SIL's dog around the yard when I'm done because she's a loner and not a fan of her furry neighbors. We rocked a little pink for #WearPinkWednesday to support BCA.


PS ---> my new yoga pants are also great for cool morning walks.

Apparently Saturday was National Walk Your Dog Day. I hope all the dogs out there got at least a walk around the yard. I know my favorite dog gets lots of love from the retirement village down the road when he goes on his daily walks with his adoptive family in Hopkinton.

On a walk ~ April 2016

How's your week going?
How was your weekend? (better late than never)
Where did you meet your spouse?
Did you celebrate National Walk Your Dog day?





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