Amore Italy

Bongiorno Lovelies.

Today is the Hubs' birthday.  

Unfortunately, he is in some small town in North Carolina or Virginia or somewhere not on the map.  

::sigh::

Such is the life of a yachtie.  

Thankfully, he will be home this weekend and Morgan, Martini and I are looking forward to celebrating.  Therefore, next week I will write a bit more about the special man I call "Hubs."

I can believe it’s only been a week since I’ve been home from Italy! It seems like a world away. 

And while I'd like to forget the trip home ...

 (Twenty minutes out from MIA we were told we'd have to circle until the thunderstorms passed, I almost got arrested for disorderly conduct ...  but after 11 claustrophobic hours in a small flying coffin, with a broken entertainment system, a less than courteous and attentive flight staff and an Italian seat-neighbor squeezing out of his and into mine for most of the flight, can you blame me for wanting to get off the plane, even if it meant in hand-cuffs?!) 

I can't believe I had my first trip to "real" Europe! 

Rather than go through a boring recap of 10 days worth of travel or a meaningless photo-dump, I will give you a bit of Miss T’s Guide to Italy.

Let's take off to ...  

Roma

Eh.  I feel like you HAVE to go to Rome if you go to Italy, but honestly I might be the only person that hated Roma.  I felt no connections with the city, except for the following:

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

(My brother got us lost lead us on Rick Steve's walking tour of "Rome at Night."  

It was really cool to see a different side of the city.  And everything was so beautiful lit up).

The fam at our welcome dinner

My first cup of real Italian espresso

Pisa

It’s a tourist stop, but you have to do this:

Florence

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

I was feeling out of sorts by the time we arrived in Florence.  My eating was off, I wasn’t exercising, I missed the Hubs and the dogs. 

Our hotel was on the river, and it was the first city I saw people exercising.  We arrived in the evening and a ton of people were running along the riverside.  I joined them.  And it was the first place I saw a ton of people walking their dogs.  

The first morning in Florence we went to the The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti, where THE David resides.  

Prior to college, I was involved in at least one, if not more, art class every year since I was in kindergarten. My mom said I began drawing at 18 months.  I loved drawing, painting, sculpting, crafting, ... anything that allowed me to be creative.  And while in college, I switched from art to writing, but thanks to an amazing writing teacher, art was still very present, as he taught writing inspiration can come from a scene on canvas. (Nighthawks was his favorite; imagine the conversation going on in that diner. Viola! A story!)

Anyway, I haven't been in an art museum in a long time (Miami lacks a bit of culture). However, once stepping into the Academy, I just felt at home.  And while our tour guide at the Sistine Chapel kept emphasizing what a genius Michelangelo was, it wasn't until you saw some of his unfinished sculptures that you really appreciate how amazing he really was.  And of course David himself.  

I could go on and on, but I will leave you with this.  Florence is an art-lovers dream.  The whole city is accented with priceless statues.  It's an open-air art museum.

Venice

I was dying to go to Venice for two reasons.  

1. The Piazza San Marco (apparently my hubs was named after it ... or so he says).

2. I live in Fort Lauderdale, nicked name "America's Venice" (so I figured I'd feel a bit at home). 

First, it's not like Fort Lauderdale at all.  

(Although it makes Las Olas, all of south Florida for that matter, look CHEAP!)

Second, St. Mark's is AH-MAZE-BALLS. So beautiful.  

Doesn't do it justice!

I even bought my first piece of real art from a canal-side artist stand.

We were touristy and arranged for a gondola ride. 

Seriously, it looks just like the Venetian in Vegas!

... Which gave me the idea that Hubs should start a gondola tour of Fort Lauderdale ... can't you just picture Martini-Dog in a little stripe T, with a gondolier hat?!  

If you don't believe me, here's how cute he is in a tux. 

See? 

While in Venice, we took a hot as hell ferry to Burano, a little island known for lace as well as Murano is known for glass.  

Um, did I mention all the houses are painted in candy-coated colors? I did nothing to this photo.  The colors are that beautiful! 

Tuscany

I'm freakin' serious: this is how beautiful Tuscany is.

While traveling to these major cities, we stopped in multiple smaller towns and hill towns.  These were probably some of my favorite, as most are in Tuscany, which is miles and miles of countryside, and all these towns look like movie sets. 

Sienna

Every year they have a horse race, the Palio, in the center of town.  The town is divided into 17 neighborhoods, and those neighborhoods compete. It's a HUGE rivalry and apparently the week leading up to the race, if a married couple is from  different neighborhoods they will spend the week apart, and rather spend time with their family in their respected  neighborhood.

 Well guess which day we came?!  Unfortunately the final race wasn't until the evening and we left before then.  Bummed, as I wanted to experience Derby, Italy-style. 

San Gimignano

Verona

Ravenna

Orvieto

Assisi

St. Francis Church

Our Tuscan dinner.  Peach-flavored blue-colored wine.  It was quite yummy. 

Our farewell dinner.

Some other things:

1. The espresso isn't as good as I had hoped. ::sad face::  Neither was the bread.   

2. They put olive oil on EVERYTHING! Seriously.  It took some getting use to, but I have since learned to enjoy olive oil as the only condiment on my salad.

3. Gelato isn't that tasty (I still rather have Grater's, UDF or Ben and Jerry's), but they must put crack in it, because it's addicting.  You can't not walk past a shop without getting at least a taster. 

Arrivederci! 

Jet-Setting Survival Must-Haves

I can’t believe in seven short days I will be on my way to Italia!

Sadly Hubs is not coming with, but I will be meeting my family in Roma, and from there we will tour some of the major sites and cities of Italy. 

It will be a whirlwind trip, but it is also the first family vacation we have taken in about 10 years.  It will also be the first time we will have all been in one location in about two and a half years!

As I mentioned in my last post, I got back from Thailand about a month ago, two weeks ago I was in Ohio for one of my besties’ wedding.  After this Italy trip I will be flying back to Ohio for another good girlfriend’s fabulous wedding.

Hubs and I use to run through airports on a weekly basis when we were dating, but since being married, my passport has been gathering dust.  I feel like a jet-setter again!

I’m sure a lot of you will be traveling this summer, so here are some of my travel essentials:

Clorox Wipes

During my last trip, I read in a magazine about all the germies on planes.   I am a bit of a germaphobe to begin with (I consider the smell of bleach an aphrodisiac). After reading the article I quickly bought antibacterial wipes for my flight back.

As I sit, I wipe down the arm rests, the seatbelt, the tray table (top & bottom) and if the seat is leather, the seat … as well as anything else I might possibly touch that could give me Hepatitis A.

(Did I scare you?)

Water Bottle with Filter

As a bikini competitor I drink a lot of water.  Before competing I drank a lot of water. This time I will bring a water bottle with filter, so I can fill up anywhere! It will save you a lot of money, and keep you healthy and hydrated.

Nibbles & Nosh

I have been delayed on planes one too many times. I ALWAYS carry something to nibble on, whether it’s a packet of nuts to a sandwich from the airport deli.  On international flights, vegetarian meal options often leave a lot to be desired in the protein department. I’m usually so over-carbbed and bloated by the time I got off the flight.  This time I will be packing a few packets of tuna just in case.

Kindle

If I have a long travel itinerary (layovers and long flights), I hate to carry a huge bag.  I also get really bored with books.  I’m usually reading two or three at one time (probably why I never finish any of them!)  My Kindle compresses everything into one small carry-on, leaving lots of room in my bag for:

Tolitries

If it’s a short weekend trip, I try to stuff pack everything into a carry-on.  However, for my international trips, I like to carry on a small bag of make up and a small bag of necessities to make sure I don’t look like Lindsey Lohan when I get off a flight.

Make up bag:

Tri-color palettes give you some variety without
 taking up too much room

Foundation 

(mine is liquid, so I pack it in the quart-size necessity bag)

One neutral-color eye shadow compact

Eye liner

Lip pencil

Chap stick

Teasing comb

Travel size hair spray

Lip pencils can be used to color in the lip, and the chap stick glossies it up a bit and keeps you hydrated.  Also, rub a little of the pencil color on your fingers and blend into your cheeks for a bit of color.

These are AH-MAZE-BALLS.
I never travel without!

Necessities:

Travel-size face wash

Travel-size face lotion
(I also use it for my hands and arms)

Travel toothbrush and paste
(if it’s a short trip, then I will pack Wisps)

Saline eye drops

Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer

Wet wipes

Just enough to keep from being too stinky when I get off the flight.

Happy Flying Lovies! 

Eat, Love, Renewed

In my last post I mentioned I wanted to blog more.  I have failed on that one, but for good reason.

Two weeks ago, the hubs and I flew to the other side of the world to celebrate the marriage of my brother-in-law and (now) sister-in-law.

The week in Phuket, Thailand was just what this bikini competitor needed.

Prior to leaving, my body was failing me.   Honestly.  Waking up each morning was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  I woke up feel like I had been run over by a truck.  My body ached.  All I did was sleep, but I was not rested.  I had no energy to even make it through the day, let alone attempt a work out (but I did). I was holding on to 5lbs of water weight.  Any moment I had to sit and think, I would just start crying out of frustration. 

I know other people have a way worse lot in life than me.  I am truly blessed. 

But when you have spent the last six month only putting pure energy into your body, participating in strength-training and (multiple) cardio sessions on a daily basis, and seeing improves in both strengthen and endurance then to have it all crumble while you attempt to paste it all back together, is just disheartening. 

Another realization out of this trip: Hubs and I have never taken a REAL vacation together. 

Hubs and I traveled back and forth to see each other while we were dating.  I made a 72-hour total round-trip to South Africa for his friend’s wedding.  He brought me to London for my birthday and proposal, then we immediately flew off to Seychelles to celebrate Christmas with his family.  We spent three months working together on the boat, traveling from the eastern US throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean.  Last Christmas was spent in St. Maarten.  And this doesn't include the half a dozen or so trips back to Ohio. 

But even with all that traveling, not one trip was truly a vacation.  The South African trip was a blink.  Hubs was working in London, and when I arrived he was still dealing with boat issues and pre-proposal nerves. And he got so sick he practically was on his deathbed (no fun with an lengthy layover in Qatar and a 14-hour plane ride). Arriving in Seychelles, was the first time I was truly meeting my future in-laws … I also had food poisoning, and was spending my first Christmas away from my family.  All Ohio trips involved something wedding-related ... and for those who have planned a wedding, know there is NO relaxation during the engagement period.

While our mini-moon, a long-weekend at the Ritz, was fabulous, I spent most of my time poolside, studying, not sipping over-priced pina coladas with my new hubs. 

And while we have been to some pretty beautiful places on the boat, it’s not a vacation, as Mark always has on his captain’s hat.  Even if the only people on the boat are the crew and family, he’s concerned about personalities, if people are happy and well-taken care of, and if the day’s event or dinners are planned.  I feed off of his energy.  We both end up being a bit uptight.

… Luckily our trip to Thailand included no captain hats.

Hubs and I spent all week relaxing poolside with family members we haven’t seen (or, in my case, met) in years. 

And of course, the wedding was beautiful, and so much fun.  Both Mark and I walked away hopping for a community of friends and support that both Guy and Shannon have.  Not only did the bride and groom get love, but the Hubs and I experienced nothing but the whole week.  

A quick layover in London allowed me to see my brother

My in-laws the night before the wedding, enjoying Thai milkshakes

Guy waiting for Shannon

The beautiful bride!!!

The hubs, handing over the rings

They had an elephant at the wedding!!!!

It was SUPER windy! 

 And, even more surprising, while I was off diet the entire week (I didn't want to stress out if I couldn't get a fillet of tuna at 2 pm), once I got back home and got back on diet, all water weight and bloat that has been plaguing me these last few weeks immediately disappeared.  

While diet fell somewhat by the wayside for the week, I did workout everyday and actually learned to enjoy the gym again.  I started seeing results from my workouts too.  I also decided to compete again.  

It's amazing how something as simple as relaxing can actually renew the body.  

Major Reservations

I competed this past weekend in Pittsburgh.  The past week was an emotional roller coaster, with lots of tears, thoughts and reservations about going to Pittsburgh.

How to best explain this?  Funny how God gives you validation of your own thoughts through others.  Channa Serenity, a vegan bikini athlete I’ve been following explained it best last week with her own situation:

It's been a very rough couple of weeks for me, I've had to come to terms with the fact I need to make dramatic lifestyle changes due to my health. I haven't been feeling well...for quite awhile now. After eliminating other ailments from the table, It seems I'm left with Chronic Fatique Syndrome. I felt sorry for myself for a few days, this meant no more crazy workouts, and possibly feeling yuk a lot of the time, then I smartened up and took time to reflect. Why was I even working out so hard to begin with? I don't even enjoy lifting weights lol I was trying to gain approval from others by doing what I was told I'd be good at. Truth is, I love to dance in the living room, walk peacefully along the tides of the ocean, rollerblade, yoga, I want to exercise with grace because I enjoy it and the healing nature around me. Everyone always says "Moderation", but I certainly wasn't doing that with my training, or my desire to be the best. I was living in ego consciousness. That's not where I want to be or where my true path is, its in the mystical/spiritual consciousness.

Last week, as I was practicing posing for the Pittsburgh show, I just collapsed in a state of mental and moral confusion. 

I had spent all this time prepping for the show, but it’s not on my heart.  I feel run down.  I’m tired all the time.  My hip is injured. 

Morally, I can’t see spending hours in the gym so my abs look good a benefit to society.  Especially when I live in an area where homeless people are on every street corner and sleep right outside my complex. 

At first, I wanted to compete just to say I did.  Then there was the draw of the stage.  And, while I’m in school for acupuncture, I don’t know how quickly my practice will pick up, so having a back-up plan (personal training) is beneficial.  And being a NPC bikini competitor, especially one that places, can help me in marketing myself to clients.  But the clients I want to help are everyday people, with jobs, kids and crazy lives, needing a push to make healthy lifestyle choices, not aspiring to spend three hours in the gym.

Between school (a must) and competition prep, I have no time for things I value as more important, such as my marriage.  It would be nice to have enough energy to doing something with Hubs other than just watching TV.

So, in going to Pittsburgh I brought my worst attitude possible.  I didn't feel like I should be there, I was dreading every moment, and complained to my family in every conversation throughout the weekend.  But Hubs told me that if this was going to be one of the last shows I compete in, I should at least just have fun.

He was right.  (Wise man.)

I prayed the whole weekend. 

And rather than looking at Pittsburgh as a waste of time and money, I decided to take it as a learning process and an experience. 

1.     I got to meet some of the fitness world’s most famous. 

Jay Culter

 Sonia Gonzalez

I got to drive a Fiat 500 ...  which I will never drive again. 

2.     I was surrounded by other teammates. 

3.     I was able to meet with my coaches and get some feedback.

I also realized that I am not mentally or physically ready for a national level competition, which I had planned on doing one in August.

Not to shabby, but not good enough ... I placed 12th of 25. 

Outside of Pittsburgh, I realized I do want to compete, but I have decided to change direction of my training.  I will still be with Bombshell, but I am not going to do a show until the fall.

I also want to incorporate a healthy lifestyle: see a doctor about my exhaustion, and not feel terrible if I miss a workout to spend time with Hubs or beat myself up if I have a frozen yogurt mid-week. 

Hopefully this will leave time to post a bit more as well!

Yum-Yums and Cravings

First off, whoa!  Blogger updated their posting section!  So forgive me if this post is haphazard.

Yesterday I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders!  

Last Tuesday, I got the sh*t knocked out of me by a cold/flu.  Funny how that happens the week I have a final!  Oh, and it was final with a time-crunch. I had less than an hour and a half to take it (it usually takes about two hours), as I was going back to Ohio for a very special occasion for a very hot minute. 

This lady:

With her handsome fiance!

is getting married in a few short weeks, and we were celebrating her bridal shower.

Though we went to the same high school, Sara and I didn't become friends until college.  Then it was "love" at first site, and after freshman year we were inseparable. It also didn't hurt that telling people our names, Sara & Tara, made us very memorable, so I think we had to stick together to get people to recognize us.  I don't have a college memory that doesn't involve Sara. 

(p.s. Homegirl got engaged after my wedding reception!  Since we called each other "Wifey" in college, I think it only appropriate that the night as I became someone else's wife, she was on her way too!)

I felt like a bad bridesmaid being all the way down here.  Luckily the MOH, Cara, asked me to take care of favors and game gifts, so I felt I was somewhat involved. 

With my mind swirling with acupuncture points and herbal medicine formulas, it was nice to get to be creative.

I didn't get to Cincinnati until late Friday night and the shower was on Saturday, so I needed something easy and supplies I could transport via carry-on.  So I came up with these:

So fun and so easy to make! 

Marshmallow pops!

The inspiration for the cakes and cupcakes! 

My mom helped late into the night on Friday, and I was very pleased with how they turned out. 

And I did eat any of them (in full contest prep!)! 

The game gifts were these:

Cakes in a Jar! 

Though you can microwave the cakes (which is what I did) I think I want to try it by baking, as I think it would taste better.   Though with the amount of icing in the jar, I don't know if you'd care what the cake tasted like.  :)

It was a beautiful shower and it's always nice to be around my friends and spend some QT with family.

The beautiful bride-to-be awaiting her gifts :)

Especially since I had to come back to a new class (my herbal medicine board review class, which I have to take the exam a week early for, so its a bit scary considering I need to review 75 weeks worth of notes in 4 weeks!), and an exam yesterday.

But the exam is done and I feel like I am handling the study load okay for right now. 

Plus, I might have blinders on since I have a show coming up next weekend (man, and I CRAVING frozen yogurt and potato salad right now ... Bikini competitors crave strange things during prep).

This show, only a national qualifier (which I since my third place win in March), is huge.  A lot of my team will be there, as well as my coaches.  Whether I place or not, it's a big deal to get in front of national judges, as well as possibly get direct feedback from my coaches.  So far I look better than my last show and I get to meet/see a lot of my teammates.

Oh yeah, my last show!  I decided to do a second show a fews ago.  It was last minute and it was suppose to keep me on track for this show (dieting for 6 weeks seems like forever, so breaking it up with another show helped.) 

 Again, lucky number 3, because I placed third (out of 9 competitors).  It felt good to get first call out and to beat out 6 other competitors. 

So here's to Pittsburgh! 

Prayers appreciated!!!!!

Childless & Celebratory

Okay, I know Easter posts should be over and done with, but I am late, and I want to post it.

Especially since it will involve a gratuitous cute dog photos.

I had mentioned on the last post how Easter snuck up on me. I had mentioned this aloud later in the day. To which a women responded, “Well since you don’t have children, you wouldn’t really be celebrating holidays.”

WTF?!

First off, this woman is Buddhist, so no offense to Buddha or any Buddhist reading this, but Easter, really isn’t your holiday to begin with … (just saying)

Second, how about the fact that my friends and a majority of my family are 1,000 miles away, my hubs is 1,000 miles away on some island that may or may not have Internet and/or phone service, and if I’m not studying or gymin' it, I'm passed out ... on the couch, the floor, the bed ... these days I'm not particular.

(... These are also all reasons that BY CHOICE the Hubs and I have decided to not have children.)

I don’t lead an exciting life. It’s pretty routine, and sometimes in that routine gives you blinders that make you forget about things that are more important … like holidays!

For the record: I didn’t forget Easter, it’s just that those 40-days were really short.

And I’d like to think that despite being childless, I do a pretty good job of celebrating holidays. Granted, moving a lot has limited how much tangible décor I have at the moment, but I decorated for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter (even though I was all by myself). Not to mention I properly celebrated each holiday, whether it was in a church pew, with family and friends, or in the case of Halloween, a few celebratory bevvies.

I like to think that when I do have kiddies, I will be the mom to make green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, force my kids to make elaborate Valentines (I don’t do store-bought), hide Easter baskets (my mom still does this and my youngest brother is 21!), gorge on King cake for Mardi Gras, and make tacos & virgin margaritas for Cinco de Mayo (though mommy’s may have a side car), make a flag cake for Fourth of July (my favorite holiday), bake fun Halloween desserts and create really memorable moments for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(... and lets face it, with Pintrest, I will NEVER be out of ideas!)

But alas, I have dogs.

Martini-dog enjoying a coffee at the park

Morgs just chillin'

I did, in fact, celebrate Easter, and with family. I spent the day in Naples with my grams and aunt and uncle.

Grams loves me so much she invited the dogs, but I thought they better stay on her good side, which meant relaxing at home. Martini & Morgan appreciated the Grandma's gesture and sent along a basket for her:

Meanwhile, they stayed at home and enjoyed their goodies from the Easter Bunny:

I don't think she was upset about not sitting in the car for 2 hours ...

But Easter isn’t quite over for me.

I have a show this weekend, so I was not able to indulge in any candy. However, I have a Cadbury Crème Egg sitting in the fridge, waiting for Saturday night (and hopefully I can enjoy it next to a trophy ...and my fur-babies!).