Atlanta Meeting, RJ Antics and Etsy Feedback

The meeting in Atlanta went smoothly today. It's nice to get some direction and priorities straight. The best part was that the meeting ended about an hour early, which also meant that I was able to head to the airport earlier with minimal traffic. I debated on spending the $50 to catch an earlier flight and yeah, I did. I figured what I didn't use on per diem was going to go towards that ticket. When I got back, I went to my parents' house to eat one of the leftover hamburgers from the July 4th BBQ and take RJ home. Julie texted me this morning to say that he had been a naughty kitty. In other news, I got a very nice feedback on my Etsy shop this morning. :)

Trip to Atlanta

While my flight to Atlanta wasn't until noon, I left the house around 8 AM so that I could ensure a parking space at the Metro. Thankfully, because of free airport wifi, I was able to send off some emails and then watch Daredevil on Netflix (heh). The flight was uneventful. I was in row 34 out of 36, so pretty much removed from anything that was happening on the plane.

There was about an hour between my arrival time and my boss's arrival time, so again, I continued the Daredevil episode I was watching earlier. We checked into the hotel and took a break and then headed to the Chinese restaurant to get some takeout. I scarfed down most of the dumplings that I got, took some time to digest and then headed to the hotel gym to crank out a treadmill run. I was glad that the elevators were across from the gym because after my run, I looked like I took a dip in the pool instead. I felt compelled to get the workout in because I'll be stuck in a meeting with CDC partners tomorrow and by the time I get home, there will be no time or energy for a workout. I'll pick things back up on Wednesday!

July 4th Nails

Feeling appropriately patriotic, I did a July 4th manicure on Friday night. Some glitter, some metallic, some nail art stamping. :)

In an effort to burn off last night's dinner (or rather dessert), I went to a 45 minute spin class this morning, went home to do a load in the dishwasher/eat/charge phone/take a short nap and then went to the other gym to do Day 4 of Crush60 (arms). I could definitely feel it when I was washing my hair. Tomorrow should be interesting, especially with traveling to Atlanta for work.

There was a guy doing cable chest flys that was creeping me out. A helpful tip: talking to yourself out loud as a form of motivation makes you look more like a looney toon than He-Man, mkay? (eye roll)

Happy 4th of July!

The gym opened at 8 AM this morning per their July 4th schedule. I wanted to get today's workout (Day 3 of Crush60...lots of squats and ab work. Comparatively not as tough as Days 1 and 2, but tomorrow will be arms and I foresee it being a challenge) done and out of the way so I got there probably around 8:10 AM. I stayed an extra 30 minutes and walked on the treadmill while watching Daredevil Episode 2 on Netflix (yay for wifi at the gym!) because it was raining outside and I didn't have an umbrella. The rain hadn't stopped by the time the 30 minutes was up so I figured I was already sweaty, what difference would it make. I went to Safeway for some groceries and then home to take a shower. What a difference that and some winged liner makes! On another note, I bought these black shorts probably like a year or two ago. I remember them feeling kinda tight, so they had been in my closet at the bottom of the pile. I took them out today just to see what would happen, and they fit so much better. Yay, progress!
I had a $10 off and triple points coupons from DSW so I wandered over there this afternoon. My goal was to find a pair of nude pumps because I had to throw away my old ones. They had been to many conferences already and were in bad shape. Buh-bye. I walked over to the clearance section and found the same pair in yellow for 30% off. Bah ha ha...
I made some rice krispie treats to bring with me to the family BBQ, but I wonder if that was even necessary since my uncle/aunt ended up bringing 2 pies (apple and strawberry rhubarb) and my cousin made flan. Even though Julie made her famous steaks, the hot dogs were the most popular item on the menu and they were all gone by the time dinner was over.

I will definitely be going to the 8:30 AM spin class tomorrow. Hope everyone out there had a happy and safe 4th of July!

A Day at the National Mall

The exhibit that Julie worked on at the American History museum, American Enterprise, opened on July 1, so we decided to use our day off to go see it. It must have been rewarding for her to see something that she worked on come to life and have people play with the interactives that she created. My favorite interactives were the one that had to do with different types of drinks and how they are made and one about cat food (if it has cats, there's a 99% chance I'm going to like it) and a section on technology (they had a display with different types of cell phones, old and new). Oh, and I liked the American Flag display that was made of Legos.

Julie, at an interactive that she created about Market Revolution

Wandering over to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on Peru

Last stop: the Museum of Natural History...because they had air conditioning.

After the American History museum, we wandered to the Folklife Festival. There was a lot of stuff crammed in a small space and because the two of us are kinda short, it was tough to see anything because of the crowds. We eventually gave up and sought refuge at the Museum of Natural History to check out the dinosaurs because they had air conditioning. I was hoping to see the dinosaur exhibit, but unfortunately, the dinosaur hall is closed until 2019 (?!) so they had a smaller one that wasn't as exciting.

No gym today, but I did crank out about 14,000 steps today. I'll be back tomorrow before a July 4th BBQ at my parents' house.

Day 2 of Crush60

I woke up to a very nice email from a friend from graduate school (hi Laura!), which included a compliment and a makeup sale tip. What a great way to start the day! :D

Later on in the morning, a work email notification pops up from the executive director:

For those few intrepid souls who made their way into the office, enjoy the extra few hours off!  Please use the office closure on your timesheets for these hours.  

This was perfect timing because I had a call scheduled with my committee chair from 1-2 PM. Before I could park myself on the couch for an afternoon nap, I went to the gym to tackle Day 2 of Crush60 (back). I got about halfway done before it started to get a little too crowded for my comfort level. I went home, took a nap on the couch, went to the other gym for a 45-min spin class and then finished the rest of the prescribed workout. Feeling pretty strong today!

Awesome discovery from today: there's actually wifi at the gym! Gawd, I'm so late to the party. I wish I knew this sooner! (Maybe they should consider posting the wifi password in a more prominent place than the front desk.) 

Day 1 of Crush60: Entering the Man Cave

I'm heading to ATL next week and I IMed my boss to ask her if we could get Chinese take-out like we did last time. Yep, meal planning a week in advance. She called me almost immediately, and I thought she was going to make fun of me, but really she said that it was a good idea and moved onto a work-related question.

There was a happy hour scheduled today, but skipped it to go the gym. The goal today was to actually stay in the weight section to do the Day 1 (chest) workout prescribed in the strength training program, no matter how many guys were there. Ugh, it was kinda intimidating, but I forced myself to stay. Fortunately, most of the machines I needed were in the periphery of the weight area so I didn't feel like I was in anyone's way. Day 1, check. 59 more to go...

Telework day tomorrow and then a 3-day weekend! :)