Category: Uncategorized

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Met my group this morning, Sunday. Wasn’t sure what to expect as I knew it was mostly couples and families traveling together, only 1 other woman traveling solo like me. All is well, groups from CT, IL, CA, Fl, and Toronto.
We left Split by boat headed for Brac island, that alone was lovely, dolphins surfacing as though they were paid to be there.
We got off the boat and prepped for just shy of 30 miles. I thought, hmmm, I can do this in my sleep. Hahaha, throw in some crazy climbs and a pretty serious sun, 30 miles starts to feel a lot longer.
We stopped at a country restaurant that is owned my father and son; we ate nothing that did nothing not come from their backyard, whether meat, vegetable, or fruit…divine. But I needed a nap, not more hills. Made it through and arrived in Dol. Lovely lovely town with sleepy feel.
And tonight we sleep and eat in a home from the 15th century…held by the same family!!! The matriarch welcomed us.
I feel like I was on a movie set all day. Amazing vistas, blue water, sleepy towns with beautiful people sunning themselves on rocks. Think retro 1950, Sophia Loren….
Attaching pictures, but I need sleep, tomorrow comes soon and mileage and hills are doubled.
Put Croatia on your bucket list, it is amazing!

 

a few pictures before I go..

So here’s the thing about travel, and actually a blog, as maybe 3-4 people are reading this and 1 of them is probably my mother… I know people want to see pictures, but I really groove on the people.

Promise some pictures.

Today I chatted with Brits from the midlands (will have to google “Midlands” later), ended up walking with a lovely couple from Taiwan, the husband studied Statistics at Michigan State and was very funny about UMichigan vs Michigan State, and then a Croatian mother, daughter, both in 2 piece suits looking amazing, gave me guidance on the where and what of swimming from the rocky shores. How grand is that?  If I had stopped, for pictures, maybe the experience is different.

And now I’m having an afternoon libation at an outdoor bar where the bartender wants to be anywhere but here, but he understands that I do not want a tourist drink, just a bit o’ hooch in a glass with fresh squeezed oj, nothing from the gun, and moreso a big side or water…with ice!

Hotel is perfect, tidy room, well located, charming staff who all speak English and get my sense of humor.

Last night I was exhausted and hungry and if you have ever travelled anywhere you know that combo is deadly. The hotel gave me a great recommendation…and I never found it. Split Croatia is a series of little alleys and unnamed streets. I ended up at what I’m sure is a dive but they served me a whack of chicken and a big glass of water so I consider it a success. And when I found my way back to the hotel, a chocolate on the pillow. Don’t even like chocolate and it made me happy.

Time for more people watching.

Beautiful morning in Munich and no joke, the airport is gorgeous! Great outdoor courtyard which I will be enjoying for a few hours as my mad dash to catch an earlier connection to Split yielded no results.

Worse places to be than Munich on an end of summer day.

As I plunked my stuff down I looked up and saw this sign…how fun is that!!

So just a quick note to let you know I am alive, next time we talk it will be from Croatia!!

can I really own this blog from a phone? For this trip, let’s give it a whirl yes? Need sleep now, in hopes that tomorrow I’ll actually pack my bathing suit and not a sweater.

Tick tock tick tick…we’re almost on our way…

Big adventure alert..headed to Croatia.  Croatia you say?  What in the holy hell are you up to?

Who knows what I am up to, but tomorrow I jump on an evening flight, Philadelphia to Munch and then on to Split Croatia.. where I will behold the Adriatic Sea for the first time and do some cycling for the next 5 days.

Wahooooo!!!

Tonight..packing, and maybe enjoying a few pre-vacation cocktails.. which means I will find myself in Croatia with no contact solution, maybe no underwear, and a sweater instead of a bathing suit..

Anyway, just brushing off the blog.

C’mon along…

 

Last post in May, so full of hope and measurable goals…and today, 7/29/16, the reconciliation of what I’m gonna do and what I did…oy, not so stellar.  Can’t even bear to write out what I did not accomplish.

But crown me the queen of “it’s never too late to start somewhere”.  Somewhere was last night on the track at Radnor HS.  So here is the goal for the next month in anticipation of my cycling trip in Croatia starting 8/28…

• Well, cycle, that would be helpful and seemingly common sense
• Lose 4-5lbs, less hauling of the ass and gut, gotta find a scale
• Write in this beautiful blog, do I dare commit to daily..
• And, don’t laugh, do planks for 30 continuous days
  • last night at the track was Day 1 / :60 seconds woop woop

That’s all for now, workie work calls..

 

So I am paying for the dang-a-lang domain name, why not use it!!

Latest mission…Half Iron race in July.  Rode my bike outside for the first time last night…so you get the drift of preparation eh?  But I really want to do it.  Swam through the winter, can knock out 1.5M swim with no problem…and no speed.  Should be able to grunt my way through 13.1 run.  And so why couldn’t I sandwich those efforts around a 56M bike ride.  Insert an emoji here that says, are ya crazy??!!

Anyway, training is underway…

Day 10 of the Whole30…and I cheated, just now.  I am a nervous gum chewer, the way some people chew a pen cap and don’t even realize until the whole conference room notes the destruction of your Bic, well that’s me with gum.  I can chomp away unknowing that I am giving Daisy the plow horse a run for her money on “chewing the cud”.  But today it was more about wanting to chew something, anything, that was different.  .

The no gum parameter makes sense, besides the fake and chemical nature of it, per the program, “Chewing sends a message to your body that food is coming. If you spend a lot of time chewing, but not eating, your body is going to get quite confused in its responses”.  I’m determined to complete the 30 day mission so I feel like I can control the hatfields and mccoys of taste messages and no food coming.

Big round about rationalization on my part, but that’s what I’m going with.. and it feels great to chomp away on something besides salad, chicken, beef.

On the plus side, while I won’t call it an epiphany, I am not craving a big bowl of mint choc. ice cream with cookies crunched on top.  In fact I asked myself today, “myself, do you really enjoy those bounding overflowing bowls?”  There was a noticeably softer response.

So anyway, 10 days in, hanging in there, still feeling good, and tucked a shirt in for the first time in forever.  Not that it looks good, but I tucked it in..

Off for a run, 🏃

Week 1 has passed and we’re into Week 2.

Overall I cannot deny that I feel better.  Less sludgey, less fleshy, which feels good.  On the flip side I am still longing for certain food, not so much craving, but truly longing.  For example, tonight was a yummy breast of chicken, chopped vegetables, an avocado, all good, but a few tostitos would have been great.  And the orange for dessert was also very flavorful, but no match for a bowl of ice cream.

Also missed a cocktail this weekend, but no cheats.

This week the goal is to branch out a little more on the menu and really step up the exercise.  Last week was light.

Gotta run