The best idea I had all week...

I took myself (and my Joyce Meyer's book) out to dinner at J.Alexander's last night - yummy glass of Joseph Carr Cabernet Sauvignon, chicken pasta soup and prime rib cooked to a perfect medium rare - amazing.

I highly recommend that you take yourself out to dinner at the soonest opportunity, and if you can manage to do it right smack in the middle of an extra stressful week - bonus points.

Les Miserables at the Hobby Center

Heading out to the theater

Saturday night Amanda and I went to our second show of the Hobby Center's Broadway Across America 2012-13 season: Les Miserables. This time around we made sure to purchase our souvenir cups to take in to the theater.  As you can see, they look a little bit like sippy-cups for grown-ups.  

Bringing a glass of wine into the show? Worth all 300 additional pennies.

On the terrace before the show

Amanda actually ended up with an extra set of tickets for this show so we got to attend a Saturday performance (our season tickets are for Sunday evenings) which was a nice change of pace.  

I had never seen Les Mis before and I really enjoyed it, the actors and sets were phenomenal and I was surprised how many songs I was familiar with. 

Photo-op with the cast, post-show

Standard shot in the main entryway :)

We had a great time and are looking forward to the next show, Catch Me if You Can, but we have quite the wait, it won't be here in Houston until February 2013.  Perhaps we'll need to squeeze in Peter Pan in the meantime... 

Wednesday's 'Special Assignment'

I feel very blessed to have a job I truly love (brilliant coworkers, respected partners, endless opportunities to learn and grow...) and I am so thankful for the fun opportunities it affords me.  Yesterday was a perfect example.

This week I’ve been experiencing one of those odd account service lulls where none of my project balls are in my court.  The benefit to a lull like this is that it allows me the extra time for ‘special assignments’ - like picking up 2013 Addy Award entry packets at a Wednesday afternoon mixer.

I headed out of our office around 4pm to pick up our packets at FotoFest, where I was invited to indulge in a sampling of finger foods - featuring four different kinds of deviled eggs (four kinds!) including Bloody Mary deviled eggs (must find a recipe for this), and other light bites.

Glass of wine in hand I made my way through the current exhibit, The Collector’s Eye, the collection of Frazier King.

Before leaving I spent some time enjoying the live band, The Carper Family, an Austin-based all-female acoustic trio.  I must start carrying cash on me because they really were fantastic and I would have liked to purchase a CD, but lucky for me (and you), they are on iTunes as well.

I would have liked to stay longer but I had to get back to Midtown for friend dinner with Kristin, which was fantastic and an entirely different story for a different post.

Spoiler: we had sushi. :)

Early Voter #8,213,342,865,234,287,32........

City of Houston Metropolitan Multi-Service Center - from the road.

Last Friday I spent my lunch break (and then some) putting my early vote in for the 2012 Presidential election.  I spent over an hour and half in a line that wrapped around the exterior before snaking through the interior of the City of Houston Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray. 

 "This is the longest line I've seen out here, never seen it this long ever," commented one man, a sentiment I heard repeated many (many) times during my wait, which to me, a first-time Houston voter, didn't really seem that bad.

One official admitted they hadn't expected such a large turnout and were clearly understaffed.  As a result no one seemed to be abiding by the 'No Cell Phones' rule (posted everywhere).  About an hour in a guy behind me commented, "I turn off my phone when my wife is around but I don't when she isn't," and she wasn't, so he didn't.

The line when I arrived...

The line when I left.

 I was so excited to vote (for the first time! Yes, I've been a crummy, lazy American in the past and declined to vote in the last two presidential elections) that the line didn't really phase me.  As you can see below, I was very happy heading out:

Me, after voting :)

If you didn't make it to early voting today is Election Day 2012 so run, don't walk, to those polls!

12 Hours : 2 CG Camps

I kept my promise to myself and made it to Stude Park last night for a great p.m. Camp Gladiator workout with Leigh and Shamus.

On the way home I reached out to my friend Emily (animal lover, marathon runner, outdoor junkie) and invited her to join me for an a.m. camp before Buddy Week ends.  Always up for a new adventure she agreed to try Hermann Park with me this morning at 5:30 a.m. (what a trooper!).

I am so thankful for friends like Emily, her enthusiasm gave me the motivation and accountability to complete two CG sessions in just 12 hours.  Camp this morning was tough, and especially muddy, but a great time.

Fingers are still crossed that I make it to tomorrow's 9 a.m. Spotts park camp - the last one of the week!

Camp Gladiator Update

The final week of Camp Gladiator boot camp is edging closer and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m a little disappointed in the nose dive my participation took last week. 

Week 1 I hit the ground running with four pre-sunrise sessions AND a 6 a.m. solo run on my off day. 

Week 2, life got in the way and I only made it to 2 boot camps, both were evening sessions. I had a ton of fun and got a great workout at both, plus, it opened my eyes to some great parks in my neck of the woods that I had previously been oblivious to. Unfortunately Halloween festivities swept the rest of the week right out from under me and after Tuesday and I didn’t make it again until... 

This week, Week 3. Week 3 is buddy week, so I brought one to the Tuesday evening session at Stude park. I was a little nervous after taking a week off but was pleasantly surprised by how much my overall stamina and endurance has improved in so little time. The CG boot camp format definitely pushes me further in each session than I have ever pushed myself in the gym. Wednesday was Halloween and with a towering laundry pile demanding my immediate attention (seriously, I was out of pants) I skipped boot camp to attend to domestic imperatives like laundry, watching Poltergeist and drinking Chardonnay. 

Tonight I am going back to Stude Park come hell or high water. From there I’d like to round out the week by doing a.m. camps tomorrow and Saturday to hit four sessions for the week. Next week is the final week so I’ll be hitting as many sessions as physically possibly and enacting a ‘no excuses’ policy. 

 Fingers crossed and updates soon!

10 Sweet Treats Under 100 Calories

Don’t let the abundance of leftover Halloween candy lying around your home or office throw your health and fitness goals off track.  Before you binge consider limiting yourself to one of the 10 ‘Sweet Treats’ Calorie Count recommends:

1 cup Strawberries with 1 tbsp chocolate syrup, 98 calories

3 Hershey’s Kisses, 76 calories

1/2 medium pear, drizzled with 1 packet of honey, 93 calories

1 Fun-Size Snickers Bar, 80 calories

1 small apple, baked, sprinkled with cinnamon and 1 tsp brown sugar, 88 calories

5 pieces of Starburst, 100 calories

3 Medjool Dates each stuffed with an almond, 90 calories

1 cup Jell-O Chocolate Pudding, 100 calories

1.5 cups Air-popped Popcorn with 1 tbsp of fat-free caramel syrup, 96.5 calories 
 
1 medium peach halved and cored, sprinkled with 1/3 ounce of pecan pieces and ground ginger, 100 calories 

source: caloriecount.com