Girls Weekend: Ketchum Oktoberfest (No Weekly WI This Week)

Good Morning!  I will not be popping in with a Weekly WI as I am skipping the scale this week.  Our annual Girls Weekend was in in Ketchum and I just can’t face another gain on the cusp of vacation.  I know I am up, I can feel it.  I know I didn’t make the best choices and having a weekend away before a big vacation was a risky move.  On the other hand, life is meant to be lived and weight gain is temporary. 

Girls Weekend was really fun.  It centered around Ketchum Oktoberfest, which we found underwhelming.  That isn’t to say we still didn’t have fun.  Some of our best girls weekend trips involve walkable spots and Ketchum fit that bill.  We rented an AirBnB and walked all weekend.  Plus, we even with for a hike!  

Saturday:

Sawtooth Brewing put on the Oktoberfest.  You had to buy your glass or being one from a prior year, which was your admission ticket.  The prices were a bit steep but the schnitzel sandwich and pretzel were amazing!  With only one brewery, we sampled a few beers then continued to other adventures.

Our adventures took us by TNT Taproom.

And in a weird twist of fate, to a Senior Connections event in the city park.  As we were walking into town that evening, we heard live music and went to investigate.  We found a group gathering in the park and was invited by a retired part-time resident of the Ketchum/Hailey area.  That was the bulk of the locals we met over the weekend.  They all had wonderful stories.  He encouraged us to stay for a glass of wine (or two) and then we joined in on the Mexican buffet.  Phoenix and I sat down at a picnic table with four retired part-time residents as well and enjoyed conversation.  We saw the group later that evening at the Pioneer Saloon.  It was so fun!

Sunday:

Our morning started with a 3.6 mile hike to see Trinity Lake.  The hike took 1.5 hours and at times was difficult with steep inclines.  I am really glad we powered through as tough as it felt.  The reward was the beautiful reflective lake with very still water.  It was gorgeous.

We stopped into Galena Lodge for their last day of the Summer season.  What a neat place and I highly suggest checking it out if you are ever in the area during their open seasons (both summer and winter).

We showered and changed and went back out on foot into town.  We popped into Sawtooth Brewery for another pretzel.

Next door was Lefty’s Bar and Grill, the place to get a good priced burger and beer!  We were not really hungry so we settled for a beer and shared some Monkey Fries, a local favorite.

We went to Warfield’s for a cocktail and then checked out some shops.

We ended our drinking adventures at The Cellar Pub and The Sawtooth Club, a recommendation from another retired part-time resident.

   

Knowing food was needed and not wanting to walk back into town, we picked up Wiseguy Pizza and headed back to the AirBnB for the night.

Monday:

Our drive home took us by Malad Gorge State Park, a place I’ve seen off I84 but never stopped to visit.  We decided on a picnic lunch at the park of leftover pizza with veggies and dip before finishing the drive home.

I am always so thankful to have such wonderful friends in my life.

Weekly WI: The Roller Coaster Of A Weight Loss Journey

Hello and Happy Thursday.  

I am a little late in checking in for my Weekly WI.  Somedays I just don’t know where the day goes but yet here we are on Thursday evening.

 

My weight-in was not great.  I am bummed and yet it was a big struggle last week.  My resistance muscle was low, and I did not prevail.  I gained 1.6 pounds. 

 

I am still a bit bummed and wished I had made different choices last week.  I can’t dwell on it and all I can do is move forward.  What feels stressful is I am out of town this weekend for Girls Weekend at Oktoberfest and then next week…Ireland!  So yeah, not the greatest time to be so close to the 200s.

 

I’ve been working the last two days on adjusting my mindset and trying to shift my focus away from how yucky I feel.  I have been tired and super bloated and so it is constantly on my mind.  I had more social engagements on my agenda last week than the weeks prior and I have social engagements this week as well.  Add to that and upcoming vacation and yeah…I’m feeling a little stressed.

 

Facebook memories boosted my spirit a little.  

2016 is when I reached my all time high for re-gain weight.  I feel proud that I can say as of this week, I have kept off almost 106 pounds, which is an additional 50 pounds lost from when this memory was posted.  Although I am not where I’d like to be post-vacation I am still proud of my success.

 

Onward we go!

Ireland Cruise: Less Than 30 Days To Go

We are now well under the 30-day mark and have officially checked in for our upcoming cruise.  You know what that means?  I must continue to wait.  

Whomp:Whomp  

The hardest part is the amount of workdays that stand in the way of vacation.  I’ll have to find creative ways to pass the time.

 

The excursions have been booked and plans pre- and post-cruise have been mapped out.  We recently booked a table for Afternoon Tea at Brigit’s Bakery in London for the day we arrive.  We had to shuffle our museum plans since we don’t feel we will have enough time after we make our way from the airport to the hotel via the Underground.  Instead of feeling rushed, we will hang around London and take in some sights.  I’ve wanted to experience high tea and looked at where/when we might be able to squeeze it in.  Brigit’s Bakery runs a double decker bus tour with afternoon tea which sounded enticing.  Instead, I like the flexibility of going to the bakery and we get to drink out of real teacups.  It will be so much fun. 

 

The bakery is in the Covenant Garden theatre district.  I’ve been toying want to see Choir of Man again since I caught their show on NCL Encore when we cruised to Alaska with my parents.  I still enjoy listening to the soundtrack and have such fond memories of the show.  I consulted with The Hubs, and we booked the show.  I figure I’m going to be attending plenty of museums with him he an endure one night of theater.  Who knows, maybe he will like it too.

 

I am looking forward to cruising NCL Star, a smaller ship with from a complex layout than newer ships.  The atrium is what excites me the most.  It is beautiful!

We have reservations at three specialty dining venues.  First up is Cagney’s Steakhouse, my favorite.  This cruise will also try the Italian restaurant, La Cucina, and the French restaurant, Le Bistro.  These dining venues have been offered on our other cruises and I am excited to try them.  The included restaurant, O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill is always a good place to eat and open 24 hours.  I’ve been chatting with several members I’ve met on the Facebook group so I suspect we will have some gatherings here. 

You know I have the drink package and I am all about the bars & lounges!  There is a Sugarcane Mojito Bar on board, which we tried on NCL Encore.  This one is smaller, with reduced hours, and not as easy to get to as the bigger ships but I am excited to enjoy their delicious mojitos again.   The other bar I am looking forward to visiting is Proof Whiskey Bar, which I suspect will be like the other whiskey bars on other ships with a different name.  Oh boy.  When we sailed on NCL Sun, my first time with the drink package, I love every drink I tried at the Windjammer.  I expect to frequent Spike H2O as some of the Facebook group members also enjoy that area.  The one place I have not tried is the Gatsby’s Champagne Bar so I might have to put that on my list this cruise and see what drinks they have to offer.

The smaller ships do not have much for entertainment so I am not sure what all might pique our interest.  At this point we have reserved an 8:30pm dining time and we are in port for almost 12 hours each day.  The purpose behind late dining is to hopefully make it some of the theme nights on board.  It always feels so late and usually I’m too tired.  We have plans to check out the Bliss Ultra Lounge for music and dancing a few nights too.

I mean really, we will be on vacation so there is never a bad day on vacation!

Weekly WI: Another Loss

 Life has been busy and my days off this week have flown by.  I am not ready to go back to work.  The good news is, I am on the countdown to vacation so if we could just get the work weeks to move along quicker mmmm’kay.

My Weekly WI was a success as far Operation Scale Decline goes.  I had such a rock solid week of tracking I had expected to lose more.  I did not let that deter me this week and I am continuing with tracking, meal planning, and balancing social situations again this week.

My new Apple Watch Activity Goal is too lofty this month so I am not worrying about that.  I am still working in daily movement as it makes me feel good.  My ability to get to the gym will be limited the next two weeks and then we are out of town the two following weeks.  I’ll do my best to get in activity where I can and if all else fails, get out for a walk.

We are enjoying some fall-ish weather and I am hoping it will be nice for our Oktoberfest Girls Weekend.  Phoenix and I will be taking in an Oktoberfest in the mountains and I am so excited for a pre-vaca before the real vaca.  Plus…beer.

A Perfect Month

Good Morning.  Happy Saturday!

 

It is my bestie Phoenix’s birthday today.  We will be having a party later today.  I have pre-planned my day with an abundance of points left over as well as weekly points.

 

The week did not start that way.  I had a social engagement on Thursday that I thought would take a good chunk of points but was cancelled.  I also had an impromptu trip to a new whiskey bar that opened and spent some extra points on Wednesday.  Either way, my week is shaking out nicely.

 

Yesterday was exhausting.  I’ll be honest, I am not ready for this Labor Day holiday weekend.  The phones at work rang non-stop and we are starting our weekend with five fatalities over two different crashes.  I hope we do not spend all weekend dealing with fatality crashes because last week seven people died in crashes on Idaho roads.  Somedays, this job is just tough.

 

Moving onto a lighter topic…

 

My quest for a perfect month was successful. 

 

I completed 31 days of closing all three Apple Watch rings.  There were some days it was tough, but I am glad I powered through.  I am not planning a perfect month for September and my Apple Watch Activity Challenge is a bit unrealistic.  I have enjoyed the daily activity routine I developed and later this month, I’ll get a lot of activity while on vacation.  The days in between I will move my body but also take time to rest.  I missed rest days last month.

 

I am hoping the scale will again show my hard work this week.  We all know the scale may not reflect our hard work and I am proud of how my week has gone.  I plan to be successful this evening but also enjoy the party atmosphere.  I am planning ahead with some non-alcoholic beer as that takes a ton of points.