According to Pepper

Haha, the aforementioned “old school trainer” is this guy. Nicest guy in the gym. His joke of the day to me was that I’m “training for my match”, my “big match”, as in… my wedding. ;) What a sweetheart.

Last night I dreamt that I was at my old gym. Before I went into a separate room to do my ab work, I walked up to the receptionists deck, which doubled as a bar, and asked “Can I have the cocktail for ab work?”

The receptionist directed the question across the room to the gym owner who replied “No cocktails before 10:30am”

Oops. 

Things I like about this dream: That there are themed cocktails for workouts. 

Things that concern me: That I wanted a cocktail before 10:30am. 

This article was posted by my friend on Facebook and rather than start a FB argument about it, I will say here, in my own private soap box that… 

the paragraph below makes me want to puke.

3. Legally Recognizing Only Heterosexual Marriage Isn’t Discrimination Against Homosexuals Wanting To Marry. Marriage between a man and a woman has existed in virtually every known society. It has served the purpose of channeling procreative sexual activity into an institution which will provide a stable environment for children produced from the sexual union of the partners in marriage. Recognizing that heterosexual marriage has provided the best environment for the rearing of future citizens North Carolina has regulated marriage for at least 340 years. Same sex marriage is an entirely different relationship with a completely different purpose. Expanding the marital institution to other relationships which serve completely different purposes ultimately undermines the institution which has proven to be the best and safest environment for children.

I’m a very needy boxer. I need my trainer to constantly reinforce my work. I want improvement and progress and I have no patience. This results in me frequently asking if my positions are correct, if I’m swinging too much, etc. etc.

It must be exhausting to train me. 

Today one of the old school trainers at the gym commented that he recognized me from my fights years ago. I’m paraphrasing but basically he said that the other girls (the tall, willowly but muscular ones) are more feminine but I’m solid and a good fighter. He also commented that I’m heavier now. You can see why its easy to begin losing weight while training in a boxing gym. When your weight becomes everyone’s business, it can be a great motivator. 

And then he and my trainer were chatting and asked me the million dollar question “Do you want to fight again” My immediate response (before I had time to put on the rational filter) was “Yeah, sure, why not?” 

I can tell you about a million reasons why not. But to them I only said “as long as I don’t have a black eye for my wedding.”

On Saturday, I made my first trip back into the world of boxing. I’m trying a new boxing gym this time, one conveniently located in Brooklyn. 

My first workout consisted of the following: 

3 rounds jump rope

4 rounds shadow boxing

3 rounds heavy bag

4 rounds mitts with trainer

4 rounds speedbag

100 situps

100 leg pull ups

15 minute run

It was all totally do-able, despite my stamina being not what it used to be. And after a hot bath on Saturday afternoon, I felt totally amazing. My very best self. 

And then Sunday morning happened. It felt as if I had heated tiger stripes down my back that just buuuuurned whenever I moved.  Same on the tops of my shoulders and arms. Then there were my ankles which felt like I’ve had them in shackles for years. When I’d talk, laugh or move I’d feel deep vibrations into my ribcage and chest, like every muscle was hit in the course of a vocal note. BC rubbed my back, only anything more than a slight touch hurt too much. 

I laid on the couch comatose for the first 7 hours of the day. Rising took much more effort than I was capable of. Fortunately, by the afternoon I’d learned that quick movements made the pain more bearable. 

I skipped the gym this morning to give myself one more day of recovery. But tomorrow I’m back. Let the masochism begin.

A few weeks ago Brian and I went up to Hudson for a wedding planning weekend. (On a side note, I’m totally glad we decided to get married out of the city - all these little planning getaways are so much fun!)

I’d made reservations at Helsinki Hudson, which is where we are having our rehearsal dinner and the Fri night out of town guest reception. But when we got to the restaurant we were told that we couldn’t have reservations for that evening, that the whole restaurant was reserved for the Love Ball and if we wanted to have dinner we’d have to pay the $25/pp entry fee. I was pretty incensed considering I’d made the reservations two weeks prior and this was never discussed. 

We spoke with a manager who overruled the front door, and sat us at a table near the stage. He said it would be quiet there. And it was until the entire restaurant gathered around to watch the first marraige of the Love Ball. 

What we hadn’t known was that the Love Ball wasn’t just a party during which two couples getting married. It was a fundraiser for the Hudson Pride Foundation. (Once we realized this, we went back and made our entry donation, feeling like total schmucks for making a big deal about it!)

In the ceremony uniting Rob and Jeff, a niece of one of the grooms read the ruling from the judge legalizing gay marriage in MA. Brian and I both were very moved. Knowing that this couple (and so many others) had to overcome such a large obstacle to be able to publicly declare their love and union… it just made the event more monumental. We felt very privileged to be there. It was a good reminder of how marriage isn’t just the next step in a relationship. It’s a choice, its a gift, and its an honor.

I believe marriage is a right that should be granted to anyone and it’s also a decision that isn’t taken lightly. What an amazing experience to be apart of. 

About 5-6 years ago, I went to the UK for my friends’ wedding. My cousin and I found a cheap flight via Icelandair and naturally decided that a 1/2 day stopover in Rekjavik might be a fun way to start the trip. 

We arrived at around 7am, if I remember correctly. Took the bus from the airport to the city centre. Everything was completely dead. We spent about a 1/2 hour just looking for a place to have breakfast. Slowly the city began to emerge from slumber and I just remember everyone being very nordic beautiful. 

It was really cold that day. We walked all around the city and, once the stores opened, we would stop in here and there. I found this one place that sold beautiful wool gloves (without the fingers.) If I remember correctly it was early or late summer, so this discovery was a small miracle. I believe the gloves were expensive but I didn’t fully comprehend the Icelandic conversion and furthermore 1. it was cold 2. I rationalized the purchase as a nice souvenir for always that would remind me of the day. 

I love those gloves. I get compliments on them all the time. They are so warm (despite not having fingers) and I wear more often that not. And today, after all this time (and who keeps track of mittens for over 5 years anyways) I lost one. 

The kicker is that I lost the one WITHOUT the brand label so I can’t locate them and repurchase. Perhaps, a small miracle will happen and I’ll find my glove at the coffee shop. I have a feeling it took a ride on the floor of the F train, though. Ugh, it’s amazing how something so small could mean so much to me. I usually try not to get upset about losing or destroying my clothes or things at home. They’re only things after all. But it’s much sadder when that little thing brought just a reminder of a great memory every day for so long. 

You may know that I regularly scour the real estate listings for potential homes. Am I in the market to buy? Not really. Do I know (really) where we want to move? Well, kinda. I mean, I’d be happy with a $100k home upstate to retreat to on weekends and potentially use for rental income. Brian really wants to stay in Brooklyn forever. I do too, but I’m skeptical that we’ll ever be able to find a home that has all the things we want and need. This wish list is: 

- an older home

- preferably, single family or convertible to single family

- 3+ bedrooms (to grow into)

- outdoor space

- 2 bathrooms

- offstreet parking (not too important, but would be nice)

- a cosmetic fixer upper. The heavy lifting home improvements is probably not a reality with our schedules and the multitude of projects we always have going on. But paint, wallpaper, artwork, furniture, etc…. right up my alley. 

- oh, and inexpensive. Or at least something we can afford. 

Meet 303 Caton Avenue. 

Holy shit. This is the one. This is the house for us. It just came on the market at the worst time possible. If this house were available, exactly in its current state, in 3 years, we’d have already purchased it.  

See how the living room flows into the dining room? I’ve already put together the design place. Knock out the wall between the kitchen and dining room in the back. Add a huge marble topped (or maybe butcher block) island. Then a wall of built in storage on the dining room left wall with a banquette or space for a bench in the middle. Huge raw wood table. Cool stools tucked in the island. I can totally see Brian and I enjoying that space. 

If you click to the listing you can see the floorplan and further understand why Brian and I stayed up until 2 the other night discussing how we might possibly be able to cobble together the funds to buy this. (I even suggested canning the wedding and putting our money into this house instead.)

See that basement with the garage? Who has a garage in NY?! And it looks like we could set the basement up as a studio apartment rental and rent it out while we don’t need the space. I bet someone who owns a car would pay a pretty penny to rent a studio that comes with a garage. 

See the third floor with the 4 bedrooms? The one with the bay window would be ours. The small room beside it would be my dressing room. The small room down the hall would be Brian’s office. The larger room in the back would be for guests. GUESTS. People could stay in our home on something other than an air mattress (as luxe as ours is.)

So anyways.. I suppose I should let this go now. In the very least, I can say that I now know exactly what Brian and I will be looking for when we’re ready to buy. We found it once and I have faith that we shall find it again one day. (Dramatic ending.)

@brichri and I are very confused as to why we haven’t heard of this guy. And why we heard his apparently blockbuster song through these guys. Votes out on which video is better. 

“It’s not really a cleanse…” 

Brian and I have been going back and forth for a while about how we want to be healthier - get into regular gym routines, eat better, get a good nights sleep. (That’s what you do in the year that you’re getting married, right?) We each approach it a bit differently. 

SLEEP: The least of our problems. I fall asleep watching tv after 9pm. Brian sets alarms to prevent himself from being sucked in to whatever project he’s working on that night. 

GYM: Brian does best with a good gym buddy and now that he’s at home during the day the plan is to make it to the gym more often, and he seems to be doing so. I caved in an bought a Physique 57 3 month unlimited pass. So I’m committed to getting my money’s worth, if nothing else. 

EAT: Brian’s a “get fit for lifer’ follow all the general rules, everything in moderation. But I need a jumpstart, so I’ve made a sort of hybrid “diet” for myself to help shrink my stomach a bit and wean me off of all the bad stuff (hello, chocolate.) It’s pretty simple actually, I’m eating mostly fruits and vegetables during the day with a sprinkling of nuts, fat (hummus, avocado) and fish (tuna in a can.) At night, I’m trying to be better about cooking, preparing meals that consist of lean meats and vegetables, and eating a more cleanly. 

So, it’s Day 2. I suppose it’s not much of an accomplishment yet. But I do feel pretty good and more importantly, I’m not feeling guilty or judging myself at every meal.