Nice Try

Vacations are awful for the waistline. But the good thing about vacations (with regards to weight, at least) is that they usually aren't more than a week or two.

With the road trip, new city exploration, and my family visiting, I've been in vacation-mode for a solid 3 months.

So where does that leave me?

Busting out of my fat clothes.

Joe and I had the grand plan of doing Insanity once my family left and marked today as the day we'd start with the Fit Test. We bought the program, an extra mat for Joe, and I even created my own calendar since the calendar that comes with the program is pretty pathetic and definitely NOT cute.

Their manly and small calendar (pencil there for size comparison)

My cuter version. Everything is cuter in pink, grey, teal, and chevron. The photo was taken with my cell phone and in bad lighting, so unfortunately it's full cuteness cannot be grasped.

I also stocked up on healthy foods at the grocery store this morning.

Yea, I know microwavable diet meals are probably better described as "low-calorie" rather than "healthy" (since Lord knows what's really in them) but I need a little help right now and am taking baby steps here

We ate healthy, drank a ton of water, and mentally prepared ourselves all day for the Fit Test. At 3 p.m. we decked ourselves in our workout garb, laced up our sneakers, and pressed play.

At 3:05 p.m. we pressed stop.

For good.

Not because it was too hard. (Yes, it was hard. OMG were those 300 seconds hard. But I swear that's not why).

It was because our neighbors were going to think that there was a high magnitude earthquake hitting Philly (which would likely be quite frightening, since the largest earthquake recorded here was a 3.8 way back in 1973!!!).

Throughout all of this preparation we failed to consider the fact that our building is older than the Titanic and perhaps a combined 400+ pounds jumping up and down on the top floor may not bode well for its continued ability to stand.

Brian was sitting downstairs (our apartment is two levels, we figured sound would be no issue since we weren't doing the workout right above anyone) and ran up to tell us that the room was shaking and the pots and pans that we have hanging above the stove were banging together.

Brian didn't scream like this chick from Paranormal Activity 2, but might have had he not known we were doing Insanity upstairs. See below for the whole scene, and imagine Brian in her place ;)

So we are retiring our Insanity DVDs after, perhaps, the shortest attempt at Insanity ever. I am honestly bummed out because I was excited to push myself and try to (finally) get in shape. Time to come up with a Plan B.

Until then, because we aren't officially working out yet, I'll enjoy a drink or two tonight.

After all, tomorrow is another day ;)

(And if you wonder why I always fail at diets, you can see the blame lies squarely on Scarlett O'Hara).






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New Addition to the Family

No, I am not pregnant :) but I AM a new mommy! Today Joe and I adopted a dog from a local shelter!!!

We have discussed getting a dog for a long time, and I was so excited that I've been on Petfinder more than Pinterest for the last several months. For a Pinterest addict like me, that's really saying something.

The plan had been to wait until we were fully settled, but we figured that the longer a dog would have to get acclimated to things before Joe starts school, the better. Plus, my brother Brian is still with us and is a huge dog lover, so we thought visiting a couple shelters would be fun.

We didn't realize how quick we'd fall for one!

At the first shelter we only filled out paperwork, as their dogs are fostered and you need to schedule appointments. There was one dog we were able to see, but she was a serious barker. According to our landlord, that's a deal breaker, so we had to pass. At the second place, they house their dogs on site, so we were able to walk down the rows and see which ones we wanted to "meet" in their meet and greet room.

As we walked down the aisle we couldn't help but notice one dog jumping up and down in its little room like Tigger. I recognized him from Petfinder (he was one I was interested in), but Joe said no way because his jumping was so crazy.

Instead, we met with a couple of quiet dogs who were super sweet, but just didn't feel right. I asked the lady if the jumping dog was a barker (assuming from his energy level he would be). But she surprised us by saying she isn't sure she has ever heard him bark.

Since we need a quiet dog and I was halfway in love with him from his Petfinder profile, I appealed to Joe and asked if we could just meet the little guy. He agreed, but reminded me the he was a crazy jumping dog and he'd have to be really impressive to be considered.

Well- he was very impressive :) Despite the jumping he was really calm in the bigger room. He had some energy - he liked to play tug of war - but certainly didn't seem like the same dog we had seen channeling his inner pogo stick. He had great manners, a sweet disposition, and seemed like the exact personality we were looking for. We were pretty sure he was it, but Joe (the reasonable one) wanted us to sleep on it.

It was good we did, because it made us both realize that we definitely wanted him :)

So today we went back and made it official! He's all ours :)

He's been a dream so far. He already has great manners and he seems really happy. He loves the car, food, his toys, and he seems to love his new family already. We sure love him.

And, without further adieu, introducing Buster Brier!

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Conclusion to the Brutocaos' Trip to Philly

And now, the final edition of The Brutocaos' Trip to Philly...

Sunday, June 23

Sunday, we went to Lancaster and took a scooter tour to see the Amish farmland and some cool covered bridges. We also saw many buggies and Amish folk. It was awesome. We didn't snap photos of them, because they don't like their pictures taken, but they were really friendly and waved to us when we passed.

I was thisclose to bailing on the scooters because I am not a quick learner of anything sports-related (I still can't ski or snowboard despite private lessons). The guide who was teaching us made me ride up front right behind him, and seemed like he wasn't sure I'd be able to hack it.

But I sucked it up, swallowed my anxiety, and rode. After a bit, I got more comfortable and it ended up being really fun. Toward the end I was even driving fast and dodging Amish buggies that were in my way. My only near-accident was when I was waving at an Amish child and almost veered into a truck. Oops. Two hands on the scooter is probably a good plan for someone as accident-prone as me.

Below are a couple of shots of a covered bridge. The whole area was so beautiful, but we only got off the scooters at bridges and (as established) accident-prone me needed to have two hands on the scooter. There was no way I could snap photos as I was driving.

Here's a line of the scooters:

After the scooter tour, we toured an Amish farmhouse. Below are the different rooms we saw:

Kitchen

Girls' Room

Boys' Room

Baby's room

Master bedroom

And now, for some fun facts about the Amish:

• William Penn invited the Amish to Pennsylvania because they were facing religious persecution in Europe

• Since they are pacifists, men don't wear buttons on their jackets or mustaches because they appear too "militaristic"

• Homes cannot have heat anywhere but in the kitchen, which is why (as you may have noticed in the master bedroom photo) they block off their fireplaces

• Photographs aren't allowed because it's considered a violation of the second Commandment, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth..." So you won't see photographs on the walls. They do allow mirrors since they only produce "a temporary image," but use of a mirror is limited to shaving for men and fixing hair coverings for women

• The Amish are allowed to go to regular hospitals / doctors

• Divorce isn't allowed, but widows can re-marry (but must wear black for one year)

• When an Amish person dies, he/she is dressed in white to symbolize that they are pure for Heaven. Flowers, etc. aren't placed on their graves because they believe that "God loves everyone equally" so they don't want some graves to have flowers and others to have nothing

Monday, June 24

Monday was a day of relaxation for the guys, and shopping for the girls. Come on, I can't let a week with my mom pass without at least a little shopping.

Tuesday, June 25

It was good we had a slow day on Monday, because Tuesday we took Mega Bus up to New York for the day. Brian wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home, but the rest of us took a walking tour through much of Manhattan. It was EXHAUSTING - at least 10 miles in the New York summer heat and humidity - but the tour was a great idea! Only Joe had been to NYC before, and that was a long time ago, so there was a lot we wanted to see. And we did!

No, we don't know these people, but we also didn't want to wait in line for a picture :) it was a madhouse near the bull. Fun fact - the charging bull was built in 1989 by an Italian American sculptor. He thought Wall Street would want to buy it, but they didn't, and so he left it in the street. It became such a tourist spot that the city just leaves it there. It's officially for sale for $5 million, but the sculptor said that if you buy the charging bull you have to immediately donate it to the city.

The New York Stock Exchange.

This is the actual Bible that George Washington used when he was inaugurated.

We were able to see the construction of the Freedom Tower (now called One World Trade Center). It's a beautiful building. The last time Joe was in New York (he was 10) he got a picture taken in front of the Twin Towers, so it was strange for him to see something else standing in its place.

We also visited St. Paul's chapel, which is where emergency workers stayed while responding to 9/11 and its aftermath. Above is a photo of one of three "altars" to people involved. This is to honor first responders. People all over the world come and leave patches, hats, etc. to show solidarity.

I was really excited to see Broadway, because I am a theater-buff. I hope to go to a show here sometime!

It was also really cool to see Times Square.

And of course, like any 30 Rock fans, we were pumped to see 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Our final stop was Central Park, and I have a bunch of shots below that I took. It was gorgeous!

I just loved all of the statues. Here's Balto.

Loved the bridges/tunnels too. Though after years of watching Law and Order, I don't think I'd walk through one at night no matter how much the park has been cleaned up in the past several years ;)

Yay! William Shakespeare. Ugh my hair. That's thanks to the humidity and sweat. We were dying at this point.

Original park benches

Remind anyone of Enchanted?

Wednesday, June 26

After Tuesday's busyness, we wanted to keep things pretty calm on Wednesday. We slept in, and then went to The Constitution Center.

The Constitution Center is right by the Liberty Bell, so we stopped at the visitor center there for the bathroom and found Rocky Balboa...

And then noticed that the line to see the Liberty Bell was super short. My parents and Kevin had headed back by this point (they saw the bell while we slept in that morning), and so I only have a picture of Brian.

You gotta admit, it's a pretty sweet looking bell.

Thursday, June 27

Thursday was another laid back day for the boys and another shopping day for the girls. We couldn't be gone too long, because my mom, dad, and Kevin were flying home and needed to leave for the airport around 4:30. 

***Side Note*** Turns out, they didn't need to arrive early, because their flight was delayed HOURS thanks to lightning on the Philly end and construction at SFO Airport on the San Francisco end. When they finally arrived in San Francisco, they blew a tire, and had to get a hotel room for a couple hours for some sleep and so they could get transportation home. They didn't end up home until 24 hours after they left our apartment. Poor people! ***End of Side Note***

Brian stayed with us because he was initially going to spend a few days in New York with his college roommate's family. However, his roommate got an internship and so wouldn't be in town and it was too late to change the tickets without an exorbitant ticket change fee. So we get him until Monday :)

When Joe got home from the airport, the three of us saw World War Z - which was pretty good. We had to take advantage of $5 Thursdays at the theater :)

Today

So there you have it! All caught up on what I was too lazy to write about in the moment :)

More Family Adventures

I'm back! Now to update you on another couple of days of the Brutocaos' trip to Philly:

Friday, June 21
After our Grim Philly tour Thursday night, Friday was more of a "traditional" Philadelphia tourist day. We visited the Betsy Ross House, Elfreth's Alley, Christ Church, and Independence Hall.

The Betsy Ross house was surprisingly cool. It was just a house, but what made it was the actress playing Betsy. I've made jokes that my ideal job here in Philly would be to be Betsy Ross at the Betsy Ross House, but I definitely couldn't beat this lady at her job. She's GOOD! (Though, if she decides to retire, I'd happily take on the role. They've added air conditioning to the house and it's oh-so-nice in this God-awful humidity).

Our next stop was Elfreth's Alley - the oldest residential street in America. By that, they mean that there have been people living on this street continuously since 1702. How cool is that?!

Next, we went to Christ Church which was attended by many of our Founding Fathers...

The church was gorgeous...

And Joe and I even got to sit in George Washington's pew!!! Though, got to say I am surprised he was mid-way back. I'd think he'd get a front-row spot!

We wrapped up our day with a visit to Independence Hall. Joe and I had visited when we came to Philly for his interview at Penn, but didn't mind going again. We love history :)

 The first room we saw was the courtroom. 75% of the woodwork is original!

In 1777 the British occupied the building (for a total of 9 months) and burned the original furnishings, so only a few still exist. The painting in the photo below is one of the few original pieces...

In the room below, our Founding Fathers discussed and signed the Declaration of Independence and (several years later) the Constitution. No one mentioned the Articles of Confederation, but I'd guess they were signed and discussed here - though you have no reason to trust me on that ;) The chair in the middle was George Washington's chair, and is another one of the few original items still remaining in Independence Hall.

Fun Fact: John Adams wrote a letter to his wife asserting that July 2nd would be Independence Day.

Saturday, June 22

On Saturday, we went to Valley Forge - which was AWESOME. I highly recommend that anyone visiting the Philly area make trip to Valley Forge and take a trolley tour. The trolley tour was about 2 hours, and the guide knew everything there is to know about Valley Forge and Revolutionary War history.

The cabin below is an example of the cabins that the soldiers lived in when they were at Valley Forge.

Twelve men would live in each cabin, and sleep in bunks like the one below. The cabins would smell so strongly that farmers 6 miles away could smell Valley Forge. George Washington insisted that a musket be discharged every day for the "cleansing effect" of sulfur. In these cabins of twelve, an average of two men would die that winter. For every one death on the field, 10 would die of disease.

Joe was thrilled that there was a lesson on Valley Forge medicine, which included dentistry. The guy below was very knowledgeable and full of fun facts. Just a few:

• Paul Revere made false teeth

• It took only 5 strokes to saw through a femur bone with a saw. After a leg was cut off at the femur, the doctor would have to tie off each vein/artery

• "Biting the bullet" is dumb. Doctors wouldn't have patients bite on bullets during amputations because if they screamed the bullet would fall down their throat and choke them. Instead, they'd put leather in their mouths so they could bite down in pain and not break their teeth

• There was just a 30% chance of surviving an amputation

The building below is where George Washington stayed during Valley Forge.

Stay tuned for more!

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