{ weekend } Halloween with Friends and Fire Dancers

Bonjour!  What a fantastic weekend!  I had so much fun with my friends and Marcel's family.  Just wish Monday didn't come so fast and we had another day of weekend left.  Time flies when you're having fun, right?

We started the holiday with a trip to Einstein Bagels for brekkie.  I tried the pumpkin bagel with light pumpkin cream cheese and a medium vanilla coffee with cream and sugar.  We didn't carve pumpkins this year.

As promised, I did Tempo 2 (lower body style) on Saturday before we left for St. Pete. (No other healthy habits completed... too much going on!) Veronica, Nikki and I went to CVS to pick up some more makeup for my costume.  Then back to the house to get started on my full face makeup!  Veronica is an amazing makeup artist.  She had never heard of Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), but once I showed her a few pictures she quickly go the idea and totally rocked my makeup.  She made it pop and even added little jewels and everything!

Crazy, huh?  SO fun!!!

Marcel took me home and I left shortly after to head to Kristy's salon for to get my hair styled.  She did a simple braid to keep it off my face, added a few hologram pieces and sprayed me down with glitter.  A few friends met us at the salon and we carpooled to the Annual Hard Corr Halloween Party.

Here I am with the hostess... Snow White!

Party Drinks & Eats

At the party I enjoyed 2 light beers, 2 jello shots and a Jägerbomb (light on the Red Bull), a pulled pork sandwich, a Halloween cupcake, chips and candy... totally junked out, but hey it was Halloween! We split a taxi ride home. Safe and sound.

...I got home at 3am...

Sunday was Halloween this year.  We drove to St. Pete again to spend the afternoon with the gang.  Once I parked on the street in Old NE St. Pete, got out of the car and Marcel noticed a little black dachshund by my back tire.

I could have hit the poor little guy! He had no collar and was covered in something that smelled like crap, we caught him, gave him a quick bath and some food and water. He didn't make a peep, even being around 5 other dogs in the yard.

Anyone missing an all black wiener dog?  I want to call him Ween.

They took the lost dog to the dachshund rescue in St. Pete on Monday.  Marcel really wants him... and we may get the poor little guy to see how he does with Roxy in her own space.  Another dog was the last thing on our minds.

So back to Old NE neighborhood... they go ALL out!  Here are just a few pictures for you:

Please take a look at my Facebook page or AdoringLife.com for more photos.

We ate Tijuana Flats for dinner... chicken and black bean burrito on whole wheat power light minus black olives, chips with queso and guac. So good!  The kids were in bed and we all took a walk around the neighborhood, down to the water and back before heading home for the night.

Great times with awesome peeps!

Au revoir!

2010 T-Tapp Retreat: Day 4 & Trainer Certification Retreat

Bonjour! I'm still catching up on my posts, as you can see...  Above is another gorgeous sunrise over Tampa Bay I took on 10.10.10. (Just to think the next 10.10.10 will be on October 10th, 2110!)

First thing in the morning Teresa led a final Senior Fit workout and we finished measuring the event attendees shortly after.  Every year I am so amazed at how many inches everyone drops in a matter of one weekend, by pushing maximum form, learning and applying new techniques and tweaks... maybe a massage, reflexology session or steam time in the sauna.  Balancing relaxation and rest, plus hydration and quality eats with all the physical activity is important!

The Retreat workouts count as a Blitz type of Boot Camp; this is where you do 2-4 workouts per day (depending on the individual) for two days in a row and end with 1-2 final workouts on day three. You can choose to do as many or few workouts as you'd like. Sit in the back and take notes... T-Tapp Retreats are all about education!  Knowledge is power and everyone who attends really gets better with the mind to muscle connection (neuro-kinetic flow) and maintaining form too!

Top 5 Inch Loss Winners of the 2010 T-Tapp Retreat:

1. Laurie Brooks - 31.25 inches
2. Dawne Gordon - 22.50 inches
3. Cryssanthe Detroyer - 19.25 inches
4. Claudine Henry - 19 inches
5. Stephanie Robinson - 18 inches

110 combined inches lost for the top 5 winners! Awesome!

In the photo, left to right: Laurie, Cryssanthe, and Claudine...

Congratulations ladies!



The other inch loss winners were not in the room for the announcement.

And I've even seen other Retreat attendees post on Facebook and the T-Tapp Forum about additional inch loss a week after they left Florida.  It's like residual results!

Teresa ended the 2010 T-Tapp Retreat with a Final Straight Through Workout that was a fusion of the other previous workouts done over the weekend.  We all said our goodbyes and parted ways (well, most of us), hoping to meet again soon at another fabulous T-Tapp event...

Our Annual T-Tapp Trainer Certification Retreat started at 4pm on Sunday, with the actual certification classes beginning on Monday morning and stretching through end of day on Tuesday.  During this event we have our trainers and trainers-in-training (TNTs) come in to teach the T-Tapp workout (Total Workout, T-Tapp MORE, Hit the Floor, and/or Ladybug) to be certified by Teresa Tapp to teach that workout in anywhere around the world.


Sunday, October 10th Eats

Brekkie

Starbucks Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte, Fresh Fruit Cup, KIND Fruit & Nut Bar.

Forget the fruit and get an apple instead...

Lunch

Lauren and I had a window of free time and made it to Val & Matty's Wedding Party!

Asian Pasta, Scallops and Duck Quesadilla.

Plus one Bud Light beer.

I wish we had more time to hang out with our friends at the party, but we headed back to the Spa for the start of our Trainer Certification Retreat.

It was wonderful seeing the trainers again!  We're like one big happy family of sisters.  It's so fun to be with everyone, catch up, workout, learn new form techniques, eat fabulous food and drink!

Dinner

For dinner we headed over to the new pizzeria in town... Dominic's.  This place rocks!  We got a Mother-In-Law Pizza and it was fantastic.

The Mother-In-Law pizza... no sauce, mozzerella, cheddar and feta cheeses, tomato, spinach and garlic. YUM!  My new favorite pizza.

And I drank a Blue Moon when we got back to the spa.

Joan Schrader did another presentation for the trainers on magnesium oil and prill beads.  And a Trainer Only Meeting with Teresa followed that session, we wrapped things up before 11pm.

Trainer workouts started at 7am the following day, Monday the 11th. 

When I locate my green robot flash drive with all my backed up photos I'll be able to finish up Monday, October 11th - Thursday, October 14th.

Au revoir!

{ weekend } Sleep Deprived and Happy

Bonjour!  I woke up Saturday morning thinking it was Sunday.  To my surprise there was much more left to the weekend.  Less than 6 hours sleep does that to me.  The weather has an autumn feel to it, mildly humid for Florida, full sun with clear blue skies and a breeze.  It's a fabulous time to be in Florida!  And the T-Tapp Retreat is coming up on October 7th already.

Saturday's Eats

Brekkie

Abbie's flight left at 3pm, and she still had a few friends left to see... Matty and Val.  We met them plus Lauren and Mike at the (somewhat) new Safety Harbor Grill.  They have a welcoming outdoor patio for dining.

Eggs Florentine with Hash Browns and Ketchup (not shown).

Under that hollandaise sauce are two sunny side up eggs on top of spinach and red peppers and an English muffin.  Delicious goodness for $6!

I also drank an unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

Lunch

Snacked on some of this dried fruit and nut mix.

Then ate 1/4 of a Jimmy John's Turkey Tom on WW.

Dinner

Coho Salmon with Red Quinoa and Steamed Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese.

A glass of Pinot Noir and German Chocolate.

I was supposed to go to the Alter-Ego Art Show, but never made it... car trouble. Grr...

Sunday's Eats

Brekkie

About 4 Raw Vegan Chocolate Cherry Almond Balls.

Blueberry, Spring Mix, Yogurt, Almond Milk Smoothie.

Lunch

A slice of French Toast with powdered sugar, maple syrup and 2 slices bacon.

I spent the rest of the afternoon grazing at Valerie's Bridal Shower.

A glass of champagne...

Munched on some veggies with ranch.

Ate a couple sausage balls.

Some fresh strawberries, kiwi and cheese.

Several potato skins... these are TOO good!

We had some fun girl's time, chatting and making scrapbook pages for Matty and Val.

From Left to Right...
Back Row: Me, Paula, Valerie, Sandra, Kristy
Front Row: Jessica, Ava, Lauren

My page!

Dinner

I was still in snack mode when I got home.

Ate the rest of our homemade hummus and veggies.

And drank 1/2 of this Yuengling Light.

Then made some turkey tacos with veggies on the side.

And a little later munched on Animal Cookies and PB.

I didn't keep track of any healthy habits this weekend again.  Kinda let things slide since Abbie was in town, I was catching up on my Z's and having fun friend time.  Since the Retreat starts this week, I'll be sure to make up for any missed workouts!

Au revoir!

P.S. I ♥ my friends! What an awesome weekend.