Rewind!

Well, my plan of being accountable by blogging has clearly failed. Today is the first day that I am actually sitting and doing NOTHING. It's been a hectic last couple of weeks but thankfully now life is going to slow down a bit!

If we rewind back to before Italy, I made the decision not to go to volunteering the day before my trip. I needed extra time to pack and I wanted to get into a relaxation mode so I found myself at yoga. It was a great class where I found myself really getting in tune with my breathing.

Tuesday was travel day! Our flight wasn't leaving until 6:30pm, but I took the entire day off so that I wouldn't be stressed out. I woke early and laced up my shoes for a 4 mile run. I've been finding lately that every time I follow up a yoga class with a run my run is better than ever. I finished in under 40 minutes which is always reassuring! After my run I enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch with Derrick and finished some last minute packing before we were off.

In one word, Italy was amazing. After meeting my aunt and cousin Orit in the airport, we were all off to my cousin Eli and his wife Idit's apartment in Rome. They've been living there since September and have another year and a half in their jobs before they'll be back to Israel. We spent 4 nights in Rome and 2 nights in Florence. I was definitely partial to Florence though as it was just such an intimate city. It was so easy to get around and I felt like I knew it within just a few hours. Rome was also nice but there was just something about it that made it feel overwhelming. The public transportation was a bit difficult to get down and there were just do many people every which way you turned that it was too much. Overall though it was a beautiful country and I hope that one day I'll get to go back to explore more of it.

Of course while I was in Italy exercise was not on my mind. Instead the gelato was! I excitedly ate two scoops a day and enjoyed many a glass of wine and a cappuccino. While I may not have been running, I was walking! I wish that I had been counting my steps because I'm sure that I had done a few miles a day. So at least I was still moving!

Our vacation came to an end too soon as most vacations do and it was back to reality. Jet lag reared it's evil head and I wasn't able to do much those first couple of days back. By Friday I decided to head to yoga to get myself back into the swing of things. I definitely limbered up and spent the rest of the night curled up with a salad and catching up on some TV.

Saturday morning I woke up with the gloomy clouds of NYC. I was scheduled to run 5 miles and didn't want the weather to get in my way so I got myself dressed in the best rain proof gear I had and set out. It was more windy than rainy and at first I was extremely discouraged but I just kept telling myself I could do it. After about 3 miles I started to get a bit tired since it was my first run in 10 days so I took a minute to walk. Then what came on my iPod but Ke$ha! I love when a song pops on that I have a personal connection to because it drives me more. So I started to run again and I finished my 5 miles in just under 51 minutes. I was a bit bummed I didn't keep at least a 10 minute pace but I kept reminding myself I hadn't run in 10 days and the conditions were anything but ideal!

Saturday night I was rewarded with a girls night out! It was such a fun and random night with some of my favorites! We were out too late, danced a lot and laughed even more!

Sunday turned into a lazy day. Dominika had spent the night since headed off to brunch and then my afternoon was spent with Christian Grey. If you haven't been reading the Fifty Shades trilogy, get going! I'm into the third book and keep wondering what am I going to do when I'm finished!!! Sunday night I finally got to see The Hunger Games. It was enjoyable but not amazing. I'm not sure there has been a book turned movie that really lives up to its written version so I wasn't expecting anything amazing. It was fun to see it come to life though.

Monday started my regular weekly routine. It was so great to go back to volunteering. It's really amazing how it sets the tone for my week. Without it, I really get lost and sometimes think its still Monday when it's really Tuesday! I was still a bit tired so headed home right after and finally got a good nights sleep.

Tuesday I had a couple drinks with an old coworker. It was good to catch up and here what had been going on at FactSet, just continues to reassure me that I made the right decision to leave. After drinks I made the smart decision to go for a run. I was honestly craving one and so at 8pm after 2 Bud Lights I ran a great 3 miles in 28:48. Not too shabby!

Wednesday was back to boxing for me and oh what a work out that was! If possible, I'm still sore today. It was another moment this week where it felt great to be back in my routine. I still have 7 more classes which excites me because I truly love these workouts!

Unfortunately, between my soreness and Passover I haven't had another run since Tuesday, but I have big plans for tomorrow. And this time I promise it won't be 2 weeks in between my posts!

Pictures from Italy will be up soon and I plan on taking a lot of pictures tomorrow! Just wait!