So much for a blog break. I don’t feel like my life really happened unless I blog about it, kind of like I disbelieve the existence of California since I’ve never been there. Also I’m not sure what the status is on my hosting transfer, so…

Yesterday:

I walked Mack to school (2.3 miles total).

I did a personal training session with my friend Christie of Karna Fitness. We did a Karna Bar workout.

This thing is awesome. Check out Christie’s YouTube channel to see the Karna Bar in action. It was a great workout and my dirty knees are the proof.

After our workout I went home and showered and made myself presentable to attend a meeting of Biz Mom Connections. Christie, who is obviously into everything, invited me.

I realize that I’m not really a “mom-preneur” as I don’t have a business that actually makes money, but my blog is sort of a little business in that it does sometimes afford me fun opportunities. I loved meeting all these awesome ladies and I’m hoping that I can help them promote their businesses and they can help me have interesting content for my blog (and in my life). Maybe one day this blog will actually be a business for me, but if it feels too much like that I’ll probably end up hating it. As of right now I enjoy my blog so much that I couldn’t even take a proper break from it this week.

The BizMoms had an awesome speaker at the meeting, Power Coach Alishia Willardson.

Wow! Alishia’s energy is amazing and her presentation got me all fired up to actually turn my blog into a business.

But then hard-ass started droning on about bank accounts, accounting, marketing, taxes, etc. and brought me back down to earth. Fun hobby it is. For now.

The meeting was held at Ciccio’s California Cuisine, which I love. That’s really the main reason that I wanted to go to the BizMoms meeting (j/k). We got a discount on lunch afterwards!

I have blogged about Ciccio’s before.

They use beanie babies as table markers for the servers.

I got the snake yesterday.

I ordered the Spicy Brazilian California bowl, which was AMAZING.

I’m so glad I went to the BizMoms meeting! I’ve actually been invited in the past by other mom-preneur friends but never went because I felt like I would be so out of place. But I ended up meeting such awesome women and no one made me feel awkward except for myself when I awkwardly stood up and introduced myself and self-deprecated all over my blog. I always do that. I really need to book a session with Alishia, stat. Thanks for inviting me Christie!

After lunch it was time to pick up Mack and then eventually Cal. Then there was karate and some other stuff that I can’t remember because I wasn’t taking pictures because I wasn’t supposed to be blogging. But then I went out to St. Pete Beach to swim with the Mad Dogs again!

Remember the last time that I swam with the St. Petersburg Mad Dogs Triathlon Club? Last night was their last Wednesday night open water swim for the year, due to the shortening days, so I didn’t want to miss my last chance to swim with them. When I got out there they were getting all set up to have a chili cook-off after the swim.

I took a few pictures with the “good” camera before putting it away and getting ready to walk down the beach with my waterproof one. It was a beautiful evening.

As I was putting my camera away in my car I looked up and noticed my friend Tori (of In Love and Peanut Butter) walking towards me on the sidewalk.

I didn’t know she was coming out last night (and she didn’t know I was), so it was a really nice surprise. I don’t know any of the Mad Dogs, so it was great to see a familiar face. When the bells at the little church next to Hurley Park chimed six o’clock, we all began walking down the beach towards the Don Cesar Hotel.

There were probably about 30 swimmers last night, give or take a few.

The Gulf of Mexico was very calm last night thanks to Hurricane Sandy brewing off the east coast. Apparently winds from the east mean calm waters in the Gulf.

I was giving my Garmin another try last night, and I started it before we began walking. At exactly one mile we arrived at the Don.

This time I placed my Garmin inside of a snack size Ziploc and stuck it under my swim cap just above my ponytail, making sure the satellite antenna was facing forward and upward. Into the water we went.

(that’s not us)

The swimming was amazing….so easy it was like swimming in a lake. There were no waves to fight at all. When I spotted the little green house that marks a half mile, I stopped to take a few photos.

The Don a half mile to our left (north)…

and that little round clump of trees, our destination, a half mile to the right (south).

The sun was just setting, and I don’t know why my eyes are so wonky in this photo:

I carried my camera in my iFitness running belt again, turned around with the pockets on my back. That works great and I’m not even aware of it when I’m swimming.

What a great swim! Tori and I finished together. The whole evening was so much more fun since I had a friend to share it with. Tori just completed the Augusta 70.3 Iron Man and also just got engaged (at the finish line!) so we had lots to talk about while walking.

Her watch showed 35 minutes and my Garmin, which I had started on the beach before sticking it under my cap, showed 37 minutes and just over a mile.

The first lap above is the walk and the second is the swim. It shows a little skiing icon for sports other than running or biking. Also, I know that swimming a mile burns way more calories than walking a mile, so disregard the calories column.

We were both so happy with the swim. I couldn’t believe how different it was than the first time I did this swim and the ocean was unbelievably tumultuous (to use a Romney word). I’m already planning to do another one with my friend Kelly tomorrow morning. This photo doesn’t do it justice, but the moon was really pretty as we were exiting the water:

I didn’t stay for the chili cook-off since Tori wasn’t staying and I hadn’t planned on it anyway. I still haven’t really gotten to know any of the Mad Dogs even though I have talked a little with a few of them. They seem like a big family and I still feel like an outsider. I know I could have stayed and they would have welcomed me, but I had a yummy dinner waiting for me that I had cooked in the crock pot all day.

Okay, that may not look beautiful but it was delicious. It was Roni Noone’s Cabbage, Apple, and Beer Stew. I just had it for lunch again today and it was even better. I’m probably going to eat it again for dinner while the boys have pizza.

Chad and I watched Sons of Anarchy on Tivo last night. Noooooo!!!!!! Not a fan of the ending. It was too much.

Today:

This morning I walked Mack to school, drove Cal to school because he had National History Day research project time before school this morning, then came home and had breakfast. Then I biked to the gym.

It was overcast and not too hot this morning, but it was very humid. I have heard rumors that cooler air is coming. Could we possibly have a chilly Halloween? That almost never happens. The kids are usually sweating in their costumes. I’d love for it to be chilly on Saturday for my 50 mile Cystic Fibrosis Foundation bike ride.

The gym was as depressing as ever.

I won’t be looking at this room for much longer.

I gave my notice to cancel my membership to L.A. Fitness after my yoga class today.

I have enjoyed this yoga class and really like the instructor, Emily, but otherwise I have not been enjoying going to the gym lately. The employees all seem sad or pissed off, all my favorite classes and instructors are gone as well as many of my gym friends, and nobody seems at all concerned about whether the members are happy or not. I can continue to use the gym until December 11th, so I’ll probably be back there again a few times before then. After that, I’m not sure. I may join Gold’s where many of my friends, favorite instructors, and Les Mills classes have gone. We’ll see. I’m still thinking about it.

After I got home from the gym I ate leftover crockpot cabbage and sausage, wrote most of this post, then went to Mack’s school for a parent/teacher conference. Just routine, all’s well. I didn’t have to give Mack a beating.

In a few minutes I’ll be taking Mack to karate, picking Cal up from HIS FIRST SCHOOL DANCE EVER (it was just an hour after school), picking up Tour de Pizza, picking Mack up from karate, going home and making pizza for the boys, eating my leftovers again, then going back to school for a gifted open house. Chad has pool league tonight so I’ll probably be playing on the computer and watching TV all night.

Cya, but if I don’t, don’t worry. At any time I may be taking that blog break that I mentioned.