Fit Fridays and Week Update!

What an awesome week I've had!  Kate was in town and although she had to work all week, we had a lot of fun girl time too!  It was great catching up.  Oh and her interview about working/living in Haiti is coming to Viva Cindy soon- I know you will enjoy it!

This girl is a shopper!  Not many people can hang with me, but Kate actually took longer than me.  She had a long list of things she wanted to bring back to Haiti with her, and darn it, I had to accompany her!  Thursday and Friday we hit 2 TJMaxx's and a Marshals, totaling about 8 hours of shopping!  Since I had $$$ burning a hole in my pocket from my show last weekend, I treated myself to a few shirts and a great new pair of jeans.  If you haven't been to these stores lately...GO!  There are such great deals on clearance items right now.  Best buy:  a navy Tahari  trench coat on clearance for $35! The original Tahari tag read: $298! Wow!   I saw so many clothes that I would've have bought if only I had an office job.  Fashion is what I miss most about working.  Oh and the steady paycheck!  Oh well, I will be crazy busy with the Christmas lights soon so maybe next year!

Besides shopping this week we:
- called on businesses for Christmas Lights Pros
 - attended birthday cookout at my friend Lucy's
- Steph stayed over for one night (she was in town from Costa Rica) So great to have the girls together again!
- we restaurant hopped: ate tuna tartar at Serpas followed by arugula procciutto pizza at Fritti
- had dinner at One Midtown Kitchen. (try the lamb carpaccio and smoked trout!)
- homemade Indian dinner with Smita
- enjoyed salmon cakes that Ernesto made- so tasty!

Yes, it does seem that my whole week was about eating, but I did balance it with 4 workouts! Thank you very much!

Fit Fridays and Crossfit !!


Here is what the week entailed:
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest
Monday: Crossfit: thruster-5 reps, hang power cleans -7 reps, sumo deadlifts-10 reps. repeat for 20 min
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Crossfit:10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of these three:  deadlifts, bench press, cleans (I almost cried!)
Thursday: run 5k
Friday: Crossfit: 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, run 5k

A Nautical Wedding in Long Island NY

Well, I finally got my camera back in the mail (thanks Roman!) from our NY trip.   I have to share this wedding with you.  It was so unique.  Getting married on a boat?  Inviting only your closest friends and family? What a novel idea, why didn't I think of that?  Don't get me wrong,  I think my wedding was really nice too, but it was 9 years ago and I have seen so many good ideas since then.  I wasn't as interested in planning the little details of my wedding back then.  (Good thing my mom was, thanks again to my parents)  

When I was in Ohio earlier this month, I was looking around my moms craft room and saw a hat box.  When I opened it, I was so happy to see this bright yellow vintage hat.  My mom wore it years ago, and I was so excited to give it life again.....on a big sailboat wedding!

The boat was docked in Greenport, NY.  A cute little port town in Long Island, about  a 90 minute drive from the city. 

 The beast was called Mystic Whaler.  It weighs over 100 tons and is 83 feet long.   It can accommodate up to 65 guests or 34 for overnight trips.  I would not recommend if you stay over if you are claustrophobic as the sleeping quarters are very small.

Roman and Ernesto became friends in a chemistry lab class at OSU.   He came to our wedding and was actually at Ernesto's graduation party where he proposed to me as well.  They keep up with each other and we got to know the bride Tanya on our trip together to Mexico a couple years ago .   

Being the planner that he is, Roman gave everyone something to do during the 4 hour boat ride.  Here, everyone takes a spot on the "lines" to pull the 3000 sq ft masts up.  

He also planned a little game of skits, breaking everyone to 3 groups and giving them a scenario to act out.  The major roles being the bride and groom.  They just sat back and watched everyone making fun of them.  It was quite funny. 

The boat was set up with this island in the middle where delicious hors d'oeuvres were at your finger tips with Sangria to wash it down.  Add a few bouquets of flowers and this is all that was needed to decorate the perfect venue for a wedding. 

When the ceremony started, everyone gathered around the bride and groom.  There were only 30-40 people on the boat, so it was very intimate.  

Although the officiator spoke English, most of the guests spoke Russian.  There were several toasts given to the couple that seemed to be entertaining.  I just laughed when everyone else did. 

 When they were officially man and wife, the techno music was turned up loud.

Towards the end of the boat ride, the couple and many of the guests changed into bathing suits and jumped off the boat.  It was really cool. 

Even though the boat ride came to an end around 8pm, the party wasn't even close to being over.  The reception carried on until midnight with dinner, music and dancing.  At midnight almost everyone went to the beach to hang out and didn't return until 6am.  I wasn't feeling up to par for an all-nighter after my reunion with Michelle the night before.  I know, loser!  Anyway, it was a great time and probably the coolest wedding I have ever been too.  Thanks for including us in your celebration Roman and Tanya!

Feliz Cumpleaños mi Neto!

How cool is it that Ernesto's birthday falls on Cinco de Mayo?   Its the best reason to have a birthday party and it has the theme built right in...

The mexi-menu featured carnitas, tacos de lengua, guacamole, and 3 different salsas.  The beer was flowing, music playing, lots of dancing....and most importantly, the birthday boy had a great time.  As a matter of fact, everyone had a great time, it was a great party.  No wall flowers here.  Singing, dancing, eating a delicious chocolate cake (thanks Jasper!) and blowing out candles.  Happy Birthday mi amor!   Welcome to your "late thirties!"  

A Visit from an Old Friend

The last time I saw him was two years ago. Way. Too. Long.   

He moved to Germany almost 10 years ago.  Although we skypey skype and email back and forth, I have to say I really miss my friend.  A best friend.  He is a great listener, funny as hell, a good advice giver, non-judger, and I learn much from him every time we talk.  He can even make politics interesting.  I love you Chris!I flew to Ohio last week because Chris and his family are in the US for 2 months visiting family.  They stayed at my brother Bill's house and I stayed next door at my sister Jenny's.  (Yes, they live beside each other.  Its the perfect set up!)   We spent 5 days relaxing, talking,  eating, laughing our a$$es off, reminiscing, drinking tons of coffee [and beer].  Bill and Chris individually are the two funniest guys I know, and when you put them together, my stomach gets a workout from laughing.  Witty. as. hell.  

Watching them both in their roll of "new father"  was inspiring.  The question did come up a few times, "When are you going to have kids Cindy?"  I wish I could answer that.  I will say this, I do admire their families they have started, and I am always excited for a change.  Kids will bring it.  Only time will tell. 

One sunny afternoon (our only outing besides Walmart) we visited the gardens of  OARDC, a division of The Ohio State University which specializes in agriculture research and development.   Ohio is a few weeks behind Atlanta in blooming, so it was great to see the flowering trees all over again. I love this picture because it captures the silliness of Bill.  As Im trying to take a pic of the moms and kids, here comes his big head with that smile.  Love love love my family!

Facebook Overload?

I use Facebook less than I did one year ago, but I am still active in updating my status and scrolling through status updates of my friends who regularly update them. I have 274 friends, so obviously I don't/can't keep up with everyone. If you update your FB often I see your name often. If not, "out of sight, out of mind". Sorry, this is the reality of having so many "friends" on FB, many of whom are acquaintances - people I have met or hung out with once or twice.

Some are friends from a different point in my life, and we don't really talk anymore, but we check in every once in a while. FB is good for that sort of thing.

I guess I have taken on way too many friends to keep up with. One "friend" thought this was the case and sent me a message on FB to cancel our friendship:

"This whole fb thing only makes sense to me if you actually stay in touch and keep up - and are genuinely interested in what the other is doing or to some extent value there opinion when comments are made...you just made my point - none of these things were true with our fb friendship so I deleted you about 5 months ago and you just noticed! I've never been good with the occasional friend thing, I think that it is superficial and pretentious - besides the last thing I want to do is take up valuable fb space on your page...you take care - Please dont send me an other."

Superficial? Pretentious? Well, I never! I wonder how many other people have canceled me for lack of interest. Ha! Please don't take it personal if I have not paid enough attention to you on FB as this is not my main avenue of communication...Srsly.

Mini Road Trip

Yesterday we were able to squeeze in a mini road trip to Columbus to see my long-time friend Joanne.  She and I have been friends for about 11 years.  We both worked at Delta and became great travel buddies.  Jamaica, France, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, and many US stops, we have covered a lot of ground together.  Now its all about the baby.  Joanne and Rick had little Lucy on August 2, 7 days before Eleanor.  She is an absolute beauty!

The four of us (husbands too) ate a great Italian restaurant called  Marcellas sipping drinks, laughing and totally enjoying our afternoon reunion. From the looks of it they are handling the life changes of pretty well and with a sense of humor.  Something Joanne is always good at.  

Since we were in the area of our Alma Mater....The Ohio State University, we took a cruise around campus and it was awesome.  It really brought back memories, some of the best times of my life actually.  

I'm so excited that my niece is going to start here next month.  She really has no idea what is in store for her.  She's going to have so much fun! The middle building below was my dorm my first year.  Kelli's is just next door.  South campus baby!

OSU's campus was huge when I went there,  a mini city even.  I lived on my  rollerblades.  I would litter ally roll into my classes.  It has changed so much since I went there.  So many new buildings and High Street has gotten a total face lift.  Long gone are the bars where I faithfully partied.  But low and behold somethings are still exactly the same.  

Mirror Lake, beautiful serenity in the summer months.  When its cold though and we are about to beat Michigan, hundreds of screaming kids jump into this lake at night after a parade through campus.  Ayyy, school spirit! 

We also drove by our old apartments too.  Here is the first place I ever lived on "my own" The townhouse at 9 E. Norwich.  I loved that place.  Oh, the stories this place could tell you.  We had a disco ball in our living room.  Yep. Good times.

I would love to hear if you have a memory of this apartment, please add it in the comments below.  I want to keep going down  memory lane.  I do miss you Columbus Ohio.  

San Jose Goodbyes in a Movie

I was thinking of all the things Im  going to miss about Costa Rica so I thought I'd make a list of the top 5 (not counting my friends)

1. Food (gallo pinto, casados y platanos)
2. Parrots flying everywhere
3. Spanish (of course!)
4. Cheap Brazilian bikini waxes
5. My many trips exploring  the country 

To Sum up the last year of my life I made a video, which I think is pretty cool.

Take a look:

We had a fun soiree at Kate's house Saturday night, and it was perfect having my friends there together.   (ok, ALL of them weren't there, but I know they wanted to be -I missed you Andres, Steph y Ana)  Thanks to Steve, Marco, Eric, Carla, Louisa, Samir, Diana for coming, and Kate for hosting.  Neto prepared  carne asada and bought a bottle of tequila to go with the Mexican dinner.Im glad our last few days in costa Rica came full circle to where we were living with Kate again.  

Besides being a great friend, Im so appreciative of Kate's generosity throughout the whole year.  She was always willing to help us, whether it was Costa Rica info (the girl is a living guide book) or loaning us her car and every other supply we didn't have while in the country.  She was always ready to do something too.  Party, gelato, dancing, shopping, cooking.  I know we will be friends for a long time and Ill see her again. (plus, I have 3 more bags stored in her garage, so Ill be heading back there soon)

Fiesta de Caipiguaros

Eduardo is back in town for two days from his trip through central america...he is leaving Monday returning to Brazil. In the 6 months he has ben here he made a huge group of international friends. He wanted to have one last party before he goes and Kate offered her place. Instead of the Brazilian favorite Caipirinias, which uses cachaça, we used the costa rican liquor, Guaro. Hence the name Caipiguaros. Ernesto Kate and I went to the market in the morning and bought fruit for the drinks. Lime, strawberries and my personal favorite ..........maracuyá (passion fruit) The seeds were just left in the drink and they were so good.
Eduardo was the official bartender, but after ordering my third drink, he taught me how to make it myself:) Which was great because this is how I started talking to Gillian (in pic below). I made her a caipiguaro. She's Americana, lives in San Jose and works for the Tico Times newspaper! We are going to get together soon....and speak spanish of course!Kate and I really like this next picture because it reminds us of a 1970's ad for....some kind of alcohol. Don't you think? looking through the arch into the kitchen? The lighting is horrible, but I like the way it turned out.I met Maxime through Eduardo. He is a Frenchie and will be in Costa Rica only a few more weeks. Que triste! I have to post this picture of me with him because it is the only one I have where his eyes are actually open! Muy fotogenico Max!We took a group shot with everyone using the timer.
The plan was to go to Castros for dancing....YES! salsa dancing! (thanks for listening to my request Edu!) Some of us couldn't wait to dance...I did make an awesome playlist on my ipod for the party so it was hard to NOT dance. A mix of reggaeton, salsa, hip-hop, reggae...let me know if you want a copy:) We rolled into Barrio Mexico at about 1130pm. Castros is a cool club. There is a great mix of people and that means great people watching! Las chicas con Eduardo and his brother. The dance floor was packed! Too crowded! There is one dance that I just sit and stare, it is Cumbia....and I MUST learn it. Here I watch and learn ......must.........learn......cumbia.........Check out this short video. You may want to learn it too. They dance it very differently here..it is like swing dancing and it looks like such a workout! ...and to answer your question T.J.....NO, it was not raining in there! I was sweating my a%$ off. Thank you very much! (he commented on this picture in Facebook) This was actually after I danced the best 15 minutes of salsa in my life! It was one of Eduardo's friends Chalo. During my 15 minutes of fame, the heel of my shoe got caught on someone and I fell....gracefully!! Then got up and carried on dancing! I usually love crowds, but on the dance floor you need some space!! Lots of great action shots taken that night! Oh, these guys could break your back if your not careful!

"apple bottom jeans (skirt), boots with (no) fur, the whole club was lookin' at her, she hit the floor, next thing you know, shorty got low low low low low low low low low"
....As long as we GO HOME together at the end of the night, right?
As you can imagine, we were dead tired on Sunday. Coming home at 4am is....somethin' different. Kate and I laid out in the sun for a couple hours and Ernesto slept until 230p. He said..."Man, I just can't do that anymore" Im tempted to post the picture I took of him when he laid down in bed that night.....Kate and I stood in the doorway laughing. Crazy Nester! Ill save him the ridicule.....this time! Our co-worker and neighbor had some people over to celebrate Colombias Independence Day Sunday night. More dancing and great food! and just a one minute walk. Thats about all we could handle.

Lebanese Loungin'

Just the mention of Lebanese food made my mouth water. Thanks for arranging Diana! Lubnan is a really cool restaurant on Paseo Colon en el Centro (the main street downtown) Besides the food being delicious, the atmosphere was cool and the company fun! From left to right: Ricardo, Annie (both volunteers) Samir and Diana (both Ticos) Kate, me and Neto. We had a cool tent in the back by the bar, fully equipt with incense, pillows on the floor and lanterns. I wish I had taken a picture of the bar stools, they were tree trunks with leather animal skins draped over them. Ill file that idea away for when I have a house again.........We ordered a sampler and it was a perfect amount. We actually couldnt even see what we were eating with the ambiant lighting. I took this picture and the flash gave us a peek. mmmmm Definately a REPEATER!!

ONE Midtown Kitchen

We wanted to take Beverly put to thank her for selling our home. She retired a year ago from Delta (which is how I know her) and jumped full time into real estate. I would recommend her to any of my friends (and I am..right now...check out her site!) She was even better than I expected. If it was not for her, we may have still just been thinking about fixing our house up to sell . She came over and cracked the whip, gave us the little push we needed and gave us a Designed to Sell list which she checked in with us to see our progress. She always followed through on what she said she was going to do, and we knew everything was being taken care of. Also a plus, she consoled me when I was stressed out and crying. Overall, she has everything you would want in a real estate agent! We met at our place last night so Bev could check it out! She brought us a nice bottle of wine (weird-one of my favorites too: Los Vascos a cabernet sav from Chile)

After a tour (that took 3 minutes) and a little chit chat on the couch, we headed to One Midtown Kitchen, which is now right down the road. If it wasn't freezing temps I think we would've walked. Smita had to borrow my scarf it was so cold. She was shocked when I told her it was bunny fur. I like to think that they were able to take the fur/tails without harming the little bunnies. This is what I told her. The food was scrumpcious, the ambiance swanky, and the company entertaining!