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By hampton, March 8, 2010 3:30 pm

so, after a week of not being able to get up to go to the gym, i got up “early” on saturday (9am) to take a 10am cardio strike class. Well, after shoving a banana with some peanut butter and a sugar free redbull down my throat, i was off. when i got to the gym, the cardio strike class had been replaced with “interval training,” due to the cs instructor having a family emergency. i was a little leery of this, but i went for it. Interval training, was not at intervals. this class was GO GO GO. so much go go go that my asthma started kicking in. also that “you’ve worked too hard, i’m going to puke” kicked in. there were 12 stations around the room set up. you had to spend 2 minutes at each station. the stations had things like hula hooping, squat thrusts, boxing a stability ball, wall sit, bosu push ups, squats, dead lifts, jump rope, plank, etc. and only 30 seconds of rest between each station.

OW. even though i think i overdid it, it was a good class. though, i have a small issue with going up and down stairs today. next week, i will return for cardio strike!

yesterday, we painted the bedrooms in J&C’s new house. we had a great time, and finished up pretty quickly. however, my roommate now needs to buy the huey lewis and the news cd collection. (yes, we were rockin’ the 80′s)

when i got home, i went grocery shopping for the week, and needed to pick up items for making french onion soup. i was using the les halles recipe. i used beef broth instead of chicken, and did not use bacon. i love bacon, but i felt it would make the soup way too rich. so, i donned swimming goggles to cut the onions up, browned the butter, caramelized the onions, added the wet works, and let it simmer for an hour. holy good god, it was delicious. it wasn’t just good. it was amazing. i couldn’t believe how much flavor was packed in there. bourdain is doing something right. i mean, i love les halles, and i love bourdain, but you never expect a recipe to come out this good, the first time. next time, i will use less butter, however. the soup was VERY rich, and between the butter and the beef broth, it was a touch too oily. but the taste, oh the taste. and one serving comes in at 6 WW points. not great, but if you bring in some french baguette, and parmesan cheese (just a touch) it will come in under 10. i don’t think that’s too bad for a dinner every once in a while.

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By hampton, March 3, 2010 11:52 am

so i’ve not posted in a while. i’ve got a few drafts of posts, but none of them ever finished. i may finish this one.

a few weeks ago, i bought a groupon for he@lthworks fitness centers. it gives me 24 visits for $24. it’s an incredibly great deal, considering their membership rate is probably astronomical. i’ve always wanted to try out their classes as i’ve heard they are fantastic. however, after doing some research on yelp, i was a little scared. here are some first impressions:

+1: futuristic elliptical machines (with touch screens!)
+1: very very clean
-1: cardio machines have 30 minute limit
-1: you have to sign up to use all cardio machines
+1: i’ve yet to wait for a cardio machine, or get kicked off
+1: body jam class. i got my dance on.
0: i’ve realized how uncoordinated i’ve become in my old age.
+1: kiwi mango shampoo.
-1: no towel service
+1: uber clean showers
-1: people in the whirlpool without swimsuits
-1: ladies with their girly bits hanging out for an excessive amount of time in the locker room
+1: boobs! (that’s for my roommate.)
+1: diversity. young ladies, old ladies, fit ladies, fat ladies, etc.

the “wet area” (no pun intended) reminds me of the men’s gym from the show queer as folk. it’s hot, steamy, and there are naked people. the shower walls are of frosted glass. they are steamed up, but you can see outlines of people.

i’ve heard he@lthworks is a meet market, but i didn’t get that impression. nor did i feel like i was being stared at, checked out, or looked down upon for my not so perfect figure.

so, we’ll see how it goes!

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By hampton, September 16, 2009 2:00 pm

i’m addressing this to my friend revjim, because he reads my blog! and i left him out of the list of people i know that read. so i’ll make this a two way conversation.

hampton: hi revjim. today, i’m practicing self control.
revjim: what’s that you say?
hampton: i’m practicing self control. so i don’t do things that i don’t want to do. like eat that donut. it’s more than eating the donut, but i don’t feel like sharing it with the internets.
revjim: will you tell me if i email you?
hampton: yes.  on another note, i did some insane ass crunches at the gym today.
revjim: what’s the gym? oh wait, is that the place that i should be going, because i’ve been telling my blog readers that i’m trying to lose the beer gut, but because i’m wicked (revjim wouldn’t really say wicked) busy with work and my awesome kid that i haven’t been?
hampton:oui. the very place. i used a 12lb medicine ball and did oblique crunches, while bicycling my legs out in front of me. ouch. 3 sets of 12 had me calling for my mommy.
revjim: speaking of your mom, that’s what she said last night.
hampton: don’t talk about my mom like that!
revjim: fine, fine fine.
hampton: i’m also going to attempt to run a 5k in october. my friend xtina from work and an old co-worker RS are going to do it too.
revjim: oh yeah, really?
hampton: you bet your bippy. for serious. here’s the link. i also bought some new running shoes for motivation. my old gym shoes are not cutting it. today i think i did well through my run at week 3 of couch25k.
revjim: well, that just makes me feel like i’m not doing anything!
hampton: sorry….
revjim: well, gotta get back to work.
hampton: me too. you know, gotta keep up apperances.

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By hampton, July 16, 2009 3:56 pm

i have found a way to remember to take vitamins!

gummy vitamins. freakin’ awesome.

my couch25k is also going well. i’m doing week 3 right now. i did week 2 about 2 and a half times, playing with speed, etc. i go to the gym mostly during my lunch hour, and i don’t want to completely bonk my energy by overdoing it.

also, t-minus 3 days until i turn 30. the number doesn’t bother me at all. it’s all of the expectations i had (not old ones, like, married and kids..) regarding how i’d be spending my birthday this year. that kind of bums me out. however, i’m making the best of it, and it’s going to be fantastic.

hampton out.

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By hampton, June 13, 2008 1:44 am

“why am i not getting sleep!?!?”

wait… no. the actual quote is “why am i not getting wet?!?!” (because you didn’t jump in the pool tobias..)

yeah. i’m awake. this stinks. vegas totally threw me off. the night ‘o food poisoning really did it. i was up all night, literally. my sleep and eating cycle is all screwed up. i’ve had one meal a day since i’ve been back, mostly because i’ve been sleeping till after noon, since i go to bed around 3am. last night i went to bed at 10, but didn’t fall asleep till after 4. anyway, so here i am. i was hungry again, since my one meal today was at 3pm. (cheeseburger, fries.)

so here’s the short vegas recap.

saturday we arrive. we check in. we go in search of half price tickets for a show. we end up with 80% tickets to blue man group. (20% off, we paid about 80% full price.) we went to the pool, and took in some sun. then headed up to the venetian on the deuce. we arrived early enough to walk over to the palazzo to make a reservation for monday night at mario batali’s new place, carnevino. then we played some penny slots, and on to BMG. it was AWESOME. ‘cept for the paper cut i got on my face. however, it was fun being under all those streamers.

sunday was fun. i took a nice nap by the pool, went swimming, blah blah blah. we decided to head up the strip to the down town area. we started at planet hollywood, and took in the shops. i bought an expensive t-shirt at metropark. step bought a shirt at tommy bahama. after PH, we decided to give the buffet at the wynn a try. i’d heard really good things, and it being the most expensive buffet on the strip, i wanted to see if the buzz was worth it. it was. sort of. i ate my weight in alaskan crab legs and shrimp. tried an amazing piece of beef short rib. then the dessert. (see below pictures) the creme brulee was not the best, but it was pretty good. i wanted a second helping. i said to step, “i can’t have more, because i’ll puke, and then blame it on the creme brulee and ruin my favorite dessert forever.” so after we were STUFFED we made our way downtown. we stopped to play the slots at binion’s. i made a couple bucks off of the deal or no deal slots. during my slot play, my stomach started feeling weird. then a wave of “uh oh, i may puke.” so i made step and i leave, and we took a cab back to the hotel. not a moment too soon.

as soon as we got back i was throwin’ and goin’. well, not throwin’ yet, but there’s no nice way to say the goin’ part. i started to time my waves of nausea. then i realized, this is not like contractions or thunderstorms. you can’t time them. that’s when i really thought “oh crap, i’m going to puke.” and then i did. a lot. in the end, i was up all night, no more throwin’, a little goin’, but a lot of pain and nausea. hardly slept a wink. so around 9am, i woke up from a half hour of sleep and tried to get out of the bed, and i couldn’t. i was so weak, it was insane. step came back to the room around 11 with powerade for me, and i told him i’d get out of bed at noon. noon came along, and i needed another hour. i repeated this cycle, until i gave up around 4pm, and just gave in to the fact that i’d be in bed all day. we ordered room service around 8. they had chicken soup, so that’s what i got. step went up to the palazzo to cancel our dinner reservation and brought me back saltines.

i woke up tuesday morning, good as new. i knew that darn shrimp was too good to be true. looking back, i should have known better! i’ve read “kitchen confidential.” i know i shouldn’t eat mussels that i don’t prepare myself. ugh. damn you steve wynn and your over-priced-but-tasty-make-me-sick-buffet. steve wynn and his little luxury hotel owe me a free 24hrs in vegas, considering that’s how much time i lost from my trip due to getting sick. i will be writing a letter to the food and beverage manager. i’m imagining it will fall on deaf ears, but at least i can try.

and then, after about an hour of craps, we had to leave vegas.

now, i will watch some boring tv. maybe it will help me sleep.

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By hampton, May 29, 2008 3:53 pm

so, yesterday i was VERY sore. they made us run more than the day before. i was all wheezy. it was not that great.

yesterday my left leg started feeling weird. i chalked it up to soreness. then last night it got weirder. i disregarded it until i went to bed. as soon as i tried to drift off, i noticed that there was a problem. everything from the knee down felt weird. pins and needles, felt like it was falling asleep, and i started having the same odd skin sensation as i did before i had my back surgery. nothing really helped me. i changed positions a lot, and tried to “CALM THE EFF DOWN!” as my friend Matt Smith told me to do a few years ago when i was on tour. SO it took me about 2 hrs to calm down, and settle, and convince myself that i’m not going to put myself in the hospital again and have to find a neurosurgeon in Boston.

SO, this morning, the alarm went off at 5:15… my leg felt pretty normal, but i decided that it’s not a good idea to push it. there was probably a good reason the doctor told me running regularly is NOT good for me. i went back to sleep.

i feel bad about not going, but i think i’d rather not screw up my body. especially my back. instead of going to bootcamp tomorrow, i will go to the gym and ride the bike or do elliptical. at least i will get a work out in.
also, a guy i’ve been corresponding with on okcupid, let’s call him mr.insurance (his quasi profession.) we were supposed to get together this past weekend, but he got sick, and i didn’t have the time i thought i would. no big deal. he texted me on saturday, and i didn’t get back to him today. i wasn’t sure if he was just trying to blow me off, but i decided to give mr. insurance the benefit of the doubt. so i emailed him today about getting together some time this weekend before i go to dallas next week. he writes back, and the salutation is “dear elizabeth.”

.

.

.

WTF.

strike two, mr. insurance.

(strike one, is, i think he’s a jesus freak.)

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By hampton, May 19, 2008 2:44 pm

i just signed up for the watertown ultimate bootcamp.

not the full month-long one. just a week. (4 days.)

should be interesting… getting up at 5am and all that.

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By hampton, May 18, 2008 9:24 pm

i have a headache.

that’ll teach me to drink a beer while watching the sox game. (on tv. i was not there.)

one beer? duh. should have had two! however, my girlish figure needs to be kept up, and i definitely do not need the extra calories.

anyhoo. this past week/weekend was good. i slacked off a little at work — i needed a wee break from using my brain, so i took lots of walks around the office. however, i wrote the most ass kicking sequenced messaging specification EVER. had really good sushi dinner in brookine with my good friend/financial planner/life-coach KG. she ALMOST tried the grilled squid. i was impressed that she even thought about trying it. i however, devoured the entire thing. (it was the biggest squid i’ve ever seen.)

last night the roommate and i saw “forgetting sarah marshall.” hold all of your boo’s. we all know i like cheesy movies. yesterday afternoon was spent with my nephew at the park with his parents. we had a good time on the swings, and helping him walk around. i love babies.

to bed with me, headache be damned. i WILL make it to the gym tomorrow morning.

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By hampton, March 25, 2007 4:28 am

note: it also took me 3 tries to spell “buying” correctly in the title bar. i’m a little.. how you say…. stoned.
i love codeine cough syrup. however, i hate coughing. i want this sick crap to go away. :(

anyway, my buying(itunes) spree:
(also, i miss allofmp3… or being able to add $$ to my account)

1. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
2. Goldfrapp: Black Cherry
3. Goldfrapp: Supernature
4. !!! (Chk Chk Chk): Myth Takes

i’ll let you know how they are…. me likes goldfrapp.

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By hampton, March 21, 2007 1:52 pm

[09:35] marioscandretti: maybe you should take a sick day
[09:35] me: i’m going to after i go to the dr
[09:35] me: (noon)
[09:35] marioscandretti: feel better eh
[09:35] me: thanks :)
[09:35] marioscandretti: your health does not sound paramount