I got your number, Verizon!

Imagine my shock when I saw my Verizon bill and it was for well over $500. That deserves a big fat OMG! I looked at the itemized on-line bill and noted I was being charged $409.99 for equipment. Oh well...that explains it...clearly an error on their behalf, so I called them up to settle the issue. Uh oh...found out it wasn't "their issue" but rather mine. You see, about 3 months ago my cell phone went crazy. I have the enV LG and I could feel the screen moving underneath the screen - I realize that doesn't sound like it makes sense. It was malfunctioning...it was also doing split screen weird stuff and because of all this it was going through my battery charge in about 5 minutes time. I also could not use the touch screen function, so I had to flip open my phone to answer a call each time. It was barely functional. There is a Verizon store around the corner from my office. Despite the fact that I have insurance on my phone, it wasn't necessary to use in this case because apparently this was a manufacturer's defect (incidentally, the same thing happened to my sister's phone about a month later). The girl told me they didn't have my phone in stock (this confused me) and that I would have to wait a few days to receive my phone in the mail. I was upset because I don't have a home phone (well I do, but it's a bare-boned plan strictly for my house alarm phone) and I need my cell for work. I asked if they have loaners, but she told me no. I knew I had no choice, but to make do with my circumstances. It was a rough 4 days (over a weekend, no less), but I managed. As soon as I got my "new" phone (read: refurbished which explains why they "didn't have any in stock), I tore open the package, rushed over to the Verizon store as instructed by the girl who helped me 4 days prior and another employee set-up my phone for me and transferred the contact list for me. He handed me back my old phone and my new one and sent me on my way. Once I returned to the office, I threw the old phone away. What was the point of keeping it? It was useless and nobody told me otherwise.

Flash forward to 3 months later and apparently throwing it away was a $410 mistake. I don't understand how Verizon charges a person $410 for a refurbished phone, by the way. I also don't understand why they don't just keep the phone once they transfer over the phone numbers since they have the phone in their possession and it is clearly useless at that point to keep it. The only thing I can think of is that it is one of those rebate type of deals where they hope people won't turn in the rebate or, in this case, won't send back the phone. When I spoke to a manager initially, I didn't remember if I had thrown it away (I thought I had, but wasn't 100% sure since the phone would have been at work and I was at home at the time). I argued with her that nobody told me. She apologized and said they should have. Well gee...thanks. She told me to just send it back and they would credit my account. I decided I would find out the next day whether I had the phone or not before I pursued it further. I went to work and looked in my drawer and discovered it wasn't there, I then had a conversation with my brother-in-law Jay, who confirmed that he recalled I had thrown it away. I called Verizon back up and immediately asked to speak to a manager. I had the *privelege* of speaking to a useless woman who asked me if I went back to the Verizon store the moment I realized I threw the phone away. I told her I didn't understand the question because I purposely threw the phone away and only now realized it was an issue...hence the phone call. She told me she couldn't help me. I said I have been a customer for 10 years and that I didn't think it was fair that nobody told me anything about returning the phone. She told me there was a note in the package they sent me. I said I didn't even look at the package. I was so excited to have a functional phone, I ripped open the package and went straight to the store. She told me I should have read the materials. I told her that I would not be renewing my Verizon contract over this and she said I would have to do what I felt was right. Wow - really Verizon?! $410 is worth losing my over $1500 a year contract? I asked if there was management above her. She said yes. I said great, let me speak to them. She said I could try to call back. I told her that was the wrong answer. She said she was sorry I felt that way. I asked when exactly I'm supposed to "try to call back?" She said she didn't know. I told her that is EXACTLY why she should have offered to have someone call me back and that she obviously doesn't know how to offer proper customer service. She said fine...someone can call me back. Gee...don't do me any favors, lady. I asked when I could expect a call back. She said since it was Friday (9:00am, by the way), probably not until Monday. I explained to her I would be out of the country until Thursday and she should put a note in my screen for them to call me either Friday or Thursday. She said okay. Guess who never got a call?!

I figured out a plan. I went on-line (and even got an on-line coupon to save an additional $20) and purchased the Droid phone. Yes, it cost me, but truth be told I've been having some issues with my refurbished enV and I've been contemplating getting a smart phone anyway. I still save a significant amount of money because I will have my refurbed phone to send them back and they can credit me back with the $410. I'm not sure about whether or not I will renew with Verizon when it comes time (this phone purchase makes me have to deal with them for another 2 years and this is the first time I've had a problem - though it is a BIG ONE with them).

Oh and in case you were wondering...I did ask my sister if she sent her old phone in when she was sent her refurbished. She said that the initial contact she had at Verizon did not inform her of this, but when she went to get the contact list switched over, the guy told her. Nice consistency, Verizon.

Oh well....where there is a will, there is a way. Looks like I found away to circumnavigate their system (albeit for a price, but I get a cool phone for a trade-off of sorts).

Verizon - you are officially on notice - clean up your act or in 2 years you are outta here!

Na-Na-Na Boo Boo!

After my 10 day hiatus from exercise, I kicked exercise in the shins today, stuck my tongue out at it, and sang a VERY obnoxious "Na-Na-Na Boo Boo" while shaking my tail feather at it!

Here's how it all went down...

The dogs and I woke up naturally at 6:45 am (yeah, I know...we are nutty). We sauntered around a bit...I fed them, took my thyroid pill, waited my obligatory 30+ minutes, ate my "healthy for my heart" H.E.B. brand oatmeal, then headed to the park for an undetermined run. It was HUMID (all caps for a reason, my friends). I did 3 miles - relatively easily - decided it was the perfect amount to get me back into the swing of things and yet not too much to leave me crippled from the planned 5 miles I want to do tomorrow.

I swung back by the house and took my blind little wonderpup, Penelope, for her first walk around the block post-surgery. She really enjoyed her exploratory adventure. I dropped her back off and then picked up Delilah for a nice mile jaunt (hearing Penelope screaming bloody murder for the first block because she couldn't believe we abandoned her - apparently forgetting she already had her turn).

I came home and finished my vacation food blog and then headed to the gym. While at the gym, I ran another mile on the treadmill. I'm trying to get myself gradually accustomed to it in case there comes a time when I am forced to do "real" mileage on it. I then headed to the bike for 30 minutes (10.75 miles). After the bike, I sauntered over to the elliptical for 30 minutes on the glute program plus a 5 minute cool-down which meant another 3 miles.

My hip feels fantastic! One of my knees is a bit tender - not the one that gave me trouble when I tried to run my 9 miles, though. No...it's the other one....this one narrowly escaped hyper-extension a couple of weeks ago when I slipped on some water one of the dogs dripped on the kitchen floor. Then throughout my stay in Playa, I kept coming *this* close to falling as a result of some slippery floors - all of this put some more stress on the same knee. Oye - can't a girl catch a break?!

Point is, I might have been a lazy mclazy for 10 days, but I am back full force with my mission clear and *most* of my body ready to take on whatever challenges may come its way.

Oink Oink Baby!

I'm an oinker. After 10 months of being as perfect a South Beach dieter as possible, I jumped ship when I landed at the bar in the lobby of our resort, the Iberostar Paraiso Beach. It wasn't that it would have been impossible to maintain my diet while there. It's just that it wouldn't have been very fun and I would have been very hungry (and...er...thirsty). I weighed the pros. I weighed the cons. I made a decision and....most importantly, I own that decision!



Have you ever seen a build your own donut bar? Me neither! It was most exciting. With the exception of one 60+ year old dude, I'm pretty sure I was the oldest person partaking in this amazing invention. There was a tray of plain old boring donuts. Then there was a bowl of chocolate frosting and a bowl of vanilla frosting sitting on warming trays with big spoons in them so that you could scoop up the frosting and strategically ladle it over your donut. Then they had trays filled with sugar, nuts, coconut, chocolate sprinkles, and multi-colored sprinkles to complete the look/taste you so desired. It was truly ingenious and I was in hog heaven.




I also need to make a special shout out to Nutella. I was first introduced to this bad boy back in college while I was on a European month long trip (for college credit). What could be better than combining the decadence of milk chocolate with the exotic boldness of hazelnut? Nothing, I tell you! Imagine how difficult it would have been for me to pass up spreading some of this delightfulness on some petite croissants each morning (yes...in addition to my build my own donut).




Then there were the nachos. Every day, Amy and I ate nachos. I can't even say the cheese was that good...it was often luke warm and kinda runny, but the guacamole was excellent! We also had fried cheese sticks as these items were served up at the snack bar by the beach which we were forced to eat at for lunch when we lost track of time and missed the buffet lunch.



Now, I don't want you to think I was being completely gluttonous with chocolate and fried. I was also bold and adventurous, trying foods I'm still shocked I tried.




Let's see...Amy picked up the cutest little tiny eggs you've ever seen. She thought they tasted funny and had me taste test one. I decided they were pickled, though neither one of us could figure out how come the eggs were so preciously small....that is until later when we found a sign which labeled them as quail eggs. GROSS!



Every night for dinner, there was a buffet restaurant you could eat at, or you could make a reservation for one of three specialty restaurants. During busier seasons they have 6 or 7 specialty restaurants open. The number of nights you are staying determines the number of reservations you are allowed to make. Our four nights meant two reservations, so Amy and I decided on the Japanese restaurant (because we wanted some Sake) and the Steak restaurant. The nice concierge man offered us up the third specialty restaurant because he was a very very nice man, so we also were able to eat at the Mediterranean restaurant. Amy and I got bold and daring at each of these establishments.



Sunday night, we went Japanese. The appetizer turned out to be a plate of sushi. Sure, there were two non-offensive California rolls on the plate (this translates to we could and would eat them without being squeamish and/or without considering ourselves to be uber adventurous). Then there were the other samples. One had raw octopus on it. Another had raw salmon. A third had some unidentified something or another on it. We halved each of these. Amy ate hers sans ginger (I love me some ginger) and then we both saturated ours in soy sauce and had at it. The rest of the meal was pretty typical Hibachi style and we were pretty Sake happy, so it was quite enjoyable.



Monday night, we went Mediterranean. The appetizers were served buffet style and we noticed that there was caviar served on avocado slices. We figured why not and had ourselves some, while sipping champagne. I didn't quite care for it. Amy didn't think it was half bad. The bottom line was that we tried it.




Tuesday night, we went to the Steak House. First and foremost, it needs to be said that this was the cutest of the restaurants. The resort decided that it should be Texas themed, so country music was playing, the waiters were wearing little western shirts, and some of the menu items had cowboy themed names. It was so cute. This, too, had had appetizer buffet set-up. Amy and I temporarily lost our minds and decided to try mussels. Quite honestly, I'm shocked I did it. Had Amy not done it with me, I never would have. We did the whole "1, 2, 3..." and swallowed it together thing. I then said, "it tastes a little like artichokes." Amy, thoroughly disgusted said, "it tastes a lot like ass." We laughed and drowned our taste buds in champagne.




Overall, I would say the food was mediocre, but that is pretty typical of resorts in our price range. We mostly drank water by day (lots and lots of water), champagne by night, though I did enjoy one or two daily dirty monkeys. I think this was Kahlua, vodka, a piece of banana, some milk, and ice blended together for awesomeness. Oh, I also tried cactus orange juice. It was...interesting.



Food vacation is over - back to South Beach diet - but work vacation still remains until Monday!




Stay tuned for another post about our actual daily vacation adventures!

Over Packer???

I don't know if I'm a random packer or an over-packer. Maybe a little bit of both OR maybe, just maybe I'm ingenious.

Below is something I bought last year from Amazon.com when I went on a cruise with my siblings. It's a straw beach mat that you can either put directly in the sand or up in your beach or pool chair.

Then there is this nifty little pouch I also purchased last year from Academy. It is waterproof and ideal for holding your iPod, camera, and anything else you may be concerned about getting wet.

Since we are going all-inclusive and I'm going to try to stay on my diet as much as possible, but still enjoy myself, I was trying to think of some things I could bring with me to help. Of course I'm bringing a box of snack bars with me. Though I mostly eat South Beach snack bars, there are some Atkins bars I eat depending on the nutritional information (Atkins has a tendency to be a much higher fat diet). I discovered these bars a couple of weeks ago and really enjoy them. They are 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 8 grams of fiber, and 10 grams of protein.

Since I started my journey over 10 months ago, I have SEVERELY cut back on the alcohol consumption. I very rarely drink...first and foremost, it's empty calories. Secondly, it goes straight to my head. Finally, it doesn't really fit in with my training schedule. I do recognize, however, that being at an all-inclusive resort on a vacation means that I most likely will partake in some drinking, BUT I want to minimize the amount of sugar/calories I consume. Technically, South Beach allows wine. I'm a wimpy wine drinker and sometimes wine makes me feel sick. My solution...I figure I can always order a shot of vodka, a bottle of water, and a glass of ice. I will then add a portion of a packet of this (or any other flavor I so choose):

Can't forget the sunscreen! I'm bringing 2 different SPFs - 15 and 30 and in the spray-on variety because I find it provides a nice even coverage and dries quickly. I also bought a separate SPF 30 face specific sunscreen because I have worked very hard to get my face acne-free and I plan on maintaining it that way. I also purchased lip balm with SPF 45. I can't stand when my lips are chapped or burned. To complete the skin-care portion, what trip to the tropics should be embarked upon without aloe vera (just in case)?!?!

Last, but not least...what trip would be complete without a travel gnome? My friend Meliska gave him to me a long, long time ago (we became friends over a mutual love for the movie Amelie, garden gnomes, scary movies, and all things European). I forget him every time I go on vacation, but NOT THIS TIME! He is already in my suitcase and ready to go on his very first trip! Be on the look-out for pics from my trip - it might be like a Where's Waldo kinda deal! =P

trickster hipster

Was it the build up of the Voltaren running through my body?

Was it the glucosamine I started taking two weeks ago?

Was it the fear of a large scary needle coming at me?

Who knows?!

I canceled the injection because mysteriously I woke up on Thursday morning (4/29) sans pain in my right hip. I felt positive it was a fluke or a PSYCH! (which had happened a time or two before) and that a run would have that hip hurting in no time. Believe it or not, after my 3 miler and gym workout on Saturday - no pain. After my 4 mile run and 5 mile speed walk on Sunday - no pain (well from the hip, at any rate). That has never happened before...usually the hip pain rears its ugly head as soon as physical activity is resumed. How can I go to my ortho's office tomorrow and have him inject me in a specific location when the specific location eludes me at this given moment?

I can only pray that the pain is gone for good. It truly would be a shame to have to do the injection at another time when time-wise this scheduling would have been ideal given the whole vacation thing. I think that is my biggest fear...that I will come back from vacation, do a long run, and voila - hip pain returns. BUT...alas...I must remember my glass half full roots and the power of positive thinking!

In other news, I've been a lazy bum. I had all these high hopes of going for a run on Monday morning, followed by Yoga on Monday night. Didn't happen - first and foremost...my body was sooooo sore from that 9 mile combo run/power walk on Sunday. I used different muscles in my legs than I normally do when I run, I think. Also, my arms are still sore - I must have been swinging them like nobody's business! I averaged 14:46 per mile, so I was going pretty fast there considering over half the distance was walked. I guess I don't have to be so hard on myself, though, because I'm not going to be laid out for a week or two now that I'm not getting the shot.

Oh, and I finally decided to do something about my hydration issues. I bought this cool hydration bottle from Target yesterday (when I was supposed to be at Yoga). It holds 16 0z. and my plan is to fill it every hour while at work (oh...and to drink it). It even has a cool latch thing, so I can hook it onto my purse if my hands are full. I think my muscles would recover faster if they were properly hydrated, don't you? I mean I truly am ridiculous. I can go all day long without drinking anything and I am not proud about this...it was a terrible habit I got into long, long ago. I use to HATE water and I avoided it at all costs. I don't mind it now, in fact with the exception of iced tea while at restaurants and a daily glass of skim milk, water is all I drink.

AND last, but not least...a Penelope update...2 weeks post surgery and she is doing well. I took her cone off on Saturday because we were both tired of me scratching her ears for her. You see, there is a good chance a cone-wearing dog can get an ear infection because they can't perform their own ear maintenance. She was miserable. I was miserable. I had to trust she would leave her demon eye alone. Yes, that's right...I said demon eye. It looks red, ugly, and scary, but rest assured...it will turn grayish/bluish eventually as did her left eye. We had a follow-up eye doctor appointment today so that she could get her stitches removed (she was a very brave girl) and they were pleased as punch with her progress thus far. We won't have to go back for another 5 weeks. Oh...and it's much more peaceful in my home without Penelope ramming her cone into every wall and every piece of furniture...she has a much better sense for everything (magically) coneless (go figure)!

Travelin' Fool

I am a travelin' fool this year!

It all starts with my flight this coming Saturday to Playa del Carmen for 5 days / 4 nights in paradise with Amy. For the story on how we got 3 of those nights and the flight free, visit here.

I then remain Houston-grounded until I depart for Chicago on July 30th. Do you know why I'm heading to The Windy City? Yep, that's right...my very first half marathon - the Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half on August 1st. It's a short trip, though. My very mean boss whom I often refer to as "dad" is making me return home that Sunday night so that I will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (yeah right) to work first thing on Monday morning. Summer is our busy season at work, you see, and work just couldn't deal without me for a morning. I should feel honored... =/

Next on the list is trip #2 to Chicago for Labor Day. My family is flying in for my cousin's bridal shower (amongst other festivities) and to take advantage of the 3 day holiday weekend to visit with relatives.

Then, on October 10th, I have a wedding to attend in Scottsdale, AZ (yay) for that very same cousin, Rachel, who will *finally* be marrying her one true love, Austin!

Can you believe that the next stop will be trip #3 to Chicago?!?! It's true - annual management meetings will be scheduled for November 12-13. My father and I always stay for an extra day, though, since my brother will also be flying in from D.C. with his wife, April, and it gives us some more time to visit with our family.

After that, my immediate family will bypass our usual trip to Viva Las Vegas and head to Disney World instead! My parents rented an amazing house with 5 master bedrooms and 2 additional spares plus a swimming pool and lots of other cool ammenities for 9 days! I haven't been to Disney World since 1992 - I'm thinking it's changed a lot since then! We also plan on going to Universal Studios which makes me particularly excited because of the new Harry Potter World!

Then it's back to Chicago for the 4th time to celebrate Christmas! Man...I sure do hope I won't wear out my welcome at my Aunt Patty and Uncle David's house - 4 visits in a year is a record!

That's a total of 12,744 miles! I think that just upped my mileage enough to get me a free ticket. Can't wait until 2011 when I can put it to good use!

Nein 9

I had this HUGE plan of running 9 miles on Saturday and following it up with some kind of awesome run on Sunday (of unspecified mileage). It was sort of a shot in the dark because there have only been a handful of times I have run BOTH Saturday and Sunday and those times were always with a low mileage run on Saturday followed by a significantly longer run on Sunday.

Well in typical best laid plan fashion, it didn't quite work out. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate humidity? I suppose you would be hard pressed to find a person who loves it (or likes it for that matter). It truly is awful, but that's neither here nor there because I have to find a way to get my body accustomed to it because it's going nowhere and I have a half marathon to train for (followed by a full marathon upon completion of the half).

You know the really weird thing...my hip didn't hurt AT ALL for the 3 miles I did get in on Saturday. I swear it heard me schedule the steroid injection and it got all scared and decided to be good. But enough about the hip...let's get back to my lame 3-miler....I walked the remaining 0.8 miles of the course, then headed to the gym...I did 15 minutes on the elliptical on the glutes program level 12 and then I did 30 minutes on the bike set on a random program on level 12. Overall, it was a good workout.

I guess the important thing to note here is that if I had actually done the 9 miles on Saturday, there is most likely no way I would have had an equivalent workout on Sunday as I did in actuality on Saturday. I sound like I'm justifying my non-strategic backing out of my long run on Saturday, but not really...I mean I was quite disappointed with myself, but it wasn't like I just went home and sat on my booty...I still burned over 1000 calories sweating.

Okay, so that brings us to today with attempt #2 at 9 miles (though technically this weekend's run was supposed to only be my third and final week on 8 miles). Thankfully, I woke up to a most beautiful day with significantly lower humidity. I've mentioned before how this whole running thing is half physical and half mental, you see. It's so true and unfortunately, I let the mental side get to me way too much. I had a different plan in place this go-around. I love running my new route which extends each lap to 3.6 (give or take) miles, BUT since I don't like carrying water or Powerade Zero with me (I leave it on a park bench at the starting point), I find myself completely dehydrated well into my lap. I think that was part of Saturday's problem, actually. With this in mind, I decided it would suit me best to run the 1.8 (give or take) mile path 5 times around and swing by my trusty park bench for some hydration in between each lap. I felt FANTASTIC for the first 2 laps! No hip pain AT ALL! I'm almost starting to question this whole injection thing...I mean if it isn't hurting now, why do it?! The only thing that is nagging at me to continue with the plan is that my hip has done this before and then come back with a vengeance and it really is perfect timing with my vacation. BUT, I digress...so, I swung by the table for some Powerade Zero. After I gulped down the remaining half of the bottle, I went to start running again, but my left knee was vehemently in opposition of the idea. It was the oddest thing...there was zero indication of a problem during my run. I started massaging it, stretching my leg, but to no avail. In fact, it took me a few minutes to be able to walk around without the pain. Finally, I was able to walk on it, so I decided to power walk a lap. Upon completion of that lap, I tried running again, but the ol' knee was still having a temper tantrum, so I felt it best to finish out the the remaining mileage power walking.

Overall, I'm disappointed. It truly sucks that my hip was happy, my energy level was on par, the humidity was significantly better than the day before, there was even a cool breeze on occasion, and I felt like I had that 9 miles in the bank. Too bad the knee decided not to be on board the train with the rest of my body and my spirit. At least I know what 9 feels like...even if I didn't finish it out running. I'm only crediting myself with the 4 miles I did run and will attempt 9 miles again post recovery from the injection. For the record, though...I just want to say that power walking is some serious business, too!

So what is on tap exercise-wise for the rest of the week? Well, I will ice up my knee, then Epsom salt bath my body tonight. I'm thinking of running 3 miles each morning before heading to work - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I will also have Yoga on Monday night. I won't be able to do the Yoga class on Wednesday night courtesy of THE SHOT. From there on (for a week OR SO), I'm gonna be VERY limited in what I can do - hoping to use this opportunity to do some arm weights so I won't be so weak during Yoga.

Oh and I wanted to make mention that Meliska and I went over to Lauren's house on Friday night to watch The Spirit of the Marathon. If you are even slightly into running, I totally recommend it. It follows 6 people who are at varying levels in their running as they prepare for the Chicago marathon. It's an awesome movie! It was a great girl's night with two of my favorite girls, as well!