so, this is what i did on my summer vacation (from the blog and from life)...
1) went to portugal...and loved it. everyone told me i'd love portugal but ppl said that about spain and paris (two lovely places that i do not necessarily love). but portugal surprised me, kinda like how italy surprised me by how much i loved it there. it's like spain's uglier little sister...but more homey and down to earth and unintimidating. i don't know if that makes sense, but that's the only way i can explain it. kinda more grimey, but that's part of its charm. plus the weather was amazing and the food was surprisingly good.
2) went to hawaii....and still loved it. i'm luckier than most people in that i've been to hawaii many many times (i know how obnoxious this will sound, but i've honestly lost count of how many times i've been there...i think it's around 7 or 8 times, but i'm not sure). and even know i had one of the worst experiences of my life there that i thought would make that visit my last ever trip there, the draw of hawaii is just too strong for me to deny. kinda like how i automatically connected italy and portugal, hawaii was one of those places i connected to right away. since we've been before, we were able to skip all the touristy things and live almost like locals. the weather was amazing, finally got the tan that i've been without for too long, and shopped like a crazy woman (but on the cheap....15 pairs of shoes for me and my sis for less than $200. amazing). and the food was also so so good.
portugal and hawaii were killers to my workout/eating regimen. i certainly lived the good life there and the extra poundage i put on, sure shows it.
now, i vow to get back on track. my "personal stylist" keeps giving me the cutest pants and jeans that "almost" fit so my goal is to fit into those pants!
first steps to this have been to cut back on sugar in the form of ketchup and pop. and i know that killa will have something to say about this, so i will clarify. i'm avoiding added ketchup to stuff...i used to eat ketchup on almost everything: noodles, fried rice, eggs, etc. so i won't do that. but say i order a burger that has ketchup on it, i will eat it. i won't like scrape it off. haha....yeah. and i think i might cut out juice and reintroduce diet pop in moderation only because i can't only drink water. i get sick of the tastelessness of water.anyway, yeah...that's my new goal. i'm aiming to fit into those pants by march. i'm told it should be dec but i dont want to set myself up for disappointment.
anyway...here are some random pics.
moorish castle in portugal

main entry way to the centre of lisbon

overlooking lisbon



































