I went to meet our new clients in Rochester with Lisa Gordon and Anthony Miller.  When we got there, I decided to give them each a copy of my book, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media but were afraid to ask… Building Business Using Consumer Generated Media.

One of the women looked at the back cover and looked at me.  “You must have lost a zillion pounds since this photo was taken… Really, you did didn’t you?  Wow, you look amazing,” she said.

I laughed.  “Thank you.  I’ve been working out with a trainer…”

Later that day, I was walking through the airport and noticed that my size 6 shorts were falling down. I didn’t want them to fall down, they just did. “Sweet,” I thought! “Maybe I can go a size down… this is what happens when you work out with a trainer.”

When I got on the plane, my carry on luggage was so heavy but I managed to squeeze it in the overhead bin.  When the plane landed I had a little trouble but was able to get it out without a hitch.  “Wow, I’m impressed,” an older woman who was sitting behind me said.  “I can’t believe you just lifted that!”

“Well, I work out with a trainer,” I told her.

“You can sure tell,” she said and grinned.

I smiled to myself and walked off the plane with a heavy backpack, a huge bag with my iPad in it and a “super” heavy Vera Bradley carry on.

I can’t believe the summer is over.  It seemed so short.  September always marks a new year for me because it’s when the kids go back to school and the hectic schedules begin.

It doesn’t matter if your child goes to elementary, middle or high school. It’s all the same preparation — school supplies, new clothes, new backpack and new shoes! And, there are so many forms! Sometimes I feel like they are never ending — permission slips, physicals, PTA, etc.

If you have a college aged kid like me, it’s even tougher.  You spend the whole summer with your son or daughter just to turn around and have to bring them back to school for another year.  You pack up your car until it stuffed and you’re on your way.  Or, if you’re like me, you’ll “schlep” three huge duffle bags weighing more than 50 pounds each on a plane to your child’s school and get the rest from the storage company that you hired over the summer.

Today was unpacking day.  After my daughter and I rented a car and loaded it up with our BIG luggage, we drove to the school.  Unpacking wasn’t hard.  It actually went by pretty quickly.  The hard part came when a truck stopped in front of the dorms and emptied seven huge boxes on the ground that had to go up to her dorm room.  It took us nine hours to get her set up and believe it or not, we still need a few things!

I think the worst part was walking to the bookstore which was a few blocks away down a long hill.  Buying the books and other things that she needed for school and bringing them back up the hill to the dorm.  I realized at that point that I better continue working out because I was totally out of breath!

And as soon as I finish with her, it’s back to my hometown to get my son ready for his first day!

Bermuda… a land of paradise – beautiful pink coral beaches, turquoise water and houses painted tropical colors. After a few days in Bermuda, I came back totally relaxed. I don’t know if it was the smell of the salt air or just the fact that I was away from it all, but whatever it was, it was really nice.  During my visit to Bermuda, I stayed connected on the Internet. A few friends asked me for recommendations.   So, here they are:

Be adventurous:

• Rent a moped but be very careful.  The drivers in Bermuda seem to be worse than New York City.  Don’t drive too slow but be careful around the winding sharp turns.  By renting a moped, you will get an opportunity to see more of the Island than without one.
• Take a jog on the railroad trail but beware it does not loop around.  The trail goes from one side of the Island to the other, so if you get too tired, turn around and go back.  (You can also walk it.)
• Take a drive to Astwood Cove.  The locals will tell you that there is a staircase cut into the stone to get down to the beach.  However when we were there, we saw the staircase but it wasn’t quiet accessible.  But, just looking at the beach was worth the cost of going there.
• Snorkel in Church Bay.  They have a local guy renting equipment, umbrellas and chairs.  The beach is small but you will definitely see some beautiful fish swimming around!
• Drive to Chaplin Bay Beach and sit under the large coral rocks that surround the beach.  It’s cool under there and it’s great to listen to the ocean, watch the water and just relax.

Want something good to eat?

• Eat at the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse restaurant.  It’s a quaint little restaurant in a lighthouse.  I had the spaghetti bolognese. It was delicious!
• Bocci at the Southampton Fairmont was an excellent restaurant. The breaded veal scallopini was amazing.  It was cooked to perfection.  The other good choices include the lasagna, whole wheat spaghetti bolognese and lobster capellini.  Save room for dessert.  The white chocolate cheese cake and the tiramisu was to “die for!”
• Silk in Hamilton is another excellent choice for food.  It’s Thai food and it happened to have been terrific.  I had the Pad Thai and Duck and Mango salad were “out of this world.”

Like Shopping?

• Shop in Hamilton, but the prices are “pricey.” I spent a half day shopping but didn’t buy anything and for me, that’s unusual.

Love Golf?

• Golf at Riddles Bay. This course is tough.  It has narrow fairways and small greens.  Shoot them straight and you’ll never loose a ball but if you’re like me, plan on bringing a lot of extra balls with you on the course!
• Play at Southampton Golf Club. It’s a par 3 18 hole course but it’s not easy. It’s a hilly course and you can’t take the carts off the path.  Try to hit them straight otherwise you will do a lot of walking.  What I liked about this course was that it only took 2 hours to play.
• Get unbelievable views on Port Royal Golf Course.  This course is also very tough but is an amazing course with breathtaking views.   All I have to say is I wish I played better!

Enjoy every moment in Bermuda.  You will find that all the stress will dissapate after a day of smelling the salt air and seeing the blue water and pink beaches!

I was at New York Sports Club in Long Beach, NY this morning training with Dom and I bumped into my friend, Holly.  She was lifting weights on one bench and I was lifting weights on the other bench.

She laughed and said, “you’re like me… a real girl!  We are so uncoordinated.”

As I was stepping up onto the bench, I started to laugh too.

“I’m uncoordinated but I’m athletic,” she told me. “I’m a runner and do half marathons.”

Later, I asked Dom what constitutes an athlete. “Someone who has good eye hand coordination and is good at a lot of different sports,” he said. “Paul (the head trainer) is an athlete.”

We continued the workout and didn’t really talk.  I could hardly breathe during a workout, no less chat!

Almost at the end of the workout, Dom brought over a large ball (the one you typically do situps with) and told me to put them between my legs and do “reverse crunches.”

I gave him a look.  “I really don’t think that is possible,” I told him.  He gave me a look back suggesting to me that it was.

I tried it.  I felt a little awkward with the ball being so big between my legs but I did it any way.  I started counting in my head, “one, two, three, four…” when all of a sudden, the ball gets loose from my legs, hits me in the face and rolls to the other side of the gym.

Now if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, I told him that that couldn’t happen again if I tried.

I put the ball back between my legs and started to do reverse crunches — “one, two, three….” The ball got loose again but this time hit me hard on my cheekbone and rolled away.

“Okay, that’s it,” Dom said and the workout was finished.

I couldn’t stop laughing.  I was so embarrassed.  I signed out of the gym and walked to my car.  As I was walking I kept thinking about what Holly said.  I don’t know if all girls are uncoordinated but I know this girl is!

Do you believe I’m still thinking about the finale of The Biggest Loser?  Well, I am.  I’m thinking about it because I’m a little upset with the show’s ending.

I have watched every episode of the reality show, The Biggest Loser, this season. I cried when contestants shared their feelings with Jillian or to Bob and I smiled when they weighed themselves each week and saw how much they lost.

The contestants in Season 9 were the heaviest people on the show.  The biggest man weighed more than 500 pounds.  As I watched I couldn’t believe how people could let themselves go to that extreme, but I guess it’s easier than you think.

At the finale, there were four contestants left – Michael (the biggest contestant ever on The Biggest Loser), Ashley, Koli and Daris.  Alison, the show’s host, brought out Koli and Daris and told them that since they fell below the yellow line (they had the lowest percentage of weight loss) on the second to last episode, the American people decided who would be in the final 3.

And the winner was… Daris!  The crowd cheered as Koli left the stage, obviously upset.  This was a live finale.  There were no major edits, what happened, happened.

After Daris left the stage, Alison, the show’s host, started to introduce the disqualified contestants.  They all still had the chance to win $100,000.  As each weighed in, the percentage of weight loss was on the screen. At first, we all thought it would be Cheryl (Daris’ mother) who would win the $100K, but soon thereafter, she was beat out by Darrell (who was on one father/daughter team).  Darrell held on until Koli weighed in.  Koli won the $100,000 by a landslide.  He dropped more than 53% of his body weight.

When Alison brought out the final three, they each weighed in.  Daris was first. He dropped nearly ½ of his body weight and then Ashley got on the scale and dropped about ½ her body weight.  Michael, who was the biggest man on campus, weighed in last. He lost more than ½ his body weight but less than Koli’s 53%.  He lost around 51%.

Michael walked away with the $250,000.  Although the crowd cheered and everyone was especially proud of Michael (I was one of them), I felt bad for Koli.

If America voted for Koli, he would have walked away with the $250,000 not Michael.  Koli was so upset; you could see it on his face. He knew he should have won. And you know what, so did the rest of America!