Who needs a gym! Just walk in the city pushing a stroller....

I love it here....I love it here.....I love it here.....

I am zapped. My muscles are burning and I feel so out of shape about right now. After a long day out in the city pushing Michaela up and down the hills of the city center.......I am so tired! I am also so excited in that my fitness level is about increase.......BIG TIME!

We had such a lovely day out. I was geared up for a long walking day so I wore my running clothes. What we did not expect was the sleet, very strong and I do mean very strong winds and the cold. The wind chill was only 27 but the wind gust were so strong it almost tipped over the stroller as I was going up one of the hills. It was a memory to say the least. The weather was dark and dreary but somehow I loved it and was having the best time. I do wish there was snow, there is set to be some this weekend but I have been told the rain here is common.......VERY common, and so I better get used to it.

One of my favorite memories from today came as I entered into a store and found the most beautiful sweater. The clothes here are so beautiful and finally after losing all my weight, I can wear them all unlike when we were in Russia and I was bigger than most sizes available. That was a hard memory for me. I hated going shopping and never bought clothes there. I would instead wait and get everything I needed back in the US where.....let's face the truth......we are bigger here. I can say this with all confidence that after traveling to so many places in the world I am always amazed how much larger the US population is relative to the rest of the world. Anyways, more about that later I am sure....back to my story. I walked into the store to look at the sweater and try it on and the lady said to me...."I am sorry we only have a Medium and a Large, I will have to see if we have a Small down stairs". I about died with excitement!!! Here I am standing there in 2 layers of pants, 3 layers of tops with my running shoes and she looks and me and determines WITHOUT me asking or saying a word......she thought I was a SMALL!!! I literally wanted to cry I was so happy. Gone are the days of embarrassment, gone are the days of me not being able to find a size.........it feels so amazing! The funny thing was that I came out wearing the sweater and it was too big........go figure! It has a bigger loose fit and looked huge on me.  After this I was so motivated, I kept walking faster and running up the hills as I pushed the stroller. I was burning some mega calories!

I am just so happy, so proud that I can stand there and say I am from Texas and NOT be the big American that I was just a few years ago.  I want to show others that there ARE fit, strong, active Americans who do not mind walking everywhere....etc.....

Now I am off to rest because this American has to get used to this new lifestyle! I was going to do weights today............on second thought, NO.... I am DONE! Who needs a gym? Who needs cross fit........just go out and be active in the city!!!! I cannot wait to see where my new home is located.  I was talking with a local here and she said we were VERY lucky to be living where we are and it is beautiful there with a view of the city. She said it is clean, safe and very pretty! Not to mention HILLY!!!!

Here are some pics from our day........

Heading out in my winter running gear!

 MiMi is ready for our first big day out in Stavanger! Bundled up and ready to go!!!

 Some of the restaurants down at the harbor where the cruise ships, fishing boats and so on are docked.

Part of the harbor....

 This was a fish market right at the harbor, they had a fantastic selection and of course it was very fresh!

One of the Fjord cruise boats.

The city is full of little streets going up and down from the town to the harbor, it really does make for a great workout pushing the stroller up and down.....up and down....I loved it!

 I shopped here when in Paris and was SO excited there is an Oliviers here! They have great stuff!

Thought this was a cute little baby shop! The city is filled with some very nice stores for children, and I do mean NICE, I was amazed at the quality available.