Spring is here! I don’t know about all of you, but I find that even though I spend the entire winter longing for warm weather, the minute it gets here I wish I had had more time to prepare. I unpacked my sandals and open-toe pumps and discovered that most of them need new heel tips, and I catch myself staring into my closet each morning making a list of the pieces I need to to build up and diversify my warm weather wardrobe. I’ve been putting every bit of extra money away in preparation for the week I’ll need to be out of work after my surgery, so the “Tammy-really-wants-a-new-wardrobe” fund is looking pretty sad these days. Of course, I have tons of great jeans and some skirts in my “skinny” size which would be a huge help…so I’m trying to focus my efforts on shaping up, since the only way I’m getting a new wardrobe is little by little (unless I win the lottery).

In the spirit of getting in shape for summer (and preparing for a month of no cardio after the surgery!) I’ve been doing lots of boob-friendly workouts. First, I’m taking these really intense Kettlebell/TRX Bootcamp classes with a trainer friend of mine at NYSC. Kettlebells are these russian torture devices, dumbbells with a handle that can be used to do swinging exercises like the ones pictured here. Working with kettlebells makes me feel really hardcore, and my shoulders are slowly but surely looking more sculpted. TRX is “Suspension Training” — these straps hang from the hooks bolted to the ceiling, and you can do a plethora of wonderfully painful and difficult strength & stretch moves with them– here is a pic of people doing TRX planks (not as easy as they look!) Once a week is about all I can stand– I leave these classes completely exhausted and DRENCHED!

Thanks to great sites like “living social” and “groupon,” my friends and I have been enjoying some really fun deals around the city for restaurants & bars, and this week I saw a deal for unlimited yoga at a studio around the corner from my apartment (Sonic Yoga- http://www.sonicyoga.com/ ). For $30 I got unlimited yoga for a whole month!! I plan on starting this weekend, perfect timing since my surgery is set for 6/21. If you haven’t checked out living social and groupon, do yourself a favor! They both offer email subscription, and operate across multiple cities & states to bring you great local deals. I’ve had really positive experiences with both, getting a chance to sample anything from food to dental office to spas at about 50% off regular pricing.

Finally, my best friend is driving my bike in from my mom’s house in NJ, so starting tomorrow I’ll be able to enjoy this gorgeous weather and the glorious bike path on the West Side Greenway with one of my favorite childhood activities of all time.

Now that I’ve got all that fitness stuff out of the way, I wanted to mention a bra shop I’ve been hearing great things about- It’s called “Bratenders” (http://www.bratenders.com) and I discovered it when one of their employees dropped by my job the other day to hand a busty coworker and I some flyers. We had a laugh about his scouting technique (search the streets for top-heavy females?) but I checked out the website and was very pleased with the selection. I can’t wait to stop by post-surgery and buy some beautiful bras in my new size!