And She's Down for the Count...

I thought it would be a good idea to try something new this summer. I thought that doing something from my childhood would bring me joy and happiness. Umm, ya. I am pretty sure that I am not a child anymore.

I ordered a kick scooter from my Chase Rewards Points, I really love those things. It makes you buy things that you don't really need, i.e. a Crock Pot, Thigh Master, steak knives and a Shake Weight. So why would ordering a Kick Scooter be any different?
I am so excited when it is delivered to me in the mail at work. I thought about scootin' home but decided to wait till I was dressed a little more appropriately.

Jamie, why a scooter? Well friends, I will tell you.

1. I sometimes need to get places faster than normal and it has been hurting my knees to walk as fast as I do so i thought, "Hey, how about I scoot instead."
2. I see Hugh Jackman, Mario Batali, Matthew Broderick and Susan Sarandon Scootin all over the West Village so why can't I?
3. I can't seem to save enough money to buy a Vespa.
4. I want every guy in Manhattan to think I am 12 rather than 16.
5. Why Not?

So my first day out I scoot over to have dinner on Christopher and Washington in the West Village. It normally would take me about 20 minutes to walk it. Scooting it took me 8. Think of all the time I will save scootin' around the city. I will be able to get so much done.

The Cobra, that is what I named it, handled well. It was a little uncomfortable going over cracks and bumps but on smooth surfaces it was perfect. Thank goodness NYC doesn't have any cracks in their roads (sarcasm inserted here). By the time I got to the restaurant I was sweaty and looked like I had just been through an entire hour of bikram yoga but I still had a great time so it didn't seem to bother me. Someone pointed out that the scooter seemed small. That maybe it was a child's scooter. I denied it and tried to blow it off as if I had done my research on them and knew that I had bought the right one for my size. Little do they know that i DID in fact buy it off of the child's section on the Chase Rewards Catalog. Whoops! Oh well, "good thing I am small so it doesn't matter so it still fits," I thought.

4 days after my first scootin' adventure, when the above picture was taken, I decided to scoot the farthest I had ever gone. 20 blocks to Bed Bath and Beyond. I had to pick up an item that only they carry so I had to make the trip.

Scooting there was a easy. Through Washington Square Park, Up 5th Ave and cross over on 19thth Ave. Sidewalk to street, sidewalk to street. Easy Breezy. On my way back i had my bag hooked to my handle bars since it wasn't too heavy. But what was heavy was the traffic on 5th. I was trying to avoid car traffic and people traffic at the same time. I even got a little air while ramping off the curb. I was confident and had full control.

As soon as my confidence kicked in my front wheel wedged into a deep crack on the sidewalk. The scooter came to an abrupt stop while I kept going. Head first I flew over my handle bars and flipped on to the sidewalk making a sound like a walrus when I hit the pavement. As soon as I hit I thought to myself, "there is no way I will be able to stand after hitting this hard," but with the embarrassment of EVERYONE IN MANHATTAN staring at me I quickly got to my feet, with the help of 2 business men in suits, and got right back on my scooter.

I began to scoot away when I hear, "miss, I think these are yours." I was handed a Jumbo size box of Tampons that I picked up in the "Beyond" section of the store. I know at age 34 I shouldn't be embarrassed about that but if i hadn't just flown over a child's scooter on 5th ave during rush hour I think I would have said thank you and walked off. Instead, I say, "Oh those... huh? No they... um... ya.. ok," and then get on my scooter and scoot away.

As I get closer to home, almost in tears due to the pain and the embarrassment, I decided that the scootin' days are over. I see my supers kid on the way in and just hand the scooter over to him saying, "here, have it. It's yours now."

The very next week I go to the doctor and have my knees looked at. Now I am in physical therapy and have to look like a robot 2 times a week.
Thanks Chase Rewards Points! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to bruise my body and my ego at the same time.

Fatty Fatty 2 by 4...

7 years ago I started noticing sharp pains in my right knee while driving. It would lock up on me and I couldn’t move it. Kinda like a Toyota. I went to see a specialist in Nashville and they did a MRI. The doctor was able to find broken cartilage floating around in my knee that was causing the pain. So he sent me to physical therapy, which I hated, to help solve the problem before surgery was an option. A year later I moved to NYC and never got the surgery.

7 years later I am having more pain in my knees than ever. So yesterday I go to see one of the best surgeons in NYC. We schedule a MRI and x-rays on both knees. During the MRI you have to remain completely still for about 30 minutes. THIS is so hard for me as my knee locks up if left in one position longer than 3-5 minutes. So there I am, stuck in this noisy machine in massive pain trying to not move and focus my energy elsewhere. I focus so hard that I fall asleep. Bad idea. I ended up jumping so the images were blurry. Have to do it all over again and stay awake this time. UGH.

After the x-rays I make my way down to see the doctor. I am left waiting for a while as they review my MRIs. I am convinced that they will find something so wrong with my knees that I will need surgery for sure. After all, that is what the great doctors of Vanderbilt Medical Center told me.

Waiting and waiting and waiting….

Finally the Doc comes in. He asks tons of questions and then makes me walk, which I can do just fine. Then he bends my knees in positions that you only do if you are a contortionist. Ouch!! He hears all the popping going on in there and then it’s on to look at my results.

X-rays show that there is nothing wrong with my bones and alignment. Great news seeing how I fall constantly and just recently flew over the handlebars of my kick scooter last Monday.

MRI results. Dun dun dunnnnn. I’m waiting for the news, “Jamie, we will have to do a small procedure on you. You will be on crutches for a while and we will have to operate on both knees.” – is what I thought I would hear.

Instead it was, “Great news, everything seems to be in place. The popping is from Patella Femoral Syndrome. No surgery required, just Physical therapy.”

What?? Really? Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want surgery but I would rather surgery over physical therapy. Only because I hate working out.

Ahhhhh there it is. There is the key phrase “I hate working out”. We will come back to that later.

So he signs me up to go to a clinic that he tells me is “Dance Therapy”. Cool, so I will be dancing as my therapy? Sure, that’s it. Awesome. Ummm ya, I was wrong again. It just treats the dancers from Baryshnikov’s school. I will not be taking dance with them. Duh, Jamie. Good thing I posted that on my Facebook status before I actually looked into it.

So I get there to the clinic. There is a lady with a thick Russian accent screaming something at the front desk girl over paperwork. I assume she is a friend of Baryshnikov’s since she’s Russian. First impressions, pretty cool. All the therapist are young which is a plus. And there are several cute male ones. Which is a plus plus.

I am sent back to see mine. His name is John. He is blonde, built and thinks my jokes are funny. So far so good. He begins doing things to my knees that make me think he is just trying to break them so I have a real reason to be there. 30 minutes of him bending and pushing and lifting and rolling and he comes up with a conclusion.

Here is what he said, “8 years ago when you said you stopped dancing and basically stopped exercising everyday your ITB began to tighten up because you were not stretching. Over the 8 years it has gotten so tight that it is pulling your knee cap out of place which is causing the pain and popping. Your muscles around your knee are no longer strong enough to counteract this action. This usually occurs in women because of the hip line being wider. And this often occurred in ex dancers or athletes who stop being active. So we will need to work all this out and retrain your thigh muscles.”

Here is what I heard, “You have been so lazy for the past 8 years that you now have fat thighs and you need to get off your lazy butt and do something with yourself you wide lazy load. How do you expect those knees of yours to carry such heavy gorilla thighs?”

I have always hated my thighs but how come all of you never told me that I was getting fat. Thanks friends.

SO now I have to go in 2 times a week for 3 months to “retrain my muscles”. I knew this day would come.

Negatives – I’m fat, I still hate working out, it’s painful and all the cute PT's know I’m fat and lazy.

Positives – I will finally get my fat thighs in shape, my knees will stop hurting, I might get used to and enjoy working out and I will get to flirt with the cute fit physical therapists 2 times a week for 6 weeks.

It’s a win win for everyone involved!!

Update on Where my Update Is:

Have I been slacking on updating my blog? Yes, yes I have. Why? I have been traveling out of town like crazy. I haven't had a time to sit and focus. But, I am home for a while so I will do my best to update you with my whereabouts the best I know how.
I have a lot of photos from the Chitty trip to Disney World and from my recent trip to Seattle.
I even attempted to eat Seafood for the first time. I failed. BUT, it's all on video with my meltdown and everything. Good times.

Update soon!!

Oh ya, I am doing a benefit on June 24th for Gulf Aid. All proceeds go to help support the animals and those dealing with the the disgusting oil spill in LA. If anyone wants to help out let me know and I will send you the details on how you can.

Amazing and Successful Event!!

We had an AMAZING event!! Cherry Lane Music Publishing was celebrating their 50th Anniversary and we had the honor of working the event. Cherry Lane has artist such as Black Eyed Peas, David Cook, John Legend etc. Here are a few highlights from the event. Also, watch E! News tonight. We will be on there. And I will let you know when it's in People Magazine.

Location: Brooklyn Bowl. It's an amazing venue where you can eat, drink, listen to live music all while bowling. So much fun!!!Here is our Press House Team on the Red Carpet: Me, Dawn and Emma. Kiva was taking the picture.
One of the artist Antigone Rising

Moe looking dapper in their suits.
Antonella Barba. She was on American Idol. We are working her now. She is a doll!!
Jamie Hilfiger. Model and Designer and daughter of Tommy.
The Amazing John Legend performing.
John Legend on the carpet. I was getting him set up to do the interview with E! and after I lightly touched his arm his bodyguard rushed over to ask me if I could "Not Man Handle Mr. Legend". Haha What? Is he made of clouds or something? So delicate.
To check out more photos go to
http://www.wireimage.com/ItemListings.aspx?sr=1&igi=433808&nbc1=1

Our Press was awesome. People, E!, Cosmo, NY Post, NY Times, Modern Drummer, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Billboard Magazine, Fuse TV, Examiner, Guitar World, Huffington Post, In Tandem Magazine, London Entertainment, Lucid Culture, Men's Health, NBC i Village, NY Daily News, Redbook, Relix, Reuters, Right On! Magazine, Sirius Radio, SPIN Magazine, USA Today, etc.

Whew! It was an awesome night and we, as well as or clients, were very happy.
After a long month of working this event to make it perfect I am ready to relax at Disney World with my family. We leave on Saturday.

Jamie Chitty Takes the Gold!!

Getting my Body Back:

I joined a gym with a pool to start swimming. I was a little nervous about this because my swimming usually consists of pool games and breaks to lay out. I’m not really a lap swimmer and wasn’t sure if I could handle it. I also wasn’t sure if I wanted anyone to see me in a swim cap and goggles. So off to the sports store I go to buy all the top gear that I will need.

How is it that I can look bigger in a one piece than a bikini? I ended up paying $60 bucks on a suit that I feel fat in. Why? Then I try on swim caps. I ask the guy if there is any of them that won’t make me look like a big dork. Apparently there is not. So $15 later I buy a black one to match my suit. Goggles are next. I can’t tell you the last time I wore goggles. $25 later I have the exact ones that Michael Phelps uses. Why? Because they are the only ones that don’t make me look like an 8 year old in swim class.

I am on my way out and then what do I see??? A case so that you can swim with your Ipod. Hmmm, it’s going to get interesting now. I must have the case! I HAVE to HAVE the case!! How else will I be able to swim? But is it really worth it? I know me and work outs, I do it for a couple of weeks and then get bored and move on to something else. I better not buy it. $70 later, plus an extra $30 for the underwater headphones, I can now run, swim, kayak, water polo, scuba, snorkel and skinny dip all to the hits of Huey Lewis and the News.

Off to the gym I go with swim gear in tow.

When I arrive I head to the locker room and get dressed, or undressed I guess. Swimsuit on, Swim cap on, goggles on, rockin' Ipod underwater arm band on, Pray to God that the water doesn’t leak in and ruin my ipod, done. I feel like a complete dork and hope that I will not see a single cute man. I walk into the pool area and it’s me with 10 or so men my age, 5 Asian women that are just sitting at the end of the pool whispering to themselves and one other girl in a floral bikini. Really? A bikini to swim laps? I looked like a pro. I felt like a pro. Now I must perform like a pro.

Music switches to my “Work my A** off” play list. I shake my arms and legs, because that is what I see the pros do, and then in the water I go. I am going at a great pace, so I think. Yes, made it to the end and with an underwater flip and turn I am off to finish lap one. Half way through I start to feel pain in my arms. A burning sensation. I think they call this “Show Off Syndrome”. My breaths for air are getting less and less successful but as I end my lap the pride in me makes me turn and flip for lap 2. What was I thinking? I am insane for not easing into this. But I can’t stop now; I have all this gear on. It looks like I know what I’m doing. Flip and turn and the end of lap 2 is coming to a close. I am drowning. I am on fire, not in a good way, and I am drowning. My form is not even good anymore. I look like I am in desperate need for a paramedic.

I decide to stop and come up for air after lap two. When I do I am so out of breath that it hurts. The guys sharing my lane with me say, “Wow, you are so fast. Do you swim a lot?” This is when I look around and notice that everyone else is going a normal speed. Not a gold medal speed. Another guy notices that I am having trouble breathing and recommends that I take it a little easier on the next laps. Ummm, you think??

So after an hour in a half of swimming back and forth, trying to regain my coolness I decide to go home. But wait, I bought a new lock for my locker and where did I put the locker combination?? Oh yes, IT’S IN THE LOCKER!! I looked at the number once and that’s it. And seeing that I have number dyslexia I forgot what they were. So now I am in my suit, tired and wet and now have to get someone to come cut my lock off my locker all because of my stupidity. Nice Jamie. Way to be cool.

I have since returned to the gym, with a new lock and my composure. I take my time with the laps now. I am getting better but still think I look like a big dork. I am not sure when I will feel that the one piece looks good on me. I seem to think never. But if an Olympic scout ever comes to my gym looking for swimmers I will be ready. I will dive right in there and swim my heart out.

Watch out Michael Phelps. I have my eyes on your Gold.

I love NYC in the Spring time...

What is it about spring that I love so much? Is it that New Yorkers start walking with their heads up and smiles on their faces? Is it that this Northern city turns into a Southern small town with everyone chatting it up with people they hardly know? Maybe it’s that I get to burn all my heavy winter coats that I develop a deep hatred for? Or maybe, just maybe it’s because I just function better with the sun in my face instead of sloppy wet snow. I am pretty sure it’s all of the above.

Regardless what it is I am SO SO SO thankful that it’s here/around the corner. Last weekend we had a very warm day. It was in the 70’s and we were able to sit outside in the sun, in swimsuits and actually have to put sunscreen on. I even had a snow cone but ended up having to throw it out when it melted all over me due to my fear of getting my tongue and lips stuck to the ice. I think the freezer was a little too cold. It was an amazing weekend full of friends, sun, park days, sun, wonderful dates, sun, runs along the water, sun and brunch outside. Did I mention it was sunny? It makes me so happy!!

I like to wear Bright Socks...

Here is a video of every guy I have been out with in the past 6 months. How will I ever pick just one?