Last night we made it to our old neighborhood of Laurel, MD. We enjoyed driving around the old streets. It was nice, but it didn't make us regret leaving. I have always loved living in Laurel because it felt small town-ish and yet was only thirty minutes or less from three major cities: Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis. It was nice being 20 minutes from Columbia and Silver Spring, too. Still, we love our new home in Poinciana.
We just had dinner at Denny's, and I ate my usual dinner of tilapia, broccoli, green beans, salad, and the herb toast with black coffee. Yummy and low calorie! Our good friends Rudy and Georganne joined us. Rudy also brought a bottle of 12 year old Tullamore Dew to the hotel afterwards, so we all had a nice drink and time to talk. They are joining us on our cruise out of Baltimore on the Carnival Pride in October, so we had some time to be sure all our plans for that cruise were set. It's going to be great. We really enjoyed the time with them last night.
Today's drive was not the longest of the three days of driving, but it was the worst one. It was about 450 miles, but it took 10 hours. UGH. Back ups all through Connecticut and an hour to go 17 miles into downtown Boston. We were exhausted when we got to the Applebee's near the hotel at 7:30 p.m. Mark and I each had a Jamieson's and the Weight Watchers' Cajun Tilapia dinner with no rice and double veggie. We also had a dessert shooter. Mine was the hot fudge sundae; Mark's was the Oreo chocolate mousse. He checked his sugar two hours after dinner and was 113. He was ecstatic. I will check my weight in the morning. I brought the scale into the hotel.
Tonight we are staying in the Comfort Inn near Dorchester/Quincy area. It's an incredible two room suite. We had not realized we were getting such a great room here. Friday we will move into the Hilton for four nights.
Evey and Eric are staying with some friends in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. They have been busy applying for the license, getting her engagement ring polished up, meeting with the DJ, photographer, and hotel wedding planner. Everything is going smoothly, so far! Tomorrow we are delivering centerpiece materials to the wedding planner at the Hilton. At the same time we are picking Evey up, taking her to lunch, and then bringing her back to our hotel for a make up trial. It should be a lot of fun!
Friday we will be picking Lowell and Emily up at the airport. Unfortunately, they could not fly together. Lowell took the whole day off, but Emily had to change her flight because of the hurricane. Her school was closed Monday through Wednesday because it had no power, so instead of taking off Friday as planned, she will have to go to work. She was able to change her flight and is coming up in the early evening. We will pick them each up, so at least they are both going to be here by Friday night. They are having dinner with Evey, Eric, Eric's brother Kevin, and his girlfriend Erica. The six of them should have a lovely time at a favorite restaurant called Fire and Ice. Friday night are also the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Whoee!! Big doins'!!
One other happy note, my best friend Barbara is a grandmother for the second time today! Her daughter Jennie gave birth to her second son today. Congratulations to the whole Kopelman family.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
They are in Boston!
Evey and Eric flew on Jet Blue directly from San Jose to Boston overnight. They left at 9 p.m. California time and touched down in Boston at 5:09 a.m. Eastern time. Yay! Their good friend and wedding officiant, Jeremy, picked them up at the airport to take them to their friend's house in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston where they will stay until Friday. At that time they will be moving into the Hilton. How exciting for them!
She texted me when she landed, and I asked her if it felt like "coming home"? She said it was too early and she was too tired yet to know. I bet she feels like it later on when she gets downtown to apply for the marriage license. The four day waiting period meant they had to apply today and pick it up on Friday in order for the Sunday wedding to be legal. I'm so glad they landed safely, so they can get their license.
Mark and I will be driving up to Laurel and staying in a Comfort Inn just off route one in our old hometown. I plan to do a little shopping in my "local" Kohl's or WalMart before dinner when we get there. I am hoping the drive today goes as well as yesterday's. It probably won't, but I don't think it will be the hurricane that causes the problems. Once we get north of Richmond, VA, it will just be the usual Washington, DC rush hour traffic that causes us problems. There are always slow downs and back ups on the northern VA part of I-95, over the Wilson Bridge, and up 295 through DC. Of course, the BW Parkway between the Washington beltway and Laurel moves at a snail's pace almost any time of day. I don't miss that traffic in my new hometown.
Last night we decided to go to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. We have not been to one of those for a long time, and we were very pleased and excited about their menu. There are several different fishes on the menu: salmon, two kinds of tilapia, mahi mahi. They have a lot of different sides, and the calories for anything listed as a Fit and Trim item is listed. I had the Creole Catch (tilapia) which was super delicious with nice spices on it. It came with two sides, so I mixed the grilled zucchini and the grilled green beans (96 calories for BOTH!). I also had salad bar. Of course, I never use dressing! I added a spoon of edamame, a few peas, and a bit of shredded cheese to the usual veggies of lettuce, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Delicious! I had two cups of black coffee, no alcohol, no potatoes, no dessert. My one real indulgence was a cheesy biscuit.
Mark never eats bread products, and usually we say not to leave us the bread basket. Sometimes, I make Mark let me have it and eat bread when I'm out of control. Since I was feeling in control yesterday, I told the waiter not to bring the bread. Surprise! As the waiter started to walk away, Mark said, "Now hold on a minute. I do want the bread." What? I was stunned. The waiter then brought a plate of four cheesey biscuits. Mark had decided they just sounded too good and too unique not to try them. OK, I had one; he had one; we let the other two just sit there. He was right! They were AWESOME. Hopefully, my weight is ok today, but I'm not going to check it until tomorrow morning.
Mark did check his blood sugar last night two hours after dinner, and it was 130. He was very pleased that he could eat the fish with a cheesey biscuit, broccoli, and a big blob of garlic cheese mashed potatoes! He was very, very happy!
Well, time to get on to breakfast this morning and then on up the road to Laurel. I'm just so happy and relieved that Evey and Eric have made it safely to Boston. One more step in the wedding process is completed!
She texted me when she landed, and I asked her if it felt like "coming home"? She said it was too early and she was too tired yet to know. I bet she feels like it later on when she gets downtown to apply for the marriage license. The four day waiting period meant they had to apply today and pick it up on Friday in order for the Sunday wedding to be legal. I'm so glad they landed safely, so they can get their license.
Mark and I will be driving up to Laurel and staying in a Comfort Inn just off route one in our old hometown. I plan to do a little shopping in my "local" Kohl's or WalMart before dinner when we get there. I am hoping the drive today goes as well as yesterday's. It probably won't, but I don't think it will be the hurricane that causes the problems. Once we get north of Richmond, VA, it will just be the usual Washington, DC rush hour traffic that causes us problems. There are always slow downs and back ups on the northern VA part of I-95, over the Wilson Bridge, and up 295 through DC. Of course, the BW Parkway between the Washington beltway and Laurel moves at a snail's pace almost any time of day. I don't miss that traffic in my new hometown.
Last night we decided to go to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. We have not been to one of those for a long time, and we were very pleased and excited about their menu. There are several different fishes on the menu: salmon, two kinds of tilapia, mahi mahi. They have a lot of different sides, and the calories for anything listed as a Fit and Trim item is listed. I had the Creole Catch (tilapia) which was super delicious with nice spices on it. It came with two sides, so I mixed the grilled zucchini and the grilled green beans (96 calories for BOTH!). I also had salad bar. Of course, I never use dressing! I added a spoon of edamame, a few peas, and a bit of shredded cheese to the usual veggies of lettuce, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Delicious! I had two cups of black coffee, no alcohol, no potatoes, no dessert. My one real indulgence was a cheesy biscuit.
Mark never eats bread products, and usually we say not to leave us the bread basket. Sometimes, I make Mark let me have it and eat bread when I'm out of control. Since I was feeling in control yesterday, I told the waiter not to bring the bread. Surprise! As the waiter started to walk away, Mark said, "Now hold on a minute. I do want the bread." What? I was stunned. The waiter then brought a plate of four cheesey biscuits. Mark had decided they just sounded too good and too unique not to try them. OK, I had one; he had one; we let the other two just sit there. He was right! They were AWESOME. Hopefully, my weight is ok today, but I'm not going to check it until tomorrow morning.
Mark did check his blood sugar last night two hours after dinner, and it was 130. He was very pleased that he could eat the fish with a cheesey biscuit, broccoli, and a big blob of garlic cheese mashed potatoes! He was very, very happy!
Well, time to get on to breakfast this morning and then on up the road to Laurel. I'm just so happy and relieved that Evey and Eric have made it safely to Boston. One more step in the wedding process is completed!
Monday, August 29, 2011
In Florence, SC
Mark and I had an easy drive to Florence. The traffic was light and the weather was perfect. Of course, it took nine hours because it is 480 miles. Still, we are checked into the motel and using the internet. What's bad about that? Soon we will go out to dinner.
The best news of the day is that this morning I was down TWO pounds. That means I lost EIGHT pounds in the five days since we got back from California. I met my goal! Now I have to hang tight for a week and not put it back before the wedding. I was very happy this morning to see 245.7 on the scale! I packed the scale, so I can keep track daily during the trip. With so many miles to drive every day, it's going to be hard to work any exercise in, but I will keep the calories as low as possible. I had my usual breakfast of Morningstar links and yogurt (240) and lunch of a double turkey Subway salad with a bag of dried apple bits (235). Unfortunately, I added six packs of crackers to that (300) and ate a lot of lemon drops in the car as I drove (200???), so that could screw it up for today. Tonight we will eat at our usual place here in Florence, Fatz Cafe. If I skip the bread, the alcohol, and the dessert, I should be fine with fish, veggies, and salad. In fact, almost all restaurants are ok if I stick to fish, veggies, and salad! It's just that sometimes it's hard to say no to the rest.
I have learned that several central MD school systems are closed again tomorrow from power outages after the hurricane. We are driving to Laurel tomorrow, in one of the counties that is closed. I hope they have power when we get there! We also heard that lots of bridges are flooded in CT and parts of NY. On Wednesday we will be driving over the Tappan Zee Bridge, a beautiful bridge that I really love, but it's low to the water for quite a ways. I hope it's ok when we get there. I also heard there were downed trees and power lines on parts of the NJ Turnpike, but hopefully, all of that will be cleared up by Wednesday when we get there, also.
The best news of the day is that this morning I was down TWO pounds. That means I lost EIGHT pounds in the five days since we got back from California. I met my goal! Now I have to hang tight for a week and not put it back before the wedding. I was very happy this morning to see 245.7 on the scale! I packed the scale, so I can keep track daily during the trip. With so many miles to drive every day, it's going to be hard to work any exercise in, but I will keep the calories as low as possible. I had my usual breakfast of Morningstar links and yogurt (240) and lunch of a double turkey Subway salad with a bag of dried apple bits (235). Unfortunately, I added six packs of crackers to that (300) and ate a lot of lemon drops in the car as I drove (200???), so that could screw it up for today. Tonight we will eat at our usual place here in Florence, Fatz Cafe. If I skip the bread, the alcohol, and the dessert, I should be fine with fish, veggies, and salad. In fact, almost all restaurants are ok if I stick to fish, veggies, and salad! It's just that sometimes it's hard to say no to the rest.
I have learned that several central MD school systems are closed again tomorrow from power outages after the hurricane. We are driving to Laurel tomorrow, in one of the counties that is closed. I hope they have power when we get there! We also heard that lots of bridges are flooded in CT and parts of NY. On Wednesday we will be driving over the Tappan Zee Bridge, a beautiful bridge that I really love, but it's low to the water for quite a ways. I hope it's ok when we get there. I also heard there were downed trees and power lines on parts of the NJ Turnpike, but hopefully, all of that will be cleared up by Wednesday when we get there, also.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
A sad cancellation
My autotrain got cancelled. Boo Hoo! I was looking forward to a relaxing morning tomorrow and then getting on the train around mid-afternoon for a lovely overnight in a sleeper car. NOT! Amtrak has cancelled the train.
Now we get to face a bust-ass three-day drive up to Boston. It's about 1400 miles, so we are going to Florence, SC tomorrow; Laurel, MD Tuesday; and into Boston on Wednesday. It's about 450 to 480 miles each day. Not relaxing, but we have no choice now. I hope the roads are good and all the hotels have power!
Mark and I had a great day up until Amtrak sent the cancellation notice by email. We went to our synagogue in the morning and picked up our two personal Machzorim for the High Holidays. They asked everyone to buy their own copy, so that's exciting. We also bought SOJC t-shirts, ordered a Lulav and Etrog, and made reservations for a membership dinner on Sept. 16. Busy morning in shul.
Then we went to Guest Relations at Downtown Disney and got our new annual passes. We didn't even have to pay a thing! Mark had earned more than enough on his Disney Rewards card from using his Disney Visa so much all year. We even have enough left over for a nice dinner out sometime. Excellent.
After that, it was on to the movie The Help, which was excellent. We didn't pay for that either because we have been saving up points on the AMC Stubs card, so we used some of them and got into the movie for free! I love rewards cards. The movie was fantastic, and I'm sure it will collect quite a lot of Oscar nominations. I hope it wins them, too!
Our next stop was lunch out at Fresh A-Peal/Pollo Campero in Downtown Disney. Their vegetarian chili is just about the best anywhere. They have a wonderful fixings bar of chopped onions, pico de gallo, chipotle salsa, and other things that we add into the chili. I also get the big fruit cup and share it with Mark. It's a delicious lunch, healthy, low fat, and hopefully low calorie.
Right after lunch we got the notice from Amtrak of the cancellation. I must say that my heart sank. I was so looking forward to that trip. I had several magazines ready to take to read. Oh, well...I still went to Best Buys and got a new camera for the wedding. The little button to make it possible to look at your pictures and erase them broke on my old one. I have upgraded to a Canon SX230, on the recommendation of my future son-in-law. He is such a great photographer that I figured he would give me good advice. That's how I got the Canon 1200 that I have been using until now. The new one has a LOT more pixels and a much better zoom feature. I think I'll be able to take some great shots at the wedding. I'll post some on the blog for sure!
I have now loaded all the wedding things into the car. They took up the whole back seat! On top of the two big boxes of vases for the centerpieces we laid out Mark's suit, my dress, and on top of all is Evey's wedding gown. Then we covered everything up under a Mickey sheet. I hope it is all safe and wrinkle free when it comes into the Hilton on Friday!
Once the dryer is done, Mark and I will start packing our own suitcases. We want to get a prompt start tomorrow. I'm hoping to be on the road by 8 a.m. I have to stop for gas, but that's it. We should be able to be in Florence between 6 and 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
I have been eating well, and each day I've been rewarded by another little loss. This morning I was down another half pound to 247.7. I know I can fit into the dress at this weight. I do plan to eat carefully on the trip (Subway and Denny's), so I might be down a little bit more by the time we get to Boston. There will be a rehearsal dinner Saturday night that I'd like to enjoy!
I am taking my computer on the trip, but I will not write a blog tomorrow morning. NO TIME! I might write one tomorrow night if I have the energy, but don't be surprised if there isn't one for a few days. For those of you on Facebook, I'm sure I'll make a few quick posts on there during the travel days. Otherwise, there might not be a blog until I'm settled in Boston. With so much fun and festivities, I don't know how much energy or time I'll have for writing. I know some of you read every day, and I really LOVE that, so I hate to disappoint you. Still you know that sooner or later there will be LOTS of wedding news and pictures on here. Just be patient, please!
Now we get to face a bust-ass three-day drive up to Boston. It's about 1400 miles, so we are going to Florence, SC tomorrow; Laurel, MD Tuesday; and into Boston on Wednesday. It's about 450 to 480 miles each day. Not relaxing, but we have no choice now. I hope the roads are good and all the hotels have power!
Mark and I had a great day up until Amtrak sent the cancellation notice by email. We went to our synagogue in the morning and picked up our two personal Machzorim for the High Holidays. They asked everyone to buy their own copy, so that's exciting. We also bought SOJC t-shirts, ordered a Lulav and Etrog, and made reservations for a membership dinner on Sept. 16. Busy morning in shul.
Then we went to Guest Relations at Downtown Disney and got our new annual passes. We didn't even have to pay a thing! Mark had earned more than enough on his Disney Rewards card from using his Disney Visa so much all year. We even have enough left over for a nice dinner out sometime. Excellent.
After that, it was on to the movie The Help, which was excellent. We didn't pay for that either because we have been saving up points on the AMC Stubs card, so we used some of them and got into the movie for free! I love rewards cards. The movie was fantastic, and I'm sure it will collect quite a lot of Oscar nominations. I hope it wins them, too!
Our next stop was lunch out at Fresh A-Peal/Pollo Campero in Downtown Disney. Their vegetarian chili is just about the best anywhere. They have a wonderful fixings bar of chopped onions, pico de gallo, chipotle salsa, and other things that we add into the chili. I also get the big fruit cup and share it with Mark. It's a delicious lunch, healthy, low fat, and hopefully low calorie.
Right after lunch we got the notice from Amtrak of the cancellation. I must say that my heart sank. I was so looking forward to that trip. I had several magazines ready to take to read. Oh, well...I still went to Best Buys and got a new camera for the wedding. The little button to make it possible to look at your pictures and erase them broke on my old one. I have upgraded to a Canon SX230, on the recommendation of my future son-in-law. He is such a great photographer that I figured he would give me good advice. That's how I got the Canon 1200 that I have been using until now. The new one has a LOT more pixels and a much better zoom feature. I think I'll be able to take some great shots at the wedding. I'll post some on the blog for sure!
I have now loaded all the wedding things into the car. They took up the whole back seat! On top of the two big boxes of vases for the centerpieces we laid out Mark's suit, my dress, and on top of all is Evey's wedding gown. Then we covered everything up under a Mickey sheet. I hope it is all safe and wrinkle free when it comes into the Hilton on Friday!
Once the dryer is done, Mark and I will start packing our own suitcases. We want to get a prompt start tomorrow. I'm hoping to be on the road by 8 a.m. I have to stop for gas, but that's it. We should be able to be in Florence between 6 and 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
I have been eating well, and each day I've been rewarded by another little loss. This morning I was down another half pound to 247.7. I know I can fit into the dress at this weight. I do plan to eat carefully on the trip (Subway and Denny's), so I might be down a little bit more by the time we get to Boston. There will be a rehearsal dinner Saturday night that I'd like to enjoy!
I am taking my computer on the trip, but I will not write a blog tomorrow morning. NO TIME! I might write one tomorrow night if I have the energy, but don't be surprised if there isn't one for a few days. For those of you on Facebook, I'm sure I'll make a few quick posts on there during the travel days. Otherwise, there might not be a blog until I'm settled in Boston. With so much fun and festivities, I don't know how much energy or time I'll have for writing. I know some of you read every day, and I really LOVE that, so I hate to disappoint you. Still you know that sooner or later there will be LOTS of wedding news and pictures on here. Just be patient, please!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Stormy Day
Hurricane Irene has hit NC at this point and is moving up the east coast, hitting every major city along the way. I pray that all my family and friends along the way stay safe and sound and that their property survives intact. Florida was spared the hurricane, but the forecast today didn't turn out right. This morning they said we might hit 97 degrees, tying the record for heat on this date, and that the winds from the hurricane would bring dry air, no chance of rain. As I'm typing this, the skies are dark; the rain is pouring; the thunder and lightening are raging. Hm...something wrong here. Even so, the winds are only in the 20s, not hurricane strength for sure.
The morning was beautiful. We had no trouble going to shul, and our new rabbi was leading services. He started a few weeks ago while we were traveling. It was a very nice service. Mark and I both enjoy the new rabbi and his wife. She is also a rabbi! She is pregnant with their second child and scheduled to deliver by C-section on September 27. Their two year old daughter is delightful!
Mark read haftarah today for the first time at this new shul. Everyone was impressed with how well he did and how beautifully he sounded. I knew they would be! In our old shul, Mark used to give a little talk about the portion and tie it into the Torah portion. No one at this shul ever did that, so Mark didn't plan to do it either. Just as well! The rabbi did it! That was nice.
My makeover went very well yesterday. It took three hours, but I'm pleased with the results. It costs a fortune, too, so I really cannot do this all the time! It was worth it for the wedding, though.
I have tried to be strict with my food again. I am down one more pound today, 248.3, so I'm on the right track. I am sure I can be 245 by the wedding and anything lower than that might make the dress baggy, so I'll be happy with that. I know it fits at 246 easily, so I'm OK as long as I don't get into a binge between now and then. There's plenty of opportunity for overeating on the train and in Boston before the wedding, so I really do have to watch myself up until the wedding is over.
We have also cancelled our plans to add a trip to Bangor, Maine after the wedding. Mark got our Visa bill yesterday, which included the NC trip, a lot of the California trip, a final payment on October's cruise, and the usual food and gas. He was horrified by the total!! So...no reason to extend this next trip. The main reason we were going to Bangor was to eat at a Howard Johnson's restaurant. There are only three in existence now, and Mark and I both have fond memories from our childhood of stopping at a Howard Johnson's on summer road trips. Bangor is four hours from Boston, so we thought it might be fun. Not so fun if you can't pay the bill! Maybe some other time.
Meanwhile, I'm getting very excited about the wedding. I have most of the things for the wedding all stacked together waiting to be loaded into the car. My MOB dress, Mark's suit, and Evey's beautiful wedding gown are all hanging together in the den. I hope everything fits ok into the car, and the dresses don't wrinkle. It's going to be a wonderful wedding! I know I'll probably cry at some point during it. Sigh...that's what mothers do.
PS Here are a few pictures from Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. The next set of pictures will be from Boston!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Four Down
I was a very good girl yesterday. Here is what I ate:
Breakfast: 4 Morningstar Sausage Links (160 calories)
Lunch: Subway Double Meat Turkey Salad, no dressing (190)
Dried Apple package (45)
Dinner: Large glass of white zinfandel (150)
Pan fried grouper, 2 small filets (est. 400)
Salad with croutons, no dressing (150)
7 steamed asparagus stalks, no butter (50)
Snack: 1 banana (130)
2 sugar free Jellos (20)
Total: 1295 calories. NOT BAD!!
I didn't do any exercise at all because we had so many errands to do. I drank several glasses of water, some mixed with diet cranberry juice. I was pretty sure that one solidly good day would help me drop a few of the "new" pounds, which are mostly water anyway. I was right. I was down four pounds this morning from yesterday. Yesterday, 253.6; Today, 249.6.
That means I'm still up 3.3 pounds from August 5 when we took off for NC and the beginning of our several weeks away from home. I wrote down my weight that morning and it was 246.3. I think I can get those three, which is more than just water weight, in one good week. I KNOW that my MOB dress will fit at that weight because I had tried it on at that weight! I don't want to be either up or down from around 246 for the wedding because that is the weight that will make the dress fit perfectly. I picked up the dress yesterday, and it looks beautiful. It is currently hanging next to Evey's wedding dress!
There are only TEN days left until the wedding. It's getting very exciting.
Today I am having a long and expensive make over: a pedicure, a full manicure, a complete waxing of every inch of my face (LOL), a hair cut, and a hair coloring again. This is everything I did just before the wedding showers except that I'm having a full manicure instead of just a polish change. Wow! It's going to take four hours, from 10:30 to 2:30, but I should be all ready for the wedding when I'm done.
Mark is also getting his hair and beard trimmed today in preparation for the wedding, and he has to pick up his suit and shirt for the wedding from the cleaners. I guess we can hang it up next to the two dresses! It's getting so exciting!!
We have booked the auto train for Monday. It leaves at 4 p.m. and arrives in Lorton, VA on Tuesday morning. We will be driving to Paramus, NJ that day and on into Boston on Wednesday. We are just hoping that there is no serious hurricane damage in any of the east coast cities, but especially Boston! Hurricane Irene sounds terrible, and I hope everyone on the east coast in the mid-Atlantic and NE areas is safe this weekend.
Breakfast: 4 Morningstar Sausage Links (160 calories)
Lunch: Subway Double Meat Turkey Salad, no dressing (190)
Dried Apple package (45)
Dinner: Large glass of white zinfandel (150)
Pan fried grouper, 2 small filets (est. 400)
Salad with croutons, no dressing (150)
7 steamed asparagus stalks, no butter (50)
Snack: 1 banana (130)
2 sugar free Jellos (20)
Total: 1295 calories. NOT BAD!!
I didn't do any exercise at all because we had so many errands to do. I drank several glasses of water, some mixed with diet cranberry juice. I was pretty sure that one solidly good day would help me drop a few of the "new" pounds, which are mostly water anyway. I was right. I was down four pounds this morning from yesterday. Yesterday, 253.6; Today, 249.6.
That means I'm still up 3.3 pounds from August 5 when we took off for NC and the beginning of our several weeks away from home. I wrote down my weight that morning and it was 246.3. I think I can get those three, which is more than just water weight, in one good week. I KNOW that my MOB dress will fit at that weight because I had tried it on at that weight! I don't want to be either up or down from around 246 for the wedding because that is the weight that will make the dress fit perfectly. I picked up the dress yesterday, and it looks beautiful. It is currently hanging next to Evey's wedding dress!
There are only TEN days left until the wedding. It's getting very exciting.
Today I am having a long and expensive make over: a pedicure, a full manicure, a complete waxing of every inch of my face (LOL), a hair cut, and a hair coloring again. This is everything I did just before the wedding showers except that I'm having a full manicure instead of just a polish change. Wow! It's going to take four hours, from 10:30 to 2:30, but I should be all ready for the wedding when I'm done.
Mark is also getting his hair and beard trimmed today in preparation for the wedding, and he has to pick up his suit and shirt for the wedding from the cleaners. I guess we can hang it up next to the two dresses! It's getting so exciting!!
We have booked the auto train for Monday. It leaves at 4 p.m. and arrives in Lorton, VA on Tuesday morning. We will be driving to Paramus, NJ that day and on into Boston on Wednesday. We are just hoping that there is no serious hurricane damage in any of the east coast cities, but especially Boston! Hurricane Irene sounds terrible, and I hope everyone on the east coast in the mid-Atlantic and NE areas is safe this weekend.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Horrified!
As promised, I got on the scale this morning and was horrified! I was 253.6. Essentially, that's the high of 254 that I saw on the scale a few days ago in the hotel. So...strict dieting between now and the wedding MUST happen! Also more walking or exercise of some kind will have to be done.
I'm picking up the dress today, but I will not put it on again until the wedding. When I get it later today, it will be all cleaned, pressed, and in a bag. I'm not going to risk getting it wrinkled at this point. I am EIGHT pounds higher than the last time I put it on, so those pounds MUST GO NOW!!
I'm picking up the dress today, but I will not put it on again until the wedding. When I get it later today, it will be all cleaned, pressed, and in a bag. I'm not going to risk getting it wrinkled at this point. I am EIGHT pounds higher than the last time I put it on, so those pounds MUST GO NOW!!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Back Home
We had two fabulous days, one in Disneyland and one in Disney California Adventure. Unfortunately, my camera broke shortly after we got to Disneyland. We took a few pictures on our cell phones, but not as many as I would have with the camera. Now I have to go get a new camera before the wedding!
Traveling home today was exhausting. We slept about three hours in the hotel, but we had to get up at 2:30 a.m. because the airport shuttle was coming for us at 3:30 a.m. I dozed off in the shuttle and then slept soundly on the two hour flight to Denver. I stayed more awake on the flight from Denver to Orlando. It felt good to get home, but I was so exhausted that just going through the mail wore me out.
I had bandaged my arm in California before trying to sleep for three hours, then I took it off at home. My measurements stayed the same before and after the flight. I guess that's good. I've been measuring once a day or every other day. The size seems to be a bit bigger than my smallest, but it's not getting bigger. It's also very close to the other arm. I'm just not worrying too much about this lymphedema thing now. I probably should do the machine for the few nights that we are home before going to the wedding. I'll see. I sure haven't missed it.
It was also weigh in day yesterday. I took the scale with me and weighed in periodically in the various hotels. I hit a high of 254 at one point. I didn't weigh myself this morning, but I'll check tomorrow morning and report back. It's not good, I know. No matter how much walking we did for five days in Anaheim, I always ate more than enough to compensate for it.
Traveling home today was exhausting. We slept about three hours in the hotel, but we had to get up at 2:30 a.m. because the airport shuttle was coming for us at 3:30 a.m. I dozed off in the shuttle and then slept soundly on the two hour flight to Denver. I stayed more awake on the flight from Denver to Orlando. It felt good to get home, but I was so exhausted that just going through the mail wore me out.
I had bandaged my arm in California before trying to sleep for three hours, then I took it off at home. My measurements stayed the same before and after the flight. I guess that's good. I've been measuring once a day or every other day. The size seems to be a bit bigger than my smallest, but it's not getting bigger. It's also very close to the other arm. I'm just not worrying too much about this lymphedema thing now. I probably should do the machine for the few nights that we are home before going to the wedding. I'll see. I sure haven't missed it.
It was also weigh in day yesterday. I took the scale with me and weighed in periodically in the various hotels. I hit a high of 254 at one point. I didn't weigh myself this morning, but I'll check tomorrow morning and report back. It's not good, I know. No matter how much walking we did for five days in Anaheim, I always ate more than enough to compensate for it.
Monday, August 22, 2011
D23 is over.
Days Two and Three at the Expo have come and gone. They were also exhausting, full of frustrations at being shut out of sessions, and full of some great sessions we did see.
These pictures are from today. Mark and I each completed a volunteer project and got a tote bag for our efforts. Mark wrote a postcard to a military service man or woman. I colored a picture that will be laminated and used as a placemat for Meals on Wheels. We went to the Marvel presentation, where Mark was very happy! We also saw fabulous things in the Treasures exhibit including Annette's Talent Round Up Day Outfit and Guy Williams' Zorro costume.
All in all, I guess we will do this again in two years.
Tomorrow we are going to Disneyland, and then on Tuesday we will be in Disney's California Adventure. Those days will be no less exhausting, I'm sure!
Tomorrow is also special because it's the first day back to school for the teachers in Baltimore County. When I retired at the end of February of 2010, I thought I would really savor that first day when the teachers went back to school and I didn't. I thought I might go to the pool during the day and just soak up sun, swim, read, and think about how glorious it was not to be at work. That didn't happen. I didn't even notice the day. I was so consumed with moving to Florida and making decisions about cancer treatments that the day came and went without a single thought from me. Some time around the end of September it hit me that I was at Cindy's house, recovering from surgery, and not working. The start of the school year had not been on my radar screen at all.
Well, that's not going to happen this year! I'm thinking a lot about it right now. Tomorrow my friends and colleagues at all the schools in Baltimore County, but especially my last two schools of Pikesville Middle and Catonsville High, are all gearing up for another year. They will go to school, greet each other, catch up on their summers, comment on new hair dos or tans, meet the new teachers, sit in meetings, and figure out their schedules and duties for the new year. There was always a certain amount of fun and anticipation in doing that. It was fun to see colleagues after two months away. It was fun to see changes in the building that might have taken place over the summer. It was exciting to think about the new crop of kids that would be coming to your classroom and what might get accomplished that year. It was also exciting to think about getting a paycheck again after a long dry spell! On the other hand, there was a twinge of sadness in giving up the freedom that comes in the summer: the freedom to sleep in, shop in the middle of a weekday, go to the pool or a movie in the afternoon, and generally just plan your life the way you want it without a minute to minute schedule or any papers to grade at night!
To all of my teacher friends, I wish you a wonderful new school year. I hope you have a great time and feel that you are accomplishing something meaningful. Even on days when you are frustrated and sure that what you are doing is unappreciated, keep at it. You are appreciated and your work is very important.
As for me, tomorrow I will be in Disneyland!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
D23 Expo was HARD.
I did not anticipate hours and hours of standing in line yesterday, but that's what we faced. 80 minutes just to get into the convention center and another 60 to get into the Disney Legends Induction. Even though that arena could hold 9,000, people were turned away. There are tens of thousands attending.
We made it to the Legends and saw five women who voiced princesses be inducted: Linda Larkin, the speaking voice of Jasmine; Lea Salonga, the singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan; Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana; Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle, and Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel (also Barbie in Toy Story and Lady in Lady and the Tramp). One of the chairman of the Disney board was inducted along with the Jack and Bonita Wrather (posthumously), the builders/operators of the Disneyland Hotel. Guy Williams was inducted posthumously for Zorro. Then Regis Philbin was there! We enjoyed that a lot. Finally, Jim Henson was inducted posthumously. His children accepted for him and a great performance of his art concluded the show. Kermit and Rolf were there to sing "Rainbow Connection." That show was worth the wait.
Later in the day we had a chance to stroll through some of the exhibits, see the USPS launch a new set of Pixar stamps (head of Pixar, John Lasseter was there for that), and visit an exhibit on the upcoming new attractions. The day ended with the performance of Dick van Dyke and the Vantastix singing an eclectic mix of Disney and non-Disney songs in their own special a cappella style. We had to stand in line THREE hours for that one! Only about 750 people could fit in the room. Crazy.
I barely was able to stand and walk back to the hotel.
The good news is that cameras and cell phones WERE allowed everywhere yesterday. I took a lot of pictures of all the celebrities.
Today's first session is on the Walt Disney Studios. This is another biggie where new movie and TV projects will be announced and stars of shows will be there. THIS is the session that does not allow cameras or cell phones. Mark and I plan to leave everything in the hotel for the morning since we are walking back here for lunch anyway. Tonight they are screening a new 3D version of the classic Lion King animated feature. We anticipate standing in hours of lines to attend these two events, but in between we should be able to look around at some more of the convention vendor displays.
Friday, August 19, 2011
D23
We spent some glorious days with Evey and had some great times in Jack London Square in Oakland and the Pinball Museum in Alameda. The bus/train ride from San Jose to Anaheim was long but beautiful. Here are a few pictures from all of that.
Now we are in Anaheim with a hotel with good internet. Thankfully! I've missed blogging.
Today's blog will have to be short because we are preparing to head out to breakfast (no free one here in this hotel) and then to the Anaheim Convention Center for the first of three days at the D23 Convention. D23 is an exclusive (meaning expensive) Disney fan club. Mark and Evey are both members. Anyone can attend this particular convention, however, unlike the Expo we attended in Orlando in the spring. Members can bring several guests to both the Expo and the Convention at reduced rates. At this convention, anyone from the general public can also attend, but they pay more.
It's going to be a good day for exercise and low calorie eating today. I have to hike a long block to Subway for breakfast each day. It's two long blocks from there to the convention center, and we've been warned that there is a lot of walking and standing in line at this convention. They also do not allow any electronic devices, like cell phones and video cameras, into certain sessions. They check them in and out. That creates even more lines to stand in. I know they don't want any unauthorized videos suddenly showing up on Youtube. There will be many big stars and big news announcements taking place over these three days.
One of the most exciting things will be seeing Dick Van Dyke perform a musical show with two friends one evening. That should be awesome! Last year Johnny Depp was here to promote the Pirates movie and Betty White was inducted as a Disney Legend. This year Guy Williams (Zorro) is being inducted posthumously, and his son will accept it for him. Also REGIS PHILBIN!! Mark and I LOVE him!! We watch his show almost every morning. We are hoping he really comes to accept and does not send a stand in. Also many of the voices of the princesses are being inducted are coming: Jody Benson (voice of Ariel), Paige O'Hara (voice of Belle from Beauty and the Beast), and several others.
Even though I mostly sat on a bus and two trains all day yesterday, I guess I didn't eat that much. I was 248.5 this morning. Not great, but a heck of a lot better than the 252.6 I saw on the scale last week. It's only two and a half weeks to the wedding and wearing that green, silk dress. I cannot be over 250 for that!!
Also you may have noticed that a comment was removed from the previous post. I have no idea who that person was, but his comment was asking for help for some child in Haiti, although there was no specific info on what kind of help or why the child needed help. Just one weird sentence from someone I never heard of, so I deleted it. I hope I don't get a lot of those things now.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
So much to write about, so little time
We have had a wonderful visit out here in California, but the internet has made it frustrating. I am currently at Evey's apartment, using her internet.
Mark and I spent a fabulous day in Old Sacramento as well as an excellent day in Monterey. We've had fun with Evey for two straight days also. Yesterday we took her to the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco as well as out to an excellent Mexican restaurant for dinner. Today she was unexpectedly off work, so we hung out with her in her apartment all day. We did some laundry, some grocery shopping, had a Subway lunch, swam in her pool, played some video games, and mailed some packages at the local post office. It's been fabulous just having time with her. It's so hard to believe that in less than three weeks, the long-anticipated wedding will be over! She showed us all the fun shore excursions they are going to do on their honeymoon cruise to Spain, France, and Italy. It sure looks like a trip of a lifetime.
I've included a few photos of our trip to Monterey with my friends Kelly and Laverne, as well as some of Old Sacramento, which was amazing. Mark and I are going to go back next Labor Day Weekend for the Gold Rush Days. That way we can tack it on to another visit to Evey and Eric! If we time it right, we might be here on their first wedding anniversary.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wine, vodey-odey...
Mark and I have spent most of the last two days just relaxing by the pool and dipping in the "warm" pool. Whoee! I was in heaven. This place has a pool that is kept at body temperature next to the hot tub. I figured I could use that! I'm not allowed in the hot tubs because I'm not supposed to raise my body temperature up, but if the warm pool is kept at 98, how could that raise me up? It was heaven to swim until I got chilled and then sit in the warm pool. Very nice. We have really enjoyed the 90-something degree temperatures with NO humidity and a light breeze. It's amazing weather here.
I also did get a bit of a suntan. I know I'm not supposed to, but it was hard to avoid. LOL
On Tuesday I did take a nice long walk, but yesterday I just swam. Even though I ate a Denny's dinner that wasn't too bad last night, I ate too much breakfast and fries at lunch both Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm up another .6 today to 252.2. I was actually surprised because I had gone down to 249 yesterday morning from Tuesday's 251.6. I expected to be the same this morning.
I guess it was the cheese and crackers at the California Wine Tasting we attended. I ate way too much cheese and crackers compared to the small amount of wine I drank. I don't really like wine to begin with and I usually don't do wine tastings because they are wasted on me. This one seemed like fun since it was a "Tour of California." They had six wines, two reds and four whites, from various California wineries. Mark actually tried four of the six. I had three glasses, two were the same one, an orange muscat that was supposed to be sweet but wasn't anywhere near as sweet as I would have liked. I also tried one of the two chardonnays, which I liked better than the muscat. Mark had the muscat, the chardonnay, a cabernet, and something called old vine. He didn't like any of them. I didn't mind the chardonnay, but I wouldn't go order it or buy a bottle. The cheese and crackers were better than the wine!
Well, this morning we are checking out of the Red Lion Inn here in Rancho Cordova and tonight we'll be at the EconoLodge in Santa Clara, just a few minutes from Evey's apartment. During the day we will tour Old Sacramento and possibly take a river cruise. Hopefully, I'll have time tomorrow to post some pictures and talk about Old Sac, as the locals call it.
I also did get a bit of a suntan. I know I'm not supposed to, but it was hard to avoid. LOL
On Tuesday I did take a nice long walk, but yesterday I just swam. Even though I ate a Denny's dinner that wasn't too bad last night, I ate too much breakfast and fries at lunch both Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm up another .6 today to 252.2. I was actually surprised because I had gone down to 249 yesterday morning from Tuesday's 251.6. I expected to be the same this morning.
I guess it was the cheese and crackers at the California Wine Tasting we attended. I ate way too much cheese and crackers compared to the small amount of wine I drank. I don't really like wine to begin with and I usually don't do wine tastings because they are wasted on me. This one seemed like fun since it was a "Tour of California." They had six wines, two reds and four whites, from various California wineries. Mark actually tried four of the six. I had three glasses, two were the same one, an orange muscat that was supposed to be sweet but wasn't anywhere near as sweet as I would have liked. I also tried one of the two chardonnays, which I liked better than the muscat. Mark had the muscat, the chardonnay, a cabernet, and something called old vine. He didn't like any of them. I didn't mind the chardonnay, but I wouldn't go order it or buy a bottle. The cheese and crackers were better than the wine!
Well, this morning we are checking out of the Red Lion Inn here in Rancho Cordova and tonight we'll be at the EconoLodge in Santa Clara, just a few minutes from Evey's apartment. During the day we will tour Old Sacramento and possibly take a river cruise. Hopefully, I'll have time tomorrow to post some pictures and talk about Old Sac, as the locals call it.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Naughty weight and Fast Days
Yes, I packed my scale! I'm up four and a half pounds since last Tuesday. Today I am 251.6, last week 247.1 I know it's because there was travel to NC and CA and lots of out of control restaurant eating and snacking. I know what I'm doing wrong, but I don't seem to be able to stop myself.
There are many reasons to regain control, but there are two top priorities. First, there is the WEDDING! If I don't maintain around 247, I will not fit into the dress. These pounds MUST go in less than a month. Second, there is the lymphedema. If I gain much weight, it just gets worse. My therapist showed me the charts and graphs to prove how that works. I get it, but I keep eating. I am a sick puppy.
Today is a Jewish Fast Day, Tisha B'Av. In the past, Mark has always observed this fast completely, even on days that he had to go to work. It's like the Yom Kippur fast, no food or water for over 24 hours. I never had to go to work on this day, but it sometimes was my birthday. I have not had a long tradition of observing this fast. Mark is now on so much medication for his diabetes and his heart that I do not think he should fast anymore. He is almost agreeing, but he keeps waffling a bit. I think the last word last night was that he would skip some meds, not eat, but drink water. If for no other reason, I should fast today with him for the weight loss!
Today we are not busting ourselves running around. We are going to the pool for a long, slow day of relaxing. This makes fasting a little easier, but it also makes drinking a lot of water absolutely essential. I hope Mark does, indeed, drink water. He never drinks much of anything except coffee, whiskey, and wine, but maybe today he'll try to get more water down, especially if there isn't anything else coming.
My big plan for today is to finish the Macguire book, Mirror, Mirror. It is really great, a fast read. I hope to do some actual swimming for exercise as well. Maybe when I get on the scale tomorrow, it will be back in the 240s.
PS Well, I "fasted" from 5:40 a.m. until about 8:30 a.m. Does that count? Then I went down to the Red Lion Inn's "Roaring Start" breakfast buffet where I had scrambled eggs, herbed breakfast potatoes, a light blueberry yogurt, and a bowl of fresh melon. I took a banana back to the room for tonight. I know this is too many calories for weight loss, but hopefully, it's not too many so there is no weight gain. There will be a walk and a swim later today, too. Mark sat and watched. So far he has had nothing, not even water or pills. How does he do it?
There are many reasons to regain control, but there are two top priorities. First, there is the WEDDING! If I don't maintain around 247, I will not fit into the dress. These pounds MUST go in less than a month. Second, there is the lymphedema. If I gain much weight, it just gets worse. My therapist showed me the charts and graphs to prove how that works. I get it, but I keep eating. I am a sick puppy.
Today is a Jewish Fast Day, Tisha B'Av. In the past, Mark has always observed this fast completely, even on days that he had to go to work. It's like the Yom Kippur fast, no food or water for over 24 hours. I never had to go to work on this day, but it sometimes was my birthday. I have not had a long tradition of observing this fast. Mark is now on so much medication for his diabetes and his heart that I do not think he should fast anymore. He is almost agreeing, but he keeps waffling a bit. I think the last word last night was that he would skip some meds, not eat, but drink water. If for no other reason, I should fast today with him for the weight loss!
Today we are not busting ourselves running around. We are going to the pool for a long, slow day of relaxing. This makes fasting a little easier, but it also makes drinking a lot of water absolutely essential. I hope Mark does, indeed, drink water. He never drinks much of anything except coffee, whiskey, and wine, but maybe today he'll try to get more water down, especially if there isn't anything else coming.
My big plan for today is to finish the Macguire book, Mirror, Mirror. It is really great, a fast read. I hope to do some actual swimming for exercise as well. Maybe when I get on the scale tomorrow, it will be back in the 240s.
PS Well, I "fasted" from 5:40 a.m. until about 8:30 a.m. Does that count? Then I went down to the Red Lion Inn's "Roaring Start" breakfast buffet where I had scrambled eggs, herbed breakfast potatoes, a light blueberry yogurt, and a bowl of fresh melon. I took a banana back to the room for tonight. I know this is too many calories for weight loss, but hopefully, it's not too many so there is no weight gain. There will be a walk and a swim later today, too. Mark sat and watched. So far he has had nothing, not even water or pills. How does he do it?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Can we all say EXHAUSTED!!
I would not recommend this schedule to anyone. We got up at 6 a.m. on Sunday in Charlotte, NC, had breakfast and schmoozed with the family, got on the road to Florida by 9 a.m., arrived home at 9 p.m. Sunday, unpacked, washed clothes, showered and bandaged my arm, repacked, tidied things up, and finally went to bed at midnight. At 2:30 a.m. we got up, dressed, and waited for the car service to come and take us to the airport. When we arrived at the airport at 3:50 a.m., we discovered the Delta desk doesn't open until 4 a.m. Yawn!
The plane left at 5:30 a.m. for Atlanta. We both slept soundly for that hour and ten minutes. In Atlanta we got an egg and cheese bagel at Au Bon Pain and a large cup of coffee. That kept me wide awake for the entire five hour flight to Sacramento. Mark slept soundly most of the way!
We landed in Sacramento at 10:30 a.m. local time and rented a Toyota Corolla. We drove to the hotel and got checked in. We are staying in a Red Lion Inn, which we have never used before. It seems fine. We found a Subway for lunch and then headed to Sutter's Fort for some local history. At 4 p.m. our parking meter was up, and we were hot and dry. We found a McD's for some liquid refreshment and then headed back to the motel. I'm uploading today's photos so I don't fall asleep before we have a chance to go to the local Denny's for dinner.
What a day!!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Birthday Bash
Yesterday, August 6, was my birthday. I turned 61. Last year on my sixtieth, I bought our new house. It's been an incredible year. During the day, I received several email greetings and nearly 60 Facebook greetings for my birthday. I love Facebook! It was amazing to get greetings from so many friends. Mark gave me a beautiful card in the morning and a Mickey Mouse head shaped salt grinder that matched the pepper mill we already had at home. Now I have the complete set, so I'm happy! Evey sent me a FB greeting, and Lowell called me on the phone. I was very, very happy.
This year I spent my birthday at Temple Beth-El in Charlotte, NC at a big family simcha. Mark's first cousin Lisa and her husband Allen have two children close in age, Steven and Ariel. They had a b'nei mitzvah yesterday, followed by a wonderful reception. I joked with her that it was wonderful of them to throw me such a great birthday bash.
The kids did a great job leading services. Mark was asked to lift, then I tied the Torah. We felt very honored. Most of Mark's family attended, so we had a wonderful time hanging out all day with his family. We were all staying at the same hotel, so sandwich platters, salads, and cookie trays were ordered around 7 p.m. so we could all have dinner together. The Residence Inn in Charlotte was very accommodating and let us have the breakfast area for our "dinner party."
This morning we will have breakfast in the hotel early. We might even run into the family members again since a lot of us are driving out at similar times. Mark and I want to get on the road by 8 a.m. since it's an 11 hour drive. When we get home, we have to unpack, run the washer, repack, try to catch a few hours of sleep, and be ready for the car service that is picking us up at 3 a.m. to take us to the airport. We are catching a 5:30 a.m. flight to Sacramento for our two and a half week vacation on the west coast.
I'm taking my laptop on the California trip, so there will be blogs and pictures periodically. I can't promise it every day, but I can't stay away from the blog for too long. I get crazy.
Picture captions from top to bottom:
1. Allan Silverstein and Mark Silverstein chilling out by the hotel pool in the evening. Allan and Mark's dads were brothers (Leonard and Sheldon).
2. Mark, Aunt Flor (Allan's mom), and Valli (Allan's wife).
3. The candlelighting ceremony: Steven and Ariel with their parents, Allen and Lisa (Mark's cousin).
4. Valli, Nancy (Allan's sister), and Mindy (Robert's wife, Robert is also Mark's cousin, the b'nei mitzvah mom's brother).
5. Mark with his Uncle Pinky, grandfather to the b'nei mitzvah kids.
6. Me and Mark dancing at the reception.
7. Me and Mark at the table.
8. Mark with his Aunt Esther (Pinky's wife, grandmother to cousin Lisa). Esther was Mark's father's sister. She looks so great in this picture. I told her she looks younger than me!
9. Mark and me with his cousin Lisa, the mom of Ariel and Steven.
10. The "boys": Allan Silverstein, Mark Silverstein, and Robert Spergel. They are three sons of three siblings: Flor and Sheldon Silverstein, Bernice and Leonard Silverstein, and Esther Silverstein Spergel and Pinky Spergel.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Off we go
We had a great time at the NARFE luncheon yesterday. They didn't have an appropriate food choice for the lunch, but the Outback staff were very nice and let us have salmon. Wow. The speaker was from a guide dog school. They brought a Golden Retriever and an Australian Shepherd, two working dogs, who were adorable. The school has "puppy play time" several days a week from 9-11 a.m. because they want the puppies to be handled and socialized. That's the same as the Iditarod dogs in Alaska. It's only a two hour drive or so! Why not go some morning?
The landscaping lady came by, unannounced again, to show us the proposal for removing a lot of plants in the front and moving two trees, one in front and one in back, to new, more appropriate locations. Considering how much hard labor is involved in this, we were pleasantly surprised that the price tag was only $1048. Mark and I thought it would be two or three times that much. Part of the reason it's low is that she is going to hold off planting the new shrubs for a few weeks until she can work that into an ordinary work order to "fill bare spots," which will make it covered by the HOA fees. Nice. This lady is amazing! It will be all done by the time we get back from the wedding.
Now we are hurrying around this morning to get out of here by 7 a.m. It's nearly a 600 mile drive to the hotel in NC tonight. We are going to the b'nei mitzvah of Mark's cousin's daughter and son tomorrow. It will be fun to see so many of Mark's family members. We haven't seen some of them in a long time. Some we saw at the wedding shower, so that was nice. Unfortunately, none of them are coming to the wedding. I think it's because Boston is so far for them and because they are coming to this simcha tomorrow.
At least the tropical storm is fizzling out. We don't anticipate it being any problem for us at all.
I left my arm in the bandages for 36 hours. After taking them off this morning and measuring again, I brought the size of my arm back down again by about 2 cm. I'm back to where I was last Friday when I took them off. Wrapping works.
I'm taking my laptop on all of the trips, so I hope to write some blogs and post some pictures from our trips as we go along.
One last word: prayers and good wishes to two friends who are having surgery today. A high school girl friend, who I do not think even knows about this blog, is having breast cancer surgery today, a lumpectomy. She was told her cancer has not spread but there are multiple calcifications that will be removed. I'm praying for her today. Also my friend Robin's son is having some surgery today. He is also in our prayers.
The landscaping lady came by, unannounced again, to show us the proposal for removing a lot of plants in the front and moving two trees, one in front and one in back, to new, more appropriate locations. Considering how much hard labor is involved in this, we were pleasantly surprised that the price tag was only $1048. Mark and I thought it would be two or three times that much. Part of the reason it's low is that she is going to hold off planting the new shrubs for a few weeks until she can work that into an ordinary work order to "fill bare spots," which will make it covered by the HOA fees. Nice. This lady is amazing! It will be all done by the time we get back from the wedding.
Now we are hurrying around this morning to get out of here by 7 a.m. It's nearly a 600 mile drive to the hotel in NC tonight. We are going to the b'nei mitzvah of Mark's cousin's daughter and son tomorrow. It will be fun to see so many of Mark's family members. We haven't seen some of them in a long time. Some we saw at the wedding shower, so that was nice. Unfortunately, none of them are coming to the wedding. I think it's because Boston is so far for them and because they are coming to this simcha tomorrow.
At least the tropical storm is fizzling out. We don't anticipate it being any problem for us at all.
I left my arm in the bandages for 36 hours. After taking them off this morning and measuring again, I brought the size of my arm back down again by about 2 cm. I'm back to where I was last Friday when I took them off. Wrapping works.
I'm taking my laptop on all of the trips, so I hope to write some blogs and post some pictures from our trips as we go along.
One last word: prayers and good wishes to two friends who are having surgery today. A high school girl friend, who I do not think even knows about this blog, is having breast cancer surgery today, a lumpectomy. She was told her cancer has not spread but there are multiple calcifications that will be removed. I'm praying for her today. Also my friend Robin's son is having some surgery today. He is also in our prayers.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
So early
I set the alarm for 5:40 a.m. because I need to leave at 7:30 to head to the bridal salon in Celebration for the penultimate time. At least, I hope it is. I have been there to do the "dress thing" five times already with two more to go. Today I will try it on again to be sure the idea of stitching the bra straps to the dress straps will solve the issue of the straps being too big and gaping open when I sit down. Hopefully it works and there will be no more tweaking needed because I'm running out of time. I am scheduled to go back for the last time on August 25 to pick it up, pressed and cleaned, bagged and ready to drive to Boston for the wedding.
I have to rush right back for an appointment in our house with a new house sitter. We expect that to go smoothly and not take too long. I have a mani/pedi at noon. Then Mark and I are going to use a Denny's special Florida coupon to have lunch. They have Georgia peach French toast which I have been wanting to try. After lunch, we have to drive up into Kissimmee to get Mark's weekly comic book order and to gas up my car for the trip on Friday. If I still have any energy, I will try to go to some stores like Penney's and Macy's to look for a headband or some kind of headpiece for the dress. Evey has suggested it might look good with the dress at the wedding because I don't have earrings. She is probably right, but I don't have much time left to do much looking around.
After dinner, we plan to pack our bags for the upcoming trips. Since our turn-around time Sunday night between the NC trip and the CA trip is very short (and we'd rather spend it sleeping than packing), we are going to pack the bigger suitcase for CA tonight. That way it is just sitting in the house waiting for us to put it in the car. All we need for NC is a small suitcase for a quick three day, two night trip. That will be easy to wash and repack when we get back.
I also plan to wrap my arm in the big bandages tonight. I have been noticing a little bit of stiffness and outright twinges of pain in my arm, so I measured it yesterday. Oh, yeah, it's swelling up again. Darn it! It's already bigger than when I took the wraps off last Thursday afternoon. In fact, some spots are bigger than when I put it ON. Hm...frustrating to think that the machine, the manual lymphatic drainage, and wearing the compression sleeve all day can not keep it down enough so that bandaging isn't necessary twice a week. I really thought I'd get away with wrapping only occasionally, no more than once a month. Apparently, I was wrong. I'm wrapping tonight and then again Sunday night for the flight to CA. Well, as long as it keeps working to keep my arm more or less a normal size then I guess it's all worth it.
It's going to be a long day, so I have to run to the shower right now and get it started.
I have to rush right back for an appointment in our house with a new house sitter. We expect that to go smoothly and not take too long. I have a mani/pedi at noon. Then Mark and I are going to use a Denny's special Florida coupon to have lunch. They have Georgia peach French toast which I have been wanting to try. After lunch, we have to drive up into Kissimmee to get Mark's weekly comic book order and to gas up my car for the trip on Friday. If I still have any energy, I will try to go to some stores like Penney's and Macy's to look for a headband or some kind of headpiece for the dress. Evey has suggested it might look good with the dress at the wedding because I don't have earrings. She is probably right, but I don't have much time left to do much looking around.
After dinner, we plan to pack our bags for the upcoming trips. Since our turn-around time Sunday night between the NC trip and the CA trip is very short (and we'd rather spend it sleeping than packing), we are going to pack the bigger suitcase for CA tonight. That way it is just sitting in the house waiting for us to put it in the car. All we need for NC is a small suitcase for a quick three day, two night trip. That will be easy to wash and repack when we get back.
I also plan to wrap my arm in the big bandages tonight. I have been noticing a little bit of stiffness and outright twinges of pain in my arm, so I measured it yesterday. Oh, yeah, it's swelling up again. Darn it! It's already bigger than when I took the wraps off last Thursday afternoon. In fact, some spots are bigger than when I put it ON. Hm...frustrating to think that the machine, the manual lymphatic drainage, and wearing the compression sleeve all day can not keep it down enough so that bandaging isn't necessary twice a week. I really thought I'd get away with wrapping only occasionally, no more than once a month. Apparently, I was wrong. I'm wrapping tonight and then again Sunday night for the flight to CA. Well, as long as it keeps working to keep my arm more or less a normal size then I guess it's all worth it.
It's going to be a long day, so I have to run to the shower right now and get it started.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tuesday Weigh-In
Last week I said I was 247.4 and hoping to knock some off for the week. Well, I didn't gain, but I didn't really knock any off either. This morning I was 247.1 That's staying the same because the scale has a +/- accuracy of .2 pounds. Saturday morning, after eating a delicious rib eye steak for Friday night dinner, I weighed 250.6, so I was stunned. I dropped it right away by Monday morning, so I guess I'm happy that the week has stayed the same.
I had my next fitting for the MOB dress. It's really nice. It fit very, very well, especially the jacket. The last time I saw the dress it was HUGE, so she really brought it in nicely. The only problem now is the straps on the dress for when I want to take the jacket off. It's good when I'm standing up, but when I sit down they gap open big and and show the bra straps. Now Miss Kim is going to stitch the straps to the bra so they won't show. She has already added some green fabric to the bra on the sides, now she's going to make the bra a part of the dress. When the event is over, I guess I'll be able to remove it. I'm not sure I will ever be wearing this dress again anyway.
I don't want to post any pictures of it on Facebook or the blog because I want it to be a surprise at the wedding for most people. There will be plenty of pictures later for sure.
After the dress fitting, I played Mah Jongg with my neighbors. I won two games and had a great time. I won't be playing with them again until September 26 after all our travels. I do have a chance to play on September 10 with my friends from Mishkan Torah. I'm really looking forward to that day!
Today should be very interesting. I have an "audition" at 11 a.m. with the Solivita choir director. She directs two groups here: Guys and Dolls and The Starliters. They do one show per year each. We saw the spring show, and it was great. I won't be here for the official audition date in August, so I called her and talked about arranging something before I left. That's today! I've heard I just have to sing "Happy Birthday," but since I sent her my "resume" in an email, I might not even have to do that. She just wants to meet me and talk about the fall schedule and how the rehearsals go. She is happy to be getting a music reader in the group. She said only about half the group reads. Oh, I know that feeling well!!
I am missing singing, so I'm looking forward to getting back into a group.
Then there will be line dancing. This will be an opportunity to go two weeks in a row, so maybe we'll remember some steps. Last week there was a mix of new songs and some songs we had done the month earlier. I remembered some of those steps, so coming back in just one week should make it a little easier. Of course, then there will be no more line dancing for over six weeks. The new teacher will be there by then, so at that point everything will probably have changed.
Finally, at 3:30 Mark has a dentist appointment. He has gone to the dentist a few times since I've know him when he could no longer put it off, but going to the dentist for him is a little like going to get a hair cut. He just never did it. He HATES the dentist; it literally brings on panic attacks for him. We chose this new local office because their ad said, "We Cater to Cowards." Oh, yeah, we figured that would be good for Mark!!
He has been complaining of an "off and on" toothache for MONTHS. Last week he had pain shooting up into his cheekbone. OH, NO, that is NOT GOOD. That day he let me make an appointment for him. He couldn't even bring himself to make the call; he hates dentists that much. I hope this lovely lady dentist from Columbia (not the one in MD!) can put him at ease. I found her very nice and very competent.
When he gets out of the dentist office, I think I will be bringing him home, serving him whiskey, and trying to calm him down. That should be it for him today. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.
I had my next fitting for the MOB dress. It's really nice. It fit very, very well, especially the jacket. The last time I saw the dress it was HUGE, so she really brought it in nicely. The only problem now is the straps on the dress for when I want to take the jacket off. It's good when I'm standing up, but when I sit down they gap open big and and show the bra straps. Now Miss Kim is going to stitch the straps to the bra so they won't show. She has already added some green fabric to the bra on the sides, now she's going to make the bra a part of the dress. When the event is over, I guess I'll be able to remove it. I'm not sure I will ever be wearing this dress again anyway.
I don't want to post any pictures of it on Facebook or the blog because I want it to be a surprise at the wedding for most people. There will be plenty of pictures later for sure.
After the dress fitting, I played Mah Jongg with my neighbors. I won two games and had a great time. I won't be playing with them again until September 26 after all our travels. I do have a chance to play on September 10 with my friends from Mishkan Torah. I'm really looking forward to that day!
Today should be very interesting. I have an "audition" at 11 a.m. with the Solivita choir director. She directs two groups here: Guys and Dolls and The Starliters. They do one show per year each. We saw the spring show, and it was great. I won't be here for the official audition date in August, so I called her and talked about arranging something before I left. That's today! I've heard I just have to sing "Happy Birthday," but since I sent her my "resume" in an email, I might not even have to do that. She just wants to meet me and talk about the fall schedule and how the rehearsals go. She is happy to be getting a music reader in the group. She said only about half the group reads. Oh, I know that feeling well!!
I am missing singing, so I'm looking forward to getting back into a group.
Then there will be line dancing. This will be an opportunity to go two weeks in a row, so maybe we'll remember some steps. Last week there was a mix of new songs and some songs we had done the month earlier. I remembered some of those steps, so coming back in just one week should make it a little easier. Of course, then there will be no more line dancing for over six weeks. The new teacher will be there by then, so at that point everything will probably have changed.
Finally, at 3:30 Mark has a dentist appointment. He has gone to the dentist a few times since I've know him when he could no longer put it off, but going to the dentist for him is a little like going to get a hair cut. He just never did it. He HATES the dentist; it literally brings on panic attacks for him. We chose this new local office because their ad said, "We Cater to Cowards." Oh, yeah, we figured that would be good for Mark!!
He has been complaining of an "off and on" toothache for MONTHS. Last week he had pain shooting up into his cheekbone. OH, NO, that is NOT GOOD. That day he let me make an appointment for him. He couldn't even bring himself to make the call; he hates dentists that much. I hope this lovely lady dentist from Columbia (not the one in MD!) can put him at ease. I found her very nice and very competent.
When he gets out of the dentist office, I think I will be bringing him home, serving him whiskey, and trying to calm him down. That should be it for him today. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)