Lots of walking

Yesterday went exactly as planned. We even walked 1.9 miles in 40 minutes after doing our weight machines. I was pretty excited about that. Today, Mark and I also walked 40 minutes. I'm feeling pretty good about this week. I've eaten pretty carefully at almost all the meals, so I hope the scale shows a loss tomorrow morning.

Mark had his doctor's appointment today for his routine check up every four months. He did not like his A1C numbers, so the doctor wants to see him again in one month to see if he can get his sugars down a bit. The MOST interesting thing is that this doctor is leaving the practice in just five days. We were surprised. He did not impress us on his first visit, but we have stuck with him for the entire year and were learning to like him. I think he's a good doctor, but the office staff and nursing staff were not so good. Apparently, he felt the same way! Mark told him this today in the office, and he said that he felt he deserved to work at a good practice. I think he's right.

A lady doctor with good credentials and training is taking his place, so our next appointments will be with her. We plan to give her a chance, but we may then move on to a different location. We've talked about it several times, but it's just easier to keep going back to the same place, especially when we were both starting to like the doctor. I hope this new lady is good. Interesting that today Mark also noted the office staff and nursing staff were much friendlier and on top of things than in the past. Maybe things will start to improve over there.

I will not be blogging again until Friday because we are flying to Washington, D.C. tomorrow. We are attending a funeral Thursday morning at Arlington National Cemetery. I wrote about Gordon Beckwith's passing from Lou Gehrig's disease awhile back, when it happened. He was a career Navy man and also spent years working for HUD. His wife, Sharon, was a co-worker of Mark's at Goddard from the early days. Sharon and Gordon both attended our wedding in 1975, and they both made the trip up from their retirement home in Florida to attend Mark's retirement party in January of 2007. We feel that we can do no less than honor him and Sharon by attending his memorial service and interment at Arlington.

Meanwhile, today while I was walking, I discovered something. I said to Mark that when I eat less and exercise more I feel stronger, healthier, and younger. I'm sure everyone feels that way. I'm sure anyone who eats less and eats well IS healthier, and the exercise definitely makes you stronger and healthier. Both combined give me, and most people, a feeling of youthfulness and vitality. HOWEVER, I also noted that it does NOT make me HAPPY. Sitting around, not moving, overeating, or at least eating anything I want whenever I want it DOES make me feel happy. Isn't that sad?

Calendars. OY!

Our day yesterday went very well. We did everything that I said we would do. There was only one glitch. When we went to take the tickets for the buffet dinner and the show (two separate events), we saw two other sets of tickets in the same place. Wondering what they were for, we picked them up and looked in horror at the dates. GONE. What?

We had forgotten to put those two events on our calendar. OY! We blew off $50 worth of tickets because we forgot to put them on the calendar. There was an afternoon luncheon with a health and wellness speaker and an evening concert. Well, I guess we learned a lesson. If you buy a ticket to something, PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR right away!!

The buffet last night was delicious. We were at a table with two other couples that we did not know, so we enjoyed pleasant conversation with them. Then we went to the show next door. Those seven people put in SO much work for that concert. The three women (Starlites) had many costume changes, tight harmonies, Andrews Sisters style, and a lot of energy. The four men (Soundburst) had several costume changes as well and sang mostly barbershop. They opened and closed the show singing together. It was just a fantastic night out.

Best of all, this benefit concert was raising money for the Solivita Performing Arts Council Endowment Fund. Each year since 2006, they have given grants for the arts to the local schools for thing such as band instruments and materials, classroom instruments for general/vocal music, supplies for visual arts classes, anything that they can to help out the arts programs in schools that are losing their funding. It's a cause close to my heart for sure.

I also loved being able to walk into that big ballroom and see so many people I know. Many of the members of Guys and Dolls and Startliters were in attendance, and two rows in front of us were four of our neighbors. I love the close, neighborly feeling we have here in Solivita.

This morning I'm running out of the house very early for that mammogram/ultrasound. When I get back, Mark and I will head to the gym. At 1 p.m. I'm hosting Mahj, and then at 6:30 I'm heading up to the ballroom again for the Starliters rehearsal. It's going to be a busy day, but I'm looking forward to everything.

Nice Weekend

I didn't write a blog yesterday because I didn't have anything special to say. Ha ha! I know that's rare. I have written many blogs over the last two years when I really didn't have anything special to say.

Friday was a lovely day, so we had a nice afternoon which included going to the gym and swimming in the pool. I actually swam in a different pool, which was not as long as my usual one, so I doubled the laps. I swam 20 laps, which took 35 minutes. That was a lot for me, so I went home proud of myself. Mark made us a delicious Shabbat dinner, and we settled down to watch some TV shows that we had missed during the week.

Saturday was a little cooler, so we decided not to do much outdoors. (Ha ha! For those of you in the north, when I say cooler, I mean low 70s instead of low 80s. Don't hate me!) In the morning we went to the synagogue service, which was lovely. Mark had stayed up really late Friday night reading, so he didn't want to stay for the Torah study after kiddush. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to focus, so we just went home. He had a lovely nap, and I had a lovely long conversation with my friend Leslie G. Leslie is also my daughter Evey's mother-in-law. I feel very blessed that I can count my daughter's in-laws among my friends. I'm not sure all in-laws feel the same way about each other.

When Mark got up from his nap, we watched our Disney movie for the week, Cinderella. We have been working our way through all the Disney movies, both animated and live action, since we came back from the D23 convention in Anaheim last August. It's been fun! This movie came out the year I was born, 1950. It has certainly held up well, probably better than I have! LOL!

Later we digitized another home movie BETA tape. This one was our vacation in NY in 1990. Evey was 3 and Lowell was 11. We went to Cooperstown, Lake George, the Kopelman's home in Utica, and then Niagara Falls. It was a lot of fun to watch, as they all have been. Evey and Lowell were both just so cute it hurts! I was at my lowest weight EVER since I had children, 200 pounds. I had been going to Weight Watchers. It was the year I turned 40, so I had just recently cut and permed my hair. Mark said he likes my short hair now better than he liked that perm. He never liked that perm. I was just surprised at how thin and young I looked. 200 pounds is not thin, but considering how I looked at over 300, or even now at 260, it looked really thin to me! Hm...maybe someday...

I can't wait to get some of these digital versions out to the kids so they can watch themselves. I wonder how much of those vacations they remember? I'd love to be able to sit with them when they watch them, but that is not likely to happen. I just hope they are willing to share some of their thoughts and memories with me when they do get around to watching them.

This morning, Mark made his usual, fantastic, Sunday morning breakfast: scrambled eggs, Morningstar sausage links, and a homemade lo-carb biscuit. Delicious. Now we are going to shower, dress, and take a 30-40 minute walk. At 1 p.m. we have a Purim spiel rehearsal at the synagogue. When we get back, we have a 5 p.m. dinner buffet in Mosaics, followed by a 7 p.m. concert in the ballroom featuring two small singing groups. The Starlites are a group of 3 women; the 4 men are called Soundburst. I know some of them are in the larger group that I'm in, but I'm not sure about all of them. These groups have been together for years and do many concerts throughout Solivita and the larger community during the year. Everybody says they are excellent, so I can't wait to hear them tonight. Also, it's a fundraiser for SPAC, the Solivita Performing Arts Council, which is the umbrella group that supports both of the groups I sing with, Guys and Dolls in the fall and Starliters in the spring. I heard this is a sold out performance.

Tomorrow morning at 8:15 I have my mammogram and ultrasound of only the left breast. I have to do this every six months for two years, so this is the second one. Last July it showed that seroma that the oncologist didn't mention until October. I'm curious to see if it has changed. I plan to call in a week and get the results right away. I may or may not need to go see a surgeon about it. I'm also hosting Mah Jongg in MY house Monday afternoon. This is unusual, but our usual hostess has had surgery this past Friday and won't be up to it yet. I volunteered to host instead. I'm looking forward to having everyone here!

So that's my update on the weekend and tomorrow. I hope all of you reading this blog are also having a great weekend and looking forward to the start of a new week Monday.

Yellow Flags

Yesterday I mentioned that I had another appointment with my new GYN to go over my ultrasound results and would talk about them today. I drove up there fully expecting the results to be completely normal, despite the odd cramps that I've been having for nearly a month. I was wrong.

The ultrasound showed that the lining of the uterus, which should be no thicker than 4 mm, was 5.7 AND there was a small mass on the left ovary. Stunned, but maybe not surprised.

So...first he cautioned that these were only yellow flags, not red flags. In a younger woman, he is never too concerned with cysts or small masses on the ovaries because they are mostly estrogen driven. I had one at age 14 and another in my early 40s. The first was surgically removed because it was mistaken for appendicitis; the second was shrunk with the use of birth control pills. In a postmenopausal woman, especially one like me on Arimidex to squelch all estrogen, any sized mass on the ovary is of concern.

The lining is thick, yes, but I have no bleeding. If it was that thick with bleeding, it might be a red flag, but without bleeding, only a yellow flag. I did my own internet research last night, and without bleeding, it would need to be 11 mm or greater to be a red flag. Still, it shouldn't be thick at all and the thickness rarely resolves itself, usually only gets thicker.

Next steps:
1. Endometrial biopsy. I have that scheduled for Tuesday morning.
2. Meet with his wife, the Oncology Gynecologist. I'm calling her office today.

If the biopsy shows any pre-cancerous cells, then I will be scheduling a complete hysterectomy pretty soon.

If the biopsy shows nothing abnormal, then I will still meet with his wife, but I will also be asked to have another ultrasound in six weeks to see if there are changes. If everything stays the same, then I will repeat the ultrasound in another six weeks, and continue that routine for maybe six months or so. Of course, if in six weeks, things HAVE changed, then there will be a complete hysterectomy. And once I talk with his wife, if I decide that I want the hysterectomy anyway just for peace of mind, he felt sure that between him and his wife they could justify it for the insurance company.

HOWEVER, he said to me, "You are NOT a good candidate for surgery." WHAT???? I have had TEN surgeries under general anaesthesia. Why am I now not a good candidate? I think this news stunned me more than the results of the ultrasound.

Well, he said I'm over sixty and overweight, so that made me a risk for anaesthesia. Hm...I was over sixty for the last three general anaesthesia surgeries: partial mastectomy, put the port in, take the port out. BUT, I did weigh forty pounds less for the first two of those and twenty pounds less for the last one.

When the general surgeon told me in the spring of 2009 that I was too heavy for the hernia surgery, I weighed 295 that day in his office. I dropped down to 220 from April to November and then he did the surgery with no complications. This morning I'm still 260. I guess that is too much, so I feel a little like I did in the other surgeon's office. It's not a sure thing that I will have this surgery, but it's sure enough in my mind to put me on high alert. I feel like I MUST lose this extra forty pounds ASAP so that when the surgery gets scheduled, I'll be ready. If I don't have the surgery, at least I will have dropped forty pounds!

I must say that I was very grateful for Mark's presence yesterday. He made sure he was free to go with me even though it took three hours out of the afternoon. He wanted to give me moral support, which it turned out I needed more than I thought I would. Had he not been in the car with me to talk to on the way home, I probably would have stopped at the first store and bought a big bag of Doritos, maybe ice cream, maybe M and Ms. I would have drowned my anxieties in 2,000 calories, for sure! That's the way I like to deal with stress. So counter-productive!!

Instead, he was with me in the car, and I had someone to talk to. I felt a little like crying, but I didn't. We did go to our favorite local bar and have a shot of Crown Royal on the rocks before meeting our friends, Randy and Joann, for dinner at Lakeside. It was Thursday, so that means free wine with dinner. I felt much better with the whiskey and wine! Ha ha! Very relaxing. I also sent Evey a text, and she called me back. I really enjoyed being able to talk to her about everything.

Since both lobular breast cancer and the Arimidex are associated with higher risks of uterine and ovarian cancers, I have the slight feeling that this just might be something getting started in its very earliest stages. If that's the case, I feel blessed that I worried enough about these light cramps to get myself into the doctor's office. It could very well be that I have just caught this very, very early. Or, it could still turn out to be nothing. Either way, I feel good that I'm being proactive. And if it does motivate me to drop those forty pounds quickly, so much the better!

Up one

OK, it's Wednesday, and you know what that means. I didn't have the best week ever in terms of calories, so I wasn't really surprised that I was up one pound today. In fact, I was pleased because I was worrying that it might be more. After all, I ate 7 of the week's 21 meals out at restaurants, and it WASN'T Subway or Denny's. LOL! The one thing that probably prevented it from being more was the exercise.

So today I am 260.5. Not great, but after this past week, I'll take it.

This week I will be eating 4 meals out: 3 dinners and 1 lunch. Subway will be the lunch and Denny's will be tonight's dinner. Our usual Thursday night at Lakeside for free wine is coming up tomorrow, but I can usually control that one pretty well, too. That leaves just one buffet Sunday night here at Solivita to think about. The main thing is to keep exercising and remind myself that I CAN DO IT! I want very, very much to report another loss next Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Now to a completely different topic. I finally went to a GYN yesterday for that Pap smear we ladies are supposed to get every year. I haven't had one since April of 2010, two months before I found the breast lump. My radiation oncologist recommended this guy, and I liked him very much. He was thorough and he LISTENED. That's so nice. I was quite happy with the experience despite being super nervous all day waiting for that 2 p.m. appointment.

It wasn't entirely without some issues to consider. Part of what motivated me to pick up that phone and finally make the appointment was that I have been feeling "crampy" for about a month. I shouldn't have cramps anymore yet that is what it feels like, so it's just weird. It has made me start to worry about that vague connection between lobular breast cancer and higher rates of uterine cancer and ovarian cancers. Arimidex has also been linked to an increased risk of uterine cancer. Valentine's Day will be the one year mark for the Arimidex, and I've been having many of the other side effects associated with it. So I've been slightly worried. I told this new GYN all of my concerns. He was so supportive and willing to listen. I really appreciated that. He even commented that he could tell I was cramping when he performed the Pap smear and exam.

He immediately sent me for an ultrasound, both external and internal, and said to make another appointment right away to discuss the results. I will see him again tomorrow about that. His wife is an oncology GYN who does robotic hysterectomies on the da Vinci system, a very state-of-the art machine that has great results, less blood loss, faster recovery, etc. He wants me to make an appointment with her just to discuss the concerns that I have and go over what the actual risks vs. benefits are. He said she will be very knowledgeable about that.

After I go over the ultrasound results with him tomorrow, I will make that appointment. As he said, if the ultrasound shows something abnormal, then the conversation is moot. There WILL be a complete hysterectomy. If the ultrasound is normal, then I can have that discussion with his wife and come to my own decision about whether that surgery is something I want to do or not. I asked him if the surgery would be covered by CIGNA, and he said he saw no problem with that. I can always call CIGNA before making any decisions.

The other thing we talked about was the Solex midurethral sling. He asked if I leak urine since most older women who have had children do. I told that I most definitely do and have for decades. I use pads for it, and it's not that bad. It's stress incontinence. Years ago when I was having problems with the kidney stones, I discussed it with my urologist. He was of the opinion that it was age and obesity. Basically, he just said lose weight and learn to live with it.

Now this new gynecologist is saying they have a quick and easy fix and that I don't have to live with it. He gave me two pamphlets to read, and, of course, I have been doing lots of reading on the web. When I see him tomorrow, I'm supposed to tell him if I want to have this minimally invasive surgery done at the outpatient clinic. I left his office thinking it sounded like a miracle and a no-brainer to have done. Then I did the reading. NOPE. I don't think so. Despite how easy he makes it seem, there are a lot of risks and complications that come along with it. I'm leaning against that surgery. Living with pads hasn't been that bad a deal all these years. I think that until the stress incontinence gets worse, I'll just leave it alone.

If anyone reading this blog has any suggestions, first hand knowledge, or advice on midurethral slings or hysterectomies, I'd welcome your comments. I know it's a sensitive issue, so personal emails will be fine. You don't need to put it out on a public comment.

I will let you know the results of the ultrasound tomorrow night. My appointment is at 2 p.m., but I might not get back to the laptop until later in the evening. I will be on pins and needles waiting for those results.

MK time with Barb and Al

Sunday was so much fun. After we had our Purim Shpiel rehearsal, we headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Barbara and Al. Barbara went to Sheepshead Bay High School with Mark, even the same graduating class. Now yesterday, they discovered they also went to the same junior high, Cunningham Junior High. No wonder they get along!

We met them in Adventureland and immediately hopped onto one of our favorite rides, Pirates of the Caribbean. Mark and I had not ridden it in a few months, and never with Barb and Al. I really enjoyed going through it last night with them. Then we walked the long way out of Adventureland, through Frontierland and Liberty Square. As we were crossing over towards the castle, there was a show going on with the characters. We stood by the fence and watched it. Nice. At that point it was time to catch the boat over to Fort Wilderness. None of us remembered riding in the "big" boat before, so we ran right up and got the first two benches in the bow of the ship. Wow! I love boat rides, so this was a lot of fun. It gave us a nice view of the back of the Contemporary, the now closed River Country, Discovery Island, and then docking at Fort Wilderness.

Since we were a little early for our dinner reservation, we had some time to wander around and just enjoy the ambiance. Barbara and Al had not eaten at Trail's End Buffet before, so they were pretty excited to do that. It's one of our favorites, so we were also excited. I tried to watch what I ate as much as possible in a buffet. I didn't have any bread, but I did have a small bowl of soft ice cream for dessert. I had planned to take a Rice Krispie treat, since that was the first place I had ever had one, but they didn't have any last night. HUH. What's up with that? I did not have any alcohol either. All in all, I think I ate less at that buffet last night than usual, but that's not saying much because I still ate way too many calories for one meal, I'm sure.

After dinner, we caught the same boat back and sat in the same seats, even though in the dark it was a little chilly. The best thing was that the timing was perfect for watching the fireworks from the boat. They started shortly after we left the dock and ended as we were disembarking and heading to the monorail to start the trip home. What a fantastic day!

Today I will go to the gym for the weight and walk on the treadmill. From 1-4 I will Mah Jongg with my neighbors, and at 5 I need to be at the Starliters rehearsal, which will run until 9 p.m. Long day, but it's going to be a great one!

Fun with Friends

Although Michael and Lore's visit was brief, we had a great time. Dinner out Thursday night, breakfast at the house Friday morning, some time at the pool, lunch out, and then they were off to continue their vacation in the Miami area. We have invited them to come back and stay longer next time.

In the evening Mark and I attended a concert by singer Martin Gallagher. He donated his time for this benefit concert for the American Cancer Society. We had no idea what to expect, but the room was packed and everyone had a great time. He even encouraged dancing during the second half. He sang an eclectic mix of songs, and he had a truly excellent voice. I enjoyed listening to him, and Mark and I even danced a few slow dances. It was a lovely evening.

Today it's going to be 80 and sunny. We have skipped going to shul (ssh, don't tell) in favor of a lazy morning and possible pool time. So far it's 9:30; I haven't had breakfast; I'm still in my robe and slippers. Obviously, I'm not rushing around here!

Although I ate too many calories at lunch yesterday, I did at least swim for 25 minutes, 10 laps in the pool and did my gym workout on the weight machines. That makes me feel like I did something good. Also breakfast and dinner were in the house and very controlled. Today and the next three days should be great. I have only one reason to eat out and that is tomorrow at lunch.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. We spent it at Epcot last year and had lunch in the Nine Dragons restaurant. We watched the movie and got our picture taken with Mulan. We plan to do all of that again tomorrow. I hope to take pictures and make comparisons between last year and this.

Meanwhile I hope everyone who might read this short blog today has a fantastic day.

Happy University

Once, a long time ago, Mark and I ordered a sheet cake from a kosher baker for our anniversary. It was to be delivered to the synagogue for the snack after services. I guess the person taking our phone order didn't understand exactly what I said because when Mark went to get the cake it said Happy University!!! That's been an in joke with us ever since.

So we spent our belated Happy University at the Polynesian Resort at WDW on Wednesday and Thursday. It was everything that we wanted it to be, far exceeding our expectations. Our lunch at Les Chefs de France in Epcot was delicious. We walked around Epcot for awhile, then when it started to rain a bit, we went back to the hotel. We loved the Polynesian. We had been there for breakfasts and dinners several times over the years, but we had never stayed. The resort is worth it! Our dinner that night was fantastic, and we especially loved watching the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom castle from the Polynesian's beach. Everyone who has done that says it's great, and they are right!

The next morning we had a nice long walk over to the Grand Floridian and back before heading home. That was a little snafu because President Obama had just made his speech in front of the castle at 12:30. In fact, we had planned to go over to MK for lunch but changed our minds when we remembered he was coming. The newscasters said traffic would be difficult at WDW and roads would be closed. Well, our timing for leaving was unfortunate because the roads in and out of WDW were closed at that time. Apparently, he was leaving right around then so things were rerouted and shut down. We were luckier than some because we only waited a few minutes, having exited at the tail end of the road closures. I think some people must have been furious because we saw people standing around outside of their cars! It looked like they had been stopped awhile. Once our exit lane opened up and we moved on outside of Disney, we saw a mile long back up of traffic outside the park trying to get in. I suspect quite a few tourists and Disney cast members were more than a little annoyed.

Back at the house, we met up with our friends Michael and Lore from Maryland around 4 p.m. They treated us to dinner at Lakeside last night. Thanks guys! We will get to spend a few more hours with them today before they continue their drive to the Miami area later today for a much deserved vacation.

My weight was spectacular this week. I'm a little concerned about it not being so great this week, but I certainly don't want to gain. Although I ate way too many calories the last two days, at least we did work out on Wednesday with the weights and we walked a LOT both days. Today I had my normal breakfast at home, lunch will be out, dinner will be home. I plan to lay by the pool and also do some swimming. After today, there are no excuses for not behaving since we have no more company coming until April and no reasons to eat out for the next week.

Enjoy these few pictures of our Happy University day at the Polynesian.

Weigh-in Wednesday was Wonderful!

Yes, it's been a good week, down EIGHT AND A HALF pounds. I knew I was down four in the first day, the four from the cruise, but I'm very excited about the other four and a half. I did most of the things I knew I should do, with just a few meals that were more than I needed. The overall effect for the week was still just wonderful!

Now I'm about to start up the next week. It will include many challenging meals. Today Mark and I are celebrating our belated 36th anniversary with a day at Epcot and a night at the Polynesian Resort at WDW. My breakfast this morning at home is the usual, 240 calories. Lunch today will be at Chefs de France in Epcot; dinner will be at the Kona Cafe restaurant at the Polynesian. Tomorrow morning breakfast will also be at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian; lunch is yet to be determined. In the late afternoon our friends Michael and Lore are stopping by for the night on their way to the Miami area. We will be having dinner out with them at Lakeside for "Free Wine Thursday," like we always do. So that's five meals coming up that present the challenge of eating out. We are also eating dinner out on Sunday with friends Barbara and Al at one of our favorite places, Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wilderness. Despite Mark's constant admonition that "the buffet is your friend," I think the buffet is NOT my friend! It calls me for seconds and thirds, and this buffet has Rice Krispie treats on the dessert bar that are just screaming out at me to take them. The anti-oxidant cocktail, one of my all-time favorite drinks, is also served there.

I want to thank Mark for helping me with the diet. He had hidden the scale while I was gone on the cruise. Of course, that's the right thing to do. I was really excited to get on it this morning and see that big loss. He also encouraged me to go to the gym for the weights three days plus do some aerobic exercise like walking or mini-golf most days of the week. It also didn't hurt that the last two nights have included long rehearsals for Starliters, which started off with an hour for a medley that involves choreography and movement. Every bit of movement helps.

Today Mark and I will eat lunch and dinner out, but we will also be walking all over Epcot. That's got to help. I'm very excited to spend today with the love of my life celebrating the great decision that I made on December 28, 1974 when I said a resounding YES when he asked me. We got married exactly 51 weeks later on December 21, 1975.

Lately we have been watching a lot of our old home movies from Beta and VHS tapes as we transfer them to digital. It's been really warming our hearts as we watch our beautiful children when they were little. We have had a great life together, and we sure made some great kids! Watching them as little ones has literally brought tears to my eyes as I sat on the couch watching. They were so adorable. I miss those little kids, but I sure do love the adults they have become as well.

Evey was right that we needed to start the digitizing process ASAP. One of the old home movie tapes broke right after we put it in the machine. Now we'll never know what was on that one. I know years and years ago another tape broke in our old machine when it was dying. That's two old Beta tapes, over four hours of content, that we will never be able to recover. So sad. Still, we are determined to digitize the rest, a tape a day, until they are done.

Fantastic MLK Weekend

Kip and Denise arrived at the Enterprise Car Rental place in Kissimmee at about 4:30 on Friday afternoon of MLK weekend. They had just spent six hours in the car driving down from Savannah, GA. It was so great to see them!

We had planned to have a Lonesome Dove weekend, and we sure did! Mark and Kip had already seen the six hour mini-series a few times, and they had read the books. I believe Denise had also watched a good bit of it in the past, but I was a rookie. I had neither watched it nor read the books. Instead of having our traditional Silverstein Family Pentathlon on MLK weekend, the four of us were determined to watch all six hours of the mini-series and eat some nice cowboy chili, too.

Mark had cooked up a big batch of Gene Autry Chili from his Cowboy Cookbook. Oh, it made an awesome Shabbat dinner! We watched the first part of the video Friday night, with some wine and Maker's Mark. Good start to the weekend.

On Saturday, Kip and Denise went horseback riding at the Forever Florida Eco Safari. They had a fantastic time. Mark and I read our books while they rode. After a great lunch right there at the safari, we took a long walk in the neighborhood and then had more chili and more Lonesome Dove that night.

Sunday morning I had to go to a synagogue rehearsal, so Mark took Kip and Denise to Fantasia Gardens for mini-golf. Denise enjoyed wearing her new golf shoes, but Kip was the big winner. We picked up some Chinese food on the way home, ate lunch, watched the rest of the mini-series, then drove them up to the Orlando airport.

It was a wonderful weekend, and I hope they will make this an annual tradition. I'm sure we could think of another video to watch next year. LOL!

I know that my calorie counts were much higher than they should be for weight loss. I'm pretty sure I was in the neighborhood of 2,000 on Friday, 2,400 on Saturday, and who knows what on Sunday with the Chinese food. I never wrote anything down the entire weekend either. Hm...broke all my rules pretty much. At least I took a nice walk on Saturday.

Today I am back on track. I am writing it down; I just did 20 minutes on my 9 weight machines and 22 minutes on the tread mill. I have eaten an appropriate breakfast and lunch. In half an hour I'm going to my neighbor's to play Mah Jongg, no eating there, then tonight I have a very long rehearsal for the Starliters. No eating there either. I hope Weigh-in Wednesday looks good.

Enjoy the pictures of Kip and Denise. I sure did enjoy their visit!

Food diaries

For anyone who reads the blog but didn't get the cruise photos, I added a few more to the blog today. I included the photos with my neighbors that I accidentally ran into on the dock of Falmouth, Jamaica. First I found Lou and Mark (in the white shirt), then I found Maureen and Don. I thought that was just crazy that since we did not know our ships would be in the same port on the same day and that between the two ships there were 8000 passengers, we still found each other!

I wrote down everything I ate for the 970 calories on Wednesday. Yesterday I did the same. It's good to write everything down because it's a way of being accountable and thinking about everything that's going in your mouth. Because we ate dinner out last night at Lakeside, I had to estimate some of the calories on the dinner plate, but we did not have bread, appetizers, or dessert. I ordered a side salad, grilled tilapia with roast red potatoes and a zucchini/onion medley. Mark had the same, but his tilapia came with a tomato caper sauce that looked full of cream and calories. I was glad I left it off, plus I hate capers!

So here's yesterday's food diary:
BREAKFAST: 3 Morningstar sausage links, 120 calories
LUNCH: baby carrots out of the bag, 50
can of low sodium tuna, 140
cup of low sodium soup, 100
DINNER: 8 ounces of white zinfandel, 160
green salad w/croutons, no dressing, est 75
grilled tilapia, estimated 200
roast red potatoes, est 150
boiled zucchini with onions and peppers, est. 30
SNACK: 3 sugar free jellos, 30
medium banana, 105
2 sugar free popsicles, 30
TOTAL: 1190

That's another great day.

Mark definitely hid the scale, so no sneak peaks to see if I'm losing. Yesterday was so busy that I did not get any exercise in, so that wasn't so good.

Today we have plans to go to the gym for the weight machines, which takes about 20-25 minutes to do. We also hope to get a 30 minute walk completed. There are some last minute things to buy at the store and some cooking to do this afternoon for the weekend's fun. At 4 p.m. we should be picking Kip and Denise up in Kissimmee at the car rental place where they are dropping off their car after driving in from Savannah, GA. Then the fun really begins! If I don't have time to write a blog for the next two days, please forgive me. I will catch you up and post pictures when I have time. Have a good Shabbat and a fabulous weekend wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Good days can be worth it.

I will start the blog off with a few pictures from our cruise. I took 501 pictures! If you want the whole album, just shoot me an email and I will be glad to send it to you. I sent it only to a few people because it is just so big!

Mark had hid my scale while I was on the cruise. That's actually not a bad thing for me. He put it out Tuesday night while I was at the Starliters rehearsal so that I could weigh-in yesterday, but he didn't hide it yet this morning. Naturally, I hopped on and was pleasantly surprised. I had already dropped the four and a half pounds gained on this cruise. I went back to 263.3, which was what I weighed on January 1 when we left for Fort Lauderdale. YAY!

I had an excellent day yesterday. I ate only 970 calories, drank a lot of water, walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes, and did my 9 weight machines. I also went out in the evening to the synagogue rehearsal for the Purim shpiel. Those hours out mean I'm not eating!

Of course, I'm still carrying the 15 pounds from the October cruise and the holiday trips to Maryland and California. I am determined to lose them now. I feel a lot more in control, for some reason. Once I get back to the upper 240s again, which I used to think was HORRIBLE, I can try to work on the chemo weight gain. I know I can do it, if I apply all the skills that I have learned.

Yesterday, I listed 10 things that I know work to help me stay on track. Today I'm going to list two more that I thought of later:

1. Eat more slowly! I tend to gulp everything quickly. I need to follow Mark's lead on that because he has really mastered the art of eating slowly.

2. Don't bring anything into the house that I shouldn't have. When I was out of control this past month, I bought about five pounds of sucking candies like peppermints, spearmints, butterscotch discs, caramels, and root beer barrels. I put them all in a big bowl on my kitchen counter and was taking them by the handfuls every time I walked by or watched TV. STUPID!!! Yesterday I put what's left in a ziploc bag and tucked them away in the back of the pantry. I know they are there, but I sure can't access them as easily. I'm thinking one or two once a week for a special treat might not be too bad. I also put away the last two dark chocolate covered pretzels that were in the box.

Today I went to my cancer support group, always nice. Then I'm going to take a walk outside with Mark after going to the bank and the post office. At three o'clock I have a mani/pedi, and then we will eat dinner out like always on Thursday nights. I will have the free glass of white zinfandel, but I ate 120 calories less at breakfast than usual because I didn't have time for more, so I think that will account for the wine. I need to be sure I have no appetizer, no bread, and no dessert. Everything else should be OK. I am eating lunch at home, so that keeps the calories lower, too.

Tomorrow my brother Kip and his wife Denise are arriving around 4 p.m. Mark is making a fantastic chili for dinner and we can eat those leftovers for Saturday night dinner. Breakfasts will be at home, but lunch will be out Saturday and Sunday. I hope I can make wise choices there. I'm really looking forward to their visit to show off our house and community.

Another Weigh-in Wednesday

I have so much to talk about since I have been away from the blog for so long that I don't even know where to start.

I guess I should start with the weight. NOT GOOD! On our anniversary, three weeks ago, I refused to report it because I thought it was so bad. Two weeks ago, before the cruise, I reported that I was up two pounds to 262. Now, after two weeks and a cruise with my girlfriend, I am up to 267.8. This certainly is a new high. This represents a four pound gain since I left on New Year's Day for the cruise. It represents a 25.8 pound gain since we moved here last February. It represents a 62.8 pound gain from my lowest point of 205 back in February of 2010. That's over HALF of my total weight loss of 117 pounds. After losing that 117 pounds, I never thought I'd put them back, but you know what they say: Never say Never! How true!

So, here I am at 267.8. Now what! Of course, I have to reinforce the things I know that are the right things to do. I have to exercise and pay attention to what I order in restaurants. This is so much harder to do than to type. It was so much easier losing that 117 pounds when I went to work everyday, ate almost all meals at home, carried a prepared bag lunch to work, stuck to prescribed rituals and menus, and was scared of dying from the hernia! I need to bring back some of those behaviors even if I don't have the fear anymore.

Here is my list of things I can do to help myself:
1. Exercise every day, even if it's just a little walk.
2. Limit alcohol and avoid "girly" drinks with mixers. One shot of whiskey is only 100 calories.
3. In restaurants, eat no bread, no appetizers, no dessert.
4. Weigh in only once a week.
5. Write everything down in a food diary.
6. Drink a lot of water to keep full.
7. Use the sugar free gum, popsicles, and jellos as evening snacks.
8. Avoid grazing during TV shows at night. Drink tea, decaf coffees, and the items in #7 only.
9. Keep busy with activities that promote burning calories and keep me out of the kitchen.
10. Think positive thoughts about myself and don't beat myself up when I stray.

As always, I have plenty of obstacles to these things coming up again this week. We have company coming this week and next week. We have our "anniversary" celebration at WDW next week. There are always opportunities to over eat in front of me every single day. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now this blog is long enough for today. I can't even start to talk about the cruise yet. I will try to do that tomorrow, and I promise to include some pictures. The short version is that I had a wonderful time, and I enjoyed spending time with my great friend Barbara. The other short version is that Mark and I learned that we do NOT like to be apart. We both missed each other terribly and will probably not vacation separately ever again. More tomorrow.