Tonight begins the holiday of Succoth. Mark is outside busily putting up our pre-fab Succah. Last year we only had it up four days before he took it down because we had to head to Baltimore for a cruise. This year we will be home the entire holiday, so it should stay up 9 days at least. We will eat almost all of our meals in it. Unfortunately, since our backyard is not fenced and not lighted and backs on to "conservation" land (swamp), we are literally afraid to eat out there in the dark! Deer, wild turkeys, wild hogs, bobcats, Sandhill Cranes, and many other assorted little animals have been sighted back there! Our new custom here in Florida is to eat dinner in the succah BEFORE sundown each night. LOL!!
This afternoon Mark is also starting his rehearsals for the radio drama production of It's a Wonderful Life, in which he plays the head angel, Joseph. It's going to be fabulous. All four of the performances are already sold out! I am going to be the choral director, which means I'm working with three or four ladies who will sing the "commercials" during the radio show. They are going to be rehearsing in our house at the same time that the regular rehearsals take place. I think it will be a lot of fun.
I stuck to my diet yesterday, even though I didn't do much exercise. I dropped two pounds, back to 255.7 this morning. I guess that's good. Tonight's dinner is huge because it's the holiday meal for the first night of Succot. It's the same dinner we had for Rosh Hashanah, so I know it's over 1000 calories just for the dinner. On Rosh Hashanah, I made sure to swim and walk A LOT, but that's not happening today. If I can get a 30 minute walk in at some point and eat only a can of tuna for lunch, cut the challah, wine, and soup to just a few bites, then I can keep my calories at the allowed amount. LOL! That's a lot of IFS! I'll do my best and let you know tomorrow.
Hag Sameach to all who are celebrating Succoth. Enjoy!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
It's Saturday.
I promised you a blog on Saturday, so here it is!
Mark and I enjoyed our mini-vacation at the All Star Resort. I thought we were going to the Sports Resort, but it turned out it was Music. We were in the Broadway section, always fun. We had some time for some swimming in the grand piano shaped pool in the afternoon, a huge dinner at Landry's Seafood House, and then an easy drive to shul for the Kol Nidre/evening of Yom Kippur service. Being at the resort made it very easy to drive back in the middle of the afternoon Wednesday for a nice nap before going back to services. We ate a late night dinner to break the fast at the food court around 9 p.m. and were really surprised at how crowded it was at that time!
Spending two nights at WDW was a real splurge and luxury, but we will probably do it again. It also made the whole Yom Kippur experience smoother.
Thursday's Travel Club trip to the Chihuly exhibit in St. Petersburg was also a lot of fun. It made it a very early morning, but we slept on the bus. We had never heard of Chihuly and his method of blowing glass, but we sure learned a lot. The private collection in the museum was amazing. We especially enjoyed watching the demonstration at the Hot Shop nearby. Scary, hot, and beautiful! The man created a beautiful cobalt blue plate in the Chihuly style, which was awesome.
When we got back,we walked up to the Grille for dinner. We spoke with people we knew at FOUR separate tables! I love living here. It's like a small town. It's just so much fun and so warm to be greeted by neighbors, fellow singers in Guys and Dolls, and people from the Cancer Support Group. Lovely.
Yesterday wasn't so much fun. I spent four hours in the morning at the dentist. She took off the bridge and pronounced the front tooth "mush." She said it had a cavity in it, not much was left, and what was there had turned to mush. It must be pulled. The xrays seemed to show that the tooth in the back was fine, so she began the preparations to put a permanent crown on it. Oops! The xrays were wrong. As soon as she started working on it, she discovered the tooth was completely cracked in half. It also must be pulled. I wanted to go get it done immediately, but the oral surgeon wasn't available. The dentist built me a temporary bridge to cover these sick teeth up again and made me an appointment for Tuesday. I spoke to the oral surgeon's office myself and they were very iffy. They may or may not pull them on Tuesday; they may or may not use general or local anaesthesia. So I don't really know what's going to happen. What I'm hoping for is to get these two teeth pulled on Tuesday under a general anaesthesia. We will see.
Then it's a six to eight week recovery before a partial plate for the missing three teeth can be made. What a long process, but it's best to get it started.
As for my weight, considering I swam fifty minutes on Tuesday and ate only dinner on Wednesday, I managed to gain FIVE pounds in three days. Ridiculous. I was 252.1 Tuesday morning and 257.8 Thursday morning. I had hoped it was just water weight from sodium in the restaurant food, but yesterday, even though I ate only 1500 calories, I stayed the same this morning. Whatever. I'm behaving myself again today. Maybe tomorrow will show a loss.
Soon I will be going up to the gym for the weight routine and a half hour walk. That's bound to help.
HUMPH! Mark and I decided to take a twenty minute nap before exercise. Bad Idea! I slept about 35 minutes, but he slept nearly three hours. He got up at 6:30, so we took a twenty minute walk just in our neighborhood and skipped the gym. Oh, well...best laid plans....
Mark and I enjoyed our mini-vacation at the All Star Resort. I thought we were going to the Sports Resort, but it turned out it was Music. We were in the Broadway section, always fun. We had some time for some swimming in the grand piano shaped pool in the afternoon, a huge dinner at Landry's Seafood House, and then an easy drive to shul for the Kol Nidre/evening of Yom Kippur service. Being at the resort made it very easy to drive back in the middle of the afternoon Wednesday for a nice nap before going back to services. We ate a late night dinner to break the fast at the food court around 9 p.m. and were really surprised at how crowded it was at that time!
Spending two nights at WDW was a real splurge and luxury, but we will probably do it again. It also made the whole Yom Kippur experience smoother.
Thursday's Travel Club trip to the Chihuly exhibit in St. Petersburg was also a lot of fun. It made it a very early morning, but we slept on the bus. We had never heard of Chihuly and his method of blowing glass, but we sure learned a lot. The private collection in the museum was amazing. We especially enjoyed watching the demonstration at the Hot Shop nearby. Scary, hot, and beautiful! The man created a beautiful cobalt blue plate in the Chihuly style, which was awesome.
When we got back,we walked up to the Grille for dinner. We spoke with people we knew at FOUR separate tables! I love living here. It's like a small town. It's just so much fun and so warm to be greeted by neighbors, fellow singers in Guys and Dolls, and people from the Cancer Support Group. Lovely.
Yesterday wasn't so much fun. I spent four hours in the morning at the dentist. She took off the bridge and pronounced the front tooth "mush." She said it had a cavity in it, not much was left, and what was there had turned to mush. It must be pulled. The xrays seemed to show that the tooth in the back was fine, so she began the preparations to put a permanent crown on it. Oops! The xrays were wrong. As soon as she started working on it, she discovered the tooth was completely cracked in half. It also must be pulled. I wanted to go get it done immediately, but the oral surgeon wasn't available. The dentist built me a temporary bridge to cover these sick teeth up again and made me an appointment for Tuesday. I spoke to the oral surgeon's office myself and they were very iffy. They may or may not pull them on Tuesday; they may or may not use general or local anaesthesia. So I don't really know what's going to happen. What I'm hoping for is to get these two teeth pulled on Tuesday under a general anaesthesia. We will see.
Then it's a six to eight week recovery before a partial plate for the missing three teeth can be made. What a long process, but it's best to get it started.
As for my weight, considering I swam fifty minutes on Tuesday and ate only dinner on Wednesday, I managed to gain FIVE pounds in three days. Ridiculous. I was 252.1 Tuesday morning and 257.8 Thursday morning. I had hoped it was just water weight from sodium in the restaurant food, but yesterday, even though I ate only 1500 calories, I stayed the same this morning. Whatever. I'm behaving myself again today. Maybe tomorrow will show a loss.
Soon I will be going up to the gym for the weight routine and a half hour walk. That's bound to help.
HUMPH! Mark and I decided to take a twenty minute nap before exercise. Bad Idea! I slept about 35 minutes, but he slept nearly three hours. He got up at 6:30, so we took a twenty minute walk just in our neighborhood and skipped the gym. Oh, well...best laid plans....
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Kol Nidre is tonight
I am not going to write a blog until at least Saturday after this morning. Here's why.
Today we are leaving in a few hours to check in to the All Star Sports Resort. I explained yesterday why we are doing this two day resort stay. I think it's going to be fun to have lunch in the food court and swim in the pool this afternoon. For the big dinner before the fast we have decided to use our new Landry card that we purchased back at Yak and Yeti when Reuben was down here. There are several Landry restaurants near Disney. Then we will use the food court again to break the fast Wednesday night and for breakfast Thursday morning.
At 6:45 the Kol Nidre service begins, and so does the big fast. No food or water or major bathing until after 8 p.m. Wednesday. This is always difficult. Of course, if your health is jeopardized by this fast, then you must not fast. I did not fast when I was pregnant, nursing, or sick. One year I developed diverticulitis and went to the ER. Yikes. Both Mark and I will take a minimum amount of water to take all of our pills at the appropriate times, so don't worry about that.
I have decided not to take the latop to the All Star Resort. I will be busy all day over there and then too tired and hungry to type a blog on Wednesday. Thursday morning we are having a 6 a.m. breakfast at the food court before rushing back to Solivita to hop on the bus to St. Petersburg for a day with the travel club. We are unsure when we are returning, but I we think it will be late. If by some chance we get back early and I'm not too tired, I might write a blog then.
On Friday at 8 a.m. I will be at the dentist's office again having my bridge removed. They'll look at the two teeth underneath of it and decide what to do from there. If the teeth are no good, a temporary crown will be put back on just to hold me over to seeing the oral surgeon to have them pulled. If they are ok, I'll still have the temp crown to hold me over to the next appointment to have permanent crowns or another bridge built. In any case, Friday will be many hours in the dentist's chair.
So...that's why I'm thinking Saturday afternoon is the earliest I'm going to feel like getting back on here to write a blog. I'll update my weight at that time. All this upcoming eating out might hold up some weight loss. I'm not worried. I know I can get back on track if I stray. This morning I am down a half pound...ha ha! Or two pounds or stayed the same. Just depends on how the scale was feeling. I got on it three times within five minutes. The first time said 252.8, down half; the second time said 251.8, down another one in just thirty seconds? Then I got on one more time and was 253.3, same as yesterday. Geez. Make up your mind. Maybe I need a new scale.
OK, time to move on with the day and get away from this computer. If you are fasting tonight and tomorrow, I hope it's an easy and meaningful one. I pray that we are all written and sealed in the Book of Life.
Talk to you Saturday night.
Today we are leaving in a few hours to check in to the All Star Sports Resort. I explained yesterday why we are doing this two day resort stay. I think it's going to be fun to have lunch in the food court and swim in the pool this afternoon. For the big dinner before the fast we have decided to use our new Landry card that we purchased back at Yak and Yeti when Reuben was down here. There are several Landry restaurants near Disney. Then we will use the food court again to break the fast Wednesday night and for breakfast Thursday morning.
At 6:45 the Kol Nidre service begins, and so does the big fast. No food or water or major bathing until after 8 p.m. Wednesday. This is always difficult. Of course, if your health is jeopardized by this fast, then you must not fast. I did not fast when I was pregnant, nursing, or sick. One year I developed diverticulitis and went to the ER. Yikes. Both Mark and I will take a minimum amount of water to take all of our pills at the appropriate times, so don't worry about that.
I have decided not to take the latop to the All Star Resort. I will be busy all day over there and then too tired and hungry to type a blog on Wednesday. Thursday morning we are having a 6 a.m. breakfast at the food court before rushing back to Solivita to hop on the bus to St. Petersburg for a day with the travel club. We are unsure when we are returning, but I we think it will be late. If by some chance we get back early and I'm not too tired, I might write a blog then.
On Friday at 8 a.m. I will be at the dentist's office again having my bridge removed. They'll look at the two teeth underneath of it and decide what to do from there. If the teeth are no good, a temporary crown will be put back on just to hold me over to seeing the oral surgeon to have them pulled. If they are ok, I'll still have the temp crown to hold me over to the next appointment to have permanent crowns or another bridge built. In any case, Friday will be many hours in the dentist's chair.
So...that's why I'm thinking Saturday afternoon is the earliest I'm going to feel like getting back on here to write a blog. I'll update my weight at that time. All this upcoming eating out might hold up some weight loss. I'm not worried. I know I can get back on track if I stray. This morning I am down a half pound...ha ha! Or two pounds or stayed the same. Just depends on how the scale was feeling. I got on it three times within five minutes. The first time said 252.8, down half; the second time said 251.8, down another one in just thirty seconds? Then I got on one more time and was 253.3, same as yesterday. Geez. Make up your mind. Maybe I need a new scale.
OK, time to move on with the day and get away from this computer. If you are fasting tonight and tomorrow, I hope it's an easy and meaningful one. I pray that we are all written and sealed in the Book of Life.
Talk to you Saturday night.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Kicking Back
Today I plan to have a very, very low key day. For me and Mark that is really saying something. There are people around here that think we are crazy busy all the time. Mostly, they are right, too!
Not today! I'm not crazy busy today. Mark and I are going to go out this morning to drop his car off at the repair shop. The trunk lid has had trouble shutting properly for over a year and last week it died completely. It no longer shuts. If we drop it off this morning, we can go back on Friday and get it. In between, we don't need a second car. After dropping it off, I will drive him to his comic book store to pick up his weekly supply. Hopefully, that will all be done by lunchtime so I can go play Mah Jongg at 1 p.m. with my neighbors. I have not played Mahj since my birthday, seven weeks ago. We will do our weights and take a walk after Mahj and that concludes the day's activities.
Not at all an over-programmed, crazy day. In fact, it's very much a low-key, regular Monday.
We had a lot of fun yesterday. We loved the movie, enjoyed lunch out, and walked nearly five miles as we played the Agent P game at Epcot. It was very similar to the Kim Possible game that used to be there, but it was still amusing. I was surprised at how many people were doing it. In fact, sometimes we had to wait our turn, probably because it was a Sunday.
I ate only 1450 calories yesterday, but my Lose It! program gave me 500 calories from exercise, which meant I was under my limit by that amount for the day. I was sweating a lot as we walked around for four hours and drank four full half-liter bottles of water. All night long I hopped out of the bed to run to the bathroom! I figured I must be down some weight this morning, and I was right. I'm down a pound today to 253.4. Not too shabby. I am still working on the weight from the trip to Maryland. I'm not going to be breaking new territory until I hit 245, but I feel in control and working toward that goal.
As the week concludes tomorrow, there could be a gain for Wednesday morning. Mark and I are checking into the All Star Sport Resort tomorrow for Yom Kippur. Disney offered us a cheap rate for Florida residents, only good at All Star Sports, so we snagged it. We can play all day tomorrow in the pool, eat lunch in the food court, an early dinner out somewhere, and then make it to shul by 6:40 for Kol Nidre, the start of Yom Kippur. Mainly we wanted to try the resort because it's a much shorter drive to the shul from WDW than from our house. We can get back to the resort Tuesday night quickly and relax. Then Wednesday afternoon it will be a nice easy drive back to All Star for a nap before concluding the holiday. Breaking the fast will probably be at the All Star food court. Then it's up at the crack of dawn Thursday because we have to be on a bus back in Solivita by 8:15 a.m. for an all day trip to St. Petersburg with the Travel Club. Whoee!! Our relaxing times are over come tomorrow! But it's all good. In fact, I won't even be weighing in again until Friday morning, so I won't be surprised that despite being down two pounds for the week today that I might show a gain for the week on Friday morning. Non-stop eating out Tuesday through Thursday may definitely throw a monkey-wrench into the plans.
For anyone who celebrates Yom Kippur and is reading this blog, I would like to ask your forgiveness if I have offended or wronged you in anyway this past year. I really mean that. I know that sometimes I get crazy and say something stupid. If I have offended you at all, I hope you will forgive me. I also hope you have an easy and meaningful fast as we all pray to be sealed into the Book of Life for another year.
Not today! I'm not crazy busy today. Mark and I are going to go out this morning to drop his car off at the repair shop. The trunk lid has had trouble shutting properly for over a year and last week it died completely. It no longer shuts. If we drop it off this morning, we can go back on Friday and get it. In between, we don't need a second car. After dropping it off, I will drive him to his comic book store to pick up his weekly supply. Hopefully, that will all be done by lunchtime so I can go play Mah Jongg at 1 p.m. with my neighbors. I have not played Mahj since my birthday, seven weeks ago. We will do our weights and take a walk after Mahj and that concludes the day's activities.
Not at all an over-programmed, crazy day. In fact, it's very much a low-key, regular Monday.
We had a lot of fun yesterday. We loved the movie, enjoyed lunch out, and walked nearly five miles as we played the Agent P game at Epcot. It was very similar to the Kim Possible game that used to be there, but it was still amusing. I was surprised at how many people were doing it. In fact, sometimes we had to wait our turn, probably because it was a Sunday.
I ate only 1450 calories yesterday, but my Lose It! program gave me 500 calories from exercise, which meant I was under my limit by that amount for the day. I was sweating a lot as we walked around for four hours and drank four full half-liter bottles of water. All night long I hopped out of the bed to run to the bathroom! I figured I must be down some weight this morning, and I was right. I'm down a pound today to 253.4. Not too shabby. I am still working on the weight from the trip to Maryland. I'm not going to be breaking new territory until I hit 245, but I feel in control and working toward that goal.
As the week concludes tomorrow, there could be a gain for Wednesday morning. Mark and I are checking into the All Star Sport Resort tomorrow for Yom Kippur. Disney offered us a cheap rate for Florida residents, only good at All Star Sports, so we snagged it. We can play all day tomorrow in the pool, eat lunch in the food court, an early dinner out somewhere, and then make it to shul by 6:40 for Kol Nidre, the start of Yom Kippur. Mainly we wanted to try the resort because it's a much shorter drive to the shul from WDW than from our house. We can get back to the resort Tuesday night quickly and relax. Then Wednesday afternoon it will be a nice easy drive back to All Star for a nap before concluding the holiday. Breaking the fast will probably be at the All Star food court. Then it's up at the crack of dawn Thursday because we have to be on a bus back in Solivita by 8:15 a.m. for an all day trip to St. Petersburg with the Travel Club. Whoee!! Our relaxing times are over come tomorrow! But it's all good. In fact, I won't even be weighing in again until Friday morning, so I won't be surprised that despite being down two pounds for the week today that I might show a gain for the week on Friday morning. Non-stop eating out Tuesday through Thursday may definitely throw a monkey-wrench into the plans.
For anyone who celebrates Yom Kippur and is reading this blog, I would like to ask your forgiveness if I have offended or wronged you in anyway this past year. I really mean that. I know that sometimes I get crazy and say something stupid. If I have offended you at all, I hope you will forgive me. I also hope you have an easy and meaningful fast as we all pray to be sealed into the Book of Life for another year.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Holding my own.
This morning Mark and I had a hard time getting going. We left for shul about the same time as last week, but instead of coming in on the Haftarah, we came in on the Rabbi's talk. OY! That's a new low for us in this shul. It's not our lowest low ever in a shul. Once at Mishkan Torah we came in at Kiddush! Haha!
I have very little else to say about today except that I have eaten well and exercised. I guess that's enough.
After our exercise, we watched the Orioles beat the Red Sox and then the Yankees beat the Athletics. Both games were nail-biters that went into extra innings. Currently, we are watching our Disney movie for the week, The Shaggy Dog. That's the original one with Fred MacMurray, very cool.
My weight was down another pound this morning, down to 254.3. I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill at 2.7 mph and half the time was at an incline. I definitely broke a sweat and got my heart rate up. I also did my weight machines.
My calories are hanging in there very, very well, too. So far the week looks like this:
Wednesday 1244
Thursday 1450
Friday 1450
Saturday 1200
Tomorrow Mark and I are going to have our usual Sunday. There will be a movie in the morning at Downtown Disney. Right now we are planning to go to the new Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams film, Trouble with the Curve. Then we will have our veggie chili at Pollo Campero for lunch before heading to Epcot to finally have a chance to play the new Phineas and Ferb game. It replaced the older Kim Possible game, but I bet it's going to be very similar. In any case, it's going to involve a LOT of walking, so that's good! When we get home, Mark is trying out a new salmon recipe with lentils and asparagus. I think it sounds delicious.
I have very little else to say about today except that I have eaten well and exercised. I guess that's enough.
After our exercise, we watched the Orioles beat the Red Sox and then the Yankees beat the Athletics. Both games were nail-biters that went into extra innings. Currently, we are watching our Disney movie for the week, The Shaggy Dog. That's the original one with Fred MacMurray, very cool.
My weight was down another pound this morning, down to 254.3. I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill at 2.7 mph and half the time was at an incline. I definitely broke a sweat and got my heart rate up. I also did my weight machines.
My calories are hanging in there very, very well, too. So far the week looks like this:
Wednesday 1244
Thursday 1450
Friday 1450
Saturday 1200
Tomorrow Mark and I are going to have our usual Sunday. There will be a movie in the morning at Downtown Disney. Right now we are planning to go to the new Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams film, Trouble with the Curve. Then we will have our veggie chili at Pollo Campero for lunch before heading to Epcot to finally have a chance to play the new Phineas and Ferb game. It replaced the older Kim Possible game, but I bet it's going to be very similar. In any case, it's going to involve a LOT of walking, so that's good! When we get home, Mark is trying out a new salmon recipe with lentils and asparagus. I think it sounds delicious.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Back to Disney
We have not had a chance to go to Disney in many weeks, so it was a lot of fun to be at Downtown Disney yesterday with our friends Barb and Al. It was a low key day there because we decided not to go to a park, instead we met near the Ghirardelli store where I gave Barbara my Disney jigsaw puzzle. What better person to pass this on to! I bought it for myself about six months ago, put it together in a record three days' time, and then just let it sit on the table on my lanai, unwilling to break it apart. Last week I actually picked up another one, so I needed the table again. I thought of Barb right away, and, surprisingly, she didn't already have it. A shiddach was made! LOL!
When we got back, we had lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. I ordered a turkey sandwich with just lettuce and tomato and the creamy tomato soup with croutons. It's not what I had planned to have, but I was ravenous after that walk. After all, I had only had an 80 calorie yogurt that morning for breakfast. I estimated the soup and sandwich combination to be 750 calories. I had a salad with grilled tilapia for dinner at Lakeside, probably less than 250 calories.After we said good-bye to Barb and Al, we went to the pool. It was supposed to rain, but it never did. We were able to swim for awhile and take a much needed nap in the shade on a chaise lounge. Then we went to our favorite bar where they were serving a special drink, Caramel Latte. NO, this was definitely NOT a Starbucks style latte. It was caramel vodka, espresso vodka, and half and half. It could be hot or cold, so Mark and I both chose cold. On ice, it was unbelievably delicious!. I estimated its calories in the 220 range. With dinner I had a special drink also. I was going to get white zinfandel, but they offered me their special. It was moscato with pomegranate and orange juices on ice. Also very tasty. Well, my calories came to about 1450 yesterday, but I walked off 225 of them. I think it was a great day.
Today I am going to spend four hours in the salon. I'm having what I call "The Works" and the salon receptionist calls "The Whole Shebang!" Either way, it takes awhile and includes a spa pedicure, gel nails, hair color and cut, and waxing. Whoee!! Can we say, "I'm pampering myself today"? YES, we can!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I survived Rosh Hashana
And by that title I mean my weight survived! I LOST weight this week. I guess there wasn't really any doubt because I was hopping on the scale every morning and even wrote about it in some of this week's blogs. My official weigh-in is 255.6, a very exciting number. It means I have lost 7.6 since last Tuesday, our first day home from that big trip, and an official 4.6 for the week since last Wednesday. I'm pretty happy; however, "exciting" is relative since I'm still just losing and gaining the SAME WEIGHT. When Reuben left in June, I was about nine pounds less than this. I really shouldn't get excited until I get below the 240 mark. Sigh. Still, I like to take little victories where I can. I did what I was supposed to do, and I was rewarded for it with an appropriate weight loss. I can't ask for anything more than that.
Mark and I are going to do our weights and walk 30 minutes today somewhere, somehow. We have lots of household chores to do, and we are still planning to get to a 1:05 movie up at The Loop to see the Disney film, The Odd Life of Timothy Green. It's supposed to rain this afternoon and evening pretty hard, so our walking could end up indoors at the track or on the treadmill. We'll see. All I know is that it must be done. I know for sure that losing weight on the second week of any diet plan is WAY harder than losing on the first week. I'm also going to do a lot of eating in restaurants this week. Tomorrow I will end up having lunch and dinner out. On Tuesday I will have lunch and dinner out also. Restaurants are still hard for me, so I'll be interested in seeing how I handle this upcoming week.
And how about them O's!!!!!! We won last night in the EIGHTEENTH inning; that's like playing a double header without a break. Now we are once again tied for first place in the AL East because NY got rained out. They are playing a double header today while we play our third game against Seattle. Mark and I are hoping that we sweep the Mariners with another win tonight and that the Yanks lose twice! LOL! I know the Yanks won't lose twice, but the odds are they will split the double header. If we win and they split, we will still be tied for first place! This has been the BEST baseball season in years!
Mark and I are going to do our weights and walk 30 minutes today somewhere, somehow. We have lots of household chores to do, and we are still planning to get to a 1:05 movie up at The Loop to see the Disney film, The Odd Life of Timothy Green. It's supposed to rain this afternoon and evening pretty hard, so our walking could end up indoors at the track or on the treadmill. We'll see. All I know is that it must be done. I know for sure that losing weight on the second week of any diet plan is WAY harder than losing on the first week. I'm also going to do a lot of eating in restaurants this week. Tomorrow I will end up having lunch and dinner out. On Tuesday I will have lunch and dinner out also. Restaurants are still hard for me, so I'll be interested in seeing how I handle this upcoming week.
And how about them O's!!!!!! We won last night in the EIGHTEENTH inning; that's like playing a double header without a break. Now we are once again tied for first place in the AL East because NY got rained out. They are playing a double header today while we play our third game against Seattle. Mark and I are hoping that we sweep the Mariners with another win tonight and that the Yanks lose twice! LOL! I know the Yanks won't lose twice, but the odds are they will split the double header. If we win and they split, we will still be tied for first place! This has been the BEST baseball season in years!
Monday, September 17, 2012
More thoughts on Rosh Hashanah
Today I cut 100 calories from breakfast by eating my normal links and yogurt. I ate the same lunch and dinner will also be the same, HUGE! I did weight lifting, 30 minutes of walking, and 20 minutes of swimming. I think it's working. I weighed this morning and was up a pound, but I'm sure it was the sodium in the soup. Tonight I'm back down that pound, the same as I was yesterday morning. If I can just maintain for these two days with this huge dinner, I'll be quite happy Wednesday morning. I'll still have a respectable loss for the week.
My little choir did an admirable job this morning and received many compliments. They will do the same two songs tomorrow, and I'm sure they will be even better. The service was enhanced by what they did.
I wanted to copy and paste some thoughts on Rosh Hashanah today that I found interesting, but it turns out you can't copy and paste from Facebook! This is something someone else was sharing from an internet site, so I guess that's why it's protected. It's not long, so I'm just typing it over here for anyone to read. Let me know if you find this interesting as well.
This is from a site called Positive Jewish Living, and our cantor at SOJC occasionally shares things from them. This is the one he shared on Sunday.
"Both apples and honey are sweet foods. But where they differ is in their respective shelf lives. Even after a few minutes left exposed, a slice of apple will go brown and soft, and soon be inedible. Apples need to be eaten fresh. Not so with honey. Honey does not decompose--in fact, the ancients used it as a preservative. Honey never goes bad!
Apples represent modernity. It is fresh today, stale tomorrow. Honey, on the other hand, represents tradition, a force that is unchanging, constant, timeless and stable.
Jewish spirituality is a delicate marriage of these two forces. For our spiritual life to be dynamic and alive, it must change and keep up with the times. And to have substance and meaning, it has to present a truth that is beyond change, that is timeless.
Dip your apple in the honey of our eternal tradition and it will be preserved forever"
When I read that on Sunday, I thought that it would make eating the apples and honey much more meaningful. I was right, and now tonight I'm glad I have recopied it and read it through again. I like the idea of putting the two things together. I always just thought that the apples and honey represented sweetness and the prayers that we should all have a sweet new year. That's a nice thought, too, but this idea of combining the modern and changing with the timeless and constant has added a wonderful new level of meaning to the ritual for me.
Soon it is time to light the candles and have kiddush and dinner to usher in the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Again, I wish everyone a sweet new year full of health and happiness.
My little choir did an admirable job this morning and received many compliments. They will do the same two songs tomorrow, and I'm sure they will be even better. The service was enhanced by what they did.
I wanted to copy and paste some thoughts on Rosh Hashanah today that I found interesting, but it turns out you can't copy and paste from Facebook! This is something someone else was sharing from an internet site, so I guess that's why it's protected. It's not long, so I'm just typing it over here for anyone to read. Let me know if you find this interesting as well.
This is from a site called Positive Jewish Living, and our cantor at SOJC occasionally shares things from them. This is the one he shared on Sunday.
"Both apples and honey are sweet foods. But where they differ is in their respective shelf lives. Even after a few minutes left exposed, a slice of apple will go brown and soft, and soon be inedible. Apples need to be eaten fresh. Not so with honey. Honey does not decompose--in fact, the ancients used it as a preservative. Honey never goes bad!
Apples represent modernity. It is fresh today, stale tomorrow. Honey, on the other hand, represents tradition, a force that is unchanging, constant, timeless and stable.
Jewish spirituality is a delicate marriage of these two forces. For our spiritual life to be dynamic and alive, it must change and keep up with the times. And to have substance and meaning, it has to present a truth that is beyond change, that is timeless.
Dip your apple in the honey of our eternal tradition and it will be preserved forever"
When I read that on Sunday, I thought that it would make eating the apples and honey much more meaningful. I was right, and now tonight I'm glad I have recopied it and read it through again. I like the idea of putting the two things together. I always just thought that the apples and honey represented sweetness and the prayers that we should all have a sweet new year. That's a nice thought, too, but this idea of combining the modern and changing with the timeless and constant has added a wonderful new level of meaning to the ritual for me.
Soon it is time to light the candles and have kiddush and dinner to usher in the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Again, I wish everyone a sweet new year full of health and happiness.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Rosh Hashanah starts tonight.
Last year I wrote a lengthy blog on attending High Holiday services for the first time at SOJC. It's dated September. 29, 2011 ("Some Thoughts on the Rosh Hashanah Services") if you are interested in re-reading it. I just went back and read it again. Mostly I talked about the choir and how I missed them more than I thought I would. Well, I guess this year I won't feel like that. I have another choir!
My new little choir of 10 people will sing our usual "Sim Shalom" followed by a Hassidic Kassdish Shaleim along with the cantor after the Musaf Amidah repetition on the first and second day of Rosh Hashanah and on Kol Nidre and during the day and evening of Yom Kippur. We are also singing harmony along with the cantor for "Yigdal" at the end of Kol Nidre. They have worked hard, and this shul has never had anything like this before. I hope it enhances their spirituality on these days. I do believe it will bring a level of ruach that they have not experienced in the past. I'll let you know!
As for weight management, my week has been going great since I restarted my weight loss plans on Tuesday. This morning I was 256.4, which means all of the weight from the western trip is gone! Tonight and tomorrow night are a challenge because of the holiday meals. As High Holidays go, it's about as good as it's ever been, calorie-wise, because we are not having company or being invited out, so that gives me a level of control that I often don't have. I also noticed that last year on the day before the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I weighed 249.3. I'm up seven pounds for the year, but I feel confident that can be changed.
Here's the menu for the two nights:
2 ounces of Challah, 132 calories
1/4 small apple with 1 tsp of honey 40 calories
2 ounces of sweet wine, 94 calories
1 cup of broth and 2 small matzo balls (from a mix) 80 calories
Mark's special Merlot baked brisket with vegetables, 1/8 of recipe, 900 calories. YEAH! That's where the problem really lies! Haha!! He has had that brisket in the freezer for MONTHS. It's time to use it up. We've had this recipe before and it's great.
1/8 of Honey Cake for dessert 180 calories.
That makes my dinner my whole day's calories, 1,427.
Unfortunately for me, before I calculated those dinner calories, I had already eaten Mark's special Sunday morning breakfast of a lo-carb biscuit with half a T of Smart Balance margarine and two scrambled eggs, That's only 296 calories, 96 over my usual breakfast. On any other day it does not matter, but I forgot about the dinner when I did that. LOL! Now I'm up to 1,723 for the day and NO LUNCH!
Well, the answer is more exercise. We were going to go to a movie this afternoon, but now we are putting that off until Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to walk 30 minutes and swim 30 minutes. According to my Lose It! program that will burn off 427 calories, making my net calorie intake for the day only 1297. THAT'S a reasonable amount which would allow me to eat a little bit of lunch. If I have a can of tuna (140 calories) on 2 cups of salad greens (44 calories), I will bring the total for the day up to 1481 net, well within the 1504 that my program says I can have. I love the Lose It! app on my phone! It's a helpful tool when I use it correctly.
So no more time to blog! I have to shower and dress and head out to exercise. For once, I'm actual looking forward to the exercise.
I wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and healthy and sweet New Year. May you all find peace and sweetness in your lives today, tomorrow, and always. Love to each and every one of you.
My new little choir of 10 people will sing our usual "Sim Shalom" followed by a Hassidic Kassdish Shaleim along with the cantor after the Musaf Amidah repetition on the first and second day of Rosh Hashanah and on Kol Nidre and during the day and evening of Yom Kippur. We are also singing harmony along with the cantor for "Yigdal" at the end of Kol Nidre. They have worked hard, and this shul has never had anything like this before. I hope it enhances their spirituality on these days. I do believe it will bring a level of ruach that they have not experienced in the past. I'll let you know!
As for weight management, my week has been going great since I restarted my weight loss plans on Tuesday. This morning I was 256.4, which means all of the weight from the western trip is gone! Tonight and tomorrow night are a challenge because of the holiday meals. As High Holidays go, it's about as good as it's ever been, calorie-wise, because we are not having company or being invited out, so that gives me a level of control that I often don't have. I also noticed that last year on the day before the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I weighed 249.3. I'm up seven pounds for the year, but I feel confident that can be changed.
Here's the menu for the two nights:
2 ounces of Challah, 132 calories
1/4 small apple with 1 tsp of honey 40 calories
2 ounces of sweet wine, 94 calories
1 cup of broth and 2 small matzo balls (from a mix) 80 calories
Mark's special Merlot baked brisket with vegetables, 1/8 of recipe, 900 calories. YEAH! That's where the problem really lies! Haha!! He has had that brisket in the freezer for MONTHS. It's time to use it up. We've had this recipe before and it's great.
1/8 of Honey Cake for dessert 180 calories.
That makes my dinner my whole day's calories, 1,427.
Unfortunately for me, before I calculated those dinner calories, I had already eaten Mark's special Sunday morning breakfast of a lo-carb biscuit with half a T of Smart Balance margarine and two scrambled eggs, That's only 296 calories, 96 over my usual breakfast. On any other day it does not matter, but I forgot about the dinner when I did that. LOL! Now I'm up to 1,723 for the day and NO LUNCH!
Well, the answer is more exercise. We were going to go to a movie this afternoon, but now we are putting that off until Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to walk 30 minutes and swim 30 minutes. According to my Lose It! program that will burn off 427 calories, making my net calorie intake for the day only 1297. THAT'S a reasonable amount which would allow me to eat a little bit of lunch. If I have a can of tuna (140 calories) on 2 cups of salad greens (44 calories), I will bring the total for the day up to 1481 net, well within the 1504 that my program says I can have. I love the Lose It! app on my phone! It's a helpful tool when I use it correctly.
So no more time to blog! I have to shower and dress and head out to exercise. For once, I'm actual looking forward to the exercise.
I wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and healthy and sweet New Year. May you all find peace and sweetness in your lives today, tomorrow, and always. Love to each and every one of you.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Choir Hiatus
My new fledgling choir at SOJC is now on hiatus. The plan was to have 10 rehearsals, more or less every other week, from May to last night, just to prepare for the High Holidays. They learned 4 songs and will be singing next week! I had 10 very committed and excellent singers, which is pretty good for the first year. Now we will WOW the congregation on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The plan is to reconvene next spring and learn a few new songs for next year as well as polish these four songs back up. Maybe some new people will even join us.
I had another perfect day yesterday as far as food and exercise goes. I walked and went to the gym. My total calories came in at 1340 for the day. BTW, the HG chocolate milkshake was great. It did not have the texture of a milkshake, but it was cold, chocolatey, and huge. I loved it! It was a wonderful treat to anticipate after returning from choir. This morning, I was rewarded with two more pounds gone, weighing in at 258.2. Amazing. Now I'm just one up from when I left for Nevada on August 16.
I'm actually quite stunned that I only gained six pounds in the 25 day trip and that I've dropped five of those in two days. On the 21 day trip to MD/NJ/NY in July, I gained 10 pounds and dropped none of it before this trip. If I drop the final pound by the next official weigh-in, I will be so happy. There are two big Rosh Hashanah dinners (Monday and Tuesday nights) between now and then. Mark is going to make a big brisket with vegetables that should last two nights. There will be gefilte fish and matzo ball soup and challah. Those are all delicious things AND they are pretty high in calories. So...the answer to that is portion control and watching out that the rest of the day is pretty low.
This morning Mark and I realized we must still be on Pacific time. We could NOT get out of bed until after 9 a.m. Crazy. Now our whole day is going to be playing catch up. Mark has to do our weekly grocery shopping; I have laundry to put away and a project on the computer I promised a friend to type; and we are also going to Tampa to the Aquarium. Yeah, catching up all day. Guess I'd better end the blog and get started.
I had another perfect day yesterday as far as food and exercise goes. I walked and went to the gym. My total calories came in at 1340 for the day. BTW, the HG chocolate milkshake was great. It did not have the texture of a milkshake, but it was cold, chocolatey, and huge. I loved it! It was a wonderful treat to anticipate after returning from choir. This morning, I was rewarded with two more pounds gone, weighing in at 258.2. Amazing. Now I'm just one up from when I left for Nevada on August 16.
I'm actually quite stunned that I only gained six pounds in the 25 day trip and that I've dropped five of those in two days. On the 21 day trip to MD/NJ/NY in July, I gained 10 pounds and dropped none of it before this trip. If I drop the final pound by the next official weigh-in, I will be so happy. There are two big Rosh Hashanah dinners (Monday and Tuesday nights) between now and then. Mark is going to make a big brisket with vegetables that should last two nights. There will be gefilte fish and matzo ball soup and challah. Those are all delicious things AND they are pretty high in calories. So...the answer to that is portion control and watching out that the rest of the day is pretty low.
This morning Mark and I realized we must still be on Pacific time. We could NOT get out of bed until after 9 a.m. Crazy. Now our whole day is going to be playing catch up. Mark has to do our weekly grocery shopping; I have laundry to put away and a project on the computer I promised a friend to type; and we are also going to Tampa to the Aquarium. Yeah, catching up all day. Guess I'd better end the blog and get started.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
National Chocolate Milkshake Day
I was super good yesterday on my calories. I ate about 1300, logged it all in, and drank a liter of water. There was no exercise, but on the first day that didn't matter. I dropped three pounds in this one day, mostly water I'm sure, and weighed in this morning at 260.2. Nice. Now if next Wednesday will show up another three pounds for the week, I'll be in great shape. In fact, I'll be back to the 257 that I weighed when we left for the trip. Then I can start losing the weight from the July trip! LOL!
Today I have walked abut 45 minutes and did my weight routines. I have not been in the gym for about six weeks, so I did only two sets of 10 reps on some machines and two sets of 15 on the easier ones. Still, it was good to be back. Mark and I are both determined to get back into the three-day-a-week routine.
I also ate well today, so far. Breakfast was my veggie sausages and yogurt; lunch was at Subway, the double turkey salad and Baked Lays, only 560 calories so far and a lo-cal shiritake noodle spaghetti and salad dinner.
The best part of today's food plan will be our 10 p.m. snack after we get home from the last SOJC choir rehearsal. It's National Chocolate Milkshake Day, according to Hungry Girl. She had a recipe for one on her website that Mark will be making for us tonight. It uses either sugar-free (our choice) or fat-free chocolate ice cream, sugar free hot chocolate mix, sugar free chocolate sauce, Splenda, and ice. I'm pretty sure that all blended together that this is going to be spectacular. It should add up to about 240 calories, which will fit nicely into my plan today. I'll let you know tomorrow if it's good, then if you want the exact recipe, just go to her website or ask me.
Today was filled with normal chores. Mark had a regular dental check-up and cleaning this morning It went very well. He has been in and out of there so often for tooth problems all summer that the dentist was surprised to see him just for something routine. She immediately asked him what hurt! LOL! Next we drove up to BJs to renew our membership and stock up on tissues, dishwasher detergent and a few other things. We got four challahs there because they have excellent ones, and we need a lot for the upcoming holidays. Then it was off to the comic book store to get a month's worth of books, lunch at Subway, and shopping at the Publix near WDW. That one has the best selection of kosher food, so we got frozen rib eye steaks, a bag of frozen chicken breasts, and several other things. After dropping off the frozen food, we hit the gym. Now I'm finally blogging while Mark is fixing dinner. We have to leave at 6 p.m. for our rehearsal.
It was a great day! It actually feels good to be on my food plan again. I was tempted by some stuff in the grocery store; I can't deny that. Still, I did not succumb to the temptations.
Tomorrow we are driving west to go to the Tampa Aquarium. It should be a fun day, touring in our own state.
Today I have walked abut 45 minutes and did my weight routines. I have not been in the gym for about six weeks, so I did only two sets of 10 reps on some machines and two sets of 15 on the easier ones. Still, it was good to be back. Mark and I are both determined to get back into the three-day-a-week routine.
I also ate well today, so far. Breakfast was my veggie sausages and yogurt; lunch was at Subway, the double turkey salad and Baked Lays, only 560 calories so far and a lo-cal shiritake noodle spaghetti and salad dinner.
The best part of today's food plan will be our 10 p.m. snack after we get home from the last SOJC choir rehearsal. It's National Chocolate Milkshake Day, according to Hungry Girl. She had a recipe for one on her website that Mark will be making for us tonight. It uses either sugar-free (our choice) or fat-free chocolate ice cream, sugar free hot chocolate mix, sugar free chocolate sauce, Splenda, and ice. I'm pretty sure that all blended together that this is going to be spectacular. It should add up to about 240 calories, which will fit nicely into my plan today. I'll let you know tomorrow if it's good, then if you want the exact recipe, just go to her website or ask me.
Today was filled with normal chores. Mark had a regular dental check-up and cleaning this morning It went very well. He has been in and out of there so often for tooth problems all summer that the dentist was surprised to see him just for something routine. She immediately asked him what hurt! LOL! Next we drove up to BJs to renew our membership and stock up on tissues, dishwasher detergent and a few other things. We got four challahs there because they have excellent ones, and we need a lot for the upcoming holidays. Then it was off to the comic book store to get a month's worth of books, lunch at Subway, and shopping at the Publix near WDW. That one has the best selection of kosher food, so we got frozen rib eye steaks, a bag of frozen chicken breasts, and several other things. After dropping off the frozen food, we hit the gym. Now I'm finally blogging while Mark is fixing dinner. We have to leave at 6 p.m. for our rehearsal.
It was a great day! It actually feels good to be on my food plan again. I was tempted by some stuff in the grocery store; I can't deny that. Still, I did not succumb to the temptations.
Tomorrow we are driving west to go to the Tampa Aquarium. It should be a fun day, touring in our own state.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Home, Sweet Home
Mark and I really enjoyed coming home last night, but it sure was a long process. We left our hotel in Sunnyvale, CA at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time and arrived at our house at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time. That was a solid 12 hours of actual travel time. Jet lag is tough in the west to east direction! I couldn't fall asleep until nearly 2 a.m. after unloading the car and unpacking one suitcase. Then the alarm went off at 6:30. YIKES! I don't know when Mark actually got up, but for me it was 7:30. Not much sleep, but it's a good way to jump back into the Eastern time zone.
I made a list of things to do today, and it's a surprisingly long list. Obviously laundry and blogging are two of the top things to be done. I haven't started the laundry, but hey, here's the blog!
Yes, of course, I jumped on the scale first thing this morning. It's not good, but it's not nearly as bad as I had feared. I gained six pounds in the 25 days we were gone. Could be worse because we REALLY ATE a LOT! There was a lot of walking, too, so I guess that saved me.
I downloaded the Lose It! program on to my phone on Mark's birthday, March 12. At that time I put down my current weight, which was 263.2. Over the course of the next four months, I had gotten down to 245. I worked my way back up to 257 right before we took off for this trip, and this morning I weighed exactly 263.2 again. So according to Lose It!, I have done NOTHING since March 12. LOL!!
Honestly, I was afraid it was going to be much worse. When I returned from the cruise in January, I was 268, so I did a little better than that!
Now I'm committed to going back to the 240s. Ultimately, I'd like to stay in the 220s, but first things first. I know that I can hit 245 again pretty quickly if I do all the right things. What are the right things? Well, let's see...
1. Log in every calorie.
2. Keep the calories between 1200 and 1500 every day.
3. WALK! At least five days a week for 30 minutes at a time.
4. Drink 4-8 glasses of water daily.
5. Go to the gym for the weight routine three days a week.
6. Eat out LESS often! And when I do, skip appetizers, desserts, and alcohol. (Well, maybe some wine now and then or a shot of whiskey on the rocks. LOL!)
If I watch portion sizes and make good choices in restaurants (which I absolutely did NOT do on this trip!), then even eating out should not be a problem. For purely monetary reasons, Mark and I plan to eat most meals at home for quite awhile because we need to save some money!! There are definitely some times that we will be eating out in the next four weeks, so I need to make better choices. It's not my strong point. I seem to throw all will power out of the car window on the way to restaurants. Well, I will just keep working on that.
My email friend Rhonda sent me a letter reminding me not to beat myself up too much over the weight gain. She's right, of course, and she always gives me good advice and encouragement. Thanks, Rhonda! I will do just that. It's more important to give yourself positive messages than negative ones. My positive message to myself for today is that I didn't gain as much as I had feared and that I do know how to correct it. I can do this!
In four weeks, we will have company for a week. I expect there will be a lot of eating out during that time. Also the Epcot Food and Wine Festival will begin soon. I have to work to control these events. It's not my strong point for sure!
So, tomorrow is Weigh-in Wednesday. Even though I was 263.2 this morning, I plan to weigh in tomorrow and post it on the blog. Because I KNOW I will be eating right today, exercising some, and going out to the new season of Guys and Dolls rehearsals tonight, I expect to be down a pound or two tomorrow. That will be encouraging.
So time to move to laundry and other chores. It's good to be home.
I made a list of things to do today, and it's a surprisingly long list. Obviously laundry and blogging are two of the top things to be done. I haven't started the laundry, but hey, here's the blog!
Yes, of course, I jumped on the scale first thing this morning. It's not good, but it's not nearly as bad as I had feared. I gained six pounds in the 25 days we were gone. Could be worse because we REALLY ATE a LOT! There was a lot of walking, too, so I guess that saved me.
I downloaded the Lose It! program on to my phone on Mark's birthday, March 12. At that time I put down my current weight, which was 263.2. Over the course of the next four months, I had gotten down to 245. I worked my way back up to 257 right before we took off for this trip, and this morning I weighed exactly 263.2 again. So according to Lose It!, I have done NOTHING since March 12. LOL!!
Honestly, I was afraid it was going to be much worse. When I returned from the cruise in January, I was 268, so I did a little better than that!
Now I'm committed to going back to the 240s. Ultimately, I'd like to stay in the 220s, but first things first. I know that I can hit 245 again pretty quickly if I do all the right things. What are the right things? Well, let's see...
1. Log in every calorie.
2. Keep the calories between 1200 and 1500 every day.
3. WALK! At least five days a week for 30 minutes at a time.
4. Drink 4-8 glasses of water daily.
5. Go to the gym for the weight routine three days a week.
6. Eat out LESS often! And when I do, skip appetizers, desserts, and alcohol. (Well, maybe some wine now and then or a shot of whiskey on the rocks. LOL!)
If I watch portion sizes and make good choices in restaurants (which I absolutely did NOT do on this trip!), then even eating out should not be a problem. For purely monetary reasons, Mark and I plan to eat most meals at home for quite awhile because we need to save some money!! There are definitely some times that we will be eating out in the next four weeks, so I need to make better choices. It's not my strong point. I seem to throw all will power out of the car window on the way to restaurants. Well, I will just keep working on that.
My email friend Rhonda sent me a letter reminding me not to beat myself up too much over the weight gain. She's right, of course, and she always gives me good advice and encouragement. Thanks, Rhonda! I will do just that. It's more important to give yourself positive messages than negative ones. My positive message to myself for today is that I didn't gain as much as I had feared and that I do know how to correct it. I can do this!
In four weeks, we will have company for a week. I expect there will be a lot of eating out during that time. Also the Epcot Food and Wine Festival will begin soon. I have to work to control these events. It's not my strong point for sure!
So, tomorrow is Weigh-in Wednesday. Even though I was 263.2 this morning, I plan to weigh in tomorrow and post it on the blog. Because I KNOW I will be eating right today, exercising some, and going out to the new season of Guys and Dolls rehearsals tonight, I expect to be down a pound or two tomorrow. That will be encouraging.
So time to move to laundry and other chores. It's good to be home.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Been so busy
I have not had any time to sit and type a blog. We have been running ragged doing so much fun stuff.
Wednesday, Mark and I went to Baker Beach in Golden Gate Park and then took a boat ride around the SF harbor. When we got back, we took Evey out to dinner at a kosher restaurant in Campbell. Nice.
Thursday, Mark and I went to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Mark loved it more than he expected. It was kind of like looking back over his whole career at Goddard. When Evey got home from work, she and I took off for mani/pedis together. It was so much fun to share that girl time with her. In the evening, the four of us went to the Yard House in San Jose for dinner. They have a huge menu of Gardein products, which are vegetarian options. I had chicken penne in cream sauce, all vegan. Fantastic.
Yesterday, Evey was off work, so the three of us took a tour of San Francisco. It was on a small bus with a wonderful tour guide. He drove us over the Golden Gate Bridge, through all the electic neighborhoods of the city, and up to Twin Peaks. We also had a great lunch in Union Square before heading home to make a nice Shabbat dinner at Evey's apartment. Great day.
Today we went to Big Basin Redwood Park for a nature hike, and then we headed down to the beach at Santa Cruz. Dinner was back in Santa Clara at La Paloma, a great Mexican restaurant. It's an amazing place they live in. In an hour she's up in the redwood mountains, or down on the beach of Santa Cruz, or up in San Francisco. Very cool.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the west coast. We are going to hang around Evey and Eric's apartment and talk about the things they might like to do when they come to visit us in November. We are also going to just enjoy the time with them.
When we get home, I'm going to spend some time desperately looking for will power. I must have left it somewhere because I surely didn't bring it on this trip with me.
Wednesday, Mark and I went to Baker Beach in Golden Gate Park and then took a boat ride around the SF harbor. When we got back, we took Evey out to dinner at a kosher restaurant in Campbell. Nice.
Thursday, Mark and I went to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Mark loved it more than he expected. It was kind of like looking back over his whole career at Goddard. When Evey got home from work, she and I took off for mani/pedis together. It was so much fun to share that girl time with her. In the evening, the four of us went to the Yard House in San Jose for dinner. They have a huge menu of Gardein products, which are vegetarian options. I had chicken penne in cream sauce, all vegan. Fantastic.
Yesterday, Evey was off work, so the three of us took a tour of San Francisco. It was on a small bus with a wonderful tour guide. He drove us over the Golden Gate Bridge, through all the electic neighborhoods of the city, and up to Twin Peaks. We also had a great lunch in Union Square before heading home to make a nice Shabbat dinner at Evey's apartment. Great day.
Today we went to Big Basin Redwood Park for a nature hike, and then we headed down to the beach at Santa Cruz. Dinner was back in Santa Clara at La Paloma, a great Mexican restaurant. It's an amazing place they live in. In an hour she's up in the redwood mountains, or down on the beach of Santa Cruz, or up in San Francisco. Very cool.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the west coast. We are going to hang around Evey and Eric's apartment and talk about the things they might like to do when they come to visit us in November. We are also going to just enjoy the time with them.
When we get home, I'm going to spend some time desperately looking for will power. I must have left it somewhere because I surely didn't bring it on this trip with me.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Playing with a Mac
I am sitting at Evey's house playing with a Mac Air. It's certainly very light and cute. It doesn't get hot on my lap either. It's easier to use than I thought it would be, even on my lap, which I never do at home. Evey says I can take it back to the hotel and play with it all night and tomorrow. This is a borrowed laptop from Apple. I don't know if that's safe! It's a loaner, so what if I break it? LOL!
So I'm going to take it to the hotel and see if I can log onto that internet. I might try uploading some pictures from today when I get back. We shall see.
Meanwhile today was amazing. It started out cold and a little drizzly and foggy. Our plan was to go to a beach. LOL Not exactly a beach day. Still, we went. We ended up walking almost a mile each way and got some good exercise. It was breezy and cool, but our jackets were enough. The beach was Baker Beach in Golden Gate State Park, so we got some great views of the bridge. Then we drove around the park, saw some more great vistas, and tried to go get my national parks passport stamp. I was very disappointed when I got there and discovered it was closed on Wednesdays.
Next we found an amazing pizza parlor on Union Street. I heard from Barbara N. on Facebook that it was National Cheese Pizza Day, so we got an amazing extra cheese pizza there.
Our next activity was a harbor cruise on the Blue and Gold Fleet off Fisherman's Wharf. We took a 60 minute cruise out under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz, and back. It was AWESOME! I stood on the bow and just didn't even care how cold and windy it was. I love boats!
It was rush hour driving back to Evey's apartment, so it took us about an hour and forty-five minutes. I was exhausted. We picked up Evey and drove to the nearby town of Campbell because we learned there was a kosher restaurant there. It was so delicious. Mark and I got a a chicken and beef mixed grille that was spiced perfectly. Evey got fallafal and pronounced it delicious as well. Fun.
Then we came back to the apartment where Evey let me play with this Mac Air. I think it's time to go back to the hotel now because it's after 11 p.m. already. Tired but happy.
So I'm going to take it to the hotel and see if I can log onto that internet. I might try uploading some pictures from today when I get back. We shall see.
Meanwhile today was amazing. It started out cold and a little drizzly and foggy. Our plan was to go to a beach. LOL Not exactly a beach day. Still, we went. We ended up walking almost a mile each way and got some good exercise. It was breezy and cool, but our jackets were enough. The beach was Baker Beach in Golden Gate State Park, so we got some great views of the bridge. Then we drove around the park, saw some more great vistas, and tried to go get my national parks passport stamp. I was very disappointed when I got there and discovered it was closed on Wednesdays.
Next we found an amazing pizza parlor on Union Street. I heard from Barbara N. on Facebook that it was National Cheese Pizza Day, so we got an amazing extra cheese pizza there.
Our next activity was a harbor cruise on the Blue and Gold Fleet off Fisherman's Wharf. We took a 60 minute cruise out under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz, and back. It was AWESOME! I stood on the bow and just didn't even care how cold and windy it was. I love boats!
It was rush hour driving back to Evey's apartment, so it took us about an hour and forty-five minutes. I was exhausted. We picked up Evey and drove to the nearby town of Campbell because we learned there was a kosher restaurant there. It was so delicious. Mark and I got a a chicken and beef mixed grille that was spiced perfectly. Evey got fallafal and pronounced it delicious as well. Fun.
Then we came back to the apartment where Evey let me play with this Mac Air. I think it's time to go back to the hotel now because it's after 11 p.m. already. Tired but happy.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Anniversary Pictures
We had a lovely dinner at a fancy place in downtown San Jose, the Arcadia in the Marriott. Delicious. Even more delicious was hanging out for a few hours with Evey and Eric.
Today they have to go to work, so Mark and I are going up to San Francisco for a harbor cruise and a walk on the beach in Golden Gate Park. Right now it's in the mid-60s up there with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Yikes. We didn't really pack clothes for that eventuality. I guess we'll do our best.
Here are a few pictures from last night.
Today they have to go to work, so Mark and I are going up to San Francisco for a harbor cruise and a walk on the beach in Golden Gate Park. Right now it's in the mid-60s up there with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Yikes. We didn't really pack clothes for that eventuality. I guess we'll do our best.
Here are a few pictures from last night.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Happy First Anniversary to Evey and Eric!
Today is their first anniversary! I am so happy for them both. Around 4 p.m. today, we will be arriving at their apartment, and I will be hugging Evey for an hour at least. I have not seen them since last December.
Yesterday, as many of you on FB already know, our rental car was rear-ended as we drove to the local Denny's for dinner. Everyone is fine. There was only one lady in the other car, a 2001 Ford F-150 pick up truck. It crushed in the bumper and lower part of our 2012 rented Ford Fusion. So sad. The car was so pretty. Here's a picture of the rear end of the car now.
Mark called the rental car company (Fox Rent-a-Car), our insurance, and her insurance. We have GEICO; she has Progressive. A cop also pulled up and was very nice. He made sure we had exchanged all the required info, but if there was no personal injury, no police report needed to be filed. I was stopped at a red light, and she was slowing down for it, but she said the sun glare made it impossible to see me. Fortunately, she was slowing down, because if she'd been going faster we all could have been hurt. We could have been pushed out into the intersection of a busy road and been hit broadside by someone coming down that road. We feel very, VERY lucky that it was not worse. Thank God!
The insurance companies both gave us claim numbers. The rental car company said that since the car is drivable, just drop it off as planned next Monday in San Jose. If it had not been drivable, they were willing to have us swap it out for a new one last night. I don't see how anyone could do any more than that. Today we are supposed to hear from a claims adjuster. I guess we might have to go see one in Santa Clara or San Jose later today or tomorrow. We'll see. Meanwhile, since it wasn't our fault, we don't think we will have to pay any money. We will see.
It did sort of put a damper on the end of an otherwise delightful day. We had another great day in Old Sac at the Gold Rush Days. We also walked over to the Crocker Art Museum, which is a beautiful place with a wonderful variety of exhibits. We walked and walked and walked, so much that our legs and feet were aching. I had a reasonable hotel breakfast, a Subway salad, and had planned on having my tilapia dinner at Denny's. I would have probably lost a little weight, BUT the accident on the way to Denny's blew my resolve out of the water. I was angry and my adrenalin was pumping. When I got in there, I just craved carbs. I built my own burger on a cheddar bun, veggie burger with lots of veggies and pepper jack cheese, with fries and ice cream. I got the ice cream for free because they screwed up my burger and brought real meat! I sent it back, and to apologize for having to wait so long, they gave me two scoops of ice cream for free. Of course, I ate it!
I can feel the weight. It's kind of disgusting how much I'm gaining. I had not lost any of the weight I put on during the Maryland/NJ/NY trip, so this is probably another twenty pounds on top of that ten. Crazy. All I can say is that I'm having a heck of a lot of fun, and when we get home, I will have to try to dig down and find that will power that I had back in 2009. I'm sure you will all hear me scream when I get on that scale the morning of September 11.
Today we are driving from Rancho Cordova to Santa Clara. We expect that to take about three hours with two small stops to see some historic sites along the way. That should give us plenty of time to check into the Comfort Inn in Sunnyvale, not far from Evey's apartment. We can unpack and get ready to meet Evey when she gets home from work at 4 p.m. I think our dinner reservation is at 7:30 to celebrate that first anniversary!
Here are a few pictures from our Gold Rush Days. My girlfriend Laverne and her husband Kelly joined us on Sunday. I have known Laverne for FIFTY years! And she still looks the same!
The first thing they said was, "Let's get ice cream," so we did!
Laverne, you still look so young and beautiful! It's nice to have a friend that I've known for fifty years. Of course, until you pointed that out in the restaurant at lunch, I hadn't even realized it had been that long!
Taking a break in the railroad museum in Old Sacramento.
Mark is talking to Verne about the famous photograph of the two railroads meeting up in Promontory, Utah.
Lunch at the River City Saloon in Old Sac. Mark and I ate lunch there last year. Is this going to be a new tradition for us?
Toasting to old friends! LOL! No offense Verne and Kelly. I mean long-time friends!
Lots of street performers during Gold Rush Days. These two were pretty good!
Wagon rides were fun. We rode one, but not this one.
A Pony Express rider. We have been at both ends of the Pony Express trail. It started in St. Joseph, Missouri and ended in Sacramento.
We walked to the Crocker Art Museum next. This was E. B. Crocker, the brother to the Crocker who was one of the "Big Four" who invested in the railroad. This Crocker gave up a seat on the California Supreme Court Bench to take care of his brothers investments and legal work for the railroad. He also became quite an art collector.
Resting in the ballroom of Crocker's mansion.
The museum had a beautiful and eclectic collection of art in the old mansion as well as a big modern wing attached to it. If you go to Sacramento, I'd recommend a visit to this art museum.
Yesterday, as many of you on FB already know, our rental car was rear-ended as we drove to the local Denny's for dinner. Everyone is fine. There was only one lady in the other car, a 2001 Ford F-150 pick up truck. It crushed in the bumper and lower part of our 2012 rented Ford Fusion. So sad. The car was so pretty. Here's a picture of the rear end of the car now.
The insurance companies both gave us claim numbers. The rental car company said that since the car is drivable, just drop it off as planned next Monday in San Jose. If it had not been drivable, they were willing to have us swap it out for a new one last night. I don't see how anyone could do any more than that. Today we are supposed to hear from a claims adjuster. I guess we might have to go see one in Santa Clara or San Jose later today or tomorrow. We'll see. Meanwhile, since it wasn't our fault, we don't think we will have to pay any money. We will see.
It did sort of put a damper on the end of an otherwise delightful day. We had another great day in Old Sac at the Gold Rush Days. We also walked over to the Crocker Art Museum, which is a beautiful place with a wonderful variety of exhibits. We walked and walked and walked, so much that our legs and feet were aching. I had a reasonable hotel breakfast, a Subway salad, and had planned on having my tilapia dinner at Denny's. I would have probably lost a little weight, BUT the accident on the way to Denny's blew my resolve out of the water. I was angry and my adrenalin was pumping. When I got in there, I just craved carbs. I built my own burger on a cheddar bun, veggie burger with lots of veggies and pepper jack cheese, with fries and ice cream. I got the ice cream for free because they screwed up my burger and brought real meat! I sent it back, and to apologize for having to wait so long, they gave me two scoops of ice cream for free. Of course, I ate it!
I can feel the weight. It's kind of disgusting how much I'm gaining. I had not lost any of the weight I put on during the Maryland/NJ/NY trip, so this is probably another twenty pounds on top of that ten. Crazy. All I can say is that I'm having a heck of a lot of fun, and when we get home, I will have to try to dig down and find that will power that I had back in 2009. I'm sure you will all hear me scream when I get on that scale the morning of September 11.
Today we are driving from Rancho Cordova to Santa Clara. We expect that to take about three hours with two small stops to see some historic sites along the way. That should give us plenty of time to check into the Comfort Inn in Sunnyvale, not far from Evey's apartment. We can unpack and get ready to meet Evey when she gets home from work at 4 p.m. I think our dinner reservation is at 7:30 to celebrate that first anniversary!
Here are a few pictures from our Gold Rush Days. My girlfriend Laverne and her husband Kelly joined us on Sunday. I have known Laverne for FIFTY years! And she still looks the same!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Happy Labor Day Weekend
Last year on Labor Day Weekend we were all assembled in Boston for Evey and Eric's wedding on the Sunday. This year they are off to Napa Valley for a weekend get-away which will include a hot air balloon ride, courtesy of Aunt Cindy's wedding present. I'm so happy for them both. We will actually arrive in Santa Clara on Tuesday, September 4, which is their actual anniversary date, and take them out to a fancy dinner.
Here's a picture of the happy bride and groom on their wedding day.
Below is a picture of Eric and Evey with their good friend Jeremy Stone, who was the officiant at the wedding. He is presenting them with their wedding certificate.
This is a picture of Aunt Cindy, who gave them the coolest wedding present of all, a gift certificate for a hot air balloon ride. And that's Uncle Kip on the other side.
One of the highlights of the day was Mark singing "I Loved Her First." There was not a dry eye in the house.
What a gorgeous couple! I love you both very much, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you next week. Your wedding day was just one of the BEST affairs I ever attended!!
Today is also Shabbat, so that usually means shul and pool, only today there is no shul. We are about to head to the pool for the rest of the day. Since it's Labor Day weekend, I might spend some time contemplating what the importance of labor is to this country. Or I might just nap. Whatever you are doing this Labor Day Weekend, I hope it's relaxing and enjoyable.
Here's a picture of the happy bride and groom on their wedding day.
Below is a picture of Eric and Evey with their good friend Jeremy Stone, who was the officiant at the wedding. He is presenting them with their wedding certificate.
Today is also Shabbat, so that usually means shul and pool, only today there is no shul. We are about to head to the pool for the rest of the day. Since it's Labor Day weekend, I might spend some time contemplating what the importance of labor is to this country. Or I might just nap. Whatever you are doing this Labor Day Weekend, I hope it's relaxing and enjoyable.
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