Busy week. What else is new?

I don't know where to start.  It's been so busy this week.  Our day at Food and Wine on Monday was fabulous.  We ate at Greece and the Dominican Republic, and Mark had a sushi roll at Japan.  Everything was scrumptious and filling.  We had planned to stay just long enough to eat lunch, but we were having so much fun that we were there about six hours.  The weather was breezy and the place was far less crowded than on a Sunday.

Spicy grouper on rice, Yucca souffle, Caramel flan, beer, and rum cocktail from Dominican Republic

Drinking beer in his new shirt.

Spicy tuna and salmon sushi roll from Japan.

Veggie moussaka with Gardein sausage crumbles, spannokopita, Greek salad in a cone, a red and a white wine.

Free cocktail.  I'll take it thank you. 

Tuesday I was on a treadmill, similar to last week. Mark went to water aerobics by himself (the last time for three weeks) while I had a mani/pedi. Then I led the Cove Singers rehearsal while Mark waited for the AC repairman to come (fixed it easily for no charge), and then I went to the Guys and Dolls rehearsal.  All good but busy.

Wednesday was HUGE!  Mark had to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. to have his heart monitor installed.  They were running behind, what else is new at a hospital, so the 8 a.m. appointment became 10 a.m.  We had a late brunch at Denny's, did some shopping, and made a successful stop at the endocrinologist's office to have blood work orders changed.  Then we went home and napped!  In the evening we went to the synagogue choir rehearsal where MORE new members showed up.  It was an awesome rehearsal.

Mark's chest is blistered and red-looking under his plastic bandage.  It can come off Saturday afternoon, but it looks like that's going to HURT.  Meanwhile, he's not even sure the machine next to the bed that is supposed to send the data off to the doctor every night is working.  Hopefully, he will call the company for some tech support soon.

Yesterday we had our primary care doctor's appointments.  We go every six months.  My blood work was all great!  My weight was down about four pounds from six months ago, so she was happy with that.  At home I was 273.6 and in her office a few hours later with clothes I was 277.5.  She was okay with everything.  In fact staying the same for a year, essentially up and down the same five pounds, was totally okay with her.  She thought that was better than large swings up and down.  She's probably right. 

She looked at Mark's chest and agreed it's going to hurt when it comes off!  LOL! 

He even called the surgeon's office and was told to leave it alone, take it off Saturday afternoon, and yes, it's going to hurt.  Everyone is so helpful!  LOL

We both got our flu shots, so that was good.

I actually had my Welcome to Medicare physical.  Physically nothing was different.  They didn't even do an EKG, which every physical I ever had up north always did.  The only difference was a lot of odd and fairly stupid questions that were clearly assessing my mental acuity.  I passed.  Here are some sample questions:
What is the date?
Where are you right now?
What floor are we on?
Copy this picture.  It was two intersecting pentagons.
Write a complete sentence using good grammar and punctuation.
Count from 5-50 by fives.
She pointed to my bag of medications and asked me what it was.
And more of the same. 

I passed with only one wrong answer!  We do not have a working carbon monoxide detector in our house.

This morning we are heading to the Cove.  I will do water aerobics, but Mark will watch.  He might take a walk later. His plan is to write down what we are doing in the pool as the lady calls it so that we could do it ourselves when she's not there.  We'll have lunch there and then work in the library as always from 1-4 before coming home for Shabbat dinner and TV.  

Second Food and Wine Festival Day

This morning I weighed 275.6, a gain of a pound since the middle of the week, but down about .4 since last Monday's report.  Essentially, I maintained my weight this week.  Eating lunch at two or three kiosks today might not be too bad because of all the walking.  We ate there last Sunday, and it did not cause me to gain anything.

First we are going to a Coffee Talk in the ballroom on winter landscaping and grass care followed by water aerobics.  Then we will make a stop in Celebration to get new orders for blood work for Mark from the endocrinologist's office before getting to the Food and Wine Festival.  After all that, lunch will be late, maybe around 2 p.m., but we are also hoping it's far less crowded than last time on a Sunday.

Last time we ate vegan Korean barbecue, Italian cheese ravioli and cannoli, and Irish cheeses.  Everything was amazing!

Day off

We have been so busy lately that we are very pleased just to stay home today and RELAX!!!  Even retirees need a day off now and then.

Our gator day was fun, although the last few times we have been there, the rules keep changing.  This time they had taken out the gator tank from its location of years.  A new one, bigger and nicer, is being created.  The gators are still form Gatorland, so Mark and I wore our Gatorland t-shirts and hats for the first time.  The girl showed us Lemon Tart, a three year old female who was delightful.  We had a lovely time, but now you have to give them a donation of at least $5.  Then you can take all the pictures you want on your camera.  Last time it was free.  All the times before that cost $10-20 and NO pictures allowed on your camera.  All in all, this is not a bad donation for the right to take all the pictures you want.  I actually gave them $10 because the girl was so good and we took A LOT of pictures!

Susie and Ed will now go up on our powder room wall!

Me and Lemon Tart.

The Gatorland girl Laura did a great presentation.  She said Lemon Tart was her favorite gator to work with because she liked to "cuddle."

I got to cuddle Lemon Tart, too.

Thursday was a complete treadmill kind of day.  We had early morning, fasting blood draws.  I hosted 7 ladies for Mah Jongg in my house for about three hours while Mark shopped.  Then we had fun at the Trail's End buffet and hayride.  Unfortunately, I ate way too much at the buffet and went up four pounds in one day.  I gained four pounds in eight days on the cruise; I lost those four pounds in 13 days at home; I regained the four pounds back in one day.  Yeah, love my body.

Yesterday was another ridiculous treadmill day.  I left at 8:45 for a 9 a.m. rehearsal.  It ended at 10:30 and I went to water aerobics, although 10 minutes late.  Then we ate a picnic lunch by the pool before working in the library 1-3.  We stopped at Publix for things we forgot, ran home, showered and changed, made salad, set the table, tidies up the house, and got up to the Palms by 5:30.  We met six new people who seemed to enjoy Shabbat dinner at our house.  Mark led a full kiddush when we got back home, and we had some desserts back up at the Palms.  I was so tired by the time we got home at 9 p.m. that I left half the mess still on the dining room table to clean up today.

THAT'S why we need the day off today.

Oh, best part!  Our AC died yesterday afternoon, so the house was hot while we were cooking.  Fortunately, the ceiling fan over the dining room table plus the lower outside temperatures after the sun went down kept the house reasonable.  The guests did not complain.  The repairman is coming on Tuesday, so we are hoping it doesn't get too hot in here between now and then.

Gator Day

Today has been in the making for quite a few months.  After the morning's water aerobics, we will meet friends, the Goldbergs and the Sterns, at Denny's for lunch, followed by the airboat ride and pictures with them holding a baby gator.  Then I can put them up on my powder room wall.

This morning I was 274.5, so I was excited to be within half a pound of the weight on Oct. 2 when we left for the cruise.  I can control myself at Denny's, so today should be another good day.  Now tomorrow is another story.  Tomorrow night will be dinner at the Trail's End Buffet with the Disney Fan Club and then the hayride through the RV part of Fort Wilderness to see the Halloween lights.  We did it last year, and it was spectacular.  I have usually NOT controlled myself very well at that buffet, or any buffet really.  We shall see how tomorrow night goes.

There will be pictures of my friends holding the baby gator posted here later!

Felt like work

This morning I have been on a busman's holiday, meaning I have spent the last two hours working on music for three different groups that I am in:  SOJC Choir, Cove Singers, and Guys and Dolls.  Wow!
Yeah, that's what I do for fun now, but it's what I used to do for pay.  That's why it's a busman's holiday! Today, I have 2-4 p.m. rehearsal for the Cove Singers and a 6-8:30 p.m. rehearsal tonight for Guys and Dolls.  For SOJC I recorded nine different parts of a new song, solo plus four parts for the verse and four parts for the chorus, and emailed the files out to everyone in the group.  They don't rehearse again until next Wednesday, so this gives them time to listen to their part in advance.  Fun times.

The Service America guy was here this morning, too.  He fixed the garbage disposal and the ice maker.  I am SO happy to have both of those up and running.  I HATE not having a garbage disposal.  That was the worst!

Now that my work is done and the repairman is gone, I think it's time to relax, make some lunch, maybe watch some TV until about 1:30 when I head to the Cove for the 2 o'clock rehearsal.

Busy Solivita life, but this time at least everything was on the calendar!  LOL

Down two

My weight this morning is 276, so that's down two for the week.  That's a great week!  I had gained four on the cruise, so now half of that is gone.  Also, two pounds lost per week is considered the safe amount to lose.  I admit that I did not try that hard.  I did water aerobics twice during the week and walked a lot yesterday at Epcot. I also ate at three food kiosks yesterday and brought a chocolate cupcake home for a bedtime snack because it was National Chocolate Cupcake Day.  Yum.

Today I will be going to water aerobics and eating all my meals at home.  That's a recipe for more success!  I have three ladies joining me this afternoon at 1 for Mah Jongg, and then Mark and I will go to the book talk on Last of the Mohicans.  We should be able to finish the final 40 minutes on audiobooks today before 4 p.m.  Tonight, I will sit in my chair and watch a lot of TV.  LOL!

What are you doing today?

Sometimes we just screw up!

Yesterday was a lovely day right up until we screwed up.

We kind of overslept, so it was a rush in the morning to get ready to head out to shul.  We also had to pack a lunch in a cooler to eat after shul because we drove from the synagogue over to the AMC theaters at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) to see a Live from the Met opera production of Otello.  It will never be my favorite opera or favorite production of this opera.  Too gray, too static, too expressionless.  Then we drove home, sat on the lanai listening to Last of the Mohicans for about 90 minutes (the book talk on it is tomorrow), made dinner, ate dinner, put on our PJs, watched this week's Disney movie, The Watcher in the Woods.

Sounds like a great day, right?

Yes, it was, right up until we got a phone call from our friend Marian wondering why we were not at the Wine Pairing dinner party to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

WAIT!  THAT WAS TONIGHT????

Yeah, we sent $50 each to the lady who runs this event every year in order to attend a multi-course dinner with wine pairings and a silent auction.  We have gone twice before, but last year Mark got sick so we had to cancel at the last minute.  This year, I didn't put it on our calendar, so we simply forgot about it.

It's even WORSE than that because Marian and I actually talked about it at shul yesterday, planning what costumes we were going to wear and how hard the parking was going to be.  We were supposed to sit with her and her husband because the four of us wouldn't eat meat.  The group always makes vegetarian versions of the courses that include meat, just for the four of us.  UGH.  Then we forgot to show up. 

Then it gets even WORSE!  I looked at the tickets to verify the date and found them stamped with $60 as the price.  So not only did we not show up, we didn't even send in the right amount of money to start with.  OY!

I immediately wrote the lady an apology email and a check for the missing $20 plus another $10 for being screw ups.  It will be in the mail with another apology letter tomorrow morning.  I only hope she will keep us on the list for next year.

Sometimes we just screw up!

Today Mark is making a bunch of pizza crust dough this morning before we head over to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival for our first time this year to eat lunch at a few of the kiosks.  We will also get our Annual Passholder passport, which, if we get it stamped three times, we get a free festival wine glass.  Oh, yeah, who doesn't like a free wine glass!

Working 9-5.

Well, I didn't actually WORK today from 9-5, but I was at the Cove doing STUFF from 9-5.  My friend Donna picked me up at 8:45 to drive us over for a little hour long rehearsal at another friend's house in the Cove. Then at 10, we drove over to the pool, where I swam some laps and then did 45 minutes of water aerobics.  Mark was there by then with my towels.  At noon we had lunch at Cheeks, and then we did our three hour shift in the library until 4.  By then, we were both just so sleepy, that we stretched out on chaise lounges and napped until 5 before heading home.  Yeah, it was better than work!

I didn't even write a blog yesterday, which I only just realized today, because it was also such a busy day.  I hosted my Thursday morning Mah Jongg group from 9:30 to noon.  Then Mark and I tried to catch up on as much TV as possible from the week we were gone before having a quick dinner and going to a wine tasting party at Donna's house, same Donna from this morning.  It was so much fun to taste five red zins, including a home made one.  The wine was good, but the company and socializing were even better!

As we drove home today, Mark and I marveled at how nice it is to have so many friends now and all in very close proximity to our house!  In MD we had very few friends who lived less than half an hour away from us.  Some were in Greenbelt, so that was only 20-25 minutes, but sometimes, when the BW Parkway was backed up or it was rush hour, even driving that 10 mile distance took 45 minutes.  Now, all of our friends are either in Solivita, so no more than 1-3 miles or less, 5-10 minutes or less, away, or they are in Cypress Cove, a short, easy 6 mile drive away.  It takes from 15-20 minutes TOPS at any time of day to get there.  We love it.  We never missed that in MD because we didn't know we could have something like that.  Now we just marvel over it every single time! 

Teaching Mah Jongg

This morning at 10 a.m. I have two ladies coming over to learn Mah Jongg.  This is the third time that I have done this in my home here in Poinciana.  Mahj seems to be the IN thing to do in Solivita!  LOL!  Everyone wants to know how to play. I have found that I really love teaching it to one or two ladies at a time.  Then if they like it today, they can join my growing group of semi-beginners that will play here tomorrow.  Lots of fun.

After they leave, Mark and I will spend a lot of time catching up on TV missed while on the cruise last week.  Then tonight we have our Disney Fan Club meeting.  Another fun day in Solivita.

I am down a pound today, which is nice.  I had six ounces of deli meat as a sandwich for dinner, so I thought the sodium might hold that pound on.  Well, happily it did not.  I am 276.5 this morning, so I'm working my way back to the 274 that I weighed when we left on the cruise.

Piano tuning

I am having my piano tuned today.  The last time was three years ago with this same gentleman.  Before that it was probably 12 years ago back in MD.  It probably will never be in A440 mode again, but as he is working on it, it is definitely sounding better.

Mark has gone off to do water aerobics, but I am here listening to the piano tuner plunking the same keys over and over. 

I just read Evey and Eric's trip report from their Fairbanks, Alaska trip and the Northern Lights.  It was an amazing trip, and the lights did not disappoint.  What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them!

Yesterday I did weigh in, and I was still 278, same as Sunday.  Well, that's to be expected.  I finished the Halloween candy on Sunday!  We also had our dinner out at Marrakesh in Morocco, which was nice.  We enjoyed the discount and the company with Edward, but the park was ridiculously crowded.  It was hard to walk around the lake, almost like Christmas or New Year's Eve.  Later I was told that Rick Springfield was the performer for the day, so that could have explained the large amount of people in the park.

I had the vegetable couscous at Marrakesh because it was my only option.  It was BLAND!  It was literally a big pile of plain couscous with boiled root veggies (turnips, carrots, potatoes) and a few green peppers and zucchini piled on top.  Not one spice added.  Seriously, Morocco, aren't you famous for spices?  Don't you think vegetarians like spice?  Ridiculously boring meal.  At least I got 50% off of it.

All my meals will be at home today, so I hope that means a pound might drop off tomorrow morning.  I'll let you know.

Up four. Could have been worse.

I left for the ship weighing 274 and came back this morning at 278.  I've done worse.  Now I'll do my best to get back on track at home.

Last night I probably raised it over what it might have been because I ate a LOT of my Halloween candy collected at the Magic Kingdom before we left.  LOL

Today we are meeting a cast member friend, Edward, at Epcot for dinner at Marrakesh in Morocco.   He has a coupon for 50% off dinner and wanted to use it before it expired.  We were happy he invited us!  Still, I had best eat a small lunch and no snacks in order to accommodate a carb heavy dinner.  I don't think there's much without meat in there that doesn't involve a lot of rice.  Hope there's something Mark can order.  The last time we were there was the first summer that Lowell and Emily came down here.  They picked that restaurant for one night.  There is a good belly dancer in there, too.

Right now we are trying to catch up on some more TV.  The weather is perfect today, so I'm out on the lanai watching Survivor episodes.

No Bermuda for us!

When we arrived at the dock last Friday, we found out we were going to San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk instead of Bermuda.  That was just fine with us because the hurricane was heading straight for Bermuda and spared the USA entirely.  Bermuda got a pretty direct hit and the port closed.  Glad we didn't go there.

Instead we had smooth sailing and lovely weather the entire time.  The Carnival Sunshine is a beautiful ship. The staff, food, entertainment, and cabin were all top notch.  In fact, it's now one of our favorite ships, and we are probably going to go on her again in the near future.  Soon she will be moved to Charleston, then Norfolk, and then NYC.

We also got 25% off a future cruise because of the changes to this cruise, so we booked the Carnival Victory in May to Bermuda.  That should work since there are no hurricanes in May. It seems like half the people on this ship did the same, so I think we'll run into a lot of the same people.

I haven't weighed in yet.  I'll do that tomorrow morning, but I'm sure I will have gained some.  Because we don't spend money on holidays or Shabbat, there were four out of eight days when we did not buy any alcohol.  That helped.  We walked and took stairs when possible, so i hope that helped, too.

Now we are just relaxing at home and trying to catch up on lots and lots of TV that we missed in the last 8 days.  Here are some pictures from the cruise.

Porthole cabin 1414 is huge!

Lovely big atrium with glass elevators.

Enjoying music in the Red Frog Pub the first night during the Rock the Promenade event.

In Red Frog Pub

Jaime Dee, our excellent cruise director from Detroit.  One of only 2 lady cruise directors in the Carnival line.

Walking the deck on the first sea day.

Towel animal the second night

We bought the spa package for the Thermal Suite and enjoyed it every afternoon.

We won a ship on a stick to add to our collection because we got all the Disney trivia right.

My first cocktail, a Mai Tai in the lobby bar

Looking out over the ship from the Serenity Deck up top, forward.

Three decks, a pool, a hot tub, and a bar comprise the gorgeous Serenity Deck, for adults only, on this ship.

Passing El Morro fortress as we sail into San Juan harbor.

Capitol building in San Juan

Posing with the ship.

We rode the free, local, city bus.  A street scene from the bus.

A school

Fort San Cristobal.  We remember touring it last time we were here.

It's a short ride to El Morro.  We toured that one last time, too.  This time we did not get off the bus.

A museum we hope to hit next time we are here.

Breakfast the morning we docked in St. Thomas

Taking our morning walk on deck 10

Views of St. Thomas from the ship.  The cable cars to the top of that hill are close to the dock, but we did it with Evey in 2003 when we were here before. We didn't get off the ship at all.

Allure of the Seas was on the other side of that island in the harbor.

The beauty of staying on board is that you have the ship almost all to yourself.

We played golf.

Mark won.

We swam in an empty pool.

It was very cold, but the day was very hot.

The hot tub felt nice after the cold pool.

Mark forgot to pack a bathing suit, so he bought this one in the gift shop.  i think it looks great.

Napping a little before lunch.

View of St Thomas from our portholes as we sailed away.

Ready for dinner

Tuesday night we had our specialty dinner in the Italian restaurant.

The food was good, but not as good as in the Tuscan Grille on the Constellation.

Listening to the band in the pub after dinner.

Deja Vu was one of the best bands on any ship.  Everyone enjoyed their performances, especially that of this lead singer.

Second elegant evening and a drink at the outdoor pub venue.

On our last sea day, we were surprised to see the deck taken over by towel animals!

Every deck chair was used.

View of Grand Turk.  Last time we were here, we just walked off and swam.  Today we will take a bus tour.

Every day we listened to an hour of our audio book, The Last of the Mohicans.

Our bus tour took us to the place honoring John Glenn's splashdown point off the coast.

Salt used to be a major export, but now they gather it only for use on the island.

Semi wild donkeys are all over the island.

The lighthouse at the extreme end of this small island.

Beautiful water

Visiting a church.

The national museum of Turks and Caicos Islands.

The mystery of this wreck is that it might be Columbus' Pinta.

Heading back to the ship for a late lunch.  The Carnival Glory is next to us.

Mark danced at the late night buffet and deck party, but I wasn't feeling well, so I just watched.

On the last sea day we made our donations and danced for charity.

Me with the cruise director Jaime.

Saturday morning, back in Port Canaveral, we were docked next to the Disney Fantasy and the Carnival Valor.

Our zone has been called, so off we go.  It was smooth getting on and off this ship.