98.6

This number should be my body's temperature, but who knows.  What I am certain about is that it is also the number of pounds I have lost since beginning my liquid diet, woohoo!  I continue to eat out frequently and am so relieved that I can still lose while living my life:)  I am so close to a triple digit loss- exciting!

   

Kenny and I took care of our visas on Friday.  Our appointment was at 10:10, but the company facilitating our application told us to get to the center at 9:30.  We got there at 9:15 and were not seen by the visa people until 11:15.  The company's rep mentioned that only being seen one hour late is good and that many clients wait for several hours.  I suggested that the company tell its clients this so we don't feel the need to get there almost an hour BEFORE our appointment time.  I am pretty certain that this guy did not appreciate my comment.  Towards the end of the day we received paperwork stating that our visas had been approved and will be mailed to us within a week.

   

Sheffield is not a city I plan to return to anytime soon, but it is always interesting to get out of London.  Kenny and I frequently say that Brits aren't the friendliest of people, but we should really limit our comments to Londoners.  I find London to be a very cold city, and the people here can be the same.  The few times we have left London (visiting Bath, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, and now Sheffield), we have noticed how friendly and warm the people are.  So, our little visa adventure is helping us to revise our view of England.

   

My brother-in-law arrived yesterday morning, and we toured around London for a bit.  We brought him to Borough Market and then took the London Eye- a big ferris wheel on the Thames.  We finished the evening with a fantastic meal of Spanish tapas in South Kensington.  Today we are seeing Rugby, and I have no clue what to expect.  I remember the crazy college boys who joined the rugby club and threw even crazier parties (and were constantly in pain from a combination of rugby injuries and alcohol), but I've never seen a proper rugby game (or match- I don't even know what it is called).  So this will be our afternoon. 

A Weekend Of Favorites

Kenny and I had a surprisingly lovely weekend in London.  Usually we have to go out of town to spend much time together, but this weekend worked out differently for us.  Kenny golfed very early on Saturday- his colleague picked him up at 6:15 in the morning- so he was back in time for lunch.  Unfortunately, he returned without the new golf GPS I bought him for his birthday.  He golfed in Ealing, which is one of the places that had serious riots last week and is (surprise, surprise) not the nicest part of town.  He left his clubs outside of the clubhouse to grab a soda inside (not smart, I know), and some hoodlum stole the GPS off of his bag.  He is lucky he didn't lose his entire golf bag, but he was still annoyed and upset.  While Kenny was getting his golf on, I decided to go to the gym.  I typically refuse to hit the gym on weekends.  It is very busy, and I think 5 consecutive days of working out is enough.  But I couldn't bring myself to just sit on the couch for 2 hours, so off I went for an hour of cardio.  We were able to spend the rest of the day together.  We went out to lunch, walked around town and made a quick visit to my favorite shoe shop!     
On Sunday we visited H-a-r-w-o-o-d-A-r-m-s.  It is the first gastropub to receive a Michelin star and happens to be one of our favorite restaurants.  The only downside is that we have to book a month in advance, and it is hard to plan that far in advance.  We each started with a venison scotch egg, which this restaurant is known for.  It is pretty much a soft boiled egg, encased in venison sausage, breaded and fried.  It sounds disgusting, but these things are to die for!  So I ate half of mine and gave Kenny the other half.  The rest of the meal was fantastic, but the scotch egg is the masterpiece of this restaurant.  Given how slowly I now eat, our main meals came way too fast.  I know the kitchen was not rushing us and timed the courses as it typically does, but it still stunk to only be half way through my starter when my main showed up.  Kenny and I have decided that we need to ask the kitchen to hold our mains from now on to give me enough time to eat and relax.  Live and learn.

What A Difference A Week Makes

My body was so sore the day after last week's yoga class, but this week I felt much better.  I was almost upset that I didn't ache- did I cheat, did I not put my all into it?  I doubt either of those is the case, so I will just accept that my muscles were less shocked by the routine this week. 

    

Kenny and I went to the British Open in Kent on Saturday.  It took about two hours to get there, including a 90 minute train ride.  The ride gave me more than enough time to stare out the window, watch the sheets of rain coming down and contemplate how wonderful a day of watching golf in such cold and wet conditions would be.  We had a 20 minute walk/40 minute queue after leaving the station, and it poured the entire time.  Most wives would have done an about-face and marched right back to the station, but I am no such wife.  We watched golf in the rain for over 5 hours.  We were so soaked that we were shivering (despite wearing fleeces and rain jackets with hoodies).  It was a miserable day.  We still had a good time but were thankful that we were not returning on Sunday! 

    

I wound up sitting next to a very large woman on the tube ride back.  When I approached her I was thinking, oh great, two gigantic women sitting next to each other- this is going to be fun.  Then I sat down, and we didn't even touch.  I looked across from me and could see our reflections in the glass.  I was surprised at how, well, small I looked in comparison to her (don't worry, I haven't convinced myself that I am 'small').  She was so heavy that her head was several inches above mine, even though she was probably shorter than I.  The rest of her was the same- her body was forward due to the amount of fat on her back, her arms stuck out from her sides due to the girth of her midsection.  I was amazed- just 8 months ago that was me! 

    

My immediate thought was how did I handle being THAT large?!?  I know I didn't handle it well.  I was slow and I was sweaty.  I went to the US Open (golf) in 2009 in Long Island, and I remember hating it.  It was just too much walking- trekking from hole to hole, climbing the stairs to the grandstands and making my way up every hill of Bethpage Black- sheer agony!  That was then.  Now the climbing and the walking don't bother me.  In fact, Kenny even remarked on how quickly I walk now and how much I have changed.  Because he was so against this procedure, it is great to hear the compliments!

    

I've been pretty amazing with working out, but I only lost 0.4 last week.  This is much better than gaining, but it is the least I have lost in a week since surgery.  Only 13 days until my fill...

Not Quite Sold On Yoga (yet)

  

I feel like Jason Segal's character when I enter the yoga studio,

and yes,

my yoga guy did do the move that Kristin Wiig pulled on

Russell Brand to get me properly aligned!

  

I attended my 90 minute yoga class this morning.  I am not convinced that yoga is going to be for me, but I will attend a minimum of five classes before deciding to drop the class.  Given my travel schedule, I will be yoga-ing through September.  In today's class, this older guy wound up taking the space next to my left- boo.  He was a complete know-it-all.  When the instructor told us to sit in a specific pose in the beginning (I didn't know the name, but I am a good follower), he actually asked if he could sit in his favored position instead.  Seriously?  Everything he did was loud.  His breathing was 5x as loud as everyone else's breathing, to the point that it was very distracting.  AND he was wearing floral swim shorts with a white t-shirt tucked in.  My third eye couldn't focus with all of these annoying stimuli.

   

The rest of the class was fine, but attempting yoga really shows me how far I have to go in this weight loss journey.  That is not a bad thing at all, but still, it is humbling.  When I swim I only focus on me.  I swim at my own pace and do my own thing (not so good for weight loss).  With yoga I am pushed to do things that are way out of my league, even though this class is not advanced.  Because this class deals with different levels, the instructor tried to have the more advanced students do headstands and this:

  

    

And, he wanted people to stick their legs out completely during the pose.  At least 50% of the class just sat and watched- including me.  I am all for pushing myself, but there is absolutely no way I am going to successfully balance 250 lbs on my head and arms or hands.      

    

In other news, Kenny and I had dinner with another couple on Wednesday.  We tried a new restaurant in Chelsea that has been getting very good reviews:

   

   

The lighting is much nicer in the evening

     

The restaurant was fantastic, and I highly recommend it to any of you passing through London (as long as you aren't staying too far from Chelsea, of course).  The food was great, and the service was perfectly attentive.  Now I have an amusing story concerning this meal, even though it is in reality a bandster nightmare!

    

The couple on my left was seated a bit after we were, and the woman was very interested to hear what we had ordered.  We were all eating our first course, and Kenny and I had switched plates so we could take a nibble of the other's dish.  I was still chewing a bite of my crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce when Kenny wanted to switch (he was having the duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip puree, lardons, girolles and sauteed duck heart).  Our neighbor asked how we were enjoying the dishes but was very interested in how I liked the raviolo vs. the duck egg tart.  Now I was doing my 'Nora chew', where I chew every bit of life out of my food before I swallow and attempt another bite.  We are having this conversation about the starters, and I am STILL chewing my rather small bite of raviolo while telling her how good it was.  I told her that I had not yet tried the tart but that Kenny really enjoyed it.  She pretty much said, OK, now you try it and let me know what you think.  She said it in a very nice way- it was a much friendlier conversation than I can accurately depict on the screen- but I was like, oh crap.  Now everyone is watching me while I'm STILL chewing this little bit of raviolo.  And now I need to swallow, because my table as well as hers are interested in my opinion concerning these two dishes.  I finally got to the point where I could swallow the raviolo (it was very soft to begin with, but I am paranoid after having a PBing in a restaurant experience) and had to immediately shove a piece of his tart in my mouth to offer my opinion.  Talk about pressure eating!  

   

I couldn't find a picture of my starter on the restaurant's website, but here is a picture of the tart:) 

    

   

 Tomorrow we are going to watch the British Open in Kent.  We are expecting typical English weather out there, so I will be traveling with sneakers, golf shoes for when it gets muddy, a raincoat, an umbrella, and a cashmere sweater.  The US Open is a much easier event to attend!

A Bit of Venice

Kenny and I spent our weekend in London, and we had absolutely no plans until Sunday evening.  I cooked a whole red snapper on Friday, and we just enjoyed an evening at home.  On Saturday we headed up to Little Venice, which is a canal area in London.  It looks more like Amsterdam to me with little houseboats tied up on the canal, but I suppose calling this area Little Amsterdam would have very different implications.  Below are a few pics so everyone can see how cute this area is:)

   

  
After lunch we did something very touristy- we took a canal boat from Little Venice to Camden.  I didn't like Camden all that much, but it was still fun to see something different.
  

Yes, people live in these little boats!

  

  
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing.  We grilled jumbo shrimp and zucchini on Saturday night and hosted an out of town friend for dinner last night.  We had such a good time that our dinner lasted from 6:15-11:30.  Perhaps it isn't the best way to start the week, too much food and wine- and to much cleaning up at the end of the night, but it was still a lot of fun. 

Happy Fourth of July!

I miss celebrating the Fourth in the states- the flags, the fireworks, the beach, the parties!  I especially miss being where I grew up.  One of the local towns puts on a huge fireworks display on the river on July 3, and it is a wonderful show!  If all works out according to plans, Kenny and I might be able to celebrate in the states in a year or two…

 Fireworks on the river where I grew up:)

Even without a long weekend, we had three nights of over-indulging.  We started the weekend at Bar Boulud with some friends.  I didn't expect much from the restaurant, but the meal and the service were surprisingly very, very good.  The friend who arranged the dinner has a connection with the chef, so were greeted with the restaurant’s signature Degustation de Charcuterie.  It was completely decadent- five different terrines, hams, pâtés, pork crackling, etc!  I thought my fish entrée would counterbalance the charcuterie, but that was not the case (back to the pool).  It probably didn’t help that we ended the evening at the Fifth Floor Champagne Bar at Harvey Nichols. 

   

Bar Boulud

  

Champagne Bar    

The next morning we pulled ourselves out of bed to prepare for our BBQ.  Even though a BBQ sounds like an easy breezy party to organize, it is not.  Half way through the morning I told Kenny to remind me of how hellish all of the prep work is when I decide to host this damn thing in 2012.  He stared blankly, not sure whether I was kidding or not.  Anyway, La Fiesta wound up being a wonderful success.  We had about 25 friends, and everyone left full and happy.  My dishes were well-received, and I had enough variety to please carnivores as well as vegetarians (I will post recipes later)!    

Kenny’s birthday was yesterday, and we just took it easy.  I cooked a roast beef tenderloin for him rather than going out to dinner on a Sunday night.  I thought this recipe was perfect to get the tenderloin to a nice medium rare on the inside and seared (without being disgustingly charred) on the outside.  Tomorrow is his real birthday celebration, and we are having dinner at Dinner.  It is the new hot restaurant in London and is owned by Heston Blumenthal (famous for his other English restaurant, The Fat Duck, which has three Michelin stars).  It took me seven hours of calling on April 1 to secure a July 5 reservation, so this better be good!



What A Smashing, Positively Dashing Spectacle

   

I survived my first Royal Ascot today.  K and I attended with an expat couple and had a great time.  The races themselves were fun, but the real sport is the people watching.  Dresses and hats and fascinators, oh my!  Gone are the days when Ascot was one of the posh events of the year and people dressed accordingly, poor Audrey Hepburn.  Some rules still exist, and one must dress for the level of ticket one has.  But wowzers, the standards are pretty low.  I didn't have the guts to take photos of the trampy women in horrible dresses waddling around in high heels that didn't fit, but take my word that they were in attendance! 

   

I wanted to share some pics of us and of my fabulous hat.  I love this hat and really enjoyed wearing it!  And for more exciting news, I will no longer be cutting my husband's face out of the pictures I post.  I just told him that I started this blog (though I have not offered up the URL) and asked him if he would be comfortable with his pictures showing up on here.  He was fine with it, so here we go.  And on that note, his name is Kenny.  Now that everyone can see his face, hiding his name seems a bit silly, no? 

   

Down 0.8 and Other Exciting News

After putting on the dreaded 3.4 pounds, I am finally down .8 lbs from my low.  So I am smiling, I am happy.  This has been the hardest month to lose weight so far.  I am losing, but it is a slower process.  I need to start swimming again.  I haven't been allowed in the pool due to a recent surgery and have been limited to walking.  I am doing my best to eat small portions, chew slowly and drink no less than 1.5 liters of water throughout the day, but boy am I getting hungry.  I am not a fill junkie but think I could probably use just a smidge when I see Dr. K towards the end of this month... we shall see.

    

In other news, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my mother this evening.  My mom is a fantastic mother, a wonderful friend and my strongest supporter.  The London move was difficult for both of us, but it was harder on her.  I am her only child, and we are extremely close.  I still have K to rely on, and she is flying solo.  I still get to see her on a monthly basis, but it is just not the same as living 45 minutes away.  Until the move, I saw her on a weekly basis. 

    

Before the wedding (March 28, 2009)

   

   

Tea at the Dorchester (Spring 2010)

    

As our Christmas present to mom, K and I gave her a week at the beach in Portugal with ME.  She and I are having a girls week together (or as my mom likes to call it, 'a mom and her kid week'), and I couldn't be happier!  We will be away from Saturday-Saturday and are staying at a lovely resort in Albufeira.  K and I spent a week here last time and really enjoyed it:)  Mom does not like taking the red eye flights, so she leaves Newark at 9am and makes it to Heathrow at 9pm.  I think she is mad to waste an entire day flying, but it works for her.  She hasn't had a proper beach vacation since she and I went to Aruba before K and I were married; it is about time that she get some R&R.  Mom likes to just lounge on a chair and read, so it will be a very chill week. 

    

I figure that I should be able to get in the pool next week and am bringing my swimsuit, goggles and cap so I can do laps at the gym.  If I am healed enough to lounge in the pool, I am healed enough to exercise in it as well (and the only reason I was banned from the pool was due to risk of infection, not risk of injury).  Before April's surgery I was swimming 2400m (about 1.5 miles) 4-5 days a week and would like to build back up to that.  My old 20W swimsuit was WAY too big, to the point that it would slide down and my girls would just about come out to visit anyone lucky enough to share my lane.  I will be trying out my slightly smaller 16W at the gym next week:)   

   

Now I am doing my grocery shopping and will roast a chicken for K tomorrow afternoon.  I have taught him to cook a few meals, as I am away for at least one week every month.  His options are quite limited though, and the least I can do is prepare a chicken to get him through a couple of days.

    

But first, time for my pedicure!

Awww, hello all!

First of all, thanks to everyone who has stopped by, decided to follow me, post comments, etc.  I plan to respond as much as I can, but I am leaving for Budapest in an hour and still haven't packed.  Still, I wanted to say a quick hello!  Second, Catherine, as you already know, you ROCK!  I would still be writing (only) for myself if you hadn't linked to me.  Muchas Gracias
  

Yesterday was a very English day.  I went here with a girlfriend of mine:
  

  
This show takes place very close to my home, and I figured it was something I should see.  It was AMAZING.  In addition to designed outdoor gardens (one looked like Monaco, another was quite Asian), there is a huge tented area with vendors showing their prized roses, daffodils, etc.  It was such a sight.  The only downfall was that it rained.  After six weeks of dry sunny weather, the heavens decided it was time to punish us and remind us that we do live in London after all.  This was not just rain, it was a deluge, and it seemed to go on forever.  No worries though, it have us more time to look at the beautiful flowers in the tent.
  

  

This was so strange that I just had to share...
   

I am doing much more walking around town, but the Underground is still a necessity for me.  I took it twice yesterday, and something wonderful happened... (drumroll, please)... people sat next to me!  I typically only sit in an end seat so that I can lean towards the glass partition, but none was available.  So I sat in a middle seat, and I fit in it quite comfortably.  Even better, people willingly sat next to me.  I'm used to people seeing an empty seat, getting their hopes up and smiling, then bam, seeing me next to the open seat and deciding that balancing on 6 inch heels is safer than an encounter with me.  Not any more... very exciting! 
   

In weight news, I have lost 1.4 of the dreaded 3.4 overnight weight gain.  I doubt I will shed more over this weekend, but I will be back with a vengeance come Tuesday. 
   

Enjoy the long weekend! 

Pictorial Proof of Progress

I am a bit late to the blogging game, and I feel it is only fair to show some pre/post surgery pictures...
  
Wimbledon- June 2010
  

  
Elounda, Crete- August 2010
  

  
Rome, Italy- October 2010
  

  
Dublin, Ireland- January 2011 (3 weeks post-surgery- sorry, but I can't refer to myself as being post-op.  It sounds too much like a transgendered person experiencing her own breasts for the first time.)
   

  
Sevilla, Spain- February 2011
  

   
Greve, Italy- April 2011
   

   
That is more than enough pictures for one day!