I Love New York

I came into the city on Sunday afternoon and have been thoroughly enjoying myself ever since!  I spent the afternoon with Catherine, and we had a great time gabbing and catching up.  We have so much in common that I am convinced that we must be related; I just haven't figured out exactly how yet.  Catherine generously lent me some of her fabulous dresses, and I will put them to good use.
     

After my closet raiding experience, I was in full shopping mode.  While I didn't want to go crazy, I was excited to be able to fit into clothing smaller than 22W.  I decided that I would avoid the plus sizes altogether but wasn't sure how successful I would be in that endeavor.  I started at Bloomingdale's, and things didn't look all that promising.  So many options were unavailable in larger misses sizes, and other items were entirely too small.  Then I saw a Lafayette 148 jacket that I liked and bought... in a MISSES 16.  Granted, it is small right now, but the 18 would have looked ridiculous once I lose another 10-20 lbs (and I would have had to either junk it or spend a small fortune in alterations).  I also bought two bathing suits for next season and two pairs of shoes.  I also bought an Eileen Fisher dress for next month's Spain trip along with two Ralph Lauren shirts.  Oh, and everything was on sale.
      

The saleswoman who helped me with the jacket was super helpful.  She even found one tunic that she wanted me to try (it was a 20 misses)- she said that she knew it would be way too big but that she could call the tailor to alter it if I liked it.  What- me, something could actually be too BIG on me.  I think I blushed!  I didn't bother trying on the tunic, but boy I felt good.  In addition to the Eileen Fisher I wound up buying, I tried on a cute summery number in an XL, and it was gigantic.  The L was small in the chest, but ladies, the XL was too big.  I understand that Eileen Fisher is roomy, but let me have my moment.
       

Before I left Bloomie's I went upstairs to check out the larger sizes.  The first thing I noticed was that so little was on sale.  The same styles were available in both misses and plus sizes, but the larger sizes were still selling for the original price.  YIKES!  The second thing was that I no longer view myself as plus sized.  While I could have purchased a few things in that department, why would I?  I'd rather buy fun items that I can grow into rather than buying items that I will invariably grow out of before I even get a chance to wear some of them.
      

Today I visited Saks but only bought one pair of shoes.  I wanted to buy some clothes, but even with the discounts I have trouble spending a lot of money on transitional clothing.  I also walked town to Lord & Taylor.  I bought one pair of size 14 jeans that I can wear next year (won't that be great) along with a super soft, super comfy and super cheap sweater for this winter.
       

I won't bother posting pics of the clothing now- most of it will wind up on the blog at some point.  I would like to show y'all my shoes though, but blogger is being a pain.  More pics to come, but this is one pair:)

  

  
In addition to shopping, I have been seeing old friends for dinner.  After my visit with Catherine I stopped by my favorite Thai restaurant with Kenny and another couple.  The guys have seen me recently, so the fact that I have been losing weight isn't news to them.  I hadn't been to the restaurant since last year though, and the waiter almost didn't recognize me.  He said that it sounded like me but that I had lost so much weight that he didn't think it WAS me.  I gave him a big hug- what  a nice guy!  Last night my girlfriend and I met at Aquagrill, which happens to be one of my favorite seafood restaurants in the city.  We had not seen each other since September 2010, and I was really interested to see what she would say (she is about 5'2" and a size 2).  She said NOTHING.  We have known each other since we were 7 and have been good friends since we were 10.  She. Said. Nothing.  She complimented me on my hair and on a few other things, and then... nothing.  We wound up chatting about children and whether Kenny and I were going to try.  I told her that I didn't want to try until I lost weight, because I am not at a healthy weight to carry a child.  She looked at me and finally said that I had lost soooo much weight since we were last together and couldn't believe that I still wanted to lose 75 lbs before getting pregnant.  I know she just didn't know how to say something earlier in the evening, and it was nice to have her notice in the end (especially because really skinny people, it seems to me, don't understand that not all fat is created equal).  Now I am getting ready for my final dinner in the city before heading to the beach tomorrow morning!  Have a good week, all!      

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!

My New Love

I haven't been to the pool since Monday.  Rather than taking the lift to B4 (or the stairs when the damn elevators are out of order), I've been working out on the first floor- warming up on the treadmill, alternating between upper and lower body routines and then doing cardio.  I did 30 minutes on Tuesday, 45 minutes yesterday and 60 minutes today! 

 

I am accustomed to the traditional ellipticals that pretty much have a big wheel/gizmo on the back. 

 

 

These machines are fine, but I never liked how they did so much of the work for me.  Kind of like how the wheels on the bus go round and round, my feet would go round and round, round and round, round and round.  I assumed cardio equipment had not improved much since my days of working out, oh so many years ago.  I was wrong. 

 

Enter, stage left, my new love.

 

 

 

So it has the characteristics of an elliptical in that I can take long strides, but I can also take little vertical steps- more like an up and down movement akin to a stair climber. 

 

My long strides, like a gazelle no less...

 

 

Note the elastics connecting the frame to the platforms!

 

 

And the resistance controls are incorporated into the handles- super convenient:)

 

Yes, 631 calories in 1 hour!!!

 

So during my workout, I can do a little bit of everything.  I feel that my legs and tush get a strong workout, and (assuming I can trust the Technogym information) I burn a bit over 600 calories in an hour.  Tomorrow I will venture back to the yoga studio.

 

Conveyor Belts of Sorts

Yesterday was a day of conveyor belts.  Kenny and I met for our monthly conveyor belt sushi lunch date in the city.  I had never noticed conveyor belt sushi in the states, but the concept is quite popular in London (keeping in line with the overall lack of service in this city).  Many of the conveyor belt joints are chains with so so quality and are not my speed, but this place has high quality, fresh fish!

 

Bad picture, but you get the idea...

 

After sushi and a quick stop at the market, I hit the gym. No swimming for me though.  I figured it was time to do a bit more than swim and started on the treadmill.  This was the first time I had set foot on the conveyor belt in at least 2.5 years.  I started with 3 minutes of walking followed by 2 minutes of jogging.  I was in minute 14 when I noticed something unsettling- my shorts were shimmying down my tush.  Despite hiking them up they continued to fall, so I walked for my last 5 minutes.  I lifted (upper body) for about 15 minutes and then finished with 30 minutes on the elliptical.  I swim for longer, but I was happy with this higher intensity workout. 

 

That's me- 30 minutes and 316 calories later:)

 

Now I finally need to buy some new gym clothes.  My 2X outfits are way too big- do I go with a 1X that will fit now but probably be super loose by the fall or find a roomier XL that might be a bit snug now but will last longer?  Decisions, decisions. 

 

Note baggy shorts and top (which make me look like I still weigh 300+ lbs)

 

 

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. 

Down Is Down

My scale finally showed a number below 249 this morning!  I will take any loss, and being down .6 is SO much better than being up .6. 

When mentioning the parts of my body that hurt (a good hurt) after yoga, I failed to mention my hamstrings and lower back.  They are a bit sore as well.  All these parts had better get accustomed to this, because they will be getting in shape one way or another! 

Not Quite Everything Aches

The bottom half of my body feels fine this morning, but the top part makes me want to just say OUCHIE.  The upper arms, shoulders and chest are sore.  I must have formerly unknown muscles somewhere on the outside of my ribs/beneath my armpits, because that area is a little funky as well.  My tailbone is also sore from doing that rolling on the ground thing on a mat thinner than my area rugs.  If I keep this up, I will purchase a better mat.  Does anyone have suggestions on nicely padded yoga mats?  The aching is good though, and developing some upper body strength will be a great thing.  Back to next week's class I will go.

 

Onto the scale... we all know I was up a bit after last weekend.  I worked out 90 minutes a day for 5 consecutive days this week just to get back under 250 (I am either 249.4 or 249.6 right now).  I think this is my first post-surgery week where I have not lost weight, sigh.  I think this tells me three things.  First, as I lose weight, it is so much easier to gain 2-3 lbs over a weekend (and I actually NOTICE every little gain on the scale).  My body doesn't need those extra calories, so they hang our somewhere around my midsection.  Second, it is a lot harder to cut calories now than it was at 324.6 lbs.  Back then I was consuming so much more than I needed that cutting 500 calories here and there was super easy.  Now that I have gotten rid of much of the excess food, the margins are much smaller.  Third, Nora needs a fill.  I have been hungry for the last week or two, which is causing me to eat more than I would like.  I went to the market to buy fish for lunch after Thursday's swim, and I wound up eating 8 ounces of cod AND a tomato/avocado salad.  I was hungry and overate.  At least I am overeating on relatively healthy choices, but this is not sustainable.  If it were not for my 450 minutes of exercise, I would have probably been up near 252-253 today.  I see Dr. K on August 1, and I hope she will give me a bit of liquid lovin. 

My Third Eye

Apparently I have one.  Go figure.

  

As much as I like swimming, I've been thinking that I should change up my workouts before my body and I get into a rut.  Last week I started adding interval training into my swims, and then I stepped things up another notch by using fins to strengthen my legs.  Still, swimming is swimming.  Today I switched my routine entirely by attending my first ever yoga class, and there I learned about my extra eye.

  

I spoke with the people at the front desk of the gym yesterday to figure out which classes would be best for a beginner (and someone not in the best physical shape).  The women there assured me that I would be fine in any class- idiots! I then went online to see if I could get more info on specific classes, but the schedule just calls each class 'yoga'- clearly missing a necessary adjective or two.  BUT, the information page online states that people should start in the beginners class to learn proper positions, poses, etc.  Yeah, easier said than done! 

  

So I went to the gym a bit early to have another chat with the rocket scientists at the front desk.  Lucky for me the yoga instructor had just walked in and was standing next to me, so we talked for a minute or two.  He told me that some of the positions would be difficult but that I should definitely come in and try.  And try I did.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that this is the only 90 minute class of the week.  I knew I was in a bit over my head when one of the women was doing handstands against the mirror to warm up, but my mat was too far from the door to escape (and yes, I planned it that way).  

  

After getting over my silent giggles- as in damn, I look dumb doing this and WHAT does he mean by breathing through my feet- I had a pretty good time.  I could not hold some of the poses for as long as the other participants in the room (like the plank- not so easy), but I also had 100-120 lbs on most of these women and was a yoga virgin.  At one point the skinny minny next to me actually fell over trying to hold a pose, and that made me smile more than a bit. 

Yeah, I'm not there yet...

My funniest moment was towards the end of the class (which wound up being 100 minutes including the cool down period).  We were all on our backs, and the instructor wanted us to put our feet over our heads and then make them go past our heads so they would be resting on the floor.  Ha ha ha.  I got my legs/feet somewhere towards perpendicular to the floor, and I expected that there they would stay.  I was wrong.  The guy took my legs and pushed them until my knees were just about behind my head and my feet were even further from their natural position.  I didn't even care that my big ole arse was sticking out for all to see, but it must have been quite a view. 

   

Let's see if I can actually pull myself out of bed in the morning.  If I can, I might try to make this my weekly Friday workout. 

   

Happy Friday!

To Be or Not To Be- Naked That Is

I am trying to atone for my weekend of eating and drinking by being extra good at the gym this week.  Rather than just doing laps for 2400m, I am completing 1600m of laps and 1600m with the kickboard and fins.  In the interest of full disclosure, my kickboarding portion was 280m short due to a calf cramp, but that is still better than the 2400m I was swimming up until recently.  Even with the cramping, the pool is not the issue- the locker room is!

 

I was in the locker room yesterday after my swim, and this woman (maybe in her late 20s) was walking around buck ass nekkid.  She had a mud mask on, which made me think that she had been au naturel for quite some time.  And so she stayed- walking to the toilet, to the sink, back to her locker.  She finally slipped on the smallest of thongs when I was on my way out of the locker room.  Today I was faced with an even worse situation.  An older woman (she was in her 40s in 1985 when she moved from New York to London, so she is well into her 60s at the very least) felt like having a conversation with me today as she UNDRESSED and walked- naked- to the shower.  I spoke with her for long enough to learn everything in the above parenthetical, and I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed.  There is only so much staring at the floor I can do. 

 

So the question is this- is my reaction too prudish, or is it reasonable for me to think that parading around the locker room naked is a bit rude to others who have to share the space?  I don't expect women to always change in the little changing rooms provided, but come on ladies, part of changing means covering up again!  Thoughts?

Gaga for Grilling

Kenny and I had such grilling success on Saturday that I thought we could do something a bit more adventurous on Monday.  I bought us two whole sea bream and had the fishmonger gut and descale. 

I stuffed the sea bream with lemon thyme and sliced lemon, seasoned the outside of the fish with salt and pepper and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

We let the grill cool down after cooking zucchini so the fish would cook thoroughly without burning or drying out.

And voilà,, dinner is served!

Not only did we have a healthy meal, but we had very little to clean (note use of paper plates).

My Gear

I thought swimming was supposed to be the easy sport, the sport where I wouldn't have to bring gear back and forth to the pool.  Boy was I wrong.  Now that I am trying to swim to build strength and speed, I keep adding more accessories (training pieces?) to my routine. 

 

So I have the bathing suit.

 

And the cap.

 

And the goggles.

 

And the earplugs.

 

Then I bring the gloves.

 

And the kick board.

 

And the fins.

 

And I'm not even in the pool yet.  This is getting to be a bit much!

Recipes

I always relied on my mom for recipes when I started cooking, and she did nothing short of drive me crazy.  Rather than giving me recipes with exact measurements, she would tell me how I should add a dash of one thing, a bit of something else.  So NOT helpful for such an amateur!  Well, the times they are a-changin’.  I am now the annoying woman giving recipes that have to be adjusted to taste.  Have fun!

White Bean and Arugula Dip

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 bag washed arugula (6-8 oz)

2-4 garlic cloves

Grated parmesan

Olive oil (extra virgin if possible)

Salt

In food processor, combine a few tbsp olive oil and 2 garlic cloves until garlic is pureed.  Add in white beans and process.  Add arugula.  If very thick, add in a bit more olive oil.  Taste, and add more garlic if necessary (chop garlic into smaller pieces so you don’t get huge garlic chunks).  Throw in some grated parm, maybe ¼ cup to start, and taste.  Adjust as necessary.  Add salt if your parm doesn’t make the dip salty enough. 

Because this dip is quite thick, I like serving on baguette, croustades, etc.

Pesto Dip

2 cups mayonnaise

1-2 large bunches basil, washed

¼-½ cup walnuts or pine nuts

Juice from one lemon

Parmesan

In food processor, chop nuts until you have small pieces.  Add lemon juice, mayonnaise and basil leaves.  Don’t chop the basil beforehand, or your nice green basil will turn black and look like sludge.  I don’t think you can ever have too much basil in this dish, so keep adding.  Taste and adjust.  Add grated parm and serve with cucumber, tomato, asparagus, mushroom, etc.

Salsa and Guacamole

I don’t believe in serving premade salsa and guac, so here are two quick recipes.

Salsa

Seed and chop tomatoes (lots of tomatoes).  I like extra liquid in salsa, so I put the seeded part into a colander to get remaining liquid.  Combine tomatoes with juice from one lemon, sliced scallion (or ½ a white onion if you prefer),1-2 chopped and seeded jalapenos, and a bunch of chopped cilantro.  Mix in just a pinch of sugar to combat the acidity.  Salt if necessary.  Let sit in fridge for a couple of hours before serving. 

Guacamole

In food processor, combine juice from one lemon and one lime, 1-2 jalapenos, seeded, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1-2 bunches of scallion and some salt.  Chop avocados and mix with everything from the food processor.  I don’t like mushy guacamole, but fork mush if you are so inclined. Add in a bunch of chopped cilantro and a bit more salt if necessary.  Serve immediately. 

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!



Making Smarter Decisions

 

 

Kenny and I went to Geales last night with his boss.  It is by far my favorite fish & chips restaurant- thick, flaky cod in a crispy, crunchy batter.  Pure. Heaven.  I really didn't want to consume the copious calories in the fish and chips but didn't know if I could get away with ordering anything but the signature dish.  Would I look like a lunatic ordering a different fish? Could I really utter words other than 'cod & chips' when giving my order to the waitress? What's a gal to do?

 

 

I wound up doing something earth-shattering.  At one of London's finer F&C restaurants, I ordered a GRILLED Dover sole.  Yes ladies, you heard it here first.  Nora ate grilled Dover sole and steamed spinach while her husband and husband's boss went to town on two of the prettiest battered cod fillets known to man.  I didn't even take a fork full of Kenny's fish or grab a single, solitary chip!  I was very well-behaved.  The most amusing thing was that I really didn't miss the F&C at all.  I typically hate anything that comes in batter but make an exception for this one dish.  The rest of the time I eat simply prepared fish (or meat on occasion).  The point being- I ate just as I do most evenings rather than changing my routine based on the restaurant.  I made a smart decision.  My reward is that the scale is down 1.2 lbs this morning, which is SO worth forgoing fried fish for! 

 

In preparation for tomorrow, I have already made the two key lime pies as well as the white bean and arugula dip.  I wanted to make the pesto dip as well, but I completely forgot to order basil.  Off to the market I go.  Happy Friday:)