November 26, 2010-present weight loss




2012 weight loss



Friday, April 27, 2012

Big Lights Will Inspire You-- Let's Here It For New York


Mom and I headed into New York yesterday, tickets in pocketbook, to see the musical that almost everyone wants to see.  For the non-New Yorkers, B*O*O*K of M*O*R*M*O*N is the hottest thing on Broadway.  Tickets are completely sold out for about the next year.  Luckily my credit card sent out an email last week offering tickets along with a pre-theatre cocktail party at Ruth's Chris.  How could I not take them up on such an amazing offer?

The cocktail party was a wonderful start to the evening.  I wasn't in much of a eating mood, but the food was fantastic and plentiful!  Four well-known Broadway actresses attended and participated in a Q&A before signing autographs. 


I snapped a photo for the blog (of course)

Mom tried to take a photo of me in front of the theatre, and this really nice stopped and took a photo (three photos actually) of us together.  I have no patience for people who say New Yorkers are unfriendly.  It is frankly untrue.  New York is one of the only cities where locals will take pictures for tourists, help tourists read maps and guide them through the subway system.  But I digress...

Just to prove that we were actually there!
Look at how cute my mom looks:)

We had really great Orchestra seats, and I felt the need to take a picture.  Unfortunately one of the workers there threw a bit of a fit.  I caught her in a left-handed heil Hitler salute, but at least I also got the stage.

She who takes her job very seriously

The show itself was laugh out loud funny.  From the first number to the end, the audience was convulsing in laughter.  It was also one of the most offensive things I have seen, but that is to be expected given the creators.  Other than the wow factor of seeing such a popular show, being there really made us feel like 'insiders'.  It was apparent that others felt this way as well.  Everyone I spoke with was a regular theatre goer-- still everyone felt almost honored to be part of the event!  I am not going to discuss the musical itself, lest I ruin it for anyone who has tickets.  What I will say is this: book your ticket to see this musical (as long as offensive religious humor doesn't offend you).  

Thursday, April 26, 2012

If You Like Pina Coladas

Mom and I had a fun week in Puerto Rico.  Our hotel wound up only being so so, but we made it work.  The place clearly caters to vacationers who want to go through their holiday piss drunk.  The pool bar was the most popular destination at the resort.  Not our scene.  At least we know to go elsewhere next year.  On the subject of drinking, the pina colada was created at a bar inside this resort in the 1950s.  It is the hotel's claim to fame.  And yes, the pina coladas are pretty damn good there. 

View from our bedroom

Really ugly art at a local restaurant

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Easter Travels & Back On Track

Kenny and I really enjoyed our golf weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in Portugal.  I am only a beginner golfer and was very anxious about playing for three days in a row.  This anxiety grew when I learned that we would be playing with others.  I usually only play with Kenny and wasn't thrilled that I would have to keep up with much better golfers.  Luckily the husband and wife duo we played with on day one were very nice.  We had a great time with them, and my confidence improved after that round.  The mother and daughter pair from day two were decidedly less pleasant, but Kenny and I still enjoyed ourselves.  The caddie master let us play by ourselves on Sunday, and that was just fantastic.  My game is improving-- I just need to take more lessons.

I am happy to report that my body is now back on track.  I haven't made it back to the gym yet but am remaining active.  My schedule has been hectic, and I just haven't had the time to exercise.  I have started losing weight again, and I am no longer craving crazy foods.  I do have a strong desire for these little suckers though.     
 


Now that Easter is behind me, I must stop with the chocolate!

I am going to New Jersey tomorrow and will stay for about a month.  Mom and I are heading to a resort in Puerto Rico this weekend for our annual 'a mom and her kid' vacation.  Even though I see my mom pretty frequently (especially considering that I live over 3,500 miles away), I always look forward to having an excuse to spend more time with her. 

I seem to always be packing, unpacking or repacking.  Today is no different.  I need to unpack from my last three trips in order to repack for tomorrow.  Off I go.  Toodles. 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Marvelous Maldives

I. Love. The. Maldives. I love travel, love vacations and love beaches... but I REALLY love the Maldives.  It is a simple as that. 
  
When we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by a porter who brought us to the boat.  Our resort is on a private island about 15 minutes from the airport.  After flying from London to Dubai and Dubai to Maldives, hopping onto a boat for a little ride was so much easier to handle than being crammed into a car.  As our boat approached the dock, the front desk staff was standing on the dock waving to greet us.  It might be a bit cheesy, but it was a nice first impression.
  
From our boat- pulling into the resort

We were given this amazing room on the beach and were very lucky to be on the quiet side of the island.  Some days we had the beach entirely to ourselves.  At most we shared with 5 or 6 people!
    
View from our room

  
Our anniversary was on March 28- three years and counting!  We decided to relax during the day and take a sunset dolphin cruise before dinner.  We were on a traditional Maldivian boat and saw a load of dolphin.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my good camera, so the dolphin pictures are lacking.

  
  
That is a dolphin, I promise!

All of the restaurants were great (no, I didn't gain weight), but we wanted something special for our anniversary.  We arranged for private dining on the beach with a five-course menu.  I ate so little of what we ordered but loved every single bite!
 
 
   

In addition to two desserts, the restaurant made this cake for us. 
After we cut it, they sent it to our room along with a bottle of bubbly!
  
What amazing staff to do this for us!
   
Evening shark feeding
  

Kenny and I were talking about my weight loss over drinks one evening, and he said some of the nicest things I have ever heard come out of his mouth.  He said that if I want to lose more weight, he completely supports me as long as I do it for myself and don't hurt myself in the process.  But he stressed that I should NOT do it for him.  He said that he is more attracted to me now than he has ever been and doesn't think I need to lose more.  How sweet!  We all know that I had a bit of an issue last month with working out too much and not getting my period, and he doesn't want that to happen again (nor do I).  On that note, I got my period over vacation.  While this would normally be exceedingly annoying, we were both very happy.  My body sorted itself out without the need for taking the 10-day regimen of pills prescribed by my OBGYN.  When I start working out again next month, I will be much more balanced in my approach. 

In lieu of my progress picture in gym clothes
     
Getting ready to leave:(
     
Parking lot-- Maldives style
  
Now I am packing for our golf weekend in Portugal.  I have more to report about our vacation and my trip home, but it will have to wait until next week. 

Happy Easter! 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Back From The Maldives- For Another 4 Hours

I wanted to let everyone know that Kenny and I are back from the Maldives.  We had a FANTASTIC time and were (not surprisingly) very bummed to pack up and take the boat back to the airport on Sunday.  I have a lot to report and will post pics at some point, but I don't have the time right now.  I am flying back to NJ this morning for one night and have a car picking me up in 90 minutes.  I am still sitting in my pink marshmallow-looking robe even though I should really be getting showered and out the door.  I land back at Heathrow on Wednesday morning, and we then go to Portugal for Easter on Thursday evening.  This is all a long way of saying that I don't know when the Maldives post will be forthcoming-- but I promise that it will be:) 

Happy Monday!