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. 

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! 

Portugal Pictures

Today is my mom's birthday, so I'd like to wish her a happy birthday and post a few pics from our recent vacation.  She hates pictures of herself, saying that she is fat and old.  I think she looks great- not to mention that she is 65 today and has not one wrinkle!  Isn't she cute?

    

   

Swimming is paying off, and the scale is moving in the correct direction.  I doubt I will swim in NJ next week (I don't have a gym membership there anymore) but am glad that I didn't wait any longer to get back into the pool.  A few months ago I attempted a flip turn while swimming freestyle.  I couldn't flip fast enough and got very dizzy.  It was a disaster.  I tried the same turn yesterday and was successful!  It isn't the prettiest flip turn yet, but it will take some practice for me to have a more fluid motion.  Having a lot less stomach getting in my way will make improving much easier:)  I completed 2000m yesterday and will try to make it up to 2400m today.  My left calf starts cramping when I near 2000m, so it will just depend on how my leg feels. 

  

K and I are going to the Royal Ascot tomorrow with another expat couple.  Consider it the English version of the Kentucky Derby.  I was in Monte Carlo for it last year and am excited to be attending tomorrow.  Everyone dresses properly, and the women wear outrageous hats.  I am pure American and am not part of the hat culture (except for when I am at the beach, of course).  Anyway, I bought a fantastic hat for tomorrow.  It is large and yellow, and it has a yellow and blue ribbon with blue feathers in the front.  It is probably on the conservative side for English standards... I will know more tomorrow.  K is less than thrilled to be in attendance.  When I mentioned that we should go, he was pouty and said something along the lines of, "well, watching horses race is certainly not my idea of a fun Saturday".  I gently, errr... less than gently... reminded him that I have attended the US Open with him (in the MUD), am attending the British Open with him next month and have even flown to Scotland to golf with him, so he can suck it up and deal.  And deal he will!  I hope we will have some good pics to post:)

   

Off to the pool!

6 Month Bandiversary

I celebrated my bandiversary in Portugal last week.  It was actually a non-celebration, as I completely forgot about it on June 9.  But it still happened.  So where am I half a year post-surgery?

    

I am down 68.6 pounds.  I lost 20 pounds on the liquid diet, but this is still almost 70 pounds in 6.5 months! 

    

I am easily fitting into 18W clothes, and most are getting very baggy.  Before surgery I could barely cram myself into a 20W or 22W. 

    

I can breathe.  I am no longer huffing and puffing all the time.

    

I can walk without sweating.  It is so nice to walk to see my friends and not be covered in sweat after a short stroll!

     

I fit into airplane seats and can consistently fasten my seat belt.

    

I am excited about the next step!  Weight loss has always been something outside my grasp.  The few times I did lose weight, I knew it probably wouldn't stay off.  Now I know that my success will continue as long as I focus on it.  What a relief!!!

       

So now onto my trip.  To sum it up, the week was fantastic!  Mom and I had such a nice time in the Algarve.  We spent a week laying out (under an umbrella), reading our Kindles and going out to yummy dinners.  We chatted and relaxed.  More importantly, she relaxed.  She is always super stressed with work, and it was great to see her decompress.  My driver is bringing her to the airport as I type, and I already miss her.  We are close friends, and I like when we are together.  I go back to NJ on Monday, so I will see her next week.  Not too shabby considering that we live 3,500 miles apart. 

    

While I see my mom on a monthly basis, this was our first vacation together post-band.  I think she was a bit concerned that I no longer eat three meals a day.  Breakfast was included in the room rate, so we sat for breakfast every morning.  Before surgery I was a breakfast buffet whore, and that is the Nora mom remembers.  I ate omelettes, sausage, bacon, smoked salmon, rolls, butter, and fruit.  Now, I have little interest in breakfast.  During the week I ate some kiwi, pineapple and grapes for breakfast.  One morning I tried a bite of bacon and a little fork full of scrambled egg- yuck.  I was much happier with a bit of fruit than with any of the typical breakfast offerings.  Back to my mom...  even though she knows that the whole point of this band is to eat less, the reality freaked her out a bit.  I had fruit for breakfast, maybe an octopus salad for lunch, grapes or pineapple for a snack, and fish of some sort for dinner.  Even though most bandsters will probably read this and say WOW, you can really eat a lot, she sees the drastic reduction from what she is accustomed to seeing me consume.  By the end of the week she was better with my eating pattern, but it was funny to see her initial reaction.  

     

Has this happened with many of you- that even people who know about the surgery want you to eat more than you should, not in an effort to sabotage you but due to concern for your well being?

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!