My Life – Page 137 – The Dackel Princess

Answers To Questions

Forgive me Bloggers, for I have sinned. I gained one pound at Weight Watchers this week! I knew I had to have gained something. After all the goodies I ate on the trip. I mean how could I turn down freshly baked dinner rolls with sunflower seeds? Or an appetizer of shredded crab, shrimp and scallops with a cream sauce? Or perhaps the baby lamb chops, lobster tails, prime rib, or eggplant Parmesan?

I probably would have done better if I had pushed away the chocolate cake, tiramisu, baked Alaska with extra fudge sauce, and the rum raisin ice cream made with dark, delicious, real rum!

I did try to avoid this gain by walking everywhere and taking the stairs when I could. In fact, poor Hubby was breathless at times as I was zipping up and down the stairs.

With 15 flights of stairs to walk, you’d have thought I would have at least broken even in the weight department, but no such luck!

Now, yesterday a few of you asked me questions and so I decided that I would end today’s post with answers to these questions.

Is there a particular reason you stayed home to do chores whilst your hubby got to go skiing? Seems a tad sexist to me!! …..Not really, it’s early in the ski season and I am not the die hard skier that Hubby is. He really loves the rough early skiing, and I simply don’t. Trust me, I was much happier at home doing chores!
Musical dogs, huh? How long does “in-heat” last? …..A typical heat will last three weeks. It just seems like forever!!!
Did you give up skiing? I remember your accident… How did the WW’s meeting go?? …….No, I haven’t given up, although I admit to being a little nervous. I haven’t skied since the accident . I plan to ski this this year….. As you can see from the entry above, WW was not as great as I’d hoped! ;~)
oh man, you’ve sure got your hands full with those dogs! ……I sure do!!!
Of course the easy answer to the cooking problem is just to stay on a cruise permanently! ……Now there’s the answer to it all! I like how you think, Loth!!!

I’m 50!

Since I am in the middle of the Atlantic enjoying the sunshine, I thought I would set this up to post before I left. It’s a montage of pictures of me, my life and my loves over the years. Some of the things that make me…..me.

All the bad hair styles, wild wardrobe, and no make up make me cringe at times, but then I see the love in the eyes of those I have been photographed with and I really feel like one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth.

You’ll see my sister, Mel, Hubby, Mandy, Katie and my cousin Janet. There are a few pictures in there of Janet and me sitting side by side at Thanksgiving dinner. I have to comment that as long as I can remember Janet and I sat next to each other at these feasts.

I hope you all enjoy this look back over my last 50 years!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And We’re Off!!!

This morning we will fly out of New England

for Puerto Rico, where we will catch our cruise ship, The Caribbean Princess,

for a one week tour of the Southern Caribbean.

We depart early out of Boston, and will be getting to San Juan by lunchtime. We’ll check in, have some lunch and then do a little sight seeing before returning to the ship for dinner.

The ship sails at 11 o’clock, PM and I will be sailing toward Aruba and my 50th birthday!

The Good News, Bad News & Good News

It was just one of those days filled with both good and bad things. I think when I finally got to sit down and think about it, I was very happy over all with the results.

Okay, first, I went to Weight Watchers and weighed in and lost 1-1/2 pounds and now I am just 1/2 a pound from my goal weight! I am ecstatic and the sense of accomplishment I feel at being this close to my goal by my birthday is a little overwhelming.

That was the first piece of good news!

Next, I headed across the state to see my retinal surgeon, Dr. C. He looked at my troublesome left eye and found that the retina does indeed have a membrane growing across it. Surgery will be required later to remove the membrane, but for right now he wants to wait so that the membrane gets thicker. This will make it easier for him to remove when the time comes. Although I am not looking forward to another operation on that eye, I do trust Dr. C. and I know he will do his very best.

So that was the bad news.

I left Dr. C.’s office mildly blinded by the dilating drops in my eyes. With two pairs of sunglasses, I drove to a shopping mall near the hospital, and I went to two shoe stores, still searching for the allusive bone pumps. Nothing. I mean, if I wanted to wear 6 inch spiky heels then yeah, they had shoes. However, they had nothing nice and classy.

I was about to give up when I say a sign for “Super Shoes”. Okay, they’d gotten my attention. So I pulled into their parking lot and went inside. In the back of the shop on sale were these cute little babies!

I put them on and they were so comfortable! And the tri-color actually matched the two dresses I am bringing with me on the trip. They are just perfect!

The second piece of good news!

I drove back across the state listening to the “Mama Mia” soundtrack before arriving late in the afternoon. I took a quick picture of the sandals and when I went to download them I found this picture of the rainbow that I had taken a few days ago and forgotten about. I fell in love with it!

So I am ending my day being thankful for all the good in my life and a reminder that even if I have challenges to meet I am certainly up to them.

Four Days

Four days!

I simply can’t believe it!

Four days and we will be stepping onto our ship, the Caribbean Princess and heading out for a week of rest and relaxation!

I’m fairly organized, but I still need Hubby to select the shirts and slacks he wants to bring. I also need to get the suitcases down from the attic and start to figure out which clothes go in what bag.

Four days!

It seemed to get here so quickly. Actually the last year has flown by. Yet, in the last year, so much has changed as well.

I’m ready for the next chapter of my life. I thought perhaps it would bother me at least a little turning 50, but today I realized that I feel quite good about it.

You know, at 50 you have lived long enough to know a little about life, you also have lived long enough to know that there is still a lot to learn.

Joining Weight Watchers has helped me to learn so much about myself and how to deal with life’s ups and downs, with things other than pound size bags of M & M’s!

I watched myself emerge from my old chubby self to the new, fit and fabulous 50! Ha!

Four Days!

I’m looking forward to the quiet time spent with Hubby in the warm tropics. I want to hold his hand and feel the wind gently blow through my hair. (No hurricanes, please!) I want to walk on sandy beaches, feel the sun kiss my SPF-50 slathered body, and the warm water as I swim.

Yes, in only Four Days the fun begins!

Rainbows & Shopping

I was up at 6:30 today and the sky was so pretty and pink and blue. There were a few clouds and light rain. I glanced across the lake and saw this beautiful rainbow and came back inside, grabbed my camera and took a few shots.

Nov. 9 006

I had a list of last minute items to get at the Outlet Mall today. I simply wasn’t moving very fast around here, and Hubby finally offered to drive me, which was great, but we did get off to a late start. I just could not seem to get out of my own way.

We left well after 2 in the afternoon and drove the 25 miles south to the Outlet Mall. I wanted to secure a pair of taupe dress shoes first thing. We went to three different shops and no one had a decent pair of shoes! They did have these things which I will call “slip on torturing devices”. I mean, honestly, how can women wear these things? Heels so high and toes so narrow that I felt as if I were in ancient China where women were still getting their feet wrapped! I have so many friends, and relatives with distorted feet from wearing these things. I simply couldn’t do it.

In shoes like those I saw myself quite clearly falling flat on my face in the middle of the ship. Probably toppling over the Captain or some vacationing aging couple.

Needless to say, I didn’t find any shoes.

I did, however, get the other things on my list, plus two Lobsters. And before you even ask, yes, the lobsters were delicious!

We got back home late, fed the dogs and I’m finally settling in to watch a little TV tonight before another early bedtime. This is going to be a busy week for me and I’m going to need all the rest and stamina that I can get.

How was your weekend?

Naps, Shoes & An Overhaul

Today was a down day. By that I mean that since it was dark and rainy here I got the chance to actually take a 2 hour nap. I’ve been needing that, as I have had a small cold that had been wearing me down.

I woke feeling better and after a cup of tea decided that I am now on the upswing.

I went in my closet today to get a pair of shoes to bring on the trip. I hunted and hunted, and then recalled that I’d donated them because they’d gotten too big for me. It now means I must go to the local shoe store and pick up a pair of taupe dress shoes.

I also went through the pile of clothes I planned to bring and cut it down by a third! I am so proud of myself! Now I just have to get Hubby to pull out the clothes he wants to bring so I can work at folding those up.

The week ahead finds me seeing my retinal surgeon on Wednesday and getting a complete overhaul on Thursday with my hair stylist!

Before we know it, it will be time to drive to Boston and hop our plane. Just a week from today we board the ship and head off on our trip, where I will sail into being 50.

This picture was taken by Hubby during our cruise last year. I played with it in photoshop and this is what I came up with!

Break Out The Suitcases!

Today was make a list, check it twice and start to lay out the clothes I will be packing for Hubby and me, day.

I’ve started to realize that I have planned to take far too many outfits and I really need to cut down on the number of items in my pile, but I have so many “cute” outfits and I don’t want to wait until next summer to wear them.

Still….

Today I did something I didn’t think possible. I’ve ordered a bikini! I will either look totally wonderful in it, or I will be arrested for indecent exposure!

Meanwhile, the organizing and packing continues.

Almost There

A year or so ago I remember thinking how unhappy I was because my weight was out of control and yet, I felt helpless to do anything to “fix” it. I dressed to hide the weight and all the while, I knew that wearing a size 16/18 meant that I was getting beyond the limits of good health or emotional happiness.

The trip last year only made me more aware of the weight problem, because when I looked at the pictures of myself, I saw a woman who no longer resembled the slim trim person I had once been.

There was no hiding from it. There it was in full color!

I decided upon our return that I would do something. I knew Weight Watchers could help, if I learned how to live with it.

Could I do it?

I started out slowly, but I went to class every week. I promised myself that I wouldn’t miss a class unless I was in Intensive Care! There were weeks I went and when I weighed in, I found that I had gained weight! But over the last 11 months I have lost.

Today I weighed in and I had lost 45 1/2 pounds total. Eleven months it has taken me, but I have done it! I have just two more pounds to go and I will be at my goal weight.

At class today I was showcased for my weight loss. I went up and I got another marker for my memory book. I also was able to show the women in my class the new slim trim me!

The very best part is, that all these women have been with me from the beginning and they all have watched me lose, and struggle and then lose again. From these wonderful people I have gained the strength that I needed to get through the good and bad times.

So here I am. A week and a half until I turn 50 years old and close enough to my goal weight that I know I will make it. I am so thankful. Thankful to my good friends, Weight Watchers and to my husband, daughter, sister and cousin, Janet. Without the support of these people, I never would have made it.

Not Sleeping

I started the day quite early. Did the dogs wake me up, or perhaps Hubby’s loud snores?

No.

It was just me. I woke up and my brain clicked on. Does that happen to you? It drives me nuts when it happens, but there really isn’t much you can do.

I lay there for a while trying to go back to sleep. Hubby was sound asleep and not making any noises. The dogs were all cuddled around me, and Fritz was curled up on the floor next to Hubby’s side of the bed.

My brain, the traitor in this situation, clicked on and I started to think about packing. What did I need to bring with me on the cruise, what did I need to buy before we left and how many pairs of socks, underwear, shorts and shirts needed to be packed?

As I lay there, trying not to move and wake the hounds, it suddenly dawned on me that Mother Nature was calling. I tried to ignore it and just lie there, but after a few minutes of thinking about being on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, I thought I might just explode and…..I got out of bed and my day began!

An overactive brain and bladder will get you every time!