Come Sail Away With Me

I'm back from my wonderful 9-day cruise to Port Canaveral, Key West, Nassau and Coco Cay.  I really wish you all could have gone with me.  It was so much fun and so relaxing.  I ate and drank what I wanted and only gained 1.8 lbs.  I was very happy with that.  I'm sure preband it would have been a 5 to 8 lb gain - at least.  

The trip was awesome from beginning to end.  It was such a great experience leaving out of Baltimore versus having to fly to get to the ship. We could pack what we wanted - didn't have to worry about luggage weight - didn't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight - didn't have to worry about being crammed in seats and then getting to ship -hoping luggage wasn't lost along the way.  The day we left we got up at 8 am, had breakfast, dropped off our luggage, parked, went through security and were on the ship (enjoying a drink of course) by 1 pm. NICE! Great start to the vacation.  Here is a picture of the girls and I having our first drink on the ship.  Please note how healthy my mai tai looks - it came with fruit and everything.  (he he)

I'm glad that the concerns I had about taking a cruise out of Baltimore were unfounded.  I was a little nervous thinking that the smaller ship wouldn't be as fun, but we had a blast. In some ways, it was nice not having to walk miles to get from one end of the ship to another. (However, don't get me wrong. We still want to do Oasis or Allure - the new Royal Caribbean mega-ships.  Check them out when you get a chance. http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/video.php?ship=allure).  I was also nervous 9 days would be too much time on a cruise, but NOT!  It was so relaxing not having to worry about checking work emails and Dave's phone going off every hour.   I was a little nervous that the 4 of us in a room for 9 days would be a recipe for disaster, but not at all.  We had enough room for all our clothes and the suitcases went under the bed.  There were 2 queen beds so sleeping was comfortable.  Probably the most crowded time was getting ready for dinner, but we worked out a system for that.  The girls would get ready first and then go save us seats for the show, while Dave and I got ready.  There was minimal bickering and we only tripped over each other a few times. 

Here are a few pictures of the trip.  Unfortunately, they are not the best.  We got a new camera before we left and I don't think we quite figured out how to use it.  Some of the coloring in the pictures are off.  Luckily we had quite a few good professional pictures done.  Hopefully I can figure how to scan and post. 

Here is a stock picture of the ship.  We went on Royal Carribbean's Enchantment of the Seas

Here is the atrium of the ship. 

I was just as excited as my daughters to see what towel animals were waiting for us each night.



I became very attached.

Our 3rd port was Nassau and we did Atlantis.  I don't do the water slides, but Dave and the girls did.  For those of you who watch Amazing Race, they featured the "Leap of Faith" slide last year and one of the contestants would do it.  Well my 14 and 11 year old did it - as well as hubby.  Unfortunately, it was hard to take a picture of them doing it.  Below is a small part of Atlantis.  It is HUGE and very spread out.  We were only there for 5 hours so could only see a small part of it. 

Here is a shot of one of the pools at Atlantis. 

Here is a shot of my girls underwater.  I love this picture. 

This is what I did at Atlantis. 

Atlantis has an awesome aquarium.  You walk through a cave and each room has different types of sea life.  Here is a picture of the eels.  I'm not going to lie.  They kind of freaked me out.

Here are girls on 1st formal night.

Here are Dave and I on the first formal night.  I have a quick story that I wanted to post about before I left, but didn't get a chance.  I just have to tell you about my wonderful BOOB friends here in Maryland. I mentioned in my last post that I was a little down that I didn't have any great dresses to wear on the cruise. (I know, my life is tough). Well, before I knew it, I had an email from my friend Read who said she had some dresses that I could try. She lives 10 minutes from Linda who works 10 minutes from me.  I had the dresses in hand in no time and I'm wearing one of them in this picture.  And to top it off, I had MLM leave me a comment that if only I had mentioned it sooner, she had a dress that she could have sent me. Geez, if only she lived in Maryland.

I don't want to inundate you with pictures, so I'll post some more in my next post.  I don't think there is any way I'll be able to catch up on all the posts I missed.  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Cruise, gym friend and goal setting

I'm leaving Thursday for a 9-day cruise and am excited, but nervous.  Not about the cruising part - I've been on 5 cruises prior to this and love it.  But a big part of what I love is the eating and the drinking (alcohol - that is).  I know there are lots of of other things to do and will be taking some workout clothes to hit the gym.   Will be an interesting experience crusing with the band - hope I still like it as much and don't gain too much. 

I am a little bummed that I don't have some awesome dresses to wear for formal nights, but it makes no sense to put out the money.  I have 2 beautiful gowns that I wore 2 cruises ago, but I was about 40 lbs thinner and can't get into them this go around.  I have a black dress that Linda gave me a few months ago, so I plan to dress that up with jewelry.  I also have a sparkly top and black flowy pants that I will wear on the other night.  Please know that I realize how ridiculous I sound whining about what to wear on my cruise - my life is tough - but hopefully you ladies understand where I'm coming from.  Sometimes - especially times like this - you just wish you were at goal instead of still needing to lose weight - or were at least further along in your journey. 

We are going on another cruise January 2012 and be assured I WILL be buying some sexy cocktail dresses for that trip.   This cruise has been in the works for a while.  My brother and wife are taking their daughter who will be turning 21 in November 2011.  In addition, they both will be turning 40 in 2011.  They invited us and a bunch of other friends and family to help them celebrate.  It works out well for us because my daughters will be turning 13 and 16 in late 2011, so we will have our own milestones to celebrate.  I will keep you all informed of the details in case you'd like to go too.  More the merrier.  I know we are going on the Carnival Liberty and it will be mid January 2012 so you have over a year if you are interested.   I think we are leaving out of Miami, but will have definite details in a few months.

I'm in a pretty good spot on the band front, eventhough I'm not losing a lot.  It's not that I'm eating too much - it's that I'm not making sure I get my protein, water and exercise in.  However, for those of you in the Holiday Challenge, don't write me off.  While I may not lose on the cruise, I am excited to say that I've found myself a workout friend to go to the gym with when I get back from my trip.  I have a gym membership, but feel funny going to the classes not knowing anybody.  I went on the facebook page for my gym and found a woman named Michelle who is also looking for a workout partner.  I friended her and asked her if she is interested in meeting when I get back and she is.  After she made me a friend, I went to her wall and saw that her father passed away a few weeks ago.  Maybe it's just me hoping that my mom is still watching out for me, but I swear she is the one who gave me the push to check the facebook change because she knew - in addition to me wanting a gym buddy - Michelle could probably use someone to talk to.  I know what it is like to lose a parent and until you have, it's very difficult to understand all of the emotions.  I gained 60 lbs when my mom passed away so am hoping that in addition to Michelle helping me, I can help her work her grief out in the gym.  She gave me a tip on a good trainer at the gym and plan on signing up for personal training when I get back . 

So, things are going really well.  I'm sorry I'm not posting as much, but it's not because I'm depressed.  I'm trying to keep up on all of your blogs and making comments and sometimes it just feels like that is more important than posting on my own blog.  Do any of you feel like that? 

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Lady Lap Band Has a Giveaway

Lady Lap Band is having a giveaway.  Stop by and enter to win. 

A weekend of fun, a Ravens win and dinner with 2 BOOBS.

Sorry I seem to keep dropping off the face of the earth.   Everything is fine.  Better than fine, actually.  Last weekend was great.  I had a weekend alone with hubby and it was FABULOUS.   Friday night we went to a romantic dinner in Lancaster, PA at The Old Greenfield Inn, a farmhouse from 1790 that was renovated into a restaurant.  They have a wine cellar with only 2 tables on opposite sides, so it's very secluded and romantic.  We meant to get the waitress to take a picture of us, but after my 2 dirty martinis it slipped my mind.  Shocker.  However, my hubby did take one of me. 

Here is all the wine right by our table.  Took a lot of willpower not to reach out and grab a bottle, but I assume they must have a monitor watching you.  The food was very good too.   I had tomato basil soup to start and 2 of my 4 scallops for the entree.  Yummy!  Hubby had filet mignon with the other 2 scallops from my plate.  One of the best things about the band is being able to enjoy a nice dinner and not feel stuffed after.

We spent the night at a nice hotel and had lots of sex got a good night's sleep.    Saturday we spent most of the day shopping at the outlets for US.  The reason I say US in caps is because we haven't gone clothes shopping for US in a long time.  Usually it's all about finding this dress for my one daughter or a pair of shoes for the other.  I got a few new things, but, of course, I didn't want to spend too much money because I still have a long ways to go with losing weight.    I found that even being a few sizes smaller totally changed my shopping experience.  Of course it was more fun, but I was more critical of how the clothes looked.  Before, I was just happy if it fit.  Now it has to fit AND look good.  What a concept!   I also had a hard time knowing what looked good on me.  I'm used to wearing fairly loose clothes and my husband was liking the more form fitting things on me.   I'll try to get the courage to take some pictures of me in what I bought.  While we are on the topic of clothes, Band Groupie did a post today about the history of her clothes.   You should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

After shopping, we went to Hollywood Casino for a little dinner and gambling.   Unfortunately, the minimums at the tables were a little rich for our blood so I let Dave play while I watched.   He sat at the "Let it Ride" table for about 2 hours and lost $400.  Yikes!  I guess the game was more like "Let's Bend Over".  After being screwed in the casino, we decided to go back to our room and - well, the same thing that happened in the casino, but it felt a lot better.  We came back Sunday, picked up the kids and went to a football party at my brother's house.  The weekend was topped off with a Ravens win.  So sweet!

Then on Monday night I got to meet Linda of Linda's Bandwith and Read of My Trek Downward.  Unfortunately, Banded Mommy of This Banded Mommy's Journey had some child care issues and couldn't make it.  Hopefully she can make it next time.

Here's a picture of us all.  Notice all the takeout bags.  Part of it was leftovers and part of it was dinners for our hubbys. 

Next week this time we'll be packed and ready to go on our cruise.  I'm so excited! 

Hope you all are doing well in the Holiday Challenge.  I'm hoping to get down to 40 lbs down by the time it's over, which is 6 more pounds. 

I know I shouldn't ask, but I'm going to anyway

I know I've been a crappy blogger lately and I don't have the right to ask, but we have a newbie in our midst, AshleyB, LipstickedCigarrettes, and she is getting her surgery on Friday.  I'm her first follower so if you have a chance stop by and wish her some good luck. 

Thanks!

Do you know why witches can't get pregnant?

Because warlocks have hollow weenies.  I think this one sounds better verbally, but I still think it's cute.

Sorry I haven't posted recently.  Have been trying to keep up with everybody, but things have been busy at work and I'm going away this weekend with the hubby.  Not sure exactly where we are going, but I'm really looking forward to some alone time. 

Everybody posted really cute Halloween photos so I thought I'd post some of my my daughters.  Unfortunately I didn't have any Halloween parties to go to, so there is none of me in a costume, but I am going to throw one next year.  Hopefully I'll be able to dress up as a "sexy (insert anything here) ie, sexy cat, sexy nurse, sexy pirate...I think you get my point. 

Here is a picture of my 14 year old.  She dressed as an 80s valley girl.  I loved the 80s. 

Here is my 11 year old.  The sash says it all

And here they are together. 

Had a very nice Halloween weekend.  Played nickel/dime poker on Saturday night with another couple and I was the "big" winner with a $2.00 win.  We ended the evening talking about some personal ghost stories.  Apparently their house is haunted and they've seen apparitions.  They think it's the man who owned the house previously who hadn't wanted to move and died in a nursing home the week after they bought the house.  They also told us about haunted bed and breakfasts they've gone to and one very creepy night they spent in a castle in London.  Was the most fun I've had in a long time and didn't have to spend a dime.

Sunday we went trick or treating over in my brother's neighborhood.  They have 3 small kids (7, 3 and 1 month old) so we thought it would be fun going with them.  Oh, who the hell am I kidding, my brother is very wealthy and we wanted to go where the candy was good.  I can't hide anything from you all.  : )

As far as the band goes, weight loss is fairly slow.  I feel like I am doing most things right except exercise.  I really need to kick that in and am hoping it helps move the scale.  I got a .5 fill on Thursday to bring my total to 8 ccs.  Seems like restriction is pretty decent so far.  Hoping the holiday challenge motivates me to start working out. 

I'm really excited about Monday because I will be meeting Linda of Linda's Bandwith, Read of My Trek Downward and Banded Mommy of This Banded Mommy's Journey.  Linda and I have met before, but this will be our first time meeting the other ladies.  I'm so excited that we now have a Maryland club. If anybody else lives nearby and wants to join, please let us know.