Marathon Mom

As promised, here are some pictures from my trip to NYC - just a few highlights. Biggest Loser is on and it’s GOOD!!

First day, we went to the The Met. Totally awesome. No mummies rose from the dead while we were there. Very disappointed that Brendan Fraser didn’t come swinging in to save the day. But still a good visit nonetheless.

That night we went for a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park. Fortunately, Cramer wasn’t driving. Beefaroni wasn’t an issue.

The next day was spent at Toy Fair. Sorry, no pics. And that night we went to see The Lion King - fourth row center!! TOTALLY SPECTACULAR!!

Bright and early Thursday morning, we had a private tour of FAO Schwarz. The highlight was getting to dance on the giant piano from the movie BIG. It was so totally awesome!!

Afterwards, we headed on over to the Statue of Liberty. This is one of the items on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list, so I’m uber-jazzed to have crossed that one off!

That night we went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. While it didn’t have the charm of the books, it was definitely hilarious. Isla Fisher was definitely worth the $12.50 ticket!

Friday morning found us 86 stories above the Big Apple - that’s us atop the Empire State Building!

Then we headed over to Toys R Us for a spin on their indoor 4 story high ferris wheel!!

And we ended our trip with a visit to the Guggenheim!!

It was seriously the best trip ever!!

A.M. Weigh in: 152.2 (not bad considering, let me tell ya!!)

We got back from NYC yesterday afternoon. I’m still trying to catch up on everything and I’m at work right now, to boot. I’ll update in a bit with pictures, once I get home (while watching the Oscars!) We had a FAB time! But I am glad to be home - especially with a windchill factor of 9 our last day there. NINE, as in single digit. DEAR LORD, but that is COLD!! Gotta run - back in a bit!

A.M. Weigh-in: 148.4 - considering everything, that is not horrible.

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone! My flight takes off in approximately 8.5 hours in the middle of a huge storm. I normally travel during the warm months, weather hasn’t been an issue. I’m trying not to stress… oh great, Good Morning America is opening with coverage of last week’s airplane accident. I’m feeling really confident and reassured now. To top it off, Cali gets air-sick. I’ll be picking her up some Dramamine and crackers for the flight.

My plan for NY is this: enjoy myself but do better than in Vegas! I do not plan on eating my way thru the Big Apple. I’m there for museums, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, and just tons of sightseeing. Oh, and a Broadway Show!

I’m praying my knee holds out. The weather is supposed to be cold but clear tomorrow. I’m planning Cali and I to walk from the hotel, through Central Park, over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I Google mapped it and it’s 2.3 miles. A good hearty walk, not unrealistic. My daughter HATES walking (so does my mom, but she won’t be with us tomorrow. She’ll be at Toy Fair.) But she needs to get to exercising. And I’m hoping that the lure of walking through Central Park will help… and I’m not going to tell her how far it is! I know, I’m totally evil.

I can’t wait to take pictures!! PICTURES!! I’m an amature photog, so this trip is WAY exciting for me. Expect to see a million pics when I get back. I’m not taking a computer with me. My mom will have her laptop, but I doubt I’ll get on it to do more than check email. I want to get OUT, not sit in a hotel room surfing the net! Well, I better get moving. I have to finish packing, shower and get out the door to work! I have a ton of stuff to wrap up before I fly out!

So, after being like 4 days late, TOM finally is making an appearance. Which helps explain the hormonal hell I’ve been through the past week (it’s always worse when it’s late, it’s like my PMS goes into overtime!) But the worst, the very very very worst part of it… my two seriously heavy painful days are going to be Monday and Tuesday. Why is this so awful? Well, tomorrow I’ll be on a plane for NYC which is like a 5 hour flight. Just what I want to be doing, running to the airplane bathroom every hour to change myself and stressing about leakage. When I’m late, TOM tends to be heavier, like those extra days create massive extra build-up. Tuesday, my daughter and I are going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Which is awesome. Except I’m going to see more of their bathrooms than probably the rest of the place! However, I’m guessing that their bathrooms are like exquisite, so maybe this isn’t such a negative. The cramping, however, combined with my bad knee… maybe I can rent one of those little scooters. Cause I think this counts as being totally disabled. Disclaimer: I’m not in any way trying to minimize or mock those who are truly disabled or differently abled or whatever the PC term is these days. It’s just that I’m a big, whiny baby. It’s not you, it’s me.

So, that’s it. My weight is up. I’m hanging in the 149.XX range by a Sugar-free Jello Pudding Cup. It’s not pretty. I had a Carl’s Jr. Low Carb Burger yesterday for lunch thinking it was a good choice. I got it without cheese or mayo - 390 calories. Yeah, guess what. It also has 27 grams of fat, so it was 10 WW points - that is half my daily points!! For one lousy bunless, cheeseless burger?! WTF? Seriously! I could have had the Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich WITH bun for 6 points.  Obviously, I still have lots to learn about this whole points vs. calories thing. I fear my weigh-in when we get back. If Vegas was any indication, I’m really going to pack it on in NYC.

And I’m really disappointed with myself. I really wanted to be in the 130s by the time we hit NYC. That was a totally realistic goal. As of now, I’ll be lucky not to be in the 150s tomorrow morning. I want to just shake myself. I mean, a month ago I was only 4.6 pounds away! Now I’m 10 pounds away!! The whole not being able to exercise thing is really kicking my attitude’s ass. And so instead of focusing on optimal eating, it’s more of a what the hell does it matter anyway eating. That, my friends, is fat girl thinking. I may be wearing a size 8 on the outside, but I’m still a 20 on the inside. I have got to get this figured out. Hopefully before I turn 40 next year.

I’m going to make a note here: 21 years ago yesterday (Valentine’s Day) my father died in a skiing accident; he was 41. I was 17, my brothers were 15 & 10 and my baby sister had just turned 4. I am now 38. My oldest daughter is 17, my boys are 16, 12 & 7 and my baby daughter is 4. Needless to say, I’m facing my own mortality in an unpleasant way right now. I’m freaking out a bit. And the two plane crashes in NY in the past few weeks aren’t helping me feel any better. A few extra prayers, good thoughts and positive energy directed skyward on Monday (flying from SFO to JFK) and Saturday (flying from JFK to SFO) would be most appreciated!!