Hello from the Big Apple!
 

Hello all!

We made it to NY and are having a blast! So far it has been an endless round of parties--We had brunch while cruising the Hudson River today and have a bid do tonight.

Security is very tight, but, so far, hasn't been obtrusive. We have police outside the door to the hotel 24 hours a day and security is tight inside the hotel as well. I've got C-SPAN on with the protesters, but they haven't been anywhere near us today. They don't appear to be behaving very peacefully either. I saw a carriage that has been set on fire. We'll see what it is like tomorrow when the convention starts.

Thr best part has been the presents and gift baskets. Everytime I come back to the room there is a new gift basket or gift--cool stuff too--including a little perdometer!!!! I'm going to wear it this week. I'm not sure how much walking I'll be doing as we are provided transportation to the convention and all the other events we attend.

I'll check is as I can!

Susan

My electricity has been off and on for the last 2 days. It was flickering off about once every 15 minutes, so I finally just turned off my computer and didn't turn it back on until after a power company truck left our neighborhood this afternoon. I hope they finally got the problem fixed.

So far 8700 steps. I think my DH and I are gonna walk about 2 miles (about 4500 steps for me) this evening, so I'm hoping I'll get close to 15000 steps today. We walked 1.5 miles this morning b/f church, but could not walk any longer because we had to get ready, eat, etc. For all the pedometer gals out there---Pancho, Monet, Susan, etc. -- 10000 is the minimum goal to try to get every day. That is supposed to keep ypou "where you are". Anything over that is supposed to contribute to weight loss. I was reading an article in Eating Well, a really good magazine that happens to be advertised on this site, and they interviewed a man who was some big muckey muck in health and fitness, and he said he wore a pedometer and aimed for an average of 11000 steps a day or a total of 77000 per week. Some days he got more than his goal of 11000 and some days less, but he aimed to get that 77000.

Eating today--not too bad. I was talking to a friend at a neighborhood party held 2 nights ago. She has lost about 35 pounds in the past 6 months, and she was participating in a "women's health study" at the local university. They do lots of health assessments for free if you follow their plan, which, basically, was walking 2 miles about 4 times a week, and following their food plan. She is eating 1800 cals/day. I figured that I was already doing that, but probably slipping in the calorie/food part. She has to write down every morsel that she puts in her mouth and they check it. I think they are checking for cholesterol, BP, triglycerides, etc. and hoping that they are lowered in the group of women they are testing. The group is limited to women between 55 and 65 yrs. old. I'd qualify except that I take lipitor, which I think disqualifies me. Anyway, I figured that if I just followed my sig., below, I should be able to do as well as she is doing. So, that has helped me get over the sugar cravings.

Food today:
B. 1/2 c. cooked oatmeal with dried cherries. 1/2 c. sk. milk., 1 soft boiled egg.
L. 1 large salad with about 2.5 oz. chicken breast, about 10 walnuts, green peppers, about 1/4 C angel hair pasta, all over about 3 cups lettuce. Sesame dressing.
Snack: about 2 T. cashews and pistachios.
Dinner: 4 oz. pork roast, cooked in red wine and chicken broth, with veggies. Maybe a salad, but probably sautéed zuchinni.
Lots of iced tea!

Susan--Again, be safe. There is such a difference in the behavior of the protesters at the two conventions. These people "on the other side" are really on the fringes, and I hope you don't have any problems with them. I saw in the paper that over 200 of them were arrested at just one protest demonstration because they were breaking the law. I pray that they won't disrupt anything that is going on there at the convention. I get sick of the smear tactics, but it seems to me that one party has been throwing stones, and then screaming "foul" when the other side starting throwing back. I wonder if, in their economy, the first amendment only works one way.

Crystal--Hope your Mom is feeling really good now.

Fruit--congratulations of the loss of those 5 pounds.

Monet--When is your surgery scheduled? Is it just for a hernia? I also missed that part when we were out of power for the week.

BOB--Have you been getting those rain storms over there like we have been getting here? Real gully washers.

We put all our yard decorations back in our yard today--all our yard gators. and our bird baths and bird feeders. Cleaned up the debris in the butterfly garden. Talking about butterflies, another swallowtail emerged from his chrysalis today and I walked him (or her) out to the garden on my finger. I've seen several monarch eggs on the milkweed, and think I will bring the eggs in to raise the butterflies "from scratch."

Gotta go. I've enjoyed watching the olympics so much on TV. I'm gonna miss it and it looks like, as usual, there really is nothing else on. The vast waste-land.

Well, I'll bet no one reads this, since its Sunday night. But we just got back from our walk. Very hot and humid here and the piles of debris are in all the neighborhoods. Some are so high you can't see the house. Anyway, I got 15751 steps for today. Yea me!

Dinner: Pork loin roast--I had about 2.5-3 oz. One small creamer potato, 4 baby carrots, 1/2 large onion, 4 prunes and 1/2 apple. All these were baked together for over an hour, with the pork roast. I threw in a stem of fresh thyme, about 1/2 cup red wine and some broth. Boy! was it good. Really tender and all the flavors melded together. The fruit gave it just the right touch to the sauce. The potatoes and carrots were not SB legal, but such a small amount that I don't feel guilty. All in all, no real bad cheats. Probably the nuts for a snack after lunch were not the best choice. I should have had a piece of fruit or something. But much better than I have been doing.

Hope every one has a nice evening.

Quick check in before I go make breakfast and lunch for Tom...

Laura's car is dead...the timing is just so wrong. I am probably going to have to let her use mine all week. I am NOT happy about that. The engine has to be rebuilt and it just may not be worth it. sigh...

GATOR: I have fibroid tumors, and have to have a hysterectomy. I am going to have the hernia repair at the same time. I could not, unfortunately, talk the surgeon into lipo-ectomy or a tummy tuck at the same time! ;)