A Nice Memorial Day Walk In The City with TY

My prize for walking yesterday was the BEST brunch at Veselka with TY.

Can my smile get any bigger?

We walked along the water in lower Manhattan before it got too hot.  It was so beautiful!  The big bonus was that the city wasn't crowded because it was Labor Memorial Day! (caught the mistake, Sashi!  Pretty funny!)

I'm not sure of how many miles we walked ...

I chose to walk in sandals instead of sneakers and my dogs were barking at the end of the day!  They were also swollen due to the heat!

Yikes it's hot!!!

Tonight is WW weigh-in night.  I'm a day late because of the holiday.  I hope I do better than last week ... 0 pounds and 0 ounces!

Zumba was canceled tonight because the gym was too hot.

I HATE to miss Zumba!

The end.
...
NOT THE END!
Lost over 2 pounds this week!  That's a total of over 30 pounds and you know what that means!
120+ sticks of butter!
BOOBIES!

First Day Back On My Old Route

Today was my first ... old ... training walk in Port.

Some things have changed.  Some things have stayed the same.

Houses that were being renovated last year are looking great.

The Bay Walk has a "nautical art museum" that adds charm to the stretch along the bay.

The swans are back.  It appears to be just the mom and dad.  The baby might be on his own this year.

A house that sported a "For Sale" sign months ago ... still has the same sign in front.

The guy with the great posture ran past me on Middle Neck Road. (Although we did not say hello ... it was good to see him.)

I walked without my waist pack.  That meant I did not have my cell phone and I did not have my camera.  It felt great not having that thing around my waist!

I walked with a Zumba song playing in my head!  

That's right ... Zumba!  

My friend Doreen has classes in the gym after school.  I have now taken four.  I am finally remembering some of the steps and sometimes my feet and my hips and my arms all work together.  That's sometimes! I think the fact that the music was in my head means that I enjoy it!  I'll have to run that past Doreen. (Who, by the way, lost 50 pounds, and attributes her amazing body to alotta Zumba.  I'll start with two days a week, thank you!)

I have lost 28 pounds and some. (That's 112+ sticks of butter, right Bee?)

People are noticing and, unlike other times I lost weight, I accept their compliments.  In the past I would become embarrassed and made light of what others had to say.  Now I'm really proud of the change I am seeing in me. I wonder what that means.  I'll run that past Doreen, too!

There is a flag in the bay that always reminds me of Sarge.
I thought of him as I passed it today.
If you're reading this, sir, I want you to know that I miss you.
BOOBIES!

Training Walk From the Garden to the Gardens

I finally did my first training walk of the season with Burt's Babes.

We met at Penn Station (Madison Square GARDEN) and walked into Brooklyn to the Botanical GARDENS!

It was a great walk.

You might recognize "EYES" (yeah ... sure)  This picture is for Sarge!

 Here we are (minus two VERY FAST WALKERS!) at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Compliments to the photographers I wrangled at Eyes, on the Bridge, and at the Gardens!  Nice job fellas!

I have to admit ... I'm feeling a bit out of shape.  At this point I was getting tired! 

 We finally reached the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

11.22 miles.

We didn't go in though because we were ...

STARVING!

It's a good thing Lesley and I grabbed a banana on the way.  I would have been very cranky!

 None of the restaurants in the area could accommodate 11 walkers ... 

We said goodbye to 4 and found a fantastic Japanese restaurant.

This is most unusual because Burt looks forward to pizza ... but this was different and delicious!  The place closed after we walked out!  Could Burt's Babes have been too much for the place?

By the time we found our way to the subway we had walked around 12.5 miles.

Not bad for a first walk of the season.

A New Bridge To Walk

Approach to the bridge from the Lower East Side

From Williamsburg

 I am always up for walking over a bridge ... so I was excited when Tracy suggested we walk from her place in the Village to Williamsburg which is in Brooklyn.

Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge was NOISY!  We shared it with cars, trucks, and subway trains!  I loved crossing into a new neighborhood to explore.  We had lunch in a little restaurant that reminded me of Cambridge in the 70s.  We visited an amazing chocolate factory and walked in and out of local shops.
The weather was perfect.
It was a great day.

Manhattan as viewed from Williamsburg.

I am not sure of how many miles we walked ... but I am counting this as a training walk.
...
Spring break is over.  It's back to "The School" tomorrow.
Next break will be summer.
This year has FLOWN!
Pretty soon I will be walking everyday, getting in shape for Dallas.
I really don't want the time to go so fast.  Know what I mean?
...
BOOBIES.

Walking the High Line

I met Debra in the city for dinner tonight.  It was a real treat.

I arrived early, so I decided to "scope out" her West Side neighborhood.

The High Line is just a few streets away from her apartment so I decided to walk it.

I love walking the High Line.  It's abandoned railroad tracks that have been transformed into a wonderful park.

It's just over a mile long from 30th and 10th to the meat packing district.  

This was a mini walk for me.  Perhaps a total of 3 miles (taking into account the walking I did up to the High Line and back to Debra's place.)

Here are a few pictures of "Things seen while walking the High Line."

Art on the High Line

Bird Houses

Architecture

Advertising

Church

Daffodils

Politics

Love

Frustration

But no ...

boobies!

I'm Losing It!

Here is a new piece of jewelry that I did not expect.

I weighed in tonight and was told that I had lost another 2.6 pounds.  That is over 26 pounds since joining WW October 31st.

The weigh-in lady congratulated me and said "You get a charm to put on your keyring."

"But I don't have a keyring!"  I replied.

Before I knew it ... my new jewelry appeared.

I was so proud.

I didn't want to announce it, but I did tell my leader who gave me a "Bravo!" sticker for my book.

Who says incentives don't work!?

...

I haven't begun my training or my fund raising.  

Burt wrote an amazing letter that I have copied and might use.  

Our cookbook is almost ready to go to press.  

I am currently at a standstill!

Mom and Alan are still here ... but are leaving tomorrow.

Maybe I will start Wednesday.

We'll see!
(boobies)

Cookin' Up A Fundraiser!

Monday I met Sandy and Liz (pictured above at "Eyes") to work on our Dallas cookbook.

We had a great time together ... and actually made some decisions.

Our goal is 200 recipes and we are probably going to reach that ... and more.

If you're reading this and would like to submit to our cookbook ... we would LOVE it!

...

Don't know about the fundraising, yet.  I am worried about it.  Although the cookbook is a good idea ... it won't generate as much money as I would like. (Unless I sell a gazillion books ... and charge a lot of $$$!)

...

Did NOT weigh in Monday night.  As of the last weigh in I am down just over 20 lbs.  It's a good thing.

 

BOOBIES.