Recap

So much for momentum.  I was hoping to do a whole lot better blogging this year than last.  And I think I was doing pretty good... until April hit.  Being away for a week or so really gets in the way.

Anyway, here's a brief recap of what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks.  The month started off with our first vacation of the year.  My friends George and Steve (well, just Steve.  He's the planner.  Like myself, George just wants to be told when and where and that's all he or I need) called and said they were sick of winter and needed to get away.  They were booked for a cruise the first week of April.  Were Ken and I interested?  We said YES and booked a trip.  Cruising out of NYC in early April is odd.  The cruises we've taken in the past have all originated in Miami where it is perpetual summer (at least to this northerner.)  Leaving from NYC meant long pants and coats on the day of departure.  The next day also meant warmer clothing.  It wasn't until day three that it started feeling like summer.  It's almost (but not really) like we lost a day or two at the beginning of the trip.  But once the sun came out, it was amazing.  

I didn't allow myself much rest on the trip.  I know that's what vacations are all about, but my neuroses kicked in hard and I found myself up at 6:30 every morning to get in a workout and then when naptime rolled around every afternoon, I passed on it in favor of another workout.  I was so paranoid about gaining weight that I forced myself to bust my hump.  I spent 15 1/2 hours working out and it was for nothing it seems.  I gained nearly 10 lbs while away.  In contrast, Ken did a lot of napping, a lot of lounging and a lot of eating and drinking and only came home 6 lbs heavier, and all 6 of those pounds are gone now.  I've managed to drop most of it already, but not all.  

Besides working out and stuffing my face, I did manage to find some lounging time.  I spent a good amount of time sunning myself with a large stack of comics.  Also found a few chances to play cards with Ken, George and Steve.  We love to play spades when we get together. 

Every night at 7 we had happy hour in one of the bars, where the scheduled Friends Of Dorothy meeting took place.  We met a whole bunch of great new people.  Tim & Gregg, Tony & Paul, Matt & Mark.  Some nights we dined with them, some nights alone.  It was really nice meeting new people.  And that's something I really never thought I'd hear myself say.  The first cruise Ken and I did, we chickened out on the meeting.  It wasn't until the second one (and the first with George & Steve) that we went and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  Next cruise is without G & S, so we'll see if chicken out or not.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Ken & I freshly aboard.

Day two.  I went for a little quite reading time and found a mostly deserted lounge.  I read for a little while, then fell asleep.  Woke up and read some more, then fell asleep.  Woke up again, read, passed out.  While asleep this third time, Ken, Steve & George found me and started taking pictures.  Then they started putting things on me and taking pictures.  I was dead to the world.

I wasn't the only one dead to the world.  This guy had a lot to drink and then passed out.  He was like that for a good long while before he woke up.

There was a lot of ugly (and I do mean A LOT of ugly) on this cruise.  So when there was a rare sighting of something decent, I tried to take a picture.

Me failing to keep off the pounds.  I split my time between the elliptical and the treadmill.  The elliptical on the ship wasn't like the one I was used to at home.  It was almost an elliptical/stair stepper hybrid.  My mileage was lower than what I'm used to at home, but my calories were way up.  And I sweat twice as bad as I do at home.

Some of the new people we met.  From left to right are Gregg, Tim, Tony, Paul, me, Ken, George & Steve.

And this is Mark & Matt.

And Jacques & Yves from Quebec.

Ugh stomach isn't looking too good.  We went to Atlantis in the Bahamas.  Behind me is the giant water slide that spills you out through the shark tank.  I believe it's the steepest water slide in the world.  Like a trooper, Ken did this.  I'm still in disbelief over that.  Ken gets ill on a merry-go-round, yet he did this and another slide.

All in all, the vacation was amazing and just the break I needed.

This week has been all about readjusting back to normal life.  I've been running on empty most of the week due to lack of sleep.  I came back from the trip exhausted and jumped right back into life.  Ollie has been getting me up at 2:30 every morning.  Last night was the first night he didn't do that, but to compensate, the smoke detector mysteriously went off at 3:30am.  It took me an hour to get back to sleep before the alarm clock got me up at 5:30.  Needless to say I'm exhausted.  Tomorrow is my morning to sleep in until I wake up naturally.  We'll see how that goes.  Ollie is being locked out of the bedroom.

That's it in a nutshell.  I'm looking forward to getting some rest this weekend and making a fresh start next week.