Stuck Like Chuck and Other Stories...

I had a really fun weekend.  On Friday night, Steve and I went out to dinner, just the two of us, and had a heck of a good time.  We started out having drinks with an old friend of his, then headed to Sm-i-th and Wo-l-lensk-y for our dinner.  We ate in the grill part of the restaurant... which has the distinction of having a bathroom that is really pretty darned far away from the tables.

I normally don't even think of that.  I've been banded for 3 1/2 years, and I've never gotten stuck where I didn't have time to get to a restroom before I had to PB.  Guess what?  That is EXACTLY what happened to me there.  I got stuck on . . . creamed spinach (WTH?!  Not exactly what I'd expect to get me stuck).  I'd had a few glasses of wine by that point, and we were talking up a storm, and I guess I wasn't really paying enough attention and didn't chew well enough.

Well, suddenly, I realized -- this is going to come back up -- and there is NO POSSIBLE WAY for me to get to the far-away bathroom in time.  I told Steve that I was having an issue, grabbed my napkin, and -- as subtly as one can, unloaded that spinach into my napkin.... which I then put on the floor (and wrapped in two other napkins before we left).  Shockingly, I don't think anyone other than Steve even noticed.  And, after that happened, I felt fine again, so we just went back to enjoying ourselves.  I will tell you what I told Steve -- and I bet most of you agree with me -- even an incident like that does not make me regret having the band.  Still, that felt like such an amateur move on my part!  I'm 3 1/2 years out for crying out loud!  I should not be making mistakes like that at this point!  Oh well -- I'm just glad it wasn't more embarrassing.

This is from Saturday night at an underground supper club in Brooklyn.  Happily, I did not PB at that event...

The loft where the dinner was held had a wall that was a giant chalkboard, and that is where they wrote out the menu.

Our table -- there were actually four tables -- it was a pretty big group!

I wound up getting in good workouts on Saturday and Sunday.  I've been working out since my IT band healed after I injured it back in November, but had been slacking a bit -- never getting in four workouts, and sometimes only doing two (I usually manage to get in three).  Anyway, even though my weight is fine, number-wise, I can tell that I'm not as lean as I was.  It's a minor difference, but I can feel it when I'm wearing my jeans.  So, I've been refocusing, and have been back on track during the past week or two.  It feels good to be able to nip these things in the bud, and to know that it's not a crisis if my jeans are a little tight -- no need to panic, I just have to get into the gym.

What else??  Welllllll, I did go to Ph-y-s-i-que 57 with Marjorie on Saturday, and afterwards, we did some shopping and had brunch.  We MAY have even popped into Tiffany's and had a good gawk at the engagement rings...  And I may have even identified a ring that I was drooling over....  So, if Steve wants some guidance, Marjorie is now well prepped!  We've been talking about getting engaged in a very serious way, and I'm not sure when it will happen, but it seems clear that it's going to happen at some point before too terribly long.  Good stuff!!  I love that guy so incredibly much, and can't wait to make it all official. 

W*rk Photos Through The Past Five Years....

For the second time since I was banded, I updated my pr*fessional photo earlier this month. I got the final photo this morning. What a difference from my 2007 to my 2009 and to the 2012 one, huh? I put all three next to one another today and looked at them for a while. It's amazing to me what a difference there is, and it's also kind of nice to feel like my 41 year old photo looks better than the 37 year old one. Thank you God, band, spin, boot camp, blog and so much more.

Going Blonder and Seeing Bandster Friends!

I had a really nice treat yesterday because my friend Peter (a fellow bandster who I've mentioned before) was in town for a concert, and we were able to get together before hand! Peter was banded about six months after me, has lost 80+ pounds, and has transformed himself into a fit, healthy runner. We actually met through LapBandTalk.com, and he was at the first bandster brunch I ever organized (can't find the date.. it was back in 2009, and Yana and Jen from Life's Little Journey were there, too!).

As an aside, I want to say that -- for any bandster who hasn't done this aready (and I know most of us have) -- I definitely recommend getting in touch with other bandsters in your area and making time for brunch and dinner (and a few cocktails). There is something so great about being able to talk band with someone else who actually really understands what it's like. Peter and I have had some great downloads through the past three years, and the same is true with many of my other bandster friends, too.

So, back to Peter -- I remember when he was just starting to try Couch to 5K. He was determined, stuck with it, and really became a runner. Earlier this year, he ran the NYC Half Marathon. He has totally changed his life since being banded, and really looks fantastic. Last night, we were talking about what made the difference for each of us with respect to getting to goal, and we both agreed that it was the commitment to exercising on a regular basis that did the trick. Any of you who have read my blog from the beginning know how many false starts (and posts about how bad I felt about not motivating to exercise) I had before the exercise habit stuck, but it did stick eventually, and it has made a world of difference.

On another note.... can you tell that I went quite a bit more blonde at the hairdresser's last week?? It's a big change (no more trying to channel Kate M-i-dd-leton) but I am really liking it for summer!

Fun weekend!

My best friend from college was in town this past weekend, and we celebrated her birthday together, which was a complete blast! As a b-day treat, I took her to W-a-verley I-n-n for her birthday dinner, and we had a blast. That restaurant is a major celebrity-spotting site, and we spent our first half hour there trying to discretely gawk at everyone coming in. No celebs though... until sometime through the meal when .... J-on H-amm and J-e-n-nifer West-fel-d-t came in and were seated at a table right next to us!

I love both of them -- I'm a die hard Mad Men fan, and I loved JW's movie Kissing Jessica Stein, too! Plus, I've seen her out a few times lately -- most recently on Tuesday night at a restaurant called Il C-a-ntinor-i (we spent part of the meal looking to see if JH would come in, but he did not). So, it was especially cool to get to see both of them together.

Grace and I had such a fun weekend -- the sighting was icing on a really fun meal, and it was so great to get to catch up with her in person. She also finally got to meet Steve, and really liked him. :) No surprise there, but I'm so glad that was the case!