In Search of My Body vol. 10 - taking it one paper towel at at time

[cantwaitvaca09]

So happy for you Kelly.. Great News. Enjoy the weekend!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Heading up to the lake! Will check in from there!

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Rainy Day in Chi Town..
16 Years ago this weekend, DH took me on our first day.

 

[lisaviolet]

Amiee - been following your vacation and LOVING IT.

Ronda - been following your vacation and hating you. Barely keeping my envy in check. Can not wait to hear what you loved.

To both of you just been too busy to get around to posting but loving both.


Guys - okay - closing tomorrow. My seller paid her entire 2011 taxes early- and forgot to tell her lawyer - which drained us $$$ but other than that I hope things go well tomorrow. I haven't set up cable or internet so who knows when I'll be on - but I do have a computer room right in the building plus a library card so shouldn't be long. And it will depend on where I can get the NBA playoffs. Kat, been so missing you and missing your take on the Stanley Cup. It seems like just yesterday that I was reading an article on the first round - many questioning Luongo. You know I haven't followed much or watched from have sincerely missed your take.

Erika - was so looking forward to drunken sex lessons from the lake house. Hope you're having fun.

to all.

Oh and weighed early down .1.

 

[lisaviolet]

Nancy, how is Tyler doing?

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

HI All has anyone done their challange this weekend
I did 3 Miles on Friday and 2 today
But my day went down hill from there.
I stubbed my toe and ripped my toenail off. So I don't know how I am going to run..Then we had the school pet for summer break, well the pet is now in heaven..

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Kelly - I'm a little late here, but I am SO glad to hear your good news!

Ronda - welcome home. I've loved your trip updates. Sounds like you had a great time! Did you get your bourbon successfully delivered?

Guys - okay - closing tomorrow.

I've now got "Closing Time" by Semisonic running thru my head Yay for new homes! Yay for back in the city!

Oh and weighed early down .1.

and YAY! for the weight loss. Because it *is* a loss after all

Nancy, how is Tyler doing?

Tyler. Saturday was a day all about Tyler. First was a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser (organized by one of Nate's best friends) at which they raised $3500 (yes, you read that right) followed by an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament (organized by another high school student) where they raised another $3000 for Tyler's medical expenses. Impressive. Very moving how the whole community has pulled together to support him and his family.

Anyway - about Ty. He's improving ever so slowly. He finally opened his eyes mid-week. For the first time on Thursday they got him out of bed and into a chair for a while. They removed his respirator over yesterday ...(he still has a feeding tube though) he says "hi", smiles, responds to simple requests, can snap his fingers & stick out his tongue . They are making him a custom-fit protective helmet that he'll need to wear while not in bed while his recovery continues. Slow. Very slow process. But all indications are good at this point. Only time will tell how the recovery will progress- but it's going to be a very, very long road.

HI All has anyone done their challange this weekend
I did 3 Miles on Friday and 2 today
But my day went down hill from there.
I stubbed my toe and ripped my toenail off. So I don't know how I am going to run..Then we had the school pet for summer break, well the pet is not in heaven..

OOOOOWWWWWW! I just cringed and heaved a little Oh.My.God. That's horrid. HORRID.

And the pet? Oh my. Oh my oh my. Yes. You have had one bad weekend.

I remember having the preschool guniea pig here. I was forever panicked that the cat would get it And I do recall the lil' rodent dying on people several times over the years (different ones obviously ). The teachers were always like "oh well. It happens" and the poor moms were practically traumatized, afraid the whole world would think they were animal killers!

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Ok. I'm having issues with food & drink consumption. So, I've formulated a plan.

I'm going to play a little game with myself. Every night I'm going to make a plan for the following day. The first day I complete the daily plan successfully I give myself a point. The second day I get 2 points, the 3rd day 3 and so forth. If I fail to complete the plan on a given day, I get no points and while I don't lose accumulated points, I must start over again at 1 point for the next successful day. AND. If my plan for the day is "cheat day", no points are given

Then - I'm going to make a list of things I want to buy, or do, or whatever...on which to "spend" my points.

Number one on my list right now is a pedicure. I'm going to charge myself 15 points for that. If I string together 5 successful days in a row I earn a pedicure. OR, it could take a month if I only have one good day, then one bad day

I need to do more strength work and less cardio - so I'll get bonus points for weekly strength work totals. Of course, Stephen has offered to throw in bonus points for "extracurricular activities"

Tomorrow the plan is to track calories on sparkpeople (setting myself a limit), no alcohol.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Nancy, I am glad to hear that he is responding more. And that is awesome that they kids helped raise that money. Hows his mother, have you had a chance to talk with her, hows she holding up?

When is your awards night for your costume nomination?

back to work after 4 days off.

 

[Ronda93]

Lots to report. Here are the first few days.

5/12 fly to Paris
Our flight left Kansas City late. We made it to Chicago with little time to spare. There was a woman on the jetway holding a sign with our names on it. She shouted which way to go and we were off. We rushed to the gate, got seated and they shut the door. We both got some sleep during the flight.

5/13
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, printed some Euros and headed for the TGV train station. Initially confused because two trains were listed on our track. Made it on board with a few minutes to spare. We got better at this! The train is FAST – up to 200 mph. We reached Aix-en-Provence in a few hours and Uncle Manfred was waiting to greet us. His home is about 40 kilometers away and we set off.

Sue's Uncle Manfred's home - over the garage door is a large, ceramic cicada. More on those later.

Dinner that evening was at one of his favorite restaurants in Lourmarin. He is a well known diner.

Appetizer plate -

We talked into the evening and went to bed. His home has a guest suite upstairs. We slept with the window open.

View through the open window -

5/14
I wanted to run. Manfred took me along to the bakery so I could see the main roads. We returned to his home and I ran some loops around Lauris. Passed by a couple people several times. They seemed puzzled by me. After croissants for breakfast we went through the mountains to Apt. We toured the market. We saw wheels of cheese the size of spare tires, a great variety of local produce and products and lots of cicadas. Not actual blaring cicadas, but ceramic ones, wax ones, soap ones. The cicada is the state insect.

Sue and Manfred -

Ate at The Bamboothai near Luberon. The restaurant is on the terrace behind Le Paradou. This B&B is run by a couple that Manfred is friendly with. The husband is German and the wife Thai. She enjoys speaking English with Manfred. The setting is beautiful.

When we returned to Lauris we toured the chalet. The community maintains beautiful gardens here. The building is used by artists. We saw a wedding party leaving the church. We strolled the narrow streets of the old part of town.

Our next destination was the supermarket. We picked out dinner stuff and Sue was delighted to find a dachshund in a shopping cart. Lu-Lu was shopping in frozen foods! Pictures were taken. The product selection mimics Wal-mart - food, clothing and lawn chairs. We had cassis sorbet for dessert. I think that’s the name of the fruit, a dark smooth skinned berry that made a deep purple sorbet.

5/15 Lauris
Today we traveled to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Fontaine-de-Vaucluse ("spring of Vaucluse") is built around a spring in a valley at the foot of the Vaucluse Mountains. It is the source of the River Sorgue.

The fountain, or spring, of Vaucluse, situated at the feet of a steep cliff 230 metres high, is the biggest spring in France. This village of 600 inhabitants was once called Vaucluse or the closed valley (Vallis Clausa in Latin) and it gave its name to the French department of Vaucluse. Following major discoveries from two cave dives performed by the Spelunking Society of Fontaine Vaucluse, two archaeological sites have produced more than 1600 antique coins from the first century BC to the 5th century AD.

Gorgeous scenery and crystal clear, COLD water. There were dachshunds here, too. A pair!

The River Sorgue divides and reconnects throughout the valley. We went to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue – famous for antique shops and a lively weekend market. We strolled and helped Manfred shop for a siphon bottle. A friend in Germany wants Manfred to bring one when he visits soon. Mission accomplished. We had foudue for lunch.

We continued on to Arles (?). Strolled the art market. Later dinner at Manfred’s home and laundry as we prepare to continue the trip.

5/16 La Spezia
Our trip would continue on the train from Avignon and we saved today to tour the Palace of the Popes.

Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, when the Gascon Bertrand de Goth, as Pope Clement V, unwilling to face the violent chaos of Rome after his election (1305), moved the Papal Curia to Avignon, a period known as the Avignon Papacy. The site, on a natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône, was that of the old episcopal palace of the bishops of Avignon.

The Palais was subsequently taken over by the Napoleonic French state for use as a military barracks and prison. Although it was further damaged by the military occupation, especially under the anti-clerical Third Republic, when the remaining interior woodwork was cleared away for use of the structure as a stables – the frescos were covered over and largely destroyed – ironically this ensured the shell of the building's physical survival. It was only vacated in 1906, when it became a national museum. It has been under virtually constant restoration ever since. The majority of the Palais is now open to the public; it also houses a large convention centre and the archives of the département of Vaucluse.

We picked up some sandwiches for the train ride – our first food purchases – Manfred was very generous durning our stay.

Lots of trains today. Four trains in all with the stations getting progressively smaller. We finally reached La Spezia, Italy around 11:30 p.m.

5/17 La Spezia

Fixing my glasses with duct tape. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Ronda got out early this morning and found an incredible chocolate filled croissant. Other croissants could never live up to this croissant. Today began a string of great breakfast buffets. We ate well and headed for the train station. The GPS app that I put on my phone worked well. We can do wonders with a map if something tells us where we are! The walk to the station was 20 minutes and we bought a ticket that would get us up and down the Cinque Terre line.

The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

The Cinque Terre is noted for its beauty and every view was worthy of a postcard. Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside.

We took the train to the end, Monterosso al Mare. We walked the village and checked out the beach. After lunch we hit the trail to Vernazza. It was amazing and beautiful. Words really do fail to describe the constant beauty of the landscape. The hike was invigorating. Either straight up or straight down, it required concentration to place your feet. There were places that if you fell from the trail the next stop would be the sea. I understand why the crayon is Mediterrean Blue.

We took the train to Corniglia. It does not sit at the water’s edge. There are steps leading to the village at the top of the cliff. There’s a bus. We were hard core and walked up. Back the the train station and on to Manarola. We had dinner here. The setting sun made the colors deepen. Again beautiful. After returning to La Spezia, we retraced our path from the morning back to the hotel.

5/18 Rome
We trained to Rome and took a taxi to our hotel. It was right around the corner from the Vatican. The traffic was a sight to behold. Manfred warned us about it and he was right. Cross with the light and even then be vigilant. At red lights the scooters would weave to the front of the pack and then take off with a great buzz. Lane markings are for informational purposes only. The drivers must be used to it because we saw few damaged vehicles.

We found dinner and strolled the neighborhood into the evening. We walked the northern Vatican wall and found the lineup area for the Vatican musuem.

Tomorrow we go to the museum.

Ronda

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Ronda! What a FABULOUS TR! The pictures are beautiful. I love that you were "hardcore and walked up"

Nancy, I am glad to hear that he is responding more. And that is awesome that they kids helped raise that money. Hows his mother, have you had a chance to talk with her, hows she holding up?

Actually we're good friends with Dad & the boys. They got divorced a few years ago and I don't see his mom nearly as much anymore.

When is your awards night for your costume nomination?

Monday night. So I'm planning on being ON PLAN all week so that 1) my dress fits better, 2) I feel better and 3) I can earn that pedicure

Hope everyone is having a super Tuesday!

 

[AKASnowWhite]

checking in real quick to say that my first day has, thus far, been a success

 

[Ronda93]

Nancy - I like your strategy. Everyone has a personal currency.

The bourbon made the trip safely and was well received.

Sue headed back to work today. I'm off until the 13th. I have checked a few things off "the list of things Ronda needs to do to feel like she's using her sabbatical wisely".

Some market scenes

Ronda

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Rhonda!!!! I'm dying here! GORGEOUS!!! AMAZING!!! BEAUTIFUL!!! and the stuff other than the food looks great too! Thank you so much for posting pics here and telling us all about your trip! Really breathtaking.

I'm here, I'm reading, just crazybusy and no time for rambling.

 

[Ronda93]

5/19 Rome
Most days of this trip we were up and out the door early to beat the crowds. Making rope drop at the Vatican Musuem was easy. We were right around the corner. Crowds at many sites were huge. For Ronda they were overwhelming at times. Tour groups roving in packs of 20 or 30 can really clog up the works. Early was the way to go.

The collections at the Vatican Museum are vast. I liked Arnaldo Pomodoro’s Sphere Within Sphere in the courtyard. Reminded me of the Illuminations Earth. Except it doesn’t open up. And there are no fireworks. And it’s shiny.

We really like the mosiacs.

Asparagus?

The Sistine Chapel is the conclusion of the Vatican Museum tour. No photos are allowed and we are rule followers. A Japanese TV network paid for the restoration/cleaning of the chapel in the 90s and holds the rights. I will link to someone elses’s photo. Look at the dark spot in the upper right corner of Final Judgement. That spot was left uncleaned.

Proving that some people are never happy I found this on wikipedia:

The colours, which now appear so fresh and spring-like with pale pink, apple green, vivid yellow and sky blue against a background of warm pearly grey, were so discoloured by candle smoke as to make the pictures seem almost monochrome. The restoration has removed the filter of grime to reveal the colours again. However, the restoration was met with both praise and criticism. Critics assert that much original work by Michelangelo – in particular pentimenti, highlights and shadows, and other detailing painted a secco – was lost in the removal of various accretions.

The chapel itself was very crowded. Sue and I listened to an audio tour from Rick Steves’ Europe while hanging out at the edge of the chapel. The guards kept shushing people. The crowd largely ignored the shushing. I’d compare the crowd to the exit shuffle after Wishes.

After we left the musuem we went around the corner to check the line for St Peter’s Basilica. Huge line. We’ll come back tomorrow, thanks.

Outside the Vatical wall there were several artists working.

We returned to the hotel and relaunched for some outdoor sites.

We took the subway and hit the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Another dachshund sighting, but the owner was not very friendly.

5/20 Rome
Rope drop at St Peter’s Basilica. Again we used a Rick Steves audio tour. Good stuff. The Basilica is stunning just for its size. The bronze work OVER the altar is seven stories high. We took the steps to the top of the dome. Just beautiful.

Up in the dome

The steps

Swiss guard

Mobile Papal post office

More Roman siteseeing. We went to the Colosseum, Palentine Hill and the Forum. The colosseum is supposed to have lots of cats. We saw one. While the colosseum is huge and a marvel of engineering, nothing good happened there. Brutal contests ending in death for someone or something just make me sad.

Tomorrow we head for Sorrento and Joe hurts his shoulder.

Ronda

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Ronda- the strategy seems to be working at the moment. Of course, this is only day 2

LOVE the pictures. Those beans are gorgeous! I wish they looked that nice at the grocery store this morning

Karen - how are you feeling? Better I hope

 

[AKASnowWhite]

still "on". Day 2 and I'm already taking it minute by minute, meal by meal. But dang it I must have that pedicure

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Nancy! I AM feeling better! WOOT! I did 3 miles (intervals) today!!! I still have a little pull in my left leg, that same older pain that must have been an injury I got early this spring, but it wasn't hurting too bad so I pushed through. Dallas (ds) is running longer and farther as well! I'm SO excited to run my first race with him at Disney.

Rhonda! OMG, where is rope drop and fastpass in Rome?!?!? Holy cow, all those people!!!!!! *faints* The architecture is just stunning, I was just talking with a friend about this today (she's been to Europe, I haven't...)

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Ronda, No words for the picutres. Thank you for sharing. OMG
I have one questions, on the first nights dinner plate, what was the spotted egg?????

Karen YAY 3 miles. Way to go.

Nancy, Love your system. You go girl.
At least your on the challange with me.

As for me, still benched with my toe.. I did a DVD last night and I am going to try to elliptical tonight, in flip flops so we will see.

Have a great night all. Oh yes ate like a pig today too.

Alexa wants to post smiles.....

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Nancy, Love your system. You go girl.
At least your on the challange with me.

I just finished tracking my food for today and I still have almost 300 calories left! I probably will eat....something....but not 300 calories worth

As for me, still benched with my toe.. I did a DVD last night and I am going to try to elliptical tonight, in flip flops so we will see.

OW! Hope that toe feels ok for you!

Alexa wants to post smiles.....

Hi Alexa!


Karen - glad to hear you are up and running again!