November 26, 2005/ 7 day Eastern Magic

[april riddle]

Hi everyone - I am jealous of eveyone heading down to orlando - I headed the opposite direction to take care of DM post knee surgery. I will be here in Canada for at least the rest of this week and boy is it cold out! it is rainy and cold today and the temp is going to drop tonight with more snow. I hope everyone is well and I will check in later on this week. bye for now

 

[DiaLady]

Sorry, dthogue, but Virginia weather is guaranteed to change .. .sometimes almost instantly. . .LOL. Although it 70 degrees today, they were predicting snow here by Friday. It actually snowed here 3 days ago!! February and March have the most bizarre weather patterns. One of our baseball coaches had a suprise practice yesterday and another today . . .LOL He knows we won't be practicing by the end of the week.

Thanks for the encouragement about my weight loss. I've been needing to do it for years. I had nearly 80 lbs to lose to get back to my average weight. So you asked what I'm doing . . . having read or attempted virtually every diet book or idea or plan out there, I settled on doing the "Theresa Diet" . ..LOL. Now here's the tough part . . .for any diet to be successful you have to decrease the calories in and increase the calories out. This change will require new habits. I started exercising 6 days a week. Just 15 minutes of Leslie Sansone's Walk away the pounds at first (and that was painful). I'm just now getting up to 30+ minutes a day on her new Walk and Jog or Walk and Kick tapes (I love kick boxing). Food-wise I simply stopped eating junk food and stopped eating after dinner. I've also reduced (but not eliminated) my carb intake. I try to make the carbs I do eat count. More whole grains, etc. instead of processed stuff. What I didn't give up is regular Starbuck's Black Ice Tea (no sugar) and my XS Energy drinks (no carbs, no sugar). Some folks think caffine makes you hungry . . .I'm not one of those Bottomline . . I found what will work for me for the next year and I'm sticking to it. It will be worth it to wear a size 8 or 10 again! My dh is so thrilled he's actually thinking about working out to lose some of his "excess baggage" . ..LOL

Again, thanks for the encouragement. It really helps!!

Have a great day!

Theresa

 

[april riddle]

Congradulations Theresa, you are inspiring me to start back to the exercising. I do well when I low carb but when I get off the wagon - I really get off the wagon. I was going to wait until I got home to start my serious dieting but I think I will "walk away from the carbs" while I am here in the great white north. There is a great walking path right outside of my mother's apartment and think that as soon as one of my sisters come over to give me a break I will don my boots and get cracking. It is really hard when I come home though since there are sooooo many things I love here that I can't get in the states. I will have to be very strong until I get home to DH who is my diet buddy. Maybe we can inspire each other while we are waiting for the cruise too - if interested let me know. Have a great day, by the way I too love my caffine and don't feel like it makes me hungry. Just the opposite - if I have my coffee I don't need anything to eat.

 

[dthogue]

April Riddle - sorry to hear about your DM's surgery. Hope she is feeling better, prayers for a speedy recovery. I have never been to Canada, although I heard its beautiful up there. I bet its cold - do you have much snow?

Theresa - I love Leslie Sansone's walking tapes (although I don't do them as often as I should). Her new tapes sound great. Did you purchase them off an TV ad, or are they available in stores. You sound like you are in the right mind frame for weight loss. If only I could find what would work for me. I also have about 75-80 pounds that I need to lose. Continued luck to you - keep sharing your successes, maybe you will motivate me and others to do the same.

Last year we purchased really cheap snokeling equipment for my DD's to use while on the cruise. It feel apart the first day, so I'd like to get something a little nicer. What is the set like at Costco? Might have to check it out. I can't imagine using rental equipment

Don't know about anyone else, but this weather is really driving me crazy. Like Theresa, it was 62 here today and they are calling for snow showers tonight and a high tomorrow around 30. I'm ready for spring.

Take care everyone and keep posting - it sure does help the coutdown!!

Tammy

 

[thumpery]

Hello everyone - BOY IT'S COLD HERE! I noticed my location is not listed by my name, but we're from Upstate NY. 50's yesterday - teens today! YUCK!

Aprilriddle - We are heading up to Niagara Falls in the near future. It's my mom's 70th and the whole family is going to surprise her and go there for a weekend. Where in Canada are you? Niagara Falls is approx. 1.5 hours away from us.

 

[DiaLady]

LOL . .. ya'll are so sweet. Thanks for the encouragement. Every day is a test to see if I'm going to exercise. I've been overcoming the coughing crud everyone has around here and took a few days off of exercising. Now, it's challenging to make myself do it. They always say to keep your eyes on the prize. My prize is getting to buy new clothes that I've admired for years in ColdWater Creek, Gap, and Old Navy . . .LOL Good for you that are exercising!!! We all need to do it. It's just a habit to create.

I bought a few of my Leslie Sansone tapes on eBay. The more recent ones I bought through Amazon. Target sometimes has them as well. I tend to buy things online if I can. Just more convenient.

The scuba gear at Costco looks great. I read on the boards before our last trip that they were acceptable quality. The adult set it $40 so that was why I was asking if they went on sale at the end of the season elsewhere. The kids set is about $20 I think. We'll probably just buy one of each and share. I don't think my 8 yo will be into snorkling yet. Oh and we tried to rent the snorkling gear at Castaway Cay last trip. It worked fine for my ds, but my mouthpiece had a hole in it that didn't get bad until we were WAY OUT there. I hope they bring back the sunken Mickey soon. That was one of the highlights for my ds. He was so proud of himself for finding it. He was only 8 yo at the time.

Still 60 degrees here this morning, but they're calling for snow by late afternoon. . . how weird is that!

Have a fabulous day!

 

[DiaLady]

Oh my gosh! Remember I just said it was 60 degrees here? Well, by noon, it was snowing . . .like blizzard!! It was thundering!! and they're closing the schools!

I can't wait to cruise where the weather is at least predictable! Oh, the warm sunshine .. .

 

[dthogue]

Our weather is completely nuts as well. Yesterday it was 62 degrees - today snow covering the ground. I give up - I think we need to move south

Counting the days to WDW - hopefully the weather will be better down there

 

[DsnysGr8t]

Hi All, looks like lots of "weather" talk going on here We've had soooo much rain so far here in California that we're at like 300% of normal! The sun has been shining since last Saturday though, and our daily averages have been mid-70's!

As for what we're doing until our WDW/DCL trip in November, I told DH that there was no way I could survive w/o any type of vacation for 11 months (our last time off was at Christmas). So I shopped around and found RT air from SFO to Washington DC for $200/each! We are going to be in DC from 7/3-7/6 then going to Williamsburg for 7/7-7/9!

I'm very excited about this, though DD isn't thrilled to be taking what she terms as an "educational" vacation!

LGM

 

[TJGorman]

We are heading up to Niagara Falls in the near future. It's my mom's 70th and the whole family is going to surprise her and go there for a weekend. Where in Canada are you? Niagara Falls is approx. 1.5 hours away from us.

Thumpery, where are you located? It can not be too far from where I am. Grand Island, NY is in the middle of the Niagara River located half way between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, yes it is actually an island!

I am also waiting for either JetBlue or SWA to release their flights. I am too obsessive to be kept waiting! They need to release the flights or I will drive my family and friends crazy

 

[april riddle]

Hi everyone - DM lives about three hours from the falls in a city called Sarnia Ontario. It is approx one hour from Detroit. It is bloody cold here with the wind chill as she lives literally on the corner of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. I am sitting in her office and can see Port Huron Michigan from the window, With the Blue water bridge as back ground if anyone knows this neck of the woods. There is quite a bit of snow still for here. We are planning a trip up here this summer and taking the kids to the falls and to Toronto for a couple of days and hopefully catch a Blue Jays game. I am slightly bored as I am a workaholic and have been kind of stuck in the house - watching Dr. Phil isn't really my cup of tea...........and I don't watch soaps. My DM loves to watch all the british shows on TV and I sit there with her but don't know what is going on since most of them are series. Oh well the only entertainment is that my co-workers keep calling me with problems at work on my cell phone. I keep telling them that I must be the glue that holds them all together since they are having problems while I am gone. Well I quess I should go back and find out if my mum needs me for anything she has a very large apartment and it is difficult to hear her from her bedroom. Wish me luck everyone! talk to you soon.

 

[thumpery]

TjGorman - We're located in Rochester. And it is FREEZING HERE! I think I have passed Grand Island before. It does sound very familiar. Plans as of this minute is to stay at the Hilton there across from the Seneca Casino. Now we all have to settle on a weekend that works for all of us. It's not Florida, but at least it's a getaway!

We plan on returning home on Sunday after the cruise, which is Dec. 4th. Does anyone know if we have to wait for December rates for the airlines because we won't be returning till December?

 

[dthogue]

oooh Niagara Falls - we have always wanted to visit, but never seem to get the chance. I have had trips planned for the last two summers, but some soccer tournament always seems to come up and then we don't get to go.

DsnysGr8t - Washington DC is a great place. Please tell your DD she will love it - so much to see and do and they tend to forget that it really is educational. We live about 3 hours North and like to do to day trips to DC. We also have a niece who lives there, so its always nice to visit her.

One week til we leave for WDW - I can't wait. Just started packing. Keeping my fingers crossed that this cold weather doesn't follow us South.

 

[DiaLady]

As for what we're doing until our WDW/DCL trip in November, I told DH that there was no way I could survive w/o any type of vacation for 11 months (our last time off was at Christmas). So I shopped around and found RT air from SFO to Washington DC for $200/each! We are going to be in DC from 7/3-7/6 then going to Williamsburg for 7/7-7/9!

I'm very excited about this, though DD isn't thrilled to be taking what she terms as an "educational" vacation!

Hey DsnysGr8t --

Since we live less than 30 minutes from W'burg and 2.5 hours from DC, I can tell you, you're in for a treat! We were just visiting Colonial W'burg for a field trip last week (it was COLD!!!). Your daughter will love it. Don't forget we have Busch Gardens and Water Country in W'burg, too. They would be a great break from too much educational stuff . . .LOL.

Don't forget in Washington, DC to ride the METRO. My kids think that's the best part of the trip everytime we're there. Don't even bother with a car. The metro is very convenient and parking is outrageously expensive. Oh, your daughter might also be interested in the National Zoo. One of the few places in the world you can see pandas. They were out lounging around on our visit in January. The best part about the Smithsonian museums (including the zoo) is that they are all FREE!

Oh, I could go on forever. We lived in DC before we were married so we love going back with kids whenever we get a chance. Let me know if you need any hotel or restaurant or shopping recommendations. We're usually up there at least a couple weekends a year. We're planning on pass to Busch Gardens this year so we'll be spending even more time in W'burg . . LOL . .

But hey . . . that's a great way to spend time before the cruise! Does anyone else have additional vacation plans between now and then?

Have a terrific day!

 

[Michelle2]

Hi everyone,
It was great to read everyone's posts, since I haven't posted in a bit. Being in the west in Idaho, the weather has warmed up so nice here!! We are really enjoying our early spring! Mid 70's/60's this week.
Theresa, I loved reading about your weight loss goals. I am doing something similiar as well, and it makes the time go by very fast for me too! I have lost about 20 pounds and am hoping for another 30 or so by the time the cruise gets here. After all, what could be greater motivation????
We only have 4 out of our 6 airfares because they were skymiles (free) tickets from Delta..was lucky to even get our dates...Then the Song tickets went up and I am hoping they will go back down once SW releases theirs. Afterall, they were alot lower last year at the same time. Being from the west coast can be a pain and expensive to fly...
Everyone heading to WDW have a great trip!

 

[DiaLady]

Theresa, I loved reading about your weight loss goals. I am doing something similiar as well, and it makes the time go by very fast for me too! I have lost about 20 pounds and am hoping for another 30 or so by the time the cruise gets here. After all, what could be greater motivation????

Thanks Michelle2!! Way to go, girl!! I'm so glad you're passing the time the same way. It's nice to have more than one

I understand those expensive west to east airfares . .. my hubby just returned from a quick unplanned trip home to Seattle. With a bit of planning and a lot of timing, I can usually get THREE tickets for what we paid for his trip. I can't imagine doing that regularly . . . Glad you have a few free tickets to use!

Weather in SE Virginia still can't decide what season it is during one day. . .LOL. They were calling for more snow last night and it didn't happen! YEAH!! Busch Gardens opens this weekend. Can't wait to have a nice Friday afternoon to enjoy the park when it's uncrowded (oh the advantages of homeschooling!).

Have a fabulous day! (we're almost done to EIGHT months!!)

 

[TJGorman]

This is for anyone who is planning to use Airtran for flights. I talked to a women at group reservations at Airtran on Friday. She stated she is pretty sure Airtran will be releasing flights to the end of the year some time during this upcoming week. I am going to be checking everyday until they open. I will be so happy to get the flights booked. I am getting nervous, especially with gas prices increasing.

 

[DsnysGr8t]

DiaLady,

Thanks for all the info! Right now I've got us at The Virginian Suites in Arlington for 3 nights, then the La Quinta in Williamsburg for 2 nights (I showed DD the Busch Gardens Williamsburg website and she's excited about going "there" ). Then we're back in Alexandria for our final night at a Hampton Inn and then we'll spend the day at Mt. Vernon.

We won't be renting a car until we drive down to Williamsburg (and I found it's MUCH cheaper not to rent at the airport, $15/day cheaper!) If you find yourself bumming around Busch Gardens Williamsburg on 7/7/05, we'll be there!

Lisa

 

[dthogue]

Well its getting close to the 8 month mark. We leave for WDW on Thursday. I'm exhausted from packing and trying to get everything together. I can't wait to leave.

TJGorman - keep us posted on Airtran. Hopefully they will wait a week or two, so I can recoup and have $$ to buy our tickets

DsnysGr8t - sounds like you have a great trip planned to DC/VA. Looks like a nice diversion while we wait for our cruise.

Take care everyone, probably won't check in until we get back and then our timers will be showing 7months and counting.

 

[DiaLady]

karaeric - Yes, we have used Budget (2004) and Avis (2002). We have chosen Budget again for this trip due to their cheaper rates and they are the closest rental car company to the terminal. As far as transfers, it went very quickly going to the terminal. We dropped the car off at Budget and maybe waited 10 minutes for the shuttle to come and get us. We loaded up and were there at the terminal within another 5-10 minutes. I guess it would depend on the crowd of people they get. I know they shuttle to the other ships too. That day there was a Carnival and a Holland America. To be honest, I thought they should bigger shuttles; like small buses. They only had vans. We have always chosen to rent a car to have the freedom around Orlando before the cruise.

I hope this helps you out!

Hey Thumpery & et al--

Since we're now staying for a few days in Orlando before the cruise, I was thinking a rental car might be a better idea than a limo. Can you tell me what the name of the drop off point you used? I tried Cape Canavarel, but the guy at Budget said they didn't have any shuttles to the ships.

I'm still working on hubby that this is a better idea. I think he'll see the light if it's cheaper, too.

Thanks!

Theresa