Necessary Mutilation

Weight: 235 (!) lbs.

Not surprisingly, I gained weight! My new, slovenly, hedonistic lifestyle being pampered and indulged may have suited my personality, but not my girth. So, now I am back to  cooking my own food (well, reheating leftovers, anyway), working and tending house. But worst of all, I am back to writing my own posts - I miss coming home and reading all the cool stuff others had to say, and even if not for the fun and food, its worth a trip again, just to have the pleasure of having others fill in for me! Hopefully, those of you brave and kind enough to take on this task weren’t too put out by this, and maybe even enjoyed the chance to write whatever you wanted for the day. And I just loved how each of you chose something different and interesting, and of certain value to others at any stage and type of the weight loss journey. It reminds me of how everyone always asks what they should bring when we have a big cookout here, and I rarely dictate, because I know that rather than 20 bags of the same chips, without instruction, people will naturally all bring different and interesting dishes to the table, and it is rare that there will be repeats or items of little interest to others. Half the fun is delighting in the mix of what is brought, and enjoying each for what it has to offer and how different it is from the others.

So, thank you all once again for allowing me my break away — and what a break it was! My friend asked in the car on the way home what everyone’s favorite part of the trip was. Janet said that having a delicious strawberry daiquiri, her first in like 20 years, was up there amongst beach walks and the sights. Tom was too busy driving to answer, but had earlier told me that he too enjoyed the beach and just being away with good friends with no major agenda. Debbie seemed to like it all, and like me, seems torn between whether the view, food or overall experience of getting away was best. The first night Tom and I were put up, gratis, by the Borgata, while my friends were unfortunately given a rather crummy room at Caesars. When we joined them at Caesars the 2nd night, I called to see if we could upgrade to ocean front rooms - and voila!, we ended up living in the lap of luxury, care of Harrah’s, for the remaining 2 nights. I even took a picture of the awesome LCD TV built right into the mirror in the bathroom (tuned into The Family Guy!), ’cause I thought this was way cool and now find that our bathroom at home just doesn’t cut it anymore!

We also visited the beautiful pool at Bally’s adjoining property, but didn’t actually go in it. I would never be caught dead in a public pool, so I had a reason, but Tom, who had even brought his suit, just decided against it for no real reason. Or, perhaps it was because he was busy being dragged from spa to spa and gift shop to gift shop by me, who had been comped so many dollars in freebies, that I was whipped into a shopping frenzy in an attempt to ensure that I didn’t leave any money on the “table.” And boy did I have fun — even better than garage sales! I bought a few gemstone globes to add to my collection garnered from other casino junkets, a pretty windchime, numerous bath products, gifts and other sundries. Tom even got a new leather wallet, 2 pairs of swim trunks that he probably won’t use next year either, and FOOD!

Here is a picture of the receipt from our indulgence at Pickles, the NY style deli at Bally’s for which we had a $150 voucher that had to be eaten in one visit. The irony is that I can only eat a little now, and my two girlfriends are toothpicks with little appetities. This left Tom to eat the lion’s share, and us to use 6 (yes, six!) take out boxes ‘o fattening food, lest it go to waste. And even then, if you look carefully, we only used $120 of the voucher. We joked about picking up some strangers from the boardwalk and feeding them too - which is actually a very bad joke because it is evident there that some people truly could benefit from a hot meal and some shelter.

In any case, I/we ate great, or terribly, depending on what perspective you have on this. You may see that only one item on this menu is even remotely redeeming - or perhaps two, if you count the sugar free dessert. (BTW, I was referring to the chili).

So…I ate bits and bites of this and that, and many other huge and amazing meals elsewhere too, given that Harrah’s kept the comps flowing. One night, as pre-planned, we ate at McCormick and Scmick’s, and I got the most incredible scallops with pumpkin risotto. Normally, in the past, I would have laughed at a plate that had only 4 scallops on it. But now, 4 was actually maybe one too many, but the tastiest and most elegant dish that I can say that I’ve had in years! Tom and I are very simple eaters, and unfortunaely he had trouble finding something recognizeable to eat, so just chose the fish fry instead. Same with Janet, who actually dislikes seafood, and simply ordered a salad (albeit, exotic) instead. Debbie’s fillet mignon was fabulous, and then we all split 2 cool desserts…and still didn’t use the whole voucher, once again. Although this meal, we came close!

I must say that our worst eating experience, perhaps even more dismal than the Ponderosa that we stopped at in Cortland NY on our drive home, was the Caesar’s buffet. God, it was pathetic, and the lady carving up the prime rib was rude and nasty, reminding me of the hunk of beef that Barb had thrown to her by a similarily rude server on our recent trip to Bally’s buffet.

Well, enough about the food part of the trip. Here’s a picture of Tom and me “snuggling” on the boardwalk, while on a beautiful evening stroll with our friends. We walked the boardwalk and beach many times, with my favorite being in the early morning of our return trip, when it was still very cool (like 7:30 am) and the beach was almost empty. Except for a lone metal detectionist who we “befriended”, and who it turns out, lives in Kenmore, NY, which is only minutes from us! We told him about the local metal detecting group that we belong to, and he seemed pleased and plans to come to our next meeting. He said that the best thing that he had found, BTW, was not the handful of coins he dug up on the beach, but the possibly diamond watch his daughter-in-law picked up off the casino floor!

And, in case you are dying to see what I did while on the beach, here’s a picture of some of my finds…beautiful sea shells of all types and my favorite- weathered pieces of glass and rocks that have fused together and look like little pieces of fossilized artwork!

Lastly, here’s a shot of Tom visiting the Korean War monument near Ballys…one of many shots as he stands amongst amazing bronze statues and poignant mementos and writings.

Now Janet, who had a quality camera and a better eye for a great shot, also took a zillion pictures, and I am hoping that if she shoots some my way, I may see fit to post a few other choice ones in upcoming posts. In fact, Janet took pics of things I didn’t even have our camera with us for, and she takes great pains to ensure a quality shot. (Hint, hint….)

In other trip and bariatric news, now I really know why they recommend against drinking this soon after surgery! I actually don’t remember having had as bad of a reaction to my frozen drink last time, as I did this time. Boy, was I like snockered after just one lounge drink! OK - so it was like a HUGE strawberry daiquiri with enough sugar in it to kill a diabetic, let alone alcohol. Not a good drunk feeling either - more like a wobbly, stoned, hung over feeling that only made me play that much stupider on the slot machines afterwards. And, the Pina Colada I had the day before simply made me sick - flushed, hot, dizzy…but still, no real dumping. Before you bludgeon me for being SO bad, these were the worst liberties I took - and otherwise, was at least a little moderate in my choices.

On Monday morning, and perhaps due to the Colada of Sunday night, I had such a bad migraine type headache that when out alone with Tom for breakfast, I couldn’t decide whether to eat  or throw up in my plate of food. I haven’t felt THIS bad in ages, and of course, had no ibuprophen to take until reunited with Janet tortuous hours later. And the fact that I got my “P” the minute we arrived (which subsided the minute we left,of course), didn’t help any either!

Unfortunately, as seems to be true often lately, the worst part of our experience was the gambling. Although we had truly planned to use just our free vouchers and possibly even take any profits home…needless to say, we are clearly way too stupid and addicted to have been this disciplined. So instead of going home with their money, and profit to us, we naturally lost both theirs and some of ours, probably paying in full for all our “freebies” and those we got for our friends, as well.

Oh well - all is fair in love and war, and overall it was a trip to be remembered and cherished, and very much, just what “the doctor ordered!” We certainly hope, and believe, that our good friends can say the same, and this too, made it all worthwhile!