Georgetown, Clyde's, Stairs, University & Cupcakes

Welcome…
There is no friend like an old friend who has shared our morning days, no greeting like his welcome, no homage like his praise.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Whoooeee. What a day. My friend and I headed out to Georgetown today. I drove us into Roslyn and headed over the Key Bridge. We parked at the garage at the Georgetown shops and spent the better part of the day together.  It was a fun girls day out.

Eat…

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. ~Voltaire

First stop was lunch at Clyde’s. I had a nice mixed greens salad with a crab cake sandwich. We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch - aka slow service. Clyde’s isn’t usually my first choice but since this trip was mostly planned around the movie The Exorcist, it was a good choice for today.

Exercise…
Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. ~Edward Stanley
After lunch we headed down M Street towards the stairs that were in The Exorcist. Yep – we climbed them, all of them. Not an easy task for me but felt good once I caught my breath at the top. I don’t like heights so I didn’t care to look down them and had no intention of climbing back down them when it was time to leave.  I had never visited this part of Georgetown so this was pretty cool.

Here’s a cool picture I found on the internet of the stairs from the movie The Exorcist.















Once we caught our breath; it was off to Georgetown University. It was a busy day there today. It looked like the new students were all moving in. The parents were helping their kids with all of their stuff. We saw them hugging and crying. It was rather touching and I think we picked a good day to be walking around. We walked around a lot and checked out the row houses and looked into some of the yards. The homes there are old and little but they have a charm of their own.

Georgetown University, Healy Hall










Have Fun…
Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson
We had a great time walking around Georgetown and had one more stop to make before heading back home. We had to stop at Georgetown Cupcake. The line was longer than I was hoping for but not nearly as long as people had said it would be. The wait was only about 25 minutes and we got to talk to a nice lady and her daughter from Long Island. They were in town because of a family funeral next week but figured they should see the area while in town. I think this was the only shop the little girl really wanted to see.

My friend and I each bought a dozen cupcakes to take home with us.  I know I won't be eating more than one or two of them myself but just had to get them after waiting so long in line.  My son and husband will enjoy  them and we can always throw them in the freezer for another day.

It was a good day.

Blog Post One

Welcome. 
A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you. ~Irish Blessing
This is my first ever blog post.  I'm writing this to keep me focused on my weight loss journey.  I've got about 90 more pounds to go to hit my target weight.  So far, I've lost about 11 pounds.  I've been going to Weight Watchers meetings since May. 
My intention here is to write about my day to day successes and struggles.  I also want to have a written journal with recipes, favorite food findings, exercise information and anything else that catches my fancy along my way. 

Exercise. 
A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercies. ~A. A. Milne
My plan for this afternoon is to go to the new gym that finally opened last week.  I think I'll do some nautilus weights, a little on the elliptical machine and maybe hit the pool for a little while.  I should be able to fit in an hour before having to make dinner.  I need to get in a good workout today to make up for the eating I did over the weekend.  Maybe then I won't feel like skipping my Weight Watchers meeting come Thursday.

Eat. 
Food is an important part of a balanced diet ~Fran Lebowitz
I've found a new restaurant for lunch that I really like (at least for now) - Panera Bread.  I know it's been around for a long time.  I just never walked into one.  Yesterday, when work was slow, I sat down and wrote the points values for ever item on their menu.  Some things are just WAY to many points.  Others are light and healthy and very tasty.  So far I have tried the Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad, the French Onion Soup, the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad, and the Low-Fat Chicken Noodle Soup.  I wasn't thrilled with the French Onion Soup but enjoyed the other foods.  I like that you can get a half a sandwich and a small bowl of soup.  I'm not one for having to make choices.  I want a little of everything.  Why do you think I still have 90 pounds to loose?
For tonight's dinner I plan to make my General Tso's Chicken and Broccoli, the healthy version.  By stir-frying boneless trimmed chicken thighs and broccoli, then adding some jarred General Tso's Sauce, I have found a compromise that my family and I can live with.  We have also made the switch to Brown Rice.

Have Fun.
Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.  It is already tomorrow in Australia ~Charles Schulz
Tuesdays are generally my "no drinking" nights. (Not that I drink every night.)  So, since I won't be going out for happy hour after hitting the gym I need to find something fun to do tonight after dinner.  When the family sits down to watch tv, we usually watch nature shows, Dirty Jobs or Myth Busters because they are what we can easily agree about.  I think it may be a good night for a family movie night instead of tv though.  Maybe a comedy.  Or The Karate Kid.