Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

What a racket!

Posted: November 13, 2012 in diabetes, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Novo Nordisk, The Beetus, Travel
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In the big news, I decided to try a new method of insulin delivery. I had read of the flex pens and the ease of injections and the like. I also saw there was a $50 coupon. I had no idea how much they would cost, but I assumed it would be in the neighborhood of what I currently pay. For the record, the price on a vial of insulin, which lasts about a month, is about $37, once the insurance deductible is satisfied.

Anyway, I contacted my healthcare provider’s office and requested a scrip for the flex pens. The insulin brands I use are from Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that concentrates its business in diabetes care, and they offer the pens in both flavors of insulin that I use. My primary insulin is called Novolog. I take three shots a day with meals. My other insulin is a longer-acting variety called Levemir that I take at bedtime. Basically, I go through 4 syringes a day as well as multiple sticks to test my glucose. I really am a human pincushion.

Getting back to the pens, I read how this is an easier method of injection, and was thinking ahead to travel. Touring Disney parks while toting insulin vials and syringes is a pain in the ass, not to mention the hassle of getting a slightly unfrozen ice pack through airport security. I realize that the vials, once opened, do not need refrigeration per se, they just need to be kept under 86 degrees. That can be a challenge in the Florida heat, as you can imagine. I knew the pens had the same refrigeration standards, but offered durability and less prep work to use, so why not?

The office called in the prescription to the local CVS and I got the call that the pens were ready for pickup. I dutifully took my $50 coupon to the pharmacy, handed it over, and was greeted with the news that my total (which I figured would be around $100-$120 was in fact $255.26. AFTER the coupon!

Yikes.

It just makes you wonder how the price would be that much higher for the same drug in the same proportion. I was too flabbergasted to contact the insurance about it last night, but I think I’m going to look into this. That’s unconscionable, in my opinion. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, after trying it, I think the vial and syringe method is actually less painful. Go figure. Pay more and it winds up hurting in more ways than one. Sigh.

More foods, please!

Posted: October 9, 2012 in diabetes, Disney, Food porn, Foot issues, Southwest, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel
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Continuing with the Disney eating marathon, I had some food porn I was hoping to share and talk about some other high points of our trip.

Our flight to Orlando was scheduled for a 6:15 departure from Baltimore, or, as we call it, the asscrack of dawn. We left the house around 3:15 AM and headed south. Many of you might remember the issues that I had with Southwest Airlines trying to book the flight in the first place. This was that trip. We all queued up in the cattle chute and prepared to board. Supportive Partner Woman and I had coveted “A” boarding slots and we managed to snag two seats about three rows back. SPW (bestest wife ever!) took the middle seat and I had the aisle. It was cramped, but in the good news department, I did not require a seat belt extender. Yay me.

The flight took off on time and I had loaded Killer Elite on the iPad for in-flight entertainment. I spent about an hour watching that and noticed a lot of activity, namely a flight attendant racing down the aisle with the AED, followed by a general call for trained medical personnel. Soon after, the captain came on board to say we were diverting to Charleston for a medical emergency. He must’ve had the 737 firewalled to get us in to Charleston as quickly as he did. The passenger was conscious when he was removed from the plane, and after refueling, we continued to Orlando, arriving around 45 minutes late. Whatever issues I might have had with Southwest, the flight crew really exhibited professionalism and handled the medical crisis like it happened every day.

We split up at that point… SPW went to claim the luggage, I went to pick up the car. I had booked a midsize and in Alamo’s midsize row were 14 minivans. And a Dodge Avenger. Sigh. I got in and headed back to the terminal to pick up SPW only to find that she had claimed the bags and thought she could catch up with me. Turns out she went below baggage claim and I had no way to get to her as that’s only open for buses. I sent her back to the baggage claim and I circled the airport again. Turns out the escalator she went up on took her to the ticketing level, which necessitated another trip around the terminal. Quite the comedy of errors.

Earl of Sandwich tomato soup with Earl’s Club and the Original 1762.

Anyway, we headed off to Disney’s BoardWalk Villas for the night. For those who are not familiar with the BoardWalk, it’s a really nice hotel, quite centrally located and within walking distance of Epcot. That alone makes it a favorite. This time, though, we were determined to spend a day outside of a park, so we got ourselves checked in and over to our room where was chilled for a while, then headed to Downtown Disney to grab some lunch. The weather was quite muggy, which made things a little sweaty, but we made our way to the Earl of Sandwich for lunch. This is one of our favorite spots… the food is tasty and reasonably priced and they offer AAA discounts which are actually better than the Disney Cast Member discount. Our normal MO is to buy two different sandwiches and split them… this time, we opted for the original, which consists of finely shaved hot roast beef with cheddar and horseradish and the Earl’s Club, which consists of roast turkey, applewood smoked bacon and swiss cheese, with lettuce and Roma tomato. We each added a drink and a cup of tomato soup and the total bill wound up being under $20. Best value on property. We shopped a bit, then took a pontoon boat out on the lake.

If you are opting to rent a boat, the best bet is to rent it from one of the Magic Kingdom resorts. That way you have over 400 acres of water to explore. It was a beautiful day to be out with a nice breeze and very little lake traffic.

Following that, we went back to the room to change before meeting some friends for dinner at Raglan Road. We haven’t seen these folks in many months, but it was great to catch up and enjoy a lovely meal. I opted for Raglan risotto with grilled chicken. The portion size was very nice and the food was flavorful, but not outstanding.

That concludes the food post today. More tomorrow when we talk about LeCellier!

 

I’m back… I’m nationwide?

Posted: October 9, 2012 in diabetes, Disney, Exercise, Food porn, Foot issues, Physical activity, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel
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Greetings!

I know, its been quite awhile. I started writing this from the laundry room of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort. I know… I go to such interesting places on vacation. What can I say? It’s a gift.

So, it’s been about a month since I scribbled anything down. Just been crazy busy at Chez T and, well, just nothing really interesting to report. Done some stumbling recently, food-wise, not a serious backslide, but enough that my last doctor visit resulted in just a one-pound loss. In a month. Granted, I wasn’t working out like crazy… trying to keep the tempo down to prepare for our trip. Fat lot of good that did me.

See, after one day of serious walking, with preventative measures in places (Stubby cocooned in moleskin, his counterpart wearing a gel pad), I get a freakin’ blister NEXT TO THE GEL PAD!!!! This, as you can imagine, did not make me happy. Especially not with five days to go.

Supportive Partner Woman (de facto nurse of unparalleled skill!) then decreed an easier pace and began a regimen of rubbing my feet with ammonium lactate cream, which, according to the surgeon, is good stuff. This, coupled with Betadyne and gauze and a lot of moleskin, really enabled me to stay upright. It’s the one blessing of neuropathy… I can’t feel the pain of a blister. Looking back, I thing the problem was due to the crazy high humidity. It made the air chewy and we usually wound up with two showers a day.

So, for us a vacation to Disney World is more about the friends and the food than anything else. We paid two visits to Ohana for meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat on a stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick! There’s an art to eating somewhat healthier at Ohana… that is to view it as a high protein meal. Just keep in mind that when the nice server brings a sizzling skewer of dripping meat, he or she will automatically adjust your request by a factor of three. So, if you would, in fact, like one more piece of steak, make sure you have friends to share it with, because you’re getting three giant pieces.

The food at Ohana is not bad… you start with the Ohana welcome bread, which is a sweet Hawaiian style bread that has a touch of pineapple flavor. Then you get a salad, which would be better with less dressing. It’s positively drowning. I’m pretty sure I saw a lettuce shred clinging desperately to a life ring as its mates all drowned in the Vinaigrette Sea.

The staff follows this with the chicken wings and dumplings. I’m not a huge fan of wings to start with and these are just meh, so I usually pass on them. The dumplings are awesome, though, and it takes a great deal of self-restraint to not totally strap on the feed bag. This is followed with the greens, which consist of snow peas and broccoli that are well prepared. The share a plate with some tasty lo mien.

After the BS is dispensed with, it’s on to the main event. The meat. See, Disney wants you to believe that Ohana means family, but in reality, Ohana means meat. Lots of meat. Lots and lots of meat. We’re talking meat with a capital MEAT. The room is dominated but an open wood fire cooking giant skewers of steak, chicken, pork and shrimp. I love the shrimp. It has a nice level of spiciness without being too much to numb the palate. The steak has a wonderful marinade… not sure what all is in it, other than garlic, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Makes it very bold.

The chicken is pedestrian… not a ton of flavor, probably kept mild for people who don’t care for spice. The pork, though, is not that great. It’s usually a little overcooked and the BBQ sauce is way too sweet for my palate. I think the open fire is simply too hot and dries out the meat. Pork, IMHO, should be done low and slow with just enough sear on the outside to keep the juices in. Here’s a view of the cooking fire in action:

After the gorging is over, they hit you with dessert. They bring a banana bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream. If that’s not enough, they will dump an Exxon Valdez sized load of caramel sauce on top. I’m lucky, though… since I have dietary restrictions, they usually bring me a nice plate of fresh fruit.

I will provide more food details over the next few days, but suffice it to say that even with all the food, I still managed to lose 2.5 pounds while away. So, not a total loss.

Talk to you again tomorrow.

Song of the Day: Gangnam Style – PSY
Currently Reading: The Tombs – Clive Cussler

The SouthWORST experience

Posted: August 5, 2012 in Customer service, Southwest, Stress, Travel
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So, when we last spoke, we were talking about me fitting in t-shirts I haven’t worn for a while. That’s old news. Well, it’s still news, but not the newest news. You get the picture.

<RANT ON>

I decided to take advantage of the Southwest sale on Friday. I could get the flights to/from Orlando for $150 less than what I would’ve had to pay and I even got to add an extra day to the vacation. Apparently everyone had the same thought, because things were FUBAR from the get go. I got a confirmation. Then ANOTHER confirmation. And ANOTHER. Oh, and one more for good measure. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s four confirmations. All with different ticket numbers, for the same flights on the same days. For the same people.

I waited another hour after this.

I called their toll-free number and it was busy. I retried 12 times before it rang. After making my selections, a pleasant recorded voice told me that my call would be answered in the order received and that my estimated hold time would be between 42 minutes and 1 hour and five minutes. I wasn’t thrilled, but I figured I could use the hands free and get some things done while waiting. Now, Southwest does not have hold music. They have a series of amusing vignettes starring real ramp workers and customer service reps talking about the policies and services they offer. I should rephrase. They cease to be amusing and become annoying after about the sixth repetition. I mean, I KNOW you can’t take a #$%^#$ giraffe on a commercial airliner! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

After about two and a half hours, I decided to go to bed… besides, if they would’ve answered, I might have erupted. As it was, I tried again in the morning and was told my wait time would be between 23 and 42 minutes. 90 minutes later, I packed it in.

So, I finally got through to a real live person around 11:30 PM last night. Becky was very helpful and apologetic, had the extra flights cancelled and everything good in around 10 minutes. I was still annoyed, but relieved that things were set. I added an additional night’s DVC lodging and was ready to go. Went to bed, and, well, when I woke up and checked my email, there was ANOTHER email from Southwest stating that my remaining reservation was cancelled. WTF? I went and called, and was told everyone was busy, but they would call me back, which they did. Again, Cindy was helpful, but I couldn’t get a reason as to why this reservation had been cancelled, other than “confusion” and “a glitch”.

Now, maybe I’m old-fashioned, but this isn’t “LUV”. I’m not looking for anything but a specific explanation. It doesn’t help to go off on the phone rep… it’s not their job to listen to that, but I am still not happy. Grand total of over four hours on the phone… they could’ve updated the hold message saying that they had a systems problem and they are working to correct it instead of the stupid “You can’t bring a giraffe on the plane” bit.

Suffice it to say, I miss AirTran. Never had an issue with them and the one time they cancelled a flight on us, well, I called and asked about it and without being prompted, they issued travel certificates for our next trip as a way of apologizing for my inconvenience. I’m going to think long and hard before I decide to travel via Southwest again. I know people love them, and maybe I just got the perfect shitstorm of issues, but it is what it is. I’m an unhappy customer and I’m not finding it easy to contact someone who can give me the answer I’m looking for.

Granted, if they tell me I’m too fat to fly, well, then all bets are off.

<RANT OFF>

Hope you all had a nice weekend. I’ll be back later with the tale of the family dinner.

July 30

Posted: August 2, 2012 in Exercise, family, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel, Weight loss
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I was feeling kind of down the other day… I wasn’t quite sure why this was until this evening. The date finally dawned on me. July 30. See, July 30 marked seven years since my grandmother passed.

My grandmother and I at my college graduation – December 1999

See, I only ever knew one grandmother. My paternal grandmother passed away many years before I was born, but my maternal grandmother, well, she was a constant in my life. Every up, down and sideways, I could always count on my grammy to be there. She helped all of us through the loss of my dad, and was there when SPW and I got married. There’s a low and a high for you. She was there for every birthday, graduation, confirmation, spring musical, communion, and I’m pretty sure she was at my baptism, but that was 41 years ago and my memory is a little fuzzy.

One of the things that really sticks in my mind about my grandmother… she was a Disney fan. I guess I come by it naturally. One time when she was down with us, I think it was either 1978 or 1982, we coerced her to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That was amusing… to us. She was slightly less amused.

I got to travel with my grandmother periodically. We took a bus trip through California after I graduated high school that was a lot of fun. We started in San Francisco, went to Monterey, Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, and then headed back through Solvang and ended up in Anaheim. The sad thing is that I was within a stone’s throw of Disneyland and never got there because my grandmother felt that it would be disappointing after having been to Walt Disney World several times. Wish I could’ve made my own decision, though… I’ll get there one day. We did wind up going to Universal Studios Hollywood and that was a lot of fun. I even got to participate in the Star Trek Experience… That was an interesting experience. I got to be the Klingon captain. Woot! One real highlight of that trip was when I took her to the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco. For anyone curious as to what my acting “debut” really looked like, I think you could say that I was about as wooden as Shatner… then again, you can be the judge.

Our other big trip together was to Las Vegas. We did Las Vegas style stuff, including Siegfried & Roy, taking the Dam tour, and gambling a little. We stayed at Treasure Island, which was one of the newest hotels in the city, and I managed to get an incredibly bad sunburn, but it was some fun.

One of the best things about my grandmother was how she would take a shine to people. When she was ill and in the home, if Supportive Partner Woman (Bestest ever!) was visiting and a new nurse came in, my grandmother would always introduce SPW as her granddaughter, not as her grandson’s wife or granddaughter-in-law. She was also too generous. If it would snow, I would go to her place and make sure her car was cleaned off and shovelled out, and she would always insist on paying me. I would always refuse, and then the next time I would put on my gloves, there would be money stuck in one of them. If you protested the next time you saw her, she’d give you this little grin and deny it was her. Every time a minor holiday came by, she’d always have a card for you (Happy Columbus Day?!?) with a couple of dollars stashed inside. Just the way she was.

In the end, she left with no regrets. She told me that she had done what she wanted with her life, and she was ready to go. We all should be so lucky to have that much peace and to leave with no regrets.

I’m going to head to the gym now… day 4 in a row. Back is feeling slightly better. The weekend will prove to be a challenge as Supportive Partner Woman (fitness machine!) heads to NYC to attend BlogHer ’12. I’ll miss her terribly, but I’m not going to go on an eating binge. That would be so counter-productive and, well, what would be the point? To just totally scarf down food until I sit there feeling physically sick and mentally guilty? This is a huge improvement for me, though, as in previous incarnations, I’d already be thinking about what I could binge on. Not gonna do it. Never again.

Amazing the reasons we do what we do…

Posted: July 17, 2012 in Travel, Weight loss
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So, I was watching one of those off channels that Comcast throws in the HD section of the cable spectrum. This channel, called Destination America, apparently used to be called Planet Green and turned out to be a failure. Anyways, there was a show called Super-Duper Thrill Rides and, well, it outlined another reason I need to get healthy. These rides are intense… some probably too intense, but that’s ok.

I alluded to being humiliated several years ago when Supportive Partner Woman (smarter than me!) and I left our traditional stomping grounds at Walt Disney World and spent a few days at Universal Studios Florida and Sea World Orlando. Being much more of a coaster buff than SPW, I couldn’t wait for a crack at the biggest and baddest coasters Orlando offered at the time.

Kraken at sunset

Our first venture afield took us to Sea World where SPW (fan of penguins!) and I took part in what Sea World referred to as their Adventure Express Tour. The tour included such things as priority seating at the shows, visits to facilities out of public eye, getting to pet a penguin, lunch, and for me the best perk was line jumping for the rides.

Ah, rides. I was really excited to get on Kraken, which was the jewel of the Sea World crown. 144 foot drop, 65 mph, and floorless. Oh, yeah! So, they took us in the back way and I got into my seat and pulled down the shoulder harness. Imagine my chagrin when I couldn’t get the safety belt to clip to the shoulder harness. It took two Sea World staffers to get it to connect, with one basically standing on the harness while the other one connected the belt and harness. Thanks to the herculean effort of those two guys, I got to experience a really good coaster. I was thinner then, too, so I imagine I’d have no luck in my current state or size.

The Incredible Hulk

After the Sea World encounter, we went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure where the headline attraction is the Incredible Hulk coaster. They had specific rows set up for persons of size which were very helpful, and ironically, it was a complete walk-on for me. I was able to close the harness and latch both belts without any staff assistance.

So, for me another element of the weight loss quest is to be able to ride this type of attraction without the embarrassment of needing to be manhandled to fit. I want the only determining factor to be me looking at a ride and saying, “Oh, HELL no!” rather than my tubby butt not fitting in the space provided. I don’t want to worry that my weight will overstress the restraint system and I’ll plummet to my doom.

Yet another reason is so I can closet shop. I have a collection of most excellent T-shirts I’d love to fit in again. I’m close on some of them, but others will need a bit of work. I’d much prefer to not wear something because it was too big rather than too small.

I know they may seem a little silly, but they are valid supporting reasons. I have to continue to look at this quest not only for how it will improve my health, but also my quality of life. Being able to do stuff I haven’t done in years will really help in that department. Plus, maybe I won’t feel so old… until I get out of the coaster.

Hot “fun” in the summer time

Posted: July 8, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, family, Travel, Weight loss
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Warmest greetings!

As you know, we spent yesterday at a family gathering in the Reading, PA area. For those of you who think they live in a bad place, Reading takes the cake. Recently named the most dangerous city in Pennsylvania, Reading is pretty much a complete garbage pit filled with gangbangers, druggies and corrupt politicians. It’s like a smaller version of Washington, DC, but without the museums.

I might mention at the same time, Phoenix was only 106.

Might I also mention it was hot yesterday? I mean really stinkin crazy hot?

That’s kind of beside the point, though. The nice part of the day was seeing a lot of family members who we don’t see nearly enough of and getting a chance to catch up. My cousin Kurt, an avid baseball fan and blogger, was telling me of his newest venture where he talks about all things Wildwood. It sounded pretty interesting, but then I realized that I really don’t like the beach all that much.

I checked out the blog, though, and Kurt’s got some great stuff… useful reviews and such on restaurants, attractions and amusements, and he also covers a lot of the restaurants with gluten-free dining in mind, as he lovely wife is afflicted with celiac disease.

I mentioned I’m not a huge fan of the beach. It’s not that I don’t like the ocean breeze or the water, it’s that I hate sand. Not really sand, but the fact that sand gets everywhere, including some very uncomfortable places. It’s a pain in the ass to get rid of, and well, it kind of stopped being fun the older I got. I also have no interest in being a sun worshipper… I once got a sunburn in Vegas that was so bad I couldn’t sleep on my back for over a week. Ever since that time, I keep a lot covered. Well, that and the last time I attempted to go shirtless on the beach, Greenpeace showed up and was trying to push me back into the ocean.

I realize, though, that a lot of people like going to the beach and many people go to the same beach for the same week every year. I also find it ironic that these are the same people who look askance at me for going to Disney as much as we do. It actually cracks me up… they will say, “Why do you always go there? It never changes!” They don’t seem to understand that for The Management and I, it’s a chance to see many of our friends from all over the country, and the world as well. I also wonder what gives people the right to ask that? I don’t say, “Why are you going to the beach again? It never changes!” All I’m asking for is the same courtesy.

Enough venting about this. I’ll leave the topic by saying that people’s vacations are their business. Now, if someone feels the need to venture to a tropical wonderland like Myanmar, well, maybe that’s worth a raised eyebrow. Otherwise, just say, “Enjoy!”

It’s tiny, but it’s a tomato!

Today was a landmark in our lives, too. Today we picked our first produce of the season. A very cute little tomato. I mean little. Also noticed that there’s a little pepper growing on one of the plants and both the zucchini and cucumber plants have blossoms. I give credit to The Management… I might water them, but she plants them. I don’t have a green thumb. I have more of a black thumb. I could kill kudzu. As a result, I try to never touch the plants themselves. Seems the only thing I can’t kill is crabgrass. Sigh.

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner consisted of sautéed sea scallop pieces with steamed broccoli and fresh corn on the cob. We tend to buy the scallop pieces. It’s nice to get them for $4.99/pound rather than $18.99/pound for the whole ones. I like seafood… you can eat a lot without a heavy caloric penalty. Granted, there’s cholesterol and mercury and all that fun stuff, but it’s tasty and very adaptable to any kind of cooking.

On that note, I’m calling it a day. Morning appointment with the exercise physiologists followed by work and all that. I’ll be posting a review of the upcoming Roger Waters show on Saturday at Citizen’s Bank Park. I’m really psyched to see it after viewing some video clips.

Until next time!

P.S. If you’re going to Wildwood, NJ, check out my cousin’s blog: Beaches And Boards. Also, if you’re not doing the beach but are headed to the ballpark,  check out his other site… Ballpark E-guides.

Vacation prep

Posted: July 3, 2012 in AllEars.net, diabetes, Disney, Disney Food Blog, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel, Weight loss
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One of the biggest challenges someone trying to embrace a healthy lifestyle can face is vacation. Now, Supportive Partner Woman (bearer of plentiful camera equipment!) and I aren’t going anywhere until the end of September, but I’ve started thinking ahead.

Primarily what kills me is the meals. I tend to embrace the “calories don’t count on vacation” philosophy. That’s obviously not true, but I did tend to go overboard on what I was eating when we’d go away. We’d sit down at a nice restaurant and while I might order a “healthy” option, it would be bathed in a cream sauce or some other preparation that would pretty much kill me.

Many of you know that SPW (owner of the original geek vest!) and I go to Disney World on a regular basis. This is good and bad, as there’s a lot of lousy options to choose from. If you’re willing to do a little research, you can make some decisions ahead of time and lessen the caloric collateral damage.

My first stop when I need to check Disney facts is All Ears. For more that 15 years, All Ears has been the authority for Disney info. It’s a fine site run by one of the best people I am privileged to call a friend, All Ears offers every fact you could conceivably want to know about Disney World. Curious as to what a typical room might look like in a given resort? Check All Ears. Reviews of restaurants, resorts and attractions? All Ears. Curious as to what a menu looks like at a particular restaurant? You guessed it… All Ears. Deb and her team have most of the facts and if it’s something they don’t know, they find out.

Healthier items in blue, not quite-so-healthy items in red.

It’s the menu section I visit most frequently. Used to be so I could drool over the latest offerings, but nowadays, it’s to see where the sensible choice might be. In addition, the menus give pricing (current as of when the menu was dated), ingredients, and other useful information.

Disney has made a lot of strides over the years of serving diners with food allergies and restricted diets.

‘Ohana Fruit Bowl (photo courtesy of Disney Food Blog)

As a diabetic, when I make a dining reservation, I let Disney know of my condition. When I arrive at the restaurant, a chef will come to the table and go over what is low in sugar and carbs with me. Often times, the chefs will go the extra mile and create something special. For example, when dining at ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the family style meal includes a bread pudding with bananas and caramel sauce. When I asked if there were alternatives, the chef came out, said he could work with this and brought me a lovely bowl of fresh fruit served in a hollowed out pineapple. Not only was it a great presentation, the fruit was very fresh and quite tasty.

To summarize, it’s possible to eat healthy when you’re away on vacation. It might take a little more effort and research, but it can be done.

Other places you can go for information and reviews of Disney restaurants include the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, by Len Testa and Bob Sehlinger, available on Amazon in both book and Kindle format, Passporter’s Guide to Walt Disney World, available at Amazon, and Passporter’s Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line. This has not been updated in a few years, but has a lot of specific information useful to travelers with challenges.

If you are looking for other web-based resources, Disney Food Blog has a great section regarding special diets, ranging from kosher to vegan to gluten-free to diabetic to low-carb/South Beach.

Not much of a reader? In addition to having her own podcast, AJ from Disney Food Blog makes semi-regular appearances on the WDW Today podcast. Listen for her reviews and tips on dining throughout the World.

I’ve concentrated on Disney because that’s where we’ve been vacationing the most, but the same principles apply anywhere you travel. Even cruise lines have gotten into the act. Royal Caribbean has a low-cal section to their dinner menus each night and offers a sugar-free or no sugar added desserts. You can continue to make better choices as to what you put in your mouth while you’re on vacation and not lose out in the taste department.

I’m not sure…

Posted: June 15, 2012 in Lego, The Management, Travel, Weight loss
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what I will be writing about today. I have a streak going that I don’t want to break, so I’ll just start typing and see what happens.

I mentioned in the little biography blurb that I have a wee bit of a Lego problem. It’s true. I’m fascinated by those little plastic bricks. Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money, but the few Legos I had were very well-used. I spent a lot of time building spaceships of my own design, knowing then that since there’s vacuum in space, my ships could be very rectangular. Well, that and there weren’t a lot of round pieces back in the dark ages.

Fast forward to December 2011, we were visiting the Lego Imagination Center in Orlando at Downtown Disney. I was taken by the sheer number of choices available. Being as I like Star Wars, I was checking out some of the Lego Star Wars sets, lusting after the Super Star Destroyer that cost $400, things like that, when I saw the AT-AT.

WANT!

To quote my friend Jed, “I’m generally very pro-AT-AT.” I thought it would be a great set to build after being out of the Lego game for 20 years. It was only about 815 pieces, reasonably priced as such things go, and the last one they had. I bought it, then realized I had a problem. How the heck would I get it on the plane? This was a pretty big box and The Management and I were only travelling with carry-on bags.

Luckily, a friend of ours we would be seeing at New Years was travelling via Auto Train and was willing to take the AT-AT home for us. It was sad, though… I had to wait another three weeks to build it. Or even to see it again. Sniffle.

So, December 30, The Management and I headed to scenic Glenside, PA, to take in a Cinematic Titanicdouble feature featuring two of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. One was called Astral Factor. Starring Robert Foxworth and a pantsless Stefanie Powers, well, it’s as bad as you might think it would be. The other was called Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks, and that was even worse. All that is beside the point… I was finally reunited with the AT-AT. I was rather happy about this, as you can probably tell from the picture.

The Precioussssssss

The next day, I was able to start construction. It came back to me and I was again struck by the attention to detail. This even had movable legs and a General Veers minifig! I started understanding why the sets were so expensive and just how much detail goes into them.

After watching me build that, The Management decided she wanted to join the fun and we managed to pick up a model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, from the Lego Architecture Series. Lego Architecture takes some of the world’s landmarks and renders them in Lego bricks… some results are better than others. I consider Fallingwater to be an amazing rendering, whereas the Sydney Opera House was a dud, IMHO.

Anyways, she built that in one night and our family addiction was born. Currently, the Nerd Lair is populated by many of the sets from the Original Trilogy films. There’s a TIE Fighter, X-Wing, Y-Wing and the Millennium Falcon. On the bar is one exception, an Ultimate Collectors Series version of Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter. Also on the bar is my birthday present… an Ultimate Collectors Series Imperial Shuttle. That took me nearly a week to complete, but it was certainly worth it.

In short, Legos were a big part of my childhood and one I’m very glad I’ve not only been able to rediscover, but one that I’ve been able to share with The Management. Her next build is in the house… an Architecture Series rendition of the Robie House. We’ll see how it goes.

Hope you all have a great weekend and can treat yourselves well. I have a regular doctor’s appointment on Monday. Hope I’ll be able to report a few pounds lost.

Holiday weekend fun stuff

Posted: May 27, 2012 in friends, Magic Meets, Travel, Wegman's
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Good evening!

Hope that you are all enjoying the holiday weekend. Please make sure to celebrate responsibly.

The Management and I ventured to the wooly hinterlands of New Cumberland for a meet up/picnic with our Disney friends. We had a lovely time filled with lots of laughs, stories and yummy food that I managed not to go overboard on. Cindy, our gracious hostess, made some awesome sliders that included andouille sausage, beef and pecans of all things. There was a tasty buffalo chicken dip, mac & cheese, and much other goodness. I did a batch of my famous chocolate chip cookies that did not last long, and The Management and I brought along the frozen concoction maker, a selection of booze, and ingredients for various margaritas. One of these ingredients was a reduced sugar sweet and sour mix. Instead of 25g of sugar, this only has 1g. That’s pretty sweet (no pun intended) in my book. In this case, fresh pineapple and mangos. The first one we tried was avocado. The Management thought it looked like wheat grass. I was thinking more of a nuclear specimen, but maybe that’s just me. A little later in the day, one of the kids wanted a strawberry virgin margarita. Threw a bunch of strawberries in the jug along with orange and lime juices and it turned out to be pretty darn good. After the kids were done, the turned it into an adult margarita that got really decent reviews. I plan on making that part of the repertoire.

You may be asking what I was doing with all these drinks, because as a diabetic, alcohol isn’t my friend. That’s a good point. I’ve long since passed the point where I have to imbibe. I had a sip of the strawberry and of the pineapple. The nice thing is that our friends understand my condition and respect it so that there’s no pressure to drink. I’m not a total abstainer, but I know when to say when and these folks respect that. The downside is that it’s been over a year since I last had a beer. Temptation was kind of removed as we didn’t have any Sam Adams Black Lager in the beer fridge. Had there been, the previous statement probably would’ve been null and void.

So, getting back to our Disney crew… we all met through something called Magic Meets, founded by Fred Block. Most of us were volunteers who started helping out in hopes of meeting people in the fan community. At least that’s why The Management and I joined the ranks. We never dreamed it would pay off like it has, not just in the quantity of people we have met, but also the quality. Besides getting to know Fred and his family, we’ve met people who live locally and formed a strong bond with, even though we’re very different. Magic Meets is currently on hiatus, but through the friendships we’ve made, we’ve been able to keep the spirit alive.

Since we were on the West Shore, it would’ve been a horrible oversight to not pay a visit to Wegman’s. I swear I hear a choir of angels every time I walk though the door. Nothing groundbreaking except for a nice brisket that The Management is planning on turning into a shredded masterpiece. I can almost taste it! We also picked up a few other items. Not a major trip, but any trip there is worth mentioning. There is a rumor that they might be coming to Cow Country. That would make my socks roll up and down if it pans out. Keep your fingers crossed!

I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I’m headed to another facility for the week. I’ll be doing User Acceptance testing on a new version of our page management and design software. It’s always fun when you get paid to try and break the software. The week after that, I have my appointment with the psychologist and my first group session in the bariatric program. I’m looking forward to them both, but I’m strangely nervous as well. We will see what happens!

Until next time, have a great holiday and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

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