AWOL (m)

Let me begin this blog with an apology.  I did not intend to go AWOL on you. 

I've been away for a week at a big skating competition in Delaware.  I intended to blog from there.  I checked with the hotel and confirmed they had internet service and "computers" I could use to blog at night.

Instead, I found myself cut off from civilization with no real computer access and a cell phone that wouldn't charge.  I called my mother one night from the hotel phone and the bill was $27.  The only other call I made was to my  friend Susan to wish her a Happy Birthday.

So, we have some catching up to do.

I'll try to re-construct the week for you.

Monday

We left the rink around noon.  Three girls and a coach asked if we would transport some of their luggage in our Yukon (the bus).  We said sure.  Stopped off at our house on the way to Delaware to load up my luggage...almost didn't fit.  Packed up some food for the trip...apples, water, WW bars...and headed out.

The ride was uneventful until we got to the Commodore Barry Bridge in Delaware.  There, the skies erupted and rain pelted the car.  I tried frantically to get the wipers to go faster, but they were set to the highest speed.  We crossed the bridge without being able to see.  I asked Harrison if he could see anything and he said "water."

Got to the hotel at 8 p.m.without stopping for dinner.  Unloaded the car and went to the supermarket nearby. We have a suite with a full kitchen. Got turkey, the deli flat bread (one point), mustard, Fiber One yogurt, Special K, skim milk, water, low fat peanut butter (for H), rice cakes....nothing you'd want to eat.

Got back to the hotel, unpacked and ate a bowl of Special K with skim milk.  Went to bed hungry.

Tuesday

Woke up at 6 a.m. and felt thinner.  This put me in a good mood despite how early it was.  After practice, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. 

Now, this hotel offers a "Free, hot breakfast buffet!  All you can eat!"  Here are the choices:

-sausages (flat, round patties...I thought for a minute they were gray hamburgers)
-bacon strips
-scrambled eggs
-hot oatmeal
-make your own Belgian waffles...plus whipped cream, butter, maple syrup and strawberry syrup
-toast, english muffins, bagels, banana nut muffins
-dry cereal--Raisin Bran, Fruit Loops (for the kids)
-cut up fruit (the kind that comes in a jar with sugar)
-coffee, tea, three kinds of juices.

It's 8:30 a.m. and you have a vast nothingness until another practice at 4 p.m.   People around me heaped their plates full of food.  I got two tablespoons of eggs, some salsa (why not dress them up, I thought),  a cup of green tea and a half cup of hot, plain oatmeal....and felt as though I were "blowing it."

I was done with breakfast in 3 minutes (a point a minute!)

The eggs didn't taste like eggs.  No flavor, the texture was "crumbly" even though they stayed together in clumps.  More like Fake Eggs. I think I'll call them F'Eggs.

After practice, we met up with some other skaters from our rink and their families.  We agreed to go to dinner with them.

Went back to the hotel to change first.  They were having their "Dinner buffet!  Hot meals!   All you can eat!"

One of the skaters, a young man who is 20 years old, was coming to dinner with us.  David is tall, strong, and skates pairs with this girl Megan.  He eats like a horse.  Even though he knew we were going to dinner (we were waiting for Harrison to shower and change) he got a plate of  food... as an appetizer. 

I had eaten a 3-point turkey sandwich on the deli flat for lunch.  It was 7:30 p.m. and I was starving.  I took a sausage from the dinner buffet.   I don't know why, but it looked so good.  Harrison came down in time to see that and was horrified "Are you eating a sausage?  Before dinner?  How many points is that?".

I told him to mind his own business.

I'm sure there are beautiful parts of Delaware but the part of town we were in was, as far as I could tell, one series of strip malls after another.  Some developer took beautiful farmland and put in his version of Mecca.

There's a strip mall next to our hotel which has Fridays...Ruby Tuesday...Red Lobster and some steakhouse chain.

We went to Bertucci's even though I lobbied hard for Red Lobster (their ads look so good and I figured I could get a steamed lobster for only 5 points).

The other family didn't show until almost 8:45 p.m. ("Sorry...we had to put our bikes away").  A nice, family if not a bit "crunchy" for me.  I couldn't hold out.  Here's what I ate:

1 1/2 dinner rolls with that wonderful olive oil dip
Grilled chicken with asparagus
3 glasses of unsweetened ice tea.

Went back to the hotel and felt fat.

Decided to stay up and blog.  Got to the "computer room."  Two computers, only one works.  There's a line 3 people deep to use the computer.  Everyone is pissed.  Took one woman ten minutes to download directions from Mapquest and three to print them.

I couldn't wait any longer.  Went to bed and vowed to be more disciplined starting Wednesday.