Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Leaving On A Jet Plane

By the time most of you read this, we'll have already landed in Cancun, Mexico and traveled south to our destination of Riviera Maya. I'd like to say that someone took this picture of our plane while it was in the air but we all now that's not a possibility. But just picture me in the window seat right in front of the wing. A few people have asked me where Riviera Maya is so here's a little map for your viewing pleasure.

So my quest to lose 10 pounds before we left is over and, as expected, I wasn't successful. But I did lose 7 lbs. so I really can't complain. These last few days were very tough making it harder and harder to do my walking. By Sunday, after having walked six days in a row, I was exhausted so I had to take a rest. I figured if God rested on the seventh day, so could I. Then it rained on Monday so I couldn't go again. But I picked it back up again on Tuesday but had too much to do on Wednesday to get ready to leave that I never made it that day either. But I'm happy with my progress and I leave knowing I tried. Hopefully, I'll get to walk on the beach when we get there, which is much better than walking around my neighborhood.

When we get to the airport tomorrow, I know one thing is for sure.....I'm going to have the best luggage tag of everyone. This was a gift given to me by my BCFF, JoAnn. Just in case you don't know who JoAnn is, she's the one who always leaves comments on my blog....something I wish all of you would do. That's one of the most fun things about having a blog -- reading your friends' comments (or your son-in-law's). To show my appreciation for this great gift, I took a picture of it before Bob brought the suitcase out to the car. Thanks again JoAnn. Now I'll feel like Belle is with me no matter where I go.

Speaking of Belle -- right now she is not a happy dog. As soon as the suitcases come up from the basement, she gets depressed. It's so sad to see her like this. I've heard this from other people that dogs know when you're leaving and she absolutely knows we won't be around for the next few days. Fortunately, Michael is on his way home from Amsterdam so he will be here with her.

So I leave you all for the next four days. I promise to take some great pictures while I'm there and will share them with you upon my return. Hasta entonces, N. Maria is having fun in the sun.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Dia Cinco


Well, I have reached Day 5 in my quest to lose 10 pounds before we leave for Mexico on Thursday and I don't think it's going to happen. I've done everything I said I would do -- eat only Jenny Craig food and walk Belle every day adding on 5 minutes each day, and it's still not happening. As of today, the total weight loss is 3.5 pounds. I guess I really can't complain about losing that much weight in five days and the goal to lose 10 pounds in 10 days is a bit unrealistic at my age. So I'm happy with the 3.5 and hoping that the next 5 days will see another 3.5lb. weight loss.

So as not to make this blog totally boring, I thought I'd post here what songs I was listening to on my Ipod during my walks. Since I can't list all of them, I thought I'd list the first song I listened to and the last song I ended with each day.

Day 1 -- 4/21/08 -- walked 45 minutes -- started with Shooting Star, Air Traffic and ended with No One, Alicia Keyes.....listened to 12 songs, lost 1 lb.

Day 2 -- 4/22/08 -- walked 50 minutes -- started with Come On Get Higher, Matt Nathanson and ended with Irreplaceable, Beyonce.....listened to 13 songs, lost 1 lb.

Day 3 -- 4/23/08 -- walked 55 minutes -- started with 1973, James Blunt and ended with Crazy, Gnarls Barkley.....listened to 15 songs, lost 1/2 lb.

Day 4 -- 4/24/08 -- walked 60 minutes -- started with Fall Away, The Fray and ended with She Will Be Loved, Maroon Five -- 16 songs, lost 1/2 lb.

Day 5 -- 4/25/08 -- walked 65 minutes -- started with Like A Star, Corinne Bailey and ended with Last Kiss, Pearl Jam -- 16 songs, lost 1/2 lb.

I'd have to say that if I didn't have a dog to walk and an Ipod to listen to while I'm doing it, I don't think I'd be able to walk these distances....it would be much too boring for me. I really think I should have started this quest with a 30 minute walk, adding 5 minutes to each day. Since I started at 45 minutes, with adding 5 minutes each day, by Wednesday I'll be walking for an hour and a half....that's a lot. As I increased each day's time, I really didn't have that much of a problem with it but my poor dog did. I just hope she can do the full 90 minutes. Today it's a little cooler so perhaps it will be easier for her.

Since I walk in my neighborhood, there are many other people outside either walking, jogging or gardening and they love to talk to me when they see me. Don't they understand I'm timing myself!!! I feel so rude saying, "can't stop" while I point to my watch. Another thing is when someone else is walking outside and wants to walk with me. Don't they understand that I want to listen to my Ipod!!! I say this laughingly but it's actually true. Leave me alone when I'm walking. lol

Today Belle and I get to go for 70 minutes. She's already following me around waiting for me to reach for her leash so gotta go, we're outta here.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Nueve Dias


That's right....it's nine days to go before we leave for Mexico. Each year, the top agents in my company are rewarded by winning a trip to a fabulous destination. Last year it was Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and the year before that it was Rome, Italy. This year we're heading to the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso in Riviera Maya. That's the good news. The bad news is that BFF Pat did not win the trip so she will not be there with me. A few of her deals that should have closed last year got delayed and ruined her chances of winning. So I guess I'll have to drink my Pina Colada's without her.

Isn't it always the way that your plans of getting ready for a big trip are usually put off until the last minute? I wanted to lose 10 pounds before we left and haven't done it yet. But, there's still 9 days to go. Can I do it? Yesterday was day one so I delved right into it by eating Jenny Craig food all day. This will be my plan to stick with her food until I leave. I also took Belle, my beautiful border collie, on a 45 minute walk. I'm going to try to add another five minutes to it each day. When I got up this morning, I had already lost one pound. So I think it's possible if I can stick to this. Of course the most excited person in this whole routine is Belle, who goes crazy every time I reach for her leash.

Michael is in Amsterdam right now and plans on getting home to watch Belle in time for us to leave. Apparently there's some festivities going on there next week called Queen's Day which just might rival his Carnival experience in Brazil a few months ago. Queen's Day is the annual Dutch national holiday in honour of the late Queen Juliana’s birthday. I guess there's something to be said for partying on the water as opposed to the land as all of the pictures I've seen of this event show all of the boats going up and down the canals carrying all of the revelers dressed in orange, the national color, since the Queen is from the House of Orange. I'm looking forward to some great pictures from him so I can post them here.

I'll let you know how I'm progressing with my plan and will give you an update on Dia Cinco....that's Day Five for those of you not fluent in Spanish. Until then, hasta luego!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Over in Monte Carlo


Here's a picture of where all the action has been taking place over the past five days....the very beautiful casino in Monte Carlo. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and, with that, Michael's dream of winning the Grand Final in Monte Carlo did not come to fruition. We can't even be sad about it because he had an amazing run coming in 5th place and winning $666,060. But for someone who's as competitive as he is, the money really means nothing to him. It's all in the challenge and all in the "win". He got to experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat off and on all day. But in the end, it was not to be. So he'll stay in Monte Carlo for a few more days (apparently there's some big tennis tournament there this weekend) and then head off to Amsterdam for a week or two. He definitely needs a vacation after this grueling week.

It really was an amazing experience to be able to watch this entire final table online. In Liz' office, they had the IT people come in and remove the blocks from the computers so she and her friends could watch. And while it was stressful for Michael, there was no lack of stress back here in the states as there was a flurry of emails and text messages and phone calls going back and forth all day. There are so many great pictures and video interviews online already and it's been fun seeing all of it. I'd like to thank pokernews.com and cardplayer.com for these photos. But when I sent Liz this last picture of Michael's final hand, she just cried. They say a picture says a thousand words.....well this picture said three million words. lol I love it though because it shows the true emotion of the culmination of a fantastic event in Michael's life -- one he won't soon forget.

If you're thinking that Michael wore the same thing today as he did yesterday, you're right. Aside from the fact that he's superstitious, he just loved being in France and wearing something that said United States on it. A prouder American you will not find and he wore this proudly representing his country in this event.

When he decided to become a professional tournament player, I told him if he made a final table, I would be there. Well, this is his third final table in three months and I haven't made it yet. By the time I find out that he's has made it there, if he's playing in Europe, it's too late to get on a plane. After this event, however, I have promised him that no matter what, I will be there. Perhaps I have to be in the stands rooting him on to make it happen. Bob says it just wasn't his time to win yet but we do believe it will happen. And guess what, you'll be the first to read it here!!!

So from the final table in Monte Carlo, I bid you Au Revoir.....until next year.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Big News from Monte Carlo

As I reported in a previous blog entry, Michael is currently playing in the Grand Final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo. This is the largest European event and culminates another season of European Poker. It would be the equivalent of our World Series of Poker here in America. This is a five day event which began over the weekend and ends tomorrow. The unbelievably great news is that he's still in the hunt. They started out with a field of 842 and there are 10 left. These ten will compete tomorrow until we have a winner. Right now, Michael is in third place with 1.6 million chips. First prize for this event is 3.2 million dollars. There were so many photos taken of him today but this one is my favorite. I'd like to give credit to Cardplayer.com for this picture.

As much as we love following him in these tournaments, Liz and I are all about what he's wearing. I had bought him this Polo sweatshirt for Christmas (it says United States on the back) and he told me if he went deep in Monte Carlo, he would wear it. He just loves wearing something in France that says USA on it. I wish I was there to pick out his outfit for tomorrow's final table...only kidding Michael but he's tempted to wear this again. He definitely wants our country represented.

So if anyone's wondering what I'll be doing tomorrow, you won't have to think twice. I'll be glued to my computer watching all the action live. If any of you are interested in following it, just go to http://www.ept.com/ and click on the sentence that has the words ept live in it. You can also follow the action at http://www.pokernews.com/ or http://www.cardplayer.com/.

So as they say in Monte Carlo, Bonne chance Michael. And as we say in America, One Time -- he'll know what that means.

Monday, April 14, 2008

All Work and No Play

It makes it hard to blog when there's no fun stuff to report because work is interfering with life. Just as the trees come into bloom, the people looking to buy houses begin to come out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that I'm selling a lot of houses; it just means that there are a lot of people out looking at them with me driving them around. The good news is that eventually they will all buy something....it's just a matter of "when". This weekend I sold a house to a couple who relocated here from Wisconsin. They've been in temporary housing while they've been looking. The amount of time I've been working with them is.....two years. Yes, you read that right. That's how long it took them to make a decision on a home. They both travel a lot in business and they, themselves, got bogged down with work and didn't have enough time to look. I thought you'd all enjoy seeing a picture of my office above.

This is a customer Pat and I shared so we will also be sharing the commission. I told Pat that since this is basically money we weren't counting on, we should take a trip to Vegas to play in the ladies' WSOP tournament. I think I now have her convinced to do this which should make for some great blog entries. The last time we were in Vegas together was for Michael's 21st birthday which would make that almost three years ago. The fun we had was above and beyond any of my blog entries thus far. As I was typing this blog, my manager called to ask me a question and I told her about Pat and I going to Vegas. She has two words for me....."I'm In". Looks like she'll be going as well. This could be trouble because she's even more fun than Pat is. Michael will also be there when we go as he usually rents a house there for seven weeks during the WSOP event.

Speaking of Michael, he's playing in a tournament right now in Monte Carlo. This is day two of the event where 842 players began and, as I type this, there are 155 left. If he continues to get further, that will be a great blog entry for me to type. He just texted me and, at the break, he is currently sitting on 93,000 chips which is well above the chip average at this point. Updates to follow as he progresses. ....Update: Play just ended for the day and Michael now has 136,800 chips with 129 players left. On to Day 3 for him!!

I watched a great DVD from Netflix last week called The Best of Youth which was a miniseries shown on Italian TV. It was replete with subtitles but really was a moving story spanning three decades in the lives of two brothers -- one becomes a psychologist and the other a police officer or, as they say in Italia, policia. At first I found it slow moving but then really got into it and was sorry when it ended. This was recommended to me by my BCFF JoAnn, who is known to most of you as one of the few people who leave comments on my blog.

As far as this past weeks TV, I'm disgusted with American Idol. My pick to win, Michael Johns, was eliminated. Why was he eliminated? Because enough people didn't call in to vote for him. Should I be angry with myself? Yes I should because I'm one of those people who watch the show and wait for everyone else to call in and pick the winner.

I'm also disgusted with Big Brother because, as usual, the houseguests are turning on each other and the alliances that were formed at the beginning are crumbling. When are these people going to learn that in order to win, you have to be loyal to those to whom you've promised your undying support?

Last week was also my mother's 87th birthday which we spent shopping at her favorite store Boscov's. Shopping with my mother is a trip unto itself but she gets such pleasure out of it that I'm happy to oblige. She also had some pictures of me sent to her by her sister, my Aunt Margie, which showed how truly ugly I was when I was younger. My mother had complete control of my hair and my clothes and it's amazing she even let me leave the house looking like I did. Thank goodness I had a job when I turned thirteen which gave me some money which in turn gave me some power to make myself look more presentable. Otherwise I'd probably be an old maid!!!

Well, that's it for now. All work and no play makes my life unbloggable. Hopefully I'll be able to post something great about the happenings in Monte Carlo. Until then....it's back to work.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Movie Day Returns


After a 6 1/2 week respite, by popular demand, movie day has returned. Our intial push to see all of the movies nominated for an Academy Award was so successful that we actually needed a rest before we continued our weekly foray to the theater. I've actually been available to go to the movies each week but Pat has been so busy with work and Linda told me she "had to study" and, therefore, was unable to go. You all don't know how funny these words were when she said them to me. "Study", I said. What the heck are you studying? Well, since she's going to Italy in September, she decided to take Italian 101 so she would know the difference between fusilli and farfalle when ordering pasta in the restaurants there. I can now report, however, that she is an Italian dropout and has since opted to learn Italian from tapes. So now that the "studying" fiasco has ended, she was available, once again, to participate in our weekly ritual.

Having both read The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory when it first came out, we were very anxious to see the movie. If someone was to ask me if the movie was true to the book, I really couldn't answer that question since I read it so long ago and don't remember all of the specifics. Having said that, I thought the movie was excellent. There's not much you can change in the story of Ann Boleyn and Henry VIII. Let's face it, we all know that heads will roll in the end. I've always loved the story that there was another Boleyn girl involved in this love triangle and I thought Scarlett Johansson played the part of Ann's sister Mary beautifully. Natalie Portman was an excellent Ann Boleyn and Eric Bana looked better than Henry VIII ever did. Let me put it this way -- if Henry VIII looked like Eric Bana, he probably would have had twenty wives. After reading this book, it began my obsession for learning all things Tudor related. It was a fascinating regime and Philippa Gregory is a master at telling a great Tudor story.

Lunch today wasn't in a very exciting place but it was good nontheless. We went to one of my favorite diners. Favorite because of the food but mostly favorite because of the name. Just in case this picture is too small to read the print, it's called Michael's Diner. It's been there for years and we used to eat there quite often when Michael played ice hockey as it was on the way to his hockey rink. As usual, it was good, quick and the menu was twenty pages long. And, once again, we were shuffled to a booth right next to the kitchen so that when they brought out the food carts, they would practically hit your arm while passing you. Needless to say, we were immediately moved. Some things never change. I know, there's a sign on me that says, "Please seat me at the worst table you have".

I really want to see 21 but Linda cheated on me and saw this with her husband Jim so I might have to wait for it to come out on Netflix as I don't think Bob would be interested in seeing a movie about Blackjack. Hopefully there will be another good movie for us to see this week. In the meantime, it's "Thumbs Up" for The Other Boleyn Girl.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

The "Birthday" Weekend


Since our birthday girl now lives in New York, it's hard for us to see her on her birthday. As a result, we planned to celebrate on Saturday with dinner out, preceded by the opening of presents, of course. My having to work all day Saturday kind of put a kink into our plans but we still managed to work it out. The plan was for Bryan and Liz to arrive before noon and I would get home prior to 5PM.

In addition to celebrating her birthday, we also got to celebrate something else as the happy couple were going to find out the sex of their baby on Saturday morning. "Don't call me on the phone and give me the news that way", I told them...I want to hear it in person. I was in my office at 11:30AM and they stopped in on the way to our house to give me the news. And here it is .......................................

That's right -- as Bob and Michael have said, another lefty first baseman is being born. As Bryan says, we will now have our first shortstop in the family. Since my brother Michael doesn't read this blog, he can't refute this as he would surely say that he was the first shortstop in the family. You might ask why he doesn't read it. His response to me was that he doesn't have time for "mundane minutia".

Well, getting back to the weekend. It's so exciting for us to know the sex of the baby as it enables Liz and I to begin the nursery decorating plans. She has so many great ideas and I can't wait to see them come into fruition.....or to pay for them to come into fruition while Bryan does most of the hard work.

Speaking of paying, it easily segues back to the birthday presents. As predicted, she was screaming as she opened each one. The bad news for her was that she wasn't able to open any presents until I got home from work. I had ten gift bags perched on the fireplace just to tease her. She only called me once while I was working to ask me when I'd be home. I couldn't have been in the door 5 minutes before the presentation began. What were her favorite gifts? I know my friends will be asking this question. Hmmmmm......I think I'd have to say the Gucci shoes followed a close second by the David Yurman necklace. The other eight bags were filled with many different maternity outfits that don't even look like maternity outfits any longer. As the saying goes, "these are not your mother's maternity clothes." I don't even know if there is such a saying as I think I just made it up.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Amici Milano in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. I know this probably sounds scary as Trenton is considered the 4th most dangerous city in the United States but there is this little Italian section right in the middle and there must be over twenty-five different restaurants there. This is one of our favorites....small, quaint, great food, nice ambiance and the perfect place for a birthday dinner.

So all in all, it was the perfect birthday celebration. Our girl turned 32 and she's about to become a mother. It doesn't get much better than that.

Tomorrow FF Linda and I are finally going to the movies again. She knows I found out the sex of the baby and she wants me to surprise her when I see her. I plan on wearing a powder blue turtleneck and a light blue plaid Burberry scarf. Let's see if she realizes the significance as soon as she sees me. I just hope she doesn't read this blog before she leaves her house as it will spoil the surprise. But, since I know she loves my "mundane minutia", my plan might be foiled.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

A Tree Grows In.......Pennsylvania

Every year, I wait for this tree to bloom as it is the true sign of Spring for me. It is also the first tree in our yard to bloom. You have to capture a picture of it right away as the blossoms shed very quickly.

This tree is also my very favorite. It's a cherry tree and it was planted so that whenever I looked out my kitchen window I would see it. I know the exact age of this tree as I received it as a gift from my friends in 1992...the year my father died. This was something they had planted in my yard so each year it bloomed, I would be reminded of another favorite of mine and probably my most favorite person ever. I certainly don't need a tree to remind me of my father but each year this gift brings such a smile to my face when the pink flowers appear.

We certainly didn't have many trees in Brooklyn where I grew up and my father used to love to come here and sit on the deck and appreciate all the trees surrounding him. I could write stories upon stories about this great man who I called Dad but there isn't enough room in any blog entry to tell them all. I often wonder how I cound ever move from this house and leave this tree behind. I've even thought about burying Sarah's ashes (our beloved border collie) under this tree but, if we moved, I know I couldn't leave both.

So while the trees didn't grow much in Brooklyn, they're certainly alive and well here in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

A Momentous Day in our Family

April 2nd has always been one of the most important days in the Martin family. We're reminded of it months in advance so we have plenty of time to prepare for this occasion. When I think back to all the other April 2nd's I've celebrated, they can only bring a smile to my face as I was celebrating the birthday of one of the most special people in my life and that would be my daughter Liz. Even though I didn't give birth to her, she's every bit a daughter to me as if I had. She was four years old when I married my husband so I've gotten to celebrate 28 birthdays with her so far.

I often wonder what life would be like without being able to celebrate these birthdays. For one, I'd probably be wealthy. But, on the other hand, I would have missed out on some of the most fun moments in my life for to make Liz happy is to make everyone happy. I can't even begin to describe the joy she gets when she receives a gift. Since she loves anything that's a name brand, she starts screaming and crying as soon as she sees the box so that by the time she opens the present, it's almost anti-climatic. This kind of response makes me want to outdo myself in the present department each year. This is the first year I'll be buying presents for a "pregnant" Liz so most of the gifts will be maternity related.

In years past, with Bob working in New York City, we usually had dinner at a great restaurant there. Since he's now working in Philadelphia, sadly, this is no longer possible so our birthday celebration this year will have to be relegated to the weekend. And, as this weekend approaches, I say, "Let the Screaming Begin."