Sunday

Summer in the City...

The Mister and I headed in to Manhattan Friday...according to weather reports, it "felt" like 106, but that didn't stop us from taking a 12 mile walk and enjoying the day. Three weeks ago I cut grains and sugar from my diet as an attempt to a.) lose the weight I started packing on when SuperStormSandy held me hostage for a week with a full-though not functioning-fridge and b.)to try to get my stomach issues under control. After reading a great amount about wheat and it's supposed multitude of evils, I figured it couldn't hurt, so here I am...3 weeks in on a low carb eating plan. Twelve pounds down and my former gut problems have miraculously ceased and desisted. So, seems to be working. And, no, I don't only eat bacon and eggs! Veggies are my mainstay. Went to dinner at Copper Canyon in Atlantic Highlands last night with the Mister, my brother and his beautiful wife. Ordered Shrimp Fajitas, simply omitted the tortillas. Had a tequila (Copper Canyon is renowned for their tequilas)and enjoyed every bite and sip. I'm fairly sure I breached every possible point of good etiquette when I ate guacamole with a fork-but it was entirely worth it. The whole sugar thing is a beast of another color, but so far so good. My birthday is mid-August, so I am looking forward to the piece of amazing coconut cake I'll allow myself to have from either the Flaky Tart, also in Atlantic Highlands OR Smith & Wollensky if we have my birthday dinner in Manhattan. Either way, I am innately grateful for what I have and where I'm at. Life IS good...

Wednesday

Duke Farms on a Hot July Day

Took the week off from work and am enjoying every second of it! The temp is kind of high-mid 90s-but that didn't deter me and the Mister from driving out to Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ. What a great place to spend a day. We used their bike-share to get around, which was a fantastic way to see as much of the grounds as we chose to...there is also a tram and walking trails, we biked about 6 miles (he with very little effort, me with a LOT of effort) and just kind of reveled in a day which had no structure, no schedule, no stress!!! You can't help but marvel at the sheer size of the estate...as the Mister noted, it would be like owning your own Central Park. Doris Duke lived a most extraordinary life, and her passion for the land is our gift to treasure.