Guest guest Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Hi folks - I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good thoughts for all of you. As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready-to- drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 grams, instead of the " 50 gram slam " kind. Because I am doing so well with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices available. We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check-in and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese-bacon- spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good habits or anyone else's fun! I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10-minimum table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro-style chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin-Chin was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge! Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists-who- know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy-to- hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book- balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend! Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Randy You deserved such a wonderful weekend. Hope things don't get to hectic for a while, but when they do just think back on the fond memories of the wonderful weekend you had. Take care. Donnajackpoint_94401 wrote: Hi folks - I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good thoughts for all of you.As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready-to-drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 grams, instead of the "50 gram slam" kind. Because I am doing so well with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices available.We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check-in and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese-bacon-spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good habits or anyone else's fun!I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10-minimum table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro-style chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin-Chin was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge!Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists-who-know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy-to-hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book-balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend!RandyDonna JordonDSJordon@... Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Randy, that's EXACTLy what the doctor ordered. You need to have those fun trips and good times with your honey to keep your spirits up, and help you keep up your strength in your battle! It sounds like you ate well, lots of variety, and that you are probably feeling a bit more strong as a result. that's GREAT! I'm glad you had so much fun...and I agree with you about Cirque du Soleil...particularly the one you saw!!! Have you been to Bouchon up in Yountville? It's only about a block from the French Laundry. I'm with you on Keller...he's a maestro. The French Laundry was everything people say about it and more. Great news on your trip! RobynnDonna Jordon wrote: Randy You deserved such a wonderful weekend. Hope things don't get to hectic for a while, but when they do just think back on the fond memories of the wonderful weekend you had. Take care. Donnajackpoint_94401 wrote: Hi folks - I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good thoughts for all of you.As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready-to-drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 grams, instead of the "50 gram slam" kind. Because I am doing so well with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices available.We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check-in and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese-bacon-spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good habits or anyone else's fun!I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10-minimum table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro-style chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin-Chin was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge!Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists-who-know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy-to-hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book-balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend!RandyDonna JordonDSJordon@... Yahoo! MailBring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 What a great trip! Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. PEGGY > > Hi folks - > > I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some > of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning > radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a > wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things > here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next > few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely > fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who > responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially > Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be > touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you > write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many > others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good > thoughts for all of you. > > As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty > much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the > test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the > Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready- to- > drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the > room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my > protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 > grams, instead of the " 50 gram slam " kind. Because I am doing so well > with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric > patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly > time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, > of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to > observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no > sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no > more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a > king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I > am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical > intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do > and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices > available. > > We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check-in > and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were > not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked > reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the > Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at > the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it > was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to > pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make > it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail > and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled > swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 > ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was > served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven > asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about > an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon > of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a > spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most > meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some > water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough > with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been > unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all > for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. > Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the > Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is > a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and > impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy > Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall > just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. > > We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. > Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast > buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled > eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first > post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese-bacon- > spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a > poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a > bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily > with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), > and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon > (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this > may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after > surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally > full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and > digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and > go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at > any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I > did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE > calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of > what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even > better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites > only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So > if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a > Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good > habits or anyone else's fun! > > I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to > see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes > playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10- minimum > table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to > shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center > and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least > another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look > for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned > out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price > of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of > us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and > then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell > you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite > left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see > Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du > Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she > treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, > figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been > my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's > at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, > but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at > NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro- style > chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but > it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in > lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I > ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and > onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping > tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces > of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the > shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - > but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was > pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin-Chin > was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as > always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet > hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were > not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very > sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge! > > Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish > was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the > coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten > too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a > less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good > idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best > I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific > smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is > HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living > in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, > capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount > served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a > kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another > bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast > special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). > > We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts > to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an > excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists-who- > know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy- to- > hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly > glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling > is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's > all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, > hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I > knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the > Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had > sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of > ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was > risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I > tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have > NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried > to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no > gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I > felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an > hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the > airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email > and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an > hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book- > balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend! > > Randy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 No, I've never been to the original Bouchon in Yountville, and I'm sorry we missed it in Vegas this time. just started a big new job, and her ability to take time off in the immediate future is limited, and she and I think it would be wiser for her to " reserve " her time off in case she needs to be with me at some of the worst points, and after my surgery later in the year. Also, she's really busy at the office, so it's unlikely we can get away again in the three weeks or so before my treatment regimen starts. Once my radiation starts, it's Monday through Friday, every day, for at least seven weeks - so trips are out of the question for that period. And if they are saying that a total of three to four months of treatment will disable me for nine months at least, and that I will need at least two months of recovery from the radiation before I am strong enough to undergo the surgery, I don't see myself taking many trips duirng my anticipated recovery period, either. and I have talked about going to Ashland in early fall for the tail end of the theatre festival if my health permits. We're not looking forward any sooner than that for going out of town. But thanks for the thoughts. Randy > Hi folks - > > I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some > of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning > radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a > wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things > here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next > few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely > fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who > responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially > Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be > touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you > write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many > others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good > thoughts for all of you. > > As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty > much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the > test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the > Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready- to- > drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the > room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my > protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 > grams, instead of the " 50 gram slam " kind. Because I am doing so well > with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric > patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly > time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, > of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to > observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no > sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no > more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a > king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I > am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical > intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do > and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices > available. > > We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check- in > and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were > not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked > reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the > Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at > the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it > was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to > pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make > it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail > and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled > swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 > ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was > served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven > asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about > an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon > of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a > spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most > meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some > water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough > with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been > unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all > for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. > Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the > Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is > a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and > impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy > Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall > just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. > > We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. > Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast > buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled > eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first > post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese- bacon- > spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a > poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a > bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily > with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), > and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon > (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this > may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after > surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally > full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and > digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and > go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at > any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I > did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE > calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of > what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even > better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites > only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So > if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a > Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good > habits or anyone else's fun! > > I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to > see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes > playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10- minimum > table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to > shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center > and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least > another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look > for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned > out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price > of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of > us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and > then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell > you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite > left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see > Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du > Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she > treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, > figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been > my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's > at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, > but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at > NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro- style > chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but > it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in > lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I > ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and > onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping > tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces > of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the > shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - > but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was > pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin- Chin > was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as > always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet > hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were > not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very > sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge! > > Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish > was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the > coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten > too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a > less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good > idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best > I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific > smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is > HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living > in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, > capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount > served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a > kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another > bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast > special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). > > We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts > to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an > excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists- who- > know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy- to- > hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly > glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling > is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's > all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, > hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I > knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the > Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had > sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of > ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was > risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I > tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have > NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried > to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no > gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I > felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an > hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the > airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email > and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an > hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book- > balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend! > > Randy > > > > > > > Donna Jordon > > DSJordon@... > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Mail > Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Well, I can certainly understand all of that. On the other hand, you have the benefit of being in a very beautiful place (SF Bay) where you can take little day trips" to rejuvenate your spirit. Even when you are tired, she can probably take you for a drive to Half Moon Bay, or Napa or the Sonoma Coast or the Marin Headlands or Point Reyes...just to get you out in the beauty and the calm. Mount Diablo will be gorgeous in a week or two, when all of the California poppies and blue lupins begin blooming. Seeing the ocean, and just sitting, listening to the waves crasing gives you all of those positive ions and can be very curative. Just make sure that you give yourself as many moments of peace and quiet and communion with yourself and with as you can. Chemo frequently causes depression, so know that going in...and maybe you can make a plan with that she can be a slave driver on the issue of you having a bit of pleasure. Before you get to that place...just let her know that you understand you may be very depressed, and that you'd appreciate it if she'd put her foot down (when the time comes) and say, "OK, Buddy...get in the car...were going to watch the sunset at Moss Landing Restaurant, and we'll be all covered up with blankies on the deck, and you are going to see that sun setting on the beautiful ocean...whether you like it or not!!" It will help, ultimately. At least, that's what all of my friends who are survivors have told me. Good luck on this journey...but try not to forget that along with traditional medicine, you need a little peace and a little laughter and a little bit of solitude and wonder....that will help you get through all of this, my friend. I can't wait until this is all over, and you are healthy and hopeful and thin and strong! Robynnjackpoint_94401 wrote: No, I've never been to the original Bouchon in Yountville, and I'm sorry we missed it in Vegas this time. just started a big new job, and her ability to take time off in the immediate future is limited, and she and I think it would be wiser for her to "reserve" her time off in case she needs to be with me at some of the worst points, and after my surgery later in the year. Also, she's really busy at the office, so it's unlikely we can get away again in the three weeks or so before my treatment regimen starts. Once my radiation starts, it's Monday through Friday, every day, for at least seven weeks - so trips are out of the question for that period. And if they are saying that a total of three to four months of treatment will disable me for nine months at least, and that I will need at least two months of recovery from the radiation before I am strong enough to undergo the surgery, I don't see myself taking many trips duirng my anticipated recovery period, either. and I have talked about going to Ashland in early fall for the tail end of the theatre festival if my health permits. We're not looking forward any sooner than that for going out of town. But thanks for the thoughts.Randy> Hi folks - > > I had several very hectic days chasing from pillar to post to do some > of the many tests and procedures one has to do before beginning > radiation and chemotherapy, and then my beloved took me away for a > wonderful, wild weekend in Las Vegas, so I have missed many things > here. I will try to catch up on reading all the posts over the next > few days, but I know I will never be able to respond in a timely > fashion, so let me just say a quick thank-you to everyone who > responded to me that I didn't have a chance to get back to, especially > Robynn. I also want to let so many of you know that I continue to be > touched and inspired, finding joy and poignancy in what so many of you > write...I am thinking of Ron, Francisco, Lilka, Patti, and so many > others who posted over the last few days. I'm sending out good > thoughts for all of you.> > As you folks know by now, my bariatric recovery continues to be pretty > much fantastic and effortless, so I decided to try to put it to the > test this weekend. My girlfriend booked us a fantastic suite at the > Luxor, with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom! I packed three cans of ready-to-> drink ABB protein shakes from GNC, which I kept in the fridge in the > room, so I could feel like I was making sure that I was getting my > protein in - but I also felt free to take the smaller cans with 35 > grams, instead of the "50 gram slam" kind. Because I am doing so well > with my pouch, and at the same time being the total schizo bariatric > patient who is actually trying to keep his weight UP, it is certainly > time for me to try new foods, eat some more fats, enjoy myself. But, > of course, I don't want to push things too far, so I continue to > observe the usual limits on how much I eat at any one time. I eat no > sugar other than naturally occuring sugars, and I limit myself to no > more than 5 grams of sugars at any meal. But I feel like I ate like a > king this weekend, and I want to give you the details. Please note! I > am not recommending that anyone else eat like this! When your physical > intake is limited but you need to raise your caloric intake (as I do > and you DON'T!), eating more fat is kind of one of the only choices > available.> > We arrived in Las Vegas at around 6 pm, and with lines for check-in > and waits for the bellmen to deliver luggage, it seemed clear we were > not going to make our original dinner reservation. I had booked > reservations at the Bouchon bistro, a Keller restaurant at the > Venetian (probably the two best meals I ever had in my life were at > the dining room of the Wyndham Checkers Hotel in downtown L.A. when it > was a Keller restaurant, and at the French Laundry), but we had to > pass on them and eat at the Steakhouse in the Luxor in order to make > it to the show reservation on time. So I feasted on crab leg cocktail > and asparagus in hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had grilled > swordfish and a side order of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate about 4 > ounces of crab (about two and a half of the four split legs I was > served) with plenty of cocktail sauce and lemon, about six of seven > asparagus spears with at least two tablesppons of hollandaise, about > an ounce of her swordfish (man was it good!), and I took a tablespoon > of her mashed potatoes but was too full to eat more than about a > spoonful. Because of the tumor in my throat, I need to drink with most > meals (again, warning, UNLIKE YOU) to wash things down, so I ahd some > water and iced tea. had a glass of wine and a hunk of sourdough > with butter, too. Now, I'm sure that Bouchon would have been > unforgettable (I had two appetizers to share with and one all > for me picked out to order), but we both thought we had a great meal. > Too bad neither if us had steaks so we could report to you that the > Steakhouse at the Luxor is a great place to go for steaks...but it is > a fine restaurant with absolutely gorgeous men's-club decor and > impeccable service. And we had no problem making it to the very sexy > Fashionistas show at the Krave nightclub in the Desert Passage Mall > just behind the Aladdin for the 9:30 show. > > We had breakfast on Saturday at the Luxor buffet, Pharoah's Pheast. > Just from LOOKING, I would not rate it as one of the better breakfast > buffets I've seen in Las Vegas. I had about two ounces of scrambled > eggs; 2 ounces of cottage cheese on which I dared to sprinkle my first > post-surgery pig product: real bacon crumbles; the egg-cheese-bacon-> spinach filling of about half a two-inch square of quiche lorraine; a > poonful of eggplant ratatouille (avoiding the skin of the eggplant); a > bite of one of 's sausage links (peeling off the casing easily > with a butter knife), a square of swiss cheese (maybe half an ounce), > and a small bite each of a peeled pear (wonderful) and watermelon > (which tasted off to me; tried it and said it was fine, so this > may be the first instance of food tasting different to me after > surgery). This was the first time I ate to the point I felt totally > full. I had no discomfort at all, but I felt like I needed to sit and > digest for about fifteen minutes before we were ready to get up and > go. It did feel good, though, to think that I could go to a buffet at > any point in the future and eat maybe a third or a quarter less than I > did this time (again, because at the moment I'm trying to get MORE > calories now, not less), enjoy variety, and be right in the groove of > what we are suppposed to eat. I also realized that I could be an even > better boy by going to the omelet station and asking for egg whites > only instead of taking scrambled whole eggs from the buffet line. So > if your significant other wants to graze a Vegas buffet, or go to a > Sunday brunch, we can do it and not be spoilers of either our good > habits or anyone else's fun!> > I enjoy a limited amount of gambling, and wanted to watch me to > see if she would want to join me, so I said we'd spend a few minutes > playing blackjack. I dropped $60 in about ten minutes at a $10-minimum > table, and didn't think she wanted to play, so we went out to > shop. We then walked about two and a half miles to the transit center > and then caught a bus to the outlet malls - where we walked at least > another mile while shopping. One of the reasons we went was to look > for some smaller stuff for me, especially underwear, but as it turned > out, all I got was a belt (I either didn't like the brand or the price > of the underwear I saw) - but made out like a bandit. Neither of > us were hungry for lunch, so we had cold drinks and cabbed back, and > then did lots of sexy stuff up in the room that I'm not going to tell > you about, but it all took long enough that we again had not quite > left enough time for our original dinner plans before going to see > Zumanity at New York, New York ( and I are both avid Cirque du > Soleil fans - that was my New Year's Eve treat for her, and she > treated me this time), so we just set out for New York, New York, > figuring we'd find someplace to eat. Well, my original plan had been > my favorite old-style Cantonese restaurant in Vegas, which is Chang's > at Bally's (I actually preferred the Peking Kitchen at the Flamingo, > but that, sadly, is now just a memory), so we looked for Chinese at > NYNY and fouind a branch of the Los Angeles-based Chinese bistro-style > chain Chin-Chin. I was never fond of Chin-Chin when I lived in LA, but > it was any-port-in-a-storm time, so in we went. We ordered shrimp in > lobster sauce and mu shu chicken, with steamed brown rice for . I > ate about four shrimp with sauce, water chestnuts, black mushroom, and > onion (basically, everything but the snow peas), and about two heaping > tablespoon of the mu shu (no pancake or hoisin sauce; maybe two ounces > of chicken in there), washed down with iced tea. I found that the > shrimp, even sliced into small chunks, took a LOT of chewing for me - > but it's a nice food to chew a lot, frankly. Once again, I was > pleasantly full, not to mention pleasantly surprised that Chin-Chin > was better than I had remembered. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic, as > always, and we walked most of the way back to the Luxor until her feet > hurt from her high heels and we caught a tram. While and I were > not in need of any special help, I highly recommend seeing two very > sexy shows in Las Vegas to any couple who needs a recharge!> > Since I thought that the omission of any breakfast fish or shellfish > was a serious omission from the Luxor buffet, I suggested we go to the > coffee shop/cafe for Sunday breakfast. Since felt she had eaten > too much at the buffet (OK, maybe she did), she thought going to a > less-crowded place where one orders a single plate sounded like a good > idea. I ordered a smoked-salmon platter, and it was probably the best > I had eaten since leaving Los Angeles (and while there is terrific > smoked salmon, lox, smoked chubs, sable, etc. in Los Angeles, it is > HARDLY sufficient reason to suffer all the other indignities of living > in LA). I ate maybe three and a half ounces of salmon, cream cheese, > capers, and slivered red onion total - just under half the amount > served, I'd guess, and really wished it made any sense to carry a > kitty bag back home to SF (for me, not the cat). I also ate another > bite of 's sausage without the casing (she had a breakfast > special of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes and fruit). > > We went to the Bellagio to go to their lovely mini-museum of fine arts > to see the exhibit of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists (an > excellent show, but don't bother with the strictly-for-tourists-who-> know-nothing-about-art audio commentary, even with the nifty easy-to-> hold wands the commentary is delivered on), and to view the Chihuly > glass ceiling in the main entrance and the Chihuly store (the ceiling > is a fantastic work of art, but the latter is a waste of time; it's > all just prints of sketches for glass works and the books on sale, > hardly any glass to speak of). was thirsty but not hungry, and I > knew I was going to have a protein shake when we got back to the > Luxor. So we went into the Cafe Gelato next to the museum. They had > sugar-free gelato, and I asked the manager if he had a list of > ingredients. Nothing I couldn't or shouldn't eat, except that I was > risking gas from the skim milk (I usually stick to Lactaid), so I > tried a scoop of my old favorite flavor, nocciola (hazelnut). I have > NEVER tasted a better sugar-free ANYTHING. tasted it and tried > to keep it! I enjoyed it so much I couldn't believe it, and had no > gas, either! That was the last I ate in Las Vegas that weekend, and I > felt like I truly feasted. We walked back to Luxor and had about an > hour before we needed to collect our bags from storage and go to the > airport, and wanted to go to the business center and check email > and work stuff, so I hit the blackjack tables, and in less than an > hour won over six hundred bucks! (I suspected I had a karmic book-> balancing boost coming my way...) A sweet end to a great weekend!> > Randy> > > > > > > Donna Jordon> > DSJordon@... > ---------------------------------> Yahoo! Mail> Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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