Monday, July 12, 2010

Another Day In Paradise!



When I was 13 and in the 7th grade, my family loaded up our white 1988 Subaru XT6 and took the Amtrak Auto Train from Lorton, VA, to Sanford, FL, for the first time. I can remember being so excited to be going to Disney World for the first time. Some of my classmates who had gone brought back stories of pirates and princesses, fairies, and Mickey. We, on the other hand, went to Ocean City, MD, every.single.year and stayed at an ocean-front boardwalk motel called Surf & Sands, which has since been converted to a Days Inn, sadly losing some of it’s Eastern-Shore boardwalk charm.


For us, traveling all the way to Florida for the first time was an event, from start to finish. I remember arriving at the Amtrak station in Lorton and bringing our pillows and backpacks filled with games and magazines and Game Boys to our seats, eager to discover what this adventure would bring and what fantastic stories I would bring back to school in the fall. My brother and I quickly sought out the essential cars––the dining car, the snack car, and the observation car. We napped, we walked through cars, we ate dinner watching the the southern landscape roll by, and watched the after-dinner movie. The train chugged through the night, going from deep-green pines to savannas to palms. I remember arriving in Sanford after the overnight train ride and not believing that we were SO far away from home.

Since that trip, I have been in love with Florida––maybe because it evokes so many beautiful memories of a childhood gone by, maybe because my Florida memories always include the people I love the most. Nowadays, I am in Florida several times a year. It’s my heart’s hometown. Be it destiny or fate or what have you, I have never been in a position to be able to live in Orlando, so I make due with visiting often.

It’s only fitting that I set the goal of running the Disney’s Princess Half-Marathon, which runs through all the parks and places that remind me of being 13 again, of how things can be so shiny and new in the eyes of a child, of how magic and fairytales might just exist in the same plane as our ordinary lives.

Sorry if this hasn't been a very health (or food)-related post so far! Sometime this week I'm going to the cupcakery Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly here in Orlando (my favorite cupcake shop in the area), where they have the cutest mini cupcakes, which are nice little treats for those of us trying to control our food intake without giving up a treat now and then (except on vacation, as is the case with me, when I unfortunately have little self-control! BOO!)
 
Training
 
Today was a scheduled Stretch & Strengthen day, but I hate to waste a running day in Florida because my parents' neighborhood makes for the best track. It's a mile in circumference, with lakes, palms, and bougainvillea blossoms all along the way. I ran 2 miles, walked 2 miles, and then did some triceps, lats, and delts with 8-lb dumbbells.
 
Today's Eats
 
I got up a little later this morning since we didn't get home until 2 am from karaoke!
 
 
 
So it was nearly lunchtime before I was showered and ready for breakfast/brunch. I had the same cereal and one slice of light wheat bread with some scrambled eggs on it.
 
After a much-needed nap, I was feeling munchy and in the mood for an afternoon snack. I had a peach, a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, and a few of these:
 
 
We ended up going to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner:
 
Plain salad, no dressing. That little plate of cheese is what I removed from my salad. It was just generic cheddar and not worth the calories.
 
 
For my meal I had the 6 oz sirloin, medium, with a huge sweet potato that I didn't even make a dent in!
This is what was left:
 
After dinner, we headed over to Downtown Disney to enjoy the night air and have coffee. I get so tempted when I'm there!
 
But, I didn't indulge in ANY of those. Believe me, I usually at least treat myself to one...at least. But tonight all I had was a Cuban coffee (no milk) from Bongos Cafe Cubano!
 
 
 
And now the day (and eating) is done, and I've got to turn in so I can get up and run my scheduled 3 miles!
 
Deedah

3 comments:

Cole Walter Mellon on July 13, 2010 at 1:46 PM said...

I successfully convinced my three daughters that Disneyworld is a myth, like Atlantis or Puerto Rico. Probably paid for their college...

Tina on July 13, 2010 at 2:34 PM said...

I love Florida too. I grew up in Sarasota. The run sounds like a blast and that Cuban coffee...even better!!

Deedah on July 13, 2010 at 6:44 PM said...

YAY! My first comments :) Thanks for reading guys!

Post a Comment

 

Deedah's Cupcakes & Fitness 2.0! Copyright © 2009 Designed by Ipietoon Blogger Template In collaboration with fifa
Cake Illustration Copyrighted to Clarice