Designer

…………………Last evening I was invited, along with family and friends, to see George in a “Body Building” competition……I have known George for a little over 21 YEARS!!!…..The story of our meeting is this…..21 years ago my darling Jac took me for a “birthday” ride. I had no idea where we were going, but I was hoping for something FUN……When we pulled into the parking lot of a gym….I thought….”what is this!”….When we went inside I was introduced to “GEORGE” a very young 21 year old with a full head of hair and very blue eyes…..Jac said “Lou, this is George…He is your new trainer…..HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”…..To say I was surprised would be an understatement….NOW, I HAD to go to the gym whether I wanted to or not….George was already paid for me to train with him for 6 months!!…..Well jump ahead 21 years. George has been my trainer all this time, and he is now 42 years old! He is bald now, was married and divorced has a son, and still has those sparking blur eyes….I am the same age as his dad, who passed away over 9 years ago……My goal in working out with George was not to build a big muscular body, but to keep healthy, and to keep toned and as I grew older to have good balance and a strong body…..I think for the most part I have done that. Of course losing the 85 pounds and counting has helped a lot!……Now for the competition…..All of the photos on the left are of George, and his main competition in his weight and age class……I thought George had the best music, best poses, and all around BEST BODY, but he came in second out of five men….We all thought George was better!…..The photos to the right are of men in different weight classes and ages. They had a group of men over 65 years old! WOW…If I had to use one word to describe these men it would be…..DEDICATION!……Watching George, these past six months getting his body ready to compete [he had a great body to begin with, but a competition body is a whole different level], takes a lot of physical and MENTAL determination…..The diet alone would destroy me!….One thing that struck me was after each competition ALL of the men congratulated each other, whether they won or lost. I thought the comradery was wonderful. They each know all  too well what it takes to get on that stage and compete. It was admirable……Congratulations to GEORGE!…….After the show George had plans with his family to go for a New Haven PIZZA! Supposedly the best in Connecticut…..He was dying for it!!!

…………………After the men’s competition was complete…out came the women!……..First, I will say most of them could use lessons from a “super model” or two on how to walk in HIGH HEEL SHOES! Many were NOT graceful….Personally, I don’t find very muscular women’s bodies attractive…..That said….the ones with more proportioned, smoother bodies looked good….and in the end they were the ones who won the top awards….I did notice, unlike the men, no one congratulated each other for winning….They just walked off without saying a word to each other…..I found the contrast between the men and women telling….The women are far more competitive with each other, while the men are there trying to do their individual best….Of course they are competing against each other, but they just seemed much more friendly with each other than the women….. The bottom right photo is of George and his son Stephanos……a future bodybuilder!

…………………….After the competition, Alicia, her husband Mike, Luke and I went to dinner at a restaurant called “ROLI” in West Haven Ct…….I really don’t know this area of Ct very well, but the restaurant was fully booked and the food was wonderful. I started with a mixed beet salad, then I ordered the special….Trout….which was incredible, along with mashed sweet potatoes….All wonderful…..for desert I had the “Saker” chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam made famous in Vienna….YUMMY…. I was happy to see the poster of “LILLET”, one of my favorite drinks, which I did order…twice! It came with one GIGANTIC ice cube. The waiter explained that this one huge ice cube was better than a few smaller ones, because it melts slower and doesn’t dilute the drink as fast….I learned something new!…..Alicia, Luke and I are all clients of George, and it is Alicia and Mike that I am planning my trip to Europe with…..a NEW ADVENTURE!

……….TODAY QVC IS STILL RUNNING THE SALE!!!………AND THEY ARE OFFERING FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING ON EVERYTHING!!!!!

……………………..Just when I thought the garden was winding down……there was a sudden burst of new blooms…My garden is colorful again……and the BEES are buzzing, and going from flower to flower as if they know this is their last hurrah!