we are trying to catch up with life after a hectic weekend of tears and happiness. i needed 2 days to recover mainly because my left ankle was killing me. i broke my ankle about 14 years ago and it has given me trouble ever since. it was a very bad break that required 2 surgeries, 3 months in a cast and 6 months of physical therapy. it has never been the same. it swells all the time, especially when it's hot and humid. and as i have gotten older it gets more stiff and painful, especially when i spend a lot of time on it or push myself. well i have been pushing myself lately with the 10,000 step program. combine that with 3 inch heels, cobblestone streets at the south street seaport and lots of dancing and my poor ankle was not singing a happy tune on sunday morning. i rested it for the day and got back into my routine yesterday (by walking 11,000 steps) and of course my ankle is throbbing again this morning. i think i am going to have to start taking some ibuprofen in the morning to help deal with it. i also hope losing weight will relieve some of the stress, but i have a sinking feeling that it will just always give me trouble no matter how much i weigh. oh well, onward we go.

the wedding was lovely. my niece looked spectacular. her dress was off-white and very spanish looking with a long train and lots of ruffled lace. it was not too much at all and she looked simply elegant. she wore her hair long and curled with a lovely glittered veil and crown. again, nothing was too over the top. i will post pictures as soon as i download them.

of course it was much hotter than anyone expected for an october wedding. the temperature reached 86 degrees and it was very humid. i even had my husband start the car 10 minutes before we left to cool it down (i know, bad for the environment) but i was so warm in my silk suit, i knew i would be a pool of sweat before we got to the church. it was so warm in the church for the rehearsal on friday night, they begged the pastor to turn on the AC for the ceremony. thank goodness he agreed. it would have been stifling in the church.

it was a long ceremony. my niece's new husband's family is from the dominican republic and many of them only speak spanish so several parts of the mass were done in both spanish and english which added a lot of time to the ceremony. from the walk down the aisle to the receiving line it took over 2 hours. but it was lovely so that's all that matters

the reception was held at a place called bridgewaters down at the south street seaport. it's located right above the fulton street fish market with a spectacular view of the brooklyn bridge. i have attended a couple of fundraiser there in the past so i had an inkling of how beautiful the room would be. there were hundreds of tea lights on shelves illuminating the windows and mangificent floral centerpieces on every table. my sister in law opted to have 3 different looks instead of uniformity with the centerpieces. they were all stunning.

the music was a combination of a band and dj so they were able to cover all types of music. their first dance was alicia keys "if i ain't got you" and it was so sweet to see both of them singing the song to each other. the only low light of the evening came when the best man and maid of honor gave their speeches -- both of which were better suited for bachelor and bachelorette parties. not that they were in bad taste, they were just long and very personal. sort of like an inside joke with 200 witnesses, but only a dozen or so people could really appreciate. combine that with a 15 minute slide presentation of their lives (lovely but a bit long) and there was almost an hour without music. the natives got very restless and many people got up from their seats. i would have kept the speeches to toasts and made the video a tad shorter and it would have been much better. but it is my niece and i love her and she was happy, so that's all that mattered.

i danced a lot, but not as much as i would have liked to dance. besides my ankle, the balls of my feet were on fire before the end of the night. the fact that flip flops or sneakers are all i wear these days made it nearly impossible for comfort in heels to be possible. i did look lovely, but huge (i am not being harsh, it's the truth. wait until you see the pictures.) i didn't like my hair, but the suit received many compliments. i think people don't know what to say. remember a lot of these people had no idea i am losing weight because the last time they saw me i weighed less than i do now. i just toughed it up and accepted that i wasn't going to hear "wow, how much weight have you lost" from many people. my cousin donna did notice (because i see her more often than everyone else there) and she complimented me immediately. i will take what i can get.

i did fine foodwise and i don't think i gained anything. i won't weigh myself until my weigh-in date on friday though. i don't need to add an extra dip to this already adventurous roller coaster ride i am on when it comes to weight loss. i have enough with once a week weigh-ins...

so i think that about covers the past few days. ralph left a little while ago to get my dad for his casino day so i will be out for the rest of the day. i have so many blogs and emails to return. i promise i will get to them soon. for now, it's time to get ready for my day with dad.. cheers to all...edited for many typos @ 10:50 PM