Funny!

I just ran across a quote that said "If swimming is good for your figure...then how do you explain whales??"

Don't know why, but it struck me as funnnnnn knee!

Ok, so here it is December 13...the holiday season. What does our house look like?? Um....an ordinary day of the year. Pick a day, any day. Not a speck of holiday cheer in our house, cause I'm too busy/lazy to do it and no one else around here cares or has any ambition to do it either. I thought about digging out some decorations, but I'd really have to do some digging to get to them. Maybe later this week. Maybe.

I DID do some "holiday baking" today though! I made pretzels dipped in almond bark. : ) Hey, it counts...I put sprinkles on 'em too!

If I bake stuff, I eat stuff, and it'll make me sick, so there's my excuse not to do it. No one else around here "needs" sweets and crap laying around either, so in reality I'm helping my family, right?? Heck, I ate enough of the stupid pretzels already.

So here's to holiday laziness. I don't have a thing bought either as far as presents. Oh, wait. I do. I have one gift bought for Wes, and got that about a month ago. No one even knows what they want, so what the heck am I supposed to do, just go out and buy "stuff" so they get something. I think NOT! They'll get a bonus on their cash gift this year, and that'll be enough.

I did think of something yesterday that the kids could get for ME! I was walking out of Walmart, past the portrait spot, and thought "hey, that's what they could do...get me a portrait of the three kids together!" They wouldn't have to go to Walmart and pose together, just go outside and have a boyfriend take a few pics and get one blown up for me. But that probably won't happen either.

So bah humbug. Fleas Navidad and whatever. : )

Map 'O the World

I look at my legs, and see....what looks like a colorful map of the world! All the "pretty" blues, yellows, reds and greens in random, splotchy patterns makes me think of a map.

Agree?? Or just grossed out?! : )

That's part where the steri-strips have come off now and you can see the little punctures. Here's a "big picture" of my left leg (right one looks very similar!).

Ah...but the good news is that today, I get to NOT wear the compression stockings!! Yay. Feels a little weird, but man those things sucked (literally!)

Dang it!

Dang, dang, dang...I'm doin' the Dang Dance right now. There are TWO major veins they didn't get to (got to the daily limit of lidocane and had to quit). Ugh. I AM gonna go have them finish, but it probably won't be until spring break or maybe even this summer. At least they got the majority done and my legs look so much better, but still, I'm disappointed.

Oh yay, something else to look forward to. : (

Well now....

Is it over...or is it not?

Day two, they finished the right leg and did most of the left. I was not very happy to hear they ran to the end of the daily limit of lidocane so there are a few bulgy veins they didn't take out. Dang it, and of course one of them is one that bugs me the most! Ugh. They said that they closed the "feeder vein" to this one so it should shrink on it's own, but I wanted it GONE. Forever.

So we'll see when I go back tomorrow and then in a month for my checkup. If it's not gone or shrinking enough, then I'll have them take that one (two actually) out too. Oh yay, something else to look forward to. But at least that would be a fairly easy day. I did look at my "before" pics today. Yuck.

Got my beautiful compression stockings today too, thankfully I'll only have to wear them for a week. Man, they're hard to get on, but they did feel pretty good once I had them on (part way was all we did today).

Came home and slept a few more hours, the pain woke me up. Headed for the vicoden soon and back to bed.

Gotta go back tomorrow for an ultrasound and re-check, then I'm done.

If you're NOT queazy...go to youtube and type in Ambulatory Phlebectomy. : )

Yeowchimomma!

That describes yesterday, day one of the vein removal. Yeowch! It all went well, but I sure wish I had had something more than a bit of valium ("so I don't care so much what's going on" they said). There were a few times when I almost...almost cried. One spot in particular, which I have the same issue on the left leg (to be done today) hurt like a son of a bitch. Yay....I get to look forward to that today. But they said they'd give me a little bit more valium...I say YES!! Bring it on.

They asked me if I was interested in seeing what my veins looked like, so of course I said yes. Looked like a worm that you see on the sidewalk after the rain, about an inch or so long, flat and whitish. Mmmmm. Aren't you glad you're reading this? : ) Not what I thought it would look like.

So in a little bit we leave to go back and they'll finish one spot on the right leg and then do the left leg. I'm glad I took the whole week off, cause my leg is all wrapped tight and I walk like a peg-leg pirate. But my leg looked SO much better already (before they wrapped it I looked at it). They took "before" pics and will take some "after" in about a month for my checkup. I took some "before" too, but I'm not so sure I want anyone to see 'em! We'll see.

Off to see the wizard...I mean doctor. Again.

Vein vein vein.....

I'm getting my veins "done!" Soon, too! The Monday after Thanksgiving I'm going in to have some of them laser-ed closed, at which point my body will re-absorb them (YUCK...I hate thinking about that!) and others they'll puncture little tiny holes in my legs, cut the veins into pieces, and pull them out. LOL, now THAT'S a pretty picture, huh?! Speaking of, I'm gonna try and take before and after pictures...we'll see.

My veins are so bad it'll take them two days to do it all! Wow. I knew they were bad, but man. I guess a body can only "take" so much Lidocane in a day, and they said it'll take two times to do it all. Wow. Then I go back the third day to have 'em check it all over and make sure they got everything and that it's all going ok. I'll be off work the whole week, thankfully we already have Monday off anyway, so I'll really only miss (as if I "miss" work...ha) four days.

Now the only other surgery I want is a boob job! : )

Then I'll be good to go!

Go where??

ANYwhere!!

Normal?

I'm normal.

Yes, I AM (stomping foot)!!

So says the doctor anyway. : )

My BMI is now considered NORMAL. Not morbidly obese, obese, or even overweight. Normal.

Even my cholesterol and all other blood tests are well within the good "normal" ranges.

Wow. I don't think I've ever been considered "normal," by anyone. : )

Now if only I could have normal HAIR! I made an appointment for Monday for a real hair cut. Don't remember the last time I've sat in a stylist's chair, when my hair is short it's easy for me to cut it myself. But I am trying to grow it out a little (we'll see how long that lasts) and I'm very sick of the short style I've had for several years now. I want an update. But it's thin frizziness makes it hard to work with, so we'll see what happens. Found a place recommended by a co-worker who always has THE cutest hair (straight NORMAL hair though!). I think I need a miracle though.

Tanya is gonna come up here (YES YOU ARE!) and we're gonna go to a spa/salon in the cities for total makeovers. Hopefully before this school year is out (like for WOW '10...which by the way is our 10th Anniversary WOW so you HAVE to come and do something FUN for YOU), like in March.

We're gonna be new, NORMAL women! PL!

POTD

Ok, so I'm back to work.

: (

I know, I should be glad that I HAVE a job...but still.

Here's the first POTD (Picture of the Day). I tried to look happy....

Adventure!

Ok, so it wasn't a BIG adventure like PeeWee had, but an adventure it still was! Doug and I went to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market this morning. I've been wanting to go there for years and never made the time, and I knew this was possibly the last day I could go this year. I wanted to check it out to see about being a vendor next year with my soaps, and just to see/experience it all. It was fun! A pretty easy drive to and fro too. I was surprised how big and busy it was, and that there were a lot of things there that were not food, like clothing, jewelry (yay!) and other crafts.

So...now I can pretend to be just like Eggface (one of my favorite bloggers) - she's a gastric bypass woman who blogs about food a lot, she loves to cook and come up with new creations and seems to spend a LOT of time at her farmer's market. She posts a LOT of pictures of her creations too, and just today she's got a whole bit about her farmer's market. I love reading her blog and copying her recipes, though I have to admit I haven't tried many of them yet cause I am lame that way. : )

This is what we had for din-din tonight. Doesn't it look delish?

The chicken was grilled with a raspberry-chipotle sauce, I think from Cub. Very tasty. At first you tasted the raspberry, then the chipotle spiciness kicked in. The salad had a bunch of fresh stuff from the market -- cooked, cold beets, sweet onion, broccoli, kohlrabi and cucumber, with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Yummy for my tummy! : ) We also bought some squash, cauliflower, roasted almonds and I don't even remember what else (except of course a necklace and earrings, cause I'm SO deficient in them, LOL).

Of course the best part is eating it outside on the back deck with Doug (we've been doing that a lot this summer). I sometimes have a glass of wine with my meal (I KNOW, I KNOW...I'm not supposed to drink a THING for 1/2 hour after eating, but sometimes I can't help it!), but tonight I didn't have the wine (yet!).

Speaking of wine, I went down the road to the local liquor store today to get more wine, and when I was paying I remembered that they have a wine punch card now, and went to get mine out of my wallet. Well...I gave her the wrong wine punch card!! I said "Wow, now that's a bad sign, first of all that I HAVE a wine punch card, and secondly, that I have TWO!" The second one is from a local winery, Goose Lake Winery over by Nowthen. They have THE most delicious dessert wine, which is made with brandy in it too and kicks butt!

Now I'm gonna be sad the next two days cause it's the end of summer and I have to go back to work. Ugh. It's like an intrusion into my life. : ( I have so much other stuff I want to do other than work at a job...why can't I just win the lottery?

But that's life, right?! And it could be a lot worse. At least now I'll start posting my Picture of the Day again soon.

One of these things

is NOT like the others (remember that song from Sesame Street??)!



I just HAD to post these lovely pictures...we were camping for a few days at Carolina State Park on the Cape Fear River a week or so ago, and...well....North Carolina humidity/weather, ocean saltwater spray, lack of a blow dryer/straightener and wind result in me looking like an Emu! LOL.

I've got about 200 pictures from the trip, maybe I'll do a photobucket slideshow soon.

The scale...

Yesterday I had to go to a new dr. in Buffalo, I'm looking into getting my varicose veins taken care of (yay!), and of course had to step on the scale there. My first gut reaction when she said "we need to step on the scale" (like yeah, WE need to step on the scale...you first!) was "ugh, I hate the scale." But then I remembered, "oh no, not any more. Now the scale is my friend!"

Well, ok, not really my friend, but not my enemy any longer, that's for sure. Anyway, you know how the doctor's scales have that bottom weight slider that goes to either 100, 150, 200, 250, etc., then the top one is zero to 50 lbs? Well, she first put the bottom one on 100 and I sorta inwardly laughed at that, thinking "yeah, right, this is gonna work!" She slid the top one all the way over to 50 and it wasn't balanced (cuz duh, I weigh more than that!), so she slid the bottom one to 150 and restarted. But it was funny, cause she said "wow, you don't look it!" meaning I looked like I weigh less than 150 lbs. to a nurse who weighs people all day long?? Amazing. I think it balanced on 166, which is close to what my scale at home says (today it was 163).

The doc was really nice and they did an ultrasound on my veins, and it was very educational and interesting, and thank God they didn't find any extra heartbeats (not that that's even possible anymore)! LOL, at one point he said "wow, that's a HUGE vein!" No shit doc, why do you think I'm here! But for whatever reason, he's unable to do the procedure I need done, and is referring me to a vein place in the cities. The good news is that my deep veins are good, it's just the superficial ones that are bad, so that's cool. When it's all done my legs will LOOK good and FEEL much better. I might be able to wear shorts and...oh my gosh...a skirt?? I don't remember the last time I wore a skirt, probably over a decade or more.

I wish I could have it done today. But I can't, and it'll be probably some time in August or so before I can get an appointment and it gets done cause I'M GOING TO NORTH CAROLINA NEXT WEEKEND FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS (yes, I'm shouting cause I'm very excited!!)! I decided today that I need to start getting a little sun, cause I am lily white and will be outside a lot more when we're down there, so I just came in from sitting on the deck. Yuck. I am not a sun worshipper and don't enjoy "tanning." But I need to do it, or else I'm gonna be a crispy skeletal thing in about two weeks. : ) If I tan I'll look more mummy-ish (darker, but still skeletal with wrinkly upper arms!). ha ha.

I'm so excited to be going to see Paul and Joy and meet McKenzie (Joy's daughter). Paul's such a great cook...yum, good food, and they're so fun to be around. I really wish we lived closer. It'll be a two-day car ride to get down there, oh joy. Actually I'm looking forward to sitting in a car reading or listening to my mp3 (over Alex's stereo) and just chillin'. It's just me, Bri and Alex going, and I think it'll be a great trip. They're planning a few day trips off by themselves to see the wonders of NASCAR hot-spots. I'll stick around the homestead and eat good food. : )

Oh yeah, the rest of yesterday was good too...I was in Buffalo, and they're "famous" for their Occasional Sales - where the store is only open one weekend a month, and I happened to hit it on the right weekend. So I wandered around downtown for a bit, got a good coffee, went and sat by the lake to drink it, then wandered some more. Didn't really find anything I HAD to have, but it was a fun wandering day by myself (love those!).

I did end up going to Walmart for a few things, and bought myself two new pair of jeans, size 10! Ten!! I had noticed earlier in the day that my 12s were a little bit loose to the point where they get annoying, so I tried on the 10s and they fit pretty good. Strange, cause I haven't lost any more weight, but my body is still changing I guess. Now if only I could grow new boobs...LOL.

Guess that's it for an update! The Queen is doing fantastic too BTW, she's losing weight at an amazing rate and is so excited. She passed a major milestone (certain weight) last week, never to return to it.

Life is good!

All hail

to the Queen!! Yay, yippee...she had her surgery today, and everything went great! I can't tell you how excited I am for her, what an adventure she's starting out on. I got to talk to her a bit this evening, and she sounded pretty darn fantastic.

That means she's gonna need those SEVEN bags of clothes I have for her...and soon.

Road trip anyone?? : )

Mmmmmmmmemorial Weekend!

Yay, summer (or at least spring) is finally here! We had a beautiful Memorial Weekend. It would have been perfect camping weather.

I started out my weekend with an hour long massage on Friday afternoon. Heaven. Well, ok, so there was also a little pain involved - when she was doing my back, she asked if the pressure was ok or if she should go "deeper," and I told her to go deeper. Ouch! At one point I had to open my eyes wide cause it hurt a bit, but....I liked it! I had never had a really deep massage, and wanted to experience that. It was a great massage, and after dealing with the kids at school, I needed it (just 8 more work days till summer break!).

Saturday I had a craft show just five miles from home (love that...not much travel time). We again had a beautiful day, and it turned out to be a pretty good show for me. Except I need to wash all my tablecloths now, the barbeque guy didn't seem to know what he was doing, and kept smoking us out with the flame/smoke from his grill.

Sunday I went and got some flowers and planted my little flower garden out front. Looks pretty nice now, except there are a few perennials taking over (lily of the valley and something else I don't remember the name of). I might take some of them out, but then again, they fill it in with very little effort on my part. : ) I also found another nice hanging basket to go with the one Bri got me for Mother's Day, so that's done. Bri and Alex also started working on the pool, we decided it was best to just drain the thing this year and start over, it was very nasty. Never did get clean last year and add another year's worth of leaves and dirt, and yuck. They finished that yesterday and we started refilling it. Maybe we'll actually get in this year. I know for once I won't be afraid to stand on the ladder, being 100 lbs. lighter!

Yesterday I made more soap. I've been having pretty good sales with it and keep running out of stock, so I'm trying to keep ahead of that. The six-week cure time can be a pain sometimes, but that's the way it goes.

I had a pretty nice "discovery" this weekend too...I can now wear sandals without my feet hurting! I've bought several pairs, mostly on clearance last fall, and got to start wearing them, and they're fun! Who would have thought such a silly little thing could mean so much. I know people who have never been overweight, much less the word I hate (obese - I just hate the way it sounds), can't possibly understand how something so simple can be so cool, but my feet would hurt so much over the past years all I could wear were those dang old clodhoppers (which I have happily thrown OUT) with the support insoles. Good riddance and hello sandals!

I ended my weekend with a nice relaxing bubble/whirlpool bath. Ahhhh, if only all weekends could begin and end like this one!

Happy for her!

This week my friend, the Queen, got some fantastically exciting news...her surgery has been approved and she's GONNA HAVE THE F-IN SURGERY!!

Yay! Yippee!! I am SO doin' the Happy Dance for her!

There are the "last minute" things to do, like meet with the surgeon and do the pre-surgery appointments, but.....one month from TODAY she's scheduled!

Man is her life about to change....

Oh. My. Gosh.

Let out of jail.

No, I haven't been IN jail...at least not the physical lock-down building!

I was reading an article titled "Woman's decision to undergo gastric bypass changes her life," (like, duh!) and she said this, which rang so true to me:

"Mentally, I never felt like a fat person. Finally, the person I was in my head and the person I am on the outside are ... becoming closer together. It feels like being let out of jail."

That's me, exactly how I feel. Like I've been let out of fat jail! And it's so freeing it's really indescribable.

Yesterday I saw a co-worker who had the FS two years ago. I rarely get to see her at work but I needed some ink so I had to go down to her department. Anyway, when I got back to my desk she had sent me an email that said "You are so skinny! You need to stop losing now, sticks are not cute!" LOL, so we had an email conversation about how things are going for each of us, etc.

I really would like to stop losing, and never ever thought I'd say I wouldn't mind gaining a little weight back, or at least not lose any more. Some days I feel like I eat and eat and eat, but I am still losing, usually only about a pound a week or so, but still...I am becoming a stick person.

But at least I'm not still in jail. : )

The Good, The Bad...and The Ugly.

The Good: I discovered I can eat Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses with no problems!

The Bad: I discovered I can eat Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses with no problems! Yep, the ol' double edged sword. There were these kisses sitting around at work from a staff party, and I love dark chocolate, so I grabbed a handful to put at my desk, intending to just eat them sparingly, thinking they'd cause me problems if I ate more than one or two. Well, I shoulda known myself, cause if it's in front of me, I want to eat it! I probably had about 10 of them yesterday throughout the day, with no problems. But that IS the problem...I don't need them and should continue to avoid stupid crap like that.

The Ugly: Or maybe I should say "The Stupid!" Last night I had some Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream, some of their "Five" brand (called that cause it only has five ingredients). I didn't eat much, cause I know that ice cream can cause problems, but man oh man, cause problems it did! I probably only had about 1/3 of a cup, and about 10 minutes later I had to grab an old ice cream bucket cause I thought I was gonna throw up. I didn't, but my stomach hurt SO bad for a good 45 minutes. I finally went to bed, thinking that laying down and going to sleep would just get rid of the pain, and it did.

What's it gonna take for me to learn??? I don't know.

But I think last night may have just done it. : )

Curiosity

So today I needed to clean out the closet again and see what I have for summer, if it ever gets here (bag number SEVEN for the Queen now!), and ran across a pair of my old "fat" jeans. I took them out to show Tate, and I said, "hmm...I wonder if I could fit both legs into one pants leg?" These were the pants I had on the day of surgery, last August, almost 9 months ago (my 9-month checkup is May 4). And at one point I'm sure I wore pants at least a size bigger.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it provided us with some good laughs! I came out of the bedroom, barely able to walk 'cause my feet could only move a few inches at a time. Sorta like a little Chinese lady who takes tiny, tiny steps.

But look!!

Ok, and to be fair, they ARE stretch jeans and I WAS squeezed into them and stretching them as far as they'd go...but still!!

I can now say I've lost 100 lbs.! I still shake my head in disbelief when I think about it.

I was telling the Queen the other day, cause she's SO excited to have the FS in just a few short weeks, that...as good as you think it's gonna feel to be rid of all the weight...it actually feels a million times better!

The wind in my hair...the Harley in my dreams...

I DID get to feel the wind in my hair today!

I took a bike ride around the block (actually a bit more than that) after getting home from work. I had planned this morning to go walking/running with Carol after school, but she wants to concentrate on running a lot this week and next to WIN the Biggest Loser contest at school (which she's gonna do!), and I wasn't in the mood for running, plus I had some parenting that needed done after school, so I came home instead. I had walked the block yesterday and have been itching to get on the bike, so that's what I chose to do today.


It was a nice workout for my legs and felt good. It was a tad bit chilly out, but not too bad. I love riding bike, I get a sense of freedom when I ride. Not quite like on a Harley, but....it'll do for now.

Some of my fondest memories are riding bike in the summer at night when I was in my very late teens and early twenties. Like around 10-11 pm late, in the cool night air riding through what was then a smallish college town. The town had gone to bed (well, ok except for the college kids!), the streets were nearly empty, and it was peaceful enough to hear the frogs and crickets. It was heaven.

Someday I'd love to do the MS 150 bike ride. Maybe next year. I'm pretty sure it's too late for this year, I think it's usually in May. But...if I start working on it now and over the summer, maybe, just maybe, I could do it next year.

Before I turn 50! Yikes, now there's a scary thought! I had wanted to do it for my 40th birthday, but was too fat and out of shape to even really dream much of doing it.

Things are MUCH different now. This nearly-50-year-old could do it I'm sure.

And she just might. : )

Wheeeeeeeeee.................I mean Wii!

I had THE most excellent day yesterday. Seriously, THE most excellent.

Got up, had my morning quiet time to myself with a cup of coffee and a book (love weekend mornings). After Doug got up we went to Perkins for breakfast (had a 20% off coupon), then Menards to get a few things, like a new mailbox cause ours has been "taken out" three times since last summer, and won't stay closed anymore, which presents it's own problems.

Then....we stopped at the Harley dealership! (BIG grin!)

Oh man....how we want one. I suggested we stop and get the 'ol law of attraction juices flowing by touching, hearing and sitting on one (or more), so we did. I had no idea how big that place was, the basement of the store has hundreds and hundreds of bikes down there (the used ones we went to ogle). We fell in love with the bikes. Of course the salesman, Jim, asked if we were interested in one or two, and had me sit alone on several that he said I could handle. Ha. I'm not interested in driving one, I just like to sit back and enjoy the scenery without worrying about traffic headaches. But it was fun to straddle the bike, turn the wheel on it and VISUALIZE and FEEL the power and wind in my hair. And when he started one up...oh, the sound I love!

And you should have seen Doug's eyes! Talk about a buzz! I kept looking over at him, and I swear he had a Harley High, LOL. His eyes were wide and huge and he almost seemed to be glowing. Of course the prices were a Harley High too, around fifteen grand or more or what we'd like, so we'll keep looking and dreaming and seeing ourselves riding one. Somehow it'll happen, I know it will.

We were talking last night during our Saturday night "tub time," and I recalled giving away a Harley many years ago when Cal died. I gave his best friend his old Sportster, which was worth some good money, but I've never regretted giving it to him and I'd do it again today. They were best friends their whole life, and I told Tom he could have it, of course he drove up from Michigan within days to get it, probably before I could change my mind. I know he's cherished it all these years, and that gives me a good feeling. But now I want another one!!

Ok, so after we left the Harley dealer, Doug went home, I went shopping (the Queen laughs at how often I say I'm going shopping these days). Fashion Bug was having a deal on the dress pants I wear to work, usually $26.99 but from 10am-2pm they were $14.99, so I got another pair a size smaller, which acually fit me now. Cool. Found a penny on the floor of the changing room too. Of course I picked it up, more money in my pocket. : )

So then I traveled on to Target in Otsego, found a great pair of grey pants (hey, I don't have any grey!) on clearance for six bucks! Found another penny in the dressing room too! Then I went over to look at Wii systems. The nice older guy in electronics helped me and told me what all I needed. This other lady was there getting the Wii Fit board, she said she was surprised they had any, I guess they're hard to find in stock. I asked her how she liked her Wii and she loved it. The sales guy said he had 14 boards come in that morning, and only had 6 left at that point, so I got one of those with the system.

He asked me if I had a 10% off coupon that people had been getting in the mail, and I said no, dang it, cause that would be a good chunk of money. Well, sweet man, he gave me 10% off anyway! What a guy!

Finished checking out of Target, and they have a Starbucks in the store. I took that broken gift card that I found in the ditch a while ago over and asked if they'd replace it, and she did, gave me a beautiful new card in a nice little fancy envelope and I got a delicious tea to enjoy on the way home, compliments of the Queen.

Came home, a gorgeous spring day to be out driving the country roads (though it would have been even more enjoyable on that new Harley!). Alex and Bri were here, so Alex put the Wii together for me while I sat there and enjoyed a Chocolate Steamed Nirvana that Bri had brought me from Dunn Bros. Man....does it get any better than that? : ) I didn't have any of the frustrations of putting it all together.

Got the Wii set up and Bri and Alex boxed each other. Funny! Then I boxed Bri. I can see this being fun. Then a little while later I went down and got the Fit board going, it's pretty cool. Heck, that little board is smart! It tells you how much you weigh too. There are some pretty cool balance games that are a lot harder than you'd think. I tried the yoga and the skiing game, what fun. Maybe, just maybe, if my balance improves, I can try roller blading (for real, not on the Wii), which I was thinking about today (how much fun it looks).

Ok, then a little while later it was dinner and tub time. ; ) Usually on Saturday nights Doug and I enjoy a whirlpool bubble bath together (sorry kids that that grosses you out, but grow up!) with a bottle or two of wine and candlelight. It's become treasured time, we sit in the tub for a couple hours (it has a heater to keep the water nice and toasty warm), enjoy our wine, sometimes a little chocolate, and talk, talk, talk. We talk about anything and everything, it's really nice and after 21 years of marriage, I think we're even learning a few things about each other too!

So yes, it was THE most excellent day. THE most excellent.

Awww....my little boy

Can pick me up!!

LOL, we were just messing around, actually he's been able to do it for a long time now, we just finally got around to snapping a picture. I don't think he looks like he's straining too hard. : )

On another note...I couldn't find the piece of paper with old measurements on it, but oh well.

Earlier this week I went shopping (surprise, surprise!) cause I had a $10 off coupon at Christopher & Banks. Carol and I had gone there a few weeks ago and they do have some cute stuff, though they also have a lot of "teachery" or old-lady styles too, part of the reason I never really shopped there before. But that day I found THE cutest Christmas sweater, on clearance of course. Marked down from $45 to $5. Seriously, it's very cute. No, it doesn't have reindeer, santa or snowmen, it sorta reminds me of Dr. Suess's who-ville. Made me wish it was December now so I could wear it. I asked Carol how soon I could wear it, she said not till December 1st, so I marked it on my calendar on December 1st to wear my Christmas sweater so I don't forget about it! How crazy is that?!

Anyway, on Monday I found a really cute top there for $14.95, so it only cost me about five bucks after the coupon. I get most of my clothes these days extremely cheap that way. And believe me, I have a ton of clothes now. But while I was there I also spotted some really nice jeans, and took a pair of 12s and a pair of 10s into the changing room, just for kicks. I started with the 10s....and they fit! OMGosh! I didn't buy them, cause they had that awful gap in the back that I hate, but they fit otherwise. I seriously don't EVER remember wearing size 10s, ever in my life.

WOW moment!

I had a pretty cool "wow" moment the other day at work. We have this area where we store tv carts, and books. Usually there are not that many tv carts there, so it's pretty easy to just walk back and grab the books kids need for their class.

Well, this particular day we had a lot of tvs returned, and a kid needed a certain book, which of course was at the very back of this little newly formed "hallway."

I headed back there, and stopped and just looked at the situation, and sorta froze for a second. Then I thought, "ok, I think I can fit in there," and I did! Effortlessly! It was amazing, there was actually a lot of room for me to get the book and back. Before surgery I would have had to move out a bunch of carts to get back there.

Then I had another cool revelation...I was thinking, and I sorta wish I had taken measurements before surgery (I'll have to look, I might have some in a little stash area), cause I would bet that I'm about as wide now, hip to hip, as I was front to back before.

I'm gonna go look for that piece of paper, though I might have thrown it out in frustration a long time ago....

A little fun!

Ok, so I really have nothing to say today, just wanted to post some fun pictures! Wes had shown me these settings on the Photo Booth program I have at work, so I've been having a wee bit of fun!

Wow. Weird. Very weird.

Come on...we all know a woman who actually looks like this!

Simmer.....simmer (shoulda worn the Munger for this one!)

Love the hair! (just kidding)

Mirror image. Again...nice hairdo!

Wonder if I could really DO my hair like that, LOL.

Motivational speaker??

Found some new settings on my computer! : )

Yesterday was a weird day...I talked to two different people about gastric bypass surgery, one who approached me about the topic is someone I never would have guessed would have been interested, let alone actually come up to me to ask about having it. He's someone I don't know very well but see often at work. The other was another lady at work who's friend is considering the surgery, and I gave her my phone and email for her friend (cause I'm willing to talk to anyone about it and answer any questions I can), and suggested the site http://www.obesityhelp.com/ - a fantastic website with all kinds of info on all the different surgeries, what to expect, how they work, etc. and very interesting forums where you can learn so much more and interact with others considering surgery or who have already been through it.

Anyway, I had some shopping to do after school, and as I was leaving the store I recalled an incident a few years back. I was at a friend's house, and another friend was there, and we were talking...and I said that I've always had this "feeling" that I was supposed to be or would become a motivational speaker. Weird, huh?? Anyway, one of the friends just busted a gut at that one, like "yeah, sure...what EVER! You??" It's just one of those feelings, like you know something is supposed to happen to you, but you're not sure how, why, or if it ever will...or if you're just plain nuts.

Well, yesterday as I was walking out of the store, it kind of hit me...I HAVE become a motivational speaker! No, I'm not on a big stage raking in the money telling people how to become millionaires or whatnot, but I AM telling anyone who is interested about the surgery and how my life has changed because of it, and what it can do for them. It's life changing to say the least. One thing the guy at work said to me was "Don't take this wrong, but before you always looked...."uncomfortable" with yourself, and now it's like you're a whole new person."

That's cause I am. I ditched the 100-lb. person who was riding on my back. Good riddance. (Or as Briana wrote to me in a note when she was little...Good Rits!)

Simmer....simmer....!

Do you remember the Saturday morning cartoon "Mrs. Munger's Class?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmHEbOC16X4

Well, I walked into the school office to see my friend Carol the other day, wearing this blazer, which I really like...and she burst into hysterical laughter! Seriously. Hysterical!

I was a bit puzzled. : )

She said it looked like an "old librarian Mrs. Munger sort of print."

Well then. Hmmmpf. I happened to like it. A lot. It's got this cute ruffly effect on the bottom part and is fitted really nicely. Just happens to BE an old librarian print I guess.

But, as I was walking out, another person walked past me and said I looked "beautiful!" I turned and told Carol that I was gonna listen to Lori instead. : )

I put it on to show my girls yesterday, and they were puzzled at Carol's response too, they both liked it (or so they said!).

So I guess whenever I wear it I'll have to run over to Carol and tell her to "Simmer...simmer!"

But we're still friends. ; ) We went for a nice walk on Monday (same day) in her favorite park, and took another teacher and her dog. I must be warming up to dogs or something, cause then I took our dog, Willa, for a walk around our block yesterday. That dog can go! My thumb is actually a little numb still from where the leash cut off my circulation. It was another nice day out though, and felt good to go for a walk.

I think it's sorta funny, yesterday I went into the grocery store to take in some dry cleaning, and when I went to the counter the one lady, who I sorta know through kids, asked me directly what I was doing to lose so much weight. I'm pretty open about it and tell anyone who asks that I have had surgery, and I usually get the same response "so how's that going for you?" It seems most people really only hear the horror stories, so I'm happy to tell them that it couldn't be better.

I think my body may have found it's regular weight though, cause the losing has slowed down to almost a halt, which is fine with me. I'm still a bit above the "ideal" chart weight, but I don't care. I'm happy right where I'm at, but I bet once summer comes and I can get out and ride bike and such that I might lose some more. But I don't want to drop so much that then it's a struggle to stay there and not gain a little back. I've had too many years of struggling with it, and if this is where I'm gonna be, then that's fine. I'm actually down 94 lbs. from where I originally started with my first visit to the surgeon.

Still amazes me.

Cold, caramel apples and chocolate!

Isn't that pretty?!

Alex and his modeling talent!!

I'd LOVE to taste these, I bet they were delicious.

So I took a little road trip with Bri and Alex this week up to my sister's in Ashland, Wisconsin. We went through Duluth on Monday, and stopped to wander around the shops in Canal Park. One place we went into was this Chocolate Factory where they had beautiful "caramel" apples. But they weren't just caramel, they had amazing concoctions of whatever you would want on an apple. They looked SO good, but at $5.50 each, I didn't buy one, cause I know I couldn't finish it anyway.

Yesterday we walked out on frozen Lake Superior to see some of the ice caves at the Apostle Islands. I had kayaked out there a few years ago with Paula, and it's really cool. Seeing it all frozen was pretty neat too. She said it was about 2 1/2 miles one way, so we had a good 5-mile walk across the ice, sometimes a bit slippery (no, I hadn't taken my Yak Trax with me...idiot!). We all fell at least once, but no injuries. I've never walked on a frozen lake before, it sorta scares me, even though people drive big huge trucks out there. Guess that comes from growing up in Ohio where lakes don't freeze like that. It still amazes me, after living in Minnesota for 24 years, that people drive out onto the frozen lakes.

Anyway, we had a good walk, my legs were tired, then we stopped in a little town and had lunch. I had chili and 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich, a little protein.

Paula is such a great cook, it sorta inspires me to actually take some time and make some decent meals. But that all takes time planning too, and shopping each week off of a list. Not what I'm used to. But I'll think about it at least. You never know...I could certainly use some inspiration and new meal options.

Going home tomorrow, still have a few days of spring break then back to the grind. It's been a nice break!

I've even hugged a puppy! : ) They have an adorable little dog named Jake, who is just the cutest. Bri's been amazed cause I don't much pet Willa at home, but Jake has captured my heart. He's little, and soft, and all one color! Even his brown eyes match his brown fur, which does NOT fly all over the place like Willa's. I'd take him home with me if I could!

Girl Scout Cookies...and a nap!

So...yesterday I got the Girl Scout cookies I had ordered from a lady at school. Two boxes of Thin Mints, one lemon, one peanut butter. I knew not to open them. I knew if I opened them, there would be no stopping me (or at least that's how it's always been before). So I didn't.

Wes did.

We get home and he opened the Thin Mints. Mmmmm...heaven in a cookie. I had one. Ok, then another and another. I am pretty sure I ate four of them, then stopped myself.

Then he opened the lemon cookies, and I had one of those. So, a total of five cookies, and we all know how small they are, right?! : )

Then...I needed a nap. Yep, sugar does that to me. I get a little nauseous, not too bad, but icky enough that I don't do this often, then I need a nap. And I don't mean a quick 10 minutes, I slept for at least an hour. My body must need all it's energy to process the sugar and get it out of my system, so it just shuts down. Entirely. Good thing I didn't eat them at work.

Speaking of work, yesterday was the blood drive, and I went and gave blood. I've never seen my veins stick out like that before, probably cause they were always encased in so much fat! It was a nice diversion from work, and hey, I actually get paid to give blood cause it's on company time! I looked up how much a pint of blood weighs, cause I was jokingly wondering if the scale might finally move a little bit today. It weighs about a pound, and yep, the scale did move a little bit today. Like that matters (the blood loss!). I drank a ton of water and tea yesterday too.

The good/bad thing about yesterday was that we got a big snow storm and school was released 2 hours early. So actually, I got paid for about 3 hours yesterday that I didn't even work! Bad thing was that then yoga was cancelled cause the roads were so crappy. So what did I do in place of yoga?

Ate cookies and napped.

Duh.

Fashion is fun!

I'd forgotten, over the "fat years," just how much fun it can be to play with fashion!


Most likely that's because fat people don't have much access to nice clothes. What we can fit into, well....sucks. Crappy material, high prices for "cheap" clothes, and patterns that scream "Hey, look at me...I'm fat!" Like seriously, what large person wants to be in clothing that looks more like it should be carpeting in a low-class casino. Yet, sadly, that's what is available. And really, when you can find something cute, it still doesn't look good.

Things are different for me now, thankfully. I still pretty much dress the same style for work...dress pants, a blouse and blazer (or sweaters), but the cut and fit is so much better. I have a lot of fun getting dressed in the morning now, and deciding what accessories and jewels I get to wear. I've picked up a lot of clothes this winter, and, one good thing about the economy, it's been fairly cheap to do! There are sales galore out there!

And shoes!! Oh my gosh. For years I've been wearing clod hoppers (just what IS a clod hopper, by the way?!). Well, no more! We had Monday off school, and Tate and I went shopping at the DSW shoe store. I had a $10 off coupon and had never been in there. I wasn't expecting much, cause I just haven't been in cute shoes for years.

It was my lucky day! I ended up getting THREE pair of nice, cute, dressy shoes for $52.00. All on clearance, up to 70% off. The original prices would have rung up to $168.00! Tate even lucked out there and got some cute pumps on sale. We had a blast trying on heels and boots and prancing around in them (Ok, I pranced!!).

I put on this one pair of really high heels, and was walking around, and said "I feel like doing a Pee Wee Herman dance" and sang the little song he did in one of his movies, along with the dance he did. The lady in the same aisle started laughing and said "I was trying not to listen, but had to laugh, cause you did that just right!"

So, no more clod hoppers for me! By the way, dictionary.com says a clod hopper is: 1. a clumsy boor; rustic; bumpkin. 2. clodhoppers, strong, heavy shoes.

Ha. No more clumsy, boorish, bumpkin shoes!

: )

Dang it!

I woke up this morning, rolled out of bed, and as soon as my feet hit the floor it was back....my old familiar foot pain! Dang it. BOTH feet hurt, like at the bottom of my arches, near my heels.

It's not too horribly awful, but it's probably from running. That's the only thing I've done differently really. My feet haven't hurt for several years now, but there was a time it was really bad and I didn't want to walk at ALL. I don't want to go back to that.

So I guess maybe I'll baby them for a while until they feel better, and then who knows, I might try running again (I do wear orthotic supports in all my shoes) and see what happens.

Today's yoga day though, and I do look forward to that now, but I need some aerobic exercise (DO NOT suggest actual aerobics...I am NOT coordinated enough to do that, I look like a spastic chicken!).

Ahhhhh....Teradactyl Alert!

Nah, not really.

But I did take a walk/jog around the block again today. That was after work and some quick shopping. I didn't head out the door till almost 4:30.

It was grey out, not very appealing for a walk, and with all the melting going on the past few days, walking on what was a nice snow packed trail was more like trudging through mashed potatoes today. But it was 38 degrees, so not too bad. I probably ran about as much as I did the other day, and my legs are very sore right now.

I'll take tomorrow off and then do yoga on Thursday. Carol and I decided that Mondays will be our day to walk/jog together. If it's nice we can go outside, if it's crappy, we can go to the Monti Community Center and use their track for free. I like free. : )

You know...I've been on this path before. Many, many times. I'll start to exercise, thinking "this time I'll keep with it and lose some weight, blah blah blah."

But this time I can! This time it's different, thanks to surgery. This time I know I'm gonna make it, cause really, I'm pretty much already there.

This time is my time!

I think....I might...

Become a jogger!!

Huh?

Yep, yesterday I decided I DID want some Yak Trax http://yaktrax.com/ (I like their logo - "Make Your Own Trail") and, impatient me, drove to St. Cloud and got some (the thing I hate about ordering online is the waiting!). I looked at a couple different kinds - the ones Carol has with little spikes, and the Yak Trax, and went for the Yaks. Today I tried them out, and they work great!

I had been working on tax crap, and needed a break, so I decided to go for a walk. It was partly sunny and fairly nice out (about 34 degrees). I knew a walk would make me a little less crabby.

I decided to go around the block, and told Doug I didn't know how far I'd go, cause it's 2.25 miles to do the whole block, and I'm really not used to that, cause I've been lazy. It took me about 35 minutes, and I probably jogged over 1/3 of the way, off and on. I'd see a landmark or sign ahead and decide to jog to it. Sorta reminded me of a childhood memory when I would stay with the Hoot girls in Toledo. We'd walk around their city block, and usually it was Sue and I who would leave Jenna behind. She'd be crying that we were leaving her, so we'd stop and say to each other, "Ok, we'll let her get to this crack, then run!" Yep, it was mean, but that's what we did. No wonder my nickname in high school was Dragon Lady. : )

Ah, but anyway, it was a nice walk/jog. The snowmobile trails are packed snow, so I was on them a lot. I saw some cool footprints in the snow from deer and birds. One set, had I not known that teradactyls are extinct, woulda made me look over my shoulder! Probably from wild turkeys or something, but man, they were big!

My legs are still a little sore from the other day, but I'm sure it did them good to move some more today. We'll see what they feel like tomorrow.

Oh, and BONUS day for me...I was almost home, just the other side of the neighbor's house, and saw an envelope in the ditch (as opposed to a mattress, but that's another story!). It was addressed to ME! There had been at least one snowy, blowy day when our mail had gotten scattered, and once it's under a layer of snow, who knows when or if you'll ever find it. Anyway, it was a Starbucks gift card that the Queen had sent to me a while ago. How sweet is that?!

So, it was a good day. Except I didn't get taxes done, but....ugh. I worked on ME instead. : )

Six Months!

I had my six-month checkup earlier this week (surgery was August '08). Had I known they were gonna take a picture of me, I wouldn't have been wearing TWO sweaters! Anyway, here's a comparison from my very first appointment in November 2007 to now, 79 lbs. lighter. Wow, 79 lbs. Of course my scale is "off" compared to theirs, but whatever. It's all good.

Quite a difference!

Everything is going great, I'm taking my vitamins/calcium, not having any problems with dumping or clogging, etc. I'm learning what I can and can't eat, it's all trial and error.

The only "issue" is exercise. Sigh. But, hopefully with spring coming that'll change when I can get outside more. I'm looking forward to bike riding for one thing. I have been doing yoga for a couple weeks now, and like it a lot. Yesterday I could really feel the stretch and my legs were a little sore afterward.

And today....today I went jogging...outside!! Carol asked me this afternoon if I wanted to go with her to her favorite park and do a walk/run. I was tired, and wanted to sorta just go home and take a nap (someone at McDonald's called us at 2:45 a.m. to say they found a cell phone there and were tracking down the owner - it was Tate's - and then we couldn't get back to sleep). But I also wanted to go outside and get some exercise, cause it hit 40 degrees today, and that's a major heat wave here.

So, since I needed new tennies anyway, we stopped at Walmart, I got new shoes, and we went to the park. It was FUN! The paved trail was still partially icy and snowy, but there were some big areas of dry pavement, and I actually jogged off and on for quite a bit. For someone who never runs, or heck, even goes walking, it was quite an accomplishment. Fresh air, movement, and good conversation. I think I like it!

So now I'm looking online at Yak Trax, the nifty little things Carol had on her shoes to prevent slipping on ice, cause I did slip a few times but didn't fall. I think I want some! Cause I think I want to do this again. : ) And with still most of February and snowy March, I might get some use out of them. I'll see.

I know tomorrow's gonna hurt though, I can feel it in my legs now.

But my new shoes sure are cute! : )