Friday, February 29, 2008

Crisis Averted

I don't know what the deal is with me these days, but here is another doozy... I'm I'm telling the long version!

Shortly after 10 this morning, I was sitting at my desk - and realized that my wedding ring was missing. I tried to stay calm, but anyone that knows me - knows that it didn't last long... I got up and checked my clothes, purse, and desk area... crawled around on the floor under my desk... checked my steps around my floor... our kitchen area... then the parking garage, my car, and the ground under all the cars around mine... no ring.

I sent an email out to my department, and then asked that an email be sent to our entire building so that if anyone saw it - they could turn it in. (I'd hope that they would do that anyway, but I just wanted people to be on the lookout.) Throughout all of this - I'm hysterically crying... over the loss of such a sentimental and valuable thing that hasn't left my side in 7 years.

I sat in my cubicle for an hour or so - trying to remember everything that I'd done this morning. I remembered seeing it in my car this morning and thinking that it had really gotten loose... and I'd shaken my hand in the car to see if it would fly off, but it didn't...

Another round of searching the car (cut my finger this time feeling around all the hindges under the seat) and I remembered that I'd gotten water this morning while getting my breakfast ready. So I came back in to check near the water cooler... no ring.

I was moving stuff in our kitchen, and remembered that I'd refilled our small storage container for plastic forks this morning. We have large bags of utensils that we keep and just refill the small containers for daily use. My friend Hope and I started dumping the big bag of forks into anything we could find... some extra salad bowls and things... and at the bottom of the bag... there it was.

So I've now got in on the chain with my cross... because it's too big for my finger now! Guess I'm going to have to take care of that this weekend - or wear it around my neck for the time being. Whew... now I'm emotionally drained!

You weight loss surgery girls out there - make sure to watch your jewelry... because it can and will fall off!!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Running on Empty

I made it through the third straight morning of working out... and if I weren't so tired right now... I'd feel pretty proud of myself. I don't think I'm tired from the workouts - it's the 9 hours a day of data entry work that is killing me. You see, we're in the middle of our annual employee campaign... and my company has roughly 20,000 employees in the Houston area. We're asking them all to make donations this week, and what that means for me is that we have to process 5,000 or so more gifts than we normally would. Typically, I'm not involved in gift processing... but because of the extra load... I get to help. It's really not bad, but my eyes are killing me from staring at the computer screen all day.

Anyway, my friend Sarah and I were talking this morning, and she has decided to start training to run a 10K... now she's not getting crazy or anything... no race has been scheduled. She just wants to train, and possibly in the future race.

Now the funny thing is that in the back of my mind lately - I've been thinking how cool it might be to actually complete a race like that... so she asked if I'd like to train with her... by with her - we'll not be able to work out together unless it's a weekend - because she's a teacher and is able to work out MUCH earlier in the afternoon than I am. Plus - I do my workouts in the mornings... but I might give it a whirl. I'm thinking that I'll give myself some more time on the bike first to build up an endurance... and then who knows?! Maybe a year from now (unless I'm pregnant) you'll see pictures of me at the finish line of my first 10 K...

I guess the sad thing is that somewhere in my mind - there is a battle going on - the fat part of my brain is saying "get real... you can't run" while the post surgery part of my brain is saying "maybe... it could happen"... so for the time being we're in a little bit of a struggle there.

Other questions I'm battling with:
* How long do you have to work out before you start to enjoy it?
* How long before it becomes a habit?
* Will I ever not feel like a total heifer sitting up on my bike?
* Is this the beginning of the part where my mind sees myself completely different than reality?

The last one is a concern for post surgery patients... because when you lose weight rapidly (not a real problem for me - as I'm now a total inch worm) some patients wake up one day and realize that the person looking back at them in the mirror is a completely foreign person. Another words, they still see themselves as fat - while the rest of the world gets a whole other image of them. My guess is that it can be really scary and frustrating to experience that.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Days Like This

Before I get to my actual post for today - I've gotten a lot of spam comments lately (I delete them) but in order to cut down for now - I've added a word verification. I know that it annoys some of you (SignGurl), but I just feel like for now - it's the best thing for me to do.

Today hasn't turned out to be as bad as I expected based on my morning, but WOW - it certainly was tense this morning. I felt so out of sorts and out of character that I just can't help but share it all with you.

I started off this morning working out at 5:30 again (WOO HOO!! Two Days in a row...), after I got done - I saw John off to work, and sat down to have breakfast. I then got ready for work, but since I had let John borrow my car... I had to go back in the house to see if I could find some sunglasses to wear - no luck. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to reach the freeway in the morning, and it wasn't until that time that I realized that I forgot to grab my blood work results for my appointment with the endocrinologist. ARG!! There wasn't time to turn back - so I just had to roll with it... but that meant stressing about it all the way to the doctor's office.

This doctor has a policy written on her website that anyone that is 15 or more minutes late for their scheduled appointment time would have to be rescheduled... so I made sure to leave a few minutes earlier than I would normally leave for work. Well, this morning - nothing was working for me. It took me literally an hour and 45 minutes to get to the doctor's office... which made me exactly 20 minutes late for my appointment... I tried to call the office to ask them if I'd be able to still see the doctor, but when I called the answering service told me that they didn't start answering the phones until 9AM. Who does that? I mean if you're going to schedule an appointment for 8:30 and tell people that the office opens at 7:45... then answer the phone!!

I did end up getting to see the doctor, but in the course of getting checked in this morning... I overheard the doctor telling someone how she'd just thrown up again, and how she felt like crud... and I'm thinking in the back of my head - GREAT - now I'm going to catch whatever funk the doctor has. She examined me, and asked a lot of weird questions... like why'd you decide to have a gastric bypass? (Isn't it obvious?) and in response to my stating that I don't drink alcohol... why not? (seriously?) She really seemed perplexed that I hadn't had a drink since college... so I told her (just to shut her up) that it lost it's excitement factor when I was legally able to drink.

She drew some more blood work, and I won't know anymore until she gets that back in about a week. She looked over the results from my previous tests that my PCP ran... and said that it might not be anything to worry about, but that she'd let me know what's going on when she gets the results. One good note - my blood pressure was 120/70 - which for me being on NO medications for my high blood pressure... is amazing!!

Okay, now I'm a girl (I know... that's really news that you didn't already know) and I tend to get overly emotional. (who knew?) So when I got to the office - someone had been in my cubicle borrowing my supplies... and neglected to put them back. Well, normally I wouldn't say anything... but today it ticked me off. So I confronted her, and asked that if she uses my things - at least put them back where she got them. It wasn't even stuff that the office supplies - it was my personal stuff. She told me that I should lock it up if I didn't want people using it. That wasn't even the point - the point was to show some common courtesy and respect... which means put it back!! She got really upset about it and told me that I needed to go eat some chocolate and chill out... and I told her that what I needed was for her to quit acting like the Queen of the office! We haven't spoken since... oh well...

The rest of the day (so far) has gone fairly well... and I actually feel pretty good. So for starting out like a day out of the Twilight Zone... I even actually asked God what it was that I was supposed to be learning from all of that this morning. It was beginning to seem like he didn't want me to see that doctor... after all the drama with getting a referral from my PCP yesterday. The endocrinologist's office insisted that they didn't take HMO patients, and refused when my PCP's office called to give them the referral... so then I had to get in the middle and fight it out.

Lets hope that she is able to help me, and that all the drama has been worth it in the long run!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Adjustment

Well, this morning - I woke up for the first time feeling less like a truck hit me... so I decided to sieze the moment and exercise. So at 5:30 in the morning - I did my 30 minute work out... this worked out really well - until I ended up being more hungry today than I've been since the surgery. Maybe it was only in my head, but I felt like a bottomless pit that just wasn't satisfied.

Who knows, but something was definently up... I didn't start to level out and get rid of my shakiness and headache until I'd gotten through at least half of my meals for the day. I also tried to push the water more today than I have been - so maybe that was what I needed.

Tonight - I am just exhausted... I think that I will definently sleep better tonight than I have been - they say that exercise does allow for better deeper sleep. I certainly hope that is true!! If so - then I'll be able to get up and start it all over again tomorrow! I really want to try to work out Monday through Saturday mornings before I start my day... then rest on Sundays.

I'm heading to the endocrinologist first thing in the morning - so hopefully I will have some answers soon on that front.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Serenity Now

For today's message - I want to give you a glimpse of what I deal with at work on a daily basis. To say that I don't ever do anything right (totally my bosses' perception) is an understatement. Today however, takes the cake.

Let me set the scene for you - it was 11:30 and I was sitting in my cubical eating my lunch quietly reading my current book of choice... basically taking my lunch hour for a change - only I opted to not leave my desk because I have no where to go. Anyway, my boss walked by about 3 times... and came back to my desk. She gave me the most evil glare, and here is how the conversation went:

Boss: "What are you doing?" (imagine that in the most nasty tone you can)
Me: "Eating my lunch" (looking at her puzzled about what I could be doing wrong)
Boss: "Oh"

Now she could have said "Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't realize what time it was" or something else human like that, but instead she treats me like I'm committing a crime against humanity. I seriously think that she thought I was sitting there at 9AM reading a book just as if I was basically disregarding my job. Not at all - as I said before it was 11:30 - I'd been in a meeting with this same boss at 10AM... so it had to be lunch time...

Our Pastor's message yesterday was the third in our series about God's Pet Peeves, and it was about "Spilling Innocent Blood" - but what I took from the message was basically the old saying "Kill them with Kindness" and that is the best way we can show our opposition to evil in the world. Now, I'm certainly not saying that this situation is anything like murdering a child... or any of the other evil out there, but I'm trying to put the message into practice in my own life surroundings... and this is the biggest evil I face on a daily basis - and I do honestly believe that my company is filled with evil (from the top down).

What I'm trying to do is take these situations and let them roll off my back, which is a very hard thing to do on a daily basis. I'm trying to be as kind in my actions around here as possible - even to the extreme in some cases... but nothing so far has changed any of the treatment that I've recieved. This example from today might seem minor... but it's just the most current in a LONG line of situations that have been created by my supervisors. Neither of which must think much of me at all - because it truly in the most basic form is verbal abuse that I have to deal with on a daily basis. It's to the point where sometimes you really do have to sit back and ask yourself if you're that incompetent or unprofessional.

I know that I'm not either of those things deep down, but when you hear them often enough - you start to question if that really is you. If I were a weaker person, or if I didn't have Jesus on my side... I might let them break me into believeing those things... but my faith and my future plans are the only things that keep me going around here. I know that there must be some lesson I'm supposed to learn while I'm in this place or season of my life... I just wish that I had an inkling of what that was... but God has a funny way of making those lessons clear in his own time and way... typically after the season is complete.

So today I'll spend the rest of my hours here silently working, and saying the serenity prayer in my head.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

3 Month Photo


Week End

It has certainly been a fun filled weekend - which caused some serious bumming around today... but it was all so worth it.

Yesterday my cleaning lady, Christina, stopped me and told me that she had dreamed about me the night before... and I was pregnant in the dream. Wow... when she told me that... it was the first time that I've ever really thought that it might happen sometime in the not to far off future. John got a kick out of my retelling of the story... having a family is such a big dream for us... we can't wait!!

We spent our anniversary having dinner at the restaurant that we got engaged. It's this little Italian place called Cavatore's... and the best part is that they have this cute little guy that plays the piano and sings while everyone is dining. When we got engaged... he played the song from Titanic... which we still joke about to this day... he tried to play something romantic... but it somehow got lost when I realized that he was playing the song that they used in the movie during the boat sinking... the Celine Dion song... My Heart Will Go On - that's how we were serenaded during our engagement.

Last night he played That's Amore for us... which was really cute. John told him that we'd gotten engaged there, and that it was our 6th anniversary... so he was really sweet about it and announced that it was our anniversary.

Today we went to church, and the grocery store on the way home... since then - not much has happened around here - other than some napping, reading, and catching up on some recorded tv shows. I'm probably going to have to work overtime every day this week (and work Saturday too) - so I felt entitled to a little R&R today. I will probably feel the same way next Sunday too!!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Last Night

My gosh - we had the best time last night!! It ended up being 5 other couples that we spent the evening with. 4 of those couples are members of our new church, one of them being our Pastor and his wife... and wow - they are really fun people!! Our hosts have the cutest house... I really loved their entire neighborhood because all the houses have these wonderful front porches, and it just has the best family feeling.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner of gumbo and salad, and Jennifer even made pecan pie parfaits for dessert. For those of you keeping me accountable... I only had a small amount of gumbo and a tiny bit of brown rice. I was completely satisfied though! I would have loved to dig into one of those parfaits, but probably not the best time to test the boundaries of dumping syndrome... right?!

After dinner we played a men versus women game of Gestures... which was hilarious. It was funny to watch how compeditive the men were. They ended up winning too... but it was so much fun to watch. I've never been really comfortable getting up in front of groups - much less acting out anything in a setting like that... but I held my own!

After that we moved to playing a new card game. (New to John and I anyway) The game was called Pounce. It was a lot of fun... but very fast paced! It's sort of like playing solitare with a group... but you're racing against everyone else to get through your stack first. I started off always getting negative points, but in the last two rounds - I finally went positive. It was a LOT of fun, and we ended up playing until around 11:30ish.

I am so glad that I didn't let my previous couple of days worth of feeling crummy keep me from going to such a fun night out with some great couples.

6 Years Ago...

This is going to be a long post, but it's filled with memories and pictures... so sit back and enjoy a little bit of the happiest day of my life so far. (Since we don't have children yet...)

6 years ago today - John and I got married. It's hard to believe that it's been that long in some ways, and in others - I can't imagine that I had a life before that day. Marriage has been an exciting ride up to this point, and it has a lot more twists and turns in the future for us - but what an incredible gift from God... a partner for life.

With that being said... here is your small, select photo tour of our wedding festivities... there were a few events left out... but only because the pictures didn't scan in very clearly...

You can click on any of the pictures to get a closer look. Enjoy!

This is me with my Mom at my first bridal shower. My two older sisters threw this shower for me at Papacito's, and it was a lot of fun!



John's Aunt Mary threw us our second shower, and was so creative about it. John proposed to me at a really lovely little itallian restaurant, so Aunt Mary recreated "Little Italy" for us.

My friend Maria and I getting our nails done before the Rehersal Dinner.

At the Rehersal Dinner with Maria, and John's sister, Susan. Susan served as my maid of honor.

This is me with my bridesmaids... from the left, Susan (maid of honor), Cathi, Wyndie, Maria, and Cindy (matron of honor). At the time both of my honor attendants were pregnant... they gave birth two months apart to my two neices named Taylor.


This is our first photo after the ceremony. It is in a round shape because we produced our own wedding video, and used it as the DVD cover...



This is our whole wedding party, and just for reference... the little flower girl on the right... is Megan, who I just posted about her 12th birthday this week.

This one is a little out of order, but I'm leaving it... this is our first kiss at the end of the ceremony. In our official photographer's photo - the pastor's head is in the middle, and it looks like I'm kissing him instead of John!

I know... a girl post weight loss surgery posting pictures of cake... but I designed them, and I'm proud of how they looked. This was John's grooms cake... it had the Texas A&M seal, white chocolate replicas of both of our class ring crests... and all the fun tuxedo strawberries. Oh, and if you pushed a little button on the corder of the cake board... it played the Aggie War Hymn.

This was my cake... I absolutely love the way it turned out - it was stunning. We had a lighted fountain under the pedestal, and it truly was beautifully done. The cake topper we bought, and altered... it was very over done, but we removed a lot and simplified it... and as it turned out - the Precious Moments figures are actually salt & pepper shakers!!

My Dad and I during our dance. We danced to Kenny Roger's song "Through the Years" and I still cry when I hear it!


John and I during our first dance. We danced to Kenny Chesney's "Me and You", and John sang it to me while we danced.

This is a photo from a restaurant we went to on our honeymoon called, The Chophouse. John loves lobster, so we made sure that he got one during that trip. Loving the bib in the picture!!

We're not big skiers, but went to Beaver Creek, Colorado (not far from Vail) for our honeymoon... we stayed in my Dad's condo, so we found other activities to entertain ourselves. This particular picture was taken while we were on a snowcat tour of one of the mountains. When you get to the top - they let you out to look around and have some hot chocolate or coffee to warm up.

Another night we went into Vail Village for dinner, and shopping. They had several different ice sculptures around town - so we took a picture with one.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Hanging in There

I'm writing this earlier in the day than I normally would because I've got a small break in my workload, and I might not be able to write tonight. John and I are going to a small dinner party tonight. A couple from our new church invited us over for chicken gumbo and a fun-filled game night. I think they invited at least one other couple... so it should be a lot of fun.

I'm feeling somewhat better today after my cherry-banana antibiotics... they were hard to choke down, but seem to have done the trick. Part of me wants to stay in and crawl in bed tonight... but I know that I'll have a good time.

I tried to set up my appointment with the endocrinologist, but they have to submit the request online... and by the time they called me - I wasn't at my desk and the office was closed. So I'll have to try again on Monday. GRRR!!

I also contacted my nutritionist, and am logging my food... I need to call to schedule and appointment with her, but I'll do that on Monday as well.

In the interest of the fact that I don't know what time we'll be home tonight - and the fact that I have to get up early tomorrow... our wonderful cleaning lady is coming at 7AM... I thought I'd go ahead and post now.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Sickly

Well, I've finally caught John's crud... I woke up with it this morning, and since I can't really take over the counter medications - I thought it best to go ahead and go see my doctor. He's gotten me all fixed up with a liquid antibiotic (it's sort of like a Z-pack) but it's a one dose deal.

While I was there though - he seemed concerned about a couple of things...
1) My weight hadn't changed since the last time I saw him about 3 weeks ago.
2) My thyroid and my parathyroid were both low from my recent bloodwork.

He advised me to go see my nutritionist again so that we can see how to shake up my diet and get the weight loss moving again. I'm emailing her this afternoon to find out how long she wants to see me track my meals before I come in.

On to the thyroid issues... he didn't really say exactly what he's worried about, but he did look concerned... which of course scared the mud out of me. He wants me to go see an endocrinologist for a second opinion... and I've of course googled the problem, but haven't figured out what the deal might be. He said that it's not really uncommon for your thyroid to fluctuate, but it is extremely uncommon for your thyroid and your parathyroid to both be low... now all the stuff I've seen online says that the parathyroid is tied into calcium levels in the blood - which my level there is fine. So I'm really perplexed. I guess all I can do is pray that it's a simple answer, and get that second opinion.

In the meantime - I've got to drink this medicine that is sitting here on my desk staring at me... I'm terrified that it's going to taste bad even though it says that it's cherry banana flavored. We'll see about that!! I can't wait to get home and take a nice hot bath (in my new products I got from BeautiControl yesterday - I'm testing out my product line) and go to bed. Hopefully this antibiotic will do the trick and I'll be back to feeling better tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday - if you think this is busy - wait until October!! He is 62 years young today, and is such an amazing man. So for a fun tribute - here are a few pictures that I have of him over the years... of course there aren't many from my younger years that have been scanned in - other than the ones I used for my wedding... so I did the best I could.

This is a picture of my Dad & I in 1978.


Here we are doing the dishes sometime in the early 80's.
I was in drill team in high school - so this is a picture of my Dad, my stepmom (Lynne) and I at a football game.


Dad and I at my college graduation party.

Here we are at my wedding. (More on that to come Saturday - as it's my anniversary)

Here are Dad & Lynne acting silly at Thanksgiving.

Finally - Dad with my two older sisters celebrating Christmas at my house.

Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

12 Years...

Today is my eldest neice's birthday, and it's really hard to believe that she's 12 years old now!! To think - I was a senior in high school when she was born... and now I'm about to turn 30. (shut up!! I'm depressed about it!) She's such a well rounded kid, a great basketball, volleyball, and soccer player... and an avid hunter - she has gotten her limit for the last two years on deer, hogs, and anything else worthy of shooting. At the same time - she loves getting dressed up and wearing what little makeup she's allowed to wear at this point... what'd I tell you - well rounded!! It has truly been a pleasure watching her mature and grow up to this point, and I know that the future is very bright for her...

This is just a collection of a few photos that I had access to at work - but certainly doesn't show the many that I've got of her from over the years.

Here she is shaking one of her Christmas gifts in 2006 trying to figure out what it is...


This is a couple of years old... but a picture of her with her sister and cousin.

Here she is this Christmas helping soothe her cousin, Taylor...

Here is Megan with her sister, Brittany... they are hanging out at my house on New Year's Eve.

This is a funny shot of Megan & Brittany from the 100 Year Anniversary celebration for Blue Bell Creameries.

Happy Birthday Megan!! We love you!

Procrastination

So, I'm sitting at work... it's rainy and dark outside... and I don't feel like doing A THING! I've been working on getting the same page of information entered into our database for over an hour... and it's basically because I'll take any distraction that I can to avoid getting it done. Rainy days are the worst to be stuck in a cubicle doing boring data entry projects... top it off with forgetting my IPod at home, and I'm just not gonna get it done.

For those of you that were wondering why I didn't post a new weight this week - it's because it hasn't changed... somehow it actually went up a pound... but I can't figure that out - so I just chose to believe that it's water weight. What else could it be?! My plan was to gloss over it and ignore it as much as possible... at least that way I won't stress or drive myself nuts over it.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Sorry

Hi everyone,

I'm really sorry, but I'm only blogging right now so that I don't beat myself up for not meeting my goal of blogging everyday this year... or at least everyday that I can... so I'm writing to say that for some reason I'm exhausted tonight (I fell asleep in my chair at about 8) and I'm off to bed now...

I promise to write something of substance tomorrow!!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Getting to Know Me

1. What is your occupation? Senior Prospect Research Analyst (Fundraising Research)

2. What color are your socks right now? Not wearing any

3. What are you listening to right now? The new commercial for Free Credit Report.com... the guy singing in his newly purchased crappy car.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? A few peanuts

5. Can you drive a stick shift? No, I tried to learn... but it didn't work out.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? John while I was driving home from work

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yep, I got it off of one of my friend's blogs... she's really cool.

8. How old are you today? 29

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? Well, I guess Texas A&M Basketball would be one of my favorites - followed by Texas A&M Football... mainly because I'm never going to be able to avoid watching them.

10. What is your favorite drink? Iced Tea, Lemonade (if it's not overly tart), or Gatorade

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep, used to be a redhead... when I met John... I even tried blonde for a summer, but it didn't look good.

12. Favorite food(s)? tempura vegetables, stir-fried chicken with zuchinni and mushrooms... I really like asian foods. I also really like sesame chicken, steamed dumplings... and anything from Benihana's.

13. What was the last movie you watched? Spiderman 3... I think.

14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas

15. How do you vent anger? I try to go be by myself until the moment has passed... typically it doesn't take long... unless it's a work related issue.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? (Don't judge me) A chalkboard, and some teacher edition textbooks that I got from a used book store... I absolutely loved to play school.

17. What is your favorite season? Winter

18. Hugs or Kisses? Is this the candy or affection? I like both as forms of affection... as candy - only kisses.

19. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries but not fresh... I like the canned kind that come in muffin mixes

20. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? They might post it on their own blogs...
21. Who is the most likely to respond? I don't really know

22. Who is least likely to respond? Again, I don't really know

23. Living where? Cypress, Texas

24. When was the last time you cried? I think a couple of weeks ago when I was frustrated about my eating situation... and the nausea...

25. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and purses

26. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Stephanie

27. What did you do last night? Hung out at home with John

28. Favorite smell? Lavender

29. What inspires you? My family and friends

30. What are you most afraid of? Not losing weight, and not being able to have a baby

31. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese

32. Favorite dog breed(s)? Hmmm... that's hard... I haven't met one I didn't like yet - other than pitbulls

33. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

34. How many states have you lived in? 2, Texas and Alabama

35. What is your favorite way to relax? Spa treatments... massages being my favorite... followed by several others. I even enjoy them at home using my BeautiControl products to have a nice relaxing bath.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Relatively Wordless

I'm so busy doing nothing today - that I thought I'd just post some pictures for your enjoyment.
This page is for one of my Aunts... one of my Mom's sisters.


This is for another Aunt, my Mom's other sister.

One of my two neices named Taylor.

My little brother, Josh, playing radio.

My oldest neice, Megan... I wonder what was so funny?!

My Dad & Megan opening their birthday gifts.


Another shot of Joshy... playing with something he found.

My little sister, Gabby, helping Megan open her presents.

My brother-in-law, Robert, having some trouble getting started on his skates.

Another of my neices, Brittany, helping Gabby skate.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Ready for Bed

Tomorrow's post will bring some weight, measurement updates... and some pictures from today. We spent the day at my sister's house in Brenham celebrating my Dad's birthday, my neice - Megan's birthday, and my brother-in-law - Robert's birthday.

We did some of our typical get together things - reading magazines, talking, and eating... but since it was rainy today - we also planned to go bowling with all the kids, but that didn't work out - so we instead went roller skating... or well the kids and a couple adults did... then a couple of us walked around the rink with the little kids in our tennis shoes. I walked my little sister, Gabby, around at least 10 times - and she had a really good time.

We then headed back to Cathi's house again to have dinner and birthday cake. Cathi is a fabulous cook, and I managed to do really well with my food today - in terms of no nausea or any bad feelings at all. She made a meatloaf for dinner, which I have had some problems with here at home... but she made it with tomato juice instead of tomoato sauce... it was a great trick that I might have to use to keep my own moist - I really think it helped a bunch!

Friday, February 15, 2008

3 Month Post-Op

The day started with John and I going to check out an amp for his guitar, and lunch with my Dad, stepmom, little brother, and little sister. We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse, which has some great grilled chicken... it was really juicy - and much easier to eat than other grilled chicken. I was really happy with it.

Today marks my first three months post weight loss surgery. I had an appointment with my surgeon today, which as usual wasn't much of anything. The only thing he really had to tell me was that my cholesterol is a little high, but we'll check it again in 3 months and see where we are then. I don't have another official weight because the one at his office is always higher... so I'll wait and update with pictures and measurements on Sunday.

After the appointment - I went and got a spa pedicure and manicure... it was GREAT! The only thing that could have been better would have been a massage. I have a coupon for an hour long massage at Massage Envy for $39 - it's an initial consultation and hour massage... for first timers... hopefully I'll give them a try in the next couple of weeks.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Unofficially Speaking

I passed that sucker!! When you take the computer based version of these exams - you leave with a printed unoffical talley of the number of correct questions you answered. I had to get 75% correct, and it looks like I nailed roughly 85%! WOO HOO!!

I'm spending the rest of my day relaxing, and watching some television with John... tomorrow we're heading in for my follow-up with my surgeon, and then I'm off to the spa for a pedicure and maybe something else... we'll have to see what I come up with... I'm definently in need of some R&R!!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Study Break

Tonight - I am working on studying for my test... I hand wrote my notes from my study guide over the last couple of weeks that I've been studying... now I'm typing those notes up to try to give them one more pass through my head. Tomorrow I will spend the entire day reading over those notes, and taking my 5 practice tests.

Prayers really would help at this point... I think that I can do this, but God's help in assuring that I get a passing grade would really be helpful at this point. I know I'll be praying about it all day tomorrow!!

If I don't get around to writing a message before my test time tomorrow evening... I wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day... and believe me - by the time the test is over - a HUGE burden will be lifted from my shoulders... although then I have to wait for my score... but I've heard it comes much quicker since I'm taking the computer based test instead of the paper based.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Solid Food

Wow, it's hard to believe that I wasn't seriously going crazy on pretty much nothing but protein shakes for two weeks - I know that it did make me nuts right after my surgery... but somehow this time around it was different. I didn't even notice that it had been that long... and I guess that's because there was some comfort in knowing that no matter what - I wasn't going to have any trouble getting or keeping the shakes down.

Today I started back on full solid foods, and so far it's been good. I feel like I'm eating more than I should, but I'm going to address that tomorrow in watching to make sure that my portions are only 1/2 cup. I believe that they were today, but I just want to make sure... I haven't felt overly full or anything like that - I just feel like I constantly want to eat, and that's strange... I think it's just a mental thing, but I want to make sure just in case.

For Lacy - I'm going to put down my intake for today:

a no sugar added canned peach half with 2-3 tablespoons of cottage cheese

1/2 cup of "hamburger helper" made with ground beef, brown rice, corn, and canned tomatoes

1/2 cup of whole wheat linguini with meat sauce and cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of chicken spaghetti made with velveeta, olives, almonds, and mushrooms

6 inch whole wheat tortilla, taco meat, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a few chopped tomatoes

I'm down one meal for today, but tomorrow will be better. I did get my fluid intake up a little today - I think I'm fairly close to 64 ounces, but I'm not 100% sure on that... all I am sure of is that it's more today than I've had in a looooong time... so that's got to stand for something.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Doctor's Update

I had my follow up with the gastrointerologist today, and as suspected - everything turned out to be normal. Nothing showed up on the ultrasound or in the endoscopy... nothing showed up in his blood work either. He did tell me to up my fluid intake as much as I can, and exercise to keep everything in there moving normally so that I won't get any nausea.

So starting tomorrow - I'm going to start cutting out the shakes again, and hope for the best... I might taper them down a little more slowly than that, but the goal is to get away from drinking them everyday.

I also picked up my blood work from my PCP today as well, because I need it for my appointment with my surgeon on Friday. He didn't call me with any results today, but everything on there looks fairly normal. My iron seems a little low, but until I hear from him - I don't know what to add to my vitamin regimine.

On the studying front - I've gotten through the Language Arts, Reading, Math, and Social Studies sections of my study guide. In the next couple of days - I'll take on Science, and then the Other category that includes P.E., Art, Music, and Health.

T - 3 days and it'll be over... I'm SOOOOO getting a pedicure on Friday afternoon!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Church Membership

Today has been busy - there hasn't been one minute today that I haven't been busily trying to accomplish some sort of task.

We started out at church with a new series - today's message was all about pride, and ways to remove it from your life. Great message, and I look forward to hearing more about the future messages that we'll be hearing on "God's Pet Peeves".

From there - we got home at about noon, and had to be back at church for our membership class at 3:30... so I had three hours with which to study for my test. I used every moment, and have possibly finished with the study guide sections on english, language arts, and reading... which is 40% of the test... now I can move on to the other sections. (The subject matter of the rest of the test isn't quite as abstract - so I believe I'll move through it more quickly.)

Our membership class at church was from 3:30 - 7:30... it was a really well done informative class. We really like the pastor, and actually got to go through the class with his parents... it was a really lovely afternoon of learning what this church is about. John is officially a member now, but I'm not just yet. I haven't yet been baptized, and need to complete that before I'm officially a member of the church. They offer baptism services between April and November, and I'm planning on getting mine done this year. I do have to say that it terrifies me to be in front of people, but it's time that I take that next step... and it's coming...

That pretty much wraps up my weekend, it's been a busy one... but we've accomplished a lot, and I'm certainly ready for bed tonight!!

To all my friends with blogs: I'm a little behind because I've been focused on studying every minute that I've been home this weekend - so I'll be reading and catching up on all of your posts tomorrow... or maybe Tuesday... Just know that I'm not ignoring you - things are just crazy trying to prepare for this test that holds so much weight on my future.

Sunday Weigh-in




I'm down 3 more pounds... I'm so ready to hit the 50 mark!! At least the scale is finally moving again though... I wonder if that has something to do with adding back in the extra protein from the shakes though... weird!!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Support Saturday

Today started off with a support group meeting, and even though I'm the youngest one there (BY FAR) - they are the nicest people I've ever met. Our speaker today was supposed to be my surgeon, but for whatever reason - he didn't make it. I heard that he had some patients in the hospital with complications and he might have been in emergency surgery during our meeting... but we spent the hour and a half getting to know each other. It was nice to hear other struggles that are similar to mine... and to get a relative sense that I'm not crazy or abnormal... at least for the most part I'm doing alright. Our other main goal for today's meeting was to come up with topics for future meetings (we meet monthly) and we came up with some great things. We've got image consultants, psychologists, dieticians, and plastic surgeons on tap with topics that we're all interested in.

From there - I came home and did some studying for my test... then at about 2, I went with Stephanie for lunch and a little shopping. I went to look for some new tops to buy for work, but I didn't find anything that really excited me. I tried on three tops, but bought nothing. I did get some scrapbooking stuff at Hobby Lobby... so all was not lost. It was good to see Stephanie and be able to be there for her while her Mom was out of town this weekend.

I did some more studying when I got home, and now I'm relaxing before I hit the sack for the night. As an update on my doctor situation - since a couple of you have asked - I haven't gotten any word back on my bloodwork yet, but I have an appointment on Monday with the gastrointerologist.... I'm going to start hounding my PCP's office as well for the copies of my bloodwork because I need it for my follow-up on Friday with my surgeon. It's hard to believe that I'm less than 1 week away from being 3 months post-op.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Scrapbook Pages

Here is what I completed tonight...

This one is for one of my sisters...


My two closest cousins... they're siblings - so they can share a page.

This one is for one of my best friends - Sarah and her family.

TGIF

I'm so thrilled to be at home again, and relaxing... I'm thinking that I'm going to do some scrapbooking this evening since I probably won't have any other time this weekend. It's going to be a busy one!!

Today was a killer day at the office - as I spent the entire day going through returned mail and researching where the people moved... sounds fun doesn't it?! I pretty much have to take each envelope and launch an internet search into where they've moved - which is the most boring thing I've ever had to do... it makes me think of something they might have people in drug rehab do - to pass the time and keep their thoughts off of their addiction...

I've got several days more of doing it, but thank goodness I've got next Thursday and Friday off. I've got my big test next Thursday though... it's T -6 days and counting... I've got a lot to brush up on between now and then!! Unfortunately very little time to cram it in though - I've got a support group meeting tomorrow, then I'm hanging out with my friend Stephanie for a while tomorrow... so hopefully studying tomorrow night after dinner. Sunday brings church, John is joining the band this week - so we'll be there early, and then from 3:30 to 7:30 on Sunday we have a class at church about becoming members. Then back to work again... at least Monday I've got a half day off - I've got a meeting with my gastrointerologist to follow up on how I've been doing since he did the endoscopy.

Whew... the weekend hasn't started and I feel like I'm already tired... I'm ready to feel that burst of energy that people talk about with losing weight... when does that happen exactly? I'm ready!!

At Work

I'm just not feeling it today... so these imagines made me laugh... I thought I'd share. I'll write more later.







Thursday, February 7, 2008

Picture Day

I don't have much to tell you guys today - work was typical at best... and I'm back in the lovely cozy house that I call home. I'm getting ready to snuggle up and read some more of my new book addiction. So I thought that in honor of not having much to share - I'll finally post some pics from over the weekend.

This is my step-mom, Lynne's, page for the scrapbook. I worked on another one, but didn't get it completed before the Superbowl - so maybe I'll get it done this weekend..


This is the old work bench... it was our old computer desk/jewelry making desk... it was originally bought to be the computer desk, but our last apartment had a built in desk - so John made me a jewelry design studio in our guest closet and I used it there. It never made it in the house when we moved here - but it did a good job of holding John's tools for 4 months.

Here he is building - I helped with several parts of it - but the poor thing... when his Dad showed up for the Super Bowl - he accused him of buying it. I guess it was really a compliment, but boy - we had the scratches and bruises to prove our hard work.

Here is the finished product. It has a drawer in the top to hold some of his tools flat, and then the peg board on the wall to hang some of the other tools. He's really proud of it, and even though I still don't know what he's going to do with it - he got to use the two saws that my parents have given him over the last few Christmases... so that's a good thing.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Cozy Nights

Tonight we're sitting by a lovely fire and enjoying not being at work. A rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond is on - which makes us laugh... but of course in the back of my mind - I'm so thankful that I didn't end up with in-laws like that.

We'll cook here in a second, and then watch a little bit of television... I'm probably going to sneak in some time to read - I'm on the second book in my series. These books are fabulous! Especially for someone that LOVES all cop shows... Law & Order, The Closer, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Without a Trace, Cold Case... and others if I'd just watch them.

Nothing much else has gone on today - I'm still waiting and wondering if my regular doctor is going to call with my blood work results - he normally does, and he told me it would be about a week... so I'm trying to be patient. He might call tonight - he normally calls around 6 or so... there's still hope.

I've found one food that I was trying - and I'm cutting it out of my diet again... I tried some macaroni and cheese (a homeade variety) and I think it's just way too much cheese... maybe the boxed kind won't be as cheesy... so at some point I might try that again - but not for a little while.

Have a great night everyone - I'm off to cook...

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Help our Kids

I work for a major health care system in Houston, Texas (for those that might not know) and I work in fundraising... please take a moment and vote for us - our kids really need this Fun Center!!

Colgate Palmolive and Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation have teamed up to help children with Sickle Cell Disease by donating Fun Centers to children's hospitals across the nation. Nine hospitals have been selected and the three with the most votes will receive a Fun Center, a mobile cart complete with a flat-screen TV, DVD player and Nintendo Wii.

You can vote for Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital by logging on to www.colgate.com/showthelove , click on the map and select our hospital. Users can vote once a day now through Feb. 29.

Super Tuesday

In honor of Super Tuesday - and all the voting in primaries going on - I found an article on MSN that cracked me up... It takes a look at movie presidents and ranks them on their electability in the 2008 election. (I cut a lot out - so use the link above to read the actual article)

Here are 10 of our favorites, along with ratings on their effectiveness and what their chances would be in the 2008 race (10 being a shoo-in; 1 being no shot):

10. President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) - "Idiocracy" (2006) I haven't seen this one.

9. President Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman) - "Deep Impact" (1998) This one is a personal favorite of mine... John loves this movie - but I think that given the unlikely situation the movie dealt with - he did a great job at being the leader.

8. President Arnold Schwarzenegger (Harry Shearer) - "The Simpsons Movie" (2007) I haven't seen this one.

7. President Joseph Staton (Dennis Quaid) - "American Dreamz" (2006) I haven't seen this one.

6. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) - "The American President" (1995) This is one of my all-time favorite movies... I love the story, and the "don't back down" attitude of the president in this one.

5. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) - "Mars Attacks!" (1996) I haven't seen this one.

4. "President" Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) - "Dave" (1993) I saw this - and owned it on VHS at one time... but honestly can't remember the movie... must not have made much of an impact on me.

3. President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) - "Air Force One" (1997) Ok, I am a big Harrison Ford fan, and basically love him in most roles that he plays... but I did love that the president in this movie could kick some butt!!

2. President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) - "Independence Day" (1996) This one was pretty good - although I haven't seen it in a while... I can't remember much about the president from the movie... just that Will Smith played in it.

1. President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) - "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964) I haven't seen this one.

This list includes some of my all-time favorite movies and actors - and some that I haven't seen for lack of interest... but I thought that it was a fun article to read. I've managed to keep my political views distant from this blog this far - so I'm not going to get into it. I try to keep my politics to myself... well... myself and those that I know have the same views as mine... but there are some people out there in these races that I loathe... and pray that they aren't still around in November!

Monday, February 4, 2008

No news

No news is good news, right? Well, I guess that's true, but it doesn't make it any easier to wait... I'm ready to hear back from my primary doctor with the results from my blood tests - I was hopeful that he might have called this evening... but he didn't.

Nothing much else is going on - trying to branch out and eat some different things to see how I react to them...so far I'm taking it really slow and mainly am eating protein shakes... but no more episodes (that's what I'll call it to spare my Dad the mental images).

My hope is that I'll hear back from my doctor soon so that I can start to figure out what's going on, and get my body back on a scheduled routine with supplements. I'd really love to feel like I have some energy again...

Google Reader

I fully intend on writing an update, with hopefully information from my doctor if I get a call about my blood work - later today.

In the meantime - I want to pass along a really cool deal that I learned via a friend's blog earlier last month. Google has come up with a FABULOUS feed reader that will allow you to look in one place and read all the new posts on the blogs you keep up with. I've used it for a little over 2-3 weeks now, and it's great!

Its called Google Reader. You can't make comments on the posts directly from Google Reader - but there is a link next to the posts name on their window that will take you directly to the post so that you can write your comment.

I've really liked being able to look in one place to see all the updates to the various blogs that I check on a regular basis.

It's really simple to set up as well - you just click subscribe, and enter (or paste) the link to the blog... and you're all set up.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Weight Loss Update

Hi everyone,

This is just a quick note to say that the scale is finally moving again... YEAH!! I'll write more later, but just wanted to share...

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