Tribute to my Aunt and Uncle

Well, yesterday the world lost a bright and sweet lady. It is my Aunt Chris. Also known as Yvonne. Although, I remember growing up as a child being completely confused by the whole Yvonne/Chris name thing.

Three years ago in November we lost my Uncle Pino. He was a fun loving man who was dedicated to not only his family but ours as well. Actually, his real name is Julian but we always new him as Pino. Again with the name thing :~)

So growing up we had two sets of aunts and uncles on my dad’s side. One was my Uncle Pino (I miss him and think about him often) who was married to my Aunt Diana (my dad’s sister). The other was my Aunt Chris who was married to my Uncle Tudy (my dad’s brother.

My Aunt Diana and Uncle Pino were more like second parents to my sisters and me. Our cousins (their children Marcie, Joey and Dina) were more like siblings than most I think. It seems like almost every weekend my sisters and I would be taken to National City for the weekend where we would stay with our Nana and Tata. Our cousins would come and we would spend the time together. Those were awesome times! I mentioned this to my mom a few years ago how we would go almost every weekend to Nat’l City, but she insisted we were not there as much as I remembered. I guess they were just really important times in my life so they take up a lot of space in my memories.

Uncle Pino could be a gruff person who could scare the pants off of you. But he was a kind and gentle man who loved deeply and dearly. When my dad and Uncle Tudy were off at war/military, it was my uncle who took on the “father” responsibilities for the family. I don’t expect that anyone asked him to do it, but he loved us and wanted to make sure we were okay. I remember when I had the mumps and had to stay and the National City house (I think we were living there at the time). I was so sick and for some reason was home by myself. I heard a truck drive up and the next thing I knew Uncle Pino was there with a plastic, squeezy Snoopy dog. He didn’t say much but I remember he brought it in, felt my forehead, asked if I was okay and then he was gone. Yep, he loved me. It’s funny how when you are a child and you grow up in a family like that, you just expect these people to be in your life and take care of you. You never really think about how they feel about it or how it evolved. All I know is that I am grateful for the bear of a man who loved me as his niece for all my life. He is a tremendous presence in my growing up memories. What a blessing!

Aunt Chris and Uncle Tudy lived their lives a bit differently then we did. I remember they were not in the physical picture as much as my other Aunt and Uncle. This made them special in a different way to me. We would see them on some weekends and on holidays and special days like baptisms and stuff. It was always fun when we got to see them. My cousins (their children Jeff, Jason, Jordon and Justin) were younger than me. Now that is not an issue but when you are little, that is an issue. That and the fact they were boys and were not interested in playing house and school with me. Not like Joey who loved playing school with me and handing out homework any time who could. Hmmm, I wonder if there is a correlation between then and his profession as a teacher now :~) Any, I don’t know if he loved playing school with me but I loved it. Back to the real story, we loved seeing our cousins. It was not an all the time thing so when it happened, we knew it was special.

My Aunt came to live with us in Oceanside when my Uncle Tudy and dad were overseas. Aunt Chris got to watch me when I was in Kindergarten. I remember she and my mom went on the game show “Let’s Make a Deal”. She went as I Dream Of Jeanie. She was perfect in that costume because she looked like Jeanie. She was always a beautiful lady, both inside and out. I remember her family was always involved in outdoor kind of sports. She was really active and seemed to support the men in her family in whatever they chose. She really loved her family. I remember I was at their house one time with my mom. I think some, if not all, of my sisters were there too. I was in the boys’ room playing with their Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars because I was banished from the family like room so the adults could do an activity. Well, being young and bored I wanted to see what was going on with the adults. Aunt Chris had gotten a “hypnosis” record and was playing it. I am sure I ruined the mood when I started laughing. I remember that Aunt Chris seemed to almost always be laughing or had a smile on her face. She was the type of person you just wanted to be around to soak up the positive energy of her existence. I am glad that she loved me and that she was my Aunt. I will miss her but will cherish her existence in my life and memories.

We are all products of our environment, memories, sense of humor, sense of self, and more. We are shaped by those we love and who love us. Next to my parents and my immediate family, I would have to say that my Aunts and Uncles play a huge part in the make-up of ME. I would like to express my gratitude to them for their roles in my life, for helping me to be me. For helping to give me the knowledge that I am a blessed and loved woman and will never want for the warmth of family. My thanks and my love.

Weird!

Okay, so I had gastric bypass surgery on June 10th. I was going to keep it a secret and then I thought "what the heck? If I do things correctly it isn't like no one will notice" so I tell everyone who asks now. They funny thing is, if I walk out on the yard here at the prison, I have inmates asking me if I am okay because they have noticed that I have lost weight and they are concerned if I am sick or not. I am not sure how to feel about that :~) I don't know if they are concerned because I have lost weight so quickly, or if I just look crappy so they wonder if I am sick. Weird. Actually, I think it is the weight loss thing because one asked if I was doing Jenny Craig. I said no, Jenny Craig is too hard. Haha!

Anyway, I have gone from about 209 lbs in May, down to about 149lbs right now. It is the weirdest thing for me. I shop in the size 10 pants. I don't see myself any different but my clothes, not to mention all the wrinkles on my face (fat is a great botox), tells me that I am different. Mostly, I am off all medication and my blood pressure and cholesterol are normal AND my migraines are gone!! I feel good and that is the fun part. The down part of it all is the fact that I am ALWAYS cold! Unless I eat too much sugar or fat, then I get really hot and yucky. I try to avoid that feeling like the plague!

Well, just wanted to update you all. I know, everyone wants me to post pictures. I will. I will send them to Deborah and she can post them for me. Either that or I can wait until they come for a visit in the next couple of months and she can do it then. I love their annual visits!

Okay, that is all for now.

125lb Barbie? Whatever Floats your Boat

So, I went to another class today which was AWESOME! Met with the nutritionis and nurse who are monitering my diet. Orey went with me so he can be more involved in my weight loss program. Actually, "more" is not the right word. He is really involved to the point where he calls me at work to see how I am doing both emotionally and physically (empty tummy). Since I have become adjusted to my diet, sometimes I get busy and forget to eat or I get off track and figure I will make it up later. He likes to remind me.

I am down 15 lbs! Actyally it is 14.8 but you figure I was wearing clothes so I am sure that made a difference. Don't laugh! The bigger you are the more fabric your clothes have, the more weight your scale shows. If I were to get undressed I am sure I am a 125lb Barbie or something. That is my story and I am sticking to it!!

Okay, I have to fessy up. I did cheat this week. I went to Pizza Factory and had two small pieces of pizza. I HAD to! I was craving it so bad that I was becoming angry about not having some. I waited for about 4 days before giving in just to make sure I wanted to do it. I thought I would feel really guilty but I did not. It felt good and I got the craving out and all was fine. I did not tell my support person though. Over all I think that I did pretty good. Especially since I usually eat like 5 or 6 pieces with soda to wash them down.

Orey spent the day with me. After our class we went to a park to eat the picnic lunch I packed. That was really nice. A month ago I would have insisted we go out to eat a high fat, high calorie, high sodium lunch at Olive Garden or Red Robin or something like that. Not anymore. I was totally happy with the picnic (Yay tuna, carrots and protien shakes). Then we went to the bookstore and Orey bought me several books (since Deborah will not let me read hers) and a food journal. I love it!

All in all, it was a lovely day and I feel good about myself.

Brother can you spare a dime?

Okay,

Memorial weekend came and went. Sort of like my new eating habit. I pretty much did not do as well as I would have hoped. However, I did do much better than I would have if I were not trying to eat better. I only gained 1 pound this weekend. I know that sound weird to be okay with that but the alternative could have been like Mothers day weekend where I gained 4 pounds! So, I am happy.

Orey's Uncle Vern came in to town yesterday. He plays baseball and has been coming in around this time for, like, a million years or something. We have a family get together each time and it is fun! I really enjoy it and I hope it keeps going on. However, I don't know how much longer he will be here for the tourneys because he is 72 years old. Still spry though.

The theme of this year's BBQ was "Brother can you spare a dime?". That was fun. Maura made a hillbilly wedding cake out of HO-HO's, Twinkies, chocolate cupcakes and stuff like that. It was awesome!

Anyway, I have to run. I am back on my strict eating habits and Marina and I will start going to the gym these evening. Yay!

Did you just call me FAT?

Okay, here is the deal….I am fat! No, really it’s true. I have been heavy most of my adult life and have been okay with it for the most part. Sure, I get into moods now and then where I think “you probably should do something about that” but then I tell myself “oh, your fine, your health is good, you’re older, your husband still loves you, etc…..” and I don’t do anything but token efforts. I figured as long as I am a “healthy fat person” I am good!

Well, NO MORE! In the last year I have had a severe decline in my health that can be pretty much controlled or corrected with weight loss and change of eating habits and food choices. So, the fact that I have a family that would like me to stick around, grandchildren I need to see born and grow up, and so forth, I decided to get professional nutritional assistance.

I saw a doctor for my complete check up, and I saw a nutritionist for guidance, and I am attending classes to teach me to be better about what and how I put things in my (and my family’s) mouth. Yeah!!!

So, I have gotten rid of most breads and sugar!!! Super-duper hard! I went through 4 days of headaches when I did that. I don’t want that again. I am learning to cut out most fats like mayo, butter and junk. And, I eat about a ¼ t a ½ of what I used to eat. I think it is still too much sometimes but I will get there.

Anyway, I have lost about 10 pounds in the last 3 weeks. It would have been more but I lost about 5 then put 4 back on during Mother’s day weekend so I had to start over again.

I start at the gym probably next week so that will be fun. Orey and the family have bee a huge support to me. It has gotten to the point where I have limited my eating that Orey will call me to remind me to snack on something healthy. He is so good to me :~)

I just wanted to let you all know so you can follow my progress if you want. I hope to lose about 40 Lbs by September or November. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!

Safe Driving

I know, it has been an incredibly long time since my last post. So much has happened like a fun Halloween, yummy Thankgiving, Awesome Christmas with all the family, Alexander getting a job at Charlie's, Rebekah dating Aaron, Keith getting an internship at Disney College. I'll have you know that we took Keithy down to Anaheim and I did NOT get to go to Disneyland. The funny thing is that I didn't mind because I know our family trip is coming up in March!

Anyway, back to the reason for the title of this post. Over the years as my kids learned to drive I have tried to give them safety tips (being the paranoid mother I am). Now these are not just the standard "make sure you look both ways" kind of safety tips. These are the big ones that I will do a quick rundown on:

1.) If you are in the middle of nowhere and you see police lights behind you indicating you should pull over - DO NOT! You should continue to drive at a safe speed to the nearest well populated store or gas station or something where there are other people around. If you have a cell phone you should call 911 or whatever emergency phone numbers cells have to see if there is indeed a police officer following you. I would much rather pay Bail then a funeral. I know, seems dramatic but it isn't.

2.) Another is, you should always wear a seat belt. This is especially important if you are ever carjacked or whatever. The reason being is if you have to drive erratically and smash into something, most likely the "bad guy" is not buckeled in and if you hit something he or she wil wind up going through the windshield instead of you. I know, sound hokey and morbid but, I would rather have my insurance pay for damages than a funeral. Seeing the pattern here?

3.) One of the other things that I have mentioned is that if you ever feel you are being followed, NEVER drive into your drive way! That last thing you want to do is let some creep know where you live. Anyway, you should continue to drive and go to the nearest "authorative" place like a police station or fire station or something like that.

A couple of weeks ago Marina was driving home from a function. She noticed a car that was traveling the same way she was so when she got to our house she kept driving. She went around the block and turned up some streets and the other car just kept following her. She drove out of our area and drove over to the fire station about a mile from us. She pulled into the parking lot like she was going to park. The other car followed her and as soon as they saw where she was heading, they took off! How grateful I am that she remembered to do that. How grateful I am that I didn't have to say "if only I would have said something instead of worrying if I sounded stupid".

I love my family and would do anything for them. Including sharing my far-fetched randomness with them. ;~)

Love,
Mom