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

Taking the 2-word Challenge

ok, this posting is caused by Maura LeAnn
2 words2 words NO MORE NO LESS can be used... Have fun and try not to use the same answers as the person before you...
1. Where is your cell phone? ..................Charging up
2. Your significant other?..................all mine
3. Your hair? ....................................... needs cutting
4. Your mother?................................ my friend
5. Your father?...................................... handsome Mexican
6. Your favorite thing?.............................living life
7. Your dream last night?........................ postponed indefinitely
8. Your favorite drink? .............................ice water
9. Your dream/goal?.............................Celestial glory
10. The room you're in?.........................living space
11. Your ex?....................................ex what?
12. Your fear?..................................Outer darkness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?.........still here
14. Where were you last night?....................band competition
15. What you're not?..................................financially responsible
16. Muffin?.......................................... why, yes!
17. One of your wish list items?........... food storage
18. Where you were born?................. Honolulu, Hawaii
19. The last thing you did?.......................I blinked
20. What are you wearing?.................... not pajamas
21. Your TV?.........................................blessedly off
22. Your pets?........................................ poop factories
23. Your computer? .................................Marina friendly
24. Your life?......................................... absolutely perfect
25. Your mood?...................................craving sleep
26. Missing someone?........................every minute
27. Your car?...........................................runs well
28. Something you're not wearing?................ head band
29. Favorite Store?.....................................super market
30. Your summer?....................................thankfully over
31. Like someone?.....................................of course
32. Your favorite color?......................... changes occasionally
33. Last time you laughed?......................... about Brooklyn
34. Who will re-post this?...........................don't care

Vince Mira

Hello, this is Deborah. Mom asked me to figure out how to put videos on her blog. It took me two months, but I did it. Enjoy the voice of Johnny Cash.